President’s Letter

By Margaret Graff | Email

Greetings neighbors!

As I write this month’s report I’m struck that life is seeming to return to a more recognizable normal.  The weather is turning, kids are back in school, sports teams are practicing, and March Madness Basketball is in full swing.

Your board is busily planning for warmer weather activities in Fox Point – including the Opening of the Tennis Courts in April, the Pool Opening in May, Common Ground landscaping maintenance, Lake maintenance, and fish-stocking – and Social activities that bring us together.

If this newsletter is published before April 6th, I encourage everyone to take advantage of the opportunity to vote in our local elections — there are several important positions up for vote —Village Trustee, D220 Board of Education, and the Barrington Library Board to name a few.

Please don’t hesitate to reach out with questions or suggestions on how we can continue making Fox Point a terrific place to live. Better yet, join us at the next meeting of the Fox Point Homeowners Association via Zoom on Monday, April 19 @ 7 pm. 

Warmly,
Margaret Graff

Secretary

By Tim Gall | Email

It’s that time of year to confirm the most current contact information on all of our wonderful Fox Point neighbors. Please look over your homeowner information in the 2020 directory (orange cover) and if you want any informational changes put in the 2021 directory, please reach out directly to me.

Tennis

By Mark Johnson | Email

Hi Neighbors! Well, the weather is beginning to warm up, tulips are peeking through the surface and the sun is shining more frequently. With that, our goal is to have the tennis court nets and windscreens installed, potentially by the time this monthly newsletter reaches your inbox or shortly thereafter. I’ll provide a full update on NextDoor once they are fully installed. Additionally, we’ll begin planning the summer tennis lesson and cardio schedule over the next few weeks. Once it’s finalized, it will be announced via NextDoor, and likely an email blast to the community.

Please reach out if you have any questions in the meantime! 

Safety & Welfare

By Abe Ryder | Email

Greeting Fox Pointers!  When speaking to our Village Assistant Police Chief, he once again emphasized that proper lighting helps build a safe neighborhood. Warmer temperatures are a perfect excuse to get into the yard and inspect those gas or electric lamps!  In my February report, I indicated a goal of reducing lamp outages by 50% by year-end.  We took a drive around the neighborhood and found that 20% (one out of every 5) lanterns are unlit across our great neighborhood. These gas (or electric) lamps are a symbol of our prestigious community and a notable differentiator. They are one of the many features that make Fox Point a recognized, best-in-class subdivision. Let’s show our Fox Point pride and get those lamps maintained and LIT!  A big thank you to all of the neighbors who have been maintaining their lanterns and those who are in the process of getting theirs repaired.  If you need suggestions for reputable lamp maintenance vendors, reach out to me.  I’ll report where we stand at midyear. 

Lake Report

By David Jobes | Email

It is officially spring and now is the time to spruce up your yard and for us to start sprucing up the Lake! We look forward to seeing the flowers we planted last fall reappear by the east entrance to the boat dock area. Once again, a big thank you to the Barrington Breakfast Rotary Club for their generous donation last year.

A few updates to pass along:

Our partner EAM has begun weekly testing of the water and installation of the aerators in the bay and the pond as well. Like every year we have a few equipment casualties so those are being repaired as we speak.

Great news, we have signed a contract to again restock the lake this spring with bass, bluegill, and crappie. This year we were able to negotiate a deal balancing our needs with the excess supply of fish at our supplier so we will be stocking over 3,000 fish of various sizes, including some good-sized largemouth bass. Thanks to Jeff Dahnke for making this happen. This is almost triple the amount of fish we normally stock with a manageable increase in cost.

Next month begins the treatment of adding Phoslock to the lake which will help lower the high phosphorous content. Please be careful when applying fertilizer and weed killer to your lawns! Excess amounts of heavy spring rains that fall immediately after your application wash a great deal of poison into the lake, which contributes to algae blooms.

Now that the ice has melted, we have contacted a few companies to trap the beaver(s) that are on the island. While wildlife is great to have on our waters some are very destructive to the environment as well as a potential danger to individuals. Beavers do both, and we must be cautious of falling trees from the damage they do to their bases.

Boat Storage: If you have had a boat stored and not have used it in years, please let me know if you would like to get rid of it to allow others to take advantage of the system. If anyone would like to request space on the boat storage racks please send me an email that includes your name, address, and type of boat you would like to store.

Looking forward to seeing everyone on Lake Louise.

Civic Affairs

By Mark Villalovos | Email

Greetings Neighbors!  I want to provide focused recognition to Sarah Giunchedi who has graciously volunteered to lead the charge in WELCOMING new neighbors to Fox Point!  It’s volunteers like this that help makes our community even more friendly and welcoming.  Although the pandemic slowed our Welcoming Committee activities in 2020, Spring is a season of new beginnings!  Beginning in May, new neighbors will be contacted via phone or email to arrange a convenient meet-up time.  We want you to feel comfortable, but we’d love to meet you and share all the exciting features and benefits of living in Fox Point and introduce the surrounding Barrington area.  Since August, 11 new families have moved to Fox Point – please join us in making them feel WELCOME! 

Lots of local events in April!

• Celebrate EARTH DAY on April 22 with an extra focus on RECYCLING.  Here are some useful Curbside Recycling Guidelines.
• The Village of Barrington is hosting METRA parking lot events. Check out these Drive-In Concerts!

Pool

By Criss Chang | Email

The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) and the CDC have published guidance for the 2021 pool season.  The Fox Point pool will open on Memorial Day weekend in accordance with this guidance, which follows the same rules that we ended the 2020 season.  You can expect the same format as last year, including the use of the digital app for registration and pool time reservations.  Under consideration at present is the increase in session attendees and the re-introduction of limited guests (i.e. grandparents and grandchildren).  These decisions will be made and communicated prior to Opening Day.

Here’s a brief, high-level summary of the Fox Point pool policies and procedures from last year.  The full set of details and information will be shared and communicated in May, at least 2 weeks before Opening Day.

• Register and reserve pool time at getomnify.com

• • PROTIP – Favorite this page onto your phone’s home screen!
• Sessions will be 90 min swim with 30 min cleaning breaks
• Masks required upon entry and exit from the pool deck
• Social distancing of 6 feet
• COVID-19 waiver agreement is required for entry and is included in each reservation request

Swim Team planning is also underway, led by the Swim Team Committee (Kristin Cannon, Jen Fleming, Jennifer Livingston, Jenny Postma, Tiffany Seely-Brown, and Victoria Sivrais), and an initial communication has been sent out.  If you haven’t received this information or if you have any questions regarding Swim Team, please send your inquiry to mailto:foxpointswimteam@gmail.com. 

Common Grounds

By Jay Roberts | Email

Happy Spring!

Hope everyone is ready for some sunshine and is looking forward to spending time outdoors!  As I mentioned last month, the common grounds crew will soon begin their spring clean-up.  This includes cutting back shrubs, replacing shrubs that didn’t survive the winter and mulching.  Look for these improvements around the pool, tennis courts, main entrances, and the boat dock areas.  You may have noticed that the base of the monument walls at the entrances have been dug up.  The reason was to assess the damage and to give the structure some relief from the build-up.  It may look like this for most of this year.  If there’s a way to camouflage the dirt, we will.  For most of this year, different vendors will inspect the walls.  The excavated bases are best to determine a proper solution for the damaged walls.

Look for monthly updates on the walls.  As we continue to learn more, the solution continues to change.  If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email or call.  I will give you as much information as I can each month on our progress and direction.

Social

By Rena Slovick | Email

Fox Point Spring Egg Hunt

The annual Spring Egg Hunt will be Saturday, April 3rd, and take place at the Tennis Courts and Fox Point park.  Kids 4 and under will hunt at the tennis courts, and kids 5 and up will hunt at the park & surrounding grass.  To make our event safe we are going to have staggered time slots and mask-wearing is mandatory. 

Please congregate (safely!) on the lawn near the pool house/parking lot and we will lead everyone down the path to the tennis courts & park before your desired time slot. 

Given there is a mix of ages at the hunt, please tell your children to limit their hauls to 20 eggs so everyone goes home with treats.

The ground will likely be muddy, so wear your rain/snow boots!  Sign up Here!

March Sadness:  We had over 50 bracket entries in our first annual Neighborhood Bracket Challenge! This year’s tournament has proven to be bananas, featuring a ton of first and second-round upsets. Our next newsletter will showcase our winners! Thanks to all who participated and continue to show their NCAA spirit around the neighborhood. 

Summer fun will be upon us soon! Stay tuned!

Please keep a lookout on the Website Events Calendar, Nextdoor, or via Email for continued Social Updates! A lot can happen in-between newsletters. Give us a follow-on social media and send us some photos at foxpointbarringtonsocial@gmail.com

Architecture

By Steve Kipferl | Email

Hello neighbors! We have had a few projects getting off the ground around the neighborhood and I would expect quite a few more to begin soon as well! Thank you to those who have gone through the application process so far this year. All of the projects that have been applied for so far have all been approved. If you are considering a project, it’s a great idea to take a look at the Fox Point website Architecture Guidelines (some projects listed below) to see if your exterior project requires approval from the Fox Point HOA board. Also, I encourage you to check with the Village of Barrington Development Services Department about permits and zoning ordinances. We really appreciate all the homeowners that have submitted architecture applications for board review and approval.

As a resource, you can always contact me via email to discuss your exterior project relative to our Fox Point Declaration or contact the Village of Barrington, Development Services department. ph: 847-304-3460 regarding village issues.

Below is a guide, also published on foxpoint.org, to reference what has and has not traditionally required approval.  

NOTE: Item listed with an asterisk (*) requires a permit from the Village of Barrington before work can proceed. 

Improvements Requiring Application and FPHA Approval

• Additions*
• Expanded Driveway*
• New Deck*
• New Patio*
• New Terrace
• Porch*
• New Walkway*
• Gazebo*
• Permanent Basketball Hoop
• Pergola*
• Outdoor Fireplace/Pit*
• Playground Equipment*
• Changes to Drainage*
• Non-continuous Landscaping
• Hot Tub*
• Solar Panels

Improvements NOT Requiring Application and FPHA Approval

• Trampoline
• Temporary Ice Rink
• Change of Energy Source for Yard Lantern
• Replacement Driveways in original Footprint*
• Replacement Walkway in original Footprint*
• Replacement Patio in original Footprint*
• Roof Replacement*
• Gutter Replacement*
• Siding Replacement*
• Door Replacement*
• Garage Doors*
• Window Replacement*