President’s Letter

By Margaret Graff | Email

Greetings Neighbors – as I write this column, fall is in full swing, and Thanksgiving is right around this corner. For me fall is a time of reflection on all that we have to be thankful for.

With a Fox Point lens, I’d like to take a moment to thank all of the FPHA Board members for their tireless volunteer commitment and stewardship of this neighborhood and community that we call home.

At the October meeting, the board formalized and approved the Nominating Committee members:

• Steve Kipferl – Chair, current member
• Lynn Douglas – current member
• Bruce Kulikowski – former member
• Andrew Schwarz – Homeowner at large
• Greg Salter – Homeowner at large

The Nominating Committee is charged with identifying residents who are interested in running for the FPHA Board to fill expired terms of current members.  We are looking for 3 candidates who would be elected in conjunction with our annual meeting in January. I encourage neighbors to consider running for the board — and or putting forth names of potential candidates!

As always, I encourage neighbors to get involved in Fox Point and continue helping make our neighborhood the stellar community that it is.

We ask those interested in learning more to contact Steve Kipferl via email HERE.

Thank you to all the current and past board members for continuing the Fox Point tradition of a well-run, self-managed homeowners’ association.

Social

By Rena Slovick | Email

Santa Visits!!

Neighbors have no fear.  Santa is not passing over Fox Point this year.  He will be visiting Fox Point on Sunday, December 12th for a fun, old-fashioned Christmas this side of Barrington.  Santa will be returning to us curbside at the Fox Point Pool House from 1-3pm, in his one-of-a-kind, decorated house complete with an indoor fireplace to keep guests jolly and warm!  Children can visit with Santa, get their last-minute requests in, and Mom and Dad can snap that ever-popular crying-child photo!

To ensure Santa remains healthy to deliver presents this holiday season, Santa’s house is set-up for proper social distancing and sanitation protocols.  There is a limit to 6 family members in the hut at the same time, limited to 15 minutes. No exceptions. Masks are required on everyone above 2 years old while inside the hut and must be worn at all times except while taking photos with Santa*

This event is rain/snow or shine and is NON-REFUNDABLE.

There are two 1-hour windows to keep visits with Santa fluid – there are no specific time slots as last year. Grandparents are welcome to schedule visits with their grandchildren. When you RSVP, please list the names and ages of your children in the comment field.

ONLY REGISTER ONE SLOT PER FAMILY!

The cost for this event is:

• 1-2 children in a family – $10

• 3-4 children in a family – $15

• 5 + children in a family – $20

Sign up HERE.

*Subject to change based on health department guidance

Christmas Eve Luminaries

The Christmas Eve Luminaries will return this year! Stay tuned for more details!!

Common Grounds

By Jay Roberts | Email

I do not have a lot of new business this month but do have a couple of updates.

There are a couple of cul-de-sacs where we have some dead grass.  We’ve been trying to resolve that for more than a few weeks but ran into some issues with weather and timing as to when to put the new grass seed down.  As we continue to transition into Fall those projects will be completed.  In fact, by the time you read this, hopefully, they are both finished.  I’m not sure what caused some of the grass to die other than maybe the lack of rain this year.

As a reminder, for snow plowing, our association oversees the walkways along Lake Cook Road and the school path on the south side.  We plow based on occurrence and a minimum amount of snow.  For example, the plows will come out if we have .5 inches of snow or more.  It can be subjective but most of the time it is completed at the earliest possible time after the storms.  We do not always salt unless by special request.  I will try my best to make sure we salt when needed.  The timing of when this happens does not always coincide with walkers who are going to school.  However, we try to clean everything off as best we can so that everyone remains safe.  Feel free to reach out with questions or concerns if for some reason this has been missed during the winter months.

Should anyone have any questions, please email or call to let me know.

Lake Report

By David Jobes | Email

Update on the Flint Creek Grant Project

In the next few weeks, you might see some large rocks and work occurring along the creek as it flows under the Surrey bridge.  This is the Lake County grant 50/50 (Fox Point pays 50% of the cost) project we won back in January 2020. As you might have suspected this project was delayed by Covid, but it is finally happening!  As a recap, this project started out as the Village of Barrington saying we should do more to reduce erosion along the creek.  The Lake Committee had the contractor develop a proposal for this work and the Lake Committee presented this to the Board in August of 2019. The scope of work is reinforcing the stream bank, adding erosion control, and in general keeping sediment from washing downstream.  The proposal came in at $34,000 and the Lake Committee with some guidance from Bob Lee and others in our community applied for the grant.  We were one of 40 applications and in January 2020 we were one of the 12 projects awarded the grant.  The process of working with the various agencies gave us more insight and understanding as a Committee that will help as we plan more work in the future to improve the conditions of Lake Louise and Flint Creek. I would like to do a shout-out to our contractor, Trillium Landscapes, who has been extremely helpful through this process.

Most of the work will be done this fall, with final plantings/plugs scheduled for the spring. Thank you all for your patience and understanding.

If you have property along the creek or Lake Louise and want to plant more buffer zones? Don’t know where to start?  The Lake Committee has contacts for contractors and designers that can help get you started.  If you need any of these contacts, please email and let me know.

Preparing for Winter

In preparation for winter and if you have a boat stored at the storage rack, please make sure they are secure and if possible, turned upside down. This will prevent the buildup of snow and ice, and during the springtime when it melts, excess water adds a lot of stress to the boats and racks.

Have a great fall and enjoy the lake as it changes over.

Safety & Welfare

By Abe Ryder | Email

Dear Fox Point Neighbors,

We are in the closing months of Fall, personally my favorite time of the year.  We still have many folks outside walking, running, and biking to enjoy what is left of our perfect Fall days.  That said, continue to remember your speed through the neighborhood and remind guests that we have “children at play” throughout the neighborhood.  This also means that during rush hour times in the morning when delivering children to designated school drop off points to be extra careful when driving through and exiting the neighborhood, as many children are still riding bikes and walking to school- this includes after school as well.

The Board is making one last push with the remaining two months in 2021 to meet our goal of significantly reducing (by 50% or more) the number of unlit yard lamps in the neighborhood.  So, if you find your lamp in an inoperable state, please seek out a vendor to repair it.  Furthermore, we have inventoried the remaining public streetlamps that are in need of repair and have reported those to the Village of Barrington.  Therefore, the neighborhood should have nearly 100% of the public streetlamps in good working condition by the time we reach the winter months. 

Architecture

By Steve Kipferl | Email

Hello Fox Point Neighbors! We have had a very successful summer of great home improvements. We are now turning the corner and headed into fall! Thank you to those who have gone through the application process so far this year. All projects that have been applied for in 2021 have all been approved or are in review! If you are considering a project, it’s a great idea to take a look at the Fox Point website’s Architecture Guidelines to see if your exterior project requires an 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 Bylaws or contact the Village of Barrington, Development Services department. at 847-304-3460 regarding Village issues.

Again, if there are any questions regarding whether a project requires approval feel free to shoot me an email and I’ll let you know!

Civic Affairs

By Mark Villalovos | Email

SHOW US WHY YOU LOVE FOX POINT! 

We are reimagining the FoxPoint.org website and WE WANT YOUR PHOTOS!  We will give you photo credit, and you’ll be doing your part by showing visitors and realtors what makes Fox Point such a special place.   We’re developing a “Fox Point Through the Seasons” pictorial, so if you have Spring, Summer, Autumn, or Winter photos we would LOVE to see them.  Photos of exterior home holiday décor, Spring flowers blooming, “You’ve been Elf’d” gifts, trick-or-treat moments, Easter Egg hunt shots, graduation parades, – we want them all!  Please attach them to an email to me or if you just want to text them, send them to 626.379.4945.  Be sure to include your name and email address so we give you the Photo Credit!