President’s Letter

By Abe Ryder | Email

By ABE RYDER   

Greetings Fox Point Neighbors,

Happy New Year! Hopefully, everyone had some quality time during the holidays over the past month with family and friends and the ability to relax a bit. The end of the year is always a mad dash to prepare for trips, arrivals of guests, completing that last work assignment, etc. Hopefully, there was also some downtime for reflection in there as well. As I look back at the past year, the Board had many accomplishments, as highlighted below:

• Architecture: Go-forward digitization of our administrative functions to enhance our record keeping, knowledge transfer, and communication. 
• Civic Affairs: New website redesign.
• Common Grounds: Significant progress on the monument wall restoration project with final completion of a drainage system this spring along with ongoing stewardship of our landscaping, mosquito spraying, and snowplowing. 
• Lake: Continued fish stocking and the highest water quality in years thanks to our phoslock treatments over time.
• Pool: Successful pool season and digitization of guest fee payments that have led to increased overall guest fees that are reinvested into our pool operations. 
• Safety and Welfare: Updated lighting at the boat dock, the main entrances, and the pool. 
• Secretary: Managing the Board’s hybrid protocols between physical and virtual meetings, keeping the minutes and notes, and working to enhance our Fox Point Directory.
• Social: Besides running our social activities during the year in a year of transition out of the pandemic, the return of our Annual Fox Point Card Party and Triathlon were overwhelming successes!
• Tennis: Pickleball court installation. 
• Treasurer: Monthly financial diligence, managing through inflationary pressures with contract renegotiations, and incorporating our 2022 reserve study findings into our future planning and budgeting. 

Just looking back at that list  – what amazing accomplishments in one year for a group of neighborhood volunteers who have many obligations outside the Fox Point Homeowners’ Association! We are a self-managed Board that aims to effectively manage our neighborhood assets and keep costs as low as possible for our Homeowners while providing a great quality of life for those in the neighborhood.

I want to thank our outgoing Board members for their term on the Fox Point Homeowners’ Association Board. Rena Slovick served as Social Chair navigating our Association through the pandemic with innovative ways to continue the Fox Point social legacy with a social distancing twist and reintroducing our “normal” Fox Point social gatherings once we emerged. Mark Johnson served as our Tennis Chair, continuing the legacy by orchestrating tennis lessons and introducing a pickleball tournament to the Association that led to the painting of pickleball lines at the tennis court. Criss Chang served as our Pool Chair, also navigating our Association through the pandemic and the IDPH guidelines associated with social distancing to keep our pool season open and operating when other pools were shut down. As previously mentioned, Criss led the digitalization of guest fees and awning registrations. Criss will be running for another 3-year term with the Fox Point Board, aiming to build on the pool legacy he already has left. 

Read on for more details on each of the Board reports and accomplishments not mentioned above.

Note that we will be holding our annual election this month and you will need to either: 1) print out your ballot (see Tim Gall’s report) and mail it in with your vote or 2) vote in person at the Village Church from 6:00 PM to 6:45 PM on January 23rd. 

We encourage homeowners to join our Annual Meeting of the Fox Point Homeowners’ Association on Monday, January 23rd at 6:30 PM which will be held at the Village Church. This is the last meeting of the 2022 Board to approve the 2022 annual financial statements and approve the 2023 budget. The meeting of the new Board will commence after the Annual Meeting at approximately 7 PM. As always, we encourage homeowners to attend our monthly Board Meetings. We welcome ideas, suggestions, and feedback as we all have a vested interest in this community we call home.

Social

By Rena Slovick | Email

Happy New Year Fox Point! 

Special thanks to Joie Connors who spearheaded the Christmas Eve Luminaries once again. Neither snow, sleet nor hurricane-strength winds could keep this tradition at bay. 

Going forward all social correspondence will be coming from social@foxpoint.org – please retire foxpointbarringtonsocial@gmail.com from your inboxes as it is no longer in use!

Thanks again Fox Point! I promise I’m actually leaving this time. 

Civic Affairs

By Mark Villalovos | Email

Happy 2023! One New Year’s Resolution that we often hear is a commitment to become more involved in our communities.  I offer two ways you might consider joining in:

1. Attend the monthly Fox Point Homeowners Association Board meetings. These occur on the third Monday of each month at 7:00 pm and if you follow Abe Ryder or Fox Point on Nextdoor, you will see notifications in advance of the meetings – including in-person details and virtual links.  We often discuss ways in which neighbors might volunteer at upcoming social events. 
2. Volunteer in and around our Barrington community. Many Fox Point residents participate via the Barrington Area Volunteer Connection – here you will find dozens of activities and certainly one that will match your interests.   

Your Fox Point Homeowners Association was BUSY this year!  Please see THIS LIST of the activities and accomplishments that homeowners were able to enjoy this past year. 

Finally, I want to add my appreciation for all the hard work that went into creating such special Social Events that Rena Slovick and her team of volunteers produced these past three years.  Rena’s tireless commitment to Fox Point helped shape it into a community of neighbors that care about one another and this place we call home. 

Architecture

By Andrew Shwarz | Email

Happy 2023, Fox Pointers.  As we head into the New Year, please be sure you are consulting the HOA Board for any and all permanent exterior alterations to your property.

This month, I am formally kicking off and leading a project to explore a revitalization of the Boat Landings area on our northwest shore of Lake Louise.  We are starting by issuing a Request for Information from various landscape architects and commercial landscapers to find a partner to propose a redesign of that space.  From there, the Board will align to specific enhancements to the Boat Landings and begin formally scoping and phasing out the project.  As of now, we are hoping the first phase of improvements – which is expected to include permanent improvements to the shoreline – will be complete by the end of this year.  At minimum, we will keep you all updated via this newsletter and at Board meetings.

Safety & Welfare

By Bill Graff | Email

Safety and 2022 was a big year for Fox Point!  This past year we worked hard on a variety of projects that needed attention, and now that they are completed, here is our list….

1. Updated the front entrance lighting for all 3 entrances with new LED lights and additional fixtures!!
2. Upgraded all the Pool Deck Lights with new LED lights!
3. The Boat Deck is brighter now with the new LED lights for all the activities at the launch! (A theme of sustainable updated lighting, is very important!!)
4. Provided a pool session for meeting our BPD team and learning how they help keep our neighborhood safe

These are just four of the many items we have provided for the FP neighbors in 2022.  But, if you know me, you’ll know I have a few projects to tackle in 2023!

Those projects are centered on two themes…SPEED and LIGHTING!!!

So for lighting, we hope to continue to have our residents keep their gas/electric lights well-lit! The South Side is actually over 90% lit!  Come on the North side give Steve @Grove Products/ 847-639-2544 a call and get this goal completed!!

Second, our speed is 25 MPH, it’s not that hard!  We do this to keep ALL our residents, kids, pets, and friends ALIVE.  Pay attention every day and make this your New Year’s resolution…PLEASE!

Thanks to you all for the help this year, we appreciate your help and consideration as we keep FP the safest place to live in 60010!

Lake Report

By Steven Kipferl | Email

Hello neighbors! 2022 was certainly a productive year on and in Lake Louise! The year started with the reinstallation of our aerators and the replacement of a few along the way. The aerators along with continued phoslock treatment of the water as part of a multi-year watershed improvement plan resulted in a significant improvement in water quality compared to the last few years. The weather cooperated and helped a bit as well but we will take it! Lastly on the water quality front, this fall, Eutrosorb filtration bags were placed around our water inlet in the pond for earlier filtration. 

The fishing was improved this year in large thanks to a $7,500 stocking investment in which we added several species of bass. In addition, I am proud to report private donations from generous neighbors around Fox Point resulted in a second, privately funded, stocking in the fall. Awesome community involvement!

I am also happy to report the board is investigating the feasibility of a boat dock renovation that would allow for better use of the boat dock space for all residents, not just those on the lake. The focus is on making the lake accessible and enjoyable for all, as well as repairing the sinking shoreline. More details coming in the spring as it is in the initial feasibility stages. 

As for now, ice is on the lake. As a reminder the ice is unpredictable and use of the lake is at your own risk. Make sure to check ice thickness before use and never venture out on the ice alone. 

Keep an eye out for a winter lake committee meeting. All are welcome and I will release a date in the February newsletter. 

We are looking forward to a fantastic 2023 lake season and we will see you on the water!

Pool

By Criss Chang | Email

In 2022, pool attendance was strong and numerous swim programs run by many neighborhood volunteers extended pool use throughout the summer.  In 2023, we will continue to focus on pool safety and operations. As mentioned in last month’s newsletter, the main pool will be repainted prior to opening day.  Efforts to improve pool attendee experiences are continuing to be evaluated over the next several months, which include maintenance and repair documentation, staffing and training, and the addition of other pool amenities.  Looking forward to May when we can once again enjoy our neighborhood pool.

Secretary’s Report

By Tim Gall | Email

Each January, the Fox Point Homeowners Association elects members to the Board of Directors and holds an Annual meeting per our bylaws in conjunction with the regular monthly meeting of the association. 

VISIT THIS LINK TO PRINT YOUR BALLOT

Fox Point Homeowners may submit their ballots in 1 of 2 ways (1 vote per household)

By Mail: Must be received in the designated PO box by Friday, January 20, 2023

In-Person: At Village Church, 1600 E Main St. – Door No. 7, Room 122 from 6-6:45 pm on Monday, January 23, 2023

As a reminder:  we must have a quorum of at least 10% of Homeowners cast valid ballots in order to hold the election and the annual meeting.

The schedule for this year’s meetings will be as follows:

6-6:45 pm Homeowner In-Person Voting @ Village Church, 1600 E Main St. – Door No. 7, Room 122

6:30 pm January Board Meeting (2022 Board) @ Village Church, 1600 E Main St. – Door No. 7, Room 122

7:00 pm FPHA Annual Meeting & 1^st Meeting of 2023 @ Village Church, 1600 E Main St. – Door No. 7, Room 122

The purpose of the last meeting of the 2022 Board is to take action on the 2022 fiscal year-end financial statement and proposed 2023 budget.

The Annual meeting will include a recap of Association activities from 2022.

The 2023 Board meeting will include the installation of new officers and committee assignments.

Common Grounds

By Jay Roberts | Email

Happy New Year!

It was a very busy year for Common Grounds!  We made some real and significant progress with the monument walls.

To date, all 5 walls have been completed.  This includes all of the construction and rehabilitation.  In addition to the masonry part of the project, we installed a new black steel decorative fence that was similar to the old version.  However, this time, I feel confident that it was installed professionally the right way and will last for a long time.

Unfortunately, due to weather and other scheduling conflicts, we were not able to complete the final phase.  This includes the drainage system and a regrading of the landscape to help with runoff.  Rest assured that this will be something we tackle right away in the Spring of 2023!

In addition to the walls, we removed some older plants and trees by the pool.  By doing this we cleaned up a couple of the landscape beds that were overgrown.  Heading into 2023, I will determine if those need to be replaced or how we might need to fill those spaces.

Stay warm this winter and please let me know if you have any questions!