Fox Point Update: February 2023 Edition
- On February 1, 2023
President’s Letter
By Abe Ryder | Email
By ABE RYDER
Greetings Fox Point Neighbors,
Happy February everyone! I am once again honored to have been elected to serve as your FPHA Board President for a second term in 2023. Fox Point is a special community for all its amenities, social activities, welcoming neighbors, and friendly families. I look forward to continuing to serve in this capacity for you.
January 23rd was an extremely active night for the FPHA. We held: 1) an election for new Board Members, 2) the last meeting of the 2022 Board, where we approved the 2023 operating budget, capital budget, and association dues (see Kyle’s report for more details), 3) the FPHA Annual Meeting and 4) the first meeting of the 2023 Board.
We had a number of homeowners in attendance for the FPHA Annual Meeting, who provided comments, and feedback and it gave folks a chance to interact with outgoing and incoming Board Members. Going forward, we really encourage folks to come and participate to learn a little more about what goes on behind the scenes at the Board Meetings and policy-making in the neighborhood. In terms of the election, we exceeded the 10% quorum required to officially certify the election. Thank you, neighbors! A big thank you to Tim Gall, our outgoing Secretary for all of the preparations and coordination of the evening’s activities including the in-person voting held at the Village Church. Another big thank you to our volunteer election clerks: Linda Griffin, Denise Jobes, and Vikki Joyce! We appreciate your commitment and service to our neighborhood.
Please read on below to get the scoop on local activities, as well as…wait for it…information on the 2023 Card Party and a survey link to Fox Pointer input on future social activities.
We thank our outgoing Board Members for their service. As a reminder, these Board Members started their terms at the beginning of the pandemic. Thank you to Tim Gall, serving as our Secretary streamlining how we conduct our meetings, managing our virtual and in-person meetings, and saving FPHA thousands by volunteering extra time to fix neighborhood odds and ends including filling a pothole in the pool parking; Rena Slovick, serving as Social Chair for her navigation and creativity through the pandemic, bringing back the Card Party after a couple of year hiatus and reintroducing us to the FPHA Triathlon; Mark Johnson, serving as Tennis Chair coordinating our tennis program and lessons and experimenting with Pickleball, bringing the fasted growing sport permanently to Fox Point; Criss Chang, serving as our Pool Chair managing IDPH guidelines during the pandemic and keeping the pool open, digitizing the way we reserve awnings and guest fees at the pool and coordinating all of the pool mechanical repairs! When you see these former Board members, please thank them for their service.
We also want to welcome our incoming Board Members: Taylor Shanfeld (Tennis Chair), Lindsay Keenan (Secretary), Melissa Pohl (Social Chair), and Criss Chang (Pool Chair – once again aiming to bring the pool experience to the next level).
We accomplished a lot in 2022 (see the January 2023 newsletter for a list of the accomplishments) AND we look forward to another productive year in 2023. Our next Board Meeting will be held on President’s Day Monday, February 20, 2023, at 7 PM via GoogleMeet. A post on NextDoor about a week in advance will provide more details to log into the meeting. 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.
PS. AND don’t forget that special someone on February 14th!
Treasurer Report
By Kyle Powal | Email
Your Board of Directors adopted the 2023 Annual Budget as proposed and published in December 2022 News which can be found here 2023 Annual Budget.
The 2023 Annual Assessment is $1,350.
Our CPA, Picker & Associates, will mail invoices to all owners of record before February, month-end. The Assessment is for the 2023 calendar year and will be due no later than March 31, 2023. If your mailing address has changed or if you do not receive an invoice by February month-end, please contact Linda Smith at Picker & Associates at 847-541-4000 for a duplicate copy of your invoice.
2022 Financial Statement
We are in solid financial shape while continuously replacing legacy infrastructure and continuing our commitment to restoring the health of our lake. Since 2015, we have invested more than $3.25 million into capital projects. All these investments were funded without incurring debt and/or imposing a Special Assessment.
2022 Review:
- 410 homeowners satisfied their 2022 Annual Assessment.
- All in, across all accounts, we have $800,000 in cash, of which $770,000 is in Capital Reserves.
Operating Expenses are mostly routine, recurring monthly, or seasonal expenses. Overall, we had a few surprises throughout the year so came in a bit over budget when compared to actual spending.
Capital Reserves are funds set aside and accumulated for major repairs, renewal, and replacements of assets as well as funding our ongoing commitment to restoring the health of Lake Louise. Overall, we had a slightly unfavorable variance, budget vs. actual spending.
Capital Projects targeted for 2023:
- Masonry Wall Restoration – $35,000 (due to inclement weather, we were unable to complete the project in 2022)
- Landscape Restoration – $10,000
- Main Pool Painting/Refinishing – $36,000
- Phoslock Treatment – $36,000
- Boat Landings Refresh (phase 1) – $65,000
- Lake Analysis/Inspection – $10,000
- Fish Stocking – $7,500
- Grills Near Pool – $5,000
- Pool Complex Repairs/Maintenance – $7,500
- Tennis Court Cleaning/Tree Trimming – $8,000
Further information about these projects and the 2023 budget can be found in the December 2022 Newsletter.
The 2022 compiled Financial Statement, prepared by our CPA, can be found here Financial Statement.
Social
By Melissa Pohl | Email
Thank you Fox Point residents for giving me the opportunity to serve you!
I’m going to try my best but know I may never fill the shoes of my predecessor. Thank you Rena for all you’ve done (you can’t hide from me and I have your number saved in my favorites). If you see Rena around, be sure to thank her too!
Fox Point Annual Card Party
The date has been set and the deposit has been made! April 28 at Makray Memorial Golf Club, so go secure those babysitters! For anyone new to Fox Point, this is a great way to meet new neighbors and make new friends. More details to follow soon.
A big WELCOME and thank you to our new Card Party Chairs Jen Moore & Kristin Powal for taking the lead on this event and a big THANK YOU to our former host chairs Melissa Mickey & Christie Hewlett who have retired from planning this event after many successful years. If you see them around, please thank them for all their hard work. We appreciate you and all volunteers!
To start my term, and over the course of this year, I would love input from you! What do you enjoy? What would love to see “come back” to Fox Point? For your convenience, I have created a google form (see below) for you to share your thoughts! Please put any and all thoughts in this document regarding social events & ideas!
Also, I’d love to continue Rena’s efforts by having subcommittees for our particularly large events. If there is an event you would love to tackle for our neighborhood, please also let me know so we can start planning together!
Please follow THIS LINK or scan the QR code below to complete the Fox Point Social 2023 INPUT FORM.
(A paper copy will be distributed as well!)
Architecture
By Andrew Shwarz | Email
The HOA Board, including its newly elected chairpersons, is now fully up and running on Google Workspace. Plus, the Boat Landing Refresh project is off to a fast start.
As this is a slow time of year in reviewing exterior alteration applications, my seat continues to focus on bringing the Board up to speed with our new virtual collaboration tools or “digital architecture”.
Also, I have begun early conversations and site visits with several landscape architects to ideate enhancements for the Boat Landings area, as the Board approved some capital budget to tackle necessary improvements there in 2023. The goal over the next few years is to create a more sustainable and inviting destination for our residents to fully enjoy our beautiful lake.
If you are considering exterior work to your home this year, kindly reach me HERE via email at architecture@foxpoint.org for a consult. Thanks!
Safety & Welfare
By Bill Graff | Email
Illuminate Yourself in the Neighborhood!
Hello neighbors, hoping 2023 is going well for all of you! My article is short this month, but with a strong message; PLEASE WEAR REFLECTIVE clothes, use a FLASHLIGHT, or at the very least, please switch ON the flashlight on your phone and walk with it in your hand when walking in the dark here in Fox Point. I have received many calls about several near misses and I wanted to relay this passionate plea to each of you to PLEASE equip yourself safely to avoid accidents in our neighborhood. Don’t have any reflective gear?
Here is the RESULT when I typed in “Reflective Gear for Walking at Night” on Amazon. Now I’m done, I sure hope all our walkers and runners will hear this message LOUD AND CLEAR – the life you save could be your own!
Tennis Report
By Taylor Shanfeld| Email
Hello neighbors! Thank you for electing me to the FP board as tennis chair!
First, a big thank you to Mark Johnson, for stewarding our great tennis program for the past 3 years and for implementing the installation of pickleball lines at the courts! Fox Pointers can now keep up with the fastest-growing sport in America.
A quick introduction. My husband, Steve, and I moved to the south side of Fox Point from the city in 2016. I grew up in the neighborhood and knew there was no better place to look for homes and raise our kids. We have two elementary-aged girls who have both been involved with summer tennis lessons for the past few years. I have very fond memories of participating in those same lessons myself each summer and continued to play tennis through high school. I look forward to facilitating as much play time as possible for all ages and to hopefully working some pickleball opportunities in there, too.
Currently, we are working through the logistics of tennis lesson offerings this summer and hope to have an update soon.
I would love to hear your thoughts and suggestions regarding our tennis programming so please don’t hesitate to reach out to me via email HERE or copy and paste this: tennis@foxpoint.org.
Common Grounds
By Jay Roberts | Email
Winter is finally here!
Common Grounds, this time of year is in maintenance mode! Obviously, the final phase of the monument wall project will be completed this Spring.
Until then, this is a good time to remind everyone of our snow removal policy. We are responsible for the sidewalks that extend up toward the Village Church down to Lines. In addition to that, we clean the pool parking lot, the school path on the southside, and the boat docks.
Please keep in mind that the paths will not always be clean first thing in the morning. They do try to get out as early as possible but that depends on the timing of the snow and how much snow we actually get. Our policy is for them to come out if there is a ½ inch or more. That can and is a subjective measurement. However, in most cases, they should come and remove the snow.
Ice is a different story but probably more important. We have to call the vendor and make a special request for ice. I try to keep up with this as best I can. However, if it’s missed, please let me know. I travel for work and so this can be missed.
Stay warm!!
Civic Affairs
By Mark Villalovos | Email
Allow me to be one of the first to wish you an early Happy Valentine’s Day and although the temps are cold, there is still plenty going on in and around our community.
Every year you probably say, “I really want to go see that.” and then the date passes and you miss it, but this year you’re in luck! Due to mild January temps, the 118th Norge Annual Winter Ski Jump Tournament in nearby Fox River Grove has been postponed until February 11 & 12 and you can still get tickets – details HERE
The Barrington Health & Wellness Summit February 22 – 24 will gather leading experts from all over the country to explore a variety of topics including cancer prevention, sleep, culinary medicine, microbiome, integrative medicine, nutrition, brain health, holistic healing, and more. Tickets and information HERE
The Barrington Area Digital Photo Gallery (“BADPG”) is currently soliciting new photographs to potentially be added to the site. One of the goals of BADPG is to annually add new images of the Barrington area to the site – hopefully from an increasingly broad spectrum of contributing photographers. See below for a couple that I submitted, and email your photos HERE.
Remember, there’s no such thing as poor weather, just poor apparel choices. Get outdoors and enjoy winter in Fox Point!
Lake Report
By Steven Kipferl | Email
Temperatures have been fluctuating this winter so please be aware that all residents and guests approach ice on Lake Louise at their own risk. Check the Nextdoor App as residents sometimes post ice thickness readings, but even these are just guidelines. Parents, ensure you are supervising your children if they are on the frozen lake.