NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH
     Efforts to organize a Neighborhood Watch program in Crestlake are well underway.  Crestlake has been divided into 21 areas consisting of approximately 18 homes each.
     So far Block Captains have volunteered for 8 of the 21 areas.  That leaves 13 areas that still need Block Captains. The outlined areas in the map below still need a Block Captain. In the other areas of the map (not outlined), an asterisk indicates where the Block Captain lives and a systematic plan of response is in process of being developed.

NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH
     The Crestlake Homeowners' Association Neighborhood Watch Committee has been working diligently to develop a plan for a Neighborhood Watch program for Crestlake.
     Art Rapp authored letters, designed a map of his area and contacted his neighbors. He was gracious enough to share his work with the Neighborhood Watch Committee. The Committee was able to build on his work. Michele Guido divided Crestlake into 21 different areas (see the map below). She and Jim Brock developed informational letters for the entire neighborhood and arranged for them to be delivered to each home in Crestlake over the Easter Weekend.
     To paraphrase the letter, the Neighborhood Watch program benefits you by increasing safety for both your family and your home and encourages neighbors to get to know each other. The program needs as many people in our subdivision to participate as much as possible in order to make it effective. The program needs a Block Captain for each of the 21 areas to gather contact information for the people in their area, organize it onto a map that has been created and distribute it to their neighbors. If the Block Captain wants to organize neighborhood social activities, they can do so. Social activities increase the feeling of community and helps people get to know the other families in their neighborhood. If more than one person is interested in being a Block Captain in an area, they can arrange to share the duties. To date, Block Captains have identified for Areas 4, 8 and 15. So all we need are 18 more people to volunteer their time. Anyone interested in volunteering to be a Block Captain please come to the next Neighborhood Watch meeting on Thursday April 16th at 7 p.m. at the St. Joseph Township Building or contact Jim Brock, Michele Guido or Ginny Bolan.
     Neighborhood Watch meetings are scheduled at 7p.m. on April 16 and May 21 at the St Joseph Township Building to provide information to Crestlake residents interested in learning more about the program. Please join us if you can.

ANNUAL MEETING
     On January 25, 2009 the Annual Meeting for the membership of the Crestlake Homeowners' Association was held at the Prince of Peace Lutheran Church.
     Annual Reports were provided by the Treasurer, Ponds and Commons Committee, and Social Committee. 
     There was a discussion on the maintenance work that has been done so far on of the retention ponds, plans for future work being planned and how this work will be financed. The repairs on Hawthorne Pond are nearly completed and planning is underway for needed maintenance of Magnolia and Glover ponds. The Board is working on obtaining a loan to finance future work on the ponds.
     A Summary of the 2008 Activities was also provided for the membership.  The accomplishments include: election of a Board of Directors; establishment of committee leadership; renewal of liability insurance for the neighborhood association; filing of the CHOA tax return; completion of the annual report; renewal of the corporate certificate; collection of membership assessments; initiation of maintenance of the detention ponds; development of a 2009 operating budget, initiation of improvements in the accuracy of the membership; inquiries about a loan to fund pond maintenance; provision of maintenance of common areas, meetings with the Village officials; newsletters, updating of the Welcome letter for new residents; expansion of the Crestlake website; creation of a neighborhood babysitter list; investigation of a Neighborhood Watch program and "Crestlake Meeting" signs were purchased to insure that the membership is aware of upcoming meetings.