Crestlake Homeowners’ Association
Newsletter
December 29, 2008
News You Need To Know
Meetings
The Annual Meeting for the membership of Crestlake Homeowners’ Association is scheduled for Sunday, January 25, 2009. This important meeting will be held at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, 802 E. Douglas St. beginning at 3:00 p.m. A regular meeting of the Board of Directors will also be held immediately following the Annual Meeting. Agendas for both meetings will be posted for your convenience at Creastlake.org and signs will be placed throughout the subdivision prior to the meetings.
Ponds
One of the agenda topics is the remaining remediation of the ponds in Crestlake. Information on this important subject can be found on the enclosed ballot.
Obviously installing rocks around the ponds is expensive. This is a reminder to not throw these rocks into the ponds. Kids, don’t throw them. Parents, tell your children not to throw them. Fishermen, if you accidentally dislodge rocks, replace them. Thanks to all!
Board of Directors
Your Board of Directors consists of five officers and four general members. As you know, volunteers fill these positions. You may not know that there are currently two vacancies to fill – secretary and general member. Please volunteer yourself or a willing neighbor. When shared by a full board, the commitment is not too demanding. Obviously it would be easier to just pass the responsibility off to anyone else, but there really is no good alternative. Please volunteer by going to Crestlake.org or call the board at 353-LAKE.
St. Joseph Stormwater Infrastructure
Since August your Board of Directors has been monitoring the progress of the stormwater infrastructure project in the Village of St. Joseph. The Village is planning to replace aging and undersized storm sewers and improve public safety through flooding reduction.
The Crestlake board commends the Village for addressing this issue. Many parts of St. Joseph’s stormwater system are aged and undersized. Crestlake homeowners have seen the results of this because of flooding on E. Grand Avenue and Park Avenue. The flooding occurred because some of the tile system is inadequate between Crestlake and the Salt Fork west of town.
Crestlake board members have been attending Village board meetings and committee meetings, and we want to bring you up to date.
The Village has determined that a stormwater infrastructure fee is the most equitable way to fund this project. Various fees have been discussed, but at this time, it appears that every homeowner in St. Joseph will be charged $10.00 per month.
Crestlake board members have repeatedly asked Village officials to charge Crestlake homeowners a reduced fee because the ponds in Crestlake are part of the Village’s stormwater system. They collect heavy storm runoff and discharge it into the Village’s tile system at a controlled rate. Also the Crestlake homeowners are personally funding repairs and maintenance of the ponds through the association dues paid to the Crestlake Homeowners’ Association. In addition, the storm runoff from the homes on both Glover Courts goes into Glover Pond which discharges into a drainage district that is not part of St. Joseph’s stormwater infrastructure.
We are sorry to report that the Village has refused to consider a reduced fee for Crestlake homeowners. If you feel strongly about this matter, please take the time to express your personal feelings to Village officials. You will find their contact information in the Web Links section of Crestlake.org or in the phone book.
Neighborhood Activities
Your board wants to thank the volunteers that made the Second Annual Halloween Parade and Festivities such a wonderful event. In spite of the wind, it was enjoyed by all the children and parents. Also, thanks to St. Joseph IGA for its generous donation.
A big Thank You also goes to the volunteers who successfully created the Crestlake Babysitters List. It contains contact information for many babysitters and they are always looking to add more. New babysitters may sign up at Crestlake.org. Crestlake residents may request the list at Crestlake.org.
Your board has definitely decided to establish a Neighborhood Watch program in Crestlake. Organizational information has been gathered from the Champaign County Sheriff and the Village of St. Joseph. A kickoff will occur soon and will be announced in an email newsletter and at Crestlake.org.
Several Crestlake residents have expressed a desire to see if there is interest in a variety of social activities like cards and Bunko. Lori Kietzmann (469-2241) has talked to people and they are looking for interested residents to give their input and/or help get ideas organized. You may post your ideas in the forum at Crestlake.org or call Lori.
Kelly Skinner (kmiller_in@hotmail.com) would like to see if there is interest in starting a book discussion group. Her idea is to discuss good literature over a glass of wine and meet some new friends in the process.
Your board encourages Crestlake residents to never hesitate to approach us with these ideas for social activities. Although the board members may not be able to personally organize and lead these ideas, your board is committed to help publicize neighborhood social activities via the website and email newsletter.
Newsletters via email
As you can tell, there is plenty going on in Crestlake. Due to the high cost of postage and copying, newsletters like this are mailed only once or twice per year. Newsletters and announcements sent via email are the primary method of communicating with Crestlake residents. Your board strongly urges you to visit Crestlake.org and sign up to receive additional announcements like this via email. We promise that we won’t bombard your Inbox with junk.
Contact Us
On the Internet
www.crestlake.org
U.S. Mail
Crestlake Homeowners’ Association
P.O. Box 325
St. Joseph, IL 61873
24/7 Hotline
353-LAKE (217-353-5253)
