November 2022 General Meeting Minutes (Draft)

Minutes of the OTIA Annual General Meeting – November 2, 2022

Board Members present: Ken Hohs, William Yarbrough, Lisa Brickert, James Harms, Kevin Shifley, Jeff Kehr, Michael Denton, Steve Parker and Ramona Triebold.  Richard Rieck was present via ZOOM.

Members at Large and guests present:  Sarah Jakoubek, Josh Hogan, Paul and Denise Simmon, Tracy Kleinschmidt, Karen Marquardt, Wanling Raun, Henry Thompson, Diana O’Kelly, Alicia Dodd, and Officer Francis Foy.

The meeting was called to order at 7:03pm by President Ken Hohs. After introductions of the current OTIA board members, and members at large, we welcomed three guest speakers to share important information concerning the subdivision:

Diana O’Kelly, Fremont Township Supervisor

Mrs. O’Kelly reminded residents to sign up for her newsletter which is always filled with useful information and announcements affecting residents of Oak Terrace, the link could be found at fremonttownship.com website.

As this is an election year, we were reminded that there is early voting at the Township thru Sunday from 9am to 4pm.  On Monday you can still vote early at the Mundelein Fire Department at 1000 N Midlothian Rd, Mundelein.

She informed all the attendees that the township sponsors an “Adopt a Family” program and information for participating is available on the township website and will be featured in the newsletter.  Diana also reminded us that there is assistance available at the office including a food pantry (open 7 – 3 pm), energy assistance, and a diaper bank. She is grateful for the strong relationship between Fremont Township and the Oak Terrace community.

There were questions regarding Groot leaf pickup. Some residents commented on how the leaves were still sitting at the side of the road and therefore blowing around forcing residents to continually gather them together for pick up. Diana pointed out that though there should be at least 6 trips by Groot through the respective neighborhoods, the pickup is taking longer than anticipated.  Partly because the response to leave pickup is a larger task so since trucks have to continually return to Grayslake to unload when full they are not able to further in the pickup, partly because if there are items other than leaves i.e. rocks, branches in the piles, these are causing the vacuum to clog up and then time needs to be taken to clear it to continue.  She reminded residents to please ONLY place leaves in these piles to enable the vacuum to do its job more efficiently.

NOTE:  With the new contract with Groot, each resident is entitled to one electronics pickup per month (2nd Friday of the month) but you DO need to contact Groot to be part of the pickup. There is no extra charge for this service.

Services for senior citizens: 

  1. There is currently a Ship Medicare Counselor on staff to assist with Medicare sign up and reviewing and changing Medicare plans.  Appointments are necessary for this service.
  2.  Lake County has a Paratransit available for 60+ aged citizens for a nominal fee and is available with curb-to-curb service.  
  3.  State IDs for residents after 65 years of age are free at the DMV.

Alicia Dodd, Fremont Highway Commissioner

Mrs. Dodd reminded residents that we fall under Lake County ordinances.  Fremont is responsible for plowing, paving and tree-trimming (to maintain a line of sight) in our neighborhood but IDOT is responsible for the maintenance of Route 60/83.

Once snowfall occurs,

  • The township will be out clearing roads first between hours of 2:30am and 6am, then out again after 9am and evenings in order to avoid rush hours. 
  • When “salting” the roads they use a combination of salt and liquid as they are trying to use less salt due to environment concerns on the lake and erosion to the roads, bridges and sewer lines. 
  • The township has upgraded their equipment to minimize salt usage due to being equipped with an IPA that monitors salt usage, also drivers have been trained to be able to dial in application of salt.  As a result, our roads may turn white due to this reduction.
  • They have a snow blower attachment to help widen roads
  • Residents need to realize that large rocks placed in the right of way can cause damage to the trucks, if possible, please remove them or mark them as a hazard so the driver can see it

The Fremont Township road personnel will also be out in the fall to clean out storm sewers to enable flow of water.  Residents are asked to please keep sewers in front of their homes clear of leaves and debris to help prevent sewers from getting clogged.

Brush chipping will typically occur in the spring, fall and after a storm.

Senator Johnson and Representative were able to obtain funding for road repairs:

  1. Paving of roads in Oak Terrace
  2. Bridge repairs

When questioned who was responsible for repairs on Diamond Lake Road, Alicia that a portion was responsibility of Mundelein, and up to where the sidewalk/mulit-use path ends is Libertyville.  IDOT is responsible for drainage on 60/83.

To keep up to date with The Fremont High Commission news it is suggested residents sign up for the newsletter at:  https://fremonttownship.com/departments/highway-department

Francis Foy, Lake Country Sheriff

Introduced himself and let us know that the non-emergency number for his office is:  845-549-5200

He discussed the following issues:

  • Prescription/medication disposal is available at police stations (no liquid)
  • Popular current SCAM for residents:  Salesperson comes to door and indicates neighbor has authorized work and asked to come in back to look what is being done, meanwhile another individual enters the home from the front and commits robbery
  • If a resident is going on vacation, can call the office to have their home watched while they are away.
  • After hours noise – suggests attempting to talk to neighbor but then can call non-emergency number but cannot guarantee it will initiate ceasing the activity.

Public Comments:

Daughters of Resident, Tracy Kleinschmidt, would like to volunteer to help with the rain garden on Hickory along with Tracy.

Annual Minutes  

Minutes fromNovember 3, 2021 general meeting were distributed for review and approval. Tracy Kleinschmidt made a motion to wave the formal reading of the minutes and approve them, Josh Hogan seconded the motion and it was passed.

2022 Accomplishments – The board provided a review of the 2021-2022 projects/activities that were completed:

  • Summerfest was once again held later in the day and had another record attendance of over 200 people
  • Dead trees were removed at several of the parks
  • A new “curve” sign was installed on Willow as to meets Lakeview Ave.
  • New lights were installed at Lakeview Park

Proposed 2023 Budget – William Yarbrough, OTIA Treasurer, presented the budget proposed by the board to the membership. He stated the annual dues would remain the same as the past 4 years at $170.  The budget had been distributed to each member prior to the November meeting via US mail and copies were available at the meeting.

William noted that unless new charges for 2023 were communicated, all standard expenses were increased at 3% to account for inflation. To balance the budget, the remaining funds are applied to Miscellaneous Maintenance.  If more funds are needed for immediate maintenance needs, there are reserves set aside for these expenses as well.  It was agreed that reserves would be used for any necessary tree trimmings for the coming year.

Ramona Triebold made a motion to approve the OTIA 2023 budget as presented. James Harms seconded the motion and after a vote the budget was approved.

Treasurer’s Report

William Yarbrough presented the treasurer report, as of 9/30/2022.  OTIA has total assets of $70,358 which is comprised of:

  • Cash for Operations:  $26,732
  • Cash Reserves:  $33,499
    • Note: are funds received from boat slip rentals, ramp keys and beach FOBs
  • Outstanding Receivables:  $10,166

Collections are initiated for any accounts that are in arrears of $500 or more.  16 letters were recently sent to residents, of those:

  • 2 accounts were paid immediately
  • 2 accounts are making installments in Good Faith
  • 12 accounts went to collections:
    • 3 accounts were paid plus legal fees
    • 4 accounts are now making payments
    • 5 accounts have been unable to make contact with homeowner

To assist with reminding residents of their balance, statements are sent out quarterly with each edition of the Acorn.

Ken Hohs made a motion to accept the Treasurer’s Report as presented.  The motion was seconded by Rick Rieck and passed.

Election Results

The results of the election were reported by Michael Denton and Steve Parker and are as follows:

Elected to the Board for two-year terms:

  • Ken Hohs
  • Kevin Schifley
  • William Yarbrough
  • Ramona Triebold
  • Rich Rieck
  • Ron Butterman

There being no further business to discuss, James Harms made a motion to adjourn.  Jeff Kehr seconded, and the motion passed.  The meeting adjourned at 8:03pm.

Respectfully submitted by Ramona Triebold, OTIA Secretary

Please note that in Executive Session the board members were elected to positions as follows:

President – Ken Hohs

Vice President – James Harms

Treasurer – William Yarbrough

Secretary – Ramona Triebold

Facebook – Lisa Brickert

Communications – Kevin Shifley

The board decided on the following dates for future OTIA Meetings:

March 1st

May 3rd

June 7th

August 2nd

October 4th

November 1st – General Meeting

Summerfest date:  July 29th