Bluffs Annual Homeowners Meeting – 2016

Strawberry Point Bluffs Homeowners Association
Annual Meeting Announcement

Your attendance at the annual meeting is appreciated. The Bluffs need 25 homeowners to have a quorum.

Subject: Bluffs Annual Meeting
Date: Thursday, April 28, 2016
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Location: Hamburg Township Senior Center

Agenda: TBD

The SPBHOA Annual Meeting for 2016 will be held at the same location, date and time as Strawberry Hill Estates this year.  The Bluffs will be sharing the room, using a room divider at the Hamburg Senior Center.  Then, both HOAs can discuss topics pertinent to both neighborhoods, such as the Access and other concerns, if we are so inclined.  The Bluffs need 25 homeowners to have a quorum.  Dues need to be paid before the meeting, to be a member in good standing.  $50/year.

Study of Invasive Vegetation on Strawberry Lake – 2015

In 2014 the homeowners associations of Portage, Base and Whitewood Lakes commissioned a study of invasive aquatic vegetation on the Chain of Lakes. The completed study can be read online here: http://www.pbwoa.org/2015-weed-report/ or downloaded as a PDF version from our neighborhood website here: http://www.strawberryhillestates.org/?wpfb_dl=130 .

The report includes specific findings and recommendations regarding invasive species in Strawberry Lake.

Of particular concern is the fact that encroachment by these invasive species in Strawberry Lake has progressed beyond a point where mechanical harvesting (raking) can be effective. Associations are advised to use chemical treatments to reduce the vegetation levels, after which mechanical harvesting can be employed for vegetation control. (see page 98)

Estates Annual Homeowners Meeting – 2016

Strawberry Hill Estates Homeowners Association
Annual Meeting Announcement

Your attendance at the annual meeting is appreciated. One-third of the Members in Good Standing is required for a voting quorum.

Subject: Annual Meeting
Date: Thursday, April 28, 2016
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Location: Hamburg Township Senior Center

Agenda: See attached: SHEHA Invite – Annual HOA Meeting 2016

 

Dues Reminder: Payment of last year’s (2015) dues is required in order to be able to vote. Dues for 2016 are $75, and required by June 1st. Please make checks payable to Strawberry Hill Estates Homeowners Association and mail to the below address. If you have any questions about your dues, contact treasurer Craig Mestach at 734-417-9224.

Strawberry Hill Estates Homeowners Association
P. O. Box 833
Hamburg, MI 48139-0833

Annual Pontoon Slip Drawing – 2016

Slip Chosen Resident’s Name Street Address
1 Bill McManus 5171 Lisch
2 Andy Romes 10727 Strawberry Hill
3 Scott Landis 5272 Lisch
4 Sean Kass 5072 Lisch
5 Sue Patton 5219 Gallagher
6 Brian Erskine 4914 Gallagher
7 Larry Gauthier 5099 Lisch
8 Marge Allen 5200 Gallagher
9 Josh Slothower 10949 Indianola
10 Gary Phillips 5308 Gallagher
11 David Walmroth 5120 Lisch
12 Frank & Cynthia Nelson 5039 Gallagher
alt1 Janice Alex 5230 Gallagher
alt2 David Flynn 5135 Lisch

 

 

UPDATE: Tuesday, Friday March 4: Due to the inclement weather, the library will close today at 5:30pm. Our re-scheduled drawing for this evening is therefore cancelled. The drawing has been rescheduled for Tuesday March 15th 2016 at 7:00pm. Watch the Indianola billboard sign for the notice.
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To: All eligible homeowners in the Strawberry Hill Estates and Strawberry Point Bluffs Associations
From: Strawberry Lake Joint Park and Access Committee

Pontoon Slip Drawing
Tuesday March 15, 2016 (originally Wednesday February 24, 2016)
7:00 p.m.
Hamburg Township Library – Room B

This lottery is conducted pursuant to the rules adopted by the Joint Access Committee, in conjunction with the Boards of Directors of the Strawberry Hills Estates and the Strawberry Point Bluffs Homeowners Associations.

Either you, or your proxy, must be present to win and must be prepared to make a donation to the Park Access Committee at the drawing to confirm an assigned boat slip. If you have questions regarding eligibility or other requirements, please review the rules on this web site (link below) or contact a member of your Board of Directors.

Please review the drawing rules, especially rules regarding eligibility as an Association Member In Good Standing, i.e., your Association dues payments must be up to date. Check with your Treasurer to prevent any misunderstanding. You can find the rules here:

Pontoon Slip Lottery Rules and Procedure

Thanks —

Joint Access Committee

Help Wanted – Sunday, 11/8 – Bring Your Boat!

The Park Access Committee needs your help completing the annual Fall task of taking out the three buoys, the swim raft and the swim line. The date for the event is set for this Sunday, November 8, at 1pm.

It’s a pretty easy job, but requires a pontoon boat to tow the items to shore and then some muscle to lift them onto the shore. We’ve done it before with the boat and four or five strong people.

Please volunteer! Your participation would be greatly appreciated. Confirm your commitment to be there to me at memc@ieee.org. Bring your coffee and your work gloves, and we’ll have the donuts!

***************

Thanks —

Mary

Mary Eileen McLaughlin

What’s Happening at the Beach? Summer 2015 Update

From the Chairman of the Access Committee:

The Park Committee is active to improve our beach and park. We are doing the following:

1. Driveway: New stones should be installed within a week.

2. Goose control: The wood posts and strings we did last year will be done again, hopefully by this weekend. These worked in the pontoon area last year, but were less effective on the other side because the geese would walk up the beach to that grass. Therefore, we’ll be adding a Coyote decoy near the beach which reportedly scares the geese away. It will be on a chain, and can change position and location — feel free to move it if you’re around. Change is good! We’ll also try a silhouette for the raft, and hopefully swimmers won’t consider it a toy with which to play.

3. Raft: The raft earth-anchor has somehow moved, and at the earliest opportunity, we will try to put it closer to the swim line where it has been in the past. In the meantime, please caution your swimmers that it is further out than it has been, and further than it appears to be.

4. Buoys: When we re-seat the raft, we will install the buoy now at the lake which will have new stickers. We also have two new additional buoys to install.

5. Invasive weeds: The Eurasian Milfoil is an invasive plant in lakes, and is infecting many in the area, including Strawberry. Algae is also a big problem recently. The Eurasian Milfoil is choking out the beach area, and is a danger to swimmers in terms of entanglement. Also, if someone went down, it would be nearly impossible to find them. It is ruining the lakefront. We have a State permit to treat the beach and pontoon WATER for this invasive weed and algae the week of June 21st. Many other places on Strawberry Lake, including the group of homes directly across from us, and other lakes in the area, e.g., all of Hamburg Lake, are being treated similarly. Aqua Weed Control is doing the treatment. They treated Whitmore Lake and were recommended by Washtenaw County’s water conservation Director. Signs will be posted the day before, but there is no swimming for 24 hours after. There will be a second treatment in August.

6. One boat ramp cement slab on the side of the large one moved over the winter. Can anyone help to move it back in parallel with the large slab? Please let me know.

7. We’ll be putting in orange tie-downs for all the pontoon boats next year. Some owners already bought them, but everybody will have them next year.

Mary McLaughlin
for the Parks Committee.

Mary Eileen McLaughlin
memc@ieee.org
734-646-5363

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Beach proposed and actual maintenance and activity expenses - 2015 
(Not including regular expenses for grass, Lashbrook, etc.) 
 
                                                     Estimate   Total
Two buoys, shipped free with labels                   $264.00 $528.00 
Three swim line clamps (Recreonics)                    $10.30  $30.90 
One swim line pole                                     $35.00  $35.00 
Aquatic nuisance (invasive weed) control permit        $75.00  $75.00 
Aquatic nuisance (invasive weed) control herbicide
 treatment (Aqua Weed Control)                        $425.00 $425.00 
Goose barrier (wood posts and string)                 $100.00 $100.00 
Goose repellant grass application (FlightControl)     $265.00 $265.00 
Coyote predator decoy for geese (Gander Mountain)      $75.00  $75.00 
Stones for road and grading (Knight Excavating)       $800.00 $800.00 
Chain and 4 cemet blocks for new buoys                $100.00 $100.00 
Picnic table repair - materials                        $85.00  $85.00 
Picnic table repair - labor                           $100.00 $100.00 
Meijer's - Easter stuffed eggs                         $22.66  $22.66 
Amazon - Easter stuffed eggs                           $61.97  $61.97 
Amazon - Easter stuffed eggs                           $20.97  $20.97 
Misc. hardware, Wards - anchors and hooks for swim raft chain; auger end piece for swim line pole;
   line to tie swim line to poles; orange spray paint because pontoon people use poles(!);
   rod to put into poles to screw them down           $150.00 $150.00 
 
                                                      Total $2,874.50

Boards of Directors, Park Access Committee Members for 2015/2016

The Board Members for the 2015-2016 term are:

Strawberry Point Bluffs

President:  Craig Haitz
Vice President and Treasurer:  Dave Swanson
Secretary:  Carla Dalrymple

Members at large:

Laura McGinity
Steve Scheuring

 

Strawberry Hill Estates

President: David Walmroth
Vice President: Mary McLaughlin
Treasurer: Craig Mestach
Secretary: Mary McLaughlin

The Park, Joint Access Committee

Estates representative, Committee Chair: Mary McCaughlin
Bluffs representative: Steve Scheuring
Park Treasurer and Park Keys: Irene Gauthier

Annual Pontoon Slip Drawing – 2015

Drawing Results:

Slip #   Homeowner
1. McManus
2. Erskine
3. Allen
4. Gauthier
5. Patton
6. Alex
7. Phillips
8. Milliken
9. Slothover
10. Romes
11. Walmroth
12. Flynn
Alternate: Armour
=====

 

To: All eligible homeowners in the Strawberry Hill Estates and Strawberry Point Bluffs subdivisions
From: Joint Access Committee for Strawberry Point Bluffs and Strawberry Hill Estates Homeowners Associations

Pontoon Slip Drawing
Tuesday February 24, 2015
7:00 p.m.
Hamburg Township Library – Room B

This lottery is conducted pursuant to the rules adopted by the Joint Access Committee, in conjunction with the Boards of Directors of the Strawberry Hills Estates and the Strawberry Point Bluffs Homeowners Associations.

Either you, or your proxy, must be present to win and must be prepared to make a donation to the Park Access Committee at the drawing to confirm an assigned boat slip. If you have questions regarding eligibility and other requirements, review the rules on this web site (link below) or contact a member of your Board of Directors.

Please review the drawing rules, especially rules regarding eligibility as an Association Member In Good Standing. Years ago a neighbor was prevented from participating at the drawing due to unpaid dues. Check with your Treasurer to prevent any misunderstanding. You can find the rules here:

http://www.strawberryhillestates.org/?p=24

Joint Access Committee

Oak Wilt Disease, and Hammock Theft on Gallagher

This comment from Anne Swanson was hidden on the website under “Lost & Found.” Please note her information on Oak Wilt Disease. If you want to see a frightening example of how the disease spreads from one infected oak to another, look at the trees at the corner of Gallagher and Strawberry Hill Lane. Started with one infected tree, one month later there were two, now there are three.

 

Be warned! Our hammock was stolen from the yard recently. Theft and trespassing continues!

Contact me if you want free tree saplings of various sizes and species. You dig. Fall is a good time to plant. Cercis canadensis(Redbud)and Tilia americana (Basswood)are available and recommended highly for our area. Other stuff is available too.

The following oak wilt disease(fungal)information is from Gretchen Voyle, specialist with MSU extension and Lynn M. Steiner’s book “Landscaping with Native Plants of Michigan.” Red oaks can die in about 3 weeks. White oaks take 2-3 years. By the time we see symptoms it’s too late. It’s spread by root grafts. 80% of the roots are in 18-20″ of soil. The roots go 2-3 times farther out than the longest branch spread so if one side branch is 25′ than major roots are at least 50-75′ out. A circle of 100′ or more has roots. Insects infect trees by entering wounds caused by pruning or by root damage during construction. Don’t prune oaks while insects are most active, from April 1 to July 1. Oak wilt is mainly a problem with native stands. Trenching is not a scientific deal and causes root damage—it won’t really help. Injection must be used yearly and only prevents but won’t cure. Use a certified arborist for injections. Lets hope many trees are spared!

Anne Swanson
September 11, 2014