Belvidere Prairie Place HOA

Archives: September 2023

Spring 2023 Newsletter

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Notes from the President of the Board.
Well, this has been another trying year. Due to the Covid 19 pandemic we had to forgo our annual “in person” meeting last November and conduct our quarterly board of directors meetings via Zoom. We continue to monitor email and calls to the association phone to stay current on all needed business.

It is all of our responsibility to act as good neighbors – keeping our grass cut, our homes and lots clean and clutter free and obeying all the local ordinances for Boone County and the City of Belvidere.
Please continue to be safe and healthy as the warm weather arrives and we all want to get out of the house.
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Christmas Decoration winners First Place was 665 Wheatland and Second Place went to 4199 Hearthstone. We will have our 8th annual Christmas Decorating Contest with the 1st place prize being a $50 and 2nd place a $25 gift card to a local restaurant again this year. You must be in good standing with your dues current to win. Also to make the contest more competitive, the same home cannot win the 1st place prize in 2 consecutive years. If you are not decorating your house and would like to be on the judging committee, please contact us. Prizes will be awarded for the most appealing lighting display. As a reminder, please make sure that your lighting and displays are removed after the Holidays as soon as weather permits.

The Annual Community Garage Sale Weekend will occur June 16 -18. This is a great opportunity to turn those unneeded items into cash and have some fun doing it. We will advertise in the Boone County Shopper.

Neighborhood Watch – we are still looking for a coordinator and street captains to work with the Community Officer from the Belvidere Police Department – Officer Blankenship. It is a proven fact that this program reduces crime and vandalism in communities that have an active Neighborhood Watch program. Please send us an email or call if you would be willing to participate in our program.

Solar Panels – We have had several inquires about the association’s rules on installing these panels. Only the city requirements need to be met. One homeowner that had them installed recently is very satisfied with them. There are some upfront costs to be considered. There are some minimal production days in the winter due to snow on the panels, but a recent electric bill was just for the standard delivery charge. There is a lot of info on YouTube and other websites to do research to see if this a good fit for your circumstances. Some reasons to consider installed solar are: Monthly savings on electric bill, environmental concerns and the provide a source of electric in the power grid fails.

If you notice a street light out near your home, please visit the ComEd website and do a search for street light outage.

We want to make sure that all the homeowners realize that we are a volunteer board. We are all still required to pay our dues just like all of you. We donate a lot of time each week and month having board meetings, working with real estate agents & attorneys when properties are sold, filing out various forms and IRS tax returns, keeping track of all the finances and paying invoices for various services, writing newsletters and going to the printer, stuffing envelopes, answering emails and phone calls from homeowners and working with our association attorney to name but a few of the tasks we perform. Our goal is to have a nice, safe neighborhood to live in and keep our property values from deteriorating. We still have 1 voting vacancy on our board of directors. This is your chance to have a voice and make a difference in our neighborhood.