Hello neighbors,

As some of you may have noticed, there is a camera monitoring our subdivision entrance. In the event of a crime or a suspicious activity call 911. they have access to the footage. There has been an influx of break-ins in the neighborhood. Remember to lock your doors, windows, and vehicles. If you see suspicious activity do not be afraid to report it to the police.

Thank you from your HOA.

Notes from the President of the Board.

             I would like to thank the homeowners that attended our Annual Association Meeting in November at the Belvidere Community Building.  A special thanks to Office Blankenship from the Belvidere Police Department for attending the meeting and answering questions from homeowners. There was lively interaction from many homeowners about neighbors not being neighborly.  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. Riding off road, unlicensed vehicles on the streets of the subdivision or in the retention pond is prohibited. Violations should be reported directly to the appropriate enforcing authority i.e. police, city zoning officer, etc. 

           Some of the homeowners expressed concerns about suspicious cars in the subdivision.  Ideas were discussed and it was decided that the board would investigate contracting with a company to have a camera monitoring system installed at the entrance that would capture license plate information.  After reviewing several companies, the board voted to contract with Flock Camera Security Systems.  This system will capture license plate information on vehicles as they enter / leave the subdivision.  This information is stored for 30 days and will be able to be retrieved by law enforcement officials.  More information will be posted on the Association’s website as soon as the system is installed and specific details are available

Facebook Group: We now have a Belvidere Prairie Place Facebook Group. The group is private. Please search for Belvidere Prairie Place on Facebook or visit this web page and request to join:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/belvidereprairieplace/

Christmas Decoration winners were First Place 4100 Hearthstone and there was a tie for Second Place 4164 Fallen Oak and 4131 Hearthstone. We will have our 5th annual Christmas Decorating Contest with the 1^st place prize being a $50 and 2^nd 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 1^st 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 garage sale weekend will occur on June 13^th, 14^th and 15^h.  Our hope is to have better weather and increase the turnout in both sellers and buyers.  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.

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

For homeowners that like to leave their outside lights on at night, there are low energy usage, LED light bulbs on Amazon with a photo cell.  They turn on a dusk and off at dawn.  Right now you can get 6 bulbs for $24.

Some of you may have gotten notified by postcard or heard about a website and application called Nextdoor.com.  We now have our own Belvidere Prairie Place group.  Please review this site and join if you are interested.

We have decided to replace the fence around the retention pond.  It was installed at least 15 years ago and is in very bad shape. 

Our website is being updated on a regular basis.  Please make sure you check it often for new updates and announcements.  If you have suggestions for future enhancements – be sure to share them.

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.

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Fall 2018 Newsletter Items

Notes from the President of the Board.  I would like to remind all homeowners that it is all of our responsibility to act as good neighbors – keeping our grass cut, snow shoveled off the sidewalks, outside of our homes and lots clean and clutter free and obeying all the local ordinances for Boone County and the City of Belvidere.  Violations should be reported directly to the appropriate enforcing authority i.e. police, city zoning officer, etc.  The more residents that call the faster the city seems to respond to the issue.

Our subdivision looked pretty good this summer.  Many homes had beautiful flowers, shrubs and landscaping.  There were a few instances where yards were not mowed regularly and these were usually properties that were in foreclosure.  We try to work with the realtor and bank to get this taken care of as quickly as possible.

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This spring we accepted the bid from Three Oaks Landscaping Company.  This company is owned and operated by a resident in our subdivision and I am happy to report that service provided exceeded our expectations for the first season.  It is our intention to continue using Three Oaks for the 2019 season.

This year we are going to have our 5th annual Christmas Decorating Contest with the 1st place prize being a $50 gift card and runner up prize will be a $25 gift card to a local restaurant.  To make the contest more competitive, the same home cannot win the 1st place prize in 2 consecutive years.   Last year’s winner were First Place 4127 Brookstone and Second Place 4131 Hearthstone.  The judges will tour our neighborhood the week of Dec 17 to select the best decorated home.   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.

This Spring we had our annual garage sale on June 14^th, 15^th and 16^th.  The weather cooperated and we had a great turnout. We will definitely be doing this again next Spring. Watch for the Spring newsletter for the dates.

Neighborhood Watch – the board met and we have decided that our Neighborhood Watch will be a committee that will report to the full board.  April and Mary are going to be co-chairs of the Neighborhood Watch committee and drive our efforts to get the residents involved in ensuring we have safe place to live and raise our families.  Officer Blankenship has been invited to attend our annual meeting and answer question about the program.  Please let us know if you would like to be a part of this very worthwhile project.  Below is a survey that you can take to tell us about your concerns for the neighborhood and to join the Neighborhood watch team.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/SQTNN5Z

Some of you may have gotten notified by postcard or heard about a website and application called Nextdoor.com.  We have successfully changed the name to Belvidere Prairie Place.  Please review this site and join if you are interested.  There will be tips posted on this site about different things to lookout for to help keep our neighborhood safe.

We will now have our website updated on a regular basis.  Please make sure you check it often for new updates and announcements.  If you have suggestions for future enhancements – be sure to share them.

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.

Spring 2018 Newsletter Items

Notes from the President of the Board.

I would like to thank the homeowners that attended our Annual Association Meeting in November at the Belvidere Community Building.  There was lively interaction from many homeowners about neighbors not being neighborly.  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. Violations should be reported directly to the appropriate enforcing authority i.e. police, city zoning officer, etc.

Recently there has been an increase in suspicious activity in our neighborhood. There was a strange vehicle parked on Riverview and one of the residents called the police.  The police responded and the suspects were caught and arrested for various crimes committed all around Belvidere.  There has also been an increase in illegal dumping of trash, old tires and other debris in the back of our subdivision.  If you see anything out of the ordinary, try to get a description of the vehicle (including the license plate number) and the perpetrators and report the suspicious activity to the Belvidere Police department.

I would like to welcome a new member to our board – April Erber.  April will serve as a director at large and will assist with any special projects we have.

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Christmas Decoration winners were First Place 4127 Brookstone and Second Place 4131 Hearthstone. We will have our 4th annual Christmas Decorating Contest with the 1^st place prize being a $50 and 2^nd 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 1^st 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 garage sale weekend will occur on June 14^th, 15^th and 16^th.  Our hope is to have better weather and increase the turnout in both sellers and buyers.  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.

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

New Landscaping Service The board has approved a trial period for a new landscaping service to maintain the common areas of our neighborhood. We felt it was important to use the services of a company that was owned by a member of our community.  Beginning this spring, we will be using Three Oaks Landscaping.

Some of you may have gotten notified by postcard or heard about a website and application called Nextdoor.com.  We now have our own Belvidere Prairie Place group.  Please review this site and join if you are interested.

We will now have our website updated on a regular basis.  Please make sure you check it often for new updates and announcements.  If you have suggestions for future enhancements – be sure to share them.

http://belvidereprairieplace.com

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, filling 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 2 voting vacancies on our board of directors.  This is your chance to have a voice and make a difference in our neighborhood.

Fall 2017 Newsletter Items

Notes from the President of the Board. I would like to remind all homeowners that it is all of our responsibility to act as good neighbors – keeping our grass cut, snow shoveled off the sidewalks, outside of our homes and lots clean and clutter free and obeying all the local ordinances for Boone County and the City of Belvidere. Violations should be reported directly to the appropriate enforcing authority i.e. police, city zoning officer, etc.
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We are looking for bids from landscaping companies that have ties to our neighborhood. If you own or work for a landscaping company and would like to submit a bid for maintaining our common areas, please see one of the board members or you can call or email us for more details.

This year we are going to have our 4th annual Christmas Decorating Contest with the 1st place prize being a $50 gift card and runner up prize will be a $25 gift card to a local restaurant. To make the contest more competitive, the same home cannot win the 1st place prize in 2 consecutive years. Last year’s winner was 4100 Hearthstone. The judges will tour our neighborhood the week of Dec 18 to select the best decorated home. 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.

This Spring we had our annual garage sale on June 15th, 16th and 17th. The weather cooperated and we had a great turnout. We will definitely be doing this again next Spring.

Neighborhood Watch – we are still looking for a coordinator and street captains to work with the Community Officer from the Belvidere Police Department. 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.

Some of you may have gotten notified by postcard or heard about a website and application called Nextdoor.com. We have successfully changed the name to Belvidere Prairie Place. Please review this site and join if you are interested.

We will now have our website updated on a regular basis. Please make sure you check it often for new updates and announcements. If you have suggestions for future enhancements – be sure to share them. If you are a small business owner and offer a service that would be of value to the residents, send us an email and we can advertise for you on our website. You can send your submission in a PDF. Ideally you should include a special offer, discount or coupon to redeem by our homeowners. All submissions are subject to review by the board.

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 try to have a nice neighborhood to live in and keep our property values from deteriorating. We still have 3 openings on our board of directors. This is your chance to have a voice and make a difference in our neighborhood.

Spring 2017 Newsletter Items

Notes from the President of the Board.  I would like to thank the homeowners that attended our Annual Association Meeting in November at the Belvidere Community Building.  There was lively interaction from many homeowners about neighbors not being neighborly.  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.  Violations should be reported directly to the appropriate enforcing authority i.e. police, city zoning officer, etc.

I would like to welcome a new member to our board – Mark D’Angelo.  Mark will serve as Vice President and will be working on updating our website.  We are excited to finally have this vacancy on the board filled.

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Reminder – Two Homeowners received the Boone County Gardeners of America Yard of the Month Award.  In July Ann Fatas at 4160 Brookstone got the award and in August, Inocencia Salinas at 163 Landmark received the award.  Wouldn’t it be great if we could have more homeowners win again this year?

This year we are going to have our 3rd annual Christmas Decorating Contest with the 1st place prize being a $50 gift card to a local restaurant.  We had a difficult time selecting just one winner so this year we are adding a $25 2nd place prize as well.  Also to make the contest more competitive, the same home cannot win the 1st place prize in 2 consecutive years.   Last year’s winner was 4100 Hearthstone.  More details on the dates for the judging in our Fall News Letter.   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.

This Spring we will have our annual garage sale on June 15th, 16th and 17th.  Our hope is to have better weather and increase the turnout in both seller and buyers.  We will advertise in the 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.

Some of you may have gotten notified by postcard or heard about a website and application call Nextdoor.com.  Our geographic location is currently mapping us with the Greenview Estates group.  We are looking into the possibility of having our own Belvidere Prairie Place group.  In the meantime, please review this site and join if you are interested.

We will now have our website updated on a regular basis.  Please make sure you check it often for new updates and announcements.  If you have suggestions for future enhancements – be sure to share them.

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 try to have a nice neighborhood to live in and keep our property values from deteriorating.  We still have 4 openings on our board of directors.  This is your chance to have a voice and make a difference in our neighborhood.

Fall 2016 Newsletter Items

 We have accomplished a few of our objectives this year.  You will notice that the area around our entrance sign has been renovated and is looking pretty sharp.  We have completed the installation of our flag pole and dedication plaque.  In the spring we had a dedication ceremony attended by the board, the mayor of Belvidere, Mike Chamberlain and the Belvidere VFW honor guard. The vacant lots in the rear of the subdivision have been better maintained, with the removal of the unsightly dirt pile.  In our Spring Newsletter we asked the residents continue to contact the Belvidere Parks department and ask them to provide a park/playground nearer to our subdivision.  The phone number is 815.547.5711. It could be something that we share with Green View Estates.  Since there is no sidewalk or bike path along Newburg Road, our residents do not have a park that has safe access for our children to get to without being driven there.

BOONE COUNTY GARDENERS OF AMERICA  AWARD:

Two Homeowners received the Boone County Gardeners of America Yard of the Month Award.  In July Ann Fatas at 4160 Brookstone got the award and in August, Inocencia Salinas at 163 Landmark received the award. Congratulations and thank you for taking pride in your home and enhancing our neighborhood.

CHRISTMAS DECORATION CONTEST:

This year we are going to have our 2^nd annual Christmas Decorating Contest with the prize being a $50 gift card to a local restaurant.  Last year’s winner was 4100 Hearthstone.  You will need to have your property decorated by Dec . 12^th and the judging will be done by the board members on the evening of Dec.  15th. If you are not decorating your house and would like to be on the judging committee, please contact us.  Prize 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.

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.

PREFERRED TRASH COLLECTOR:

MDC has agreed to be our preferred trash collector.  In doing so, they have offered us a reduced rate of $48 per quarter.  They will provide a 96 gallon wheeled container at no additional cost.  You must mention that you are a resident of Prairie Place Subdivision when calling to set up new service or to call and get the reduced rate for current MDC customers.  The number is 815.568.7274

We are currently looking for a webmaster to manage and make updates to our website.  Please contact us if you are interested in this position.

ABOUT US:

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 try to have a nice neighborhood to live in and keep our property values from deteriorating.  We still have 4 openings on our board of directors.  This is your chance to have a voice and make a difference in our neighborhood.

Spring 2015 Newsletter Items

We thought it was time to update everyone about the happenings in the Subdivision and with the Association. As always, our goal is to work for, and with you to make Prairie Place an outstanding place to live.

HOME OWNER ASSOCIATION BOARD

The beginning of the year brought about personnel changes within the Board of Directors. There are vacancies. We still need a Vice President and two more voting Directors. This is a great opportunity for residents to get involved. At last year’s Annual Meeting we discussed initiatives that we would like to focus on. Here is your opportunity to make a difference and speak for the community. I encourage you to get involved and be a part of the solution.

BOARD MEMBERS

The Association Board currently consists of four officers:

Robert Easterbrook – President

Diane Vorndran – Treasurer

Kathleen Bauch – Secretary

Tammy Wyant – Director

PLAYGROUND

We continue to investigate and research ways by which we can create a playground area for our children. We would ask the homeowners to call the Belvidere Park District at 815-547-5711 and remain vocal that we need a safe area for our kids to play.

PREFERRED TRASH COLLECTOR

MDC Environmental has agreed to be our preferred trash collector. In doing so, they have offered us a reduced rate of $48.00 per quarter. They will provide a 96 gallon wheeled container at no additional cost. You must mention that you are a resident of Prairie Place Subdivision when calling to set up new service or to call and get the reduced rate for current MDC customers. The number if 815-568-7274.

WEBMASTER

The Prairie Place website continues to be a work-in-progress. We seem to take one step forward and two back every year. Our resource person who was going to update and maintain the site is no longer available. We are looking for a volunteer or two to help us maintain and update the website. The site at belvidereprairieplace.com is up and running, however there is no one to oversee content, mail, etc. We want this site to be a resource for families to include Association Budgeting data, area news, board meeting minutes, and announcements. We’d also like to make it a prace where residents with local businesses could advertise their services and/or products.

Please consider volunteering for this position.

SOCIAL DIRECTOR

We would like to form a committee that would assist in area gatherings and events like a block party, Holiday Parties, Garage Sales and our Annual General Meeting.

NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH

As you may already know, the Belvidere Police Department has brought aboard a new Community Relations Officer who will, among other activities, monitor Neighborhood Watch activity for the city. Officer John Fish is very enthusiastic about these programs. Some of you may have met him when he was visiting the subdivision last year. Statistics prove that areas with an active Neighborhood Watch have reduced criminal activity.

We are looking for Cell Captains and volunteers to help with activities. PLEASE donate some time to this worthwhile cause. Officer Fish would like to set up a meeting for all those residents that would like to participate in our Neighborhood Watch Program. Help us keep our neighborhood safe by sending an email to: prairieplaceil@yahoo.com stating that your are interested. Several residents expressed interest at the last annual homeowners meeting. Please send the email by June 30 and Officer Fish will send out a group email and set up a time and place for a kick off m

Remember if you notice any suspicious activity – please call 911 and report it to the Belvidere Police Department.

ENTRANCE LANDSCAPING

We are continuing our efforts to make our community a place we can all be proud to live in. We have contracted with a local landscaping company to refresh our entrance sign area. They are going to begin in the next couple weeks. We are also considering installing a flag pole and dedicate in remembrance of our nations’ veterans.

COMMUNITY AESTHETICS

We are very proud of our neighborhood and the progress we are making to make this an appealing and pleasant place to live and raise our families. Please continue to keep our neighborhood beautiful by adhering to the City of Belvidere Codes where lawn mowing is concerned. Also, please make sure that any remaining holiday lighting is removed from your property.

HOW TO REACH US

PPHOA Board members can be reached via email at prairieplaceil@yahoo.com or by phone at 815-323-9946. Email is checked as often as possible and there is always someone handling the phone line however, as we are all volunteers, we may not be immediately available to answer but we will return you call as soon as possible. You can also mail to us at PPHOA, PO Box 574, Belvidere, IL 61008.