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2026 Annual Meeting Packet

The electronic version of the 2026 Annual Meeting Packet is ready and can be downloaded from the Owner’s Section of the OLCA website.

DOWNLOAD THE 2026 OLCA ANNUAL MEETING PACKET

Save the Date: May 5^th

Our Declaration, which is the major governing document for Overlook Lakes, calls for the annual meeting to be held on the first Tuesday in May. This year, that date falls on May 5^th. While those who celebrate Cinco de Mayo may already have that day marked on their calendars, we encourage you to mark May 5^th on your calendar and plan to participate as it’s important that we have a quorum.

Location

The meeting will take place at Greendale High School in the multi-purpose room. You will receive a map in April to help you find the exact location.

Time

The meeting is scheduled to begin at 6:00 p.m. and will likely conclude by 7:30 p.m. These meetings are not lengthy, but are essential to conducting business for Overlook Lakes.

Purpose

The annual meeting is required by law, helps owners stay informed about association finances and foreseeable plans, and provides a forum to express your desires and concerns while hearing from other owners as well.

Elections

Annual meetings are also when board members are elected. This year two board members will be elected. (Eric Van Ert is completing a 2-year term and Forrest Bivens is finishing a 1-year term.) Both have expressed a willingness to stand for reelection, but having more candidates is preferred. If you or someone you know is qualified and willing to stand for election, wonderful!

Information for “Expectations for Board Members” may be found here. Nomination information and forms may be obtained at the Office.

Community Service Award Nominations

Speaking of nominations, you are invited to nominate someone among us to receive a “Community Service Award” that acknowledges greatly appreciated activity carried out by one or more of our neighbors. To nominate someone for this honor, please email the board at . More information may be obtained here.

Thank you and we look forward to your attendance on May 5^th!

As we end 2025 and look forward to 2026, we wanted to give you a summary of all the work our dedicated B&G landscape volunteers have accomplished this past year.

In 2025 our volunteers planted 45 bushes, 206 perennials and 9 trees. In addition, volunteers watered, pruned, trimmed, edged, fenced, and weeded all over our 24 acres.

Total logged B&G landscape volunteer contribution was 641 hours. If we apply an average $120 contractor rate, that equates to $76,920 of saved association money or $418 per unit. Total cost for plants and materials was about $3,000. This included tools that we will be using in future years.

Area behind Building 45, before & after

One of B&G’s goals is to increase the health of our landscape with biodiversity. When Overlook was developed only a few types of plants were installed. Our new list of plants includes a variety of native bushes such as winterberry holly, staghorn sumac, snowberry, buttonbush, cinquefoil, native trees such as tamarack, river birch and alders, and native perennials such as sunflower, Joe Pye, marsh milkweed, iris, and grey-headed coneflower. In addition, we seeded and sodded many areas that were in need of grass.

Next year our volunteer projects will include revamping gardens, installing plants in sparse gardens, and continued monitoring of water needs and new plantings. We are already assembling a list of trees, bushes, and perennials to plant beginning in early May, and making proposals to the board for volunteer landscape projects.

B&G Landscape Committee

If you have questions on landscape volunteer work, email

Update 12-1-25

Now that we are through the recent snow event, we need to acknowledge the fact that things did not go as planned and that many owners were quite unhappy with the service that they received. Unfortunately, the first snow of the season was a bit overwhelming and even surprised the weather forecasters.

We have taken a close look at what worked and what didn’t work and have communicated our concerns and expectations to KEI. We will be meeting with them later this week, onsite, to review our expectations moving forward and to point out what we felt went wrong, and discuss remedies. Topics include:

• How to Report Concerns During a Snow Event
• Contractor Safety Concerns and Labor Laws
• Woodbridge Drive Parking

Winter will soon be upon us! The following points are all procedures owners need to know, and to begin preparing for before the snow starts to fall. We have a new snow removal contractor, KEI, and have communicated our high expectations of their performance this winter. Please understand that snow removal operations can occur at any time during the day or evening.

This article contains topics related to:

• Garages & Vehicles
• Driveways, Walkways & Patios
• Downspout Extensions
• Contractor Interaction
• Woodbridge Drive
• Snow Removal Starting Point

To simplify the process when condo owners experience problems, a new Condo Problem Submission Form has been created replacing the old Work Order Request Form. This Condo Problem Submission Form should be submitted when owners notice a landscape or building problem, or a problem around your building or complex.

Examples include issues with any of the following:

• Tree, bush, lawn, garden
• Irrigation, heads, sprinklers
• Building trim, bricks, soffit, bib
• Driveway, sidewalk, cobble rocks, street
• Roof, gutter, vents

The form allows owners to include a description of the issue and provides an opportunity to offer a solution. Completed forms should be emailed to the Building & Grounds Committee  and the Overlook Lakes Office  You can also drop off hard copies at the Overlook Lakes Office, 8601 Westlake Dr. A response will be to you within a week.

In addition a new Owner Exception Request Form has been created replacing the Common Elements Request Form. The Owner Exception Request Form should be used when owners are asking for permission to do something outside of the normal condo rules.

For example, owners may place pots, flags, statues, and other decorative items on their patio, balcony or sidewalks and garden areas per our condo rules. See Rules of the Association. Limited in-garden planting by owners around buildings and the complex, or other exceptions to our condo rules, are allowed only after receiving written approval and evaluation by association management of your specific request and its location. Please submit the Owner Exception Request Form and provide a detailed description (what you’d like to do and where you’d like to do it) of your request.

Email completed forms to the Buildings & Grounds Committee . You can also drop off hard copies at the Overlook Lakes office, 8601 Westlake Dr. Please do not email or call board members, committee members, or volunteers. A response will be to you within a week.

We’re all neighbors and volunteers, thank you for helping to keep Overlook Lakes Condos landscape healthy and beautiful!

Beginning September 9 through September 11 the buildings shown below will be receiving new driveways. The dates are weather dependent and are subject to change. During this time, and for an additional three-four days while the driveways are closed, the owners of these condos will be using guest parking or will be parking on Woodbridge or Westlake.

• Buildings 41/42: 8705, 8707, 8761, 8763, 8765, & 8767 Westlake
• Buildings 45/46: 8889, 8891, 8893, 8895, 8933 & 8935 Westlake
• Buildings 21/22: 8777, 8779, 8861 & 8863 Woodbridge

Please be advised to use caution around these buildings and watch for construction traffic, especially on Woodbridge. For an additional three-week period after the driveways have been opened no delivery trucks or commercial traffic will be allowed on these driveways.

Should you have any questions please direct them to:
.

Thank you in advance for your help in insuring a safe and successful project!

Your Buildings and Infrastructure Committee

As we come to the end of the summer, please keep in mind that owners should not discard cuttings or dump the contents of pots into flower beds and bushes. Not only is this unsightly for our neighbors, it also obscures our expensive wood chips that we would like to preserve.

Please place all cuttings and contents of pots under a tree by the road and our contractor will pick them up.

Thank you and thank you for helping to keep Overlook Lakes Condos landscape healthy and beautiful!

Save The Date!

The Annual Meeting of the Overlook Lakes Condominium Association (OLCA) will be held Tuesday, May 6, 2025, at the Greendale High School Multi-purpose Room and will begin at 6:00 pm. Please mark your calendars and plan to attend. Further details are provided in the Annual Meeting packet.

2025 Annual Meeting Packet

The electronic version of the 2024 Annual Meeting Packet is ready and can be downloaded from the Owner’s Section of the OLCA website.

DOWNLOAD THE 2025 OLCA ANNUAL MEETING PACKET

Interested in Serving on the OLCA Board of Directors?

Members of the OLCA who wish to nominate a person(s) for an open term and members who are being nominated must be current in their dues.

A “Candidate Nomination Form” must be completed and returned to the Overlook Lakes Management Office.

Download the “Candidate Nomination Form”

A blank form will also be included in the April packet sent to OLCA members. The term of service for each nominee must be specified, and the nominator and the nominee(s) must sign and date the form.

What are Board members expected to do?

1. Be prepared to serve a minimum of a 1-year term as an officer (e.g., President, Vice President, Secretary or Treasurer). Officers are elected by the Board within two weeks of the Annual Meeting. There can be only 1 “Director”.
2. Have a working knowledge of and agree to abide by and administer the OLCA condominium property in accordance with the Declarations of Condominium, By Laws and Rules.
3. Be prepared for, attend and actively participate in all scheduled meetings. Meetings are regularly held on the third Wednesday of each month at 6:15 pm at the Overlook Lakes Management Office. Special meetings may be called as needs arise.
4. Between meetings, be prepared to actively participate in discussions and email exchanges among Board members. These discussions and email exchanges involve timely decisions and actions on behalf of residents.
5. Be willing to undertake additional tasks or projects as needed.
6. Be proficient in the use of email and the preparation and sharing of Word, Excel and PDF documents.

The full description of the powers and duties of Board members can also be found in the Overlook Lakes Condominium Association By-laws in Article V, Section 3.

You have probably noticed the red and green ribbons tied around our trees that appeared in the last few weeks. And you might have wondered what in the world are those for? Well, our own Building and Grounds (B&G) volunteers have been working with SavATree Tree Service to identify trees that need pruning or removing. The goal is to make a comprehensive list and then prioritize the work.

Currently we are awaiting a proposal from SavATree so we can schedule and prioritize. Once we have costs, we will determine what work can be done this season.

Trees with green ribbons are recommended for pruning. SavATree will prune low hanging limbs, dead limbs, and limbs that are interfering with buildings. Trees with red ribbons are recommended for removal. Most of these are diseased and/or a potential hazard to people or buildings. Note that none of the red ribbon trees are in danger of falling immediately.

Stay tuned for more updates as B&G volunteers work through this necessary project. If you have questions feel free to contact Melanie Rogers chair of B&G.

Landscaping Season Is Approaching—What Can You Do?

Overlook Lakes is blessed with above-average acreage that calls for above-average landscaping. It’s no secret that we’ve had landscaping challenges recently. Our primary contractor (Villani Landshapers) has had personnel problems and our Building & Grounds Committee is understaffed. What can YOU do? (1) We need people who can focus on our buildings, to periodically look them over and report needs in their exteriors. (2) We need people who can pay attention to our grounds, to focus on shrubs, trees, grass, and keep the board and property manager informed. Our Board of Directors doesn’t have the time to do this well. If you would welcome more information on what is normally involved here, please let the board know.

Annual Meeting Is Set for May 6th

Please mark your May calendar and reserve the evening of Tuesday, May 6th, to participate in the OLCA’s Annual Meeting. 6:30 p.m. is the starting time. We meet in the multi-purpose room at  Greendale High School. The election of three members of the Board of Directors is on the agenda, as are reports and discussion of matters that affect all owners.

Want to nominate board members? Nomination forms may be found and downloaded from our website or may be picked up at the Office. Nomination forms need to be filled out and submitted prior to the meeting.

The Next “New Owners Q&A” Session is Scheduled for April 9th

Wednesday, April 9, at 6:30 p.m., is the time the next Q & A session for new owners (or any owner seeking to review information on getting things done at OLCA) is scheduled. Because of limited seating, please RSVP with Tonia at the Property Manager Office (414-427-5715).

From mid-December 2024 to mid-January 2025 a group of owner volunteers was busy trimming and pruning our Austrian pines, hawthorns and crabapples. Under the direction of the Buildings & Grounds committee, led by Melanie Roberts, the group pruned 63 trees and logged 52 person hours over 19 work days. We estimate the task saved our association $6000 in contractor fees.