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Help Avoid Costly Water Leaks

For owners planning to spend this winter in the south, following is a list of items you need to address before you depart. Doing so will help prevent damage to your unit and your neighbors’ units due to clogged, displaced or faulty water lines.

In addition to addressing the items below, please send an email to so that the Board of Directors has a list of units that will be vacant this winter. The list will only be shared with the Overlook Lakes Management Office and will otherwise be kept strictly confidential.

1. Have your furnace serviced, being sure the drain line is clear and securely inserted into the floor drain in the utility room. Clogged and displaced drain lines on furnaces have caused water leaks in the past.
2. Be sure the drain line from your hot water heater is clear and securely inserted into the floor drain in the utility room.
3. Have the water supply lines in your kitchen, bathrooms and utility room inspected to ensure there are no leaks. Failed supply lines to faucets, toilets and washers have also caused water leaks in the past. If you still have the original lines, it’s recommended that they be replaced with upgrades.
4. Shut off the water supply valves to your toilets.
5. Keep your thermostat set to at least 60 degrees.
6. Leave your lower kitchen cabinet doors and bathroom cabinet doors open to ensure adequate heating and air flow to prevent freezing of pipes.
7. Ensure the Management Office has a local contact should there be an issue needing attention.
8. Ask a family member, relative or friend to periodically check the interior of your unit throughout the winter to ensure all is well.

An additional measure for avoiding water leaks is for you to shut off the main water valve to your unit and to turn off the circuit breakers to your hot water heater. In eight-family units, the water valve is located in or above the hot water heater. In four-family units, the water valve may be concealed in the dopped soffit.

If you need help locating the correct water valve and circuit breakers, call the Overlook Lakes Management Office at least one week prior to your departure to schedule a date and time for property management staff to show you where each is located.

Repairing damage due to water leaks caused by clogged, displaced or faulty water lines is a long and costly process. Significant sections of drywall, insulation, baseboards and flooring often have to be removed and replaced. Please understand that if a water leak originates in your unit, you will be responsible for the cost of repairs to all affected units.

Thanks in advance for your cooperation.

If you have questions, email or call the Management Office at 414-427-5715.

Sincerely,

Your Overlook Lakes Board of Directors
Your Buildings and Infrastructure Committee

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!

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.

The Greendale DPW just installed four new baby trees on Westlake Drive. While the village’s contractor is supposed to do some watering, the village would appreciate it if we would also help water.

New trees need consistent moisture to thrive. The ground should be damp, but not muddy. We accomplish this by dumping a bucket of water around the trunk every couple days. If it rains, we are off the hook.

This volunteer job is not being coordinated but rather just announced. Thus, if you feel inclined to help, walk over and dump a bucket of water.

Watering should occur this entire growing season. So, feel free to dump a bucket of water anytime in the next several months.

P.S. We are expecting to plant our own trees and bushes this year as well. Stay tuned for more watering helping announcements!

Locations on Westlake approximately in front of:

9050 apartment side
8926 apartment side
8705 condo side bldg 41
8647 condo side bldg 40

Procedure For New Windows

As spring and summer approach (yea!) the most common season for replacing windows in our condos is also coming. Especially for new owners among us, but also for all owners, this is a reminder about procedures needed to get approval of newly selected windows. The OLCA Declaration, Article 8, prohibits alterations to the external appearance of our buildings. Replacing windows with Low-E [low emissivity; energy-efficient] windows is potentially prohibited because of colorization or “tinting” issues that invariably occur. Unfortunately, the more energy-efficient new windows are, the more “colorization” results, changing external appearances. The good news is that energy-efficient windows can still be used, though with limitations. An approval form you can download from the OLCA Website (or get from the Office) informs the Board and Property Management and obtains approval for specific window models. This form allows Owners to request permission to replace windows with windows that are acceptable. Share the following with your potential vendor: (1) Our VT [visible transmittance] rating limit is in the 0.5 range, (2) we allow only 2 panes of glass, (3) we allow a maximum of 8 layers of reflective metallic shield coatings on the glass, (4) the exterior color and grid styles must remain the same as the original, and (5) [if the vendor and specific window model have not been previously approved], we ask to speak with a vendor agent, view a specification sheet and sample (if possible) of the proposed window before giving approval. Thank you for following this procedure.

Reviving The Buildings And Grounds Committee

It is no secret that Overlook Lakes is blessed with above-average acreage that requires landscaping—and above average landscaping over the years. We want to keep it that way, so we’re hoping to revive a functioning “Building and Grounds Committee” to serve all of us. We’ve enjoyed having this Committee serve us so well for many years. But for a variety of unusual reasons, the Committee lost key members and has become inactive since last year. Our hope is that interested people among us will come forward and investigate ways they can serve to maintain our property by identifying needs and recommending solutions that are always on our agenda. The Board of Directors simply doesn’t have the time to do this well. So if you are interested, or would welcome more information on what is normally involved here, please let the board know.

Mark Your Calendars For the 2024 OLCA Annual Meeting

Now is a good time to mark your May calendars and reserve the evening of Tuesday, May 7, to participate in the OLCA’s Annual Meeting. 6:30 p.m. is the starting time. We’ve already begun efforts to reserve a venue at Greendale High School and, if any changes to the time and place are necessitated, we’ll let you know. Election of members of the Board of Directors is on the agenda along with a variety of reports. We’re looking for men and women among us who are willing to stand for election as Board members, and we ask YOU to consider this. Nomination forms are available on our website as well as at the Office.

Thank you!
OLCA Board of Directors

The company that is cleaning gutters and downspouts plans to begin their work on Monday, November 13. If you see trucks near your building and workers making their way to your roof, do not be alarmed. The workers do not need to enter any of our units to do their work. And while they plan to start Monday morning, it might take them more than one day to finish—so be patient if necessary.

We now have a contract with the company that cleaned all of our dryer vents and installed new roof vents a few years ago. The plan is to have them clean dryer vents in half of our buildings in 2024 and do the second half of our buildings in 2025. Meanwhile, we all have the responsibility to remain vigilant to the potential build-up of lint and other obstructions in our dryer vents. This is a major cause of fires in utility rooms and homes nationwide. If your dryer appears to be over-heating while drying clothes, or if you see any evidence of lint building up in your appliance or vent, please take this seriously and take steps to have them cleaned.

It is our hope to have the 2024 OLCA budget information in your hands by the middle of December. With the budget (which is now being worked on by our board and property manager) will come information on revisions in our monthly HOA fees, if there will be revisions. This will give all owners sufficient time to plan for possible changes in monthly payment amounts. For example, it gives us time to adjust our ACH [Automatic Clearing House] accounts by the first of January, when any changes would go into effect. If anyone has yet to set up an ACH account [the primary system that agencies use for electronic funds transfer (EFT)] for paying their monthly HOA fees, we encourage them seriously to consider doing so.

Some of you may already know that Cecily, SCI on-site property manager in the office, has moved on to another type of work. We thank her for serving us and look forward to meeting and being served by her successor. SCI is currently interviewing candidates. Meanwhile, Cheryl Gasperetti, who served OLCA for many years until her retirement, is now serving in the office on a part-time basis. And while it’s not 100% certain, our new property manager may have already been found! Tonia Luna has been offered the position if she wants it, is being introduced to the position by Cheryl, and may well be the one to serve all of us plus those in the rental apartments! If so, welcome, Tonia!!