In the November issue of the Signal, we wish to honor all those residents, and relatives of residents, who are currently serving in our armed forces and those who have served in the past. By October 25th, please email us your name and what service you are currently in or have served in. If you have any questions, please call Gunter Stein at 537-8827.

Email to: lakewinnebagosignal@gmail.com

Background:

The north shore, at the end of H Cove, has three nature trails within its woods. These trails were created and have been maintained through six different boy scout service projects. The trails consist of mulch donated by Grade A Tree service and bridges (dock ramps) donated by Williams and Macs dock companies. The HOA donated pizza and soda for the labor toward these efforts.

 

A few residents on the south side have asked the HOA for a nature trail there as well. To that end, the HOA assigned the next service project towards that effort and preparations for that project has been underway for a few months. In this case, the south side trail will accommodate a Boy Scout Eagle service project. There is potentially 1.5 miles of wooded area on the south side in which a trail could be made. The goal was/is to accomplish building this trail over time and through multiple service projects (whether boy scouts, girl scouts, or whatever service organization).

The first section was identified earlier this year and is about .25 miles long. This section has a ravine which requires a bridge to circumvent and of which building and installing it is part of the service project.

 

Project Status:

The BSA has recently approved this project (first .25 miles of trail) as a valid Eagle scout service project. The location of this first section has been identified and has been cleared and ready for mulch to be spread along the trail. September 21 is the date to have the troop (and volunteer residents) spread the mulch that would be donated and delivered by Grade A Tree service. The bridge will be built and in place before the troops arrive on 9/21.  

After this first section is complete, we will need to determine the path in the woods for the next sections. We expect this to occur after the leaves fall. With resident volunteers, we’ll mark the proposed next sections. Assuming south side residents approve of the new marked path, volunteers will begin clearing the area(s).

 

Recent change in project status:

Lake residents Lynette Toon (owner of Bluestone Pools) and her fiancé Nick Leo (owner of Leo Concrete) have offered to donate all materials and labor to build a 6’ wide concrete path the entire length of the trail. This includes the .25 miles identified for the first section as well as the rest of the trail once identified and cleared. The Boy Scouts will still build the bridge over the ravine in this first section. Note that it is expected that all future trail preparation, clearing, and any restoration work needed would be done by resident volunteers.

 

Next Steps:

Since concrete provides for a more permanent structure, the HOA board will discuss this in the next meeting scheduled for September 10. This meeting agenda item will provide a forum for residents to ask questions and/or voice their support and/or concerns. The board will then vote on whether or not to proceed with using concrete or mulch.

 

 

 

Dear Lake Winnebago HOA Members,

As part of the preparation for an update to the HOA’s Master Plan, a survey was sent out to the HOA membership in September to gather information and opinions from Lake Winnebago residents.  We received great feedback with 394 responses.  That is almost 70% of our membership!! Attached are the results of the survey (62 pages!) for all residents to review. 2018 Master Plan Survey Results

 

You will see that many of the responses are very positive, however, there are plenty of ideas for improvement. Hundreds of comments are included in the attached results.  One comment was excluded as it specifically named an individual who no longer lives at the lake. All responses and comments are anonymous.  As you go through the survey, please be aware that some of the bar graphs are a little difficult to read.  For instance, Question 9 asks about areas of focus for the HOA.  When you look at the bar graph, it appears that HOA Office Procedures got the most answers, when in fact it got one of the overall lowest 1 and 2 rankings.  Lake Health received the highest number 1 rankings.  If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Mike Collar, Master Plan Committee Chairman, any HOA Board member or the HOA office.

 

This is the first time the HOA has used the SurveyMonkey application.  We learned a lot from the process, and hope to make improvements on any other future surveys.  The survey was done with no direct expense to the HOA, with the help of volunteers and HOA employees. A special thank you to Mike Collar for all of his resources in the implementation of the survey.

 

The Master Plan Committee is still evaluating the results of the survey in an effort to best use the information to move forward.  The comments will be categorized and shared with all of the appropriate HOA committees, including the AYC.  There are even comments that relate to the City that we will share with them. Once all the information is sifted through, the committee will utilize the information to help develop a Master Plan for Board and member review.

 

The survey closed before the first Town Hall Meeting on October 15th, which discussed potential spillway development, including a possible road extension from the 600 Block of Winnebago Drive. More details were discussed during that meeting, and subsequent meetings to be held in December, which members may not have been aware of while filling out Question 16.

 

Thank you again to our wonderful membership for taking the time to share your opinions.  We are proud that over 99% of the responses indicate that Lake Winnebago is an Excellent or Good place to live!

 

Sincerely,

Lake Winnebago HOA