Stone Creek Subdivision HOA -

Stone Creek Subdivision
Spring Community Beautification Day
Saturday, April 23, 2022
9 am - noon
(Rain date Sunday, April 24, noon – 3 pm)

Come one – come all, individuals and families!
Meet your Board members and neighbors and help keep the boulevard beautiful!
Check in stations:
Windsor Road entrance and High Cross Road entrance

Bring any or all of the following: Gardening gloves, weed diggers, kneeling pads, weed whackers, pruners, leaf blowers, hedge clippers, rakes, buckets, shovels, edgers, wheelbarrows (lawn and trash bags will be provided)
Activities to do:

Cut down ornamental grasses
Cut back sedum and mums
Cut back catmint
Weed and edge flower beds
Spread mulch in flower beds
Weed and rake up needles and twigs under pine trees (Muirfield and High Cross)
Pick up trash & clear and collect leaves, debris from storm sewer grates

Please email Jessica, shawlarosa@gmail.com, to indicate your willingness to help, name and number in family, which activity you can do, and which station you plan to check-in
Water and granola bars will be provided.

Dear New Stone Creek Homeowner,

On behalf of the Stone Creek Subdivision Homeowners Association (HOA) and its Board of Directors, we would like to welcome you to our wonderful community. We are so pleased that you decided to live in Stone Creek, and we hope that you will enjoy the many amenities close to us such as walking and biking paths, and our proximity to many local parks, grocery stores, pharmacies, downtown Urbana, as well as the University of Illinois. Below is some important information about our subdivision and HOA.

The HOA has an annual assessment that is used primarily for the maintenance of the Commons Areas, which are principally the medians along Stone Creek Boulevard as it winds its way from Windsor Road to High Cross Road. We maintain one pond at the Windsor Road entrance and some of the flower beds at the Windsor Road and High Cross Road entrances. The annual assessment is presently $150 and is payable in January of each year. The HOA meets in October to discuss pertinent subdivision business. For 2022 there will also be a special assessment for pond erosion repair of $75 for each lot owned.

Homeowners and vacant lot owners are reminded that all lots (whether occupied by a residence or vacant) shall be maintained at all times free of weeds, high grass, and debris. Neither the Golf Course nor the HOA is responsible for mowing vacant lots as this is the responsibility of the owner of the lot.

We have an Architectural Committee, which reviews not only your initial building and home plans but also must review and approve any significant changes to the outside of your home that might occur in the future. The Covenants and Bylaws are available on the website to allow you to familiarize yourself with them (see the tab "Covenants & Bylaws"). There is a section about the role of the Architectural Review Board and Architectural Restrictions that we would like you to read carefully.

Other Important Information:

The City of Urbana provides us with Recycling Services on Tuesday of every week unless there is a holiday. Garbage pickup is the responsibility of the individual homeowner. Pickup is generally on Tuesdays along with recycling. There are many excellent providers at www.urbanaillinois.us/GarbageHaulers

On the above website, you can also find information about The City of Urbana’s Recycling Program under Recycling (U-Cycle), Refuse, and Sustainability. The city will provide you with a large recycling cannister called a U-Cart that is listed under, ‘Need a Recycling Cart.’ A Monday or Tuesday holiday postpones the recycling pickup day to Wednesday of the holiday week. The charge for recycling is billed every other month on your sewer bill, which is issued by the Urbana and Champaign Sanitary District.

There are several Internet Groups that often have information about service providers in our area. They are Nextdoor Neighbor, Nextdoor Stone Creek, and Nextdoor Digest and all have websites that you might find helpful.

Please make sure that we have your contact name, address, phone number, and primary email address. You can send your information to our treasurer, Linda Matkowski, at Linda_Matkowski @yahoo.com

We are so happy to have you as a member of the Stone Creek community and for you to join us in our efforts to maintain and beautify this area that we all call home.

The Stone Creek Subdivision Homeowners Association

Click on the link below to access a copy of the Covenants.

Covenants (Revised March 11, 2020).pdf

Click on the link below to access a copy of the Bylaws.

Bylaws (Revised 14Feb2020).pdf

(Click here to see plats of the various neighborhoods)View

Tom Roth (President) troth@primelending.com

Chad Beckett (Vice President) chad@beckettlawpc.com

Jessica LaRosa (Chair of Grounds Committee) 217-840-7429 shawlarosa@gmail.com

Jon Reichard (Chair of Architecture Committee) jreichard@ar-mech.com

Leslie Mason (Secretary) lesmmason@gmail.com

Linda Matkowski (Treasurer) 630-981-4995 Linda_Matkowski@yahoo.com

The Grounds Committee oversees and facilitates maintenance of all common areas of the Subdivision.

The Architecture Committee reviews all proposed building plans for new homes and modifications to existing homes for compliance to the Covenants and restrictions, and any waivers granted by the Architecture Committee.

Please make checks payable to:

Stone Creek Subdivision Homeowners Association

c/o Linda Matkowski, Treasurer

2725 E. Stone Creek Blvd.

Urbana, IL 61802

If you have any questions about the HOA, our website, annual assessments, or if you need a paid assessment letter at the time of selling your home or lot, please direct your inquiry to Linda at Linda_Matkowski@yahoo.com.

Annual Meeting Announcement

The 2021 Annual Meeting of the Stone Creek Subdivision HOA will be held on Tuesday, October 19 at 7pm. Due to possible Covid restrictions that might apply at that date and for the safety of our owners, we are using Zoom technology rather than meeting in person. We used this technology last year and found it to be convenient, efficient and effective.

Online Zoom Meeting

Each owner will receive an online “invitation to join the meeting” at the email addresses on file with the HOA. That invitation will be sent on the day of the meeting. By simply clicking on the link in that email, each participant will be directed to the Zoom meeting where the host will grant access to the meeting. If there are any problems gaining access, several phone numbers will be made available to call to get assistance. Those phone numbers are 217-840-7101, 217-898-5626, and 217-493-8578. Owners who have given us more than one email address will receive an invitation at each email address. If anyone would like to receive multiple invitations, please furnish us with alternative email addresses. The email list we will use is the same as the list we use for normal bulk email communications.

Asking Questions

Questions can be raised during the meeting with the interactive technology or by texting a question to one of the phone numbers supplied for access assistance, which are 217-840-7101, 217-898-5626 and 217-493-8578. Questions may also be emailed in advance of the meeting to any Board member or to the HOA email address which is StoneCreekUrbana.HOA@yahoo.com. However, do not send emails to that address during the meeting since that address will not be monitored at that time.

Topics We Expect to Discuss

Update status of the Golf Course, restaurant and vacant lots for sale
Architectural Committee report
Grounds Committee report (including discussion of gardening & weeding, pond erosion and possible installation of a pond fountain; and each’s impact on annual or special assessments)
Financial report for 2021
Discuss assessment levels for 2022 and potential funding for deferred projects
Special Assessment
Other topics of interest
Election of four (4) Directors to the Board (election using online voting). There will be five (5) candidates to choose from to fill the four (4) positions.

We will provide an agenda the weekend before the meeting along with a meeting reminder.

The Voting Process

Voting and the election of Directors will take place beginning Thursday, October 21, at 8am and will conclude at 5pm Sunday, October 24. We will be using online voting on the “Election Buddy” platform. We used this for the past two elections and have found it to be efficient and reliable.

There are four (4) directors whose two year terms expire at the conclusion of the annual meeting. Those directors are: Spencer Atkins, Chad Beckett, Brandyn Mason and Jon Reichard. All four are seeking re-election. Additionally, Leslie Mason, who served on the original steering committee before the turnover of the HOA to the homeowners, has indicated her willingness to serve and will also be on the ballot. Therefore there will be five (5) candidates to choose from to fill the four (4) positions.

The remaining current Board members, whose terms expire in October 2022, are: Tom Roth, Jessica LaRosa and Mike Krickl. Contact information can be found for each member under the Board of Directors page (tab) on this website.

We welcome and encourage others in the community to serve and participate.

The voting process works like this---

1. At 8am on Thursday, October 21, “Election Buddy” will send an email to a single email address for each lot. (One vote per lot) That email announces that the election is open, invites the owner to vote and links to the ballot. Click on the link and/or follow the stated directions. The ballot is weighted by the number of lots owned by that owner (which is clearly indicated on the ballot). Owners of multiple lots receive one ballot, but cast multiple votes with their single ballot. (Owners with multiple email addresses should read the Note below.)

1. There will be a vote to approve or reject a Special Assessment along with a question regarding attendance at the Annual Meeting. One may also choose to abstain.

2. One may vote for up to four (4) of the five (5) candidates seeking election to the Board. An owner may vote for fewer than four, or may abstain (vote for no candidate).

3. Immediately after casting their vote, owners receive an email from “Election Buddy” confirming their vote has been recorded.

4. After the voting closes, “Election Buddy” sends the results of the online voting to the HOA. The HOA will then email these results to all owners.

5. “Election Buddy” furnishes the HOA complete details of who voted, who failed to vote and total votes on all issues. We are not supplied with how each owner voted. Voting is completely anonymous.

Notes:
1. Co-owners of lots/homes must determine between themselves how to cast their single ballot.

2. Only one email address can be assigned to each ballot. Owners with multiple email accounts should review each of their email accounts on election day to find the “Election Buddy” notice associated with their lot and ballot.

3. The HOA has made considerable effort to use the email address owners have indicated is their primary email account for HOA matters. If owners have a question about which of their email accounts is being used for the voting process, they should contact the HOA at StoneCreekUrbana.HOA@yahoo.com or call Mike at (815)404-6762.

4. If the “Election Buddy” notice does not arrive by email on the day of the election, owners should check their spam folder or call Mike at 815-404-6762 for assistance.

The voting process is completely confidential and no one has access to how any ballot is cast.

We will continue to update this information as we approach the Annual Meeting, so please check back.

Thank you.

Stone Creek Subdivision Fall Community Beautification Day

Saturday, October 16, 2021 (9 am - noon)

(Rain date Sunday, October 17, noon – 3 pm)

Come one – come all, individuals and families!

Meet your Board members and neighbors and help keep the boulevard beautiful!

Check in stations:

Windsor Road entrance and High Cross Road entrance

Bring any or all of the following: Gardening gloves, weed diggers, kneeling pads, weed whackers, pruners, leaf blowers, hedge clippers, rakes, buckets, shovels, edgers, wheelbarrows (lawn and trash bags will be provided).

Activities to do:

Trim grass and suckers from around trees, trim out dead branches
Rake and gather dead grass from sidewalk edges, trim grass by curbs
Cut back day lilies
Weed flower beds
Weed and rake up needles and twigs under pine trees (Muirfield, Windsor, and High Cross)
Pick up trash & clear and collect leaves, debris from storm sewer grates

Please email Jessica, shawlarosa@gmail.com, to indicate your willingness to help, name and number in family, which activity you can do, and which station you plan to check-in.

Wear face masks/practice social distancing during the project. Water and granola bars will be provided.

Golf Course News

Construction Set to Begin on Illinois’ Atkins Golf Club; Troon Management Company Selected

For more details please check out the link below.

https://fightingillini.com/news/2021/5/6/general-construction-set-to-begin-on-illinois-atkins-golf-club-troon-management-company-selected.aspx

The University advises the public to stay off the golf course grounds, including golf course cart paths, while maintenance and construction are ongoing.

For more information, contact Cassie Arner (217) 300-2714 or arner@illinois.edu

Local Park District News

The Urbana Park District is planning to construct a Health & Wellness Center. The Parks Foundation is looking for contributions to aid in financing this project. If you have any interest in this, please check out this link.

https://www.urbanaparksfoundation.org/urbana-parks-foundation-announces-5-3-million-fundraising-campaign-to-construct-a-health-wellness-facility/

Anyone interested in finding out more, or making a gift, can contact Caty Roland, Urbana Parks Foundation, 303 W. University Ave., Urbana, IL 61801 or by phone at (217) 367-1536.

University of Illinois Updates on the Undeveloped Areas

The University of Illinois, University of Illinois Foundation, and Spencer Atkins have made the following tentative arrangements for the 2021 planting season:

The two large eastern tracts (#2 and #4), which were formerly planted with sunflowers, will be planted with prairie grass and wildflowers.
The other large non-developed tracts (#1, #5, #6, #8, and #9), which border the golf course and total approximately 54 acres, will be planted with soybeans or hay/alfalfa.
A map showing planting locations has been included for your reference.
Map of Planned PlantingsPDF • 216KB

These undeveloped areas within Stone Creek are a portion of the land donated by TAG to the U of I in 2020. These areas do not include any of the vacant lots that were part of the same gift that are being actively marketed for sale. This undeveloped land is owned by the U of I and not by the HOA. As such, the HOA is not responsible for its maintenance/mowing nor is the HOA responsible for mowing any of the vacant lots that are for sale or that may be privately owned. The U of I has retained a lawn care service that will be handling the maintenance on the unsold lots, mowing twice a month.

Grounds Committee Update

The Grounds Committee would like to remind homeowners and lot owners not to leave grass clippings in the streets or sidewalks or deposit them on adjoining vacant lots. If a landscaper/mower is employed, please remind them.
Garbage containers shall be kept out of the front yard except on collection day. Storage of garbage containers shall be in the garage or shall be screened from view.
You may have noticed that several of the trees that were donated through the cooperative program with the City of Urbana are small. In a follow up conversation with City Staff, it was noted that they are at the mercy of the nurseries supplying the trees. However, despite their size, they have had good luck when planting native species from these nurseries. All trees are guaranteed for one year.
If a donor requested a specific location for their tree, the City attempted to get as close to the location as possible. Additionally, several trees were spaced throughout Stone Creek Blvd. in an effort to provide trees in areas that were barren. Once planting is completed, the donor will receive a letter regarding the care and watering of the tree. If a resident cannot maintain the watering schedule, they should contact Kevin Sanderson, City Arborist, ktsanderson@urbanaillinois.us, (217)384-2303.
Tree List Chart.pdf
Thanks for Greening up Stone Creek Blvd.

2021 Annual Meeting Scheduled

The Board tentatively set the date for the Annual Meeting of home and lot owners for Tuesday, October 19, 2021 to begin at 7pm. More details will be available as we approach that date.

From the Grounds Committee: Clean Up Day Report, Volunteers Needed and Tree Planting

Thank you to all the volunteers whose hard work made our April 17^th Spring Clean-up Day very successful. I think we all enjoyed the perfect weather and being able to work alongside our friends and neighbors. We were able to spread mulch, pull weeds, edge part of the boulevard walk, define garden edges, clean storm drains, and seed some bare areas. Thank you to Don Pilcher for graciously providing the funds for snacks and water to keep us going.

The Windsor Road Crew – Jessica LaRosa, Paulette and Jim Cantrell, Chad Beckett, John and Therese Quarton, Doug West, Ching Muyot, Janis Grace, and Phil Huchel along with his very helpful son and daughter.

The High Cross Crew – Diane Durbin, Dave Tjaden, Cindy Capek, Ed Harvey, Otis Williams, Suzanne Leifer, Randy Blackman, and Carolyn and Jim Wanagat

Storm Drain Crew – Dolly and David Strausser.

The grounds committee currently has two tasks for which we a seeking volunteers:

There are several locations where the Stone Creek Blvd. sidewalk intersects a street. Some of these locations have small stop signs attached to wooden posts. We are seeking a volunteer to scrape and paint these posts. The HOA will supply the materials necessary.
The ornamental crab trees on the boulevard grow many troublesome suckers from their roots. One way to stop this problem is to cut the suckers and then apply a product called “Sucker Punch” to the exposed area. The product is applied to each cut with a small brush – a somewhat tedious job; but could be enjoyable on a nice day with some good music, or a friend to work with. We are looking for a volunteer to take on this project.

The Grounds Committee work continues throughout the growing season, so let us know if you are interested in being on our list of helpers. We have something going on every week. Contact Jessica LaRosa, shawlarosa@gmail.com, to volunteer.

Additionally, tree planting has begun. Locations are being marked and planted based on scheduling. The City is watering and mulching trees as they are planted and will continue watering the first year. After all planting has been completed, individuals who purchased trees will receive a letter from the City concerning long term care.

Thanks to everyone for making Stone Creek a little greener!

Your Grounds Committee,

Jessica LaRosa, Diane Durbin, Isabel Cole, Cindy Capek, Paulette Cantrell, and Chris Billing

Golf Course Update

Improvements and construction have begun on the Golf Course. Residents are reminded to refrain from walking on the golf course cart paths or anywhere on the course grounds. There is heavy equipment working in many areas and it can be potentially dangerous. Please use the sidewalk in the median of Stone Creek Blvd. for walking and jogging! It is anticipated that the course will reopen for golf in late summer or early autumn.