This is the time of year that I wish all our Woodhaven fathers a happy Fathers Day. We have just celebrated the memory of our fallen military members with respect and honor. Thanks to all our veterans and the many families at the Memorial Day ceremony. We had the highest attendance ever. Woodhaven staff did a fantastic job setting up this ceremony. A concrete medallion of the U.S. Marine logo was donated and placed into our display. This medallion had belonged to an owner/veteran that passed away and my heartfelt thanks go to the owners that donated it for our display. Natalie from recreation took the initiative to obtain the medallions for all our service branches and the Veterans Memorial Ad Hoc committee will be working on the placement of the medallions in upcoming weeks.

The Board of Directors conducted their first of three board meetings on property. The meeting was well attended by many owners some of which were pro or con on our Nature Center project. A vote was taken and it was turned down at this time. I, along with several board members, felt that more discussion remained to be completed and I have called for another meeting in Naperville to discuss this project in its entirety. Some of our owners called the new facility a Taj Majal and for me I think of it as a nature palace. I have witnessed the wonder, amazement and inquisitiveness of families and children when attending the many projects held at the Nature Center. I have always been an advocate for this project. Staff and property owners on your Facilities Planning Committee have spent years debating the size, use, location and ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) concerns.

We have planned a communications hub within this building in order to centrally house our fiber optics upgrade. The cost for this project has been factored into your dues and placed into our reserves for capital improvements. I would like to break the numbers down for everyone. The current building is 2,471 square feet in size and we sent out to bid a structure that will be 3,584 square feet. This square footage doesn’t include a 500 square foot screen room or the 400 square foot portico. An additional 61 square feet will be added to the bait shop and 427 square feet to the Nature Center side. Bathrooms will be added which total 315 square feet which include public access restrooms and an employee restroom. We currently have a single stall 32 square foot bathroom in the bait shop area. The communications hub will be housed in the mechanical room. We currently have a 73 square foot room and are proposing a 345 square foot room which increases the size by 272 square feet. The mechanical room will also double as a storage area for this facility.

This plan and the reasons for the new building are outlined in a presentation that you can link to from the Woodhaven phone application in the announcement section dated October 17, 2016 or on our website. I urge all owners to take the time to see what this project entails.

During our board meeting an owner in attendance stated that she had crunched the numbers and our building cost per square foot was extremely high. I would like to have that owner recheck the numbers and if the site work for the parking area and demolition cost for the old building were on those figures then the totals are totally different in determining cost per foot. We will be discussing all of this at our next meeting.

When consideration is given to what the association has spent in recent years starting with the Pool 2, beach and Family Center Project at 1 million and seventy three thousand dollars, the road improvements since 2010 at 2 million dollars, 700 thousand dollars in fiber optics and IT improvements which includes multiple extensions to our fiber optics network/camera systems/phone and network upgrades you will see that the state of Woodhaven Lakes is one based on great planning, improvements and an eye to the future.

I hope to be here with my family for many more years and I have total confidence in our management staff and you the owners of Woodhaven. The figures I have quoted reflect many projects, but not all that have been undertaken in the last ten years and it places the Nature Center project in the middle of cost compared to what we’ve completed. I personally took this project and placed myself in your shoes and that of our children. This is a place to learn, love and embrace nature. As your board President I looked at the benefits afforded to our families and moving forward. I chose to side with the recommendations made by our Facilities Planning Committee because they got it RIGHT.

Thank you all and God Bless,

Ivan Martinez
Board of Directors President

April showers got the best of us at Woodhaven, so we should have some great May flowers coming our way! May is here and for many of our veterans and their families, we will honor those men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military. Woodhaven will be hosting our annual Memorial Day Flag Dedication and Ceremony on Monday, May 29th at the Lakeview Building. I wish to extend a heartfelt thanks to the members of the American Legion Post 453 in Amboy, Illinois for the support they have given Woodhaven over the years at the Memorial Day Flag Ceremony.

This is also the time of year we reflect on the second anniversary of the tornado that struck Woodhaven. We have accomplished a lot towards getting Woodhaven back to normal, but there is still work remaining. The trees planted in late 2015 and early 2016 appear to be budding quite nicely. Many thanks to our volunteers who helped staff in the planting endeavors.

The first day of summer is right around the corner; be mindful of weather patterns. Keep your weather radio in working order and we would like to see everyone switch from the text alert system, to the new Woodhaven Lakes app for notifications. In order to unsubscribe, reply to or text the alert number(317-800-7269) with “STOP.” You will then receive a confirmation text. With the Woodhaven Lakes smartphone application, you can receive push notifications by going to your settings, and allowing notifications from the app. Please call the Association Office if you have any questions.

Stay safe, stay alert, and have a great camping season!

God Bless,

Ivan Martinez
Board of Directors President

I wish you all a Happy Easter. The Spring Fling weekend is fast approaching and I hope that many of our members drive out for the weekend to enjoy all the activities scheduled. Woodhaven will be hosting pony and wagon rides, a petting zoo, fishing tournament, open air market, and tree sale. This is a great time for all our children to enjoy our outdoor wonderland. The month of May is right around the corner, so I would like to recognize the pillars of our families by saying “HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY.” Thank you for all the hard work, multi-tasking and loving you put forth unconditionally.

At the Board’s March 27th meeting we discussed the meaning behind “closing out a permit.” When our ESAC inspectors mark a permit as “closed” it means the project is completed by the Property Owner or their contractor. The permit being closed out does not mean the improvement was inspected for compliance. As the Property Owner you, and I, are responsible for knowing where our lot lines are and that the shed, RV, or whatever we are placing will meet the setback. If you are planning to develop or place any improvements, the best practice for finding your setback lines is to have a plat survey, but that can be expensive. Check with ESAC first, ask them to help you in determining your best course of action.

Social media is a great way to get information out to a large number of people. As an Association, we must be careful that the message we send out is correct, or at least that we have done our due diligence in finding accurate answers. I am concerned that the expectation on the Association and Board Members is that our response should be immediate. When I am asked to look into a matter, I want you to know I will take the time needed to properly research your request. For Board Members participating on social media there are added challenges because we are, or should be, held to a higher standard. Yes we are also Property Owners and have the right to our own opinion, but we also have to be careful our messages avoid being misinterpreted. This is a subject the Board has discussed and will continue to discuss in the months to come.

I chose to run for a seat on the Board not for status, but as a way to assist all our owners in decisions impacting everyone collectively; and, I am sure my co-Board Members share this goal. As your Board of Directors, our decisions impact everyone and need to always be fair and impartial. With seven different personalities, our opinions can go in many directions. As long as we are respectful of each other, our staff and our membership, our diversity is a good thing for the Association.

I encourage all Owners of record to attend the Board meetings. The purpose of the meetings are for the Board to conduct the business of the Association; as Owners you can observe and hear first-hand what is being discussed; you can ask questions under Member Business from the Floor. Meeting dates, times, and locations are posted on our webpage calendar.

May God bless you and I hope you all have a great season!

Ivan Martinez
Board of Directors President

Spring is here and Mother Nature is reminding us to keep safety at the forefront of our decision making when camping. The recent tornado that touched down in Ottawa/Naplate showed us that climatic changes are continuously happening in our area and prior preparation will help you overcome adverse conditions.

Woodhaven is gearing up for the last phase of the Family Center pool plan. This project involves the expansion of the pool deck area and replacement of the current drop slide with a Spectrum manufacturing slide and platform. The slide is a tubular wet slide that will give pool users a 40 linear-foot slide. A photo can be seen on page 4 We are also replacing the diving board and dive stand at Pool One.
Portions of our roadways suffered damage from truck traffic after our tornado. The cleanup efforts were ongoing for a long period and we are sending out to bid our 2017 road improvement project. This project encompasses a lot of the tornado affected roads along with areas of Woodhaven where culvert repairs and other projects affected the roadway.

I would like to thank all our Owners who came out for Cabin Fever weekend. Attendance was at an all time high with Mother Nature affording us some very nice weather. Staff excelled in the activities which were set up. Whether you participated in the poker walk, prize bingo, crafts or game challenges, it appeared that most everyone enjoyed the weekend. Some of our Owners participated in a chili cook-off at the Multi-Purpose Room. The 1st place winner of the cook off was Board Member Mike Weinstein.
Attendance at our Board meetings keeps improving and we hope to see more Owner attendance at our meetings scheduled at Woodhaven this season.
May the good Lord afford us a camping season full of great family moments and the time to enjoy our wonderland at Woodhaven.

Ivan Martinez
Board of Directors President