Tennis Court Update for 7/6/2020

The tennis court work has begun and you will see the surface has been scraped and patched. The next steps will be to fill in any depressions and smooth out the court. Once that is complete the final surface coatings will be applied and lines will be painted. Given the poor weather forecast for this week, the contractor expects that the final work will not take place until next week (it requires several dry days in a row). Please remind family and visitors to stay off the court during this time so that we don’t interfere with the drying process of the various surface treatments. Thanks for your understanding and cooperation!

Tennis Court Update and Water Restrictions

The contractor for the tennis court project has begun to deliver items to the site.  I spoke with them earlier this week and they expect to begin work on the court next week.  During this time, it is important that you stay off the court and do not disturb the equipment or supplies.  Once the new surface is applied, it will take several days to cure so please avoid the area until we announce that it is open.  Weather permitting, we are expecting all the work to be completed the week of July 6th.  Stay tuned for more updates.

On another note, the Township of Denville has announced water restrictions from now until September.  The details can be found online, but essentially, washing cars and watering lawns should be avoided if possible and only performed based on the posted schedule.

Donations and Town Hall

Song Service Donations

With no Song Service’s currently scheduled, the board requests that you consider donations to the Newark Fresh Air Fund and Saint Peter’s Orphanage.  Checks can be made out to ELC or the individual organization and mailed to the Treasurer (Estling Lake Corporation, PO Box 281, Denville, NJ 07834).  Contributions will be split evenly between the two organizations.  Alternatively, you can donate via www.freshair.org and www.stpetersorphanage.org. where credit cards are accepted.  Each has a “donations” tab and in each case you can either “leave a comment” or enter in “special instructions” your association with Estling Lake.  Last summer we donated over $5,000 from our Song Service collections.

I recently spoke with the Executive Directors of the two charities.  Both are experiencing a drop off in contributions.

Donna Johnson-Thompson attended Song Service a few years ago to recognize Estling’s 100-year history of contributing to the Newark Fresh Air Fund.  In our call she specifically spoke of the funding needs of a camp that she manages for children with physical disabilities.  The camp will open in July abiding by the Covid19 regulations.  It is an expensive program to run.  100% of all donations go to this and other programs for children.

Kelly McNamara, Executive Director of St Peters Orphanage was quite emotional when I informed her that the Estling Lake community would continue to contribute to St Peters despite no scheduled Song Services. While her basic needs are largely funded via governmental programs, all of our contributions are for special activities for St Peters residents.

Town Hall

We will hold a ZOOM-based town hall meeting Wednesday, July 1^st.  The primary agenda item is a presentation from the By Laws Committee of recommended changes to our governing documents.  As this meeting is 2 days following our next board meeting and only a week following the opening of the beach, I’m certain that the “beach” will also be a topic discussed.  Details to follow.

Road Repairs Update

The good news, work has begun and the sections that have been completed look good. The bad news, the contractor was unable to finish and it won’t be completed until Monday. Areas that are in process have cones but there are a couple of world class bumps. Please drive slow and be careful.

Ben

Recycling Reminder

For those residents that are dropping off recyclable materials at the Athletic Field dumpster, please remember to follow the overall guidelines set by Morris County.  While our collection is single stream (you can mix cardboard, paper, plastic, metal, and glass), there are still many items that are prohibited.  Most notably, no plastic bags, no garbage bags, and no pizza boxes.  You can transport your recycling materials in a plastic bag, but then you must empty the bag and throw it away in the trash.  Review the following graphic to see what is acceptable for recycling:

Community Update for June 2020

Feeling most fortunate to be at Estling right now.  Having to deal with all the Covid19 restrictions, it is nice to be doing so here.  Those of us now “in residence” spend a good deal of time outdoors walking, biking and just sitting on the beach, always keeping a respectful distance from others.  And conversations when we interact with others seem to last a little bit longer.  This will be a different summer for sure, but it’s a positive change from being in Florida.

Activities at Estling this summer will be driven primarily by the executive orders from governor Murphy.  Such orders are law and the ELC board has the fiduciary duty to follow the law.  There are nearly 50 Covid19 related executive orders to date (https://nj.gov/infobank/eo/056murphy/).  The Executive Orders which most directly impact Estling are EO #143 dealing with opening of our beach, EO #149 covering outdoor sports, including Hub Lakes sports, and EO #152 pertaining to indoor and outdoor gatherings.

Following EO #143, we submitted our plan to open the beach (https://www.estling.org/private/committees/beach-committee/).  The Denville public health department will inspect the beach this week in anticipation of opening the beach Saturday.  As local lake beaches open, I have been in regular contact with Indian Lake, Rock Ridge Lake, Arrowhead Lake and Cedar Lake.  The biggest concern that we all have is the 6’ minimum social distancing requirement.  This will be difficult but for our beach to remain open we need to make this work.

EO #152 gives us the ability to have indoor organized gatherings of up to 50 people subject to a list of other requirements like all participants need to wear face masks, and all objects need regular sanitizing.  So, for now the Community House will remain closed.

There will be a ZOOM-based townhall meeting July 1^st.  The major agenda item is a report from the Bylaws Committee, as reviewed with the Board, of nine (9) recommended changes to our governing documents.  There will also be time for questions about summer at Estling.  Who knows, by then there might be other Executive Orders that provide additional flexibility.

Additional details concerning the townhall meeting to follow.

I intend to provide regular updates throughout the summer.

– Rick

Tennis Court And Recycling News for 6/10/2020

Tennis Court Update

This past week, the Board approved the recommendation from the Athletic Field Committee to hire Steen Associates to repair and resurface the tennis court.  It has taken a lot of discussion and research to arrive at this decision and I appreciate the help and patience of the entire community over the last several years.  We are tentatively scheduled to have the work start at the beginning of July and it will take 7 – 10 days to complete (weather permitting).  Normally this type of work would be scheduled during the off season, but the Committee and Board felt that given the unusual challenges we have all faced this year, it would be best to complete the project as soon as possible.  As we get closer to the start date, I will keep all of you informed of the schedule and any associated court/field closures.

Recycling Update

After reviewing several quotes from garbage/recycling providers in the area, the Board has approved expanding our existing contract with Tassielli Disposal to handle recycling as well.  A dumpster has been delivered to the parking area of the Athletic Field for residents to drop off their recyclable materials.  This is a single stream collection bin so you can mix your plastics, metals, glass, paper, and cardboard – no need to separate materials.  You should continue to use the Denville Recycling Depot to drop off specialty items such as vehicle batteries, automotive fluids, consumer electronics, and tires.  The Depot is back to its normal operating hours:  Monday – Friday – 7:00 AM to 2:30 PM, Saturdays – 8:00 AM to 2:00 PM, and Sundays – 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM.

Updates on Mail and Recycling

US Mail Delivery – Under normal circumstances, our mail would be delivered to individual mailboxes throughout the summer.  However, due to the current COVID19 situation, mail delivery will be centralized for this year.  Dot has setup individual folders for each camp in the brown storage box in front of the Athletic Field.  Your mail will be sorted into those file folders and you must come to the Athletic Field to retrieve your items, both packages as well as letters.  US Mail will not be delivered to your normal camp mailbox, you will have to claim it from the central location.  Also, please leave the actual file folder in the storage box when you pick up your mail.

Hazardous Materials – Morris County will be hosting two collection days for hazardous materials (such as automotive fluids, pesticides, and other chemicals) in Parsippany on June 13th and June 28th.  More details can be found here: https://morriscountynj.gov/2020/05/morris-county-mua-holding-two-household-hazardous-waste-disposal-events-in-june/

Recycling – You can drop off your recycling items at the town facility located at 140 Morris Avenue, Thursdays and Fridays – 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM, or Saturdays – 9:00 AM to 12:00 Noon.  It’s also important to note that your recycling materials must be separated into two containers, cardboard/paper and glass/metal/plastic.  In addition to typical materials, the recycling center accepts many other items.  See the chart below for details.