Estling Lake

Important Information for Estling Lake Annual Meeting

Thank you to all that attended our Town Hall meeting yesterday.  We had a lot of participants and a good interaction between presenters and campers.  If you were unable to attend the meeting, please visit our website to review the materials from the Town Hall and the 2020 information packet so that you are prepared for a virtual annual meeting (note, Chuck’s slides are not in place yet but will be there shortly).

If you have questions about how the virtual annual meeting will operate, please reach out so that you are prepared to fully participate in discussions and voting.  Bonnie D. (Camp 19) has offered to provide in-person technical assistance and training for anyone who would benefit from some one-on-one instruction.

While the meeting officially starts at 8:00 PM, it is highly recommended that you join early (as early as 7:30 PM).

• Voting shareholders are required to join via a computer/laptop/tablet/smartphone with a camera so that the secretary can visually and verbally confirm your attendance.  All other participants will not require a camera unless you are a director or an officer making a report.
• A “dial in only” option is available, but those without a computer will not be able to see the presentation, will not be able to ask questions, and will not be able to vote.
• When joining the meeting, you will be placed in a waiting room until the host approves you to join.  You do not need to take any action to be added, the host will automatically be notified that you have joined and are waiting to enter the meeting.
• Once you have joined the meeting, you will need to connect to the audio either using your phone or computer.
• After being connected, the host will automatically mute your audio and turn off your video so that there isn’t any background noise while the meeting is in progress.
• You will not be able to unmute your line, so if you have questions, you must submit them using the chat feature of Zoom.
• If you haven’t used Zoom before, here are some videos to help you get started:

• ZOOM – How to Join a Meeting
• ZOOM – Joining & Configuring Audio and Video
• ZOOM – Meeting Controls (including Mute, Chat)

Thanks,
Scott

Men’s Club Social/Meeting

All  Men, Come join us for the one-and-only 2020 Men’s Club Social/Meeting – Saturday August 22, 10:00 am on Camp 64 deck or lawn. Coffee and donuts served.

We’ll start with a little social time. We’ll end with a little business.
We plan to keep our 6′ distance, but bringing a mask along never hurts. I would like a headcount; please RSVP to Glen.

See you there,
Glen

Annual Meeting of Estling Lake Corporation 2020

The information packets for this year’s Annual Meeting of the Estling Lake Corporation have been distributed.  This year, because we have a different mail distribution system, the packets have been placed in the individual mail folders at the mail distribution box near the Estling Lake Athletic Field.  The meeting will be held at 8 PM on August 21, 2020 via the Zoom platform.

The packets include the official notice of the meeting, a letter from the President of the Corporation, a list of stockholders, the minutes of the 2019 Annual Meeting including Committee Reports and the proposed budget for 2021.  Also included are the proposed changes to the Lease and Bylaws.

The packet information will be posted on the Estling website:
https://www.estling.org/private/corporation-meetings/

Because of the pandemic some stockholders are not in camp this year and may not be able to pick up their packets.  If you cannot access the packet through the website and need to have your hard copy mailed to you, please let me know and I will mail it out.

Self Quarantine and Guest Policies

Under the 14-day quarantine travel advisory announced by NJ Governor Murphy individuals traveling to or returning from states on the NJ Quarantine List are advised to self-quarantine for 14 days.  Individuals should leave the place where they self-quarantine only for medical reasons, food or other essential items.  Consistent with this advice and for the continued protection of all community members, individuals traveling from or returning from the states on the Quarantine List are not, at any time, permitted on the beach or athletic field “complex” before their 14-day quarantine period is over.  Social distancing is always a requirement on common property.  Following the advice from the NJ Department of Health, it is not necessary that other household members who did not travel from an impacted state self-quarantine.  If you arrived in NJ from a state on the Quarantine List before that state was added to the list, you are exempt from the above restriction.  See below the Quarantine list as of July 21^st.  See https://nj.gov/health/cd/documents/topics/NCOV/Travel_advisoryFAQs_6-25-2020.pdf for more details and any updates.
 

On a related matter, the current beach guest policy is that each camp may have up to 2 guests of the same household occupying the space around a single flag, the camper who invited the guests occupying the area around a separate flag.  This has been amended to allow 5 guests of the same household around a single flag.  This policy, like the ongoing requirement to socially distance on the beach, is 24/7. 

We have been very fortunate to date to avoid a Covid19 incident at Estling.  May this continue!

Estling Lake Wine Fundraiser – Last Week to Order

This is the last week to order your Estling Lake Wine Glasses.  If you would like to place an order, please click on the link below and submit your order form by August 1, 2020.  We anticipate orders will be ready about 2 weeks after this deadline date pending product availability.

Ladies Club – Order Form for Wine Glasses

On behalf of the Ladies Club, thank you for your support!

Updates: Tennis Court, Brush, Recycling

Lot’s of news to share this week.  And don’t forget there will be another Virtual Town Hall next week on Wednesday 7/29 at 7:30 PM.  More details to follow in a future email.

Tennis Court

It was a long journey, but the newly resurfaced tennis court is ready for use.  We now have a modern court that is ready for recreational and competitive play.  Thank you to the members of the committee (past and present) that helped us to get here.  As a reminder to the community, we need to take care of this investment to get the maximum life out of the new surface.  While the manufacturer estimates resurfacing needs to be done every 5 – 8 years, I expect we can double that lifespan by properly caring for the court. Here are some tips from the manufacturer that we should all follow to keep the court looking great:

• Dirt accumulates in standing water, leaving stains and piles of debris. Remove water from birdbaths as often as possible
• Use only non-marking tennis shoes on the court surface
• No bikes, roller blades, or skateboards
• No chewing gum, food, or drinks (other than water) on the playing surface
• Do not drag chairs, benches or other items over the surface
• Use pads underneath chair legs or equipment that is on the court
• Keep grass and any other vegetation trimmed and away from the court surface

It’s up to each of you to be caretakers for the court!

Pickleball

On the tennis court you will notice new, yellow lines inside the main court that are used for Pickleball.  Not familiar with this sport?  The USA Pickleball Association describes it as “a fun sport that combines many elements of tennis, badminton and ping-pong. Fun, social and friendly. The rules are simple and the game is easy for beginners to learn, but can develop into a quick, fast-paced, competitive game for experienced players.”  If you want to learn more about the rules or watch instructional videos, take a look at the materials on the USA PA website.

Tennis Backboard

Thanks to Marg, Alf, Carol and Dave for giving the backboard a facelift.  The paint is still curing but it will be ready for use on Saturday.

Brush Pickup

Thanks to Ben and his team of volunteers that cleaned up vegetation and brush from along the road.  Should you have additional brush that you need picked up or removed, the Town of Denville provides a curbside pickup service later in the year.  Brush must be tied in bundles (6’ maximum length) and will be picked up between 9/16 and 12/31 and then again from 4/1 through 6/15.

Recycling

Even though our occupancy is lower than past years, the recycling container has been filling up quickly (too much shopping on Amazon???).  Please take the time to break down and flatten your boxes and do not leave any materials outside the dumpster.  The container is typically emptied on Wednesdays every week so schedule your trips to the dumpster accordingly.  An alternate option is to drop off your recycling at the Town Recycling Depot.  Just remember that the Town requires materials to be separated (Paper/Cardboard vs. Glass/Metal/Plastic). For next season, we will work with our vendor to either have a larger container delivered or to have multiple pickups during the week.  However, we expect this will come at an additional cost.

New Caretaker

I am very pleased to announce that Sgt Brian Williams of the Denville Police Department has accepted our offer to become our new Caretaker. Brian, his wife Dana and their two daughters Leah and Aimee will be taking over the duties sometime in September. We were extremely fortunate in receiving five resumes from Denville police officers expressing interest in the position. Our selection committee consisting of Bob R, Chuck B, Rick P, and I met with three candidates and we unanimously agreed that Brian would be the best fit for our community. I have attached the letter that Brian submitted to the Board expressing interest in the position as well as a picture of Brian, Dane, and their youngest daughter, Aimee. The committee is confident that the Williams family will be a wonderful addition to our Estling community.
Ben B

Letter from Brian Williams
(Sergeant – Denville Police Department)

To the Estling Lake Community,

Greetings and I hope this letter finds you well!
My name is Brian Williams and I am a Sergeant with the Denville Police Department. I am writing this letter to express my interest in becoming the official caretaker for the Estling Lake Community with my wife, Dana, and daughters, Leah and Aimee.

I have been a member of the Denville Police Department for 13 years and have lived in Denville with my family for the past 10 years. I grew up a few towns over in Mine Hill, NJ, with my parents, older sister, and younger brother. I attended Dover High School and worked for my father, a licensed contractor, for many years. He taught me various construction skills to include additions, roofing, siding, electrical, plumbing, etc. After high school, I attended Rutgers University where I obtained a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in education. Prior to becoming a police officer, I taught second grade for two years at Cozy Lake Elementary School in Jefferson, NJ. Although I did not stay in the education field, I was lucky enough to meet my wife, Dana, who also taught second grade in the same school. In 2006, I was accepted into the alternate route program at the Morris County Police Academy, where my police career began. I always wanted to work in Denville, however, the department was not hiring at the time. I was first hired as a patrolman in Pequannock Township, but ultimately transferred to Denville in 2007. I have held may positions in the Denville Police Department, Denville PBA, and Denville Police Athletic League. My family and I moved to Denville in 2010 and have been in the same location ever since.

My wife, Dana, has been committed to the Jefferson Township School District for over 20 years. She is now an elementary school counselor. Dana grew up in a family of six in High Crest Lake located in West Milford, NJ. My daughters are Leah (11) who will be a 6th grader at Valleyview Middle School come September, and Aimee (8) who will be a 3rd grader at Lakeview Elementary School. Both are Denville Township Cheerleaders, and both are in Girl Scouts. We also have two boxer dogs, Stella (3) and Ruby (2). My family spends as much time as possible outdoors with camping, fishing, kayaking, hiking, swimming, and biking. We love the lifestyle lake living brings!

I have spoken with my family about the commitment and expectations that being the Estling Lake caretaker brings. My family received the information for this unique opportunity with excitement and anticipation. We understand the responsibilities and we are willing to uphold all that is expected, even through the long New Jersey winters. We strongly feel we would be an excellent fit for this role and we are filled with excitement at this possibility of becoming a member of the Estling Lake family.

Our current home is merely footsteps away from Estling Lake, so we do not see this opportunity as one that uproots the family. Our children would easily maintain their relationships with friends and would remain in their current schools with their classmates.
I understand how important the caretaker position is to the long-standing community of Estling Lake. I can confidently say that my family will respect and maintain all that your community has been built upon. We are prepared to take on this responsibility and we would be honored to say that our family is part of the Estling Lake Community for years to come.

We look forward to meeting with you and we are truly excited about this opportunity to become part of your beautiful lake community!

Sincerely,
Brian, Dana, Leah, and Aimee Williams

Community update for 7/20/2020

Social Distancing: We have all come to know the basics here – 6’ apart in public outdoor spaces.  This was recently supplemented to mandate face coverings when maintaining 6’ of separation in public outdoor settings is not possible.  Social distancing is not mandated for “immediate family, caretakers, household members, or romantic partners”.

The public outdoor space that many of us share is our beach.  As recently reported, the lack of crowding on the beach allowed the board to modify the beach no-guest policy slightly.  We will continue to evaluate this policy as we monitor both crowding and social distancing.  Please remember that social distancing is a 24/7 requirement.

Town Hall July 29^th: Our next Town Hall meeting is now less than 2 weeks away.  The primary planned agenda item is an update of Dam issues, including the status of discussions with NJ Transit and the Dam Safety Division of the DEP.  We have little new information to share but this is a very important subject. Therefore, we will again review what information we do have.

Please let me know if there are other matters that you wish covered at this Town Hall.  The meeting will again be Zoom-based.  We will have a Town Hall meeting in August to review the status of securing a new disposal site for dredged material.

Dark Camps: You will have noticed that there are a number of camps unoccupied this summer.  Given the pandemic this is not surprising.  The Board has been asked how we intend to deal with this given the “dark camp” provision in the lease. This provision states that the Lessee will make use of or arrange for use of the Lessee’s camp.  The Lessee is subject to a special assessment for failure to do so over 3 consecutive years.  The Board determines annually at the end of each summer if there are “dark camps” other than those for “good cause”.  The board discussed this at our last meeting determining that the pandemic is a “good cause” event.

Tennis Courts: Thanks to Scott and all on the committee who worked on the tennis court project.  It looks great!  It’s nice to now have a safe court available for use, especially this summer.

-Rick

Tennis Backboard

The tennis backboard has been repainted. But it is not yet ready for play. Paint experts tell us that the paint needs to cure for a week before it is ready for use. Thus, the backboard will be available to use on July 25.

We have also heard from tennis experts. They say when using the tennis backboard, you will get better results if you bend your knees and keep your eye on the ball.

Thank you.
The Backboard Committee.
Marg, Alf, Carol and Dave

Phil Bleser

Phil Bleser passed away today. We extend our love and best wishes to Nancy. So sorry for this loss but also so glad to have Nancy here at Estling.