In December of 2019, salt buckets and scoops were provided to all homeowners for use on your unit's front walks, stairways and driveways.

Please store these salt buckets in your garage, rather than outside, where they can be negatively impacted by moisture, temperature variations, theft, etc.

Our seasonal snow removal contractor will plow driveways and shovel the walks and stairways, but will not be salting the driveways, walk-ups and stairways unless the HOA determines that unique circumstances warrant it.

Hence, please use the salt in your bucket as you feel necessary.

Please remember that the snow removal contractor will not do any plowing or shoveling unless the snowfall reaches at least 2 inches. By providing all units with a salt bucket, you will have easy access to salt during those times between and after plowing.

 As a reminder, the Village of Vernon Hills is responsible for any salting/deicing of the streets, as they see fit, once they’ve been plowed.

If you need additional salt for your buckets, or a replacement scoop, please contact W.L. Seymour.  The salt bucket/scoop is property of the homeowner's association and should remain at the unit, even when sold.
 

In the fall and spring seasons, Sarah's Glen often becomes overwhelmed by the large number of Stevenson students improperly parking their vehicles on our streets and common area parking spaces. Parking on Sarah's Glen streets and common area spaces is limited to registered vehicles belonging to residents of the Association and guests that are visiting the residents’ homes. Parking in the these areas of the property for the reason of gaining access to Stevenson High School is prohibited. Any vehicle parked on the property in violation will be subject to removal at the vehicle owner's expense.

It is a homeowner responsibility to be sure that W.L Seymour has an up to date list of vehicles/plate numbers registered to your town home unit. Other vehicles may be subject to removal if it appears as though they are improperly parked in Sarah's Glen. 

​If a resident witnesses a Stevenson student parking a vehicle within Sarah's Glen, please contact W.L. Seymour with the vehicle's description/license plate information. See www.sarahsglen.org/parking.html for more information.

A few weeks ago, our landscape contractor installed soil/grass seed where dead Ash trees have recently been removed, as well many areas of the property where the turf had degraded or significant bare spots existed.

Shade tolerant grass seed blend was used in low light areas where there is less sunlight due to building structures and dense tree canopies. Even so, some amount of sunlight (typically a minimum of 4-6 hours) is needed for the shade blend seed to grow/mature. There are also some challenging soil conditions and grading in certain areas that can make it even more difficult for turf grass to take hold. Unfortunately, there is little we can do about either of those situations.

While we hope that the earlier planting time-frame and the spring rainfall will help with the initial germination/growth of the grass seed, it is the responsibility of individual homeowners (or their lessors) to sufficiently water plants, shrubs, trees and grass located on or around the owner's town home (see R&Rs-Homeowner Maintenance Responsibilities).

As we get further along into the spring, drier weather patterns tend to become more frequent. As such, please water any of these areas near your unit as often as needed to ensure successful germination of the seed & healthy growth of the grass! Shade areas typically require a bit less watering because the shade prevents quick evaporation of dew or surface water due to rainfall.

Tips for Growing Grass in Shady Areas

• Our landscape contractor recently installed soil & grass seed near many of the unit driveways. While we hope that spring rainfall helps with the germination/growth of the grass seed, it is the responsibility of individual homeowners (or their lessors) to water plants, shrubs, trees and grass located on or around the owner's town home (see R&Rs-Homeowner Maintenance Responsibilities). As such, please water any of these areas near your unit as often as needed to ensure successful growth!
• An Arborist/Tree care contractor will be on-site to remove most of the remaining Ash Trees from our property. The trees that are being removed have been marked with a plastic yellow ribbon. This work is tentatively scheduled to take place on Monday May 2nd & Tuesday May 3rd (weather permitting).  Shortly after the Ash Trees have been removed, we are planning to have the landscape company install soil & seed blankets on the tree areas/circles where these trees have been removed. If your unit is in close proximity to where these soil/seed blankets are installed, please water them regularly to help ensure successful seed germination & growth.
• In the near future, we do intend to replace the 5 or 6 parkway trees that have been removed (or have fallen) in between some unit driveways.​

Thanks for all your help in keeping Sarah's Glen beautiful!

Recently, there have been several homeowners with questions or comments regarding the overall landscape plan and the plant materials that are chosen to replace dead, dying or diseased material throughout the property.

Currently, the board relies almost entirely on our landscape service provider(s) to recommend species of plant materials based on size, location, life expectancy, ease of care, resistance to disease, resistance to deicing chemicals (if close to driveways/walks), etc. The board then approves these new and replacement plant materials based on funds available from the approved fiscal year landscape budget.

In the not to distant past, we were very fortunate to have had some homeowners with a bit of green thumb or an amateur interest in gardening that have served the community via their volunteer participation in a formal landscape committee. 

Unfortunately, it has been several years since the landscape committee has been active and the board would like nothing more than to see it reestablished. 

So...are you a homeowner that would like to have an impact on the appearance of the Sarah's Glen community and have a say in the recommendation, selection and placement of landscape features? If so, we want you!

There is a small time commitment involved, but anyone actively participating in the landscape committee has a voice in recommending and helping the board make decisions on all landscape features/plant material throughout the property. FYI, the entire outdoor area of the property is considered common or limited common area, so the results of the committee's participation has the potential to greatly impact the look and feel of the property over time.

Your time volunteering for the landscape committee would generally be spent at following activities:

• occasional "walk-throughs" of the property with other committee members, board members, management company and service providers.
• soliciting and reviewing proposals from landscape providers to help make landscape feature recommendations to the board (within budgetary limits).
• communication with board members/management company.
• participating in occasional board meetings where landscape quotes/proposals are discussed.

Interested in volunteering?? Please let us know via an email to sarahsglen@gmail.com with your contact information and a board member will respond to you.

Thanks!! We look forward to your participation!!

There have been complaints received regarding recent instances of moving/storage pod trailers placed overnight (or longer) in driveways without permission from the management company (W.L. Seymour).

Per Sarah's Glen Bylaws/Rules & Regulations, driveways are considered a limited common area and placing such items in driveways or streets is prohibited without prior permission being obtained.

In general, only the following items are permitted to be parked on individual driveways, designated guest parking spaces or on Village streets within the Association:

• Currently licensed passenger automobiles, pickup trucks and vans having no more than five entry doors and no business lettering affixed.
• Currently licensed motorcycles.
• Commercial vehicles parked temporarily in the normal course of their business.

The Board (via request to W.L. Seymour) may approve TEMPORARY overnight parking of other vehicles, trailers, etc if prior permission has been granted.

Violators will be warned and/or fined. For additional information, please see the Sarah's Glen Declarations of Easements, Restrictions & Covenants, the Rules & Regulations or contact the management company (W.L. Seymour).

Update - In addition to the general language shown above from the R&Rs, specific areas of the Sarah's Glen Declarations of Easements, Restrictions & Covenants address "Use and Occupancy" restrictions such as this. Please see below:

Advanced Tree Care is scheduled to be on the property on Monday / Tuesday (December 15-16, 2014) to remove a number of our parkway White Ash Trees that are either dead or dying as a result of Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) infestation

In order to facilitate the positioning and movement of large vehicles/equipment, please keep all vehicles off the streets and driveways near any tree that has a Blue dot painted on its trunk.

Feel free to contact W.L. Seymour with any questions! Thanks for your cooperation!

Dear Sarah’s Glen,

This is a courtesy notice concerning recent homeowner complaints that have been lodged with W.L. Seymour, Inc. regarding improper political signage display at Sarah’s Glen. An on-site inspection revealed that several townhome units are displaying such signage in a way that is inconsistent with existing association rule. A copy of the association’s Rules & Regulations can be found at http://www.sarahsglen.org/rules--regulations.html. The applicable rule is as follows:

Signs and advertisements
Advertising signs within the Association are PROHIBITED.

Real estate for sale / rental signs and political signs may be displayed from the interior of the Townhome. No more than one sign shall be displayed from a Townhome. Temporary external real estate "OPEN HOUSE" signs may be allowed on a daily basis with prior Board approval. Approval shall be requested in writing and include sign size and times of display and location. Any allowed sign shall conform to the Village Sign ordinance

If you are (or plan to) display political signage at your townhome unit, please be sure the political signage is located only in the interior of the townhome unit in order to comply with this association rule. If you currently have political signage located at the exterior of the unit, please immediately move it to the interior of the townhome. Also, for any unit owner that may have a tenant at the property please be sure that this information is passed along to them as well.

Thanks you for your cooperation regarding this matter.

Nicole Akers, CMCA
Property Manager
W. L. Seymour, Inc.
800 E. Northwest Hwy., Ste. 409
Palatine, IL  60074-6595
847-359-8980 voice
847-359-8981 fax

As you may be aware, terms for two of the current directors on the Sarah’s Glen board (Alex Kogan and Eugene Garmash) have recently expired.  As a result of this, we are looking for interested homeowners willing to volunteer to run/serve on the Sarah’s Glen Homeowners Association (HOA) Board of Directors.  

If you're uncertain as to how the Board of Directors works, you may find the following information helpful to become familiar with the organization and function of the Sarah’s Glen HOA Board of Directors.

Our Homeowner’s Association requires that three Sarah’s Glen homeowners serve terms in three different Board of Director positions. Under the Illinois Common Interest Community Association Act (CICAA), these positions are defined as the President, Secretary and Treasurer.

In a nutshell, the Board of Directors is responsible for making decisions about the maintenance and repair of areas deemed the responsibility of the Sarah’s Glen Homeowners Association via the Sarah’s Glen Covenants, Conditions & Restrictions (CC&Rs), as well as enforcing the Sarah’s Glen Rules and Regulations.  All homeowners should have a copy of both of these important documents from their closing.

Utilizing these and other appropriate resources, the Board of Directors is responsible for adopting an annual operating budget, insuring sufficient reserve funding, planning for both short term and long term maintenance/repair projects and adopting new rules/regulations should they become necessary.   The Board of Directors also interfaces directly with the contracted property management company who is responsible for managing the day to day concerns of the Sarah’s Glen Homeowners Association (HOA).

The Board of Directors carries a fiduciary duty on behalf of the Sarah’s Glen Homeowners Association and is legally obligated to adhere to all applicable laws that govern the operations of Illinois townhome associations.  Only one individual in a joint ownership residence can serve on the Sarah’s Glen Board of Directors at one time.  

Other than being willing to serve on the board in good faith and volunteer your time/energy, there are very few other restrictions that would prevent a Sarah’s Glen homeowner from being able to serve on the board of directors.  There is a wealth of information available online to help familiarize prospective board members with Illinois association law, proper board procedure and operating best practices.

The value of our homes and the desire to preserve Sarah’s Glen as an upscale townhome community should be very important to all Sarah’s Glen homeowners!  We live in a small association and we need new individuals who are willing to invest their skills, time and energy in voluntarily serving the homeowners association. 

The meeting to elect a new Board of Directors is scheduled for March 24, 2014 at the Annual Homeowners Meeting.  If you have an interest in serving on the board, please fill out and return the Candidate Profile form that you received no later than March 10, 2013.

If you have any questions or need another copy of the candidate profile form, please click here or contact W.L. Seymour Inc. at (847) 359-8980 / mail@wlseymour.com.  

We urge you to please consider volunteering your time to serve the Sarah's Glen community in which you live!

Several residents have reported that they have seen coyotes in the immediate area of Sarah's Glen and River Glen. Coyotes are numerous/permanent fixtures in Lake County and throughout Illinois. There isn't anything to do about them unless one of these naturally timid animals loses it's fear, becomes aggressive and attacks a human or pet. 

Village, county and wildlife organizations all have recommendations about not leaving food out, keeping pets closely observed at all times, etc. Coyotes are naturally fearful of humans and rarely dangerous to people, unless they lose that fear by being purposely fed and interacted with.

The Village of Vernon Hills has coyote information on their website here:
http://www.vernonhills.org/index.aspx?nid=260

The Lake County Forest Preserves has an FAQ about coyotes here:
http://www.lcfpd.org/docs/media_pub_25097.pdf

Flint Creek wildlife has some good information on coyotes as well:
http://www.flintcreekwildlife.org/fact_sheets/Coyote_Brochure.pdf

Lake County has a "who to call and when" document here:
http://health.lakecountyil.gov/Population/Documents/coyoteswhotocallandwhen.pdf

It's important to note that local agencies do not respond to calls about nearby coyote dens or calls about coyotes walking through neighborhoods, open areas or wooded areas. 

Coyotes are protected by Illinois state law and, as such, it is illegal for members of the public to harm, trap or kill coyotes. . Expensive “relocation” services do nothing but open up the territory for it to be filled by another nearby coyote - and there are many in the area.

The key to living with coyotes is remembering that they are naturally afraid of people. The most effective way to prevent a bad encounter with a coyote is to reinforce this natural fear through your behavior. Never approach a coyote, let your pet approach it, or feed it. If you are approached by a coyote, or it comes into your vicinity, scare it away by shouting at it and waving your arms over your head. Using an air horn or whistle will also help scare coyotes away from approaching you. These actions will reinforce the coyote’s natural fear of people and help teach it that our community property is not available territory.