Dear Upper Greenwood Lake Community,
I hope this email finds you and your family members well and healthy. We have all been through a good deal of upheaval in our lives, our jobs, and our day to day activities. It has been, and continues to be, one of the most challenging times for all of us. Not being able to socialize, meet friends and family, and have normal day to day contact is certainly something most of us never anticipated, nor have easily adapted to. Many of us have loved ones, friends, or colleagues who have succumbed to this virus, and I want to extend my thoughts and prayers to all of those at this time.
Here are some ways that The Upper Greenwood Lake Board of Trustees has been working diligently over this past winter and spring to get the lake we all love up and running in anticipation of things getting back to normal:
– Dredging Committee finalized the dredging of two major coves, Witte and Boat Launch. These two extremely large projects will keep our lake healthy and viable. We also took steps to shore up Boat Launch cove, one of many areas where erosion is causing infiltration of silt and soil to fill up the lake bottom.
– Security Committee has configured and installed a state of the art security system with updated cameras at the clubhouse, boat launch and dam, which will protect our public and communal areas, replacing what was an outdated, barely adequate system.
– Parklands Committee has been removing many dead trees which have fallen or were about to fall. Time constraints and many sites have made this an ongoing task.
– Environmental Committee had three successful clean-ups executed by dedicated volunteers: one along the lake edge to pull junk, tires and trash before the fill up, and two along the roadside, where bags were collected of trash that people discarded from their vehicles.
– Dock Committee has been working hard to ensure dilapidated docks are either repaired by the owner or put up for reassignment. They have also been assigning many members on the waiting list to a new dock spot for use this summer.
– The new and long overdue Clubhouse bulkhead is an engineering marvel, with a new boardwalk, updated boat launch area, and cantilevered docks. This project was in the planning and preparation stages for a long time.
– Stumps Committee reports that the extended draw down caused many stumps to become floating debris, which they have been collecting with the barge crews and transporting to pick up sites. Some of these stumps weigh over 600 pounds each, so this ongoing project continues to be a significant challenge.
– Bulkhead Committee has been hard at work reviewing and approving the many applications to repair and upgrade bulkheads planned by members during the draw down. Many properties needed bulkhead work, which is extremely important as the water’s edge continues to erode in some spots.
– Beach Committee is working to prepare the beach for the upcoming season, keeping in mind the new requirements that have been mandated by the state and the town.
With all of that being said, it is important to keep in mind that we are certainly not out of the woods just yet with this pandemic. As we move forward, the Board will keep you all abreast of the progress we are making, as well as the limitations placed upon us by our governor, our town, and our association rules. As we try to get back to normal, I ask you to be mindful of the following, and please do your part wherever and whenever you can:
1] Continue to drag any stumps you can onto the shore and place them near the road, and let our office know their locations for pick up. (office@uglpoa.com)
2] For any that are too large, please try to tie them to your dock or shoreline, and let the office know the location as well.
3] Be extra careful when launching your boat or jet ski of potential floating stumps, some of which could be lurking right below the waterline. Also, as always, use great caution when diving off of your boat.
4] If kayaking or rowing, it would be quite helpful if you could tie a floating plastic bottle or marker to any stump you see, and please let the office know the location.
5] PRACTICE SOCIAL DISTANCING. This applies when our beach opens and also out on the lake. Security doesn’t want to monitor tie-ups, but bear in mind that we need to keep safe distances from each other as required by the authorities. We would hate to be shut down because the town or state cites us for not abiding by the rules.
6] Plan on volunteering and helping out in any way that you can. Even just beautifying your own property, home, and roadside benefits us all who take pride in our community.
We all need to work together to make sure the virus we have been dealing with for months now does not come back to our community with a vengeance. It could happen, and we could be back to square one, losing the ground we have gained and also causing much hardship to many of our friends and family members who could be susceptible to this awful virus.
THANK YOU so much for all of your emails and letters, complimenting and recognizing of all of the hard work our Board of Trustee volunteers do to keep OUR lake the gem of Northern NJ… we appreciate it! Finally, I also want to thank you all for your support and for holding the course during this difficult time. Managing this wonderful lake comes with many expenses, many hours of time, and much dedication that are on behalf of us all.
Kind regards,
Dennis Decina
President UGLPOA, Inc.