Friends of Lake Antioch

2022 Review

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Last year was a very productive year for the FOLA Board.  Our top priority, as always, was lake maintenance.  We continued the established treatment plan that we’ve used the last several years that has been so successful and appreciated the flexibility to make adjustments when we experienced unexpected weed growth. 

 

The balance of our efforts were categorized into “major” and “minor” focus areas:

Major initiatives:

• Expanded the social events calendar offered to our members.  In addition to the well established events (Fishing Derby, Venetian Night) we made an effort to add new activities including Fall Fest, golfing and bowling.

• Privatization. This effort has been ongoing for years and we made a major breakthrough in 2022 when we were able to prove that we meet the criteria for private lake status.  This allowed us to move forward on several related activities:

  • Submitted documentation to the Village of Antioch Attorney confirming the lake status and in the process have established a good working relationship with the village

  • Erected a secured gate at the boat launch

  • Installed additional signage around the lake announcing the privacy of the lake

Additional activities:

• Adjusted our Bylaws to limit electric motor power to keep the lake safe and reduce erosion impact due to boat wakes

• Board members attended various meetings and seminars on topics related to lake maintenance to grow our knowledge

• We set up a PO box as our mailing address to eliminate confusion around where to send hardcopy documents, including bills from our vendors.

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2023 Lake Plan

At the beginning of 2023, our lake maintenance provider, Clark, was purchased by Solitude.  At the time of the purchase, the FOLA board was optimistic that this expanded organization might offer new capabilities, so we began to move in the direction of using them for this year.  However, as we approached the maintenance season, we were having trouble getting proper communication from them for the treatment plan and commitment for dates of the first treatment.  This became very alarming in mid-May because the timing of our initial treatment is a key element in the overall seasonal plan.  With this concern the board began a search for alternative partners for our lake’s treatment.

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We located a company that has employees that are familiar with our lake and were able to quickly negotiate a treatment plan and contract which are in line with what we expected from Clarke/Solitude, so we’ve started a new partnership with Black Lagoon.  We are excited to work with this company and are optimistic that they will be as responsive as Clarke was for many years.

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The first treatment occurred in early June which will be in line with timing for the initial treatment the last several years. As the season progresses, Black Lagoon will adjust the plan based on the outcomes we are seeing.  The program will also include applications targeting submerged nuisance weeds, algae and lily pads along the shorelines where residents have granted approval for the treatments.  There will be additional treatments in June, July and August.

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