2017 Annual Association Meeting

The Association Annual Meeting was held April 25, 2017.  Seventeen households were represented at the meeting.  Four Board members were elected to two-year terms:

Rob Mikel (29 Drake Court)
Katie Bowars (5 Mallard Court)
Worth Johnson (614 Old Farm Road)
Rick Galbreath (3 Mallard Court)

A full listing of all the current Board members along with the email addresses and phone numbers is available on the Board Member section of the website.

The 2017 budget was approved.  The Annual Meeting Minutes will be posted to the website soon once they have been approved by the Board.  The budget has been posted and can be found in the Members section of the website under OFL Meeting Minutes.

The Annual Garage Sale was held May 5 and 6 with several homeowners participating in the two-day sale.

2017 Old Farm Lakes Events

Upcoming 2017 events for all members of the Old Farm Lakes Property Owners Association:



April 25th – OFLPOA Annual Meeting
The Old Farm Lakes Property Owners Association annual meeting will be held at 6:30 PM April 25, 2017 at Coldwell Banker’s Realtor’s Office, 304 N. Hershey Road, Bloomington, Illinois.

The Association Annual Meeting will begin at 6:30 PM. At the annual meeting association members will vote on the 2017 budget, approve 2016 meeting minutes, elect new Board members, receive updates on 2016 accomplishments and 2017 plans, and have the opportunity to ask questions and provide input to the Board. If you are interested in serving on the OFLPOA Board of Directors, review the Volunteer to Serve on OFLPOA Board article and send an email to OFLPOA Board President, Ron Kwasny at: kwasofl@comcast.net, by April 15th to have your name added to the ballot.  Any OFLPOA property owner is eligible to run for election for open Board positions.  However, only names submitted by the April 15th deadline are eligible to be placed on the ballot and no write-in candidates are allowed.

Mark your calendar for this important meeting and plan to attend.



May 5th & 6th – Old Farm Lakes Garage Sale
The Old Farm Lakes annual subdivision-wide garage sale will be held May 5-6, 2016, 9am-3pm on Friday and 8am-3pm on Saturday. The Board will place an ad in the newspaper announcing the sale. All OFL residents are welcome to participate in the subdivision-wide sale on both days or for only one day.

OFL Playground

As many of you know, the Old Farm Lakes playground is starting to show its age. The equipment was installed more than 15 years ago and it has come to the Board’s attention that some repairs may be needed. Board members recently visited the playground, and based on their review, the decision was made to close some equipment based on its condition. The tall “curly slide” and the adult swing set are “closed for repairs”. Also, a few adult swings have been temporarily moved to the kiddie swing set.

The Board will discuss the status of the playground over the winter and determine next steps. The playground status and any recommendations will be discussed at the annual association meeting next spring.

Thanks for your patience and understanding as some playground equipment will remain closed through at least the winter.

OFLPOA Board

2016 Mussel Kill in Swan Lake

In late June, we experienced another fresh water mussel kill in Swan Lake. Mussels also were dying in Wildflower Lake which is part of the Old Farm Lakes Gardens subdivision. We estimate the loss of 20,000 mussels in Swan Lake. Fortunately, no fish kill occurred. The pattern and date are almost identical to the mussel kill that occurred last year. The OFLPOA Board notified the Illinois EPA and they sent agents from the Champaign and Peoria offices to investigate.

As with last year, a property owner in the Colonial Meadows subdivision sprayed Roundup around a wet retention basin in Colonial Meadows. When it rains, water concentrated with Roundup chemicals releases into Wildflower and Swan lakes.

The EPA agents spoke with the property owner spraying the Roundup and requested he stop spraying Roundup around the retention basin. The retention basin for the entire Colonial Meadows subdivision is practically right in the front yard of this property owner. He cannot get the city or township to control the weed growth in and around the basin. For health reasons, this property owner is unable to control the weed growth by just cutting them down. The property owner did agree to stop spraying the weeds so we can determine for sure that the Roundup spraying is the cause of the mussel kills. The Board offered to help the property owner in the future in his efforts to get the city or township to manage the weed growth without the use of chemicals are unsuccessful.

In 2013 we experienced a very large mussel kill, estimated to be 100,000 mussels. At that time, it was noted that weed killer was sprayed around a wet retention basin in a different upstream subdivision. Water from that basin also overflows into Wildflower and Swan lakes when it rains. The EPA said they would contact that homeowners’ association and request they refrain from spraying chemicals around their basin in the future.

The EPA is not certain the spraying of the weed killer into upstream water retention basins is the cause of the mussel kill. But the timing of all three past events point to this possibility. However, by the time we notice the mussel kills, several weeks have passed since the application of the chemicals and water samples taken after the mussel kill occurs no longer contain the chemicals. To be effective, water samples need to be taken soon after the chemicals are applied and water flows into Wildflower and Swan lakes.

We are hopeful if the upstream spraying stops, the mussels dying off in large numbers will also cease.

Paved Walkway – Summer 2016

During the second week of June 2016 an asphalt walkway was installed to connect Old Farm Lakes to the Constitution Trail on the empty outlot on Prenzler Drive.  The new asphalt path is six feet wide with a flared entrance and exit.  The new walkway replaces the old dirt trail and provides Old Farm Lakes residents with improved and convenient access to Constitution Trail and Gaelic Park.

The path was approved by OFL members at the April Annual Association Meeting. A photo library  shows the installation of the new paved walkway. The City of Bloomington paid for the first 17 feet of the path connecting to Constitution Trail.  McLean County Asphalt was the contractor who installed the asphalt walkway.

2016 Annual Association Meeting

The Association Annual Meeting was held April 26, 2016. Thirty households were represented at the meeting. Five Board members were elected to two-year terms:

Dan Cochran (18 Drake Court)
Randy Stege (3409 Fountain Lake Drive)
Patti Killian (2 Shoreline Court)
Michele Meadows (2 Cygnet Crossing)
Doug Verplank (604 Old Farm Road)

A full listing of all the current Board members along with the email addresses and phone numbers is available on the Board Member section of the website.

The 2016 budget was approved. The capital improvement project to build an asphalt path connecting Old Farm Lakes to the Constitution Trail on the Prenzler Drive outlot was approved.  The Annual Meeting Minutes will be posted to the website soon once they have been approved by the board.  The budget has been posted and can be found in the Board section of the website under OFL Meeting Minutes.

The Annual Garage Sale was held May 13 and 14 with several homeowners participating in the two-day sale.

2016 Old Farm Lakes Events

Upcoming 2016 events for all members of the Old Farm Lakes Property Owners Association:



April 26th – OFLPOA Annual Meeting
The Old Farm Lakes Property Owners Association annual meeting will be held at 7:00 PM April 26, 2016 at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, 3615 White Eagle Drive, Bloomington, Illinois.

The Association Annual Meeting will begin at 7:00 PM. At the annual meeting association members will vote on the 2016 budget, approve 2015 meeting minutes, elect new Board members, receive updates on 2015 accomplishments and 2016 plans, and have the opportunity to ask questions and provide input to the Board. If you are interested in serving on the OFLPOA Board of Directors, review the Volunteer to Serve on OFLPOA Board article and send an email to OFLPOA Board President, Ron Kwasny at: kwasofl@comcast.net, by April 15th to have your name added to the ballot.  Any OFLPOA property owner is eligible to run for election for open Board positions.  However, only names submitted by the April 15th deadline are eligible to be placed on the ballot and no write-in candidates are allowed.

Mark your calendar for this important meeting and plan to attend.



May 13th & 14th – Old Farm Lakes Garage Sale
The Old Farm Lakes annual subdivision-wide garage sale will be held May 13-14, 2016, 9am-3pm on Friday and 8am-2pm on Saturday. The Board will place an ad in the newspaper announcing the sale. All OFL residents are welcome to participate in the subdivision-wide sale on both days or for only one day.

Dead Ash Tree Removal

You may have noticed the dying/dead Ash trees throughout the City and within Old Farm Lakes. Ash trees throughout the county have been infected with an Emerald Ash Borer worm. The effect on the trees can be slowed with chemical treatment, but the infected Ash trees will eventually die.

Most of the Ash trees are on the City of Bloomington parkways. It is very likely that the Parks and Recreation Department of the City of Bloomington planted the trees and the Forestry Division of the Parks and Recreation Department will remove the dead or dying trees (at no cost to the property owner). The Forestry Division is actively surveying the Ash trees on City property and removing infested trees on a hazard first basis. They also may replace the removed trees with an alternate species provided ample space is available.

If you want to check on having your tree(s) removed and it’s on the City parkway, you can call the Forestry Division of the City of Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department at 309-434-2260.

Note: If the dead or dying tree is not on the City parkway but located in your yard, you will need to arrange and pay for the removal of the tree. If you plan to remove a tree on your property, you should submit a plan to the homeowner’s association Architectural Review Committee prior to doing so.

2015 Annual Association Meeting

The Association Annual Meeting was held April 29, 2015. Eleven households were represented at the meeting. Four Board members were elected to two-year terms:

Ron Kwasny (22 Swan Lake Rd)
Rob Mikel (29 Drake Ct)
Worth Johnson (614 Old Farm Rd)
Katie Bowars (5 Mallard Ct)

A full listing of all the current Board members along with the email addresses and phone numbers is available on the Board Member section of the website.

The 2015 budget was approved. The Annual Meeting Minutes and the budget are posted in the Board section of the website under OFL Meeting Minutes.

The Annual Garage Sale was held May 15 and 16 with more than 50 homeowners participating in the two-day sale.