Greetings Cedar Springs Homeowners

We hope this update finds you well. This post is to share information about things happening in the neighborhood. We’ve listed a short description of each item followed by a detailed explanation for those wanting additional information.

1. New pond equipment installed in 2024!
2. New Rules updates regarding rentals in Cedar Springs, placing unwanted items at curbside, and posting flyers on mailboxes
3. Sub-zero temps do not mean it’s safe to go out on the pond! We have aerators that work 24/7 and they create open water. With that, large numbers of Canada Geese find it an appealing place to hang out to eat grass or bask on the ice. We have found a number of dead geese and ducks. We have spoken with the DNR and they have attributed it to avian bird flu. They recommend not touching any carcass. Please report any dead geese you see around the pond to the Board and we will take care of it asap.
4. Our front entrance will receive a face-lift in the spring!
5. If you have not paid your 2025 assessments, please do so. They are due March 1.
   

Your Board

The HOA Board of Directors would like to find additional Cedar Springs homeowners to join the team. The board meets once a month for about an hour and also confers as needed by email or phone. Meetings are held via Zoom.

As you probably know, our HOA is a large one, with 393 members. We expanded the board to seven members in 2021, intending to have a broad cross-section of input from Cedar Springs residents.

Having an active and engaged board enables the HOA to maintain and enhance the qualities that have attracted you to Cedar Springs. It’s a wide-ranging, interesting and enjoyable way to serve your neighborhood.

Among the board’s responsibilities are developing and managing annual budgets, interacting with vendors for mowing and snow removal of HOA-owned areas, coordinating beautification and pond-related projects, working with vendors to maintain the wastewater lift stations, responding to any questions from members or real estate agents, communicating with the membership via emails and the HOA website, interacting with city officials as needed, and conducting each year’s annual meeting.

If you are interested in joining our team, please reach out to us for more information about the HOA Board (cedarspringsassociation@gmail.com). Members are elected in January to one-year terms, but they can also be appointed to partial terms at any time during the year.

Lift Stations

We take a proactive approach to keep the sewage lift stations in good working order. Our efforts include daily review of lift station statistics, alarm conditions, and keeping spare pumps in inventory. Each of these sewage lift stations has two pumps that operate alternately, so if one pump fails the lift station continues to operate on the other pump.

We contract with PeopleService to conduct twice-monthly routine inspections of each station which includes cleaning the floats (yuck) that control when the pumps run, checking the alarms, and measuring the electrical draw (health) of the pumps. Once a year we engage Action Sewer and Septic Service to do a deep clean of lift stations that look especially greasy or have a lot of debris or feminine hygiene products present. This year we had stations Silver Maple Trail, Cypress Ridge, and Tupelo cleaned out. The following should never be flushed into the sewer system: feminine hygiene products of any kind, “flushable wipes” because they do not disintegrate, paper towels (same), and grease from cooking (wipe away and put it in your trash bag).

Also, once a year we engage Electric Pump, the company that originally installed the lift stations, to come out and do a comprehensive examination of the lift stations. Their annual examination includes checking out the station’s electrical controls, pulling the pumps out, and inspecting them for wear and tear. We have spare pumps in our inventory.
Being proactive and keeping spare pumps on hand mitigates the risk of failures.

In the rare case of an extended power outage, like we experienced in the 2020 Derecho, we have a portable electrical generator available that can be connected to the lift stations. If the sewage level for a lift station reaches a critical level during the power outage, the generator will be used to pump the accumulated sewage to the North Liberty sewage lines.