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Summer

Summer so far has been near perfection. Not too hot and not too cold... just comfortably great.

Get out and tour the entire coastline of the lower and upper Peninsula for you will not find any more breath taking beauty than that which surrounds you in Michigan!

Board Talk

Our Annual Meeting was well attended with approximately 60 persons in attendance. Gary Rasmussen, Accountant for Brickley DeLong reviewed our Budget for 2010 - 2011 and we were nearly within all budget projections for the year. To obtain a copy of his report please call Gary direct at 231 - 726 - 3157.

Dan Weller was re-elected to another three year term on the Board of Directors.  

We are still in negotiations with John Darien to close out his interest in Harbour Towne Condominiums and prepare our final Master Deed as required by Michigan Law. A settlement offer has been submitted to his attention and we are awaiting his action.

As reported on our website, Quality Landscape had an applicator malfunction when they were applying herbicide at Harbour Towne and burned our grass. It does not appear that the grass was killed at this point. Quality is applying 2 additional fertilizations, increasing the irrigation schedule and as a last resort will re-seed if necessary. Quality has been with Harbour Towne from the start and will do everything within their power to rectify this situation at their cost.

Quality started pruning back the shrubbery at Harbour Towne. We have requested that they trim all shrubbery 12 inches from the buildings and trim the height of all bushes to no more than half the height of the windows. Current flowering shrubs will not be pruned back until the fall or spring.

Additionally we have asked that entrance to all fenced in utility, meter locations be trimmed back 2 feet to allow meter reader access.

Our current $45 monthly assessment ends on July 31, 2011.  Effective 8/01/2011, our monthly dues will revert to $215 ($160 per month for Maintenance Fees and $55 per month for the Reserve Fund).

O'Malley's Pest Control spraying for spiders and ants is complete for the season.

Our Window cleaning is complete for the season with the exception of the seven buildings that are being painted. Those buildings will have the windows cleaned upon completion of all painting in the fall.

Our new monthly accrual accounting report will be posted on our website with expanded financial information starting this month.

If you have yard waste in authorized City of Muskegon collection bags... frequently the City fails to pick them up in timely manner. If that should happen please contact the Department of Public Works at 724-4100 for pick-up.

Most of our website, www.harbourtownecondos.com, has been updated. Please visit on a regular basis to keep advised of any changes occurring at HTC!

Hit & Run Accident at HTC

On Saturday, July 09, 2011 @ 10:10 PM a tan late model Tahoe or Denali SUV jumped the curb at our Fulton Street entrance as it existed from West Harbour Towne Circle. The vehicle sustained extensive damage to the driver's side and unearthed two sets of landscape posts at the island. If you have any information regarding the driver or license number of this vehicle please contact the Muskegon Police Department or any Association Board Member!

Voluntary Tree Planting Program

The Association Board provided the Advisory Grounds Committee with a $1,000 to purchase and plant trees around the area. The concept was to see how many trees could be purchased and planted with volunteer help. So far six trees have been planted with the help of Paul Schreur, Larry Tetzlaff, Randy Karnes, Doug Gaynor and Steve Gaynor.

Annual HTC Clean-Up Day - August 27, 2011 - 9am to 11am

The volunteer Grounds Committee will again host a two-hour Harbour Towne Clean-up of the common ground areas. Following the general clean-up, lunch will be served at 11:45 am to all participants. Please mark your calendar now for this event!

Future HTC Board Meetings

All future HTC Boards Meetings will be held at the Great Lakes Naval Memorial & Museum building immediately north of our Fulton Street Entrance. Meetings are scheduled the 2nd Wednesday of the month at 6:30pm.

Satellite Dish Restrictions

Seventy + percent of the owners at HTC have Comcast as their TV provider. You may opt to have a Satellite provider (Dish or Direct). Before a Satellite dish is installed you must have the Association Board's approval on the installation location, wiring path to your unit and where the wiring will enter your unit. Additionally you may be required to provide added landscaping to mask your dish presence. Satellite dishes may not be suitably for all locations. Please contact Jerry Siminski at 759-3451 if you are considering the installation of a Satellite dish.

Harbour Towne Yacht Club

At the beginning of this year Foreclosure Procedures were imposed on the Harbour Towne Yacht Club (HTYC) and they officially have until 7/28/2011 to redeem the property. Due to the uncertainty of the Club's continued existence beyond that date, several Condo members opted not to renew their HTYC membership.  

As of the date of this Newsletter there still is no official word on whether HTYC will be able to resolve its financial jeopardy and remain an active Club. Everyone is hopeful that HTYC will remain a part of our neighborhood. 

Please be advised that there is a change in HTYC's enforcement of Club Policy. If you are not a current member of HTYC you are only allowed to visit the Club or pool three times as a guest, and then you must either secure a membership or stop attending. This has always been Club Policy; however in the past several years this policy was not monitored or consistently enforced.

Additionally Wednesday and Thursday meals are no longer available to the general public.

Bud Tips

Helpful hints from Bud Kemperman:

1. If you want a small amount of touch up stain for your condo please stop by my home (1678 West Harbor Towne Circle – telephone 755-9628).  I have stain in quart cans available for your use. If you borrow a can please return it in a timely basis as I have numerous requests for stain.
2. The Developer provided limited exterior eave troughs. If you wish to add additional eve troughs you can call Bob Groeneveld at Affordable Gutters (719-1033). He installed all the existing eave troughs at HTC and his rates are very reasonable. Water pouring directly on concrete or wood will deteriorate the surfaces.
3. f your wood deck is dirty I suggest using some of the professional deck cleaning treatments and follow the directions on the bottle. This cleaning method is much preferred to power washing which can be very destructive to the wood surface if not done correctly.
4. We do not recommend applying any wood treatment products to your deck floor as there is "no proof" stating that such products increase the longevity of the deck. Additionally you may not apply any wood treatment or stain to deck fences, railings, support posts or stairways (if applicable).  The Association Board has decided that the unfinished look of decks will eventually blend in better with the color of our stained condos.

New Arrivals

Between January 1st and March 31st 2011, three co-owner's units were sold. Please extend a warm Harbour Towne welcome to the following new resident:

Harbour Towne Events Calendar

• HT Ladies Luncheon Group - meets the 2nd Tuesday of the month, 1:00 pm, at Dockers.
• HT Bunko Bunch - meets the 4th Tuesday of the month at 1:00 pm. Call Arlene Wickland at 759-5513 for the location and to RSVP.
• HTC Association Board Meeting - routinely meets the 2nd Wednesday of each month at 6:30 pm, in the upper level of the Great Lakes Naval Memorial and Museum... located north of our Fulton Street entrance. Always check with a Board Member to verify that a meeting is being held for the month you plan to attend.

Famous Quotes

As you know I always end our Newsletter with famous or inspiring quotes that convey a timeless message. This month I decided to select famous presidential quotes. This year marks 146 years since Abraham Lincoln's assassination.  I started out wanting to select one quote from several presidents... but as I started to read Lincoln's quotes... I had a difficult time selecting one quote. Here are a few of the quotes that give you a hint of the man history called "honest Abe":

• "America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves".
• "Any people, anywhere, being inclined and having the power, have the right to rise up, and shake off the existing government, and form a new one that suits them better. This is a most valuable - a most sacred right - a right, which we hope and believe, is to liberate the world"
• "Be sure you put your feet in the right place, then stand firm"
• "Don't interfere with anything in the Constitution. That must be maintained, for it is the only safeguard of our liberties"
• "Books serve to show a man that those original thoughts of his aren't very new at all"
• "It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt" 
• "Labor is prior to, and independent of, capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if labor had not first existed. Labor is the superior of capital, and deserves much the higher consideration"
• "Let not him who is houseless pull down the house of another, but let him work diligently and build one for himself, thus by example assuring that his own shall be safe from violence when built"
• "My dream is of a place and a time where America will once again be seen as the last best hope of earth"
• "Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power"
• "No man has a good enough memory to be a successful liar"
• "Public sentiment is everything. With public sentiment, nothing can fail. Without it, nothing can succeed"
• "Republicans are for both the man and the dollar, but in case of conflict the man before the dollar"
• "Stand with anybody that stands right, stand with him while he is right and part with him when he goes wrong"
• "The ballot is stronger than the bullet"
• "The people will save their government, if the government itself will allow them"
• "These capitalists generally act harmoniously and in concert, to fleece the people"
• "This country, with its institutions, belongs to the people who inhabit it. Whenever they shall grow weary of the existing government, they can exercise their constitutional right of amending it, or exercise their revolutionary right to overthrow it"
• "We the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution"
• "You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time"
• "A house divided against itself cannot stand"

Nearly 150 years later... are his comments still relevant?  You decide! Abraham Lincoln was our 16th President and Republican.

Newsletter/Website Input

If you have a particular item or concern that you would like discussed in an upcoming issue of our newsletter or website,  please contact Jerry Siminski 759-3451 or Ken Terpstra 616- 443-2250, or any Board Member. Or send a note to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

HTCA Board Members

 
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Contact Sun Agency (231-759-7722 / This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) for “all” building and grounds requests, insurance claims and condominium fees! When sending email, let them know your Unit address, how to get in touch with you with questions, and a detailed description of your request.
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Website: www.harbourtownecondos.com