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News/Announcements    2010 Census    A Perfect Storm    Assessment Notices    Board Volunteers    C.C. Volunteers    CDBG Funds Available    Charter/Ordinances    City Council    Clinton River Trail Website    Committee Members    Community Center Rental    Credit Card Payments    CRWC    Dead Trees    Drop Boxes    Due Dates    Garbage Cans    "Help Wanted" List       Late Fees    Millage Information    Mobile Office    Parks and Recreation    Passport Day    Pet License Renewal    Policy Changes    Recycling Rewards    RV Storage    RV Storage Availability    Scrapbook Volunteer       Snowmobilers    Sylvan Lake Crafters    Virtual Tour    Website    Wheeled Trash Cans                      Community Events    Garage Sale    Home and Garden Tour    Learning Together    Memorial Day Parade    Movie Night    Garden Club    Sylvan Shuffle          Sylvan Lake History      What's In Your Attic?         Special Thanks/Kudos Project Updates    Recycling Program     Community Programs    Cat Adoption    Fur-e-tails Newsletter           Contact Us   Calender Of Events   Paper Newsletter        Contact Sylvan Lake   City Hall Address 1820 Inverness Sylvan Lake, MI 48320   City Hall Phone: 248-682-1440   Fax: 248-682-7721   Email City Hall Click here to email City Hall

Welcome To The Sylvan Lake Spotlight   Forward this E-Newsletter to your friends!     WELCOME TO OUR  SPOTLIGHT ON THE COMMUNITY!                 Community Events           Movie Night Movie nights are still uncertain at this time. But keep watching for parks and recreation meetings as they organize their group and great events like this!         City-Wide Garage Sale This year's garage sale will take place from May 27th to May 29th. The cost for ads and a permit is $20. The deadline for the addresses to be put on the list is May 25th. Please fill out a form and place the form in the box at City Hall. If you have any questions, please call Char at 248-681-3724.       Sylvan Lake Garden Club On Thursday, March 18th, at 7 p.m., the Garden Club will present Bill Pioch, Oakland County's 2005 Master Gardener of the Year, who will speak to Sylvan Lake residents about vegetable gardening. Among his topics will also be container gardening. Everyone is welcome. Oakland County Market shoppers may already know Bill as he sells his produce there.  The meeting is free of charge.   Learning Together Playgroups Please click here to read about the great event to help with parent-child interaction and early learning activities for children.   Sylvan Shuffle Get your running shoes dusted off! The Sylvan Shuffle will take place on May 1st at 9:00 a.m. There will be music, food, neighbors, and fun. There will be a 5-K run, a 1-K run for the kids, and a 5-K walk. Go to www.sylvanshuffle.com for registration and more information.   Memorial Day Parade Spring is just around the corner and plans are being made for this year's Parade. Your help is needed for volunteering or providing a donation. A form is available at City Hall to register to participate, volunteer, or donate. Please contact Jim Bull at 248-681-3053 if you have any questions.   Home and Garden Tour Save your date for this great event on June 19th. Keep looking out for more information in upcoming newsletters.     March Calender Of Events 8th and 10th - Board of Review meetings for assessment appeals. 14th - Daylight Saving Time; move clocks ahead one hour. 15th - Census questionnaires mailed to residents. 17th - St. Patrick's Day. 18th - Master Gardener presentation. 20th - First day of Spring. 27th - Passport Day.

 

"Help Wanted" List

We are updating our handyman list.  We are not asking you to donate your time.  City Hall often has residents call asking if we know of somebody they can hire to do odd jobs, babysitting, driver, rake leaves, shovel snow, etc. for them.  We are expecially looking for people willing to clear snow from driveways.  If you would like to be on our list of names to give to people, please call City Hall and let us know what type of work you can do. Thank you for those that have responded. The City does not endorse the people on the list, we simply pass the names on. 

 

 

Boat Trailer and Recreational Vehicle Storage (NOW IN EFFECT)

Please remember when storing your boat to keep your registration with you. You will need to provide it to register your boat and dock space next year. We do have a recreational vehicle (RV) storage ordinance that governs where recreational vehicles may be stored after October 31st. This includes boats and boat trailers. Here are some of the requirements:

• All RV’s must be placed within a completely enclosed building or located behind the required front yard setback (appx. 45' from the street) and at least three feet from the side and rear lot lines.
• You cannot store an RV on vacant property.
• You cannot hook up an RV to water, sewer, or electricity and they must remain unoccupied. 
• No more than two RV’s may be stored on one piece of property at one time. (A boat hoist is considered an RV)
• RV’s may not be stored in the road right of way at any time.  

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Community Center Rental

Most of you have seen the beautiful Community Center and we want it to be used more. During the summer, we had a few residents volunteer to be attendants at the Community Center for various times of the day. Because of that, anybody could drop in to play cards, games, watch TV, etc. That has slowed down for the winter, but we look forward to having it open more in the spring and summer of 2010. However, we cannot do that without your help. If you would like to volunteer as an attendant for a four-hour block of time, please contact City Hall. The attendant(s) could be an individual or a small group that would like to use the Community Center and allow others to use it as well. The following information for Sylvan Lake Crafters is an example. Please check the Community Center calendar on the Sylvan Lake website for dates and times it is open.

 

Sylvan Lake Crafters 

Bettie Pitchford and Josephine Ondik invite you to join their crafting group which will meet at the Community Center on Tuesdays from 12:00 noon to 4:00 pm. Bring your quilting, knitting, stitching, or crafts. What a great place to meet others with the same talents and interests and share your knowledge!

 

Community Center Virtual Tour

A virtual tour of the Community Center is available on the Sylvan Lake website as well as a list of amenities it offers.

 

Dead Trees

Remember that dead trees can be dangerous for not only your household, but your neighbors' as well. Dead trees allow animals to harbor within them and could fall on a house. Please take care of them properly. A permit is not required to remove the dead, diseased, or dangerous branches, trees, or shrubs. Please wait to prune back diseased trees, shrubs, and other woody-stemmed landscape plants until the frost period.

 

Website

Make sure you visit our website at www.sylvanlake.org for regular and current information.  

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CRWC

The Clinton River Watershed Council (CRWC) is a non-profit organization to help protect and improve the health of the Clinton River. The CRWC also wants to assure that the river's natural, economical, and recreational attributes enhance the quality of life for those who are directly affected by it.  The CRWC is made up of four full-time and two part-time staff along with a 15-member board of directors. They provide programs in areas of watershed management, such as Stream Leaders, Adopt-A-Stream, River Day, and Clinton Clean-Up Programs.  The Clinton River, as some may know, runs through Sylvan Lake.  Click here to learn how the CRWC has such an impact on Sylvan Lake.    

 

Clinton River Trail

Trail enthusiasts are encouraged to volunteer their time to help clean, trim, and maintain the Trail. We are looking for a list of people willing to help in the late winter to trim trees and bushes (prior to leaves growing). Later in the spring, we will conduct a trail cleanup. If you are willing to help, please call or email City Hall with your contact information. You will be notified with cleanup dates. We thank those that regularly volunteer to beautify the trail.  

 

Clinton River Trail Website

The old railroad that is now a trail that goes through Sylvan Lake is part of the Clinton River Trail system.  For all of you trail users and enthusiasts, the Clinton River Trail's website is full of news and updated features.  It is updated by the Friends of Clinton River Trail (FCRT).  Thanks to John Hensler, and FCRT member, the website is getting better and better.  For any words of appreciation or any suggestions, please contact John at john@sunkenanchor.com

 

  

 Sylvan Lake History 

We would greatly appreciate any assistance you could offer to expand this important and interesting section of the newsletter. We are looking for any interesting articles relating to the City's history. We are also looking for photos relating to the City, such as:

• the Oakland County Boat Club,
• Memorial or Veterans Park,
• Ferndale Park,
• the beach on Lakeview,
• the Interurban,
• City Hall,
• Free Press Fresh Air Camp,
• the Community Center, and
• the Daniel Whitfield School.

Family photos and any and all events around Sylvan Lake will also be accepted and reviewed. Please label your photos and bring them to City Hall. They will be scanned and returned promptly. There are also two City Council Meeting Minute books missing. The book that dates before 1928 is the first City Council book. It would be interesting to read about how Sylvan Lake became a Village. Another missing book is for the years from 1946 to 1950, when Sylvan Lake became a City. Please look around your home for these missing books and return them to City Hall. 

 

What's In Your Attic?

We’re finding slices of Sylvan Lake history in many of the homes residents are renovating.
Please go into your attic, basement, and garage of your home and see what you can find – Sylvan Lake has so much history and we’re compiling as much as we can for our legacy for generations to come. Please contact me being mindful that something you may see as “junk” could in fact be a prized piece of our history.

 

Samples of some recent “finds” are from the house at 1730 Lakeland Avenue, the house on the corner at Lakeland and Garland. It is in a restoration process with most decisions tied to its original design of the 1920 era.

We prowled the basement and garage and found the items pictured. The double bucket was likely used to wash floors and the family car – one side for soapy water and the other for clean water. The brass faucet was possibly used in the kitchen or outside. The cage-looking item was used to protect a light bulb while doing repairs around the house, like an extension cord with a light. The house had knob and tube wiring using the white cylinders and the brown mushroom-shaped ceramic. The flask probably held whisky and the jar with jelly. The window frame came from the garage.

 

 

 

  Special Thanks/Kudos

Thank you to Patrick Runk and the other volunteers for moving forward with the Parks and Recreation Committee.

 

 Project Updates

 

 

Community Programs 

  

 Fur-e-tails Newsletter

A new electronic newsletter for pet lovers, fur-e-tails, has been launched by Sylvan Lake resident Linda Wasche.  Every monthly issue contains information and news covering all topics ranging from pet care and nutrition to the latest in pet products and pet lover events.  For your FREE subscription contact editor-fur-e-tails@oaklandpetfund.org.  All proceeds from fur-e-tails advertising will go to benefit Oakland pet fund, bringing the No-More-Homeless Pets movement to Oakland County. 

 

Cat Adoption

If you would like to read some information about adopting a cat or kitten, click here.

 

 

 

 

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We want and need your input.  It is very important to help keep our newsletter different and exciting each month. 

Would you like to let your neighbors know more about what your committee is up to?  Or maybe you have news and information you would like to share, such as family announcements, recipes, decorating ideas, or crafts.  We invite you to submit content that you think your neighbors will want to know about.   We will include information as space allows.  All submissions must follow the Newsletter Guidelines for Outside Submissions at the end of this newsletter.  

 

Please encourage neighbors who have not signed up for this newsletter to do so.  While those not on our email list will receive a print version of the newsletter, it will be in black and white, only contain basic information, and they will not receive our reminders and updates.

 

 

We need your photographs!

 

If you have any photos related to the City that you would like to share, please forward them following the guidelines in this newsletter.  The photos can be from a special event, sunset, or just a "nature" photo. Click on  "Newsletter Guidelines for Outside Submissions" above to see how to do it.

 

And don't forget to visit the Sylvan lake Website.

 

-- John Martin, City Manager

 

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Newsletter Guidelines for Outside Submissions

The City of Sylvan Lake welcomes articles, news and updates from members of the community. Such information should be relevant to Sylvan Lake, to its residents and to living in the community.  The editor reserves the right to accept or reject any such information.  All such information will also be edited for style and space. 

In submitting information, please follow the guidelines below. 

 Submit your information, preferably in electronic form, to:

            Newsletter Editor

            Sylvanlakenmailto:Sylvanlakenewsletter@gmail.com

            248-682-1440