Dear Carleton Terrace Park Owners,

It is time again for our annual Carleton Terrace Park Association Membership Drive!

Carleton Terrace Park is a valuable asset that enhances the worth of every lot owner in our neighborhood. Your involvement in the association is essential for the ongoing maintenance, improvements, and the annual liability insurance coverage we secure to protect our community. Over the past year, we’ve seen our neighborhood grow stronger as neighbors unite to preserve and improve the park for the enjoyment of future generations. We hope to have even more support this coming season!

Here are some of the great things we’ve been able to accomplish with the increased involvement, and why your participation can help us do even more:

1. New Dock and Shoreline Restoration Plans:
   A Capital Projects Committee has been formed, and fundraising has already begun! If everyone pitched in just a little bit, we could raise the funds needed to restore our park to its past glory, allowing us all to fully enjoy the beautiful nature that the Indian River Lagoon provides. This is a big project, and with your support, we can make it happen.
   
   
2. Increased Community Events & Volunteer Efforts:
   This year, we kicked off some exciting community events, including our first annual New Year Picnic, which was a huge success thanks to everyone’s participation! From delicious food provided by Board President Ron Chabot to the amazing sides brought by neighbors, it was a fantastic time for all. We’ve also had three productive park cleanups, where volunteers helped keep our park beautiful and fostered pride in our neighborhood. And let’s not forget our annual Neighborhood Street Sale, a favorite event that brings us together to declutter, shop locally, and connect. With your continued involvement, we can make future events even bigger, better, and more impactful for everyone!
   
   
3. Improved Communication:
   In an attempt to be as transparent as possible with every homeowner in Carleton Terrace, regardless of paid membership or not, we’ve implemented several communication methods to try and get the word out about meetings, events, and more. This includes email, a Facebook group, physical mailers, and larger signs at the entrance of the park and at Michigan and Meridian. Most importantly, the Carleton Terrace website is live with a robust amount of information about the park and community. Be sure to check it out, especially if you are new to the neighborhood and want to learn some of the history behind the park: carletonterracepark.org

Your membership and participation are vital to the success of the association and the long-term preservation of Carleton Terrace Park. The more involved we are as a community, the stronger and more vibrant our neighborhood becomes. We look forward to making 2025 the best year yet for Carleton Terrace!

IMPORTANT DETAILS ABOUT THE MEMBERSHIP DRIVE:

Homeowners who choose to become members pay a yearly membership fee. The fee is $100 for the year per property owned. This helps the association maintain the park and secure insurance to cover the liability of its members. All lot owners in Carleton Terrace are eligible and encouraged to become members, but membership is not required to have access or enjoy the park. However, non-members will not be covered by the park’s liability insurance should an incident occur.

From now until June 30th, you will have the opportunity to become a member for the 2025-2026 fiscal year. There is a deadline to become a member if you want to vote at the Annual Member Meeting or be nominated for a director position – to be held tentatively on July 12th, 2025. There will be two items voted on at this year’s meeting:

1. Board of Director Seat Elections
   
   
2. Changing the Fiscal Year from July 1 – June 30 to the calendar year. (This is explained in further detail later in the letter)
   
   

The letter that was mailed to all Carleton Terrace Owners included in the packet a physical membership form as well as a nomination form. We also have an electronic membership form linked below.

The Process:
Fill out the membership form, pay your dues and send in your nominations no later than June 30th, 2025.

All paid members will receive an election packet that will contain the biographies of director candidates for review, a ballot, a “secret ballot” envelope, a return envelope to provide the lot address voting and a limited proxy to ensure a quorum is met. We will also include instructions.

We hope you’ll choose to join as a member this year. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us with any questions or concerns: carletonterraceparkassoc@gmail.com

Proposal to Change the Fiscal Year from July 1 – June 30 to a Calendar Year (Jan 1 – Dec 30)

The board has had considerable discussions about aligning their fiscal year with the calendar year. There are many reasons why this change would be beneficial to the association:

1. It would save the association money – each year by March we have to file an annual report with the Division of Corporations. The cost is $70. When holding elections in July/August, if a director or officer changes due to elections, we are required to file another report at an additional cost of $70 to have those names changed. Holding elections at the beginning of the year would eliminate the potential for having to pay that fee twice.
2. It could potentially increase Snowbird participation in meetings and elections. Every summer we have many neighbors that travel north for the summer. Holding the elections in the first part of the year may increase participation and in turn membership dues.
3. It would not be so hot during elections and we could couple the annual meeting with our annual picnic. This would potentially increase participation and in turn membership dues.

If the members vote in favor of this change, it would not go into effect until July 1, 2026. At the end of the current fiscal year, the association would hold the annual membership drive as usual from June 1 – June 30, 2026. The newly elected board for the 26/27 year would serve an 18 month term (July 1, 2026 – December 30, 2027) to allow for change of the fiscal year to cycle through. The next election would then be held in January of 2028.

Since there will be an additional 6 months in the term, the membership fees in June 2026 would need to be increased to $150.00 to account for the 18 month term, and then would return back to their normal amount of $100.00 for the 2028 year.   

If you have any questions about this change and how it would affect you, please email us at carletonterraceparkassoc@gmail.com.

HAVE YOU JOINED OUR FACEBOOK GROUP?

All park owners are welcome to join. We use this group to further our communication reach by posting events, meetings and other information about the community. Request by searching “Carleton Terrace Park Owner’s Group” or use this link to take you to the group directly.