New Residents
WE HOPE THAT YOU WILL FIND THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION HELPFUL. PLEASE STOP BY OUR OFFICE LOCATED AT THE GEORGETOWN CLUBHOUSE DURING POSTED HOURS (See Home Page).
DUES PAYMENT
The monthly dues are payable the first day of every month. Make checks payable to Georgetown Homeowners’ Association. Dues may be paid at the office, placed in the black box attached to our Georgetown Homeowners’ Association sign (on Charleston Dr.), mailed or electronically paid. The dues for homes with garages are $197 per month and without garages the dues are $194 per month. There is no bill mailed to the homeowner for dues. However, if the dues are not paid by mid-month, the resident will receive an email reminder. Accounts not paid by midnight on the 20th of the month will have a $10.00 late charge added. Accounts not paid by the 10th of the following month will have interest added at an equivalent annual rate of 5%. Monthly fees cover the cost of such things as trash removal, water, snow removal, mowing, a maintenance reserve account for exterior repairs, pool, clubhouse and common area upkeep, etc.
TELEVISION SERVICE
Television service is available at each individual homeowner’s expense by contacting Comcast (local office in Quincy, IL; phone 800-934-6489); McDonough Telephone Cooperative (office in Colchester; phone 309-776-3211) and/or a satellite dish . Please inquire at the office if you are considering a satellite dish. There are guidelines for the installation, and the Board MUST APPROVE THE REQUEST PRIOR TO ANY INSTALLATION.
GEORGETOWN BOARD OF DIRECTORS
The Georgetown Board of Directors meet on the fourth Thursday (except for Nov. and Dec. – changed yearly depending on the holidays) of each month at 7 PM at the Clubhouse. The Board consists of nine directors. At the Board meetings, the Board acts on proposals from residents and MUST approve any proposed changes to the exterior of all townhomes prior to any work being done. The Annual Meeting is the first Tuesday of October. Directors are elected at this time. Committees are as follows: Recreation, Architecture, Landscape, Maintenance (Sub Committees of Drainage, Arlington Slump, Snow Removal, Sidewalks, Equipment, Shop, Lagoon and Garden), . Any Georgetown resident may join one or more of the committees.
HOUSEHOLD TRASH AND RECYCLABLES
For homes without garages, household trash should be taken to the trash enclosure and placed inside of the dumpster bins. This is NOT the place to put unwanted mattresses, furniture, etc. The trash collector will not take it away. We have two “junk days”, one in the spring and one in the fall, at which time old appliances, mattresses, etc. may be put out at the curbside for pick up. The garbage is collected from the bins on Thursdays of each week.
For residents without garages appropriate recycling items may be placed in the containers labeled recycling inside the garbage enclosures. Items for recycling do not need to be in a bag or separated BUT please break down any cardboard boxes BEFORE placing them in the recycling containers.
For homes with garages, the recycling container provided by Waste Management may be placed near the curb every other Tuesday and regular garbage may be placed near the curb every Tuesday for pick up.
PETS
Pets are allowed at Georgetown. IT IS THE PET OWNER’S RESPONSIBILITY TO ALWAYS CLEAN UP DEPOSITS LEFT BY THEIR ANIMAL AND NOT ALLOW THE ANIMAL TO RUN AT LARGE THROUGH THE COMMON AREAS. This is required by our Covenants and By-Laws. Along with inconsiderate parking practices, pet droppings being left behind in the common areas where children play and walkers walk, is the number one complaint received by the office. There is a dog park available for residents. Residents must register at the office for use of the park.
PARKING
Two parking spaces are provided for each of the units without garages. Guest parking places are located throughout the parking areas. They are marked GUEST on the curb. Guest parking spaces may NOT be used by residents with more than two vehicles. Parking for extra vehicles is located west of the office. Please notify the office when parking a vehicle there. Detailed restrictions and policies can be read in the Covenants and By-Laws.
LAWN CARE
Residents are responsible for the maintenance of their backyards. Garden plots are available in the spring for those residents interested. Grass clippings and other lawn and garden debris are not allowed by ILLINOIS STATE LAW to be placed in the garbage bins. The way to properly dispose of yard waste is to place yard waste in a designated yard waste, brown paper bag at curbside early on weekday mornings or leave the bag at the shop placed by the yard waste sign . Snow removal on sidewalks, parking bays and driveways is also provided.
POOL
The pool is usually open from Memorial Day through Labor Day. Hours of operation are detailed in the pool rules. Resident passes and guest passes are issued to each household, along with a copy of the rules in the spring. The dates that passes are available is annually published in the May Newsletter. Passes may be picked up during regular office hours ONLY.
CLUBHOUSE
Residents may reserve the Clubhouse by contacting the office. A damage deposit of $50 is required, as is a $25 cleaning supply fee. The Clubhouse must be cleaned immediately following use. The damage deposit will be returned after it is checked for cleanliness. Specific rules and regulations pertaining to the use of the Clubhouse are available at the office and are provided to users when the key is issued. ONLY RESIDENTS AND THEIR GUESTS ARE PERMITTED TO USE THE CLUBHOUSE.
YARD SALES
Georgetown plans a spring yard sale each year usually in mid May and occasionally, if there is enough interest, a fall yard sale in mid-September. The Association runs a general ad in the McDonough Voice/Choice announcing the date and times of the sale. Each resident places items in the front yard and runs their own sale. Residents can run their own yard sale, at any time.
INSURANCE
Each individual homeowner maintains insurance for his or her own townhome and property. The Association maintains insurance for all the common areas, Clubhouse, pool and shop.
VOTING
Residents can register to vote at the McDonough County Courthouse located on the Macomb Square (Phone number is 833-4649); the local Drivers Motor Vehicle office located on Deer Road (Phone number is 309-833-5661); or online at the IL State Board of Elections. Georgetown is located in Emmett Township, McDonough County, and our voting location is the Emmett Chalmers Firehouse located on W. Adams Rd.
SCHOOLS
Children living in Georgetown attend the following schools: Preschool – MacArthur School; Kindergarten through second grade – Lincoln school; Third, Fourth, and Fifth Grades – Edison. St. Paul’s Catholic School includes grades K-6. Macomb Junior/Senior High Schools are located on S. Johnson Rd. Bus service for children is provided for all grades. Please contact the bus supervisor at 836-6806 for pick-up information.
FIRE PROTECTION
The Emmett Chalmers Fire Protection District provides Georgetown with fire protection. The firehouse is located on W. Adams Rd. just beyond the main entrance to Georgetown. The emergency number is 911. Their web site is www.ecfpd.org.
UTILITIES
New residents will need to contact Ameren for gas and/or electric service. Their phone number is 800-755-5000. Residents can contact Frontier at 800-373-6843 for land line phone service/internet. Or contact McDonough Telephone Cooperative at 309-776-3211 for internet/land line phone services. There is no need to arrange for water, sewer or garbage service as that is part of your Georgetown dues. Georgetown does receive water from the City of Macomb and garbage service is provided by Waste Management. Our sewer system is a lagoon located just west of Charleston Dr. Georgetown retains a licensed lagoon operator to monitor the lagoon and to send monthly reports to the E.P.A. It is the responsibility of Georgetown to maintain our lagoon system.
EMERGENCY NUMBERS
Any emergency whether it is fire, police, health, etc. please call 911. If a red light is strobing near you, this means there is a lagoon problem or if you have sewage backing up into your basement; call Georgetown’s emergency number 309-588-4418. Leave your name, where you live and the reason for calling. The grounds manager will receive the call within minutes and take care of the situation as soon as possible. You CANNOT TEXT to this number. Also, any other calls will not be handled through this number; so if you need other types of assistance, you must contact the office.
NEWSPAPERS
Residents can arrange newspaper subscriptions from either the McDonough County Voice at 833-2114, Community News Brief at 309-421-0761 or the Peoria Journal Star at 800-322-0804.
EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES
Western Illinois University is located about one mile from Georgetown at 1 University Circle and can be contacted at 298-1891. Also located near by is Spoon River College at 208 S. Johnson and their phone number is 837-5727. Since Georgetown is not located in the City limits of Macomb, there is a yearly charge ($60) for our residents to use the Macomb City Public Library located at 235 S. Lafayette. The library at Western Illinois University is available for free to McDonough County residents.
MISCELLANEOUS
Office hours are 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays, closed from 1:30 – 2:00. Wednesdays’ hours are from 3:00 p.m. to 7 p.m. The office phone no. is 833-2341 and the answering machine is always on for questions after office hours. The e-mail address is gtown@macomb.com. If you would like the office to have your e-mail address as well, please leave it with Becky. The office manager is Becky Brillhart and the grounds manager is Rick Shryack. A new mailbox label will be placed on your mailbox by our crew. A Georgetown Newsletter with current news and upcoming events will be available on our web site approximately once a month. Please register your email address on the web site for Georgetown news.