Official Newsletter of
Settler’s Village
FROM THE PRESIDENT OF SETTLERS VILLAGE
As you may remember, Steve Breard has resigned the presidency of the Settlers Village HOA. In turn, the directors have elected Kim Rogers as the neighborhood’s new President. Kim held his first meetings with the Board on August 23rd and 31st to review some pressing issues facing Settlers Village. The HOA Board first discussed the pool project. As many of you remember, the original plan was to build the pool in stages to keep from straining the neighborhood’s budget. Unfortunately, replacing the pool requires the replacement of the filtering equipment and both the water supply and wastewater plumbing and piping. That, in turn, requires immediate attention to the building, which would house the filtering facilities. And because rework would be needed to bring the electrical up to code which is legally required by any extensive renovation to the building, the project will have to be structured into a single, large project. Current moneys saved toward the $590,000 project are a little over $267,000 and we have secured potential financing that would cover the balance, but leave no reserve cushion at all. Given the alarming economic decline nationwide, the Board made 3 decisions: 1. First, the Board will continue in place the current practice to save money toward the pool project. The minimum needed in the bank before beginning the project would be $472,000 or 80% of the total projected project’s cost. 2. While the last fee hike to support the project is scheduled for 2012, the Board is leaning towards delaying that for at least a year. While a final decision will be made at the budget meeting later this year, the current economic climate does not appear to support either the commencement of a new, expensive project nor an increase in maintenance fees. 3. The Board went ahead and approved, subject to some amendment of terms, a pool contract for AGleam to provide services to the pool facility. The Board also authorized some repairs to the pool to extend its life for a few more years. The Board also approved sending 4 properties to the neighborhood’s attorneys for enforcement of deed restrictions after exhausting all voluntary attempts. Next the Board was brought up to date on extensive changed to HOA regulations brought about by the Texas legislature. To touch on a few: 1. HOAs can no longer prohibit installation of flags, religious symbology, solar equipment or rain recycling equipment on a property. The Board can set some rules toward aesthetics, size and placement of the flag. 2. The legislature has done away with requiring property owners to be “current” on their fees to be able to vote for or seek election on HOA Boards. These rules remain pending a finalized form but become active as of the first of 2012. 3. While the HOAs power to foreclose for unpaid maintenance fees remains, some curbs on expenses incurred toward enforcement will be put in place for 2012. Again, the form remains to be finalized. 4. Property owners will need to be notified of all Board meetings. The how part remains to be finalized.
Published by: 7102 Glen Chase Ct • Houston, TX 77095 • 281-463-8649 1 November 2011 Settler’s Village email: news@krenekprinting.com for articles • ads@krenekprinting.com for business ads • classified@krenekprinting.com for classified ads Krenek Printing