CYPRESS POINT
CIRCULAR Official Publication of the Cypress Point Homeowner's Association
DECEMBER 2011
VOLUME 3, ISSUE 12
From The President NO DUES INCREASE 2012 Neighbors, I am very pleased to announce that there will be no dues increase in 2012. Your 2011 Board of Directors unanimously voted to leave the 2012 dues at $460, which is the same amount for the fourth year in a row. As I said last year at this time, we know that the economy tanked and that unemployment is still high. That has to have affected some of our neighbors. That is why your Board is making every effort to avoid any new hardships for those in our neighborhood that have been victims of the high unemployment. Also, as I announced last year, we have been making escalated payments on the low-interest loan from Smart Street (a Division of the Royal Bank of Canada.) that was originally taken out to fund a massive number of new amenity additions for our neighborhood. That loan will be retired in April 2013, 14-months sooner than the original loan terms. In 2011 we “tightened our belt a little.” We are continuing that strategy in 2012. Indeed the 2012 budget has an approximate $21,000 shortfall. However, we do have some cash reserves that were built up and provided us the opportunity to avoid any dues increases for the third straight year. Some may point out that we can not continue to run a deficient budget every year. Copyright © 2011 Peel, Inc.
I would agree that we can not. However, with the escalation of the loan payments, we open a lot more cash flow beginning in 2013. So for example, we are again delaying until 2013 the building of the bayou bridge connecting section five of Lake Estates with Cypress Point sections five and six.
year of the plan was always going to be 2012. Because the Board was financially judicious in 2011, it has allowed us to again avoid a dues increase for 2012. As I said, it is because the cash reserves built up will cover both year’s short-falls, making the decision of no dues increases for 2012 the right choice.
We still had some money in the 2011 for some small new amenities and plenty of resources to maintain our existing amenities---all the while retiring the note 14-months early. For example we resurfaced the recreation center parking lot. Before year-end we will be adding hundreds of new landscaping plants, taking advantage of the 70% off sales at Houston Garden Center. We re-did the south lake south waterfall. We have started the major improvement of the community pool filtration system. In 2012 there will still be approximately $45,000 for new capital expenditures and again plenty of funds to maintain existing amenities. In 2011 and anticipated in 2012 the Board has continued to follow the financial model that I built and sold to the previous Board of Directors about five years ago, I honestly believe that we may have positioned ourselves to not only be in great financial shape, but that we may not have any dues increases for a number of years by continuing to follow the strategy that was laid out. The critical
It’s the right thing to do in these economic times. With the early payoff of the loan and by continuing to follow the financial model, I honestly believe that we may have postured ourselves to not only continue to be a strong financial organization, but one that can remain strong without the need for any increases for a number of years. Mike Flowers, President Cypress Point Community Improvement Association
Cypress Point - December 2011
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