Woodforest Gazette

August 2012

August Yards of the Month

Michael Cone– 202 Andorra Billy & Linell Offield– 14219 Wadebridge

NATIONAL NIGHT OUT

National Night Out is scheduled for Thursday October 2nd, 2012 from 6-9pm. WCA is hosting the event

at our office to encourage residents to gather and get to know one another. This night encourages

neighborhoods nationwide to increase their own awareness of neighborhood protection. Come join us

for great food and refreshments, prize drawings, local speakers, and a moonwalk for the kids. All resi-

dents will be registered to enable us to monitor the attendance. Anyone interested in donating items or

gift cards from local area businesses, please contact the WCA Office.

[NOTE: Drawings will commence around 8:00 pm and winners must be present to win.]

REMINDER OF NOVEMBERS ELECTION

WCA’s annual election will be held on Nov. 13th, 2012 @ 7pm. We encourage all residents to attend. If

you are interested in becoming a board member, please stop by our office and sign a nomination ques-

tionnaire. We have six available board seats with five incumbents returning. NO FLOOR NOMINATIONS

WILL BE ACCEPTED. Please remember to represent your vote by attending in person or by signing your

proxy (pg. 2) and dropping it by our office. Woodforest is one of Houston’s largest communities with the

lowest annual civic fees. Other equally sized communities pay upward of $700 annually. This is why it’s

so important for you to attend or deliver your proxy. Communities without ample proxies could be sub-

ject to a management company that can raise your assessments and reduce your level of services.

WCA Monthly Financial Report

Deposits– $19,973.47

Disbursement- $77,012.96

Office/Utilities- $795.00

Utilities, telephone & internet, copy machine, post-age meter, alarm monitoring, software, document control

Street lights- $11,102.28

Garbage- $39,851.22

Legal- $ 12,448.57

Patrol- $ 2,100

Payroll- $ 4,825.92

Payroll Taxes- $ 1,339.06

Landscape/Maintenance - $ 1,075.00

Newsletter- $ 1,140.63(printing, supplies, postage)

Office supplies/Postage/Equip– $ 2,190.28

Force Mows- $145.00

***The majority of our funds are collected in Janu-

ary when assessments are due. That is why the

disbursements appear to be much larger than the

deposits later in the year.

ASSIGNMENT OF PROXY

for 2012 Annual Meeting and Election

The 2012 Annual Meeting and Election for the 2013 Board of Directors for the Woodforest Civic Association, Inc. will begin at 7:00 pm on Tuesday, November 13, 2012. INSTRUCTIONS: Complete this form only if you want someone who will attend the meeting to vote on your be-

half as he or she deems worthy. You must write that person’s name on the line below. Give this form to that per-

son to carry to the meeting, or drop it off at the WCA Office

PROXY ASSIGNMENT:

I, the undersigned, appoint, direct and authorize ___________________________________, or his/her designee, as my

agent and proxy to vote and otherwise represent me on any business at the meeting specified above and any adjourn-

ment or rescheduled meeting thereof with the same effect as if I were present.

[This Proxy may be revoked by me at any time, prior to the conclusion of the voter registration portion of the meeting,

if I personally attend said meeting or upon receipt by WCA of a written revocation of Proxy signed by the under-

signed.]

Printed Name: ______________________________________ Date:__________________

Signature: ________________________________________________________

Property Address: ____________________________________________________________

Monthly Board Meeting Highlights

WCA office management staff is working hard to meet our homeowners’ needs. Processes are flowing better and business is being accomplished in a timelier manner. A new office assistant has been hired to serve as the receptionist and gen-eral office assistant. One of the primary responsi-bilities will be to promptly retrieve all messages left overnight. WCA’s new Deed Restriction Specialist has begun patrolling the subdivision for compliance and vio-lations. We are now using specialized software to report and track violations and compliance in real-time. WCA Board Member elections coming in Novem-ber 2012. Because of recent legislative changes, nominations will not be taken from the floor. Please call the office if you are interested in being on the ballot.

Deed Restriction/ACC: There were 50 violations

corrected, 185 new and 336 violations are open. If

you would like to address the ACC Committee,

please contact the office prior to the meeting to be

placed on the agenda.

Presidents Desk

Change is hard…..

As many of you know there have been many changes at the WCA. We have lost board members as well as the office manager in the last three months. With most change there is turmoil and apprehension. It is a new chapter in our lives. We are working

diligently to overcome all of the obstacles that we face. As board members and staff we have learned many new ways to manage the office and neighborhood. We have been forced to look at how we were operating the Association and to fix the broken parts. We also have learned new procedures to help us address these issues. One of the main problems we have is deed restriction violations. In the past this was handled by volunteers who were few and far between. We have taken classes and learned that our software management program has an amazing capability to speed up the process and allow the work to be more efficient. We have designated a position of Deed Restriction Specialist to canvas the neigh-borhoods daily taking pictures and downloading the violations from out in the neighborhood directly to our software at the office. This will help make the changes in our neighborhood that are important to all of us. We all want Woodforest to thrive and return to its original stature. These changes will make most of us homeowners happy. However there will be many more violations and fines for those who choose not to follow the rules. The office staff has spent a great deal of time taking the necessary classes to effectively learn the software that WCA uses. This software has never been utilized to its full potential. This will allow us to properly follow all collections and legal matters and not let the ball drop any longer on these issues. I feel that within the next few months we will be able to fully see the poten-tial that these changes have made. Please feel free to stop in and visit with us if you have any questions that you need answered. We always welcome volunteers and are in great need of people for the block captain committee. We depend on all types of volunteers to keep the Association running smoothly. If you feel you could spend some time helping in this area, we would greatly appreciate it.

Best Regards,

Leigh Ann Bennett

Deed Restrictions Are Good Medicine

Have you ever wondered why you have a homeowners association? You may not realize it, but your as-

sociation may be the only thing that protects the value of your home or the quality of your neighbor-

hood. Community associations do a number of different things. They set and collect the maintenance

fees needed to run neighborhood operations. However, the most important function of an association is

to enforce deed restrictions. Deed restrictions are legally binding rules, filed with real property records,

which provide for building, maintaining and using the homes in your neighborhood. They control how

homes look and what can be done in the subdivision. Unfortunately many subdivisions don’t stay as

nice as when they were new. Just like a home, a neighborhood can be well maintained or it can be al-

lowed to fall apart. Most neighborhoods have reasonably good deed restrictions. The crucial factor is

the willingness of the men and women who make up the association’s board of directors to enforce the

rules that we do have. Failure to enforce our community rules is like allowing a bacterial infection to go

unchecked. At first it may appear to be a small problem, but it soon spreads and becomes very serious.

Like getting a shot or taking medicine, enforcing deed restrictions can be unpleasant, but it is necessary

for the health and vitality of our neighborhood. Woodforest deserves a clean and safe neighborhood!

We’re on the Web!

WoodforestCivicAssociation.com

Office Hours:

Mon—Fri 8:00AM—6:00PM

314 Freeport Street

Houston, TX 77015

Phone: 713-453-1503

Fax: 713-450-2920

Email: woodforest@comcast.net

Board of Directors

Leigh Ann Bennett -President

James Ballard -1st VP

Len Taylor—Secretary

Mary Rodriquez—Treasurer

Harold Baxley

David Moon

Regular Monthly Board Meetings

WCA Office on the second

Tuesday of the month at 6:30PM

2012 COMMITTEE CALENDAR:

D/R Committee - first Thursdays,

monthly @ 6:30 pm at WCA Office

B/C Committee - last Thursdays, quar-

terly @ 6:30 pm at WCA Office

WCOP – third Tuesdays, quarterly @ 7

pm @ WCA Office

OFS SANITATION is our trash provider for pick up and disposal of trash in Woodforest. Household gar-bage will be picked up on both of your trash days as long as it is placed in the proper containers. Con-tainers should be constructed of plastic, having handles of adequate strength for lifting and tight fitting lids capable of preventing entrance into the container by animals. The weight of the container with contents should not exceed fifty (50) pounds. A container may also be defined as a tied plastic bag, no smaller than a thirteen (13) gallon bag with strength to support the contents of the bag. “Back door ser-vice pick up” is provided. This means that you can place your cans either in front of the garage or on the side of the house. Back door pick up is not for garbage bags; bags must always be placed at the curb. Additionally, if you opt to use back door service, you must place your cans in the same place each pick up day. Each week on your SECOND trash day, you may place “heavy trash” at the curb for pick up. Heavy trash items include bundled limbs, stoves, water tanks, washers, dryers, hot water eaters, couch-es, furniture, bicycles, large volumes of yard waste and similar items that may be found around the house. Refrigerators, freezers and air conditioners all must have certification that a licensed technician has already removed the Freon. Per contract, certain items will NOT be picked up … EVER. Construc-tion and/or contractor waste generated from construction or remodeling such as lumber, plywood, drywall, tile, carpeting, padding and other flooring materials, roofing material, stumps, concrete, soil and bricks. Other items that will not be picked up include tires, paint, crossties, logs, medical waste and hazardous waste.

SCHOOL TIME

USE CAUTION ~ BE AWARE

*Local Schools Start Soon

*Watch for School Zones

*Cell Phone Usage Prohibited