Home | Contact Us   

Sterling Ridge Village Association Meeting:

The next meeting of the Sterling Ridge Village Association will be Monday, November 27, at 7:00 PM at the Sterling Ridge YMCA. The main topic will be planning for events over the next few months.

Governance:

The Governance Steering Committee (GSC) will meet at 4:00 PM on Monday, December 11, 2006 at the Community Association building, 2201 Lake Woodlands. At this meeting, the Committee will solicit input regarding the options and a path forward from our state legislators.

Community Associations Budget:

At a meeting on November 15, 2006, The Woodlands Association adopted a budget and set the assessment rate for 2007 at $0.455 per $100 of valuation. This is a decrease of $0.035 from last year’s rate of $0.49 per $100. We were able to reduce the rate because of the Community Association staff holding the line on spending in non-essential areas, growth in the area, and increases in the assessed value of property.

Several areas were addressed during the budget review including:

Increased funding for law enforcement and a plan that will bring a form of community policing to The Woodlands through contracts with the County to provide deputies to patrol assigned beats throughout The Woodlands. A director of public safety / law enforcement will oversee the operations of the program and provide input to the Sheriff’s and/or Constable’s personnel.
Increased funding to The Woodlands Fire Department to provide improvements in a plan to improve its ISO rating from 3 to 2. ISO ratings measure the fire department and factor into homeowners’ insurance rates. The scale is 1 to 10, and an improvement from 3 to 2 should reduce our homeowners’ rates by about 8% and offer improved safety.
Expanding the use of The Woodlands Recreation Center as a community center in addition to a recreation center, adding office space to the existing facility on Research Forest to replace space that is currently being leased elsewhere, providing rooms for community meetings while keeping the recreation programming, and establishing new sources of revenue so that the recreation programs will no longer be subsidized by the Associations. There will be no wholesale discontinuation of Recreation Center programming, and while there may be some moderate fee adjustments, participants in these programs are not expected to see major changes in the fees.
There will be one more brief meeting regarding the budget of The Woodlands Association on Tuesday November 28, 2006, at 5:30 PM at the Community Association Building, 2201 Lake Woodlands.

Community Elections:

Community elections will be held in February 2007. Most people that live in The Woodlands enjoy the environment, lifestyle, and amenities that are offered here. Volunteers on many boards and committees help to ensure the preservation and continuous improvement of that lifestyle. Opportunities for service include the Sterling Ridge Village Association Board, and the Sterling Ridge Residential Design Review Committee, both of which have several openings at this time and several positions that will be on the ballot in February. In the interest of fairness, I would also mention that my position on The Woodlands Association Board will also be on the ballot in February (I do plan on running for re-election).

If you have an interest in serving the community on one of these boards or committees, you can contact Judy Faulkner at The Community Associations of The Woodlands, 281-210-3800 for candidate information.

Parks and Recreation Advisory Council:

I have been appointed by The Woodlands Association Board as their representative on the Parks and Recreation Advisory Council. Sterling Ridge area representative Jeremy Tolley has been appointed to that Council by the Sterling Ridge Village Association. If you have any comments or concerns about the overall parks and recreation program in The Woodlands, you may contact me at this e-mail address, or Jeremy via the Sterling Ridge website.

Joint Board Meeting:

The Woodlands Association will meet with The Woodlands Community Association and The Woodlands Commercial Owners Association on Tuesday November 28, 2006, at 6:00 PM at The Community Associations Building, 2201 Lake Woodlands, to consider the streetscape maintenance contract, parks and pathways maintenance contract, details on the law enforcement enhancement, matters relating to The Woodlands Recreation Center, and matters relating to voting in Community Elections.

TWA Board Meeting:

The next TWA board meeting will be Thursday, January 25 at 7:30 PM, at the Community Associations Building, 2201 Lake Woodlands Dr.

STANDING INFORMATION AND NOTICES:

Water Wells and Plant:

The San Jacinto River Authority is planning to construct a water plant including two tanks and two water wells off of Branch Crossing Drive south of the new Super Wal-Mart and west of Branch Crossing. The Woodlands Development Company has prepared a notice for home builders to provide to purchasers so that they are aware of the future location of the facility. Construction is planned to being in mid to late 2006 and proceed for 12 to 18 months.

Future Governance Information:
The Woodlands Governance Steering Committee is working on a plan for a future government structure of The Woodlands. They have set up a website, www.thewoodlandsgovernance.org where you can sign up for e-mail updates and follow the progress of the committee as well as provide your input.

Organization of The Woodlands:
An organization chart for The Woodlands has been developed and added to the Sterling Ridge website at www.sterling-ridge.org/org_chart.php. The chart is "clickable," and takes the viewer to FAQ where additional information is given about the various organizations that provide services to residents of The Woodlands.

Association Service Requests:
A very easy to use feature on the Community Associations website provides a way to report problems or ask for assistance from the Community Associations paid staff. Problems or questions relating to things like park, pathway, and streetscape maintenance, street lights, covenant administration, garbage and recycle pickup, pools, etc, can be entered online via the “Service Request” button on the Community Associations website. This new feature is very easy to use and responses are sent via e-mail notifying the resident of the status of his or her request. There is no need to contact me with every request. Feel free to contact me, however, if you have any trouble getting resolution.

Contact Info:
If you have any questions or comments, you can contact me:


Class A Elected Director from Sterling Ridge and Assistant Treasurer The Woodlands Association