TIMBERWOOD—PLEASE READ IMPORTANT INFORMATION!

At the HOA meeting held June 7, 2016 we had approximately 35 people in attendance including board members.  The meeting started with an abbreviated treasurers report and a social committee update.  A food truck was stationed outside the clubhouse to feed those in attendance “free of charge”….translation our assessment dollars are being used to fund this benefit.

There was a projects update which included some of the ongoing improvement projects underway in some form throughout the park.

IMPORTANT!!

The board launched a verbal discussion about the clubhouse and started it with a recap of a special meeting called May 10th where about 60 people were in attendance.  The discussion continued indicating that through a good discussion between those in attendance and the board, the board came away with the opinion that the community wanted the current clubhouse demolished and built new, not remodeled.

At the June 7th meeting, the board announced to the audience that the decision had been made to build a new facility and not discuss remodeling any further.  This in spite of the June newsletter which hit all our mailboxes about 4 to 5 days earlier and indicated that there had been no decision made and it was still being researched in articles published there.  Future meetings would be established for property owners input and feedback.

The board further announced that work was being done to get meetings arranged with the city to establish design criteria for the new build but when asked by audience members, they did not have estimated costs for construction, for the cost and/or placement of temporary or portable buildings while the clubhouse is being built which was something suggested as a means to deal with the clubhouse being demolished.  They did know that they wanted to build approximately 8,000 square feet (double what currently exists) with an expanded exercise area, more bathrooms, including bathrooms which opened out to the pool for wet suits to be covered properly, an office which would be moved from the caretaker quarters into the new building, a kids gaming area, a large group meeting area, and small group meeting area, and a new, expanded kitchen (which by the way was just remodeled and upgraded in 2014 with assessment dollars).  They also stated they did not have any completed design sketches of how a building might look for the neighborhood to review. Further it was determined that the best placement for the new clubhouse would be in its existing location because of close proximity to the parking lot, etc.  It would be a one story build because building a 2 story requires much more ADA requirements in order to be compliant with regulations.

Property owners – this is important to you!! A MAJOR decision is being made which will impact each property owner for which little or no due diligence has been done to date to even begin to prepare the neighborhood to make an informed decision about whether remodeling or building new is the right choice.

No property owner feedback has been sought other than an electronic survey sent out around early May which asked what “Improvements” you might like to see in the clubhouse if they were done (not if you supported demolishing the existing structure and building a new one), along with a meeting held for general discussion where the board repeatedly said there were no decisions made and this would be a long process with lots of feedback asked for by owners as they moved along in the future.

No solid numbers have been provided as to projected total cost of this project for the property owners of Timberwood Park. However, the number tossed out has consistently been around $1 million dollars — documented in a “proposed” 5 year plan developed by the board in 2014 and presented at an HOA meeting through a PowerPoint presentation,  but not consistent with the 5 year plan developed by property owners and board members working together in 2012 which was formally approved at that time.

No solid discussion about how that project will be funded.  We currently have about $120k in our reserve fund — but that is what it is — a reserve fund.  That means it should not be touched and should be set aside without being used for anything else.  According to a reserve study commissioned in 2014 and an outside audit done in 2014 that fund should actually be larger to cover the needs of usual wear and tear and wear out of assets.  This is without ever considering a new project or improvement, much less building a new clubhouse.

Financing it, which would be the only way to undertake it at this time, means two things:  first, financing would have to be sought and approved, and second, each property owner is responsible for that debt collectively.  You should take note and get involved in this large decision which impacts the entire neighborhood!

Please forward/send this blog note to your neighbors who might not subscribe to it and let them know that large scale decisions are being made on their behalf by our HOA board.  This is important to all of us!

 

IMPORTANT!!!! HOA MEETING TUESDAY, JUNE 7, 7PM

Please plan to attend the HOA meeting scheduled for Tuesday, June 7, 2016 beginning at 7 pm in our clubhouse.  In addition to the usual bi-monthly HOA updates the board provides, this meeting will be another opportunity to hear discussion about the potential renovation of the clubhouse which is under consideration by the board and for which some of you may have seen a survey sent out asking for feedback and input for the project.  As a property owner, this is important because it is a major improvement being considered and a big expenditure of your assessment dollars.

The May 10th meeting held for neighbors to come listen and discuss the possible options, was informative but very general in nature since this is a relatively new proposal and there are many possible solutions and/or options under consideration at this time.  What is important to note here is that if a new build is undertaken, or even an remodel, there is a large dollar amount attached to the project which may or may not need financing.  If financing is undertaken to fund a project of this size, rather than saving for it to become a reality, it impacts all property owners and it is important to be informed as to what the plans are and how it affects the HOA (all the property owners of Timberwood Park).

Some of the discussion at this meeting included (these were all options and possibilities):

Putting the business office (currently located at the back of the park managers residence) into the clubhouse, thus allowing for expansion of the living quarters there; providing a gaming room within the clubhouse; making smaller separate group meeting rooms within the clubhouse to accommodate smaller groups while still allowing for larger meetings in a larger space available; whether to remodel or build new the clubhouse; where to put the “new build” within the park property if that is the option chosen; considerations regarding how much of the park is located in a floodplain and how that might impact construction and relocation; discussion about the potential of going from the approximately 4,000 square foot building in existence to one 7-8,000 square feet in size to accommodate growth and use in our neighborhood; how much the park is already tied up with activities and events and how does that impact the ability to rent facilities for other uses.  A property owner in attendance also suggested the option of using portable buildings temporarily to house events and activities and meetings, etc. if the option to demolish the current clubhouse is chosen.

These are just a few of the topics of discussion from the last meeting.  It’s a good time to attend and hear more about what is being discussed and lend your voice to the discussion!

 

US 281 Open House in May

As previously mentioned, there was an open house held in May for review of the planned expansion of US 281 project.  It was mostly a walk-through with maps, displays and professionals from several of the groups working the project were there to offer explanations and answer questions to the public in attendance.  Of note is the build of the Via center which will be completed off Stone Oak Parkway and US281 where the Mattress business is currently located.  That project will be breaking ground in the near future and will be a part of the US281 expansion project bringing much more flexibility to VIA routes out our direction for those who might wish to use the bus as a means of transportation to and from downtown as well as other routes that will be available.

 

Gerfer’s Cemetery

You may or may not know that we have a cemetery located within the boundaries of Timberwood Park.  For the past 4+ years I have been working to secure it’s future with the Texas Historical Commission.  This past month that has finally been approved and the final steps are in process to ensure the cemetery be given the respect it deserves for those buried there and for its historical significance to the Commission that preserves cemeteries throughout the State of Texas.  This was a much longer, more complicated process than I originally anticipated when the application was made, but I am happy to know that we made it to the finish line to help preserve this historical site.