Author: timberwoodparksa

I’ve had several comments back already asking my name — it didn’t occur to me to add it as I thought most of my subscribers knew I wrote the blog and maintained this web page. For those of you who are not familiar with my name, please allow me to introduce myself — Cindy Griffin, running for office in the neighborhood HOA!! Thanks for pointing that out to me! ?

I’d like to officially announce that I am running for one of the open positions coming up for the HOA board! For those of you who might not know me, my name is Cindy Griffin.

Some of you know me as a previous POA President leading and successfully completing the negotiations for turnover of our commonly owned assets from our developer to the property owners. It was our board that also instrumentally built some of the social activities we all now enjoy which have gone on to even bigger success including Music in the Park, Picnic in the Park, the Easter Egg Hunt and more!

Some of you know me from continuing neighborhood activity like funding, building and maintaining this web page and blog and spending the last 8 years keeping anyone interested in the neighborhood up to date and current of neighborhood and surrounding community activities and events.

I’ve also been active in the surrounding community including but not limited to being a member of the US281 EIS Community Advisory Committee and serving as a Constable Commissioner.

Another notable contribution to our neighborhood after leaving the turnover board was spending 5+ years to independently accomplish from start to finish the process and funding for approval of our neighborhood Gerfer’s Cemetery to be recognized and inducted into the Texas Historical Commission as a historically recognized cemetery. Once the commission approval process was completed, I approached our Landscape Committee who then ran with the mantel to get approval for the historical marker funding from our HOA Board culminating in statewide recognition which included a wonderful public ceremony to install the marker at the site!

I’m interested in returning to the board to provide leadership based on my multi-level experience, my continued involvement in our neighborhood and community and my commitment to represent every property owner equally here in Timberwood Park whether you’re an owner who’s now an empty nester, an owner who has children in college, an owner with school age or under children, an owner without children or a retiree living the dream! I believe we all have an equal voice at the table making decisions on behalf of our commonly owned assets and neighborhood.

I’d like to ask for your vote and would love to serve as a member of the HOA Board!

The HOA meeting held on August 20, 2019, was lightly attended at Timberwood Park Elementary School.  I’m sure many of you were enjoying summer vacations or an afternoon by the pool given our continued excessive heat!  Here’s a quick summary of the board actions and topics covered during the meeting:

The meeting began with an approval of last meeting minutes. 

FINANCIALS

The financials were reviewed with a brief discussion about clubhouse progress and payments being made on same, along with Accounts Receivable sitting at $151,000.00 in outstanding assessment accounts at meeting time.  Discussion also ensued about the reserve account and $255,000+/- sitting in that account at this time.

Paul Rutkowski continued the briefing with discussion about the clubhouse progress and upcoming payments which will need to be made totaling around $190,000.00 coming out of the operating fund.  It is anticipated that concrete will be poured sometime in September with about 3 weeks following to begin framing.  Paul further discussed the process for approval to release a payment and the checks and balances in place to ensure the project is on track.

OLD EXERCISE EQUIPMENT TO BE USED IN NEW CLUBHOUSE

A discussion about the clubhouse and how it would be furnished took place.  It was noted that the old exercise equipment will be re-installed in the new exercise room and no new equipment is slated for purchase at this time. No monies were included in the price of the clubhouse build.

RESERVE FUND EXPENDITURES

From the approval of the financials, discussion moved into a conversation about spending some of the reserve funds for capital improvement projects.  Karen O’Neil explained that the funds were set aside for maintaining and repairing our existing assets and that we had accumulated monies which needed to be spent on some of the capital improvement projects.  A repair to the pathway was discussed with a notation of 5 bids sought and only one answered for that project.  Apparently, with construction booming in our area contractors are not particularly interested in taking on a “small” project of this nature.  It is estimated about $30,000 will be needed to repair the pathway once bids can be established.  No funding approval took place for this project at the meeting time.

A discussion ensued regarding the pool chairs, tables and umbrellas as Karen explained the furniture needed to be replaced.  Karen indicated the 4 bids in place for this replacement ranged from $16-18,000.00 and she asked for a motion to approve the expenditure.  A second board member Shawna Klein suggested the figure should be increased to $20,000.00.  A motion was made and carried to approve $20,000.00 for the replacement of 17 tables and umbrellas and 62 chairs.  One of the board members, Paul Rutkowski reminded the board that there was effectively no place to put this purchase given clubhouse storage was no longer available with demolition and rebuild underway but nonetheless the board approved the expenditure.

Just a Thought……  Since it was end of season for the pool and the start of pool season will not occur next year until around the April time frame in 2020, it might be a good idea to put this one aside until the date it is needed gets closer.

An expenditure to demolish and rebuild the kiddie splash pad was made by Shawna Klein.  She discussed the initial installation which ran around $42,500, its failure previously which cost about $15,000 to remedy, the second repair this year which was attempted but unsuccessful and ran about $7,000.00, and finally the need to start over because the first installation had been a poor one to begin with and the company used is no longer in business.  Bids are currently being accumulated, 5 companies have been approached and to date 2 have returned calls without bids at the time of the meeting.  I don’t recall if a motion was made for the new project of rip-out and reinstall 2 mushrooms, concrete pad, and accessories and have no notes indicating it was, just underway for replacement awaiting the bids.

An audience member asked why Spectrum wasn’t assisting with bids for these various projects to get us best pricing and a better array of bids to choose from.  There was discussion about including Spectrum in the process as appropriate moving forward.

NEW CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS

Lighting Around the Park was also discussed.  3 bids have been returned for this potential project thus far which range up to $100,000.00 to install adequate lighting which meets the Dark Skies Program and other details pertinent to the park. One bidder has explained it would take 5 or more orbs on each pole to light the park properly, and there would be a draw on the existing electric which would have to be taken into consideration. Distance between the commercial grade poles and lighting effects how many need to be installed to cover the park properly. Karen O’Neil noted that this is a new capital improvement project and not one for which money can be spent from the reserve account.  A vote and approval would need to happen to get this project on the schedule for completion and would be considered based on clubhouse needs over adding new improvements at this time.

A question was asked about tearing out the golf course fence. Discussion took place regarding the need for a fence around the course and potentially replacing the existing fence. No further discussion took place.

LANDSCAPE COMMITTEE

The landscape committee distributed certificates of appreciation for those property owners who have contributed benches and/or trees to our park beautification program and ceremonies were held to thank those individuals for their participation in the program.  There will be an upcoming tree installation ceremony in October with details to be provided in the newsletter and e-mail notifications.

SOCIAL COMMITTEE

There was a discussion about Halloween Around the Lake to be held in October and the upcoming Music in the Park concerts which are continuing to occur as scheduled during the clubhouse rebuild.  More details to follow in upcoming newsletters and email communications.

ASSOCIATION MANAGEMENT COMPANY REVIEW

A committee was formed to review management companies as our contract is coming due with Spectrum.  The committee has reviewed 11 companies, looked at social media reviews, gotten bids and proposals from those companies which were thought to be capable of handling a community the size of Timberwood Park.  The board at meeting time was at the stage of reviewing the top candidates the committee put forward for review and will be making recommendations based on that review later.

ELECTIONS FOR BOARD MEMBERS 2020

Four of the current board positions are up for election.  Candidates who are interested in running for office should submit their candidate profile via e-mail or fax to Spectrum Property Management by September 3, 2019 in order to have their profiles published in the newsletter.  The October HOA meeting will include candidate introductions and an opportunity for candidates to speak to the audience in attendance at that meeting.  Of the four positions up for election, 3 current board members have announced they will not be seeking re-election with the 4^th undecided at this time.  If you are interested, please submit your profiles!

As with all things in our ever changing fast moving technology driven world, there comes a need to update, renew and refresh. I’m pleased and excited to present the new look for the Timberwood Park web page and blog!

Just a quick note to all you subscribers in an effort to keep confusion to a minimum should you be visiting the blog or the website in the near future and think you may have hit the wrong page.

Please let me know what you think of the new platform and look of the neighborhood web page for Timberwood Park.

It’s still a work in progress and I need to upload a few more documents and other things, but we are well on our way to having a new, improved look.

Thanks for your patience while I get all the bugs with transferring the old site into the new format…..there might be a few little quirks here and there!

About the picture:

A property owner was given permission by our previous TPOA board President to go to the clubhouse, destroy the area where the smoke pit/BBQ is built-in to remove the pit for his or her personal use prior to actual demo start date.  Was that ever discussed with the neighborhood for an opportunity for all who might be interested in the same opportunity to have the option to remove something via lottery or other objective manner since it is community owned?  Or was this just a friend helping a friend with property that belongs to the neighborhood?  Who was this property owner?  Ultimately, there was no construction fencing up, there were no permits in place yet and this individual should not have been destroying the building and the pit at the very least until demo had begun in earnest with the proper safety precautions in place – oddly enough as the destruction took place the individual realized the whole pit was cemented in place surrounded by stone and it was destroyed in the process with the debris and crushed pit left behind along with the nice mess you see in the picture. 

I had occasion recently to receive an e-mail from our former HOA board President, Greg Matula.  The message contained his perspective about my blog, and his opinion of his and my management styles when it comes to a neighborhood association among other things.  From the contents of his e-mail I quote the following: “I know you and I probably have many differences of opinion on how the association is run, but I appreciate the fact that you have always kept things cordial. I also appreciate that you spent a lot of time serving as a board member and gave much time and energy to the community.”

You know, he’s right, we do differ considerably about how an association should be run.  Take a look at just a few of those differences:

As a former POA President here in Timberwood Park, my tenure included open, transparent inclusive communication neighborhood wide to everyone in-spite of differences of opinion or ideologies.  Now we have a board who hides behind the power of their position using terms like “you elected us, and we can do whatever we feel is appropriate without seeking additional approval from the property owner”.

If a property owner had a question and I or my board didn’t have the answer handy, we made note and got back to the property owner with an answer.  Now we get “we’ll look into that” and never hear another word unless the issue or matter is continually pressed.

As we navigated a long, drawn out process of turnover from the developer to the property owners there was constant communication on many levels to ALL property owners in Timberwood Park, not just those who agreed with the board, but EVERYONE.  Now, for example, you have CLOSED Facebook groups which supposedly represent the community for communication but doesn’t allow for open conversation or discourse on any given matter, as well as secret meetings, community meetings where property owners are not allowed to actively participate in decision making processes. At most of these community meetings property owners are “allowed” to speak in a “citizens to be heard” at the end of the meeting “if there is enough time” – adjournment usually occurs quickly during this time because the board usually only allows 1 hour for most meetings. Period.

In the past, the bulk of the neighborhood newsletter contained the business of the neighborhood presented in a timely manner. It came to your mailbox on deadline and within the same month the news was generated.  Yes, there were social events mentioned and a few pictures here and there, but the bulk of the newsletter was about the business of the neighborhood – the turnover progress, County matters that effected the neighborhood, issues with local government and other entities that were being addressed and so on.  Now we get a newsletter which by and large depicts the many social events and activities and leaves little said about the actual business of the neighborhood like our true financial picture, open discussion about plans, timelines, projects, who sits on committees, etc.

In the past, board members made themselves available and responded to critics, property owner questions and concerns and communicated directly with those property owners even when it might be uncomfortable or unpleasant.  Now we have board members, most of, but not all, who defer to Spectrum Management to provide answers on matters which are important to property owners directly. 

So, what do you get for $1.5 million dollars?  Let’s look at some of the top things I can think of:

• YOU GET RAISED ASSESSMENTS!!!!  Remember when Scott Myles and Greg Matula sat at one of our HOA meetings and told the audience when queried about the clubhouse project and it’s ever escalating costs whether assessments would be raised?  Their response was “we will not raise your assessment fees, but we cannot predict what another board will do”.  Isn’t it convenient that they both stepped down from their board positions only to head our Construction Oversight Committee which seems to be a closed society and can now say “see we told you we wouldn’t raise your assessments”????

Beginning next year our assessments will go up the 10% maximum they can legally for the next several years to allow us the ability to afford to pay back the loan when we begin making both principal and interest repayment for around $16,000 a month. As the increases come each year, we will reach over $300.00 a year up from our current $217 in the next couple of years.  So much for promises right?

• You get a project which started as a survey to determine what the interest in the community was for remodeling the clubhouse which mysteriously turned into being a new build. Said survey reached some but not all households in our neighborhood for response.
• You get a project which was originally priced at around $700,000 now currently estimated to cost $1.5 million dollars.
• You get a project which the neighborhood was officially notified financing was approved for on a Friday afternoon the 29th of June around 4 pm via e-mail 3 business days before the official “special” meeting being held on July 3 at 2:30 pm in the afternoon of a workday, as well as the day before a major holiday, allowing very little option for most hard working property owners to attend and learn more.  But there were celebratory glasses offered to the first 25 people who attended! I wonder who wound up with those??? Shouldn’t this have been a well publicized event for the entire neighborhood with ample notice provided if it were to celebrate the approval?
• You get $1.5 million dollars being deposited into our HOA bank accounts in full from day 1 suggested for sometime this week. We will be paying interest on that full loan for the next year while the project begins and is underway.  This is not a construction loan!
• Let’s see, if my calculations are correct the property owners will be paying interest to the tune of around $10,000.00 per month for the entire time that money sits in our account while the building process takes place. Is that how you do business for your own finances? Where do we have that money in our current budget?
• You will get a clubhouse built eventually which will not include the types of interior finishes one would expect for this price tag.  Ask about the furniture, appliances, carpet, exercise equipment and so much more.  And what will be done with the appliances which were bought new just a few years back, the marque which I understand we are giving to Spectrum to re-use in another one of their developments as we widen the entrances to the park under county direction for ingress and egress of EMS and 1st responders? Did we receive any money back for these items? Did we give them away and if so to whom? They belong to the property owners of Timberwood Park. Where will the money come from to furnish the clubhouse properly as will most likely be expected given what was spent on the structure?
• You get the park torn up for the summer, fall, winter and possibly into next spring, liability wide open while construction is underway, social events still slated to continue in-spite of that increased liability….just a few of the obvious issues ahead…..the list is endless.
• You get gates permanently wide open while construction crews run back and forth allowing anyone and everyone access to the park to continue to vandalize and/or abuse the assets of the park you pay for.
• You get deferred maintenance on what we already own in the park for assets due to the budget constraints and the lack of money available to meet our current operating budget.
• You get a Clubhouse Construction Oversight Committee whose committee members have been up until now the two previous board members who stepped down and a friend of our current President. I understand that one more person very recently joined the committee when there was a push to provide someone outside the proverbial “circle” of the board to the committee. Maybe the new member will provide some transparency if included in all discussions. Remember there are three votes on this committee who will vote in tandem and outvote a dissenting party if the discussion isn’t in line with current thought processes. Have you been made aware of any of this committee’s meetings or decisions? To my knowledge none of this committee’s work has thus far been in public site, nor do you as a property owner have access to these individuals should you have a question or concern. Why isn’t there a well rounded group of property owners with differing backgrounds and differing opinions sitting on this committee representing property owner interests who will handle regular progress reports, informational meetings and discussions, and so on? Is this your project for your neighborhood or this committee’s?

Given the lack of detail and information being provided to the property owners who are paying for this project, do you believe due diligence has been done to ensure that knocking down the clubhouse won’t knock out electricity to the other features around it? Has there been thought given to those people who hold season passes to the pool who were just getting excited they might actually find space to be at the pool now that the swim team has completed it’s season but are now faced with closure of the pool for who knows how long due to construction, the debris that will accumulate in the pool, the demo process in particular, electrical issues, etc.? To my knowledge nothing has been communicated to those individuals going forward.

Given some of the previous projects money has been spent for which have not gone well like, as one example, a splash pad which cost around $50,000-60,000 and subsequently needed to be dug up for leak repairs which cost about $20,000 and now leaks again and will need repairs somewhere along the same dollars or more; should you be confident this project will be managed any differently and done in the best interest of all property owners whether for or against the project?

Is this what property owners really wanted?