2009/06/25

Legends Ranch POA Board June Meeting

I’m not going to give you an exhaustive breakdown here. I’ll just throw out my primary takeaways and thoughts. First off, our Board seems like a reasonable group. They appear sincere in trying to address resident concerns. They do seem to be a get a tad exasperated because every resident has one particular hobbyhorse they want to beat to death. Or several, depending on the resident. Me, I just went to observe and see the dynamic in person.

The first big issue is the construction entrance. A whole bunch of people point out the subdivision is not really a gated secure community with that entrance still open. Also, the deed restrictions specifically prohibit any entrance that isn’t secured. Not living near it, I don’t have a dog in that hunt except as it concerns security. Everybody by the construction entrance seems to hate it, it’s a security hole, and it’s prohibited by the deed restrictions. So, the construction entrance has got to close.

The only question is how we do that and still allow for construction equipment and heavy vehicles. Neither of the existing controlled access gates is suitable for heavy truck traffic. Mesa Valley is too narrow, and we’ve already had problems with drivers of big vehicles clipping the guardhouse. The most feasible solution seems to be widening the Easy Tag lane at the front, but that costs money. Guess what? The POA is broke.

The POA is also pursuing speed bumps, even though it appears a majority of residents don’t want them. This strikes me as bizarre, but the speed bump question was essentially tabled until executive session. I didn’t get to attend that, so I guess we’ll all see what the Board comes out with when the minutes are posted. I don’t see how the Board can justify spending money on speed bumps when we’re in violation of the covenant with an unsecured gate. However, I’m not on the Board.

The POA also has budget issues. Everybody had some suggestions for how to trim money and which services are unimportant. Unfortunately for the Board, every service someone wants cut is another resident’s favorite thing evar. My suggestion? Get rid of the security patrols by the Constables. If they can’t write tickets and are only there for 4 hours from 5-9 PM, what good are they doing the community? The only time I ever see Constable patrol cars, they’re hanging out at the Splash Pad parking lot. I guess that deters crime at the Splash Pad, but I don’t see that as an issue. Maybe I need to reread the police reports for the subdivision and I'll find out the Splash Pad is a hotbed of crime.

If everybody was paying their dues, maybe the budget wouldn’t be an issue. The number being tossed around for the dues shortfall is $330K. I don’t know if that money would completely solve the budget issues, or if there’s deeper problems. However, the economy being what it is, you can’t get blood from a stone. If residents are getting foreclosed and builders are going bankrupt, I’m pretty sure the missing money to make up the budget shortfall just ain’t there. Budget cuts seem the only way to go, but I'm sure someone will bitch about those, too.

Finally, there is the traffic petition. The county now wants a majority of resident property owners to approve the petition, which is a death knell in my opinion. That means they have to get 625 property owners to agree. According to the POA manager, they can’t even get 20% of the subdivision to pick up the windshield stickers. I’m feeling doubtful they can get the numbers. Since the county doesn’t really want to do it in the first place, the Commissioners’ Court is going to use every excuse they can to not pass it.

However, at this point, I’m baffled by the point of the petition. The county has told the POA there will be no patrols even if the petition passes. What I’m taking away is we will get the level of police protection we are willing to contract. So the traffic petition is asking all of us to have the POA pay the county so the county can give us traffic tickets. Wait, what? You want me to pay to get ticketed? That’s a resounding screw you from the back row, thanks. I’ve heard dumb ideas, and that certainly qualifies.

In any event, the meeting minutes will be out sometime in the near future. Feel free to peruse them and draw your own conclusions if you weren’t there.

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1 Comments:

Anonymous Andrew Worsley said...

First of all, thanks for the blog. I've lived in Legands Ranch for the past three years (Dues are paid up) and with the hours and location of where I work, I've only gotten snipits of info as to the issues in my neigborhood. Your page really helped me get a better understanding of the issues.

To be honest, As long as people let me in the neightborhood and I can get home everynight, I really havent been all that concerned with all this other stuff that has no affect on me. That being said here is my list of some of the things I see and have issue with:

1. The construction entrance. I pay for security and I'm not getting it.

2. The Guard staff. They'll smile and let anyone in. In a truly gated community, the resident must call the gate and inform them as to whom they are expecting (inluding pizza delivery). If there has been no prior authorization, they DO NOT get access.

3. Vandalism & Theft by kids in the neigbborhood - This could be outside kids coming in but I suspect that is probably our kids. I have lost a bike out for my front yard and the other day, some kids crisco'd my car. Minor stuff to be sure but I still can wait to catch one of them!

4. L/R office hours & meetings: When these guys call a meeting, they need to be mindful that many of us work downtown Houston (or further) and should not schedule a community meeting until at least 5 pm so that the majority of us may attend and not be such an impact on peoples jobs.

5. Does the EZ Tag lane even work anymore? I can never get thru unless the guard opens it up?

6. The Golf course issue. Very simple, Bi-laws should be re-written to the community to pass by petition any expenditure greater than 10K that is to be spent on any item not other than maintenance and upkeep of the Neighberhood.

9:19 AM  

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