The Chatter – February 2018

Howdy all!  Welcome to the “month of love” and one that is going to fly by with only 28 days on the blocks.  I hope this newsletter finds all of our neighbors happy and healthy.  The healthy part is especially important at the moment given the particularly disastrous flu season we are enduring.  Any kissing done on February 14^th should be followed with a good swish of mouthwash!  There is much more going on this month versus the start of the year and I’ll get right to it. 

The board of Cypress Forest CAI, your homeowner’s association, met on February 5^th of this month.  It was a productive meeting and the board truly appreciates those of you who took the time to attend the meeting or who helped by sending in proxies.  The board wishes we could get more involvement from our neighbors as all as your voices do matter and the board values each and every bit of feedback.  We try to act on any action item suggested and always work to get your questions answered promptly.  We have posted the draft minutes to our website for your review.  Please take a minute or two to review as I think you will find the items noted beneficial.  Some key points to note:

• Three incumbent members of the board, Pat Barbier, Kevin Warren, and myself (Scott Hubert) were reelected for a new two-year term. The officer positions/titles remained the same as the board is a cohesive one and everyone chips in equally.   That and keeping the positions static makes letterhead and website postings much easier! 
• A valued neighbor who attended the meeting requested that the community petition the county to install “no outlet” signs atop of the street signs for the areas terminating in a cul-de-sac. The board is working on that in tandem with Harris County Precinct 4 and are hoping we can get this effected in the next few months. 
• The sign and lighting at Cypress Oaks has again been vandalized. The Harris County Constables are investigating this damage as it has happened several times in the recent past.  The board recognizes this sign and the landscaping around the sign need new upkeep and repair.  The board will be working with Hendricks Interest, who shares maintenance responsibilities with the board in this region, to get sign updated and lights replaced soon.  The board is looking at a different design and option for the lighting to transition to “downlighting” from ground-mounted fixtures. 
• Kevin Warren, a valued three-term board member, is working tirelessly with the new landscaper to get new and improved irrigation systems to all areas of Cypress Forest while also devising a plan to update the landscaping in all maintenance areas around our community. Big things are to come, and the board has allocated resources to help Kevin in this magnificent task.

There are many other pertinent items noted in the minutes and we hope you’ll take a moment or two to read the update as to all that is occurring within our community.  We try to update this website and The Chatter on a monthly basis, but also invite our residents to log-in to Nextdoor and Facebook regularly so as to read about and comment on current events affecting us all.    

Speaking of current events, there is a recent concern brewing about the status of Lemm Elementary and the ability of Klein ISD to rebuild and remediate in time for the start of the 2018-2019 school year.  The school district has communicated that it is doing all it can in order to get the school open in August 2018 but does share the “significant challenges” it faces in doing so.  The district is holding a town hall at the Klein Multipurpose building beginning at 6:30pm on February 15^th.  It should also be noted that the Klein ISD school board is at the conclusion of a rezoning project for the intermediate schools.  In all seven of the rezoning proposals, our community will have our intermediate school students going to Strack Intermediate (they were previously zoned to Schindewolf).  It is anticipated that the school board will allow current 6^th and 7^th grade students to “grandfather” in to Schindewolf if they provide their own transportation.  This proposal, sure to pass unanimously, is slated to be voted on at the next KISD board meeting on February 12^th.   I’ll keep everyone updated on this topic as it directly affects both our children’s education and our home values. 

“The board notes that there have been some problems with resident’s calls, concerns and complaints conveyed to our management company (PMG/Associa) being passed up to our attention.  We just recently became aware of these issues and are working with PMG to remedy this situation.  “

It was recently noted by residents that many of the roads in our community were being intentionally demolished and rebuilt.  This is in relation to the sewer rehab project being performed by our MUD district (Harris County WCID #110).  The crews seem to be doing a good job of cleaning up after themselves, but if you see something they missed or have questions about this project, feel free to give Jody Dellinger, representative for HC WCID #110, a quick phone call at 281-353-0998.  I’m to understand that this project will wrap up in the next few months.  

The board notes that there have been some problems with resident’s calls, concerns and complaints conveyed to our management company (PMG/Associa) being passed up to our attention.  We just recently became aware of these issues and are working with PMG to remedy this situation.  In the meantime, we encourage you to call one of the board members if you have questions, need a problem resolved, or would like to discuss happenings within Cypress Forest.  You can find each of our contact numbers on the information page and the president (me!) can always be reached at 832-663-0133.  If you do happen to call PMG and experience issues or your issue is not resolved within 24 hours, please help us all out by calling that number and allow us to step in and resolve the matter.  The board does pride itself on being responsive and accountable to each of you and the lack of proper communication by PMG/Associa is unacceptable and will be corrected quickly.  

Just a reminder to all that assessments ($250) were due on January 10, 2018.  The association currently has an unusually high number of delinquent accounts.   If you are finding the assessment difficult to fund, or if you have questions about your invoice, please reach out to a board member and we can help resolve this delinquency as partners.  The board makes a concerted effort to keep the assessments extremely competitive and low, yet this reduced amount means we must collect in a timely manner to keep cash flow and operations moving forward.  If you have not funded your account yet, please do so immediately. 

Some dates to note in the upcoming month of March:  Primary elections are to be held on March 6, 2018.  Locations for both early and regular voting can be found at www.harrisvotes.com  I recently learned that the Harris County Clerk intends to roll out new enrollment “tablets” (versus the old paper books) and so leave some extra time to get signed in and get to the booths.  Clocks “spring” forward  an hour on March 11, 2018.  On the morning of March 24^th, our water board (HC WCID #110) will be hosting an Easter egg hunt.  This guy has been to a few of these in the past and they are not to be missed if little ones are involved. 

Have a wonderful February neighbors.  Be sure to get that smooch on February 14^th.  Please do not hesitate to reach out to me or another board member if any of us can be of assistance in the coming month.  Make it a great one……

 Scott Hubert

 Neighbor and President