Williamsburg Settlement
the prestigious Katy community


MINUTES OF THE  MEETING OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF
WILLIAMSBURG SETTLEMENT MAINTENANCE ASSOCIATION, INC.
OCTOBER 18, 2016
A meeting of the Board of Directors of the Williamsburg Settlement Maintenance Association, Inc. was held on Tuesday, October 18, 2016 at 5:30 p.m. at the offices of Crest Management, 17171 Park Row, Suite 310, Houston, TX. 77084.

ATTENDANCE

Board Members present were: Floyd Ball, Gail Owens, Dave Ellis, Larry Crain, Martin Spears and Anitra Ondrush.

Also in attendance was Dolores Sue representing Crest Management.

With a quorum being established, the meeting was called to order at 5:34 p.m.  

MINUTES 

A motion to approve the minutes of the September 20, 2016 Board Meeting was made by Dave Ellis, seconded by Martin Spears and unanimously approved.

HOMEOWNER CONCERNS

There was one (1) homeowner present at the meeting. The homeowner expressed his view that the National Night Out went well and he believes that most residents who attended were pleased with the event. He also mentioned that we are again beginning to see stray cats in the neighborhood. The Board suggested that a homeowner concerned about this problem might consider purchasing a trap from the Harris County Animal Control, the contact information for which may be found on the Telephone Numbers page of the community website, www.wsmaonline.org.  

There was an e-mail interchange and ongoing discussion with a resident who was upset about some aspects of our trash company’s performance. A few weeks ago the trash pick-up was occurring later than usual. This was the result of a fire at the company’s facility which burned several of its trucks. Until replacements could be acquired routes had to be rescheduled so that they could be serviced with the trucks that were undamaged. Immediate steps were taken by the company to lease additional trucks and pick-up schedules are now back on track. The other more recent complaint was about trash bags from a number of homes being moved to collection points on the street prior to being picked up by the truck crew. Crest contacted the trash company about both of these issues and made the company aware of the concern. 

SHERRIFF PATROL REPORT

Martin Spears presented the sheriff’s report. There were no burglaries for the month of September. At last month’s meeting there was a question about a previous home invasion the report of which caused some resident concern. After researching it further Martin believes that the incident could have been better categorized. It was actually a burglary with one resident being in the upstairs area and then going downstairs while it was in progress. At this point the burglars immediately fled. Unfortunately, no arrests have yet been made.

OLD BUSINESS 

National Night Out - The Board expressed its appreciation to Anitra Ondrush and all of the volunteers for their efforts in again making the National Night Out a success. The Board discussed that next year the hours should be reduced to 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.. Because the event is always on a school night very few residents stay until 9:00 p.m. Anitra will be considering some alternative entertainment options for next year to make sure that we are getting the best value for the dollars spent. It was mentioned that a more robust PA system would be useful to better project some of the speakers’ announcements.

Transition of PCMI to Crest Management - The transition is proceeding according to plan and all residents’ accounts are in the process of being transferred to the Crest system. In due course a letters will need to be sent to Alliance Bank to notify it of the change in mailing address. The Board discussed at what point the New First Bank accounts can be closed. Crest will watch these accounts and expects that all activity will be concluded by October 31, 2016. 

Status of Application for Tax Exemption - Dave Ellis reported he had just signed the application form and associated paperwork and the check for $850.00 filing fee to the IRS. Elaine Combs, our CPA, stated she will pick everything up tomorrow. So our application is moving ahead rapidly.

NEW BUSINESS

Decisions Taken by Email Vote since the Last Meeting - There were no decisions made between meetings.

Director Vacancy -With much sadness the Board had to fill a vacancy due to the passing of a long-time resident and Board Member of Williamsburg Settlement, Mr. Walter Smith. The Board of Directors considered a group of homeowners they thought might be possible candidates to fill the vacancy. It was decided by a majority vote that Katy Hall will be asked to complete Walter Smith’s term which expires in 2018.

Discontinuing of Newsletter - Krenek Printing has informed the Association that due to increasing printing costs and a reduction in advertising revenue it can no longer continue to print and distribute the monthly newsletter in hard copy form and the December issue will be the last. Starting with the January issue the newsletter will be distributed in electronic form only. Dave Ellis will post the newsletter on the WSMA website and email a link to all residents who have registered their email address on the site.

FINANCIAL REVIEW

2017 Budget - Dave Ellis presented the 2017 budget. After due discussion a motion to accept the 2017 budget as presented was made by Larry Crain, seconded by Gail Owens and unanimously approved.  

2017 Assessment Rate - A motion that the 2017 assessment be set at $700.00 with no increase from 2016 was made by Larry Crain, seconded by Gail Owens and unanimously approved.

The Board will be providing a letter to go with the invoices.

Delinquencies - Floyd Ball reported that the suspension of trash and recycle service to homes with delinquent accounts which are not current on an approved payment plan is continuing and legal action is in progress on a number of accounts, including cases in which residents on payment plans have defaulted. The Board regrets that these actions are necessary

The Board opened the floor for Open Session again at 7:10. p.m.

The Board reconvened the open the meeting as during open session it had overlooked the election to fill the Vice-President’s Office formally held by Walter Smith. A motion that Larry Crain serve as Vice-President was made by Dave Ellis, seconded by Gail Owens and unanimously approved. Further, the Board thanked Larry Crain for stepping in as Architectural Control Committee Chairperson. He has helped to smooth the transition of the Home Improvement applications to Crest.

ADJOURNMENT

The next Board meeting will be held on November 15, 2016 at the Williamsburg Settlement Clubhouse at 5:30 p.m. 

With no further business to come before the Board, the meeting was adjourned at 7:20 p.m.