First General Meeting of the Civic Association in 2007 is to be January 18

Residents are encouraged to attend the first general meeting of 2007 at 7:30 PM Thursday January 18, 2006 at the Cali Clubhouse.

Judge Robert Eckels is scheduled to visit this quarterly meeting.  He will be presenting the Westador Community Emergency Response Team (WCERT) with a plaque commemorating the fact that this was the first CERT in Harris County, Texas. 

                A summary of financial results for the year ended December 31, 2006 is presented below and will be discussed at the meeting.  Receipts were below the budgeted amount by $1,699.  While there was a shortfall in the collection of annual maintenance fees of about $8,900, interest income and other receipts were above the budgeted amount by about $7,200.  Expenditures were less than the budget amount by $4,849 as a result of expenditures being less than the amount budgeted for trash and security services, offset by an increase in the major expenditures reserve of $6,000, and variances in other budget categories. 

Curbside Only Trash Service Started on January 4 by Mike Poetz, WCA Environmental Services Director

As we begin our new curbside trash service, I’d like to give you a few suggestions I’ve received from several residents.  First of all, use a trash can with a secure lid.  This will keep the wind from blowing any trash away as well as keeping any animals from getting to the trash and perhaps making a mess.  Also, when placing your trash at the curb, keep it on your lawn or driveway and not in the street.  You eliminate the chance of vehicles driving down your street from knocking the cans over, or perhaps yourself, as I have already heard from one resident.  Placing your trash in a bag and then in the cans also helps to keep the trash secure. 

 Another thing to consider is garbage cans with wheels.  A wheeled cart that you place the cans into is another item that would be helpful in moving the trash from the house to the curb.  These are all inexpensive items that would make moving the trash a little easier.  I have spoken to our neighborhood hardware store, ACE, about our new curbside service and asked for their assistance as well.  ACE carries 30 gallon garbage cans on wheels, wheeled carts, and lawn and garbage bags.  ACE has agreed to help us by providing a 15% discount on any trash related items when you present this article from the Westwind during the month of January.  Make sure to sign up for the ACE reward card at the same time to receive future coupons.

President Reviews Plans for Upcoming Year by Don Markus, WCA President

The holidays are behind us and we are all looking forward to what the New Year will bring.  The Board made some early resolutions in November and will be working hard to achieve them this year.  In choosing our goals, first and foremost, we focused on the ones that would have the best result for the largest number of our residents.  Using the “squeaky wheel gets the grease” theory may work in some instances, but it has not been working in Westador.  More than ever we will be reaching out to all of you to help in setting priorities this year.

Our first resolution was to find ways to stretch our budget dollars in the face of increasing costs for the various services and materials used to maintain our neighborhood’s appearance and amenities.  This effort is bringing some hard decisions with it.  We can’t reduce costs without reducing the level of service and/or quality of materials.  So far this year we have been able to reduce the increase in trash collection expense by more than $50,000, but it meant we had to do away with “back door” pickup.

We are looking into ways to decrease the amount we spend on electricity by considering alternate vendors.  We don’t want to decrease the number of street lights, but we feel that our electric bill can be lowered.  This will not be an instant change because we don’t want to get locked into a new vendor only to find an even lower rate next year.  Our budgetary planning has switched from “one year to the next” to a long term view in an effort to get the best value for our money.

This long view is also affecting how much we put into our reserve account for unforeseen or large-scale expenses.  This fund is used for major expenses such as re-surfacing the pools or tennis courts.  It is also used to refurbish the clubhouses, replace worn furniture and furnishings, replace recreation equipment at our playgrounds, and other projects which occur on an infrequent basis.

Unfortunately, along with every other subdivision we have spoken with, we are experiencing an increase in the cost of collecting late payment and/or non-payment of fees.  For a variety of reasons, the number of residents who do not pay their fees has increased over the past several years.  We have a program in place to collect these delinquent fees, but it costs money to run this program.  We are resolved to improve the timeliness of these collections and reduce the amount left uncollected at the end of the budget year.  To accomplish this goal, we are looking at several improvements in our existing program, as well as some new options.  We’ll be talking more about this in the coming months.

Westador Christmas Breakfast was December 16 by Gail Wescott

Westador Holiday Decorations Winners are Posted by Gail Wescott

Congratulations Westador!

The neighborhood was decorated beautifully this year.  There seemed to be an increase in participation of the houses being decorated, and that is really exciting to see.  It was a very difficult decision to pick the top houses this year.  Every decorated house made our neighborhood look very festive.  My helpers had a great time looking at all the houses and their themes. 

The 2006 Westador Holiday Lights Winners are as follow:

1^st Place

Tim and Mary White

1011 Baltic

The White house had a huge sleigh with eight reindeer and Santa, plus lights everywhere. Very nice job, Tim and Mary, I hope everyone got a chance to see it.

2^nd Place

John and Lorraine Carrera

1027 Tuliptree

The Carrera house was really beautiful to see at the entrance of the subdivision.  The house was beautifully lit, nice and bright.  If you see John sometime ask him about his trick to get his lights so straight.

3^rd Place

Brad and Jennifer Schaefer

818 Loire

The Schaefer house had some really unusual lights. I really loved the look the lights gave to their house. Of course, Scooby-doo was real cute too.

Tweens Valentines’ Party  Saturday  February 10, 2007 Cali Clubhouse 7:30 – 10:00 PM

For teens ages 12 – 15 Westador residents only.  Non-residents may attend if they are accompanied by a resident. 

Non-resident fee - $2

RSVP 281-580-2629

Westador Welcomes New Residents

          On a monthly basis, Hays Utilities (contractor for the Westador Municipal Utility District) provides Bill Streidl with a listing of residences that have had their water turned on or off.  The purpose of this list is to assist the Civic Association in the maintenance of the Residents’ directory, the electronic version of which is distributed quarterly.   The process is not totally accurate for a variety of reasons.

                The most recent list follows, and Westador welcomes these newcomers to the subdivision.  These new residents have been reported by Hays covering the month of November 2006.  Telephone numbers often are subject to change since many new residents have the water turned on before move in and their new telephone numbers have not yet been obtained. Therefore, new residents are urged to contact Bill Streidl to update their information for the directory.  In any event, Westador welcomes -

The Westador Information Sheet is Printed Quarterly

    The Westador information sheet is printed quarterly, or more often in the event of some major changes.  Of special interest are the teen helpers anxious to baby-sit, cook, and to do yard work while earning a buck, or two, in the process. 

Some Homeowners Have Not Paid Their Annual Maintenance Assessments as of January 9, 2007

Homeowners who are delinquent on the annual maintenance fees incur interest, collection and legal fees, have lien notices filed on their property, and (including their renters, if any) are prohibited from using common facilities such as the tennis courts, pools, and clubhouses.  This month two addresses were deleted where the homeowner paid in full.  The following list of addresses reflects only those homeowners who have a Lien Notice filed on their property or are delinquent for more than one year as of January 9, 2007 (and are not making regular payments).

Also, the Board has authorized stopping the trash and garbage collection service for homeowners who are delinquent for more than one year.  If delinquent homeowners are making monthly payments in accordance with an arranged payment plan, that homeowner’s address will not be listed and trash and garbage collection service will not be suspended unless they cease to comply with the arranged payment plan.

All homeowners who have not yet paid their maintenance fee are urged to do so promptly.  Not only will they be able to once again utilize the services provided by the association, their neighbors will not be forced to pay for their portion of these services.

Westador has Newly Published Author Entrepreneur Interview Westador residents exhibit a wide variety of talents besides the traditional roles as parent, office worker, and good neighbor.  This column is designed to feature Westador’s small business entrepreneurs to encourage residents to do business with their neighbors. 

Westador has a newly published author in the neighborhood.  Long-time resident Denise Landers is the author of Destination: Organization, A Week by Week Journey.  The book addresses issues that everyone deals with:  how to effectively schedule your day, how to accomplish more in less time, how to manage the constant inflow of mail, both paper and electronic, and how to cope with the clutter that can build up around you.  Her book will be available through bookstores in the next couple of months.  Meanwhile it can be ordered directly from her website at WWW.KeyOrganization.Com/Resources.ASP.

As the owner of Key Organization Systems, Inc., Denise has spent years training, writing, consulting, and coaching in the areas of time management and effective work flow.  Among the organizations that have benefited from her training seminars are several area school districts plus universities and hospitals, as well as major corporate clients in oil and gas, the legal field, and industry.  She also travels nationally in providing her productivity consulting and training sessions to government agencies and companies.

Because of constant requests from people who attended her seminars and wanted to share the information with colleagues and family members, Denise has created a three-CD audio set and training guide. The Productivity Series:  Managing Time, Managing Paper, Managing Email can be purchased as a complete set or as individual CDs.

Denise is a regular columnist in Houston Women Magazine as well as several other publications.  You may have read some of the articles Denise has provided to the Westwind over the years on topics dealing with organizing.  We hope that Denise will continue to provide us with monthly articles that relate to the issues we all struggle with at various times—getting organized so we can be as productive as possible and limit the stress that comes from too much to do and too little time.

Ponderosa Volunteer Fire Department Round Up

The 2nd Annual Touch A Truck Will Be Here Soon by Kristen Cooley

On Saturday, March 3, 2007, from 11-2 at Spring Tabernacle Church on 2920 near I-45, the MOMS Club of Spring-Central will hold our Touch a Truck fundraiser.  There will be 20 vehicles for the young and old to explore.  We will have emergency vehicles, military vehicles, school buses, construction equipment, plus many more.  The cost is $5 per person; under age 1 are free. 

Book Club is to meet February 22 by Kathleen Wilson

Security by Sue Strawbridge

Happy New Year.  We received our 2007 Law Enforcement Contract with Harris County Commissioners Court for the Harris County Sheriff’s Department.  The increase was 5% which fits right with our 2007 security budget.  Westador contracts for two deputies.  We have Deputy Mangum for the daytime deputy and Deputy Lopez for the night deputy.  The security numbers for the Sheriff’s Department are 713-221-6000 for non-emergency and 9-1-1 for emergency.  Should you need to talk with the deputies, call the 713-221-6000 number and tell the dispatcher you live in Westador and would like the contract deputy to contact you.  You can also call the Cypresswood substation at 281-376-2997 if you have any security questions.

The 2006 December Activity Report from the Sheriff’s Department reports 0 burglaries (residential and auto), 1 criminal mischief, 1 aggravated robbery, 0 thefts, 7 alarms(false), 4 traffic citations, and 2 warning citations.  The aggravated robbery occurred at the Hollywood Video by the Krogers parking lot at 1960/I45.  The resident reported the incident when he got home, so the crime is reflected in our subdivision activity.

Remember to mail outgoing letters at the post office or give them direct to the mailman.  Don’t leave your outgoing mail in the mailbox for pick-up because you take a risk of someone stealing your mail and using the information on your checks and bills for identity theft.  If you listen to the news, you know that identity theft is one of America’s fastest growing crimes.  People whose identities have been stolen can spend months or years and dollars cleaning up the mess the thieves have made of their good name and credit record.

Society For the Advancement of Floral Design Plans Programs for 2007 by Pam Dube

Join us for our February meeting.  We will be traveling to Eklektik Interiors, where designer Pat Clark will demonstrate the use of floral in home decorating.  Eklektik Interiors is located at 16721 Champion Forest Drive.  So save the date of February 20^th for this exciting presentation.

We will be back at the Cypress Creek Christian Center, 6823 Cypresswood Drive for our March meeting on the 20^th.  Beth O’Riley a former Texas Cup Winner from Austin will present a program using fresh flowers.  As always, guests are welcome to attend.  Refreshments will be served beginning at 6:30 PM. and the meeting will start at 7 PM.

Klein Soccer Club Season Begins February 10 by Bill Bryan

Our season will begin February 10, 2007.  Any child born between August 1, 1987 and August 3, 2003 is eligible to play.  The registration fee is $110.  The fee includes a full uniform for all ages and for our new pre-k and kindergarten players a ball and shin guards.  Registration forms can be picked up at our office located in Meyer Park located on Cypresswood between Stuebner Airline and Champion Forest Drive.  On-line registration is available on our web site WWW.KleinSoccerClub.Org.  All new players need to bring a birth certificate to the Klein office.  Our office hours are 4 until 7 PM Monday through Friday. 

Pre-k and kindergarten soccer is played under a modified set of rules.  The teams play 3 aside with no goalie.  We would like for the children to learn a little about soccer and have a lot of fun.  These teams are coed.  This is also a good time to ease parents (who don’t know anything about soccer) into this fast growing sport.

We offer “all boys” and “all girls” teams from 1^st grade through 10^th grade.  Teams are formed by subdivision and school.  Games are on Saturdays for boy and girl teams through the 8^th grade.  The older boys and girl teams play on Sunday afternoons.  We again this season make technique-training sessions available to players 1^st grade and up.  These sessions led by professional trainers focus on improving individual skills.