The Villages at Maxwell Creek Home Owners Association (4th Quarter 2003)

Neighborhood Newsletter

Annual Dues

Annual dues for the Association next year will be $170 per home. Invoices will be mailed to all residents during the week of December 22nd, and payment must be received by Saturday, February 28th, 2004. Any dues received after this time will be subject to an 18% APR (retroactive to January 1st) as specified in the Covenants of the Association.

Although the dues for next year have increased (from $150 in 2003 to $170 in 2004), in general, the costs associated with running the HOA have gone down. We're no longer paying Excel to manage the Association, we've reduced our expenses for copies and postage, and we've changed companies providing landscape services.

That said, some expenses have increased; now that we have irrigation along Malone, the electric and water bills are higher. We've hired an accountant to handle financial duties. There are a number of repairs to the common areas that will need to be performed, and several improvement projects are being considered. The largest expense for the year, however, is establishing a true Reserve account.

After poring through the HOA budget information we received from the old management company (Excel), we found several areas of inconsistency, most specifically surrounding the usage and amount of the Reserve account. The Bylaws of the Association require the HOA maintain a Reserve account to protect against unexpected expenditures (such as major repairs). Unfortunately, Excel used the Reserve account as an Operating account, and thus the money presumed to have been held in that account was never truly set aside as a "reserve".

So, after much discussion and analysis of past repairs and expenditures, we've decided to create a reserve of $15,000. This amount should cover the cost of most unexpected major repairs, such as replacing several sections of fence at either entrance. As the reserve account is also used when paying for capital improvements, the plan is to spread the cost of building up the reserve account over several years.

Hopefully the dues will go down next year, however we expect that there will always be some variance from year to year depending on the repairs and projects being performed.

Bimonthly Open Forum Meetings

We held the first open forum meeting on September 13th, and to say that attendance was poor is putting the best possible spin on it - a total of five people from three homes attended. We're hoping that part of the poor showing was because it was the same day for Texas State voting on the various constitutional amendments, as well as the location being different from previous meetings.

We planned on holding these meetings every other month, but because of scheduling conflicts with both the library and HOA board members, the next open-forum meeting won't be until Monday, January 12th, 2004. The meeting will be back at the Allen Public Library (on McDermott), and will start at 7pm. As with the first meeting, there is no specific agenda, the plan is to hold an informal question and answer session, and to help everyone meet their neighbors.

These meetings are a new idea being tried to help foster communication between the residents and the HOA board. In the past, the only open forums have been during the annual block parties and the re-election meetings. Throughout the year, the board often hears the same questions from homeowners in one on one conversations, and we thought we would try holding more frequent open-forum meetings.

Halloween Trick-or-Treat Kickoff Party

The attendance at the Halloween Kickoff Party was much larger than we had assumed, and we will definitely be expanding it for next year. We had planned for a total of 60 children, and ended up with nearly twice that! Part of the difference in attendance may be due to the comfortable weather, as last year it was considerably cooler. We really want to thank everyone who helped out, and have to extend a huge thank-you to Matt Golub and Andrea Westmoreland, without them we wouldn't have been able to pull it off!

Among the changes for next year, we would like to have:

• a larger candy supply,
• a bigger haystack (and maybe a maze),
• bobbing for apples,
• balloon animals,
• and better lighting and electric supply.

However, in order to expand we'll need many more volunteers for next year, so if you're interested please contact us!

Committee Updates

Architecture Committee

We have received a number of comments from residents since the announcement and publishing of the Community Beautification Standards in the last newsletter. Based on that feedback, and lengthy deliberation by the Architecture Committee, two amendments have been added to the Standards:

20. Flags and flagpoles are considered a combined element and together must comply with Article IV, Section 1, paragraph c. of the Covenants of the Association. Vertical freestanding flagpoles are not permitted.
21. Exterior decorations specific to a particular holiday may not be displayed more than thirty days preceding nor more than thirty days following the holiday in question.

Essentially, the first amendment requires flags to comply with existing signage guidelines as specified in the Covenants. Additionally, it prohibits the installation of any future freestanding flagpoles, although smaller flagpoles attached to a home or fence are perfectly acceptable. The second amendment is reasonably self-explanatory, and the vast majority of residents already comply.

Discussion concerning the amendment for flagpoles was very heated at times. At least one person on the committee sees the disapproval of vertical freestanding flagpoles as inherently unpatriotic, perceiving that removal of a pole amounts to removal of a flag (specifically the U.S. flag). However, the majority of the committee decided that the presence or absence of a pole in no way impacts the ability to display a flag.

Two homes in the neighborhood already have freestanding flagpoles on Woodstream and Elm Spring. The discussion was further complicated due to the manner in which Architecture change approval was received for these homes; the normal process is for a resident to submit an Architectural Change Request form to the committee for consideration. After a vote by the committee, the resident is given either approval or denial, along with any comments and / or recommendations. In the case of the two existing flagpoles, however, the committee never received the change request; the old management company (Excel) approved the changes on their own without consulting either the committee or the HOA board.

It was felt by the committee that even though we were against allowing any future freestanding flagpoles, that the change approval received by the two residents should be honored, even though the proper process had not been followed.

In comparison, the second amendment concerning the display of holiday decorations was felt by everyone on the committee to be a reasonable addition. Recently, the HOA received two inquiries concerning homes that began displaying Christmas decorations in October. Additionally, early this year we received a complaint about one home that still had Christmas lights hanging in April. To this end, we decided that a two-month window for displaying holiday decorations was a reasonable compromise.

The chairperson of the Architecture committee is Robert Butler.

Landscape Committee

This year was very busy for the Landscape committee, as we completed a number of large projects. The most difficult part of all the projects was meeting with, collecting bids, and selecting from all the vendors, which took several months. We're busy finalizing the list of projects that need to be completed next year, including:

• Repair of the Bethany entrance wooden fence. Several areas of the fence require repair, and there is also a section that has become detached from the brick pillar and is in danger of collapsing.
• Restaining of the Bethany entrance wooden fence. The older portions of the fence require a new coat of stain, and the repaired portions have not been stained yet.
• Several of the trees in the common areas (specifically around the Bethany entrance) require an arborist to treat, straighten, and trim several ailing trees.
• Adding electricity and lighting to front and rear neighborhood entrance signs.
• Rebuilding / raising the landscape pits around the front and rear neighborhood entrance signs.
• Adding sidewalks and landscaping to the cul-de-sacs along Malone.
• Adding pavement / recreation facilities to the empty lot in the cul-de-sac on Elm Spring Ct.

Several members of the committee have resigned in the last year, and we are in need of additional members. If you're interested in volunteering, please contact us!

The chairperson of the Landscape committee is Stephanie Butler.

Social Committee

The Social Committee enjoyed putting together several events this year! First we had the Block Party with hot dogs, bounce house, a clown, face painting, and - the best part - lots of neighbors! The Neighborhood Garage Sale this past Spring was a big hit with many homes reporting several hundred dollars in profits! And the surprise event of the year was the First Annual Halloween Kick-off Party, those little trick-or-treaters really dressed up the cul-de-sac! Congratulations to all the winners of the costume contests!

Next year we're planning for a repeat of the same events, and are planning for an additional neighborhood garage sale in the fall.

Several members of the committee have resigned in the last year, and we are in need of additional members. If you're interested in volunteering, please contact us!

The chairperson of the Social committee is Mandy Diercks.

Board Member Elections

Just a quick reminder that elections for the HOA board will be held next April. We would like to include a personal profile and platform information in the next newsletter for each person running for office. If you are interested, please contact us!

HOA Contact Information

The Home Owners Association and its agents may be contacted in several ways:

• Through the HOA web site, at http://www.maxwellcreek.org/,
• By emailing the officers of the HOA, at officers@maxwellcreek.org,
• By calling or faxing the HOA at (972) 739-5221.
• Through U.S. postal mail at:
  Villages at Maxwell Creek HOA
  P.O. Box 2265
  Allen, TX 75013

We welcome any questions, comments, or concerns you may have. Please include your name and street address on all correspondence in order to expedite a response. Please allow two business days for your call or message to be returned.