Hockey Night Blast

Our 11th Annual Hockey Night with the Houston Aeros was a blast on February 21st. The Houston Aeros beat the Iowa Chops 2-1 in a shoot-out. The Aeros are now officially won 10 out of 11 games on C.I.A. Services Hockey Night! Our 500 fans and 25th anniversary silver cowbells were a hit and very effective. Check out the great photos on our website by clicking here.

To celebrate the opening of our Bandera Office, we held our 1st Annual Hockey Night with the San Antonio Rampage on March 7th. We brought 80 fans to the game but, alas, we couldn't help as the Rampage got whipped by the Grand Rapids Griffins 5-1. It was an exciting game and everyone had a good time. The Houston winners of our drawings for a free family trip to San Antonio Hockey Night was Yvette Trevino from Inwood Northwest. Check out the action on our website by clicking here.

See you next year!

Hockey Night		Houston Aeros		February 21, 2009

Hockey Night		San Antonio Rampage		March 7, 2009

Don't Park on the Grass

The City of Houston recently passed an ordinance that prohibits parking on the grass in the front or side yards. According to the City, the Prohibited Yard Parking Program is intended to protect neighborhood property values, prevent damage to the City of Houston’s underground infrastructure, and to stop the degradation of the aesthetic appearance of single-family residential areas. Parking of vehicles on any unimproved surface in the front or side yard within single-family residential areas will be prohibited where a Prohibited Yard Parking Requirement Area has been established.

In order for a community to take advantage of the ordinance, a detailed application must be submitted to the City. A community vote is not needed - the board of directors may authorize submitting the application. Applications will be accepted only on the first two business days of each month beginning in April 2009. The request for enforcement must be communicated to the whole community. The City will hold a public hearing before approving the application. Once City enforcement begins, violators could be charged with a misdemeanor and fined up to $150 per day.

For all the details on the ordinance and how to get City assistance to address chronic yard parking issues, please visit the City's website or click here.

Legislative Update

The Texas legislature is in the middle of its 81st legislative session that convened on January 13th and will last for 140 days until June 1st. In the January and February issues of eNews Monthly, we reviewed the bills that had been filed dealing with property owners associations (POAs). At that time, it looked like a mild session for community associations. But things can always change. There are now 46 bills relating to property owners associations. Here is a summary.

• HB-25 (Leibowitz), HB-798 (Lucio), HB-2956 (Coleman), HB-4637 (Lucio), SB-236 (West), SB-403 (Jackson) - not allow a POA to prohibit or restrict an owner from installing a solar energy panel except in limited circumstances.
• HB-147 (Smith) - prohibits a POA from adopting any rule prohibiting the respectful display of an American flag no larger than 3'x5'.
• HB-371 (Jackson) - provides a mechanism for dissolving a POA (applicable to POAs created after 9/1/09).
• HB-372 (Jackson) - would make POAs subject to open meetings and open records laws.
• HB-1006 (Truitt) - for those associations not exempt from the franchise tax, allow associations to deduct all assessments from its total revenue when calculating the taxes due.
• HB-1818 (Rose), HB-4299 (Rose) - ensures owners can install rainwater harvesting devices with reasonable ACC restrictions.
• HB-1824 (Paxton) - prohibits foreclose unless the debt is at least three months overdue and the owner has been given the opportunity for a hearing in front of the board.
• HB-1976 (Solomons) - contains numerous proposed changes to the Texas Property Code.
• HB-1977 (Solomons) - prohibits foreclosure by a POA.
• HB-2392 (England), HB-2393 (England), SB-2121 (West) - provides additional procedures associated with POA foreclosures.
• HB-2395 (England), SB-1918 (West) - clarifies POA requirement to provide an updated resale certificate for a fee if requested.
• HB-3017 (Olivo), HB-3081 (Thibaut) - establishes a priority for application of owner payments.
• HB-3025 (Coleman) - a POA may not prohibit an owner or resident from placing a religious item at the entry to the dwelling.
• HB-3254 (Gattis) - requires a POA to adopt Bylaws changes that are consistent with this law related to POA meetings, notices, minutes, executive sessions, and various other topics.
• HB-3319 (Farrar) - clarifies property code definition of a POA.
• HB-3440 (Kleinschmidt) - provides an alternative procedure for amending POA restrictions with a 2/3 vote of the members.
• HB-3622 (Howard) - makes POAs subject to open meetings laws.
• HB-3946 (Vo) - creates a new state office of Property Owners Association Ombudsman "to provide a simple, affordable, and neutral forum for the resolution of disputes between homeowners and POAs".
• HB-4148 (Rose) - provides fee limits and new procedures on resale certificates; establishes a priority for application of owner payments; and requires a POA to bring action against an owner for unpaid fees within 3 years of the date of the debt overriding current 4 year statute of limitations.
• HB-4151 (Rose) - prohibits POA foreclosures as long as the federal Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan is in effect.
• HB-4219 (Darby), SB-2481 (Hegar) - prohibits a third party, other than the POA or the management company, from being paid a fee under the restrictions associated with the transfer of property.
• HB-4693 (Olivo) - prohibits a POA from compensating anyone for providing management or legal services who is "related within the third degree by consanguinity or within the second degree by affinity to a member of the board".
• HJR-76 (Solomons) - proposes a constitutional amendment to clarify that POA fees can create a lien on a property but prohibits foreclosure of homestead property.
• SB-234 (West) - clarify content of resale certificates provided to owners.
• SB-235 (West) - prohibit a right of first refusal for the sale or lease or a residential unit in favor of the POA.
• SB-237 (West) - allow any declaration to be amended with a vote of 2/3 of the members if the declaration requires a larger percentage; require all ballots cast for amending a declaration to be deposited with the county clerk's office where they will be held for 4 years for public inspection; require under certain circumstances that votes of the membership by tabulated by a neutral third party; prohibit the POA from withholding the right to vote from any owner; prohibit the POA from preventing any owner from running for a board position unless that person has been convicted of an offense involving moral turpitude; allow POA to disclose information about candidates regarding any amounts due, violations and lawsuits; limits board member terms to no more than three years; and requires voting polls to be open from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. if a physical polling place is provided.
• SB-238 (West) - give an owner several remedies in the courts if the POA fails to make the POA records available to the owner.
• SB-239 (West) - clarify that a deadline must be provided in required notice before enforcement action is taken and that notice must be personally delivered or sent by certified mail.
• SB-240 (West) - require any fine to be reasonable and cumulative fines must be capped; allow a POA to assess fines directly against tenants; require POAs to accept payment plans unless the plan is greater than 12 months or if the owner has failed to abide by a plan in the past; require the payment plan policy to be filed in the public records; establishes a priority for application of owner payments; and allows a POA to bring action against an owner for unpaid fees within 10 years of the date of the debt overriding current 4 year statute of limitations.
• SB-241 (West) - would prohibit non-judicial foreclosures.
• SB-429 (West) - a consolidated version of SB-234, SB-235, SB-236, SB-237, SB-238, SB-239, SB-240 and SB-241.
• SB-1126 (Averitt) - provides additional requires on owner access to records; creates restrictions on voting after the developer control period; prohibits board members from voting on issues when there is a conflict of interest as defined in bill.
• SB-1552 (Lucio) - a POA may not prohibit an owner from installing a U.S. flag, any radio apparatus, solar energy devices or stand-by electricity generators.
• SB-1919 (West) - adds additional information for inclusion on POA management certificates and penalties for not filing a certificate.

Texas has a great website for viewed proposed legislation and tracking its progress during the session. Visit http://www.legis.state.tx.us/. The site has easy to understand descriptions of the legislative process and provides information about your own elected officials. You can look up any of these bills by typing in the bill number.

Upcoming Seminars

The C.I.A. Services Seminar Series has two great seminars in April and May. This is our 6th year of presenting educational seminars for our board members and other community volunteers. Each seminar concentrates on the practical aspects of the topic and provides board members with background knowledge to help them in their decision making. We consistently receive positive feedback on the content and presentation. To view the seminar descriptions and full schedule, click here or visit the Library page of our website.

Each seminar begins at 6:00 p.m. and runs 2 hours. We provide deli sandwiches so you won't have to rush to eat dinner beforehand.  You'll leave with knowledge you can use immediately and a great notebook with the seminar slides, samples and reference materials for your future reference and to share with others.

Board Member Orientation   free This seminar is a must for all new Board members and a great refresher for seasoned veterans. It will help you get up to speed quickly by understanding your responsibilities and authorities. We'll review each of the documents that govern the way you do business. We'll give you an overview of the governing documents, basis of authority, conduct of meetings, elections, collections, deed restrictions, architectural control and many other important topics. April 28, 2009 (Tuesday), 6:00 p.m. — Southwest Office April 30, 2009 (Thursday), 6:00 p.m. — North Office

Essentials of Architectural Control   new in 2009 Your governing documents provide authority to regulate design and appearance of any construction, improvements or alterations within the community. This is a powerful authority with an obligation that it be used sensibly. This seminar will explain the range and limits of this authority, demonstrate the role of architectural guidelines, describe the interplay between deed restrictions issues and ACC issues, and touch on handling the tough ACC problems. May 13, 2009 (Wednesday), 6:00 p.m. — Southwest Office May 19, 2009 (Tuesday), 6:00 p.m. — North Office

You can register at any time by calling 713-981-9000 or emailing seminars@ciaservices.com.

Community of the Month

We are proud of every one of our communities so it is always hard to find just one to highlight. We start by having each of our Community Managers write a nomination for one of their communities. We then read them and take a vote. Here are our most recent selections:

• April - Heron Nest Owners Association
  North Office - Annette Escarenio, Community Manager
• March - Hunters Green Homeowners Association
  Southwest - Gina Victor, Community Manager
• February - Sterling Green Village Community Improvement Association
  North Office - Brenda Alvarez, Community Manager

To see the full story on these communities and to see the past winners, visit the Community of the Month page on our web site.

Anniversaries

Every month we appreciate the communities that are celebrating their anniversaries with us. Here are the clients that started with us in March and April.

• Parkway Forest Property Owners Association — 23 years
• Park Place Townhomes Homeowners Association — 19 years
• Ridgepoint Community Improvement Association — 19 years
• Pine Forest Village Community Association — 16 years
• Hunterwood Village I Homeowners Association — 12 years
• Colony Grant Homeowners Association — 9 years
• Eagle Springs Commercial Association — 6 years
• Fairfax Village Homeowners Association — 6 years
• Marina Bay Park Community Association — 6 years
• Sonoma Ranch Homeowners Association — 6 years
• Summerwood Commercial Property Association — 3 years
• Telfair Commercial Association — 3 years
• Cypress Place Homeowners Association — 2 years
• Cross Creek Ranch Community Association — 1 year

Our goal has always been to create a positive, long term relationship with all of our client communities. We are very proud to be managing all of these communities.

Employee Spotlight

• Congratulations to Rhonda Culbreth, a stockholder at our North Office, on her 19th anniversary with C.I.A. Services.
• Congratulations to Paula Lunsford and Karla Santos, maintenance coordinators and stockholders at our Southwest Office, on their 6th anniversary with C.I.A. Services.
• Congratulations to Dan Barr Jr., an all-purpose support staff member at our Southwest Office, on his 5th anniversary with C.I.A. Services.

Rhonda Culbreth		Paula Lunsford		Karla Santos		Dan Barr Jr.

Hockey Night in Houston		Hockey Night in San Antonio