Meetings Will Remain Over the "Lunchtime" Hour

A couple from Morningside appeared at the District Meeting today to state their preference to keep the meeting schedule at 11:30AM. They said, as senior citizens, it would be difficult to drive to the attorney's office in the evening. Johanna Williams of Brunswick Lakes also attended and said she would like to have the meetings changed to the evening hours so that more people who couldn't take off work could be involved in having a say in how District business was conducted. Or at the very least be able to attend and watch the discussions and decisions being made by the Directors. Michelle Radcliffe, also of Brunswick Lakes, sent an e-mail message to me also supporting a change to the evening time, which I forwarded on to all the Board of Directors.

Director Smalls said that she did not want the meeting time to change and that the meeting time had been set over the lunch hour so that more people could attend. I moved that we change the meeting time to 6:30PM and AK Babers seconded my motion. It was then promptly voted down 2-3, with all the Morningside-resident Directors voting against. I suggested that we allow one meeting each month to be at lunch time and the other meeting to be in the evening. That also was voted down. Finally I suggested that we move the lunch time meeting to 1PM so that I could at least attend the entire meeting but Director Smalls said that would defeat the purpose of it being held at the lunch hour. I pointed out that we rarely had meetings that lasted just from 11:30-12:30 and she responded that "we used to have meetings that short all the time" implicating that the length of the meetings was due to the presence of AK and me on the Board. 


I was unsuccessful in getting any change at all to the meeting time, and although I may be late to many meetings, I will continue to attend. I can't speak for AK, but I gotta tell you...it's frustrating to serve on such a divided Board of Directors. And the divide is marked quite clearly by Beltway 8. The 3 who live on the south side of Beltway 8  vs. the 2 who live on the north side.

Brunswick Meadows currently has 896 occupied homes and 915 that are completely built (bought but not moved into yet) with 10 more homes under construction. In addition, the final sections of Brunswick Meadows are being developed for home construction - over 250 lots in all - for a potential of at least 1175 homeowners in Brunswick Meadows.

Brunswick Place has 268 occupied homes and 204 vacant lots where construction continues. Brunswick Lakes has 347 occupied homes and 18 vacant lots. No further home construction is planned in Brunswick Lakes. So, using the most conservative figures, the total number of homes within the District that are currently occupied on the north side of Beltway 8 is 1511.

Morningside I, which has 357 occupied homes, and Morningside II, which has 103 occupied homes, combined make up a whopping total of 460 homes within the District that are currently occupied on the south side of Beltway 8. Neither of the Morningside neighborhoods have any more development planned.

So, do you think it's fair that less than one-fourth of the population of the District has the majority voting power on the Board? I am so pleased that 4 people from the north side of the Beltway have talked of running for Director positions in the 2012 election. If even 1 of them should win a seat on the Board, the democratic concept of majority rule will be restored. In the meantime, AK and I will continue to be the vocal minority  and no matter how much the other Board members try to squelch our voices, we will continue to speak!

Want to Change the Board Meeting Time?

Because of my new job, I must attend Commissioners Court meetings. These often are the same day as our Board meetings. Commissioners Court meetings start at 10AM and usually are over by noon, but by the time I got out to the Bellaire location, I'd be over an hour late for the WCID #89 meetings. So, I requested that we consider changing our meeting time and it will be considered at the next meeting on March 15th.

If you would like to have meetings in the evenings, when it would be much easier for you to attend and have your voice heard -- or would just like to come and watch your elected officials in action -- PLEASE come to the next meeting at 11:30AM on March 15th. I've asked for this issue to be the first thing on the agenda following public comments so you can just make a quick appearance, state your preference, and depart.

The address where the WCID #89 Board holds meetings is the new office location of the District's law firm, Strawn & Richardson, P.C.

6750 West Loop South, Suite 250

Bellaire, Texas  77401-4111

This is in the Frost Bank building. Free parking is available.