Board Meeting Notice (and maintenance update)

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Maintenance / Improvement Update

DONE   A new roof on the clubhouse  (the fabric awning has not yet been replaced but we’re working on it)
DONE Pressure washing Kirkwood entrance


As early as this week!  Fencing replacement/repair around clubhouse grounds (this is primarily fencing in the far back)
Mid-October New plants at Kirkwood entrance (think xeriscape look)
November   New card access system for gates (this should be a big improvement to residents that use the grounds)

Longer-term capital planning

Starting last year, an internal capital planning committee (of volunteer residents, led by James Healy) was formed.  The group assessed the property and made a 5-year plan of maintenance items.   James has spoken about this process at a couple of board meetings earlier in the year. 

Additionally, the board engaged Reserve Advisors (a nationally recognized firm) to perform a “reserve study” at the recommendation of Graham Management.  Kelly at Graham Management stated that very many of the properties she manages obtain a 3rd party reserve study to aid them in capital planning. 

A “reserve study” consists of multidisciplined engineers to develop a detailed, comprehensive checklist to assess the condition and remaining life of all components of our community property.   This is similar to a home inspection, but it is more detailed and results in a list of all property components with an estimated remaining life and projected costs to repair/replace over the next 30 years. 

While our internal capital planning group nor the 3rd party reserve study are the end-all be-all, both of these exercises were extremely helpful in understanding the condition of all of our property elements, particularly which items need attention sooner.  As with any exercise such as this, some points made by an inspector were dead on and some were not.  It will always be the job of the board (current and future) to determine when and how to deploy capital.  However, we as a board, do believe that getting multiple, comprehensive views on Heathlake property condition will aid future boards in more thorough capital planning, with hopefully some preventative maintenance thrown in.

With this said, we have been working on the 2024 budget and plan to approve a final budget at next week’s board meeting.  At this meeting, we will discuss the capital improvements done this year, the few items we have planned for next year, and items that needs to be “watched” in following years.

HOA Board Meeting Tuesday, October 10 at 7pm

Agenda
I. Approval of previous meeting minutes
II. Executive action since last board meeting
III. Executive Session Actions
IV.  Committee Reports
       -ACC Update
       -Security Update
V. New Business 
       -Capital Planning
       -2023 Financials & 2024 Budget
VI.  Adjourn

Followed by an open forum

Look out for community improvements soon!

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We are planning a Kirkwood entrance refresh, a new roof for the clubhouse, and fencing work around clubhouse grounds in the fall. These have been in the budget but it has taken some time to get quotes and choose vendors. We are planning these once the heat breaks and the use of the pool declines. We will notify you of the dates work will be done as those are finalized.

INFO: Carriage Hill/Crystal Hills Road Rehab

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Late last year Greg Travis selected Heathlake as District G’s recipient for the Mayor’s Street Rehab project.  This is very exciting as we’ll come out of this with much smoother driving conditions along our entry/exit roads.  The project will involve concrete panel replacements and repairs along Carriage Hill/Crystal Hills. 

Work begins 8/15 and is expected to take 90 days.  The board will be informing residents of details as soon as we get them and providing periodic updates, but also keep an eye out for informational flyers in the mailbox.

While we’re very excited to have this consequential award and look forward to smoother driving conditions, in the short term we will have street construction/noise/dust/heavy trucks in the neighborhood.  We ask for your patience as Heathlake is improved.  Thank you!

Contributed by Kathy Clark

Heathlake Water Shut-off Thursday, February 10

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City of Houston will be shutting off some of Heathlakes water while they work on replacing fire hydrants. See the photo below for more details.

Landscaping Master Plan Committee

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As expressed by residents, there is a great interest in seeing the neighborhood landscaping improve. Carlton Jones and John Trahan have been instrumental in laying a foundation for looking into the landscaping plan for the future. There are many opportunities for improvement with the landscaping, and this newly formed Landscaping Master Plan committee will look into how to prioritize and execute these improvements over the course of several years. These efforts will also include working in sustainable and efficient designs for lasting beautification. If you would like to be a part of this effort, an opportunity to influence and guide this beautification initiative for the community, please email Landscaping@heathlake.org or John Trahan at director@heathlake.org to express interest.