February News from Your HOA
CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY YARD CONTEST WINNERS
The Winners:
1st Place
2nd Place
3rd Place
Honorable Mention - 1503 Durfey
Best Mailbox
Honorable Mention - 1811 Crutchfield
Thanks to all the residents who participated by decorating their homes, to the judges of the top 10 and to our residents who voted on these to select the winners as well as to Board member Niki Dillon for managing this event with support from fellow Board member Shelley Morales.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT... JANUARY YARD-OF-THE-MONTH
Nelson and Natalie have been residents of the Settlement for 10 years and 3 months. They have six children, three boys and three girls ranging from 18 to 27 years old. They currently have two girls at Texas A&M and are newly empty nesters.
Natalie works in new home sales for DR Horton while Nelson is enjoying his retirement. They both love entertaining friends in their new outdoor kitchen.
The Grubbs enjoy the neighborhood for its location, older architecture and established trees. They appreciate great neighbors and the feeling of safety within the community.
They recently remodeled the outside of their home and yard. Their beautiful landscaping was inspired by the entrance of one of her D.R. Horton neighborhoods and the result is stunning. They also recently remodeled their backyard where they are enjoying their outdoor kitchen and pool.
Congratulations to the Grubbs Family for being the recipient of the Yard of the Month for January 2022. Your home’s beautiful contribution to the Settlement is greatly appreciated by all.
A SPECIAL NOTE TO OUR NEW RESIDENTS
As soon as Crest, our Association’s management company, receives notification from the title company of an ownership change this information is conveyed to our Welcoming Committee. This committee consists of a number of established Settlement residents including Nicholas (Nick) Damian who manages this function on behalf of the WSMA Board. When it is notified of a new resident one or more members of this committee will attempt to contact the new residents to deliver a “Welcome to the Neighborhood” package. If you are a new resident and are not at home when they visit you will receive a notification of the attempt and asked when would be the best time to drop off the package. As well as welcoming you the purpose of this welcoming function is to give you the basic information on the services that are provided to Settlement residents and to acquaint you with the many benefits of living here. Your Board of Directors work hard to communicate with our residents to ensure that everyone is provided with timely notification of neighborhood issues and know how to get a rapid response to any questions or concerns they may have. In addition to this newsletter, key tools in this process are the Association website and the email distribution list to which all residents are encouraged to subscribe via the website’s Registration page. If you are reading this newsletter on our website but have not yet subscribed to the email list you are encouraged to do so. To be added to the email list, go the Registration page and enter the information on the window that will open. When you have submitted your entry you will receive a confirming email from Campaigner, the company that handles our bulk email service, to which you must respond before your subscription becomes effective. Please be assured that the email addresses that you register will not be divulged to any third party. The entry of addresses to this list is handled automatically and the information will be used solely for the purpose of distribution of emails by the webmaster to those who have registered.
The address of the official Williamsburg Settlement website is: www.wsmaonline.org. This site includes information on all aspects of our subdivision so if you have a question, please look for the answer on this site and if you can’t find what you are looking for feel free to telephone any of the Board members listed on the Board Members page or submit your question on the website’s Feedback/Questions form and you will receive a rapid response.
In addition, Crest has a secure website on which there is a portal that residents can use to make payments or just to access detailed information on their individual accounts. Each resident is sent a personal ID code once their information is entered into the Crest database. This website also provides a number of additional on-line services so once you are registered please take a few minutes to acquaint yourself with the features it provides.
There are also Facebook and Nextdoor accounts set up by Williamsburg Settlement residents that many like to use to communicate and share information with their neighbors. Of these, Facebook is the most popular and has a very active following. These sites are not officially monitored by the Board so be aware that they should not be considered as sources of definitive information.
And lastly, your Board would like to encourage you to attend its monthly meetings. With very few exceptions these are held at the clubhouse, 1602 Hoyt Lane and begin at 5:30 PM on the third Tuesday of each month. The monthly meeting schedule is posted on the website’s Board Meeting page from where you can also read the minutes of past meetings for this and the previous year. A few days prior to each meeting the agenda is emailed to residents who have registered their addresses on the website. Please come and introduce yourselves. Your Board would love to meet you in person and welcome you to the Settlement!
BOARD MEETING MINUTES
There are no minutes to include in this newsletter as there was no Board meeting in December.
The March edition will contain the draft minutes of the January meeting.
TRASH PICKUP REMINDER
For the benefit of new residents as well as those who have lived here for a while and don’t mind a reminder, our community does pay a premium for the benefit of having our regular trash picked up from the garage door or side-yard gate area instead of us having to carry everything out to the curb. Texas Pride Disposal, our garbage service provider, will collect residential refuse and up to five bags of yard waste from these locations. Be sure to have these items out by 7 AM on the Monday and Thursday collection days to assure pick-up. Heavy trash will be picked up curbside on either of these days.
Recycling pick-up is on Mondays and your recycling container must be placed at the curb. A detailed list of materials that will be accepted for recycling is provided on the Trash & Recycling page of the website. Please be aware of what can and cannot be recycled as unacceptable items cause contamination, which leads to increased costs.
In addition to the benefit to residents of not having to cart their household trash to the curb this service is also intended to maintain the general aesthetics of our neighborhood and not have it cluttered with curbside garbage on these two days. To get full benefit from this, we ask residents to only put at the curb those items that need to be there for pickup and once bins have been emptied to remove them from the curb as soon as possible. Thanks!
NEXT WSMA BOARD MEETING
The next meeting of the WSMA Board of Directors will be held in the clubhouse on Hoyt Lane at 5:30 PM on Tuesday, February 15, 2022. If you wish to be placed on the agenda, please contact Cindy BojeÌ of Crest no later than the Tuesday preceding the meeting date.
PET ID TAGS
Folks - as soon as the vet gives your young pets their Rabies shot remember to get their ID tags. The Rabies tag lists the name, phone number and address of the vet. So! All you need to do is put the Rabies tag onto the pet’s collar and leave it there all the time. That way, if the pet gets loose, anyone finding him or her can look at the tag to see the vet’s phone number and call to report the lost animal. Better yet, add another tag to your pet’s collar that lists the dog or cat’s name and your own phone number or address. You can get these from any pet store. When a pet has these but goes astray, anyone finding it can call you and you can go get him or her right away. Your pet will be very glad to see you! A happy pet is a loving pet.
STREET LIGHT OUTAGES
To report a burned out streetlight, any resident may call CenterPoint directly at 713-207-2222. However, for those with Internet access, you may also make this report on-line. For those interested, you can go to http://cnp.centerpointenergy.com/outage. Then enter your contact details so that they can get back to you if more information is required. On the following page enter the details of the light(s) with the problem. Just as you would if reporting the outage via the telephone, you will need to provide the street address where the light is located and the 6-digit number that is prominently displayed on the front of the pole. Under normal circumstances the crew will be out to fix the problem within 7 working days.
Anyone noticing a streetlight that is out or has some other malfunction is encouraged to report the problem to CenterPoint via either of these two methods without delay. Our Association is charged for every streetlight each month, irrespective of whether or not the light is functioning. So please help us get value for your hard earned money!
VETERINARY PUBLIC HEALTH LEASH LAW
Animals that are not properly restrained pose a threat to all our residents. While you may know your pet is friendly, an animal running at someone who is walking by is very scary for that person. Many children are afraid of animals and become frightened, which could result in the child getting hurt trying to avoid the animal.
Veterinary Public Health (formerly called Harris County Animal Control) advises that, “All dogs and cats must be kept under restraint while in the unincorporated areas of Harris County, Texas. The custodian of a dog or cat is not authorized to have, harbor or keep any unlicensed dog or cat or to allow any dog or cat to become a stray.”
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When it is controlled by a line or leash not more then six (6) feet in length, if the line or leash is held by a human being who is capable of controlling or governing the dog or cat in question.
- When it is within a fully enclosed vehicle.
- When it is on the premise of the custodian and the animal does not have access to sidewalk to street.
While it may be nice to have your animal out in the yard while you work or play, it is against the law, unless the animal is properly restrained.
Let's all help keep our community a safe and comfortable place for all our residents by being responsible pet owners. This will not only protect anyone who may be walking or bicycling in the area, but also the pet owner who could be held legally responsible or possibly sued for failing to properly restrain their pet.
KATY AREA PLAYGROUP
A Katy area playgroup for stay at home moms and their infant-preschool aged children in the Williamsburg area meets every Monday at different locations. If you interested in participating or finding out more about the playgroup, please contact the playgroup coordinator, Laura Bannerman, at llbannerman@gmail.com. Please share this information with neighbors and friends!
