Greater Mission Bend Area Council

Is it just me or does anyone else think that the summer was over before it got started?  That was fast!  So now school is in session as we swing around the corner and (gulp) get ready for the Holiday Season.  I kid you not, I saw Halloween decorations at a store the other day. 

For its part, the Greater Mission Bend Area Council just passed the three year mark, counting back to our humble beginnings at a Town Hall Meeting at the Volunteer Fire Department in June of 2007.  Those three years went by very fast too.  In this time period we have made exceptional strides in our work to make the Greater Mission Bend Area a better place for all of us to live.  Some of our work is highly visible; other projects will bear fruit over the next few years.  To be sure, we are only getting started and we have so very much more work to do. 

In follow-up posts I will review some of the projects in which the GMBAC has played a significant role.  But let me first begin by sharing a more personal experience, which affects all of us in the community and on the Council.  Three years ago Joyce Nible and I met at Christian Brothers Automotive.  It was one of those accidental encounters which leads to fabulous future outcomes.  As we sat waiting for our cars to be repaired we began to talk, as strangers often do.  We began talking about the aforementioned meeting at the Fire Station.  We were both still excited about the community turn out.  Moreover we were amazed and impressed by the dignitaries and officials who came on a hot summer night to address our concerned citizens. 

As we sat talking about this experience we also shared a common concern:  what next?  It was a great meeting, great community fellowship and lots of “good feelings” shared by all.  But, what was next?  As we began to talk about future prospects for our community Joyce and I decided that “somebody” needed to do “something”.  Ever wonder why “they” don’t do this or that, fix this problem or that problem?  Well, that’s pretty much where we were, until that is, we began to consider another question.  Why don’t “we”, she and I, do something?  Instead of sitting around complaining, why don’t we step up and just see what we could do, or maybe what could be done?  I have to tell you, this was not a comfortable question.

We both shared concerns about already being too busy, too tired, not having any free time, yadda, yadda, yadda.  You know that conversation.  You’ve probably had it a few times yourself.  (Come on, be honest now.)  I am self-employed.  Among other things I provide coaching and consultation services for adults with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder.  Believe me when I tell you this job can absolutely consume you.  My weeks are full to overflowing.  Then I have significant commitments outside my job.  I’m telling you, I am too busy for another project.  Before long we actually ran out of excuses and began to talk in terms of what “could” be done if only a few people would step up and lend a hand.  That was scary, let me tell you. 

So gradually we began to focus our energy on possible paths we might take to build on the success of the Town Hall meeting at the Fire Station.  To make a long story short, we decided to contact other interested and invested people in our community to see if we couldn’t get something, anything, going.  We, Joyce and I, took that next step and as they say, the rest is history. 

I can confide in you that had Joyce not been the person she is that I would have likely not have gone into this project.  I have taken many small businesses through startups.  I know the problems they face.  I have sat with small business owners as they went about the process of closing the door on what was at one time the dream of their life.  I know the reality of a project such as we were considering.  I am a dreamer, a planner and something of a motivator.  To succeed I work best with someone who can take those dreams and that energy and direct them to the practical, the organized and the planned.  I knew based upon over twenty years of experience that Joyce Nible was that person who could work with me.  I read her as being practical, grounded, methodical and so very sincere and dedicated.  I knew that if she told me she would go down this road with me that I would never have to worry.   She would have my back, as they say these days.

So it is with the deepest gratitude and the most profound sense of appreciation that I share with you that after three very (did I say, “very”?) challenging years, Joyce Nible announced that she felt that she had achieved the goals we set out to achieve.  Joyce told our board that she was now ready to step down from the burden that comes with being on a board such as ours.  In retrospect I understand Joyce’s decision.  Nothing is forever. 

Joyce helped me to launch this organization.  Now she is comfortable letting others pick up this burden and carry it on down the road.  So, Joyce has passed the baton so to speak.  Others will pick it up and carry on.  It is interesting that the board had to enlist two people to carry the load that Joyce carried herself.  That’s Joyce.  From the bottom of my heart I want to stand on the rooftop and tell the world, “Thank you Joyce for all you have done for you community.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!”  I know with total certainty that we would not be where we are today without all your hard work and dedication.  And for all the times you brought me back down to earth with that stern look I want to say again, thank you.  You will be missed.

Mike Martin, President, GMBAC

Ever notice that when you have something that needs to be done you find yourself doing all kinds of other things?  Call it procrastination, call it what you will, but when I face that blank page I am suddenly aware of all kinds of other “more important” things that need to be done.  Which is why I suddenly began cleaning out old files on my computer.  In doing so I came across the following link to an article that appeared in the Alief-Southwest edition of the Chronicle some time back.  It really got me to thinking:

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nb/alief/news/6132083.html

This is the link to a story the Chron did about our early work forming the Greater Mission Bend Area Council.  I came across it while cleaning out some files.  Of course it is only one of several stories published in the Chronicle’s neighborhood edition that covered our work.  There is no doubt our work would have been a lot more difficult without this vital coverage.  It is such a shame that Mission Bend no longer has this valuable resource.

Of course, in a classic CYA move the Chron proudly told us that we would be getting coverage on their web site.  As we have found out the hard way the Chron Alief web site is a joke.  No one reads it.  This has been such a loss to our work.  We are hampered in our ability to get information out to our community.  The Chron keeps cutting back and they lose readers every time they do so.  I have several neighbors who cancelled their subscription when the neighborhood edition was cancelled.  Then the Chronicle management wonders why circulation is declining. 

Moreover, this certainly hurts the advertising for West Oaks Mall.  As you know, West Oaks Mall is our community’s largest  retail outlet and is undergoing a major renovation.  You can get information about this at the web site at http://www.shopwestoaksmall.com/mimages/factsheets.pdf.  The local community is absolutely in the dark about developments at the mall.  We are a community of 60,000 citizens with no meaningful media coverage.  Interesting management philosophy.

I was reminded of this following our successful Town Hall Meeting with Fort Bend District Attorney John Healey.  Of course he is only one of a number of public officials who have come to speak with us, including County Judges Ed Emmett and Bob Hebert as well as Sheriffs Milton Wright and Adrian Garcia, representing both the counties in which our community resides. Since we have launched our own community website we certainly don’t need the Chron’s Alief page.  We probably get more people logging on to our site than does the Chon.  Nevertheless this does not give us anywhere near the community exposure that the Alief-Southwest neighborhood edition once did.  

As a result of this, I plan to meet with the publisher of a neighborhood newsletter which already provides coverage for the largest homeowner association in Mission Bend.  It is very professionally done.  I want to explore expanding its publication so that all our citizens will once again be informed of events in the Greater Mission Bend Area.  All this is a reminder of the challenges we face in getting our message out to our community.  Again, that is 60,000 residents.  We are a community larger than Galveston, TX.  We no longer can count on the Chronicle, and that hurts.

Mike Martin, President, GMBAC

Each month when I sit down to write this article I find myself going through a period of reflection.  This month is no exception.  But this month is a little bit different.  You see, June 2010 marks the third anniversary of our community crusade.  The Greater Mission Bend Area Council had its humble beginnings three years ago when a group of citizens reacted to a series of brazen robberies that were taking place in the driveways of our community.  It seemed there were individuals from a local apartment community who were venturing into our neighborhood and literally holding people up as they pulled into their driveways.  This made the news and gave the Mission Bend area a kind of notoriety.  They came to be referred to as the Mission Bend Driveway Robberies.  It was the kind of notoriety we can all live without.

In response to these events a meeting was held at the newly opened community fire station on Bellaire.  The fire trucks were moved out of the service bay and seating was set up for a surprisingly large gathering of local citizens.  If you were one of those in attendance you got to hear Fort Bend County Commissioner Bob Hebert address the concerns of our community.  You also got to hear representatives from various law enforcement agencies speak on the threat of crime in our neighborhoods.  That was all well and good and was long overdue.  There were a couple of very interesting events which followed this meeting.

For one thing, we found out that the citizens of our community would stand up and speak out about the problems of gang activity and other criminal activity in this area.  Who knew?  Secondly, there was a redoubling of effort by local law enforcement agencies to bring an end to the driveway robberies.  This happened very quickly as the perpetrators were caught shortly thereafter.  I would say that the police agencies involved heard our concerns – and acted on them.  Finally, and perhaps most importantly, a group of citizens came together in a quest to take the spirit of the community meeting to a new level.  These concerned citizens began to meet and eventually became the founding members of the Greater Mission Bend Area Council.  The rest, as they say, is history.

Well, three years have come and gone.  Much time and energy have been expended in a quest to provide our collective neighborhoods an organization to address the many challenges we all face.  The GMBAC has been successful in bringing awareness of our community to political leaders in both Harris and Fort Bend counties.  We are hard at work defining problems and setting the stage for real solutions to the many challenges that face our community.  And on June 26 we will host a special Town Hall meeting to celebrate our three year history and to address our citizens concerns about crime prevention.

Yes, crime is still a serious problem in this area.  It is a problem in any area of the region.  Unlike other areas in the unincorporated regions of Harris and Fort Bend counties we now have an infrastructure to address the issue of crime.  I think that I can say with all candor that crime is the first agenda item on the plate for the Greater Mission Bend Area Council.  Just like three years ago we want to invite all the citizens of this community to join us as we offer a second Town Hall meeting to address crime prevention.  Our slate of speakers will be announced soon.  I can tell you that the meeting will take place on June 26 beginning at 8:45 AM and lasting until 1 PM.  The meeting will be held at Mission Bend United Methodist Church (www.mbumc.org) at 3710 Highway 6 South, across the street from Wal-Mart.  Please check our web site at www.GMBAC.com as we post information and updates about the meeting.  So, mark your calendars, come early and plan to stay late.  We plan to have a program which will inform you and which will encourage you about the future of this area.  I look forward to seeing you at the meeting.

Mike Martin

President

Greater Mission Bend Area Council

E-mail:  mmartin@GMBAC.com

Ever notice how fast the months just go flying by? It just seems like yesterday I was sitting here pondering the happenings of our neighborhood and wondering about what of these events was noteworthy. This month is a little bit easier. Once again your Council has put together a great program. We invited speakers to come in and present a training program for board members of homeowners’ associations.

No, this was not a public event, but it was an important event. By bringing together HOA board members with members of the management companies with which the HOA’s contract we are doing important networking. We are getting our name out in the professional community and we are gaining recognition. And recognition by decision makers is going to be critical as the GMBAC moves forward with its mission to improve the quality of life in our service area. We cannot accomplish this mission entirely by ourselves. It was interesting that we had people from Tomball attend our training session. We have already worked with leaders in Copperfield. This is important because collectively the communities of the unincorporated areas will have to join forces to fight the blight of urban decay which stands just outside our borders. We will most likely have to join forces with these other communities as we approach the state legislature with proposals we want put into law to allow us to address many problems for which there is no legal solution at this time.

What are these problems? As they say, they are legion. Just look around your neighborhood and note any issues which you think are not being addressed, from the tidal wave of rental property to blatant disregard for deed restrictions. Your HOA stands between you and the chaos which would wash over your community if left unchallenged.

This brings up our ongoing concern. As we noted in last month’s newsletter during the last legislative session over 100 bills were introduced which were designed to basically wipe out the HOAs in this state. Now think about that for a moment. Maybe you don’t like paying those HOA assessments. And maybe you don’t like having to go before an architectural control committee to repaint your house. Then you are just like most of us. Most homeowners don’t particularly like either of these aspects of HOA control in our community. BUT, now pay attention here, what do you think would happen if there were no HOA to protect your investment? What if the guy next door sells his house to an “investor” who lives out of state and whose only concern is “cash flow” as all the real estate commercials state? “Cash flow”. Has a nice ring to it doesn’t it?

Well it does until the new renter does like a guy on Winkleman (across from Petrosky Elementary School) did. He is gone now, thanks largely to the intervention of the evil HOA.  This budding entrepreneur asserted his right to use his rented property any way he chose. So he opened up an auto repair shop. You get that? This guy rented a lovely little home which formerly was owned by residents who raised their family in Mission Bend and moved out once the children were grown. And not caring two cents for any of his new neighbors who continue to live in their homes, he opened an auto repair shop in an exclusively residential neighborhood right on Winkleman across the street from Petrosky Elementary School. Next thing you know there are cars parked all up and down the street awaiting for his attention. Auto parts, hoods, door panels, etc., were leaning up against his fence and cars were in his driveway in various stages of disassembly. Get the picture?

All that stood between the neighbors’ property values and this guy’s ambition to run an auto repair shop was – you guessed it – the HOA. The same big bad HOA which is being attacked by forces in the State Legislature as being heavy handed, un-American and several other non-too-pleasant terms. You see, in our current political climate, the rights of this one individual outweigh any concerns for the interests of the community.

It seems as though every legislator is jumping on this Populist bandwagon. Our own State Representative, Mr. Hubert Vo, isn’t just jumping on the bandwagon. He’s leading the charge, having offered one of the first pieces of legislation to gut the HOA’s of their power to maintain control of the community by the homeowners in the community. Did you catch that phrase, “by the homeowners in the community”? The HOA isn’t “them”. It is you and it is I. We are the HOA. The HOA is there to represent “us” and to protect “us” from “them”, those who want to destroy our communities. And to this date, Mr. Hubert Vo has become a voice for “them”.

Now some of you might think I am just grinding a political ax here. That is not the case. Mr. Vo and I may support different political parties, but he stood with our community in its fight with TxDOT and we were pleased to have him as our representative in the State Legislature. We thought of Mr. Vo as our champion. Now imagine our shock when his bill was introduced which would effectively destroy the one agency which stands between the homeowner and total urban blight. We attempted to have a meeting with Mr. Vo but he has avoided this for the past year. Now one year is a very long time for our elected state representative to be too busy to meet with us. But that is the fact of the matter. Now that elections are upon us we can only wonder if Mr. Vo will finally take time from his busy schedule to address our concerns. We don’t have much hope.

In the meanwhile, the 100 bills which would allow urban blight to sweep over your community like that tidal wave are poised and waiting for the next legislative session to open. We are working feverishly to prepare to speak on behalf of the homeowners of Texas, but do not take for granted that we will prevail. Stay tuned.

Michael Martin

President, Greater Mission Bend Area Council                                      mmartin@GMBAC.com

We are headed into spring and have several events planned or in the works. In addition, there is a serious challenge being directed at our HOAs which, if successful, may do more to destroy the investment you have in your home than an army of termites.

First, the one event that is far enough along to talk about. The Greater Mission Bend Area Council began three years ago with a community meeting held at the Community Volunteer Fire Department on Bellaire. It was a typically warm summer evening in June and the bay of the fire station was full of citizens eager to get an update on security issues in the neighborhood. Speakers included Fort Bend County Judge Bob Hebert and numerous officials from local police departments, including the Harris County Sheriff’s Department, Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Department and area constables. Neither of our local school districts chose to send representatives from their respective police agencies.  Since much of the gang activity in our area comes from students in Alief and Fort Bend ISDs, that would have been very helpful to our cause.   It was an interesting and informative meeting and, as noted above, was actually the beginning of what has gone on to become the Greater Mission Bend Area Council.

Well, as they say, the time has come to do it again. Plans are as yet incomplete, but some time this summer, we will again hold a community meeting at the fire station to provide an update on security matters in the Greater Mission Bend Area. Stay tuned, and pass the word on to your friends and neighbors.

HOAs Under Attack

On another front, we must talk about a challenge facing our homeowners associations. We all know that disasters such as fire, wind, water, or even termites can destroy our homes. That is why we have homeowners insurance and pay for a fire department – to protect our biggest investment from such unpleasant events. But, there may be a challenge we as homeowners are facing, which has the potential to be just as devastating to our homes and our communities.

In the last legislative session, over 100 bills were introduced to weaken or destroy the ability of your homeowner’s association to protect your community, and in doing so, protect your home. Now I understand that no one likes paying your HOA assessment each year. I know I don’t like to write that check, but I do so willingly because the alternative is too scary to fathom. Let’s remind ourselves what an HOA does to earn the money we pay each year. And let’s begin by remembering that the HOA isn’t “them”. The HOA is “us.” We are the HOA. We contract with the HOA to provide services which benefit our community such as maintenance of common areas, pool maintenance and upkeep and the operation of many of the street lights in our various neighborhoods. In addition, the HOAs are charged with the responsibility of enforcing deed restrictions, which keep our neighborhoods from sliding into the ghetto.

If that last statement offends anyone, then ask yourself what would happen to your neighborhood if your neighbors could do anything they choose with their house. Anything! Would you like to have your neighbor’s house turned into an auto repair shop? We have just such a problem with a house on Winkleman right now. I won’t give an address but for over a year, one HOA has been working with a local resident who operates an auto repair shop in his driveway each weekend. For the moment, the HOA has prevailed and this activity has stopped. But what would happen if the HOA had not stepped in to address this problem on behalf of all the homeowers in the community? Would you want this happening on your street? There are many such activities which the HOAs address regularly. If the volunteers on your HOA board did not dedicate their time and energy to this thankless task, what do you imagine the outcome would be to our community.

Space does not allow me to list all the many challenges these HOA boards face routinely. Suffice it to say they are our last defense against the process of urban decay, which stands just outside the boundary to our community. In order to function, the HOA necessarily assesses a fee, which is collected annually. If a homeowner does not pay this assessment, then the HOA begins a process of attempting to collect the money owed. For the most part, this is not a heavy-handed process. From my experience, the HOAs bend over backwards to work with property owners who might be facing a financial hardship and are not able to write a check for the money owed. It is only after extended efforts to collect this money are unsuccessful that the HOA reluctantly turns to the legal process and files a lawsuit.

No one wants to file a lawsuit against a neighbor. Remember the board members are our neighbors who volunteer their time and serve without compensation. So when the decision is made to file a lawsuit to attempt to collect the money owed the HOA, it is a serious decision and a responsibility the board members do not take lightly. In essence, it becomes neighbors suing neighbors, and no one enjoys that process.

Once a lawsuit has begun, the HOA will file a lien against the property in question. This lien protects the interests of the HOA, and ultimately your interest as a homeowner. If matters are not resolved then eventually this process can end up in a foreclosure proceeding in which the property is sold to settle the debt. This is an extreme outcome and happens very rarely; but it is an essential part of the process to ensure that the fees which allow the HOA to operate are collected.

This is exactly the same process used by other taxing districts such as school districts and counties. There are legal safeguards built into the process to protect homeowners against abuse by an HOA (or a school district). In the end, it is the power to foreclose on a property which protects the interests of the community and ensures that your property values do not become victim to the destructive processes of urban decay. We did not move into this community to end up living in a ghetto; and it is the HOA which protects our interests as homeowners.

Thank goodness the process exists and is available to the HOAs by virtue of state law. Remember, we do not have any kind of zoning in the counties wherein our community lies.  Were it not for this power, imagine what would happen to your neighborhood.

Enter the State Legislature

Do not take that power for granted because it is under assault in the Texas Legislature. During the last legislative session, as noted above, over 100 bills were introduced to remove or severely restrict the power of HOAs to protect your investment in your home. If the power of the HOA to levy and collect assessments is taken away by the legislature then it will only be a matter of time before Mission Bend and surrounding communities decline to the point where few of us would want to live in this community.

PLEASE NOTE, this legislative onslaught is not only directed at Mission Bend. It is directed at HOAs around the state. Where will you move, assuming you can sell your property once this all begins?  And make no mistake about it, if this legislative agenda starts up in the next legislature, it will very likely succeed on the next try. Forewarned is forearmed, indeed.

Our local legislator, The Honorable Hubert Vo introduced a bill in the last legislative session which would have the effect of prohibiting your HOA from foreclosing on properties when owners do not pay their HOA assessment. We were shocked to find out about this initially.  It is unthinkable that Mr. Vo, who has stood shoulder to shoulder with us as we stared down TxDOT, would introduce a bill which could destroy the very fabric of our community.  Our shock turned to incredulity when we saw the tidal wave of legislation proposed by Mr. Vo’s pals in the Texas House.

For his part, Mr. Vo has not responded to requests to address our community’s concerns. You might say we have been stonewalled. We remain eager to discuss this matter with Mr. Vo, but to do so he must respond to our requests for a meeting. We have no interest in talking to Mr. Vo through his legislative assistants.  Mr. Vo has not responded to us as of the date of this publication.

There is so very much more which we need to say about this matter. We will do so in subsequent postings and newsletters. You will be shocked to find out just how this is already playing out in our local courts, where judges are already refusing to hear suits filed by local HOAs attempting to collect money owed. As they say, stay tuned and we will have more information for you shortly. And hopefully by then we will have heard from Mr. Vo. It is much better to get information first hand than to have it relayed by staff members. Again, stay tuned.

Mike Martin, President                                                                                                                Greater Mission Bend Area Council

The new year is barely underway and already events are rushing past at the speed of light.  The Greater Mission Bend Area Council hasn’t slowed one bit as we work to strengthen your community.  We started the year with a bang by having Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia and Fort Bend Sheriff Milton Wright address our board and a handful of interested citizens.  All in all it was a very productive meeting.  Following our meeting with the respective county judges, Ed Emmett and Bob Hebert, I can tell you for sure, our county officials know we are here.  And that is a good thing, because we are going to need all the help we can get to be able to address most of the problems faced by the Greater Mission Bend Area. 

West Oaks Mall

Speaking of which, one of the bigger problems we have had to stand by helplessly and watch has been the demise of the once proud and glitzy West Oaks Mall.  When it was first built, West Oaks Mall was the gleaming diamond that said to the world, we are a community worth recognizing.  In fact, the mall’s early name was West Oaks Fashion Mall.  That said it all.  Unfortunately, it didn’t last and we all stood by helplessly and watched the mall go into steady decline.  This was brought on by a number of factors, one of which was the outward migration of a large prosperous middle class in the Mission Bend area.  When these folks left they took with them significant financial resources which kept the mall prosperous.  While we welcome our new neighbors it seems that, collectively, they do not have the financial resources of those whom they replace.  Just the fact of the matter. 

Since that time there has been significant development along the Eldridge and Briar Forest corridors.  Also, Highway 6 south to Highway 90 (South Main) has undergone significant development and continues to grow.  This new development to the east and the south of the mall has more than offset any outward migration from Mission Bend per se. 

Over the past twenty years the bloom has left the rose and the once alluring name “West Oaks” took on a bit of a stigma.  Even West Oaks Baptist Church, from which the mall took its name, has ceased to exist.   There’s almost something symbolic about that. 

To make matters worse, the mall went through a succession of ownership problems, leading finally to a bankruptcy which literally drove out many of the tenants which might otherwise have stayed.  When the leases of these tenants expired, literally, there was no authority available with which to renew.  Having no lease exposed these businesses to all kinds of risks and they sadly packed up their goods and moved on down the road.  Sad indeed.

The Good News

But, neighbors, take heart because help is on the way.  One of the first items on the agenda for the GMBAC board for the New Year was to set up a meeting with Tony Daniel, manager of the mall.  We did indeed meet with Tony and were also fortunate to have Gary Karl attend the meeting.  Gary is a representative for the mall’s new owners, Pacific Retail Capital Partners.  We had a wonderful visit with these people and left with a renewed sense of hope that the mall is not only going to be revived, it will be renewed and will be better than ever.  They shared some of their development ideas with us, and just let me say this much, you are going to be very pleased with what they plan to do.  Some of this information will be released later in the Spring as plans take shape.  Please feel free to leave your ideas about the mall here on the GMBAC web site.  They will be checking in from time to time to get the public (you) response.  So, don’t be shy. 

Malls tend to be big news in this town and West Oaks is no exception.  Andy Cerota of Channel 13 has been covering our events for over a year now.  Last year Channel 13 aired a special story about the efforts of the Greater Mission Bend Area Council.  Yesterday Cerota did a story on Channel 13 about the mall and its new ownership.  You can follow the link to the story if you missed it: 

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/video?id=7242961

(To view this story, click on the url above.)

Also, we are making progress with our web site development, although it is still a work in progress.  At least at this point the site is functional.  In order to post you have to go to the login and register your name.  This is a bit of a cumbersome process at this time, but at least it will allow you to post messages and have your opinions “out there”.  And so, as they say, stay tuned.  The best is yet to come. 

The year 2009 will stand as a historically significant year in the life of our community.  As I pause to reflect on the accomplishments of the past year, I find one thought echoing over and over in my mind, “Did we really do it?”  Did we really succeed where others before us have failed?  Did we finally manage to succeed where other equally able people, who worked as hard as we worked, failed to succeed?  These thoughts just keep bouncing around in my head, over and over. And each time I ask myself some variant of this question, I get the same answer.  Yes!  Yes! And Yes!  We did succeed.  We did manage to accomplish what has been attempted on several occasions over the past 30 years.  Yes!  We did it.  Then I hear the questions one more time.  “Did we…”I realize that many reading this message will not appreciate the magnitude of this accomplishment.  Some will surely not even know what this guy is babbling about.  So let me take a minute to bring everyone up to speed and, hopefully, help you appreciate what “we” accomplished this year.

To begin with, like some of you, I am a long-time resident of the Mission Bend-Clayton neighborhood.  My wife and I moved here in 1978, and have been here ever since.  Like many of you, we have noticed many changes occurring in this area over the past 30 years.  Sadly, many of these changes are not for the better.  All neighborhoods seem to decline in many ways as they grow older, and Mission Bend and Clayton are certainly not exceptions.  I won’t devote too much time detailing those changes.  Just drive around the area and you will see them for yourself.

The one issue that seems to grab everyone’s attention is crime.  As neighborhoods grow older, they are at risk for having an increased crime rate and I am afraid that our area is not an exception.  Many of the middle-class families, who originally settled this area, have left.

We all know the story:  “Gone to Katy.”  Many of the single-family homes in our area are now, practically speaking, multifamily dwellings.  Just count the cars parked in the driveway and on the curb in front of so many homes.  Many homes that were privately owned, are now rental property.  Some of these property owners are responsible people who work to monitor their renters and to maintain their properties.  Sadly, many do not make this effort, and we all suffer. 

Commercial interests are moving into our neighborhood, which bring blight to our area and we are helpless to stop or to control them.  And the list goes on.  Maybe the thought of urban blight is something you would rather not consider.   Some of our neighbors have already considered these challenges and have opted to sell their homes and move to other, newer neighborhoods.  However, many were shocked to find that relocation did not help them escape this problem.  When they put their homes on the market, they found that the value they had assumed for their home was in fact not realistic.  One friend, who decided to move, finally sold his home for $30,000 less than the appraised value on which he had been paying taxes.  I call that “the high cost of education.”

I share this information as background to tell you that many in this area made a decision to do something besides complain.  We banded together and we organized.  We organized the homeowners associations in the Mission Bend and Clayton areas.  To our surprise and delight our neighbors in the Kingsbridge area also joined our crusade.  We formed a council of 13 homeowners associations, which collectively represent around 25,000 people spread over two counties.  We called this organization the Greater Mission Bend Area Council, which of course we abbreviate to GMBAC.  Our efforts drew media attention and we were featured in several stories in the Houston Chronicle.  And Channel 13 took notice of our work and did a special which shared our story with the entire city.

And public officials took notice of our efforts.  Recently we had the county judges from both Harris County and Fort Bend County come and speak to our members.  Ed Emmett and Bob Hebert were impressed enough with our efforts to take time from their busy schedules and come and sit down and talk with us.  Imagine having these two county judges in the same room at the same time, listening to our concerns and offering their advice to us.  Priceless, as the commercial says.  But we didn’t stop there.  State Senator Joan Huffman also came and met with us.  In January, we plan to have the sheriffs from both counties meet with us.  Stay tuned.  We’ll offer that as a public meeting and encourage all our citizens to attend. 

We are a fledgling organization and we still have a long way to go to meet any of the challenges which our community faces.  But we are off to a good start. We have strong support in the community for our work.  We already have new homeowners associations wanting to join our work.  Our goal is to bring the entire community of 60,000 residents into the organization.  As County Judge Ed Emmett noted, that will make us bigger as a community than the city of Galveston.  The coming year will be very important for our efforts as we begin to develop an action plan to confront the problems of our aging community. 

It has been my great privilege to serve as President of this organization as we have gone through our formative stages.  At no time was I alone in this project.  I have been blessed to have wonderful neighbors like Joyce Nible, Donna Kinerd, Dianne Williams, Dr. Winetta Billings and Bob Leitner share the journey with me.  I want to offer a special thanks to Andy Cerota of Channel 13 who caught our vision and was willing to share our story with the city of Houston.  I continue to meet people who saw that story on television and comment on it to me.  To be sure many others made significant contributions to this work, and I plan to honor all their work as we move forward.  In the meanwhile, I look forward to the challenges and the opportunities of the coming year.  Stay tuned.  As they say, the best is yet to come.

Mike Martin