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Archived Newsletters

Every month, we issue an electronic newsletter, eNews Monthly, to keep clients informed about Association items, spotlight clients, answer frequently asked questions, and let you know what is happening with the company. Old issues of eNews Monthly are available on our Library page.

April 2019
eNews Monthly
86th Texas Legislative Session
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The Texas legislature meets every two years. The 86th session was convened on January 8th and will be in session for 140 days until May 27th. Senators and representatives were able to start filing bills for consideration in November. Here is a summary of the significant filings relative to property owners associations (POAs). Our thanks to Brady Ortego with Roberts Markel Weinberg Butler Hailey who distributed a nice summary of bills filed so far.

  • SB 227 (Bettencourt and Kolkhorst) – This bill expands on the ability for owners to display certain religious items. The biggest potential affect from the law would be owners would be allowed two religious displays (up from one) and the size could be up to 9 square feet (up from 25 square inches).
  • HB 660 (Shaheen) – This bill would require property owners associations to adopt and record fining policies. The policies must establish reasonable fine amounts for each type of violation and provide a copy of that fining policy annually to the association’s members.
  • HB 1025 (Bohac) – This bill will allow for a POA made up of multiple sections to define in its governing documents a specified number of positions on the board that must be elected from an appointed section of the subdivision. The association could also require the members of the board from each subsection to live in the section he/she represents. The bill also states an owner cannot be a candidate for a board position if there is an enforcement action pending against the owner or if the owner is delinquent on an assessment, fee, or fine.
  • HB 1396 (Harless) – This bill would limit board eligibility to only one director per primary residence.
  • SB 639 (Huffman) – This bill relates to the operation and management of certain condominium unit owners association. This bill would have a wide-ranging overhaul of Chapter 82 of the Property Code affecting the operation and management of condominium unit owners associations. The bill addresses topics relating to meetings, records, and elections of board members. It would also allow Chapter 82 communities to conduct electronic voting and voting outside board meetings. This bill by far contains the most changes/additions to current law affecting condominium POAs and is a vast overhaul of Chapter 82. We encourage those most directly affected by the law to read and familiarize yourself with the legislation.
  • SB 807 (Johnson) – This bill would require condominium boards to provide a written summary of the material terms of the property insurance coverage, the amount of coverage and a comparison of the property coverage to the property coverage required by law. It would also require the association to have an independent appraiser appraise and prepare an appraisal report over the property the association may insure, or is required to insure, every 36 months and deliver that report in a manner determined by the board.
  • HB 3445 (King) – This bill relates to declarant control of certain property owners associations and would amend section 209.00591 (c) of the property code to affect declarant control of property owners associations. If enacted, this bill would mandate that a majority of the board members be elected by homeowners on or before the 120th day after 75 percent of the lots are conveyed to homeowners. If there is not a specified number of lots in the declaration, this bill would mandate a majority of the POA board members be homeowners after the fifth anniversary of the date the declaration was recorded.
  • SB 2204 (Fallon) – This bill is also related to declarant control of a property owners association board and would require board meetings to be held within 10 miles of the subdivision, if a majority of board members are not elected by owners other than the declarant. The bill would also mandate at least one-third of the POA board members be elected by owners on or before the 120th day after a majority of lots have been conveyed to owners and that a majority of the POA board members be elected by owners on or before the 120th day after 75 percent of the lots created by the declaration or conveyed to owners. Finally, the bill would mandate that a majority of the POA board members be elected by owners no later than the 10th anniversary of the declaration date if the number of lots that may be created is not defined in the declaration.
  • HB 4176 (Button) – This bill would define short-term rental as “a residential property that is rented wholly or partly for a fee for a period not longer than 30 consecutive days”. It would allow POAs to adopt or enforce provisions in the dedicatory instruments regulating the use of property covered by short-term rentals in the dedicatory instrument.

If you would like to read more about these or any other bills, Texas has a great online resource for reading and following bills through the legislative process. Visit http://www.legis.state.tx.us/ to follow your favorite.

Volunteer Spotlight
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Pembroke Farms Homeowners Association - Robert Burrahm
by Tiffany Sales

Robert Burrahm has been a homeowner in Pembroke Farms since 1998. He was elected to the Board of Directors in 2004 and has held every position on the board. He is currently the President and serves on the Architectural Control Committee.

Robert dedicates many hours to the community to make sure it stays in pristine condition. He meets with all of the vendors to ensure that their scope of the work is completed to standards. Robert is very handy in many fields and a hands-on and do-it-yourself type of person. If he is capable of doing the work, then he would prefer to do that.

Over the past years, Robert has accomplished several major projects. Recently, he arranged new trees to be planted in the community as well as the replacement of the irrigation system. Before the upgrades to the irrigation system were completed, Robert personally hand-watered the new trees.

Robert is an outgoing person and likes to help others. During his spare time, he enjoys riding his motorcycle and spending time with his wife, Malva. In 2015, they rode 3000 miles in 9 days through Dodge City, the Bad Lands of South Dakota, Little Big Horn National Park, Yellowstone National Park, and the Rockies in Colorado. Bob has also earned an Iron Butt “Bun Burner 1500” (1500 miles in 36 hours) and two “Saddle Sore 1000” (1000 miles in 24 hours) awards. Bob and Malva also enjoy traveling and have been to 20 countries. 

We would like to thank Robert Burrahm for his many years of volunteering and commitment to Pembroke Farms Homeowners Association.

Living Our Core Values
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Sebby Regalado

Our company holds high regard for our core values. The "Living Our Core Values" series will share with you real life examples of how we live our core values, either as an entire company or by an employee. We refer to our core values as "SPECIAL" as each letter of that word represents a particular core value. S = Stewardship, P = Passion, E = Empathy, C = Community, I = Integrity, A = Awesomeness, and L = Loyalty.

Sebby Regalado is a Community Manager at our San Antonio Office and is another example of a SPECIAL employee that executes our company’s core values. Each Christmas season, Sebby donates to and assists with the Moravation Ministry’s Annual Toy and Bicycle Giveaway.

The Moravation Ministry’s Annual Toy and Bicycle Giveaway initially began as a small-scale bicycle collection and giveaway organized by Fernando Mora, who wanted to give back to the less-fortunate children of his community. In 2018, after years of expansion, the charity was able to bloom and host a half-day event with free food, entertainment, and raffle prizes, as well as bring in the astonishing totals of 450 toys, 75 sports balls, and 25 bikes to donate to families who could not afford to gift their children that year.

Sebby and many of his generous friends volunteer as Santa’s Elves to pass out the gifts to approximately 300 children each year, as well as donate many of the toys themselves. Sebby loves to help make a difference in the lives of those less-fortunate than him, stating that “the looks and smiles on [the children’s] faces in Santa’s lap are priceless,” and that “the hugs that we receive from parents and grandparents with tears in their eyes is something you never forget.”

Sebby’s work with the Moravation Ministry creates a substantial impact on his community and allows for families in need to have a Merry Christmas despite financial issues. ‘Tis the season of giving!

Seminar Series
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Stay Plugged in with Webcasts

We now offer each of our seminars in the form of a recorded webcast on demand for you to watch at any time! If you have missed a seminar, our seminars are available on our YouTube channel. The following seminars are now available:

Just go to our website, www.ciaservices.com, and click on the Resources tab. From there, select our Library and you will see the links to each webcast and other training materials or you can simply click on the links above.

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Associations in Practice Series

Our first video in the Associations in Practice Series covered Super-Budget ConceptsThis is a great introduction (or refresher) to The Super-Budgeting Process webinar offered in our Seminar Series.
 
Our latest edition to the Series is Short Term Rentals. In this video, we offer insight about short-term rental properties. We have an expert panel on board discussing everything from what a short-term rental is, to potential problems and possible solutions.
 
All of our Association in Practice Series videos will be available on our YouTube channel. We will send updates when new material is added. You can also subscribe to our channel for the news on the latest additions.
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Community Website Administrator Training

This is the required training course for certification as a Community Website Administrator (CWSA) on the C.I.A. Services website (www.ciaservices.com). As a CWSA, you’ll be able to maintain the pages for your community. You’ll be able to create news and events, update key personnel, add community information, display photos, conduct surveys, and much more. Being a website administrator is very easy on www.ciaservices.com and you can do it from anywhere you have an Internet connection. All CWSA training is done by webinar in the comfort of your home.

Space is limited and advance registration is required. To register, please send an email to seminars@ciaservices.com.

Wed., May 1


6 – 7 pm


Webinar

Community Spotlight

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 - Lake McQueeney Las Brisas Homeowners Association - San Antonio Office - Summer Smith
  • March - Pine Forest Village Community Association - Humble Office - Angela Douglas
  • February - Bowling Green Garden Homes Association - Humble Office - Valerie Lehr
  • January Artesian Lakes Community Association - Humble Office - Jennifer Northington
  • December - Kendall Pointe Homeowners Association - San Antonio Office - Brittany Ashe
  • November - Treasure Island Homes Association - San Antonio Office - Brandi Brack

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

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

  • Parkway Forest Property Owners Association — 33 years
  • Ridgepoint Community Improvement Association — 29 years
  • Pine Forest Village Community Association — 26 years
  • Sonoma Ranch Homeowners Association — 16 years
  • Telfair Commercial Association — 13 years

We have a lot of big numbers this month! Thanks to all for being a part of our success.

Employee Corner
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Employee Anniversaries

We love to celebrate special milestones with our employees. In the Employee Corner of each eNews issue, we will list all employees that have reached their one-year anniversary with our company. Additionally, we recognize stockholders on their anniversary month.  C.I.A. Services employees become stockholders after they have been employeed for five years.

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Stockholder Anniversaries

Rhonda Duffield is celebrating her 29 year anniversary with C.I.A. Services! Rhonda is a Maintenance Assistant out of our Humble office and spends her time supporting that department.  In her free time, Rhonda enjoys theater and cruising.

Congratulations to Angela Douglas on her 12th anniversary! Angela is a Customer Service Manager, Community Manager, and Office Manager at our Humble office. When she is not wearing one of those many hats, she enjoys spending time with her family.  Her and her husband have one son at home and one in the Navy.  Angela is a frequent traveler and can provide expert advice to coworkers about their next vacation.

Kristen Craig of our Humble office is celebrating her 8-year anniversary. Kristen is a Community Manager of several growing communities.  She has a beautiful voice and we always love to watch her perform.  Kristen enjoys spending time with her husband and three kids as well as her fur babies!

Robert Pampell is a Maintenance Coordinator in our Southwest Houston office and is celebrating 6 years with the company! Robert is a newlywed and spends much of his time enjoying married life.  He is a fan of the Astros, and loves trying unique foods.

Congratulations to our stockholders with anniversaries this month!

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One-Year Anniversaries

We are also celebrating many one-year anniversaries this month!

Shrishti Guha is a Community Specialist at our Humble office.  She’s one of the friendly voices you hear on the phone when you call in.  Shrishti is a hard worker and can speak three languages: English, Hindi, and Bengali!  Shrishti is also going to school studying business.

Stephanie Mami is a Community Coordinator in the Aliana community.  She plans and oversees many fun community events and activities.  Stephanie enjoys running, kickboxing, and spending time with her dogs.

Christina Mann is an HIR Coordinator from our Humble office.  Her team works to efficiently review and process home improvement applications. Christina spends her free time with her two young sons and enjoys listening to classic rock, thanks to the infuence of her music-loving mom!

Congratulations on reaching one year!

Read Past Issues of eNews Monthly

Every month, we issue an electronic newsletter, eNews Monthly, to keep clients informed about Association items, spotlight clients, answer frequently asked questions, and let you know what is happening with the company. Old issues of eNews Monthly are available on our Library page.