Community Spotlight:
Parkway Forest Property Owners Association
by Brenda Alvarez, Community Manager

Seated are Brenda McNeil and Ralph Murray. Standing are Daron Monteilh, Janice Bonin, Jennifer Travers and Ed Nelson. Dawn Cole was not available for the photo.

The Parkway Forest Property Owners Association was incorporated in July 1977 and consists of 870 properties. The community is located on the northeast side of Houston off Beltway 8 and Tidwell. This mature community is nestled amongst several newly constructed communities. C.I.A. Services has proudly managed Parkway Forest for twenty-four years.

As the Community Manager for the last twenty years, I have seen Parkway Forest change and have shared in their ups and downs. One consistency I have seen over the years is long-standing board member Daron Monteilh who has dedicated the last twenty-five years as a volunteer in Parkway Forest.

Daron and I sometimes get caught-up in reminiscing about the past: the challenges the community has faced as it matured, the struggle to maintain the swimming pool while usage declined, and the times C.I.A Services helped the community find solutions. The association went through some financial challenges until they made a hard decision to close the community pool. And in 2005 the Parkway Utility District stepped up and agreed to take over paying for the patrol contract with the Constables.

Without the expense of community pool and the patrol service the Board of Directors were able to start implementing plans for projects that had been on hold for many years. The community developed a Sidewalk Project that provided sidewalks on the main thoroughfares that the children take to and from school. After the MUD took over the patrol service the community was able to complete the final phase of the Sidewalk Project. The park was upgraded with new playground equipment in May of 2006, a walk track was constructed around the perimeter of the park and four new entrance monuments were constructed in 2007. An adult fitness circuit was added to the walk track area at the end of 2009.

Today, Parkway Forest is financially sound, thanks to the outstanding and dedicated volunteers. These volunteers are always the first to step up to do handyman jobs whenever needed and cook and serve hotdogs for the community events. Volunteers like these make a difference.

C.I.A. Services is proud to be a part of Parkway Forest for the past twenty four years and I am proud to have been the Community Manager for most of that time.

New Pool Safety Rules

In the 2009 legislative session, SB-968 was passed and signed into law which deals with public interactive water features and fountains (PIWFs). According to the bill analysis, "Interactive spray fountain parks have become increasingly popular attractions throughout the United States. When not properly maintained, spray fountain parks have been associated with outbreaks of diarrheal illness. More than 15 such outbreaks of bacterial, viral, or parasitic illnesses have occurred from fountain parks in the United States and other countries. Currently, there is no existing regulation in the State of Texas requiring minimum operating standards for such facilities."

The Texas Department of State Health Services has recently completed an 18 page addition to the Texas Administrative Code which provides the details for how the law will be interpreted and gives guidance to owners of PIWFs on what needs to be done. The new rules are meant to ensure all PIWFs are maintained in a sanitary manner suitable for public use. These interactive water features can be free-standing in a park or incorporated into a swimming pool facility.

We have water features covered by the new rules in several of our communities. Your Community Manager knows if your community is affected by this new law and, if so, can provide an update on the work we are doing with community contractors to ensure compliance. Additional signage, testing and record keeping is required. A supplemental water treatment system is also required in systems with recirculating water. In addition to the normal chlorination of pool water, the supplemental treatment can be with ozone, ultraviolet light, special chemicals to kill Cryptosporidium or hyperchlorination. The Department may accept other supplemental systems.

Since these rules require new equipment, procedures and special testing not previously needed at swimming pools, we are expecting additional costs to modify and operate most pool facilities with PIWFs.

The full Texas Administrative Code can be viewed on the Secretary of State's website www.sos.state.tx.us/tac/index.shtml. The new rules regarding PIWFs are in Title 25, Part 1, Chapter 265, Subchapter M in case you would like to read the details.

Upcoming Seminars

The C.I.A. Services Seminar Series will be finishing its 7th academic year of educational seminars in June. Each seminar concentrates on the practical aspects of the topic and provides board members with background knowledge to help them in their decision making. We consistently receive positive feedback on the content and presentation. To view the seminar descriptions and full schedule, click here or visit the Library page of our website. The new schedule for seminars starting in August will be announced in July.

Each seminar begins at 6:00 p.m. and runs 2 hours. We provide deli sandwiches so you won't have to rush to eat dinner beforehand. You'll leave with knowledge you can use immediately and a great notebook with the seminar slides, samples and reference materials for your future reference and to share with others.

Advanced Topics for Board Members After you've been on the Board a few months or a few years, you realize that some things are pretty complicated. This seminar has a legal and legislative orientation. We'll dissect the lawsuit process, review foreclosures and bankruptcies, and discuss significant portions of the Texas Property Code and federal law. After all the legal stuff, we'll touch on aspects of risk management which includes insurance, reserves and budgeting concepts. June 14, 2010 (Monday), 6:00 p.m. — Southwest Office June 24, 2010 (Thursday), 6:00 p.m. — North Office

You can register at any time by calling 713-981-9000 or emailing seminars@ciaservices.com.

Community of the Month

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:

• June - Ashcreek Homeowners Association
  North Office - Brenda Ellington, Community Manager
• May - Ridgepoint Community Association
  North Office - Anna Quiroga, Community Manager
• April - Atascocita West Community Improvement Association
  North Office - Brenda Alvarez, Community Manager

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

Anniversaries

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

• Oak Cliff Place Homeowners Association — 18 years
• Atascocita North Community Improvement Association — 16 years
• Vicksburg Community Association — 14 years
• Copper Creek Community Improvement Association — 13 years
• Sablechase II Homeowners Association — 8 years
• Sablechase II Maintenance Association — 8 years
• Silvercreek Community Association — 4 years
• Telfair Community Association — 4 years
• Kenswick Trace Homeowners Association — 2 years

Our goal has always been to create a positive, long term relationship with all of our client communities. We are very proud to be managing all of these communities.

Employee Spotlight

• Congratulations to Gloria Bell on her 21st anniversary with C.I.A. Services. Gloria is a stockholder at our North Office providing a variety of staff support.
• Our Bandera Office is celebrating its two year anniversary this month. The office opened for business on June 30, 2008.



GloriaBell		Bandera Office in Bloom





C.I.A. Services, Inc. www.ciaservices.com Toll Free: 866-219-0563
Southwest Office 9800 Centre Parkway, Suite 625 Houston, Texas 77036-8294 Phone: 713-981-9000 Fax: 713-981-9090	North Office 8811 FM 1960 Bypass, Suite 200 Humble, Texas 77338-4023 Phone: 281-852-1700 Fax: 281-852-4861	Bandera Office 465 Bear Springs Road Pipe Creek, Texas 78063-3178 Phone: 830-535-6222 Fax: 830-535-4265


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