March 31st is the due date to pay WIA annual assessments ($142 this
year). Also known as "annual dues", how is this figure determined?
In a perfect world, it's a simple math equation. Waterwood's annual
reserve fund (for projected maintenance and liability expenses) plus
its total annual expenses (personnel, EMS, etc.) minus annual
proceeds from $7 million invested in securities and bonds =
assessment requirements to be funded by the lot owners. This final
figure is supposed to be divided by the number of qualified Waterwood
lots (approximately 2,100 lots). But, since 33% don't pay
assessments, the directors long ago decided that assessment
requirements have to be inflated in order to be funded by 66% of the
lot owners.

In addition to the 700 or so lot owners who don't pay their
assessments, there are thousands of "unqualified" lot owners which
don't figure into the math equation at all. Jacinto Investments/CEM,
Keystone Land, Horizon, the Municipal Utility District, and San
Jacinto County aren't considered WIA members, and therefore, they
aren't charged annual assessments on lots they own. Jacinto
Investments/CEM and Keystone Land, however, do pay property taxes
just like everybody else.

Supposedly, county property records are obtained annually from the
appraisal district and WIA's records are updated accordingly to make
sure every qualified lot owner pays their fair share of assessments.
However, Waterwood Watchdog stumbled upon eight lot owners in
Whispering Pines II which haven't been listed in WIA's books nor
charged assessments for the past few years. Oops, someone slipped.
Who slipped? If you ask WIA, they blame San Jacinto County's
records. If you ask San Jacinto County, they say their records are
updated monthly and WIA must have goofed.

It's our directors' duty to know exactly how many lot owners are
charged assessments and how many pay their bill. It's also their
duty to make sure employees update property ownership records each
year in order to accurately charge assessments. Sadly, the majority
of WIA's directors aren't familiar with how WIA figures its
assessments, how it keeps assessment records, or the accurracy of its
property records. Our directors have excused their lack of
involvement by explaining that they are volunteers. Yet, these
crucial numbers are a homeowner association's bread and butter, and
our bylaws establish that it's directors' duty to supervise employees
to ensure bookkeeping and lot ownership records are current and
correct.

Another due date coming up for lot owners is May 31st. You have until
May 31st to file a protest if you believe your property is valued too
high or unequally by the Appraisal District (San Jacinto County).
Many lots in Waterwood are unequally valued. For example, Jacinto
Investments/CEM owned several developed lots in Whispering Pines II.
Two years ago, approximately 18 of their $2,500 lots were devalued to
$280 (property numbers R66430, R66542, R66686, R66713, and R66722).
This means a multi-million dollar partnership managed to lower their
taxes to about $8 in annual taxes instead of $80 per developed lot.
Meanwhile, over 200 Whispering Pines II lot owners, predominantly
senior citizens on fixed incomes, could have seized this opportunity
(but didn't) to protest their $2,500 lot as "unequal" in value to the
neighboring $280 lots owned by Jacinto Investments/CEM. It's unknown
why the Chief Appraiser of San Jacinto County (no longer employed in
our county) devalued only 18 Jacinto Investments/CEM's Whispering
Pines II lots to $280, while leaving another 200 other Whispering
Pines II lots unchanged at $2,500 each. Foul play comes to one's
mind. Waterwood Watchdog was informed that the only recourse
Whispering Pines II lot owners have to seek justice and equity, is to
file protests to get the same low value.

But, in order to protest and seek justice and equity, one needs to do
their homework. The Internet makes this job a lot easier and cheaper
than it used to be. To see appraised values in San Jacinto County, go
to http://www.txcountydata.com/county.asp?County=204 (also listed in
the Bookmarks section on Waterwood Watchdog's homepage). At this
website, click on Owner Search, enter your last name, and copy down
the R-number and the appraised value for your lot. Then, click on
Property ID Search, enter R-numbers higher and lower than your number
to get your neighbors' lot values.

For example, Mr. and Mrs. Jarvie's R-number is R60667 (Bermuda Dune),
and their lot is appraised at $9,530. They would enter R60666 and
continue entering decreasing and increasing R-numbers to get property
values for everyone on Bermuda Dune. In Mr. and Mrs. Jarvie's case,
they'll discover that the lot across the street from them is valued
at $2,000 but is 33% percent smaller in size. Mr. and Mrs. Jarvie
will have convincing evidence and good reason to protest and ask the
Appraisal Review Board to lower their lot's value by 50% to $4,500 or
less. This inequity, coupled with the fact that no lots have sold
and no houses have been built on Bermuda Dune in over two decades,
will offer Mr. and Mrs. Jarvie a poignant case to lower their lot's
value and taxes by 50%.

Mr. and Mrs. Jarvie aren't the only lot owners paying higher taxes on
unequally valued lots. Inequities abound at Waterwood, with low
values and low taxes mysteriously being awarded to Horizon, Keystone
Land and Jacinto Investments/CEM. Jacinto Investments/CEM owns a
developed lot on Poland Spring Way (R61013) which is a developed lot
valued at $120. Two lots down, however, is a lot valued at $1,760
(owned by Mr. Punch (R61016). Mr. Punch also has a strong case to
lower his property taxes by 90% by requesting his $1,760 lot to be
devalued to $120, on par with Jacinto Investments/CEM's lot. Mr.
Favaloro and Mr. Reber (R60645 and R60643) are also good candidates
for protesting their property taxes and asking for a 90% reduction.
In between their $2,200 and $3,620 lots located on Spy Glass Court is
a developed lot valued at $100, owned by, you guessed it, Jacinto
Investments/CEM.

Because most property at Waterwood involves absentee lot owners who
live out of town, the Internet is a "must have" tool for researching
comparable property. For example, one golf course lot adjacent to the
third fairway with a view of the lake is valued at $6,750 (R60660,
next to Dave Carey's home) while three lots away, adjacent to a
ravine with no view of the lake, is a lot valued higher at $9,250
(R60664). Even more puzzling, an identical lot next to the over-
valued $9,250 lot is valued at $7,860 (R60665). Waterwood Watchdog's
lot (across the same ravine, opposite R60665) is smaller than most
lots and is valued at $2,200 (land only, 67354). But her lot is
flanked by two Keystone Land lots; one is valued at $920 and the
other is valued at $770! GRRRR . . . . . . . . Waterwood Watchdog
will growl and protest of course.

How does one protest? You only have two weeks to do this. When forms
become available in mid-May, get a form by calling the Appraisal
District at San Jacinto County (936-653-4481) and submit it by May
31st. According to a representative at the appraisal district, when
they receive your protest form, they'll informally resolve the
protest in a telephone call (you'll need to provide them your daytime
phone number). If the protest isn't resolved satisfactorily, lot
owners can request an appearance before the Appraisal Review Board.
Those who live out of state can appoint an "agent" to appear on their
behalf (a notarized letter appointing someone by name). Three people
on the Appraisal Review Board (business persons in the community who
are certified to hear and resolve property valuation disputes) will
then attempt to resolve any perceived inequities. If the lot owner
is still unhappy, he or she can appeal the decision at the district
court level.

In the local news, Donnie Marshall, Chief of our Fire Department,
attended a grantwriting conference in order to submit a grant to the
US government. He recently submitted a grant requesting $159,622 to
buy a new "main pumper" (fire truck) to replace our 20-year old
pumper that's becoming a high-maintenance problem. The Assistance to
Firefighters Grant Program, managed by the US Fire Administration
(under FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency) has $360
million for these grants. Thousands of fire departments across the
country have applied for funding for equipment and personnel training
programs. Applications are competitive and will be scored in April.
By mid-May, we should know if Waterwood's grant made the cut.

A new word was heard last month - ageeism. What is an "ageeism"?
It's a contorted statement to disguise the whole truth. How so? For
example, Directors Agee and Stanley met with Pat Halloway, the
Huntsville Postmaster, to discuss changes in the way mail can be
received at Waterwood. Agee announced that as a result of their
discussion with Halloway, the current delivery method (private
service via Phil Palmer's office) cannot be changed because it is the
method originally established by Horizon, case closed. This a classic
ageeism. What Agee failed to reveal is that although the Board can't
change the "Method of Delivery", it can request an "Expansion of
Delivery Method" from the Huntsville Postmaster. The Board could
erect a mailbox clusterbox in any neighborhood where there are 12
people who want to receive mail closer to their home. For
example, a minimum of 12 residents of Greentree Village could request
the Board to erect a mailbox cluster in their subdivision. The Board
would be able to submit an "Expansion of Delivery Method" request to
the Huntsville Postmaster. Those 12 residents' addresses would be
changed, for example, from "457 Waterwood" to "457 Greentree Village,
Huntsville, TX 77320". Ageeism, however, will prevent expansion of
mail delivery from happening, much in the same way that ageeism
prevented hazardous dead trees from being cut down in the mid and
late 1990s by claiming that it was "illegal" to do so. Fortunately,
Board directors in 2001 rejected that ageeism, and authorized
hazardous dead trees to be cut down.

If you're in town this weekend, consider these local events.
Saturday morning, there will be a Walk in the Woods, 3 and 7 mile
walks, 9 to Noon (meet at the County Club parking lot near the
granite sign). There's an Easter Egg Hunt for children ages 10 and
under, Saturday afternoon, 2 to 4 PM, at the Point Blank Volunteer
Fire Department on Rt. 190. And on Sunday, there's a Sunrise Easter
Sunday Service at the Wilderness Cathedral, 6:15 AM. For those who
can't walk a mile to the Cathedral, four-wheel drive service can be
arranged by arriving a bit earlier, 6 AM.


Editor's note: The Waterwood Improvement Association now has a website
where Board minutes, bylaws, and information are posted; see
http://people.txucom.net/wia/ As a courtesy to subscribers, minutes
will continue to be emailed from Waterwood Watchdog. The posted copy
will remain on Waterwood Watchdog's website for 30 days. To research
prior months' Board minutes, you'll need to visit WIA's website (also
listed on the Bookmarks section).