NOTTINGHAM HAPPENINGS

About the time you receive this newsletter, school will be back in session. With that comes increased traffic throughout our community. Homeowners are advised to be watchful of young children on our streets early in the morning. At this time of year it is still dark at 6:00 am so be particularly careful in the mornings. Our Constable’s deputies will also be concentrating on young drivers using Shillington and Dominion as these two streets have frequently been the sites of accidents, speeding and stop sign violations.  Save yourselves some money and avoid traffic fines!

The NCCIA board would like to thank our community homeowners for the safe and incident free July 4th holiday. Our Constables reported very few problems and there were no fires in the subdivision.  Hopefully everyone had a good time.  Let’s try to keep it that way next year. 

The NCCIA board recently approved the addition of two more picnic tables in Rennie Park.  In fact those tables may already be installed by the time you read this newsletter.  We are also considering the addition of another covered pavilion in the near future.  The park continues to be a popular place for residents. Of course with a park come certain problems such as graffiti from irresponsible youth, littering, residents not cleaning up after their dogs, and disregard for park hours. Come on folks; let’s clean up after ourselves and our dogs!  Try to leave the park as you found it, hopefully better than you found it.

Concerning park hours; the park closes at 9:00 PM on Sunday through Thursday nights and 10:00 PM on Friday and Saturday PM.   Some residents would like the park hours extended to as late as 12:00 midnight.  We need input from NC residents about this matter. This is your park and we wish to try to accommodate the residents who use the park but we need to take into consideration the homeowners who live near the park and consider that activities that might take place in the park at later hours.  How do you feel about park hours?  Should we extend them?  Keep in mind that if we extend park hours it means everyone has usage of the park not just the quiet folks walking dogs. It means teens playing soccer games, folks just hanging out or whatever.  Most area parks close at sunset or between 9:00 PM to 10:00 PM.  Please give us some input.

Don Mach

NCCIA President/Legal Liaison

HEAVY TRASH PICKUP DAY

NCCIA and MCUD will sponsor another heavy trash pick up day on Saturday, October 11th.  Our solid trash vendor, WCA, will have trucks available in the parking lot of Nottingham Elementary School which is off of Rennie Drive and Kingsland Blvd.  The exact hours will become available at a later date. Please check next month’s newsletter and the NCCIA website. 

All household articles may be brought to the site for pick up with the exception of construction materials, paint, chemicals and other hazardous materials.

NCCIA Board of Directors

Looking Back, Looking Forward

In July, 1972, the Articles of Incorporation of Nottingham Country Community Improvement Association were filed with the Secretary of the State of Texas.  From that document, Article Four states: “The purposes for which the corporation is organized are: To provide for maintenance, protection, health, safety, recreation, and welfare of homeowners or residents within Nottingham Country…”   That is very heavy lifting for a volunteer group of eight directors (sometimes less) and some 2,300 homes.  Now, add 36 years to this document and we are in July, 2008.

In 1972, there were few homes in Nottingham Country, no home computers, no “restaurant row” on Mason Road, no mega-lane I-10 Katy Freeway with underpasses leading into our neighborhood, etc.  KISD had ONE high school – the good ol’ Tigers had to wait until 1979 before the Taylor Mustangs came into being.  In 1972, the Democrats nominated Sen. George McGovern for President, the Dow Jones Industrial Average topped 1000 for the first time, a gallon of gas was 55 cents, the average cost of a new home was $30,500, Atari introduced the video game Pong, and Bob Barker made his debut as host of “The Price is Right.”

Though many things have changed over the years, Nottingham Country is still doing well and the purposes stated in our Articles of Incorporation are pretty well being accomplished – maintenance, health, safety, and recreation .  We have evolved into a desirable, well-kept place for families to relocate with custom homes, great freeway access with a mushrooming medical complex surrounding us, a major energy corridor a few exits down the freeway, a regional mall, and of course, a school district with an excellent reputation.  The NCCIA has in place a management company (SCS) that is capable and competent; the Harris County Constables are under contract with NCCIA for our protection and safety; recreation is available in our Rennie Park facility and KISD schools located in or near Nottingham.  The Mason Park MUD is a true partner and also very active in making Nottingham Country an attractive, cost effective place to own a home.

That leaves the term “welfare of homeowners and residents.”  The present Board views this as our duty to maintain and/or maximize our property values.  To most of us our homes are our greatest investment and with the current economy (housings starts downturn, mortgage crisis, etc) a lot of our homeowners are deciding to stay put and remodel, update, or add on to their Nottingham homes.  When Nottingham homeowners have shopped other areas or cities, they realize they cannot replace what we have here without spending 25-40% more per square foot.  Our for-sale homes in NC do not stay on the market very long; foreclosures have averaged less than one per month for the last few years; the number of lease/rental homes has decreased as more homes are new-owner occupied.

The point is, now is a critical time to protect and enhance our investments.  Every homeowner can contribute by improving and maintaining their individual property.  The Board is also very interested in any ideas or proposals to improve the appearance and image of our subdivision.  Please contact any Board member or Nancy Callaway at SCS Management with your suggestions.  The future of Nottingham Country is very bright and each homeowner should be involved to keep it that way.

Thanks,

Bruce Hamelin

NCCIA Vice-President

Who To Call With Trash Problems!

For trash problems a resident should call WCA at 281-368-8397, do not call the MUD or the Homeowners Association.  Residents should contact WCA first and if there is no resolution to the problem then submit an email to directors@mcud.com and leave a detailed description of the problem.  Or you can bring a note by the MUD office to be addressed.  These actions will leave a record of the problem.

If you need a replacement for the recycle bin you must again call WCA at the above number.

Bob Wills, NCCIA Director

June 2008 Security Report

The following is reported by our Precinct 5 Constables regarding calls and arrests in Nottingham Country for the month of June.

Alarm Responses                      26

Home Burglaries                         1

Criminal Mischief                       5

Auto Burglaries                          5

Traffic stops                           30

Vacation Watches                    50

Suspicious person calls 16

Other disturbance calls            16

Auto accidents                         10

DWI                                          1

Ken Gentile

NCCIA Security Director