Community Announcement March 9, 2024

A letter from your POA president, Aleta Patrick

Happy Spring Ranches at Buckhorn Creek Landowners!

I have experimented this past year with several means of communication in effort to keep you informed of important information.  Each option has proven to be ineffectual including my last “call to action” this month to all landowners in TownSq.  I had only one person follow that call to action request, and that was my Dad who beta-tested the link for me.  It is ok though, I understand, when you want information about your community, you want to be able to access it easily and know where to go at any time on any type of device.  The options I have experimented with were either no cost or low-cost options and this current website hosted by Wix is just a step up from that. It is simple to access with the purchased domain name www.ranchesatbuckhorncreek.com. I have selected a streamlined format for this site for its ease of use, historical record keeping, and ability to expand should the community choose to do so after this year. I hope it provides you with the on-demand information you would like to know.   Please scroll to the bottom to enter your email address and “Subscribe” to this so that you will get notifications of new posts! Please know that currently I have not made this website “public” but it can be found by entering the web address.  The POA may decide to enable “public” in the future.

Not all posts will be as lengthy as this one, but please know the information written in here is important and time should be spent reading through it. I work to be as concise as possible and to distill information down to the most important information so as not to waste your time, and my time. Speaking of time, I apologize for being “late” to my own timeline of sending out the “newsletter” (If you read what I posted in TownSq then that statement will make sense, if not, no need to). I have had some technological challenges of my own and have lost this entire site twice now; it takes time to recreate it.  Learning new things takes time, and I have found this time investment worth it and I have a good path forward to make posts timely.

One area of learning I immersed myself in upon becoming your POA president last year was Wildlife Management in Texas.  There is a lot to learn in this area and though I have spent a year learning from other professionals in this area and beyond together with my own hours of research. My time investment in this area really helped me to help each of you for which I am thankful.  I was able to complete the Annual Report, collect all the documentation and sign off and certify the validity of all the year’s-worth of work to care for the songbirds thus saving each landowner an additional $650 for your own private land and wildlife management company to complete this required work to maintain your wildlife exemption which additionally saves each landowner about $3200 property tax this year! Read on to find out what the POA has put into place to help each of you this year!

Thank you for having me as your POA president.

In gratitude,

Aleta Patrick

Email: aletapatrick@gmail.com

cell: 281-701-9078

P.S. You are invited to reach out to me via email or phone/text.  Please leave your name and lot number on your message.

If you had property in Ranches at Buckhorn Creek prior to March 1, 2024 then there is NO FURTHER ACTION NEEDED to keep your wildlife exemption status, meaning there is nothing you need to send in!  On March 1, 2024, your POA president filed the Annual Report with the Houston County Appraisal District (HCAD) and a copy of that Annual Report has been placed in each file for each landowner in our community.  This process of me representing the landowners and submitting the Annual report on your behalf was approved by the Deputy Chief of the Houston County Appraisal District and further approved by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.  An Annual Report is a document created by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) for the purpose of documenting the wildlife management activities that have taken place over the course of this past year.  Our 1-D-1 Open Space Agricultural Valuation Wildlife Management Plan established by the developer details the 3 minimum required wildlife management activities that MUST BE PERFORMED to keep our exemption status on all of our properties. I know that’s a lot of industry specific terminology, but what you need to know is there are 3 wildlife management activities that landowners are required to do based on this plan on file. 

ONE: Bird Survey.  The POA hired a biologist, Shane Davis, from Plateau Land and Wildlife to map the entire community and observe birds from 16 stations in December 2023 and detail that information in map and chart form. Shane found 42 bird species during this survey and identified 574 individual birds at that visit!  If you want the detailed breakdown by station and bird tally by species and individual then email me to request it and I will send it to you. TWO: Supplement feed for Songbirds with Wild Bird Seed, 1 feeder per lot.  THREE: Care and Maintain Songbird Nest boxes, 3 per lot.   The developer provided 1 feeder and 3 nest boxes per lot as well as the first filling of the bird feeder which holds 20 lbs of Wild Bird Seed.  These completed activities and dates are documented and included in the Annual Report for 2023.  These wildlife management activities must take place with documentation and receipts for 2024 now. Don’t worry though, the POA has a plan in place to DO ALL THAT FOR YOU!  Please read on to find out how!

Ranches at Buckhorn Creek Landowners, your POA has invested money from your POA dues into providing concierge services for you!  The POA has hired Jesse Hamilton to fill your black, developer-supplied bird feeder as well as care and maintain your 3 nest boxes/lot.  The POA has established 3 times a year for Jesse to provide services this year: March- June- September.  This means that Jesse will be coming onto your property to fill your black bird feeder and inspect and care for the nest boxes during those months.  The POA will inform landowners on the specific dates to expect him on this site and Jesse has been given a sign to place in the community to visually identify that he is there doing these services on those days. Jesse’s initial March visit will be within a couple weeks and he will be numbering feeders and nest boxes according to lot numbers as well as emptying out any old bird seed and refilling each feeder with 20lbs of Wild Bird Seed from First County Seed in Crockett, Texas. Please know that the TPWD and HCAD requires landowners to make a “good faith effort” for these wildlife management activities which means that we have scheduled 3 times this year to fill your black feeder.  You may go on your property between these scheduled times this year and find your feeder is empty; if so, just know that this year’s “good faith effort” is filling the black feeders 3 times via Jesse’s service, no additional seed is requested to be added by the landowner.

In addition to the wildlife management activities that Jesse will be doing on behalf of the landowners, Plateau Land and Wildlife Management will be providing the Spring Breeding Bird Survey and the Winter Resident Bird Survey through one of their biologists.  This will satisfy the 3 minimum requirements for our wildlife exemption status.  The POA, however, has plans in motion to provide more activities this year, which is highly recommended by those at TPWD. One of those plans includes Native Landscaping at our community’s entrance via Abbie and her team at Living Wild. More details to come once a final plan is approved.  Your POA president is also meeting with Rueben, a wildlife biologist with TPWD towards the end of March in effort to assess the need for a fire break in our community as well as any additional insights he can offer to benefit the landowners and the desirable wildlife.  Stay tuned for more information learned on these topics.

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MAILBOXES

The developer has had the first 2 mailbox clusters on order (since November 2023) and has yet to place them in the community.  The POA has reached out to our community manager, Ashleigh Richardson, with Goodwin TX &Co for support to get the developer to fulfill the placement of the first 2 mailboxes in our community. In addition to this, the POA requested an interpretation of the CC&Rs in regards to the role of the POA with the mailboxes, and it has been verified that the developer should be purchasing ALL of the mailboxes and the POA is to maintain them. This is different than originally communicated to the POA in 2023; please know that the POA will continue to work get all the mailboxes with the support of Goodwin TX & Co.

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WATER ON THE ROAD

Standing water was seen and documented on the road by Lot 6 this winter which occurred following the developer adding caliche and regrading the road throughout the community. Please know that the developer has been informed by the POA with photo documentation about this occurrence and is working to get the developer to fix the problem.

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STREET SIGNS

Street signs for Ranches at Buckhorn Creek have been approved and ordered for the community by the POA. Following manufacturing and delivery, Jesse will be installing them in the community. You may see markings along the roadway in our community, they were placed there by the POA president to indicate the location of the sign installment by Jesse.

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CC&R: COVENANTS, CONDITIONS, & RESTRICTIONS

Landowners, we have covenants, conditions and restrictions to follow on our properties that were accepted by each of you when you signed to purchase your land.  The POA works to make certain that every landowner abides by these CC&Rs and follows the protocols for developing land.  Each year, it is most helpful for landowners to review them. If you need a copy, let me know. If you don’t understand the legalese in these CC&Rs let me know and I will explain it or get an interpretation requested for it. Please come to the Annual Meeting detailed below to hear more about these and ask questions!

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ANNUAL COMMUNITY MEETING

The POA hopes that each and every landowner will join us via Zoom on April 12 at 6pm for our required Annual Meeting. Though this website blog serves to inform, it isn’t meant to replace meeting with one another!

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MY LAST SHOT

I captured this shot as I was departing from our community this month; the sun was setting so beautifully and illuminating the treed skyline! Enjoy!