Project Highlight:
Pine Brook Wetlands Restoration

When the first homes in Pine Brook were built about 14 years ago, the developer of this Clear Lake area community left two large tracts of land in their natural wetlands condition. These fragile wetland areas along with various pocket parks were recognized by Houston Audubon Society as vital habitat to birds and wildlife. Through the efforts of residents Debra Goode, Denise Kromka and Jean Taylor, a partnership with Audubon was formed to develop a model to restore the habitat in Pine Brook's wetland fringe area.

The objective of the Pine Brook Wetland Restoration Project was to restore, and enhance the natural wetland fringe area surrounding the prairie pothole/marsh area. From January until February 2008, 46 Pine Brook residents and Scout troop #389, volunteered over 580 hours in 26 days to remove and treat over 2,500+ non-native invasive tallows which have encroached upon the prairie pothole’s perimeter. In the areas where tallows were removed, over 800 native trees, shrubs, plants, and grasses (40+ new species) will be planted by volunteers and some paid labor. A total of 60+ Pine Brook residents volunteered over 1300 hours, from November 2007 to April 2008 to assist with communications, grants, invasive tallow / honeysuckle removal, and replanting which will continue to about May 2008, and perhaps implemented annually, depending on grants, donations, and volunteer support.

This project is 100% financed by donations from residents and their employers. Donations are made to the Houston Audubon Society and earmarked for “Pine Brook Wetlands“. 90% of donations will go towards replacement tree and plant materials, with 10% going toward invasive tallow and treatment, disposal, and some labor. The use of volunteers has represented a savings of $40,000-$50,000 for this restoration project – redirecting funds saved from labor expense towards restoration, enhancement, and increased bio-diversity of habitat.

The Pine Brook Community Association has partnered with the Houston Audubon Society for pre and post onsite consultations, community education, and expertise regarding native plants and trees to help restore wildlife habitat. Glenn Olsen, a well known bird and plant educator, and the former president of the Texas Native Plant Society, has been instrumental in providing expert advice to Pine Brook volunteers about identification of non-native species and recommendations about specific native trees, shrubs, plants, vines, and grasses which can enhance bird and wildlife habitat and the beauty of this fragile natural area. Flo Hannah, Audubon Sanctuary Steward, has provided valuable consultation about native grasses. Advice regarding tallow treatment was provided by the Forest Service, USDA, SRS-62 by James H. Miller and various Master Naturalists.

Pine Brook’s unique prairie pothole/marsh areas, as well as various pocket parks, have been recognized by the Houston Audubon Society as vital habitat to thousands of migrating birds, including robins, cedar waxwings, goldfinches, yellow-rumped warblers, pine warblers, Wilson’s warblers, ruby-crowned kinglets, hermit thrushes, blue-gray gnatcatchers, red-shouldered hawks, sharp-shinned hawks, and hummingbirds, as well as resident cardinals, blue jays, mockingbirds, woodpeckers, wrens, chickadees, doves, herons, egrets, and ibis. Multiple species of frogs, toads, turtles, snakes, and butterflies and dragonflies, as well as swamp rabbits and the occasional opossum, raccoon, and deer have also been observed at this site.

The project website is www.PineBrookWetlands.com.

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Making a Better Community:
Telfair Charity of Your Choice Walk

On a beautiful Saturday morning in April, a nearly 300 people gathered in Telfair to "take steps to impact Fort Bend County". April 12th was the first annual Charity of Your Choice Walk in Fort Bend County presented by TelfairLife. This event raised over $45,000 for thirteen non-profit organizations that make a daily impact on life in Fort Bend County.

Following a high energy warm-up and some encouraging words from Sugar Land Mayor David Wallace, the participants took off through a balloon arch on the 5k walk around a portion of the main lake in Telfair. Charity volunteers passed out water along the route and thanked the walkers with high-fives all along the way. At the finish, walkers enjoyed music, entertainment, refreshments while children climbed the rock wall and played on large inflatables.

In addition to money raised through registration fees walkers earmarked for the charity of their choice, $19,500 was awarded in various competitive categories by TelfairLife. In the Charity Challenge, cash prizes were awarded to charities with the most pre-registered walkers. The first place prize of $5,000 went to the Fort Bend Community Partners Rainbow Room. Child Advocates of Fort Bend won the second place prize of $3,000 and National Alliance of Mental Illness Fort Bend was awarded $1,500 for its third-place finish. The five individuals who raised the most money through pre-registration fees were also awarded $1,000 for the charity of their choice. Registration fees, donations and prizes totalled over $45,000 for these charities.

Telfair is Sugar Land’s newest master-planned community where people not only live, work and play; but put down roots, build relationships and get involved in a way that creates a better quality of life for themselves, their neighbors and the community at large. TelfairLife is a community based non-profit corporation whose purpose is to provide programs, activities and services to facilitate and enhance community life in Telfair and the greater community. TelfairLife’s five areas of focus are social, educational, cultural, environmental and philanthropic. TelfairLife will ensure that the residents of Telfair can always be involved and make a difference in their community.

This event was a phenomenal success and will become an annual spring event and charity focus for Fort Bend County. The walk website is www.CharityOfYourChoiceWalk.com.

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Bandera Office Update

Good progress is being made on construction of our new office in the Hill Country - our Bandera Office. Our 3600 square foot office building is being built on 1.4 acres of land in Pipe Creek, Texas. Pipe Creek is about 25 miles northwest of San Antonio in Bandera County.

The steel structure is complete and interior buildout is underway. Exterior site work and native landscaping will be done in early June. The office will open for setup and staff training in June. The facility will have our corporate data center and provide accounting and technical services. We will be fully operational and open for business in mid-August. Executive Vice President Tina Jameson has relocated to Bandera and is overseeing the construction, setup, staffing and training for the new office.

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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:

• May - Quail Green South Community Association
  Southwest Office - Gina Victor, Community Manager
• April - Brazos Lakes Property Owners Association
  Southwest Office - Leslie Baldwin, Community Manager
• March - Eagle Springs Community Association
  North Office - Laura Tate, 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.

Our popular C.I.A. Services Seminar Series continues. We have trained over 600 students so far and have received very positive feedback on the content and presentation. Our goal is to provide timely and convenient educational opportunities to help you with your duties. Click here to view the seminar descriptions and schedule.

Each seminar begins at 6:30 p.m. and runs 2-1/2 hours. Since we always provide deli sandwiches, 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.

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 heavy 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 23, 2008 (Monday), 6:30 p.m. - Southwest Office
• June 26, 2008 (Thursday), 6:30 p.m. - North Office

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

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New Communities

C.I.A Services continues to grow as more communities hear about our unique approach to community association management. We would like to welcome our newest clients that have come on board in the last three months.

• Cinco Ranch Commercial Association II - Southwest Office - Karen Cooper, Community Manager
• Cinco Ranch Residential Association II - Southwest Office - Karen Cooper, Community Manager
• Cinco Ranch Southwest Community Council - Southwest Office - Karen Cooper, Community Manager
• Cross Creek Ranch Community Association - Southwest Office - Libby Hodges, Community Manager

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Anniversaries

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

• Sterling Green Village Community Improvement Association - 22 years
• Sugarwood Community Association - 15 years
• Quail Run Community Improvement Association - 14 years
• Treehouse Homeowners Association - 11 years
• Bay Pointe Community Association - 9 years
• Crystal Lake Property Owners Association - 8 years
• Eagle Springs Community Association - 7 years
• Cohn Homeowners Association - 5 years
• Creekside Community Association - 3 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.

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Employee Spotlight

• The executive suite at our North Office is celebrating anniversaries this month. Congratulations to Executive Vice President Renea Miksch on her 23rd anniversary and Vice President Laura Tate on her 15th anniversary with C.I.A. Services.
• Congratulations to Margie de la Cruz on her 8th anniversary with C.I.A. Services. Margie is an indispensable member of our Southwest Office support staff and a corporate stockholder.
• Welcome to Darlene Ingle and Nancy Griffith who joined our Southwest Office as Community Managers.
• Welcome back to two Southwest Office employees: Cathy Lee who returned to handle various accounting functions and Vince Hargrove who returned to handle maintenance special projects.

Renea Miksch		Laura Tate		Margie de la Cruz

Darlene Ingle		Nancy Griffith		Cathy Lee		Vince Hargrove