Why I'm Running for Director
My thoughts on why I've decided to jump into the race and run for Director.
Brandon Story
3/25/20247 min read
I don't believe in rocking the boat for no reason...I truly believe Elm Ridge residents deserve change.
Items I seek to accomplish:
1) Reduced taxes - Yes, Elm Ridge has cut the tax rate recently. But at a recent March Special Meeting, they announced that due to the rising household assessed values, even offset by the decrease in tax rates, Elm Ridge brought in almost as much money as they did before the tax decrease. Friends, there is room to cut more. They tout a tax decrease because it sounds good, but unlike homeowners who are having to cutback all over, they haven't even felt it in the pocketbook yet. I pledge to you that I will seek to push this burden down lower and scrutinize spending more.
2) New Leadership Voices - CHANGE IS GOOD! Several Directors have been at Elm Ridge for a number of years (>8). Let's bring in some new ideas, someone who is going to ask questions, dig deep and not rubber stamp everything that comes across the agenda.
Remember, the voices you could elect represent enough to meet the Board's quorum (3/5 seats) and pass any motion. Do you want a rubber stamp or a thought leader?
Here are some examples of the status quo:
Fishtrap Sidewalk / Jogging Trail - Initially, after calling out the HOA on social media for failure to maintain this asphalt trail the developer put in (which runs in front of the RV park, the Prose apartments and a church) outside of the Savannah community, Elm Ridge had it destroyed due to safety issues. The HOA asked for a retraction on that statement after Savannah HOA found an agreement DCFWSD #10 (the predecessor to Elm Ridge) signed with Atmos Energy for initial trail construction. When the public complained, the response provided was "we can't use public funds for a Savannah amenity," before agreeing to have it constructed back much narrower. Now, two people cannot even pass each other without stepping off the trail. Concrete was the right call, but the choice to save money and skimp on size was a miss.
Eminent Domain - The straw that broke the camel's back for me - when I decided I had to get involved - was when I was notified by a Savannah homeowner that Elm Ridge had called a Special Meeting with the intention of exercising the District's Eminent Domain powers on Savannah, which was set for April 11, 2023 - without any fanfare or widespread public notification.
THE BACKSTORY:
Approximately October 2021: When I was President of Savannah HOA, I was approached by a representative of the Water District about a possible land swap so that the District could build a new municipal building. This building would be located at the front of our community and they were interested in swapping part of a nearby soccer field the developer originally constructed. It should be noted that Savannah did not own the property in question at this point - it was still retained by the developer. I mentioned that theoretically, if the two parcels of land were valued similarly - and that there were no issues with our annual fireworks show, we could probably recommend the land swap with the developer. In the meantime, I checked with our attorney and he was ok with this course of action - provided we had proof for the community that the give up was as good as the take in terms of value. I related by thoughts to Elm Ridge and never heard anything more about it - and never received those items for further consideration.
February 2023: I was now the Vice-President at Savannah HOA. The Water District began urgently pushing the land swap issue - having not provided any thing the HOA previously asked for. They were eager to begin construction on their building. I reiterated my concerns to my Board (privately and publicly) and the Board voted to accept the swap on condition of some sort of value statement and survey that we could provide to the homeowners to justify the trade. The Water District came back with an statement which gobsmacked me...."Both parcels are listed on the tax rolls for $1." I was not sure how that valuation was wholly relevant to the issue as every homeowner in Savannah would probably line up to pay $1 for said property if it was for sale. Never mind the fact that two identical houses can be assessed differently on the tax rolls - but that was ultimately the justification passed to us to support the trade.
March 2023: Savannah HOA was given a deadline to accept a "take it or leave it" deal with Elm Ridge. On the March agenda, the HOA again reconsidered the swap with Elm Ridge. We ultimately voted to take no action and requested a meeting with Elm Ridge to discuss. The HOA even ran an open letter to all residents in our EBlast. Rather than meet with the HOA to resolve the concerns peacefully, Elm Ridge threatened us and opted for Eminent Domain.
I only found out about the Special Meeting being called roughly a day or so prior to the irregularly scheduled meeting, leaving little time to prepare. When I attended the Elm Ridge Special Meeting, I inquired why the Board had intended on "sailing this past the voting public without any fanfare." I chided them that this was wrong, not widely publicized and that they should "own this action" and advertise it well if they intended on that course of action. I was told that they "published this notice" on their bulletin board as if I was supposed to check that out daily for regular updates in search of a Special Meeting that may someday be called. To me, that just poured more gasoline on the contentious fire as I felt they intentionally tried to hide the ball in order to sail this past the public and steal the HOA's land when nobody showed up to protest.
Text reminders - at the meeting on 3/21/24, they mentioned that it was too expensive to send you text reminders to let you know they are meeting. It wasn't until recently they even bothered to send out text reminders. I was very vocal complaining about that - why can Elm Ridge see fit to text me about trash notices or severe weather alerts, but could not figure out how to text me a noticed of a Special Meeting called on a random Tuesday to discuss the possibility of invoking Eminent Domain? If this vendor is too expensive, find another one - the technology to send text messages is super cheap and the public should be informed.
Elm Ridge Municipal Building - after attending the recent open house at Elm Ridge, here are my thoughts. The Elm Ridge administrative offices on the south side seemed adequate (really only toured a kitchen and meeting table space, so we didn't see the full layout), but I can tell you the PD space is very tight. They had things crammed into every nook and cranny.
I did ask a couple of the Directors why the choice was made to build a new $10 million building vs renovate and add on to existing spaces. In my mind, a lot of renovation could be done for $10 million dollars. I was told there was no lot left to renovate on - even though there is now a huge lot immediately to the south. Also, that the PD needs an elevator and holding cell and Administration wanted a public meeting space. They also mentioned building once and building for the future vs. constantly renovating every few years as different needs arise.
It is clear something is needed - but I am still not happy with the total spend or the design of said building clashing with the Savannah architecture in the immediate front of our community and directly across the parking lot. It does not appear that an attempt was made to make this building “blend in" with the aesthetics of our community.
3) More Transparency - If you've ever been to an Elm Ridge meeting, half the room is comprised of engineers, police officers, attorneys and vendors - and only a smattering of impacted residents. One Special Meeting I went to, I was the only person there. Until recently, if you didn't create a calendar reminder you would never hear about it again. Can we get an "easy button" here so that busy people don't have to work so hard to follow the happenings of their government?
Post the meeting details on the landing page of the Elm Ridge site so that the information is clear, concise, and easy to find.
Use mass text messages - or send an email reminder instead. There are cheaper alternatives that can be explored.
Denton County Commissioners do a great job streaming their meetings to Social Media so that working tax payers who cannot make the drive to Denton can still dial in and understand what is going on with their money. Why hasn't Elm Ridge adopted this - considering they don't even meet in our district?
4) Fewer Conflicts of Interest - You can guarantee I do not have a side hustle seeking to make money on the back of the Water District. In case you missed a few questionable issues in the recent past, here are some of the highlights:
Former General Manager resided in Mexico and attended to District Business via phone.
The current project manager owns and operates a separate compliance company contracted with the District to monitor resident water usage.
The current project manager is also on staff of several other area Water Districts up and down 380.
5) Improved Relations with Area Stakeholders and HOAs - The current crew of incumbents has made it known through their previous actions that they are hesitant to negotiate with anyone who presents opposition. A huge part of sitting in a position like this is that it is your duty to negotiate on behalf of the resident communities that you represent. In order to fully execute this responsibility, there will be many differences of opinion that should be respectfully considered.