jessica

Well, it seems that spring has finally sprung here in Lazybrook. The weather seems to be moving in the ever familiar direction of hot, hot, hot. I’d like to start this letter in much the same way as my last, with a sincere thank you. All the effort during April in increasing our membership rate and collecting dues is appreciated. Many folks pitched in to increase awareness and many of your neighbors stepped forward to join and support their neighborhood. We do not have the totals as of yet, but we are optimistic that our rate of membership is increasing. If you haven’t had an opportunity to pay your membership dues yet, please do so online, through your Block Captains or through our Membership Chair, Janell Bryans.

In addition to the membership drive this past month, we had progress on other fronts within the Civic Club. A more invisible, but absolutely crucial role of the Civic Club is the enforcement of our deed restrictions. This is done to ensure that the spirit and architectural integrity of our neighborhood is preserved. People live in Lazybrook because it is one of the few places remaining in Houston where yards, both front and back, still can be found and it’s the Civic Club responsibility to ensure that remains the case. The primary way we oversee our deed restrictions is through our Architectural Review and Deed Restriction Committee. This Committee reviews all remodeling plans and monitors activity in the neighborhood to ensure that the deed restrictions are followed. In recent years, we have had challenges keeping this committee staffed and completing the required reviews. This past month, I invited interested residents to my home to discuss the best path forward for the committee. There was much discussion around responsibilities and how best to move forward in the future. We have some internal tasks to complete, but are looking forward to presenting that path in the May Civic Club meeting so be sure to attend.

With the warmer weather, it has been nice to see neighbors out in their yards and along the bayou these past few weeks. The bluebonnets were beautiful this year and I do hope that you and yours had an opportunity to enjoy them. Again, sincere thanks to those who are stepping forward to support your community and continued pleas for additional support. If you haven’t had the chance to get outside and meet some neighbors, pay your dues, reach out to your Block Captains or even do a little yard work, I encourage you to do so in the next month. Our family has grown to love this neighborhood and developed many strong friendships with other families. It only takes a “Hello” sometimes.

Firstly, I would like to thank the residents of Lazybrook for the vote of confidence in allowing me to assume the role of President of the Lazybrook Civic Club.  Lazybrook has been home for my family for 5 years and we have become connected to the community and are excited to take our community support to another level.  I would really like to see our Civic Club become a vital part of the neighborhood as it was in past years and am willing to do whatever necessary to support that happening.

Over the course of Lazybrook’s history, the Civic Club has been integral to community activities.  Since we moved to the neighborhood, some of our more significant accomplishments included:

• Completing a significant beautification and planting project in the medians running up and down TC Jester and 18th.  Most of the younger trees and shrubs were planted during this project.
• Saving many of those same trees and shrubs during the drought a few years ago.  The volunteer time of residents aided to keep the trees adequately mulched to provide more resistant and supplemental watering both worked to preserve our investment.
• Revitalizing our National Night Out program to include a neighborhood parade and block parties which have been some of our biggest turnout nights in years.
• Piloting a mosquito spraying program to help control our mosquito populations during the summer
• Coordinating with the City of Houston to ensure our bayous and watersheds are properly maintained
• Donating and contributing to the revitalization of surrounding parks

Looking forward to 2014, we want to continue building on these accomplishments.  However, the truth is that have many challenges facing us and we need our residents to step forward more than ever.  Last year was our lowest resident participation level on record at only 36%.  We also have some critical leadership roles that help support our fundraising efforts that are vacant.  Without resident support through membership and volunteering, the future of the Civic Club will be at risk.  It is essential for us to preserve this organization to ensure that our neighborhood continues to be a vital, well maintained place with manicured medians, enforced deed restrictions, and a voice within our broader Houston community.  Without a Civic Club, it will be difficult for any of those things to occur.

I want to start my term as President with a plea to each and every resident.  If you haven’t joined the Civic Club yet, please consider doing so.  If you are a member, please consider increasing your commitment by volunteering to serve in a leadership role.  If you have any ideas on other ways to support Lazybrook and make the neighborhood and the club a better place, please reach out to me via email at president@lazybrook.org and let’s have a conversation.  The Executive Committee has met and started planning how we can change things for the better.  We are exploring ways to increase membership and reduce operating costs to begin balancing our budget.  But we can only turn our course around with your support and ideas.