August 27th, 2022

Happy Saturday Morning Hackberry Creek Residents!

We are thankful for the rain and much cooler temperatures! Hopefully the grass greens up and the flowers have received a much needed drenching! This week's NewsFlash includes information on...

• Board Candidate Forum - Meeting Details and Link
• Upcoming Annual Meeting - Common Questions
• Nominations For Board - Only 8 Days Left to Submit
• Village Rules - Installment 5 - Signs
• Special Assessment Up For Vote - More Details
• Last Call - Your Vacation Photos Needed



If you have any questions feel free to contact us at the HOA office!

BOARD CANDIDATE FORUM

Be sure to mark your calendars for the Board Candidate Forum to be held via Zoom on September 12th, 2022 at 7:00pm. Your Village Manager will do a brief review of how voting and the election process works, then introduce all candidates running for a board of director seat. All candidates will have an opportunity to introduce themselves, make a brief statement, answer questions and provide a closing statement. All candidates will be calling in via Zoom from their own private connection so the sound and video quality should be very good.

The entire forum will be recorded for those who cannot attend and a link will be made available on the community website the following day for those who wish to view later.

The format / schedule for the forum will be released after the nomination period closes as the number of candidates will dictate time allotted for each candidate to present a statement and how much time can be allotted for questions.

Zoom Info for meeting can be found below:

Topic: Hackberry Creek Board Candidate Forum

Time: Sep 12, 2022 07:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82848664263  

Meeting ID: 828 4866 4263

To call-in by phone only - (346) 248-7799

ANNUAL MEETING INFORMATION!

In the coming weeks your association management team will be publishing information about the upcoming annual meeting. Be sure to see the new Annual Mtg/Election Questions category on the homeowner forum page. If you have a question about anything related to the annual meeting / voting simply post it there and we will address the question as quickly as possible!

COMMON QUESTIONS ABOUT VOTING

How many votes does each person get at Annual Meeting and how is it determined?

Votes are assigned per Lot and not individually per owner. In the Hackberry Creek CCRs - Section 3.02. Voting Rights. It states: The Owner(s) of each Lot or Parcel shall be entitled to one (1) vote for each one hundred dollars ($100.00) or fraction thereof of value of that Lot or Parcel in accordance with the most recent appraisal by the DCAD and/or the Taxing Authorities.

The value used to figure your number of votes is the DCAD Appraisal Value for your home for 2022 (as published by DCAD in July of this year). This amount is divided by 100.

For example: If your home was valued at $500,000 per DCAD you would receive 5,000 votes ($500,000 divided by $100 of value). If your home was valued at $800,000 per DCAD you would receive 8,000 votes ($800,000 divided by $100 of value). If the division by $100 of value creates a fraction, such as in the case of a home valued at exactly $623,417 – then the votes assigned would be 6,234.17. However, in the case of any fractional amount, the amount is rounded up to the next whole number (regardless of the fractional value) – in this case the vote amount would be 6,235 votes for a home valued at $623,417.

Is there anything that can change my vote totals?

Your assigned number of votes is based on the DCAD Appraisal Value for your home for 2022 (as published by DCAD in July of this year). This amount is divided by 100 to figure the number of votes you are assigned. In the event you file a protest and the value of your home is changed between the time you submit your ballot and the time the votes are counted - AND you can provide proof of the same, your vote amount can be changed to reflect the value accordingly.

If I have to vote for 3 people running for the Board, how would my votes be split?

If your Lot is assigned 5,000 votes and you vote for three candidates, each candidate would be assigned 5,000 votes.

For more Q&A's see the button with the link to the forum above!

NEW ANIMAL ATTACK COMMITTEE FORMED

The purpose of this Committee is to review and make recommendations to develop Rules to address animal attacks in the Village. This would include recommendations to help prevent attacks too.

If you'd like to provide input or volunteer for the committee please contact Committee Chair, Steve Nguyen.  Email him by clicking below!

VILLAGE RULES - DID YOU KNOW?

Installment 5 - Signs

Each week we will be highlighting a portion of the recorded village rules for Hackberry Creek. Over the next few months we will post the complete set of rules in small segments. If you read the NewsFlash each week, at some point in the future you will have read through them all!

The Village Rules were last updated on 12/15/2021.

VILLAGE RULES REGARDING SIGNS

Signs

No sign or signs shall be displayed to the public view on any Lot or Parcel, except:

a)     any bona-fide homebuilder, during the applicable initial construction and sales period, may utilize one professional sign [of not more than twenty-five square feet in size], at a location approved by the Village Architectural Control Committee, for model home advertising and sales purposes;

b)     thereafter, a dignified "For Sale" or "For Lease" sign (of not more than five square feet in size including toppers and hangers) may be utilized by the Owner of the respective residential Lot (or the Owner’s Agent) for the applicable sale or lease situation as long as the sign is: 

1. Placed parallel to the primary street on which the house is located (or on the side street if the front of the house faces the side street;

2. Centered on the front elevation of the house;

3. No closer to the sidewalk than half the distance (or as close to half the distance as practical) between the sidewalk and the house. For houses located adjacent to the golf course, a second “For Sale” sign may be placed in the rear yard facing the golf course. “For Sale” signs on vacant lots shall be placed in the front portion of the lot, parallel to, and at least twenty-five feet from the curb. Open House signs shall not be placed on the parkways or any other Common Property in the Village.

c)      Job site signs (see Conduct of Contractors Section for job site sign specifications).

“For Sale” or “For Lease” signs may not be placed on property owned by Hackberry Creek Country Club.

Temporary signs advertising remodeling contractors, roofers, pool contractors, landscapers, upcoming events, etc. may not be placed on any lot. No signs of any kind shall be placed on the parkway (land between the sidewalk and curb), medians or the Common Properties.

Temporary signs no larger than four feet by six feet related to a scheduled national or local election may be placed on a lot no more than ninety (90) days prior to the scheduled election date and must be removed no later than ten (10) days after the election. No political signs shall be placed on walls, fences, trees, parkways, medians or the Common Properties at any time. No more than two signs related to an individual candidate or ballot item may be placed on any Lot or Parcel.

A permanent sign (Not over one square foot in size) identifying the security service that monitors the intrusion/fire alarm at the property may be placed on the property. Security signs shall be placed close to the house, preferably in the landscaped beds adjacent to the house.

School Spirit signs, banners and flags (Band Member, Cheerleader, Athlete, etc.) may be placed on a lot. School Spirit signs, banners and flags shall be limited to a size that is traditional for such signs and must be placed within ten feet of the front of the home. Signs, banners and flags cannot be attached to garage doors, fences, roofs, balconies or any other area on the house. Signs, banners and flags shall not be placed on the parkway (land between the sidewalk and curb), trees, medians or the Common Properties.

Birth Announcement signs may be placed on a lot for up to one week to announce the arrival of a new Resident to the Village. 

To read all of the Village Rules, click the button below to go to the website page where the document is located!

SPECIAL ASSESSMENT UP FOR VOTE

IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING

SPECIAL GROUP ASSESSMENT

The Homeowners Association is responsible for capital improvements and replacements in the Village, such as streets, alleys, bridges, storm sewers, street-parallel sidewalks, parks and gatehouses. We have estimated replacement costs of over $26 million through the fiscal year 2047-48. 

Under a 1983 contract with the Hackberry Creek Country Club, the Homeowners Association is required to pay 20% of all Annual Assessments collected from our Members to the Country Club in exchange for certain discounts on membership fees to those homeowners who join the Club. In 2007, we negotiated an agreement with the Country Club whereby they agreed that Special Assessments used for Capital Improvements/Replacements were not subject to the 20% fee. In exchange, the Homeowners Association agreed to continue to pay the 20% fee on all Annual Assessments.

In order to implement this agreement, our Homeowners Association assessments must be collected in two parts:

Annual Assessment – Operating Expenses are raised through our Annual Assessment, which is set by our Board of Directors each June based on our approved Operating Budget. 

Special Group Assessment – Funds for Capital Improvements/Replacements are raised through a Special Group Assessment that is based on an analysis of our infrastructure replacement needs and other planned capital improvements. The proposed 2023 Special Group Assessment rate is $0.11 per $100 of Appraised Value. This is a lower rate than previous years and is needed to maintain our capital reserve account at an adequate level to be able to replace Village infrastructure as it wears out.

By separating our assessments into these two categories, we avoid paying the 20% fee to the Country Club on funds raised for our capital expenditures, yielding an annual savings to our Property Owners in excess of $200,000.

In order to realize this savings, Property Owners representing at least 50.1% of the

total votes in our neighborhood must vote to approve the Special Group

Assessment resolution on the enclosed Annual Meeting Absentee Ballot.

The Association Board recommends a vote FOR the Resolution so that our Members will realize this significant savings.

If you have any questions on this matter, contact any Board Member or the Village Manager at 972-401-4946.

BOARD NOMINATION CLOSES SEPTEMBER 4

The Board of Director nomination period is about to close! Submit your nomination NOW in order to provide your association staff the time to prepare!

An online form is available to submit your nomination. If you'd like to self-nominate, please use the online form (log-in first) or contact the office in-person or by mail.

We will need a simple, written consent form from you stating your desire to run for the board with a brief biography with a maximum of 500 words. The nomination period closes on September 4th at 5:00pm.

Since the 4th is a Sunday and the 5th is a holiday, if you plan to turn in your nomination in-person, we will need to receive it in the office by 5pm (closing time) on September 2nd, 2022.

Please do not wait until the last minute to submit your nomination.

LAST CALL - VACATION PHOTOS NEEDED!

The upcoming October/November issue of Hackberry Creek Living Magazine will feature our annual Best Summer Vacation Ever photos! Please submit your photos to Nancy Miller at: studio.design1@hotmail.com, along with a short description including who is in the photo and where it was taken!

IN CASE YOU MISSED WEDNESDAY'S UPDATE

2022 Preliminary Tax Values

Your 2022-2023 Assessments were based on the taxable value of your home from the 2021 Appraisal District valuation figures.

The 2021 total taxable value of all homes in Hackberry Creek was:

$617,633,250

The 2022 preliminary tax values for all homes in the neighborhood amount to:

$753,807,710

This represents a total increase of $136,174,460 or 22.05% from last year

Does this mean HOA dues will go up 22% for the next fiscal year? Absolutely not! 

Your Association budget (income needed - therefore total aggregate assessment dollar amount needed from entire neighborhood) is based on anticipated expenses, not home values. For example, if expenses raise 3% for the association in the next year then your total assessment (dollar amount paid) would likely only increase by roughly the same amount. As another example: if the expenses for next fiscal year are exactly the same as this fiscal year and the board adopted the "same" budget... even though tax values increased 22% your total assessment amount (actual dollar amount paid) would stay the same. If expenses do not rise significantly, then the assessment rate (cents per $100 of value) decreases - because a higher tax value at a lower assessment rate produces roughly the same amount of income.