Meet Randy Scott

Voting history on key issues

Courtesy of Adrian Heath.

Attendance Record	Campbell	Mathews	Hunter	Robb
Attendance at Board Meetings	100%	95%	100%	68%
Attendance at April 19 League of Women’s Voters Forum  Attendance at April 16 Woodlands Chamber of Commerce and Hispanic Chamber Candidate Presentations	Yes Yes	Yes Yes	Yes  Yes	Absent Absent
Voting Record	Campbell	Mathews	Hunter	Robb
Did you support the request by Director Hausman to have two meetings per month of the Board, one in the morning and one in the evening so more residents could attend such meetings?	Yes	No	Yes	Absent
Did you support setting the new property tax rate at 32.8 cents?	No	Yes	No	Yes
Did you support the proposed 2010 budget amendment to reduce Township spending?	Yes	No	Yes	No
Did you support developing site plans for a new ice rink?	No	Yes	Yes	Absent
Did you support donating $250,000 to the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in return for an option to use land for three months out of the year for the construction of an ice rink?	No	Yes	No	Yes
Did you support posting the voting record of the Township Board on the Township web site?	Yes	No	Yes	Absent
Did you support amending the 2010 Parks Budget to allocate surplus funds to Town Center projects rather than allowing such funds to be used to build up needed operating and capital reserves?	No	Yes	no	Absent
Did you vote in favor of the Water Taxis Bail-Out?	No	Yes	No	Absent
Did you support deferring the Water Taxi decision until after the Town Hall Meeting in order to get input from residents?	Yes	No	Yes	Absent
Did you support extending the law enforcement agreements with the City of Shenandoah, the City of Oak Ridge North and the Alpha and Omega Mounted Patrol in lieu of putting such money into additional Sherriff patrols?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Absent
Did you support selecting DSC members through an appointed Committee composed of elected WCA Board members instead of having the Committee on Governance and Nominations bring forth recommendations?	Yes	No	Yes	No
In light of new duties being transferred to the DSC, have you supported changing the composition of the DSC to include TWA property owners as well as WCA property owners?	Yes	No	Yes	No

I'd like to add that the attendance numbers are incorrect on this chart. I recalculated the number for Ed Robb and the result was 37% absenteeism.

Covenant Management Staff have a tough job

I have a great deal of appreciation for the people who manage the covenants in our government. They have to do their daily chores, trying to get the wash out as people complain and others submit change proposals. They move many changes through the Fast Track process, because the requested changes conform to the standards. They issue routine letters to advise residents when they are observed breaking the covenants. One letter often wakes up a resident to take action. We rely on our covenant staff to do that. Elected members of the Resident Design Review Committees would be overwhelmed without the professional help of these folks. Like they say, "That is my job."

Yet sometimes very significant issues arise between neighbors, often due to neglect of the inspection process. or misinterpretation of the covenants. I recently experienced one missed inspection in Grogans Mill. Two residents in one Grogans Mill neighborhood pointed out a problem with a neighbor using his home as a business. The yard is very unsightly and definitely violates the covenants. On my request, the issue is now being formally addressed. The homeowners in that neighborhood will be assisted in mitigating the problem. I wonder how this came about. Based on this case and many other covenant issues in the neighborhoods, it is apparent that we have some gaps in process and even in covenant content.

For that reason, we will have some covenant suggestions this year for the DSC. We must be fair, but we must stay current in technology and make the community a better place to live. It is time to go GREEN and support GREEN in our covenants. For example, we do not allow wind or sun power generators. Technology is emerging now that will bring the capability of solar power to many more residents; new innovations bring the price way down! Should we be preventing the deployment of solar panels? I doubt it. We must change with the times.  On the other side of the coin, we do not manage TV dishes. We have alternative sources of cable in our neighborhoods. Should we have dishes in the front of homes, visible from the street? Then again, we have people putting rocks in the grass to prevent cars from going into their yards and (teenagers) damaging their turf.  All of those cases need to use landscaping methods as stated in the covenants. The result of using rocks in the grass usually looks bad, although in one or two cases, placement and orientation of the rocks tend to make the viewing much better than those rocks placed near the road accompanied by grass growing around it. Sometimes I would swear we live in Pasadena rather than The Woodlands, when these situations are allowed to go uncontested. Another area of need is to strongly encourage residents to remove the weeds in landscaped areas; some leave the weeds for extended periods of time. Landscape maintenance should be required, at least quarterly. The trellis rule also needs to be reviewed for patio homes. These are REAL concerns of residents and need attention. Since the DSC is appointed and not elected, there is little reason and accountability to seek out these issues themselves.We have to think about that.

Township Advisory Meetings

I established a position a few weeks ago that the Policing Advisory Committee should be open. Folks who do volunteer work for the Township and villages, generally do not like Texas open meetings, because nothing off the agenda can take place at the meeting. The idea here is to open the meetings to the residents and allow a wider level of participation. The public needs to be able to listen, speak and be heard. They need to know. It is important for many reasons. I am hearing other candidates begin to speak out also now. An open government is essential for public confidence and ultimately budget control. The Open Meetings Act is designed to give the public more control over the outcome.  This particular subject is even more important than the other advisory committees in that respect. 

Although the current process was recommended by the Village Liaison Committee and endorsed by the Township Board, I believe the process falls way short on what is actually needed. Establishing a village representative to ensure all villages are represented and there is consistent attendance is important, but those representatives will not represent the public in general. Those elected to the villages are not diverse enough for this subject. They are typically entrenched in their own perspectives. Those people normally represent informed residents and those who have skills and confidence enough to run for a village office.

Those residents behind closed doors who are afraid to step out will step out to attend police advisory meetings! That is evident from the first Watch meeting.

Representation is not through villages. It is by personal involvement. Conduct these meetings openly with published agendas and give people an opportunity to speak. There is no need in my mind to confine the agenda, but perhaps it would better serve the public anyway. Make the minutes available to the public. This is no longer an association. It is a government that needs to be transparent in every way possible. This is possible!

Quotable Quotes on the Campaign Trail

“I am so glad I talked to you! I as a UMC member would have probably voted for Ed Robb.”  Flea market

“I am going to vote for you just because you (personally) came and asked me to. “  Indian Springs

“I know your wife. She is very convincing."  Sterling Ridge

“My primary issue is our high tax. I need anything lower that you can get me.“  Indian Springs

 “Try to fix the problem with outsiders coming into The Woodlands. This crime issue started with 2978 and Gosling opening up to the outside.”… Indian Springs

“Let us know when something is occurring. Too much crime information is kept from us.“  Panther Creek

“Ants are eating up the kids on the Hike and Bike trails. Help our children be safe. Some are allergic to the bites.”  Panther Creek

“There was way too much confusion in the transition to the tax. Taxes are getting too high and I got a sudden bill from my bank for escrow that I did not expect. Please do a better job of informing the public.  Panther Creek

“The Middle Class is now on fixed income. When will the government get on a fixed income?” Alden Bridge

“Don’t contractors have supervisors? They came and trimmed the trees on a project in the green areas and left their mess to stop water drainage and now we have a standing water problem.” Grogan’s Mill

“When are you going to slow the traffic down? I have a difficult time using Woodlands Parkway. People try run me over going way over the speed limit” Grogan’s Mill

"Are you a communist?"  Grogan's Mill

Let's get these hypocrites out of our government." Grogan's Mill

Famous last words ... "He doesn't bite"  Grogan's Mill (and others)

"He (Robb) has to go" Grogan's Mill

“The Township cited me for breaking the covenants with my beautiful blooming vines on a trellis on my front patio when my neighbor house sits there with two satellite dishes, one in the front of the house and one in the back. If I sit outside in the morning I have to look at one and in the evening in the back I have to look at the other. Does this sound fair? Just look!”  Cochran’s Crossing

“Hey, don’t expect me to vote against my own church pastor.” Creekside Park

“No puedo votar” Creekside Park

“My kids have to go to school in Alden Bridge, a far ride from here. We have plenty of children to have a school over here”  College Park

You are wasting your time. I will vote for Ed Robb because he is my pastor." Sterling Ridge
"I will consider you even though Dr Robb is my pastor." Sterling Ridge

“Look at the weeds in my neighbor’s flower beds. That is the way it always looks, yet to change something on my home, I have to get permission. This does not make any sense.”  College Park

“You are trespassing. I am going to call the cops.”  … College Park

“We are retired and on fixed income. Suddenly we get a tax increase of more than $1000. No one around here uses the amenities of The Woodlands, so why should we be taxed?”  Windsor Hills

"We are on fixed income and suddenly we were annexed by The Woodlands. Our taxes rose from $300 per year to $1500." Grogan's Mill

“This is so cool that you came by to talk to me.” Alden Bridge

“Hey, say no more. You definitely have MY vote.” Alden Bridge

“Yes, I am moving but The Woodlands is a great place to live. I am not moving because I don’t like it here! I do like it.“  Alden Bridge

“Big government is a big problem. Glad to see you doing this. Keep pounding the trail.” Alden Bridge

"More wildflowers! "  ... non-resident, Health and Business Showcase

"I fear that some day, The Woodlands will be considered a high tax community, where no one will want to live, and valuations will decrease."   Resident, Health and Business Showcase

"Do you know what it means to be born again?" Grogan's Mill


"There's a communist there, an Indian over there, a fagot over there. Be careful!" Grogan's Mill

"Deborah Sergeant was responsible for a restraining order served against us on Christmas Eve, and it was based on the lie of a lawyer." Panther Creek

"Ed Robb once walked into a WCA meeting, interrupting it and demanded to be heard. He wanted to buy a Woodlands Park to expand his church. He was denied because it was public property. He had to be thrown out of the meeting for disorderly conduct."  Panther Creek

Here it is - Easter already!

We attended the service at the Pavilion this morning. The experience moved me to write an article in the commentary: "Easter at the Pavilion".

Yesterday, I also added an article in the commentary on the election. I invite you to read that as well. I was inspired by residents of Alden Bridge to write this article titled "Woodlands Township Election 2010 - select four candidates to govern our township".