District Update from Commissioner Gomez

Commissioner Michelle Gomez

At Wednesday’s City Commission meeting, a petition was brought forward by some residents of the Woodlands requesting the immediate dissolution of the Woodlands Neighborhood Improvement District.  Thank you to those who were able to attend and to those who emailed me their thoughts.  Residents had the opportunity to speak and emails were read into the record.  There was a lengthy discussion and many spoke passionately, some in favor, some opposed.

At the end of the debate, the City Commission voted 5-0 to accept the petition, but defer further action until August 2012. This was done for some of the following reasons:

1.  The District has only held three organizational meetings – there have been no actual recommendations brought forward to date.

2. Any improvements would need to be voted upon by the community, and a majority would need to vote in favor of the proposed projects for any improvements to be made.

3. There simply has not been sufficient time to allow for the needed community input to set priorities and consider the related costs. Dissolution now would be premature and perhaps not in the long-term best interests of the community.

Whether the District becomes successful over time is yet to be determined. While many feel strongly about this issue, at the end of the day, we’re all neighbors and we all want the best for our community.

We need to reasonably discuss our future and we need to work together. This Saturday, February 26th, at 9 a.m., there will be a community meeting in the Sports Grill at the Woodlands Country Club. This session represents the next important step for the District. Woodlands residents are invited to participate in the visioning process to help chart the course for the future.

Please plan to attend and participate in the development.  I look forward to seeing you there.

Commissioner Michelle J. Gomez