Elegant 3/2/3 one story with waterfall pool, backs to wooded section of Meadowbrook Farms Golf Course. From covered patio enjoy both a view of the golf course & also woods teaming with birds and wildlife. Kitchen, den, & master situated to embrace this vista! Huge island kitchen w/ grainte. New in 2012: roof, upgraded oven, micro, & diswasher. Custom shelving in Master bath and study. Guest bath is wheelchair accessible. Sweet, welcoming front porch. Make this your home!

You will not find a finer property for sale in this area. Totally updated in established gated section of Cinco Ranch Northgate. Home is on the 13th Fairway of Cinco Ranch Golf Club. Serene Pool and Spa. State of the art Bathroom and Kitchen fixtures, Kohler Airjet Tub, Toto toilet.

Don’t miss this rare jewel.

Posted: 01/03/2012
Author: The Katy Times - Tracy Dang
Katy area residents will soon see a new 122,439-square-foot retail center developing on the southeast corner of Grand Parkway and Fry Road.

Members of the Katy Area Economic Development Council received an update on the project Tuesday.

The development will also feature approximately 38,000-square-feet of small shop space with prospects including Carrabba’s, Menchie’s and Massage Heights.

“It’s basically an extension of our development on the southwest corner of Meadows Marketplace, which is basically 250,000 square feet of retail including H-E-B, Palais Royal, Hobby Lobby, along with some other retails,” said John Clinkscales, a marketing representative with Fidelis Realty Partners.

“That property is fully occupied, and we’re working with Seven Lakes to begin construction (of Grand Lakes Marketplace) during the early part of next year,” he said.

Construction is expected to be completed by late summer, and the development is anticipating Thanksgiving openings.

“The Wells Fargo that’s existing on the corner is not a part of that shopping center. We are building around that,” Clinkscales said.

“The anchor box on the far left is Stein Mart, and the one next to it is Whole Foods, the proposed Cost Plus and then two spec retailers,” he said. “We are 100 percent committed to the deals on the left and about 50 percent committed on the L-shape.”

The City of Katy is moving forward with plans for a new senior citizens center. A ground breaking ceremony was held at the property at 5370 E. Fifth St. last Wednesday.
Senior citizens living in the City of Katy have waited more than a decade for a new social services center to replace the one at 905 Ave. C.

Last year, the city purchased property at 5370 E. Fifth St. and authorized the city to proceed with the design build process for a center, and the city planned to allocate $1.5 million of this year’s reserve to fund the project.

City council voted 3-1 in February to authorize the use of $1 million from its general reserve to fund the new senior center.
The council then unanimously approved a resolution to authorize the mayor to enter into a design build contract with Bass Construction Company for the construction of the center, as well as the allocation of $200,000 in reserves to purchase items and services needed to complete the project.

“There are a lot of seniors here, and we’ve been wrestling for this for a long time now,” councilman Fabol Hughes said. “I’m really happy everything went smoothly,” said Pat Baker, activities director at the City of Katy Senior Center.

Posted: Tuesday, July 26, 2011 10:43 am
By The Rancher Staff

Katy Independent School District board of trustees voted 6-0 at July 25 board meeting toto add back to the 2011-12 budget 214 out of 267 teaching positions that were reduced as part of the campus staffing plan in April.

In addition, some of the items that were proposed to be cut, but will be added back to the budget include the elimination of transportation not reimbursed by the state; the increase in ticket prices for athletic events by $1; and the reduction of elementary principals and their secretaries to 11-month contracts. Also, in previous action, the board approved adding back a second assistant band director at each of the high schools.

This move comes with the conclusion of the 82nd Legislature’s Special Session and the confirmation that the state will reduce Katy ISD’s funding $27 million for 2011-12. Now that the district knows how much revenue it will receive from the state, it can begin finalizing the budget for the 2011-12 school year, which must be approved by the Board prior to the start of the fiscal year on Sept. 1.

“As we saw our budget picture improve from what all indicators were pointing to in the spring, our first step was to look at our campus staffing to see how we could bring back as many teachers as possible,” said Alton Frailey, Katy ISD superintendent. “We knew it would be a considerable challenge to navigate through the restraints created by a significant reduction of state financial support and continue to provide the same high quality learning experiences for our students our community has come to expect.”

Tuesday, January 26, 2010 11:35 PM CST
A draft of Katy Independent School District’s financial audit by Null-Lairson P.C. was presented to the board Jan. 20 by representatives of the firm. Katy ISD recorded a strong year ending in August 2009, despite the economic downturn experienced throughout the nation.

Total net assets of the district increased by more than $16 million over the year to $134 million.

Chief financial officer Bill Moore credited increases in fund balances and decreases in the district’s debt as the primary reasons for the increase in assets.

“We basically paid down our debt while adding assets,” Moore said. “We did have a good year as far as paying off some of our outstanding debt.”

The capital projects fund went down $15 and a half million to cover capital expenditures that were not met by $24 million in bond sales. The sale of these bonds last June represents the last of bonds authorized in 2006.

“Overall our fund balances went down $2.9 million, but that’s a little bit misleading,” Moore said. “The reason for the decrease was really in the capital projects fund; if you take that out the rest of our district increased their fund balance by about $14 million.”

The special revenue funds lost $200,000. The general fund increased $8.9 million through tax collection as a result of a boom of $2.6 billion in property values.

Another boom to the KISD’s balance sheet came from expenditures, which were 4.8 percent under budget last year.

“There were a couple of individual areas [that contributed to coming in under budget] such as energy bills being lower; we actually came in $2.2 million under in fuel prices,” Moore said. “In (human resources) we saved about one million in our substitute program.”

Chuck Yaple of Null-Lairson warned the board that government scrutiny can be expected in the future. Federal funding from the recovery act that goes to Title One and special education programs will likely require further audits.

“Texas has been designated a high-risk state for program compliance under the recovery act.” Yaple said. “Through the Texas Education Agency or through the federal inspectors general we can also expect a little bit more reach.”

Katy area law enforcement agencies, neighborhood organizations and community groups are hosting block parties and area activities to celebrate National Night Out next Tuesday.

According to the National Association of Town Watch, National Night Out was designed to:

•Heighten crime and drug prevention awareness;

•Generate support for, and participation in, local anticrime programs;

•Strengthen neighborhood spirit and police-community partnerships; and

•Send a message to criminals letting them know that neighborhoods are organized and fighting back.

The Katy Police Department is hosting an event Tuesday from 5:30 p.m. until dark at the Katy City Park. Activities will include a tour of a LifeFlight helicopter, face painting, moonwalks and a chance to take photos and get autographs from two Houston Texans cheerleaders.

Parents will also have an opportunity to make child identification cards for their children.

“Parents can carry the card around, and in the event of a child coming up missing, we can upload the photo onto a server and any law enforcement agency in the United States – it doesn’t matter if you’re on vacation – can get access to the information,” said Sgt. Jack Feild.

“We’ll take finger prints of the thumbs and index fingers on both hands, a mug shot and profile shot, parent or guardian information and three emergency contact numbers. There will also be a place on there to list medical conditions.”

Several neighborhoods in the Katy and west Houston areas of Harris County are also participating in the effort.

“As of last week, 15 neighborhoods had registered their National Night Out events with the (Harris County) Sheriff’s Office Community Services Bureau,” HCSO District IV media liaison office Diann Johnson said.

“Deputies from various divisions including Crime Prevention, Storefront, K-9 and Mounted Division will attend these events. Some of the gatherings are small and impromptu while others planned well in advance and include food, games and live entertainment.”

Two of the county’s biggest events are those occurring in the Westlake Forest and Westlake Place subdivisions, both on North Fry Road.

Westlake Forest is featuring an ambulance, HCSO deputies, Westlake volunteer firefighters, games and food starting at 6 p.m.

Westlake Place is having barbecue, activities, crime safety information, as well as members of Westlake Volunteer Fire Department, HCSO Mounted Patrol and neighborhood crime watch groups beginning at 6 p.m.

As of Tuesday morning, 10 neighborhoods have signed up to participate with the Fort Bend Sheriff’s Office.

LaCenterra at Cinco Ranch will have FBSO officials and Willow Fork firefighters there from 6-9 p.m. to talk to residents about identity theft, hurricane prevention information and other safety concerns.

Other activities will include face painting, fingerprinting child ID kits, music and food.

The Firethorne community will also host an event although it will be held Saturday from 2-5 p.m.

“We’re having a helicopter from LifeFlight and some of our sheriff’s officials out there,” FBSO deputy Gerard Argao said. “We’ll have SWAT, fire trucks and tables for vendors who are participating.

“The Firethorne neighborhood watch safety committee is wanting to start up their neighborhood watch program, and they’re doing this in order to promote it.”

Area NNO activities (updated as received):

• Seven Meadows: Avalon/Seven Meadows Neighborhood Watch Team organized in Spring 2008. The team has worked hard to raise awareness, generate support, strengthen neighborhood spirit and finally send a message to criminals that they are not welcome in their neighborhood. The NW Team hopes to rally each of the 27 sections of the subdivision to host individual block parties to celebrate the 26th Annual Texas Night Out Against Crime on Tuesday, Oct. 6 at 6-8 p.m. (times vary per block party). At this time 15 block parties all over Seven Meadows are planned. Some are just a block or street and some cover an entire section. The NW team has grown but still needs block captains for some of the streets in the subdivision. Lorraine Rabuse serves as team membership coordinator for the NW team.

•Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia will make his rounds Tuesday evening, visiting various neighborhood National Night Out events throughout the county. He schedule is as follows:

-5:30 p.m. Summerwood Subdivision – 16136 Hunters Lake Way at Timberforest

-6:05 p.m. Woodforest Subdivision – 13439 Woodforest at Uvalde

-6:40 p.m. Wortham Subdivision – 10911 Wortham Boulevard

-7:15 p.m. Katy Area (TBD)

•Those who have registered with the FBSO are:

-Brazos Garden

-Summerfield Estates

-Orchard Lakes

-Chelsea Harbor

-Cinco Ranch @ La Centerra

-Sugarfield

-New Territory

-Sienna Plantation

-Greatwood

-Bridlewood Estates

-Colony Lake Estates in Stafford

-Firethorne Community

-Westheimer Lakes

-Seven Meadows and Avalon

-Sugar Grove

-Dove Country

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is making it possible to monetize the $8,000 tax credit available to first-time homebuyers. Big whoop, right? What does that even mean?

That’s the problem with words like monetize. You hear it, probably have an idea of its definition, but don’t really understand what it means regarding the tax credit. If the tax credit isn’t about money, then what good is it anyway?

Here’s the deal. The tax credit was rolled out as exactly that: a credit on your federal income tax (or a payment to you if the credit amount exceeds your tax liability). From the start, Texas REALTORS® and homebuyers asked if there was some way to immediately apply that money to the downpayment of the home rather than wait for a “rebate” on your tax return. The answer was no.

“Monetizing the tax credit” is equivalent to changing the answer from no to yes.

This is great news if you’re a first-timer looking to purchase a home. HUD has given instructions to lenders about how buyers can use the credit as part of their downpayment of an FHA-insured home. Buyers must still come up with at least a 3.5% downpayment, which can be a gift from a family member, employer, or nonprofit, charitable organization.

You can use the money to increase your downpayment or pay for normal closing costs. HUD also has instructed that any fees associated with monetizing the tax credit not be excessive. The agency defines this as fees of no more than 2.5% of the anticipated credit. So if you qualify for the maximum $8,000 credit, the fees associated with making that money available at closing could be no more than $200.

Here’s HUD’s news release on the program. The way it actually works is that FHA-approved mortgagees and other qualified entities can buy your tax credit. You get the money now, the lender charges a reasonable fee, and you get thousands of dollars to apply to your home purchase. There are still some details being worked out before lenders in Texas offer this option. When the program is in place in our state, your Texas REALTOR® will be an excellent resource to help you with this and other aspects of your home purchase. Keep in mind that the tax credit is available only until Nov. 30, 2009. After that, there won’t be anything available for you to monetiz unless the program is extended.

The magazine ranks public high schools annually based on the number of students who take Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate or Cambridge tests at a school, divided by the number of graduating seniors.

Seven Lakes, ranked 403, topped the list in Katy. Other Katy ISD schools that ranked in the top 1,500 are Cinco Ranch at 458, Taylor at 1,067 and Katy at 1458.

All of the schools on the list have an index of at least 1.000 (meaning that they had as many tests as graduates), according to Newsweek researchers.

A school can reach 1.000 level only if half of its students take one AP, IB or Cambridge test in their junior year and one in their senior year.

Here’s more on how the rankings were calculated, which also takes into account the number of students eating federally subsidized lunches among other factors.

By Luciano Battistini
Times Staff Writer

Metrostudy gave a positive outlook about the Houston economy and housing industry during the Katy Area Economic Development Council meeting Tuesday.

“While builder cutbacks and discounted pricing are having an effect on reducing the inventory of homes, the tightening of credit standards has removed a sizable number of formerly qualified buyers from the market,” said David Jarvis, Metrostudy director of the Houston region.

“Nevertheless, as these issues run their cycle, demographic trends keep marching forward, creating a pool of potential buyers who will express themselves in the market when credit normalcy and calmer consumer psychology return, setting the stage for a decade of strong housing demand in the United States.”

Houston’s job growth remains strong, but has shown some signs of slowing, Jarvis said.

Houston has added an average of more than 90,000 jobs each year for the past three years.

Last year, Houston added 54,100 jobs, for a 2.1 percent growth rate. Houston continues to lead the nation in job growth and employment, adding more jobs during the year ending in June than any other Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) in the U.S.

According to Jarvis, foreclosures remain elevated, possibly affecting homebuyers’ mindset by presenting another potential avenue for negotiating with homebuilders.

The months of supply of lots is below equilibrium in the lowest and highest price bands, while the supply of lots for housing priced between $100,000 and $300,000 is above the equilibrium range, Jarvis said.

But despite the current economic atmosphere, Houston’s fundamentals remain among the strongest in the nation.

Job growth, especially in energy-related industries, has protected Houston from some of the negative effects of the volatile credit markets, Jarvis said.

The weak dollar encourages exports, which should also continue to benefit Houston’s economy.

And Houston is attracting workers from other areas of the U.S. with high-paying jobs, an affordable cost of living and a diverse economy.

As potential homebuyers review various markets across the country in search of a bargain, Houston will be a perennial candidate.

These challenges will continue to affect home sales in the near-term, although strong local fundamentals will eventually be reflected by strong demand for new homes.

“The market for new homes in Houston faces considerable crosscurrents, with strong job growth and a strong economy challenged by mortgage constraints and competition from foreclosures and the resale market,” Jarvis said.

“Despite the short-term uncertainty, the positive aspects of Houston’s economy and new-home market will allow it to recover more quickly than other U.S. markets beset by affordability issues and weak job growth. When national credit issues subside, Houston’s new-home market will quickly rebound.”