The Rayford Road Civic Association formed in May to help address the area's residential concerns and improve communication between residents, property owners' associations and the boards of various taxing entities. With more than 40,0000 residents living within the unincorporated Rayford Road corridor, a figure that continues to grow, the area is home to the largest group of residents within Montgomery County that has no central governing body.

Paul Cote, a member of Municipal Utility District No. 89, said the RRCA formed from the need of local MUDs—including MUD 89, South Montgomery County MUD, Spring Creek Utility District and Rayford MUD—to unite for the betterment of the area. Cote said the 40,000 residents within the 77386 ZIP code have no single governing body to represent them, yet they occupy 40 square miles of Montgomery County compared to the 42 square miles of The Woodlands.

"There's an entire block of people over here who have no representation," Cote said.

The group hopes to bridge the communication gap between taxing entities, such as utility districts, Conroe ISD, Montgomery County and homeowners' associations, Cote said, as well as address concerns regarding transportation, drinking water, public parks, recreational spaces, economic development and the accessibility of public services.

"We have to try as residents of this area to get ahead of this stuff," Cote said.

In early 2014, the RRCA plans to present the Community Vision Project detailing and prioritizing the area's most significant issues while incorporating a plan to address those concerns.

Cote said an election for a governing board will take place in February 2014, while the temporary board of directors will govern the monthly meetings in the mean time.

Membership to the RRCA costs $100, Cote said. Although the organization operates as a nonprofit, he said, the association needs funding for the creation of a website and other expenses. The civic association held its first meeting May 8 at the Imperial Oaks Clubhouse at 1910 Havenhouse Drive in Spring. All future meetings will be held there at 6:30 p.m. the second Wednesday of the month.

Paul Alli, a member of the RRCA, the Imperial Oaks Property Owners Association and Rayford Road MUD, said the group made significant progress in its first meeting. With about 25 in attendance, Alli said the group not only helped get the word out to the community, but also agreed on three significant goals: improved mobility, beautification on the east side of I-45 and attracting a YMCA to the area.

"It thought it was a really productive first meeting," he said.

The group continues to work on its bylaws, Alli said, and should soon develop agendas for meetings after the first few months.

He said he hopes to include the business community in the organization's decisions, as well as Precinct 3 Commissioner James Noack, who was in attendance at the first meeting.

"The whole goal with this thing is to work with Commissioner Noack and Precinct 3 to improve the east side of the freeway," Alli said.

Noack praised the organization for its formation and goals to improve the area. With governments already in place across the rest of his precinct, Noack said he has been acting as the voice of the Rayford Road corridor and believes the area needs help addressing traffic issues, beautification, standards, flood control, land use, zoning and controlling the growth in the area.

"That's something that I have been trying to find a group of individuals to come together and represent the east side of I-45 for some time," he said. "I'm just thrilled to see that the building blocks are coming together."

The commissioner's office does not have control over developmental standards beyond a minimum level, Noack said, but he believes the RRCA can help address those issues through the collective voice of the community.

The group could also play a role in traffic planning, perhaps even becoming a representative in the South Montgomery County mobility plan currently being discussed with the Houston-Galveston Area Council.

"We want to make certain as we go through the planning process, that they're well represented," Noack said. "These groups coming together to bring a voice to commissioner's office will be fantastic for promoting a plan for the area."