Three positions are open on The Woodlands Township board of directors this term, however, only one position is contested. Directors John McMullan and Ann Snyder will retain their positions for another two-year term.
Carol Stromatt
Years in The Woodlands: 20
Occupation: commercial real estate broker/consultant
Top priorities: resident education, incorporation study and planning
Laura Fillaut*
Years in The Woodlands: Six
Occupation: director of operations, Fireteam Apparel Company
Top priorities: transit planning, water mitigation, incorporation study
*Incumbent
What inspired you to run for the township position?
Stromatt: It is my love and dedication to my community and my neighbors. I have done that for the whole 20 years I’ve been in The Woodlands. I had been giving some thought to running before, and then some friends encouraged me to file. I love The Woodlands and consider myself a public servant, so I figured I’d offer a choice and a voice.
Fillaut: Being on the board, the very first year is really learning how everything works. I don’t think that benefits the community in the long run to have constant turnover, so I would like to offer my experience one more term to keep some continuity on the board. It’s an offer for continuity to continue serving the public better educated than I was this first term.
As the area reaches build-out, what issues do you foresee in future growth?
Stromatt: As the township reaches build-out, the question facing us is how do we sustain what we have? I think we have to consider maintenance of our infrastructure. Then I would say focus on flood control. The township has no authority to modify the current flood control standards, however, the township can negotiate with surrounding communities and counties to advocate for the creation of a regional flood control authority
Fillaut: Residential building in The Woodlands is almost done. Normally, in our budget we get what I call “magic money” that comes in from new builds. Where we were having thousands before, now we’re having very low hundreds, and so we’re not getting that additional property tax revenue. This next budget cycle, the township is going to make sure we are spending our money as wisely as possible to keep from having to raise taxes.
What is one of the biggest challenges residents of The Woodlands face?
Stromatt: I believe that looking long term, 2015-2057, we need to influence the township to make the best decisions to prevent the city of Houston’s efforts to annex The Woodlands. The type of nightmares that would present for us—it would be like being a fish in a smaller pond to being a little fish in an outrageously large pond. I would use my strategic planning experience and look for the best possible operational plans that we can use to accomplish our strategic plan, and that would be in determining whether to incorporate.
Fillaut: Frankly, I think the biggest challenge we’re all facing right now is while the economy seems to be on an uptick nationally—and I feel it in my own personal budget—I still have to kind of tighten the belt a little bit. We’re experiencing that across the community. The challenge for the township is there’s very little we can do to address that other than spending money wisely and working as hard as we can to keep our tax rate low. The best thing the township can do as an organization is continue to save money for the future.
