According to the data provided by the township, participation in the resident surveys conducted every two years has fallen from 24% in 2016 to only 19% in 2022. The surveys are sent out via email and traditional mail methods, according to township Chief Operating Officer Chris Nunes.
Wendy Everett, a resident of Indian Springs who spoke at the township meeting Feb. 28, said residents are unaware of the full scope of projects until work already begins.
“All these changes were never voted on by the residents it has most affected. Surveys were apparently randomly sent out to residents. I didn’t get one, and nobody I know did," Indian Springs resident Barbara Hefner said in a letter to the board.
Diving in deeper
According to Nunes, the letters and surveys sent out to residents satisfied the legal requirements necessary for work to begin on projects, such as adding bathrooms to Capstone Park in 2023 and artificial turf at Falconwing Park in 2024. However, letters and emails tend to get lost or overlooked by residents, he said.
“It’s usually not until the big white signs go up that residents notice and get involved,” Nunes said.
However, a number of residents maintain they did not receive survey requests from the township, especially those immediately around the parks.
“I know how precious the nature we enjoy here is, and I’m perplexed by this change. How was this decision made?” said Malena Gomez, another Indian Springs resident. “I know there was a survey because I’ve seen a couple of pie charts with results. ... How is it that those of us living directly around the park weren’t surveyed?”
What's next
Work has already begun on the artificial turf installation as of July at Falconwing Park as part of a $4.3 million renovation of the park, pools and parking areas in the Indian Springs subdivision. Unlike other artificial turf projects in The Woodlands, Falconwing will not have a cement fortified base and is instead being built with a rubber and sand base following a chemical solidification of the clay, according to the township.
According to township Director Shelley Sekula-Gibbs, once work begins on an improvement project, reversal could mean millions of dollars for the township due to contractual obligations with contractors hired to perform the work.
While there are no current plans to revise the methods of communication for resident surveys, a new resident survey is expected to begin over the summer.
