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Records Request and Objection Letter to the TLTR Board

These pages are one homeowner's plain-English reading of the Association's bylaws and the proposed amendment. They are not legal advice. Check everything against the documents yourself; the bylaws and the proposal are linked below.

Template. Replace the bracketed items before sending. Send one copy by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the Association’s mailing address, and a second copy by email to the board. Certified mail is what starts the 10-business-day clock under Texas Property Code §209.005.

[Your Name] [Street Address] [City], Texas [ZIP] [Email] · [Phone]

[Date]

VIA CERTIFIED MAIL, RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED, No. [____] AND VIA EMAIL TO board@tltr-hoa.org

Board of Directors Timber Lakes and Timber Ridge Association, Inc. 25610 Timber Lakes Drive Spring, Texas 77380

Attn: Robert Ethridge, President; Chris Campbell, Vice President; Melanie Johnson, Secretary/Treasurer

Re: (1) Request to Inspect and Copy Association Records under Tex. Prop. Code §209.005 and Tex. Bus. Orgs. Code §22.351; (2) Written Inquiries Concerning the November 13, 2026 Meeting and the Proposed Amendment of Bylaws; and (3) Objection to Adoption of Any Bylaw Amendment Without a Vote of the Membership

Property: [Street Address], Lot [number], Section [number], Timber Lakes / Timber Ridge

Dear Members of the Board:

I am the record owner of the above property and a member of Timber Lakes and Timber Ridge Association, Inc. (the “Association”). I write for three purposes, set out in Parts I through III below. Please treat each Part as a separate request requiring a separate written response.

PART I – REQUEST TO INSPECT AND COPY ASSOCIATION RECORDS

Pursuant to Texas Property Code §209.005 and Texas Business Organizations Code §22.351, and pursuant to Article X of the Association’s Bylaws, I request access to the books and records of the Association identified below.

As required by §209.005(c), I state that I elect to inspect the requested records before obtaining copies. After inspection, I will identify in writing the records of which I request copies. Please provide, within ten (10) business days of your receipt of this letter, written notice of the dates during normal business hours on which I may inspect the records, as required by §209.005(d).

If the Association contends that any requested record is privileged or otherwise exempt from production under §209.005(k), please identify each withheld record and state the specific basis for withholding it.

The records requested are:

  1. The current Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions, together with all amendments and supplements, including the provision described in the proposed amendment as “Section 11 Covenant for Maintenance Assessments, part (5), Notice and Quorum.”
  2. The Articles of Incorporation and Certificate of Formation, with all amendments, and the date of incorporation.
  3. The Bylaws as currently in force, including all amendments, and the minutes or resolutions adopting each amendment, including the Board motion of September 26, 2011 referenced in the Bylaws.
  4. All dedicatory instruments and policies filed in the real property records of Montgomery County under Tex. Prop. Code §202.006, including any records production and copying policy (§209.005(i)), payment plan guidelines (§209.0062), and fine or enforcement policy (§209.006), together with the recording information for each.
  5. All documents evidencing the identity of the current directors and officers, the date each took office, the manner in which each was elected or appointed, and the term of each.
  6. All documents evidencing the current status of the three “Declarant Director” positions under Article IV, Section 1 of the Bylaws, including any assignment of Declarant rights by CWB Corp. or its successors, and any Board determination that those positions have lapsed.
  7. Minutes of all meetings of the Board of Directors and of the members for the period January 1, 2021 to the present, including the special meeting at which the proposed amendments were presented, and the notice of each such meeting with the date and manner of delivery.
  8. The annual budget and the statement of income and expenditure prepared under Article VIII, Section 8 of the Bylaws for each fiscal year 2021 through 2025, and the proof of delivery of each to the membership.
  9. The annual audit of the Association’s books by a public accountant required by Article VIII, Section 8 of the Bylaws for each fiscal year 2021 through 2025, and the engagement letter for each.
  10. Bank statements and the general ledger for all Association accounts for the period January 1, 2024 to the present.
  11. All contracts currently in force between the Association and any management company, contractor, attorney, or vendor, and any contract between the Association and a director, officer, a relative of a director or officer, or an entity in which a director or officer holds an interest.
  12. All policies of insurance currently in force, including liability and hazard coverage under Article VII, Section 2(e) of the Bylaws and any fidelity bond or crime coverage under Article VII, Section 2(f).
  13. All proxies currently on file with the Secretary under Article III, Section 5 of the Bylaws, with the date each was received.
  14. For the two most recent elections of directors: the notice of election and its date of delivery, the candidate filing deadline and the manner in which it was announced, the ballots or tally sheets, the identity of the person or persons who tabulated the votes, and any record of a member being denied a ballot.
  15. The complete text of the proposed Amendment of Bylaws as it will be submitted to the membership, the identity of its drafter, and any invoice for its preparation.
  16. All records relating to any meeting of the Board, of a committee, or of the members at which the proposed Amendment of Bylaws, or any earlier draft of it, was discussed, presented, or voted upon, including: the notice of each such meeting and proof of the date and manner of its delivery or posting; the agenda; the minutes or any recording; any resolution or vote of the Board approving the proposal or authorizing its submission to the members; every draft or version of the proposal; all written materials distributed at or in connection with the meeting; and all correspondence between or among directors, officers, the management company, and any attorney or consultant concerning the proposal, except to the extent a specific document is withheld as privileged and identified as provided above.
  17. The sign-in sheet or attendance record and the proxies presented for the special meeting at which the proposal was announced.
  18. The minutes of the members’ meeting of February 12, 2026 (the link on the Association’s website does not open) and of the meeting of May 18, 2025 (approved at the November 18, 2025 meeting but not posted), and the minutes of any Board or members’ meeting held in August 2025 or August 2026.
  19. All records concerning the December 2024 run-off election referenced at the February 18, 2025 meeting, including the notice of that election, the candidates, and the decision to cancel it and by whom it was made.
  20. All records showing how each of Robert Ethridge and Chris Campbell came to hold office as a director and as President and Vice President respectively, since neither the November 18, 2025 annual meeting minutes nor any other posted minutes record an election or appointment, and all records of the resignation or removal of Lesli Hawthorne and Crystal Garcia.
  21. All records concerning the declination of Blake Kaelin’s letter of intent to serve on the Board, discussed at the February 18, 2025 meeting, including the stated reason.
  22. The engagement letter and all invoices of the Association’s attorney, Ashleigh Musselman or her firm, from February 1, 2025 to the present, with privileged narrative redacted but dates, amounts, and general subject matter shown.

I acknowledge that the Association may charge a reasonable cost for copies in accordance with its adopted records production and copying policy. Please provide an estimate before producing any copies that would exceed $50.00.

PART II – WRITTEN INQUIRIES CONCERNING THE NOVEMBER 13, 2026 MEETING AND THE PROPOSED AMENDMENT OF BYLAWS

The Board has announced that the proposed Amendment of Bylaws will be submitted to the membership at a general meeting on November 13, 2026. So that members may evaluate the proposal with full information, I request a written response to each of the following before notice of that meeting is mailed, and in any event not later than ten (10) business days from receipt of this letter.

A. The November 13 meeting

  1. Is the November 13, 2026 meeting the annual meeting of members under Article III, Section 1 of the Bylaws, and will directors be elected at that meeting?
  2. If directors are to be elected, Article V, Section 1 required candidates to file by midnight sixty (60) days before the election, that is, by September 14, 2026. On what date, and by what means, was that filing deadline communicated to the membership? Please identify every channel used (mailed notice, email through the HOA portal, the Association website, a posted sign, a social-media post) and, for each, the date and the number of owners it reached. A post on a social-media page or a sign at the entrance is not notice under Article III, Section 3 of the Bylaws, which requires mailed notice, or under Tex. Prop. Code §209.0056, which requires notice of an election by mail or email. If the deadline was not mailed or emailed to every owner, does the Board intend to reopen the filing period and give proper notice?
  3. On what date will written notice of the November 13 meeting be mailed to members under Article III, Section 3 of the Bylaws and Tex. Prop. Code §209.0056? Will the notice include the full text of each proposed amendment and an absentee ballot complying with §209.00592?
  4. Who will tabulate the votes, and will the Association comply with §209.00594, which prohibits a director, a candidate, or a relative of either from tabulating or having access to ballots? Will members be permitted to observe the count, and will the Association honor a request for a recount under §209.0057?
  5. Will each proposed amendment be presented and voted upon as a separate yes/no item, as the proposal’s own voting-methods provision contemplates?
  6. The posted minutes of the November 18, 2025 annual meeting record no election of directors and note that sections are “missing a section director.” Were directors elected in 2025? If not, by what authority did the Board continue, and how did the current President and Vice President take office?
  7. The February 18, 2025 minutes record that the Board would hold meetings “quarterly.” Under what provision of the Bylaws was the meeting schedule changed, and was notice of the change mailed to members?

B. The proposed amendments

  1. The proposal designates eight changes as amendments “Without A Membership Vote.” Article XIII, Section 1 of the Bylaws provides that the Bylaws “may be amended, at a regular or special meeting of the members, by a vote of a majority of a quorum of members present in person or by proxy.” Please identify the provision of the Bylaws, the Articles of Incorporation, the Declaration, or Texas law on which the Board relies for authority to amend the Bylaws without a vote of the members.
  2. The proposed revision of Article III, Section 4 cites “Section 11 Covenant for Maintenance Assessments, part (5)” of the Declaration as authority for a reduced quorum at a reconvened meeting. Please state whether the Board contends that provision governs all meetings of members or only votes on assessments.
  3. The proposal deletes Article VII, Section 2(f), concerning the bonding of officers with fiscal responsibility. No cited statute requires that deletion. Please state the reason for it, and state whether the Association currently maintains a fidelity bond or crime policy and in what amount.
  4. Under the proposed Article IV, Section 1, who will determine the number of directors, and how? At the first election under the new provision, will every seat be filled by election, or will incumbent directors continue in office? What terms will apply to seats five through nine, which the proposed staggering schedule does not address?
  5. The proposed Article VI, Section 2 permits “emergency” meetings without notice to members but does not define “emergency.” What definition will the Board apply, and will the Board adopt the limitations of Tex. Prop. Code §209.0051(h) on actions that may not be taken outside an open meeting?
  6. The proposed Article IV, Section 3 removes the residency requirement for directors. Please state the number of lots in the Properties owned by entities, by non-resident individuals, or by any person holding more than one lot.
  7. The proposed Article X replaces the right of members to inspect records “at all times during reasonable business hours” with a certified-mail request procedure. Tex. Prop. Code §209.005 establishes a minimum standard and does not require an association to reduce a broader right conferred by its Bylaws. Please state the reason for the change.
  8. The Board’s note to the proposed deletion of Article VIII, Section 3 states that the proposed Article IV, Section 2 “provides for officer term limits.” It does not; it addresses director terms only. Please confirm whether the Board intends that officers serve without any fixed term.

PART III – OBJECTION TO ADOPTION OF ANY BYLAW AMENDMENT WITHOUT A VOTE OF THE MEMBERSHIP, AND RESERVATION OF RIGHTS

I object to the adoption by the Board of any amendment to the Bylaws without a vote of the members, including without limitation the eight proposed revisions designated in the proposal as amendments “Without A Membership Vote” (proposed revisions to Article III, Sections 3 and 4; Article VI, Sections 1 and 4; Article VII, Section 1(b) and Section 2(f); Article X; and Article XII).

The grounds for this objection are:

  1. Article XIII, Section 1 of the Bylaws vests the power to amend the Bylaws in the members and prescribes the sole method of amendment. The Bylaws confer no amendment power on the Board.
  2. Texas Business Organizations Code §22.102 permits a board of directors to amend bylaws only where the certificate of formation or the bylaws do not reserve that power to the members. Article XIII reserves it to the members.
  3. Texas Property Code Chapter 209 sets minimum standards that govern notwithstanding contrary provisions in a dedicatory instrument. Where a Bylaw provision conflicts with Chapter 209, the statute controls and the Board may and should decline to enforce the conflicting provision. Chapter 209 does not, however, authorize the Board to rewrite the Bylaws, and several of the designated revisions (in particular the deletion of Article VII, Section 2(f), the reduction of the quorum for reconvened meetings in Article III, Section 4, and the narrowing of member inspection rights in Article X) are not required by any cited statute.

I therefore request that the Board confirm in writing, before notice of the November 13 meeting is issued, that no amendment to the Bylaws will be adopted or filed of record unless approved by the members in accordance with Article XIII, Section 1 and Tex. Prop. Code §209.00592. If the Board declines to so confirm, please state the Board’s position and its legal basis in writing.

Nothing in this letter waives any right or remedy available to me under the Declaration, the Articles of Incorporation, the Bylaws, Texas Property Code Chapters 202, 207 and 209, Texas Business Organizations Code Chapter 22, or otherwise, all of which are expressly reserved. This letter is written without the benefit of counsel’s review and I reserve the right to supplement it.

Please direct all responses to me at the address and email above. If the Association is represented by counsel in this matter, please so advise and I will direct further correspondence accordingly.

Thank you for your prompt attention.

Sincerely,

[Your Name] Owner, Lot [number], Section [number]

cc: Ashleigh Musselman, counsel to the Association (if still engaged)

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