About Riverpark West, Richmond

They're separate organizations. The Riverpark West Property Owners Association Inc handles deed restrictions, assessments, common areas, amenities and architectural approval. Fort Bend County Municipal Utility District No. 121 is a separate governmental district that provides water and wastewater service and bills for it. Water bill questions go to the MUD, not the HOA — and fence, paint and addition approvals go to the HOA, not the MUD.

Because of the MUD. Fort Bend County Municipal Utility District No. 121 charges $1.0150 per $100 of value — $0.3050 to run the district and $0.7100 to pay off the bonds that put the water and sewer lines in the ground before the houses arrived. That single line is roughly two and a half times what Fort Bend County itself charges, and it sits on top of Lamar CISD, the county and the drainage district.

There's an offset people miss: you don't pay the City of Richmond's rate, because you're not in the city.

The district also gives a 15% homestead exemption of its own, separate from the school exemption and worth claiming.

Rates change every autumn. The district's tax office publishes the current one.

No. Your mail says Richmond, TX 77469, but Riverpark West is unincorporated. The utility district that serves it sits entirely inside the City of Richmond's extraterritorial jurisdiction — next to the city, governed by the county.

What that changes day to day: the Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office, not Richmond PD, is your primary law enforcement. There's no city property tax line on your bill. City of Richmond municipal services don't automatically apply to you.

One exception that confuses everybody: the City of Richmond does run the wastewater system here. If your sewer backs up you call the city, even though you don't live in it.

Community lakes with fishing piers, walking trails, a swimming pool, a splash pad, tennis courts, a clubhouse, a recreation centre, parks and playgrounds, and a stretching park.

The recreation centre on Richmond Parkway is also where the utility district holds its board meetings, so it's worth knowing where it is for more than the pool.

Pool season, gate codes and guest rules come from the property owners association rather than from us.

Because of one ranching family. Albert P. and Mamie George owned the land, and the foundation that carries their name has been paying for Fort Bend County's public buildings ever since.

The ranch itself is open to the public on FM 762 in Richmond — but Saturdays only, 9am to 5pm, which catches out a lot of families who drive over on a Sunday. Weekday visits are pre-booked tours and school trips.

The library you use is named for them too. The George Foundation gave the land in 1979 and most of the $8.4 million it cost to build, which is why it's George Memorial. Two other branches carry their names separately — Albert George in Needville and Mamie George in Stafford, both opened in November 1974. The couple had already given land for a hospital and a library building back in February 1948.

The observatory out at Brazos Bend belongs to the same story. The land it stands on traces back to the same family, which is why a telescope in a state park shares a name with your library.

One more piece, for anyone who likes it: the county library system started in 1947 because twelve women in a Share-a-Book Club petitioned the Commissioners' Court for one. They got it, and the first library opened the next year in Rosenberg City Hall with a thousand books.