On July 1, The Woodlands will take its first step to merge the homeowner and business associations with The Woodlands Township.

That is when the township will gain majority control of The Woodlands Fire Department Board, which oversees funding and operations of fire and emergency medical services in the community. The township will contribute $6.1 million toward a portion of the operations of the department this year, which helped to lower assessment fees by 15 percent or more for homeowners in 2009.

The Woodlands Township elected four board members - Bruce Tough, Tom Campbell, Claude Hunter and Lloyd Matthews - to the fire department board Wednesday. Each of the three associations in The Woodlands - The Woodlands Community Assocaition, The Woodlands Association and The Woodland Commercial Owners Association - also will get an appointment.

Under the transition agreement, the township’s four appointees had to be elected members or those appointed by organizations for which they were elected. Tough, Campbell and Hunter already serve on the board.

Only the WCOA has named its appointment, Steve Sanders, who already serves on the committee. TWA is schedule to select an appointee Thursday and WCA will take up the issue at its July meeting.

The addition of fire department board members was one of many changes undertaken by the township Wednesday to restructure committees within the organization. As part of its expansion and changing role within the community, the township is developing a structure more similar to a city.

“It is to recognize that we are no long just the Town Center,” said Nelda Luce Blair, chairwoman of the township. “It takes into account that we can possibly become a city or a city-like entity.”

The township eliminated several committees that have outlived their tasks and expanded the responsibilities for others.

Gone are the Community Relations Committee, which was a liaison with Town Center residents; The Funding Request Committee, which handled outside request for programs in the Town Center impact area; and the Transition Team, a group that developed an agreement between the township and the Community Association to transfer program, assets and funding to the township in 2010. Transition issues will now be handled by the Executive Committee.

Other committees expanded their functions.

The Special Projects Committee, which addressed special issues that came before the board, like the construction of The Woodlands Waterway Convention Center, will become the Project Planning and Development Committee, which will be charged with looking at all planning issues in the township. It will be chaired by Lloyd Matthews.

The Woodlands Waterway Committee, which ushered in the maintenance agreement for the corridor, will be called the Public Facilities Administration Committee. Its duties will be expanded to include not only The Woodlands Waterway, but Town Green Park, Waterway Square and other public facilities. It will be chaired by Kemba DeGroot.

The Cultural Arts Task Force, which investigated a new venue that would attract people to the downtown district, was renamed the Museum Ad Hoc Committee to pursue the possibility of establishing a satellite site for the Houston Museum of Natural Science in The Woodlands. That committee also will retain responsibility over the placement of public art in the community. It will be chaired by Vicki Richmond.

Some of the committees, like the Audit Committee, are appointed by the chairman. Others, like the fire department board, are approved by the township member.

Hausman, the senior member of the township board and a vocal critic, said she was passed over for several key positions on committee.

Claude Hunter said he hopes a few committees could expand to accommodate more people that may want to serve.