A resounding 'Yes'
Last night, several hundred of us gathered at Scotsdale Golf Course to celebrate the second grand re-opening of this beautiful course. The Scottish-themed event captivated our imaginations. The delightful sounds of the bagpiper, the soft and melodic voices of the Bentonville High School chorus (singing Scottish melodies as part of their preparation for a performance tour in Scotland next June), and just the beauty of a Bella Vista fall evening made it a perfectly enchanting experience.
Tom Judson, our energetic and innovative new general manager, spoke briefly thanking many individuals that had worked to make this day possible, and Keith Ihms, director of Golf Maintenance, brought the maintenance crew up for a "Thank you" for all they had accomplished in the remaking of the course itself. Shortly after that, the crowd cheered as David Whelchel, in full traditional Scottish golfing attire, marked the official re-opening of the Scotsdale course by driving a ball off the elevated tee box and down the fairway of "Double Green," the official name now of hole No. 1, I guess. Despite the pressure of the large crowd watching, he hit a spectacular center cut shot using a replica ball and replica club of the early days of golf.
The renovation of the Scotsdale clubhouse interior is absolutely breathtaking and, walking into it, there was a feeling that you were actually entering an authentic Scottish pub. Even if you are not a golfer, every Bella Vistan should drop by to see the remarkable transformation of what used to be a tired, old clubhouse and maybe spend a few minutes reflecting about the wonders of our friendly amenities-based community on the new East Deck.
Having just returned from my sister's home in a new retirement community of Albuquerque, I could not help but contrast what we have here in Bella Vista with what I saw there. It's a beautiful planned community, but the only amenities they enjoy are a large, new clubhouse with an outdoor swimming pool and health club, tennis courts, pickle ball, bocce ball and a security gate. Their monthly HOA assessment is more than $170 per month. Here we enjoy seven golf courses, seven lakes, numerous clubhouses, a tennis complex, pickle ball, two family miniature golf sites, skeet, trap, pistol, and rifle ranges plus the beauty of the Ozarks. Bella Vista would be a bargain at $65 or $75 per month, and some people are quibbling about an increase of our POA dues to $33 for residents and $19 for non-residents??
The answer to the questions about a dues increase has to be a resounding YES! And the good news is that if you haven't voted yet, there is still time. Voting does not end until Nov. 1. I suspect with the passage of our dues increases that there will be many more wonderful grand re-openings in our future here, and I can hardly wait!
Barbara Patterson
Bella Vista
Editorial on 10/19/2016