Judson reports revenue boost in January

n The POA has three renovation projects underway.

A handful of Bella Vista residents heard good news when General Manager Tom Judson held his Coffee and Questions on Valentine's Day.

The event is scheduled twice a month, at 10 a.m. on the second Tuesday and at 6 p.m. on the fourth Tuesday.

On the 14th, Judson talked about money. After one year as the Property Owners Association general manager, Judson said both income and expenses were better than budget in January. Part of it is good weather for golfing and good interest rates on investments, but he also credits department heads who have been encouraged to take ownership of their budgets. He asks them each to think about expenditures as if it was their household budget and they have responded favorably. They keep income high and expenses low, he said.

Those at the meeting were interested in new projects going on around the Village, especially Lakepoint Event Center. Judson said renovations to Lakepoint, the former Yacht Club, are on schedule. There are 35 events booked for the first year, he said. Some are large events -- specifically weddings. A few are smaller, such as business meetings and anniversary parties.

Each month Judson or Business Development Director Tommy Lee leads a tour of the building. Earlier this month, more than 50 members took the tour.

A grand opening is planned for late April.

A smaller project at the Highlands Clubhouse will be completed earlier than planned. Contacted after the meeting, Lee answered a few questions about the Highlands.

The existing bar will remain, he said, and limited food will be available there. It will be mostly prepackaged food to start, he said, although that could change after Lakepoint is opened. An employee will have to be on site to handle the bar and the food.

The former dining room will become a multi-purpose room, but Lee believes it will be mostly card players who use it. They will be able to buy lunch at the bar. The golf pro shop employees will schedule the multipurpose room.

Renovations that started last week will open up the space between the pro shop and the bar and then add a wall so the bar can be closed off from the multipurpose room, Lee said. The kitchen will be left in place, but not used, he said.

Judson said the Highlands project will be complete in six to eight weeks.

A third project has also been started. This one is at the Country Club, which also houses an empty restaurant space. Although work has started at the Country Club, so far it's not visible to the public.

The first step, Judson said, is to move the accounting office downstairs, which means that the downstairs area must be updated. After the offices are moved, the pro shop will move into that area. The golf operations office will move to the storage area of the current pro shop.

A new restaurant will also be opened in the Country Club, after some renovations to that space. In the past the planned restaurant has been described as similar to an upscale sports bar with a menu that includes salads and burgers.

The search has already begun for an executive chef who will be in charge of food in all three venues, Judson said.

General News on 02/22/2017