On Thursday afternoon, an email from the Bella Vista POA announced an abrupt change of plans. The election proposed to decide an assessment increase was "postponed" until 2019. Ballots had been scheduled to go out on Oct. 1.
The POA board voted to hold the election at its August meeting, taking the recommendation of a five-year financial planning task force. The task force met several times between January and August, studying current finances and forecasting future expenditures. The amount of the proposed increase -- $10 a month for improved lots and $2 a month for unimproved lots -- was also part of the recommendation.
POA general manager Tom Judson scheduled a series of community meetings to present the plan to the membership. One of those meetings, scheduled for 5 p.m. on Thursday, took place within an hour of the email announcement. It ended with one member demanding Judson's resignation.
Standing in front of about 80 POA members on Thursday, Judson explained that he intended to use the meeting as a "learning opportunity."
"Where did we miss the message?" he asked. Judson said he was surprised at the lack of support for an increase. He is not a member of the board, but he promised that the board would listen to the answers.
One of the first issues brought up was the difference between the proposed fees for improved vs. unimproved lots.
In 2001, the last assessment increase created a two-tier system. At that time, the city was not incorporated and the POA was providing municipal services including street work, police and fire. The 2001 increase was $10 for improved lots and $2 for unimproved lots, raising them to $24 and $16.
One audience member suggested the two tiers were unfair and any assessment increase should be aimed at equalizing the two types of assessments.
The audience was vocal when one man brought up the issue of the board voting for the POA owned lots. This isn't the first time POA lots have been voted by the board, Judson said. Because the board represents the community, they believe it's a fair practice, he said.
"It shows you cheat," shouted a member.
Several members expressed a concern about recent spending. Judson cautioned that he was speaking without any notes but, as he remembers it, the POA had 4 to 5 million in reserves when he was hired in January 2016. Now the reserves are much smaller, about $600,000. He said he would be happy to meet with any member and go over the financial reports.
The board made the spending decisions, Judson said, but there were buildings that needed improvements. He's proud of the progress that has been made, including the new beach at Lake Avalon and the renovations of the country club.
Even with the smaller reserves, he believes the POA is still financially sound.
The recent practice of allowing guests to use POA amenities was raised by more than one member. Judson said guest user fees are always higher than members user fees. The POA needs the income from guests to help subsidize some amenities. He used golf as an example. Golf gained about a million dollars through guest fees, which meant the POA didn't have to provide that million in subsidies.
It's a difficult balance, he said. When user fees go up, usage goes down but maintenance fees don't.
While one member asserted that the pools have been crowded by guests, another member disagreed, saying there's seldom a crowd at the pools.
The one amenity that is open to the public with no fees is the trail system that was funded by the Walton Foundation. Judson said that area real estate agents have told him that they have customers who are looking for a home on the trail system.
The POA agreed to spend $35,000 a year on trail maintenance, and Judson said that comes out of the budget of the only profitable amenity, the Blowing Springs RV Park.
After two hours of questions for Mr. Judson, a few members of the audience demanded to know if there were board members present. When board member David Brandenburg joined Judson at the front of the room, he said he had heard a lot of misinformation throughout the election process. When members of the audience interrupted him to object to his comments, he told them to shut up.
The meeting ended shortly after that exchange, with member Theron Donnell calling on Judson to resign.
General News on 09/19/2018