By the time you read this, our three new board directors will have taken their seats. Teah Bidwell, Steve McKee and Jerre Barron Jr. were recently elected to the board by a significant majority of the membership. This is a mandate from voting members that our board needs to change direction.
I've written and spoken in some detail about the fact that many members felt abandoned by our previous board. Our previous board licensed our common property for use by the public without the required membership vote. They marketed Bella Vista as a "tourist destination." They've been opening up our amenities for public use, seemingly without a thought as to how these actions will negatively impact our town and our members.
When Steve McKee began his campaign on the simple platform of "members first," we took notice. It was a message that resonated with me, as well as over 5,000 other voting members. We could already see the problems that were beginning to manifest as a result of the previous board's decision to focus on public access to our private amenities -- increased traffic, increased parking problems, trespassing by the public on private property, to name a few. And, as is inevitable when a town experiences a large influx of people, we could anticipate that we would soon experience an increase in trash and crime. Most of us moved to Bella Vista to get away from these problems. Why would the previous board invite these issues into our town?
The membership has spoken. We do not want our town to become Bentonville North or Branson 2.0. We want to retain the unique qualities that make Bella Vista the best place in the country to live.
I have faith that our new directors will strive to always put members first. And it's my sincere hope that incumbent directors will adopt this same policy. But, to do this, they will need our support and encouragement. Please make a commitment to attend meetings, express your voice, and reinforce the change we voted for.
Kevin Dooley
Bella Vista
Editorial on 06/12/2019