Although the monthly Questions and Coffee meetings seldom draw a crowd, on Tuesday morning about 40 POA members met at Metfield with POA general manager Tom Judson. Golf maintenance director Keith Ihms was also present, but the 90-minute meeting -- including questions from the audience -- focused only on the coming election to approve an assessment increase.
It was only one stop on a circuit of community input meetings. Judson told the audience that it was his 30th meeting and he has another 30 to go.
The board unanimously approved the plan to ask for an increase during its August meeting. The proposed increase will be $11 a month for improved lots, making the monthly fee $35; and $2 a month for unimproved lots, making its monthly fee $18. The election begins when ballots are mailed on Oct. 9 and ends with a public meeting on Nov. 19. Members get one vote for each lot that has assessment fees paid up to date.
"We want to make it easy for you," Judson said about the new plan.
Along with the assessment increase, a new fee schedule will be put in place. Many of the amenities that now have a user fee will be free to members if the increase is improved. Those amenities include the fitness centers, the gun range, the lakes and the pools -- including the new beach at Lake Avalon.
Currently, some POA fees just don't make sense, Judson said. For example, members can now use POA parks for free, but if they walk down to the lake to fish, they need to pay a day-use fee. It's hard for POA lake rangers to explain to members why they can use the park but not the adjacent lake for free.
The fees have also driven some members away from the Bella Vista amenities, he said. He knows that's true because the number of boats docked at Loch Lomond has dropped. Some residents are taking their boat to Beaver Lake.
Judson said the board heard complaints about nonmembers using amenities and, when the new fees go into effect, the guest policy will change as well. The only guests allowed at the pools, fitness centers and lakes will be guests of members who have a valid guest card. Membership services will issue guest cards. Renters will be able to get a guest card for a year, with their landlords' help, to use the amenities. Holders of guest cards will pay the guest fee to use amenities.
Tennis and golf won't be closed to nonmembers, Judson said. Non-members who play golf spend a million dollars a year and the POA can't afford to lose that income.
Tennis numbers have been dropping in recent years, Judson said, so closing the program to nonmembers wouldn't leave enough players to compete.
When the floor was open for questions, one member asked Judson if the fees might be reinstated in the future. Judson said the board is committing to the new fee schedule for three years and he didn't think he could forecast further out.
Members also expressed concern that the unimproved lots will pay significantly less than the improved lots. Judson said that since there are more unimproved lots than improved lots, the board tries to balance what is fair with what might be approved. If the board chose to lower the assessment of unimproved lots, it would probably pass easily, but it would not be fair to the homeowners. Also, although some people who live outside of Bella Vista buy an unimproved lot in order to use the amenities, that number is small. Only 9 percent of the unimproved lot owners used an amenity last year. Owners who live in Bella Vista will benefit the most from the increase, he said.
Another member wanted to know how much the fire in the former POA stump dump will cost. After the fire had been burning underground for months, the POA took over the responsibility to extinguish it last summer at an estimated cost of $4 million. When the fire was reported, the stump dump -- located on land that the POA leased -- had been closed for three years. There are still lawsuits pending so it may take years to establish the final cost, Judson said. Part of the proposed increase will be dedicated to the costs of the fire.
"It's a tough burden for POA members," he said, and it's possible that the POA could recover some of the costs from insurance or from other responsible parties, but that might take several years.
After the meeting, POA chairwoman Ruth Hatcher said she was very optimistic about the assessment proposal.
Over 200 members have volunteered to make calls reminding other members to vote, she said. Last year, when a different proposal was suggested, few members were willing to make those calls. Later, that vote was canceled. This year, she's hoping to see an increase pass.
General News on 09/18/2019