This report aims to tie in all the separate reports on the February 21, 2024, HSVPOA Board Meeting in one place and provide additional material not reported separately.
The Hot Springs Village POA Board met on Wednesday, February 21, 2024. In attendance were Joanie Corry, Chair; Gary Belair, Vice Chair; Bruce Caverly; Mark Quinton; Larry Siener; David Moore, Board Treasurer; and Kelly Hale, General Manager and Board Secretary. Director Robert McLeod had an excused absence. Also sitting at the table was Mindy Maxwell, Administrative Assistant to GM. Pastor Robert Benke of the Faith Lutheran Church began the meeting with a prayer.
Unfortunately, circumstances led to the delay of February for January financial report;
The controller promises to provide report next week.
At the February 21 Board Meeting, Jama Lopez, Hot Springs Village Controller, reported that the Accounting Department “has been extremely busy the past few months, especially the past eight weeks, as we move from 2023 to 2024. Along with getting ready for our audit and the new software conversion, we have annual renewals and some challenging weather Mother Nature threw at us just to see if we are steady when times get tough. My department is steady, and they continue to work extremely hard.”
“It is my pleasure to inform you that the auditors were here last week with an audit team of four, plus a partner. They have completed approximately 90% of the audit fieldwork for 2023.”
“I apologized to Kelly regarding the January financials not being ready for presentation due to the above-mentioned projects. He was somewhat sympathetic with how much time Phillis and I were putting in at the office. I told him, ‘I was usually there by 6:00 and worked until 6:00 or 7:00 in the evening. Phyllis was usually there by 7:00 and worked until 7:00 or 8:00 in the evening.’”
“Kelly thought for a brief second, then he asked, ‘What are you two doing with the other twelve hours of the day?’”
“I think he was joking.”
“It is my intention to have the January financials completed by the end of next week, just in time to start closing out February and moving us into March. We’re taking extra time to validate the numbers from both systems. Thank you for your patience and understanding.”
Housekeeping of Rules and Regulations and Policy Guide
Under the New Business category, Board Vice Chair Gary Belair and Board Member Mark Quinton discussed changes in Rules and Regulations and Policy Guide. These changes included housekeeping items to increase clarity and sentence flow.
- Commercial Rules and Regulations,
- Belair said that in 2022, the Board approved the formation of an ad hoc Rules and Regulation Committee to evaluate the Village Rules and Regulations. The committee met for months and turned over its suggested changes to the Board of Directors. The Board has continued to meet to discuss proposed changes to the rules. Recently, the Board has decided among all the alternatives and compiled the Commercial Rules and Regulations, separate from the Home Owners’ Rules and Regulations. The Board will vote on these changes at the Wednesday, March 20, 2024, Board Meeting.
- Board Member Larry Siener said the Board instituted updated Rules and Regulations last fall. This document is a living document subject to change as needed.
- Update to the Policy Guide, Chapter 5, Article 1.
- Belair said the true role of the Board of Directors is Policy and Governance. Over the past few months, there has been an attempt to make the Rules and Regulations and Policy more understandable. The Policy Guide has been adjusted over the years. Due to employee structure changes, the Policy Guide needs to reflect these changes. This change involves replacing the New Urbanism term, “Placemaking and Development,” with “Public Services Department.” This motion passed unanimously.
- HSV POA Policy Guide Chapter 1, Article 5, Section 2 (I) This change deals with the new property owner buy-in fee exceptions. If a current HSV property owner purchases an additional property, the buy-in fee is waived if he is deemed a property owner in good standing. The buy-in fee is also waived if the new owner was a property owner in the past year. The new owner must have the same tax ID to qualify to waive the buy-in fee. This motion passed unanimously.
- Quinton discussed changes to Residential Rules and Regulations. This motion was unanimously passed.
Board Member Comments
Bruce Caverly
Bruce Caverly, a Board Member, said he attended the Tri-Lakes Metroplan meeting last week. Judge Mahoney said that we have two or three bridges in the area that require work that will change the egress and ingress for the Village. “One is Glazy Peau Gate, which is a single-lane bridge, and two others are on Mill Creek…Those bids are to be let out in March and started, hopefully, in June.”
Larry Siener
Board Member Larry Siener said, “For those of you keeping score at home, we spent $1.35 M of your money this morning, and what Ken [presented] is another $1.8 M coming next month. So, if you are wondering where your assessment dollars are going, if you wonder whether or not the commitment to applying that money to the infrastructure and keeping this place operating and operational is going, remember those two pieces of data. Between those two, we are spending over $3 M of assessment dollars in the next couple of months. For your future.”
Gary Belair
Board Vice Chair Gary Belair said his comment is not a smiley face. “I’ve heard several things lately from homeowners who feel so entitled that they [think] they can just submit something to the Architectural Control Committee and get it automatically approved. That is not what this place is organized for. Go back to the days you drove into the Village – the first days you drove into the Village. You either came off Highway 7 or Highway 5. Ask yourself, ‘How far did you drive before you determined this place is different?’ It is clean. Homes are clean, and there are no obstructions in the front yard and stuff like that.
“Now, there is only one entitlement in the Declaration and Protective Covenants, and that says, “Golf carts .” Everything else basically has to be approved by the Architectural Control Committee and they are not a rubber stamp. They are not intended, let me say it this way, they are not intended to be a rubber stamp for anything somebody wants to bring into the Village.
“Which brings me to another point: I don’t understand anybody buying in the Village and then thinking they want to turn it into a barnyard or something like that! With that, thank you, Ma’am,” Belair exclaimed.
Joanie Corry
Corry said that the Village Voice Candidate Forum was on Monday.
“On Friday, February 23, the third-party service, the Inspectors of Election, called TIE, will send out the ballots, the GM letter, the candidates’ resumes and return envelopes to all Association Members in good standing as of February 2.”
Friday, March 27, at 4:00 p.m. CST is the deadline for all mailed ballots to be returned to the third-party service. This also includes online votes.
Friday, March 29, is election day, and TIE will prepare an official certification report and provide the election results to the Board Chair and designated HSVPOA representative. The Board Chair will contact the Board Members and those who ran in the election.
The General Manager will be responsible for emailing a press release.
Corry urged everyone to vote. “It is for your future.”
Featured image: HSVPOA Board Meeting – February 21, 2024
Click here to read an important report from GM Kelly Hale.
Click here to read HSV Police Department – 1st Private Arkansas entity to receive FBI ORI.
Click here to read the Governmental Affairs Committee semi-annual report.
Click here to read “Hot Springs Village develops mobile app for new website.”
Click here to read “HSV Director Ken Unger discussed replacing 2 failing water mains.”
Click here to read “Matt Broom requests crucial, unexpected road work on DeSoto.”
Click here to read “Matt Broom requests crucial, unexpected road work on DeSoto.”
Click here to read Ken Unger – Contracts for sewer system upgrade design.”
Click here to read “HSVPOA moves toward self-execution of projects.”
Click here to read “Property Owner talks rental registration requirements.”
By Cheryl Dowden
Click here to contact the HSV Gazette.
Click here to visit the Explore the Village website.
