Charles Brown, HSVPOA Director of Compliance and Contract Management, Shares Good News; Ad Hoc Committee Narrows Down Property of Interest to the POA
A Little Background
In a shocking announcement, on February 10, 2020, Hot Springs Village Developer, Cooper Communities, Incorporated (CCI) announced that its reserve properties in HSV were for sale. Jody Latham, President of both Cooper Land Development Inc. and Cooper Homes said in a committee meeting that this land has always been for sale. Click here to read the CCI Press Release and click here to read a subsequent article where Ms. Latham talks about this.
Because the CCI reserve properties were being sold, the POA Board of Directors, under the leadership of Chair, Joanie Corry, eventually formed an Ad Hoc Cooper Land Evaluation Committee to look into this issue and determine what properties are necessary or of value for the POA to own.
Brown Provides Committee With Insights About the Status of Cooper Communities, Incorporated (CCI) Property
At the May 12 Ad Hoc Cooper Land Evaluation Committee Meeting, Charles Brown shared that Jody Latham, President of both Cooper Land Development Inc. and Cooper Homes conveyed to him that CCI is looking at deeding to the POA all of the infrastructure located on CCI reserve property. This will occur in one fell swoop once the committee finishes analyzing everything. This means they will also deed access to the property the infrastructure sits on.
Committee Vice-Chair Rowe said that hopefully, this would also cover the Coronado golf cart trailer parking. Committee Chair, Jeff Lofgren, said this is definitely a question we need to ask when talking to CCI next week.
Lofgren asked about trails. Brown said his perception of trails is that we should be looking for a way to reroute the trails that are located on CCI reserve property.
Rowe said the biggest trail concern is Cedar Creek and Magellan Beaver Dam. We will not be able to reroute those.
Regarding the road that leads to the Water Treatment Plant, Brown feels that since this road leads to infrastructure, CCI will be willing to deed that over to the POA. He said this specific piece of property was not discussed with CCI.
Lofgren, inquired about the trail that runs on the Los Lagos property. “Is there an arrangement between the POA and that company for that trail?”
Brown said there is a long-standing agreement that talks about the maintenance of the trail. That is the only agreement Brown knows of.
Brown said that previously there was some concern about the Goosepond Gate. (This is the gate on DeSoto that the contractors use.) The Goosepond Gate is located on the right-of-way so this property is no longer a concern.
Information on CCI Properties of Interest
As CCI has already agreed to give us the property surrounding the water tanks and also access to the tanks, these properties are no longer of concern.
As the ad hoc committee continues to work diligently, compiling information about each CCI reserve property for sale, they have narrowed down the properties that are of interest to the HSVPOA. The ad hoc committee has identified and listed the following properties, which should be discussed with CCI.
West Gate
This CCI reserve property is 15 acres and includes a building for a business and a parking lot in addition to the inbound and outbound lanes and the guard shack. Public Works says there is a need to expand the west gate entrance and exit lanes. Lofgren said, “We need to make sure that in this discussion we have enough right-of-way. We need some advice from the Public Works folks on what is their view on how much space we really need there.”
Danville Gate
This gate sits on a large CCI reserve parcel. We don’t really need the whole parcel. Lofgren said that closing the gate is an option if we were to lose it.
Lake Lago Dam
Lake Lago is a water source for the Village. This reserve property is a big parcel that encompasses some of the dam spillway area. Ad hoc committee member, Max Billingsley, said there is a 200-foot right-of-way around the lake. Lofgren said there was, except in the reserve property area. Rowe asked if we should ask CCI to continue the 200-foot right-of-way buffer around the water source.
Coronado Golf Cart Trailer Parking
There is no other good option for parking golf cart trailers at the Coronado Golf Course.
DeSoto Golf Course Cart Path
There is an option to move this cart path.
Hernando Trail
This trail is movable.
Cedar Creek Trail
This 78-acre parcel is the biggest of all the CCI reserve parcels and has the Cedar Creek Trail located on the property. The trail is on only 25 acres of this parcel. Part of the property is in a FEMA flood plain. Paul Barnard of the Trails Committee put together a PowerPoint slide show showing why the Cedar Creek Trail is such a special place for Villagers. Many call the Cedar Creek Trail the premium trail in the Village and the trail most accessible for use by the disabled and elderly.
Committee Member Mark Quinton said, “They can’t build on it. From a real estate perspective, wouldn’t it enhance the value of the property if they subdivided it and the trail was kept up by the POA?”
The POA has an area near there where they store maintenance and garbage collection vehicles. Committee Member, Max Billingsley said that Manager Todd Noles told him there are some real issues there because the POA is using a lot of CCI-owned land for parking and there is no room for expansion. Billingsley said this needs to be evaluated. Lofgren said they need to reach out to Public Works to see if this is something that needs to be included in the discussion with CCI.
Multi-Purpose Trail
This trail is behind DeSoto Golf Course. Rowe said it would not be possible to reroute this trail.
Waypoint Trail
This trail is partially located on CCI reserve property behind El Jimador which is zoned commercial. The property is landlocked (private land surrounds the property and a sewer system runs across the parcel.
Cedar Creek Beaver Dam Complex
These parcels are located below the Balboa Dam area. “The parcels near the Waste Water Treatment plant matter to us,” said Lofgren. “There is also the trail and the water treatment plant right-of-ways through those parcels.” Most of these items are in a flood zone.
Possible Points to Make or Questions to Ask CCI
The ad hoc committee will meet with CCI in a closed Zoom meeting on Tuesday, May 17. The committee has formulated some questions to ask. Some of these questions are:
What easements will you be willing to grant?
Would it be possible to trade properties with CCI?
Are there any parcels that are in discussion for possible sale?
The ad hoc committee also said that they should point out that there are liabilities associated with the land surrounding the wastewater treatment plant because of potential spillage. Lofgren said that possibly CCI may want to rid itself of this liability.
Legal Questions
The committee will develop some legal questions to send to the Board to ask the attorneys.
The next public Ad Hoc Cooper Land Evaluation Committee meeting is scheduled for Thursday, May 26, 2022, at 1:00 PM. The location is to be determined.
Cheryl Dowden, Publisher
hsvgazette@gmail.com
Sounds like a work in progress. Thanks to all who are gathering the data. I had erroneously assumed that all these issues had been worked through when Cooper departed about a decade ago. I am speechless that this matter has continued unresolved all this time.
Thank you for this valuable information. It appears there are negotiations and work to be done.
We frequently use the Danville gate on route to Hot Springs and it would be a major inconvenience if it was no longer available.