Pam Avila, Hot Springs Village POA Communications/Growth Specialist, has agreed to answer some tornado-related questions from Villagers on topics such as storm shelters, how residents can help, disaster relief funds, solicitors after the tornado, and tornado sirens.
Resident: For future reference, are any public or private buildings in the Village tornado-safe rated for taking shelter, like the Coronado Center, Woodlands, or local churches? Thanks for the information.
Pam: At this time, there are no public shelters in the Village….
Resident: What can individual residents do to help the Village recover from the tornado?
Pam: Right now, the POA is focused on assessing damage and beginning the early phases of repair and recovery. There may be churches who have plans for being donation centers but we haven’t seen that yet. So many HSV residents are incredibly generous and giving, so please watch for ways that you can help!
Resident: Does the POA have a disaster relief fund for individuals to donate?
Pam: This is a wonderful, generous idea, but at this point in time, the POA is still focused on assessing damage and working to get emergency funding from various government agencies. Hopefully, some of the service organizations or churches will step up and create a relief fund of some sort for the victims.
Resident: I would like to know the true info on letting in solicitors, i.e. contractors, etc. Posts have been made that disparage the administration about opening our gates, which is against our rules. If true, what was the rationale? Is there anything on this to set the record straight?
Pam: Personally, I’m appalled that someone wouldn’t be able to figure out that in the immediate aftermath of a disaster like we’ve experienced, “business as usual” just isn’t reasonable or possible. In our case, we’ve had literally hundreds of vehicles from the utility companies, fire departments, road department, and willing volunteer organizations coming into the Village – at the same time that the POA staff has been busy going street to street assessing damage and seeing if anyone was injured or needed help, so they weren’t available to man gates that had to be left open for the workers. Thanks!
Resident: Why doesn’t HSV have tornado sirens and what are the workarounds?
Pam: I didn’t live in the Village when the previous tornado struck, so this is only “hearsay”…. After that tornado, FEMA offered to pay for sirens for the Village. Residents were very vocal (“not in my neighborhood”) about not having sirens anywhere near them. The end result was no sirens, and last Thursday, we had no sirens to warn us of the coming tornado!
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Click here to submit “Ask Pam” questions or contact the HSV Gazette.
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Click here to visit the Explore the Village website.
Comment from Judy Gordon (Posted by Cheryl) “I would certainly vote for warning sirens in the Village. Having them would enhance the security we all value. And it might make the difference between life and death.”
My opinion is the damage done by the storm doesn’t justify open gate. Every group that came in to help should be documented.
No Sirens!!! Shame on us (i.e. us Villagers). Let’s get FEMA to put them in right away. Paint them the same color as the trees if you have to but get them in!
I agree, It is paramount to the security of all residents of HSV that we have tornado warnings. This is the 2nd tornado that has struck HSV since we moved here in 2002. We are fortunate that nobody was killed or seriously injured. The next time, we may not be so fortunate!
This is not my comment but rather something that was sent to me. “I would like to make a statement, not a question. I am blessed to live in the Village, and the community’s overall response has been absolutely amazing. Given the situation, the speed at which all the roads were made passable is absolutely astounding. The surrounding communities came to us without regard for their own safety to ensure ours. Of course, the gates had to remain open for this to occur timely and for the safety and access of the Villagers as well. Great job to you all. How about if, just maybe, we are more grateful and less critical of those trying to help us?”
Re: Pam Avila’s answer that she is appalled at any village resident who dares question the policy of open, unsupervised gates I would say that I for one, along with others, don’t appreciate her emotional dismissal of our concerns. She, as part of the HSV management team, is responsible for implementing policies which promote the safety and security of the community. Leaving gates open unsupervised hardly achieves that goal. Suggestion: if the POA doesn’t have adequate resources to staff the open gates during emergencies then maybe they should recruit and train citizen volunteers to assist in such times. Also, I would be interested to know her answer to a prospective home buyer questioning the open gate policies.