The Hot Springs Village Common Property, Forestry, and Wildlife Committee (CPFWC) met on June 6, 2022, at 1:30 at the Police Training Center. Some of the subjects discussed were forestry management, the importance of committees, planning for the Urban Deer Hunt, illegal docks on Lake DeSoto common property, an update on the progress of the Ad Hoc Cooper Land Evaluation Committee, and geese issues. Details on these items and more are in the following reports.
Click here to read, “Wild Goose Chase in Hot Springs Village.”
Click here to read guest speaker, Jeff Berry’s presentation regarding Forestry Management. Berry is a Manager at Green Bay Packaging (GBP) Timber Company.
Committee Will Provide Extra Help for Urban Deer Hunt
Chair of the CPFWC, Scott McCord, addressed the committee with a plan to take a load off of Manager Todd Noles. Due to the resignation of Brad Meredith, the previous lakes manager, Noles has been assigned that responsibility in addition to his other role as Common Property, Forestry, and Wildlife Manager.
McCord said, “The primary thing I have to comment about today is the change in Todd’s roles – his additional responsibility in taking on the oversight of the lakes. We have a great opportunity as a committee to support Todd – to help him be successful in that new capacity of managing both common property, forest, and wildlife and lakes.”
“I mean, the case in point, we met the other morning for breakfast – Tom [Vice-chair of CPFWC Tom Impellizzeri}, Todd and I – and we talked about the very subject and said ‘we stand ready to help you. How about we take over the Urban Deer Hunt?'”
It was decided that the CPFWC would take the lead in managing the Urban Deer Hunt, working closely with Noles and other staff. There are numerous duties the committee can do to help out with the Urban Deer Hunt Orientation, which will be on July 23. McCord encouraged all of the committee members to stand ready to help out when called on.
Noles said at the next meeting the CPFWC needs to be ready to be assigned Urban Deer Hunt Orientation duties.
The Urban Deer Hunt begins on September 1 and will be extended this year by one month with an end date of February 28, 2023. This year we will have a record number of hunters. “The purpose of the Urban Deer Hunt is to take out deer and this means does and bucks, alike. Some of the hunters only like to shoot a buck because they want a rack for a trophy.
Committees are Important to the Success of the Village
Public Services Director, Ken Unger, said, “The involvement and desire of the committees to help was one of the reasons for my decision to do what I did [turning the Lakes Department over to Noles…”I really appreciate it. I think our success as a community rests more and more on what you [the committee members] bring to the table. I am very appreciative of it. I think Todd will be appreciative of it and I think the Village will be appreciative of your experiences and you bringing your energies to the table,” said Unger.
Unger would like to see the Lakes Committee and CPFWC work together on projects where there may be commonality and the opportunity to assist each other.
Committee Rumor or Fact?
CPFWC Secretary, Anne Shears, said, “There was a rumor that the two committees [Lakes and CPFW] were going to be combined. Is this just a rumor because we are both science-based committees – the only two in the Village? But they are different disciplines. And every once in a while our interests will touch, but they are exercising a different science than we are and we don’t want to dilute the expertise in any one committee.”
The final decision as to whether the two committees will be combined would be under the purview of the HSVPOA Board of Directors.
Update on Ad Hoc Cooper Land Evaluation Committee
Max Billingsley is the CPFWC’s representative on the Ad Hoc Cooper Land Evaluation Committee. He said the ad hoc committee started off by evaluating 60 to 80 parcels of CCI-owned land and eliminated most of the properties as not being important to the POA. “We have no burning need to buy them,” stated Billingsley.
Billingsley said that the report that came back from the meeting with CCI was very promising. “Their intent is to quit claim a lot of parcels [those parcels containing infrastructure] to us,” explained Billingsley.
“Cedar Creek Trail is in jeopardy,” stated Billingsley.
Committee Member, Michael Beaver, asked, “Is there any possibility of CCI splintering off the Cedar Creek Trail?”
Janet Rowe, Vice-chair of the ad hoc committee, said, “Cooper is dead set on keeping the whole parcel together on Cedar Creek Trail.”
Rowe said, “CCI is aware that a FEMA flood plane encompasses the whole trail. They don’t care. They believe that a developer will see the trail as a selling point for the property.
Habitat for Fish
Noles said that our lakes look nice and clean because most people want their shorelines sprayed but this kills the habitat for the fish. To compensate for this, trees are placed in the lakes (cedars are the best). These trees provide the habitat for fish nurseries.
Vice-chair, Tom Impellizzeri said, “A few years ago, Fish and Game came out here and they worked with Brad [Meredith] on the lakes and they said it doesn’t do a lot of good to stock fish in the water if you don’t have the feed for them. He said the best thing we can do is build a habitat up and make sure there is plenty of nurseries for the bait fish that we put in the lake…We’ve got a lot of skinny fish in our lakes which gave Fish and Game the indication there wasn’t enough feed. Cedar trees are ideal.”
Illegal Docks on Lake DeSoto
Janet Rowe, Chair of the Architectural Control Committee, informed the CPFWC that it has been discovered that there are three illegal docks on common property on Lake DeSoto.
CPFWC Secretary, Anne Shears, said, “We need to know the addresses. All of those structures need to go through you before they get built. So that will be under your rules and Compliance.”
Rowe said, “There are no permits for them.”
Cheryl Dowden, Publisher
hsvgazette@gmail.com
