A Frank Talk with Charlie Brown, HSVPOA Director of Compliance & Contract Management

In the article titled “Another Day in the Neighborhood – HSV Compliance,” it was stated, “the Compliance Department is tasked with code enforcement which is all about protecting property values and quality of life in the Village.”

Charlie Brown, HSVPOA Director of Compliance & Contract Management, said, “everybody knows how we help protect the property values, and that is enforcing our Protective Covenants, General Rules and Regulations, and other governing documents.”

“We protect member’s investments, in the sense that is deed protection – value protection,” added Brown

“We also monitor and patrol amenities to make sure that nonmembers are not using members’ amenities such as trails or fishing in our lakes,” explained Brown.

“We routinely confiscate jug lines and trout lines and investigate to try to determine who they belong to. We are doing things other than just telling someone to mow their lawn,” stated Brown.

Brown said they have a part-time, seasonal lake patrol position that runs from Memorial Day to Labor Day. “In 2023, we will have a dedicated lake patrol position.”

HSV Director Shares Compliance Insight
Charlie Brown, HSVPOA Director of Compliance & Contract Management

Divisions in Brown’s Department

The director said, “we consist of several different divisions:

  1. Compliance – This includes compliance with privately owned properties and also beach and lake patrol). With only two full-time compliance officers, almost 800 cases have been initiated this year. The compliance investigators respond to complaints in addition to self-observation of violations.
  2. Animal Control – 2022 Year-to-date, there have been 683 animal control cases, which mostly consist of dog bites, nuisance barking, and stray dogs. There is no leash law for cats, but the department does respond to nuisance cat reports.
  3. Development – This is an oversight on the home builders to make sure everything they do is up to community standards. HSVPOA building inspectors are licensed by the state of Arkansas. There is a new position in the department for a dedicated construction site inspector. “This employee focuses on making sure the job site standards are met, along with erosion control measures. Any violations of POA standards are subject to monetary fines. Continued violations may result in more serious measures, such as stop-work orders. The POA currently has several stop-work orders in place and reserves the right to refuse the issuance of building permits. Year-to-date, there are 91 new homes under construction, with 104 new homes completed.
  4. Permitting and Inspections – 2022 Year to date, there have been 3312 inspections completed and 1809 small permits issued.
  5. Oversight of long-term contracts. “We manage the contracts for nine (9) restaurants, a marina, and many other things.

Brown stated, “one of the things we are working on right now is, we’re using the court system to remedy some abandoned property issues that we have. The first one we presented to the legal system should be completed, foreclosed, and sold within the next 60 days. The process we are using is called ‘Judicial Foreclosure.'”

Another issue that has been raised over the years is the problem of dead/diseased trees on a neighbor’s unimproved lot and what to do about this. While the unimproved lots in Hot Springs Village are usually not kept in a manicured state, lot owners are expected to remove trees that may pose a danger to neighbors.

Brown said that if someone calls and says, ‘there is a tree next to me that is threatening my home’, we will check out the complaint to see if the tree is dead, diseased, or dying and if there is the possibility of the tree posing a danger to a neighbor’s person or property. The homeowner is encouraged to go to the county website to determine who owns the lot and then attempt contact with the unimproved lot owner. If that fails, then the POA will attempt contact if it has been determined there is a threat, but this issue ideally should be dealt with between the two property owners.

Below is the recent PowerPoint presentation that Brown recently gave at an HSVPOA Board Meeting on Wednesday, October 19, 2022.

Click here to read “Another Day in the Neighborhood – HSV Compliance.

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By Cheryl Dowden