You will not want to miss this report as it contains many Parks and Recreation Department and Committee updates and a report about the March Board Meeting from Board Member Bruce Caverly.

HSVPOA Board Update to P and R Committee

HSVPOA Parks and Recreation Board Liaison Bruce Caverly updated the committee about the most recent activities at the February 15, 2023 Board Meeting. Caverly stated, “The last Board meeting was relatively short.”

Village Finances

Caverly said, “We reported that we had $20 M in the bank in five different funds. We have also put those funds into securities, and to date, for the first three months of this year, we’ve earned $56,000 in interest on the money we have in the bank, including our cash account.” Caverly said running the Village takes about $3 M a month. “When you say we have a lot of money…but it’s all committed. We’re looking at a $40 M wastewater and water program in the next five to ten years and that is where some of that money will go.”

Golf Department

Caverly said the golf department had mowers that were still operating, but the blades were bad. “Rather than buying all new equipment, they replaced blade segments. That saved us a fair amount of money.”

Damaged Trash Can Policy

Caverly explained that a man dumped his hot ashes from a fireplace or barbeque grill into one of the POA-owned trash carts, destroying this cart. Because of this incident, the Board passed a policy that if intentional damage is done to a trash cart, a $100 fee will be charged to the Property Owner.

Sanitary Sewer System Repair

Caverly shared that an Inflow and Infiltration repair on the sanitary sewer system is ongoing.

Grinder Pumps

Caverly said that years ago, if a grinder pump went out, the property owner had to pay about $800 for replacement. This rule was changed, and the POA pays for grinder pump replacements. The POA recently purchased 135 grinder pumps to be used for new construction and the replacement of old pumps.

Committee Member Questions Seeming Disparity in Sign Rules

P and R Committee member Calvin Doody said, “The subject matter of advertising on banners has been a touchy subject recently. I noticed driving in here that there are two banners up – one for “Stoops” [a play performed by the Village Players] and one for Kiwanas. I just wondered why those are allowed if the others are not.”

Director of Parks and Recreation, Terry Wiley, said, “We advertise the concerts [and other entertainment] at the Woodlands Auditorium and the Coronado Community Center.”

Doody said neither of these groups [Kiwanas and Village Players] is part of the POA. “You can’t let pickleball put banners up, but yet you let other groups put banners up. You make exceptions where you want to, I guess is the rule.”

Director Caverly said, “I know that advertising in the Village is not allowed.”

Wiley stated, “There is a difference between Southern Flooring having a sign at the pickleball courts and an event we have. It is not even the same thing.”

Wiley recommended that Doody ask the Compliance Department about this.

Caverly clarified, “That is commercial advertising versus event advertising.”

Work Related Injury Stats for P and R

Wiley said the Parks and Recreation Department had zero work-related injuries in 317 days and only two incidents since February 2022. “Pretty incredible for the kind of work that our folks do. I’m pretty proud of that,” enthused Wiley. There are approximately 70 positions in the P and R Department. Wiley said there is a bartending job opening.

P and R Budget

Wiley said that his division is heavily subsidized, but in January 2023, the department showed a profit of $3,319 versus January 2022, when there was a $65,069 loss. (See slide two in pdf below.) This increase in profits is due to the sale of season event tickets.

Grounds Maintenance

The P and R Director said adding riprap stone addresses many erosion issues. All the mulch in the planting beds is being eliminated and replaced with rock. Over the long haul, this will be a cost saver.

The Outdoor Recreation Division is sanding and repainting the grills at the parks.

There have been improvements at the dog park with new dog tunnels and signs.

Fitness Center

Wiley said the Fitness Center is making a concerted effort to promote the insurance programs. He said, “ninety percent of our members don’t pay. They get in free because of their health insurance.”

2,000 people visit the fitness center each week. Over 600 people take classes. “It is a busy place,” said Wiley.

Hot Topic – Hot Room at the fitness center. If you walk into that room, you can’t put your hand in front of you and see your hand. “Demo’ing [Demolition] of the room began last week,” stated Wiley. Remodeling this area is a two-part process. First, the Building Maintenance Division has to reconstruct the walls, etc., and then steps will be taken to work on the HVAC system. Wiley said it would cost $65,000 to repair the HVAC system and $550,000 to replace it.

Sport Complexes

Pickleball Courts Crack Repair – The cracks in the pickleball courts were repaired. The crew ran out of paint, which is on order.

Pickleball Windscreens – As the advertising contracts for the windscreens expire, they are being replaced with plain blue windscreens (no advertising).

Tennis Courts – Wiley said that two years ago, they priced tennis court repairs. At that time, the bid was $190,000. Based on inflation estimates, $210,000 was budgeted in 2023 for the tennis court repair. Wiley said, “This was not even close. I don’t know what we are going to do. We have had a lot of discussions…We will be hard-pressed to spend $300,000 on three practice tennis courts.”

Balboa Beach Playground

The Balboa Beach Playground dedication is on May 6. “It is starting to look really nice,” enthused Wiley.

Mini Golf Course

“We ordered the astroturf, which is better than we have right now. This will last 10 to 15 years,” stated Wiley. The total cost of the astroturf, including installation, is $13,000. Lloyds Flooring in Little Rock is the merchant being used. Wiley explained, “I wish I could get someone local, but every time I check with the local companies, the cost is almost double of other quotes.”

P and R Committee member Serena Gonzales has secured a welder to help with the mini golf project.

The walkway will be yellow. The edging on the top nine holes will be blue. The edging on the bottom nine holes will be purple.

Fundraising for Mini Golf – Chair Fuller shared that P and R Committee is working on a mini golf sponsorship drive. Boomers Rock is interested in helping.

Fuller said she has reached out to lady golfers looking for donations. If you want to donate to the project, send checks to Terry Wiley, with a notation on the check for mini golf. Groups can sponsor a hole for $1000.

Rubber Ducky Race -This event will be discussed at a future meeting.

A 50/50 raffle is a possible fundraising event to be discussed at a future meeting.

Fuller reached out to True Value for a donation of materials. She is waiting on a response. A similar letter was also sent to Benjamin Moore Paints.

A discussion was held on how to honor mini golf sponsors. A suggestion was made to have the sponsors’ names on scorecards rather than permanent fixtures.

Farmers Market

Farmers Market begins in May and will be held every Thursday at Grove Park. Watch for more details.

Children’s Spring Break Camp

The Children’s Spring Break Camp was canceled due to low signups.

Lake Cleanup Event

Calvin Doody said the Parks and Recreation Committee on April 22 sponsors a lake cleanup event. Doody said he pointed out to the Lakes Committee that they should participate in a lakes cleanup. Doody said while he did not receive any positive response, the Chair of the Lakes Committee, Steven FitzGerald, said he is the liaison between the two committees. Doody said the P and R Committee needs to discuss coordinating this event with Steve.

Archery

Mark Quinton said, “I have been back and forth on whether I want to open this up. Arkansas Fish and Game has a “school program.” This program allows the school to obtain Genesis Bows, arrows, and five smaller targets.” The cost of this program is $2,500. Providing this at the Archery Range is running through my head. The price of $2,500 is awesome! You could charge for using this equipment at archery open houses. This would be extremely successful, but there are two barriers.”

  1. “Who will run the classes?”
  2. “Where will we store the equipment and maintain it? Most archery clubs have a storage building on site to store equipment.”

Quinton said, “I am on first base with this. What an opportunity! Those bows are awesome. This is a great opportunity for the community. These bows are ideal.” Quenton suggested possibly storing the bows at Superintendent Todd Noles’s office.

Urban Deer Hunt

Quinton said everything is ready for the HSV Urban Deer Hunt except for one thing. Hunt qualification monitors must be certified, and a class will be held in April. Quinton designed the qualification monitor certification class. Everything else is ready for a dry run.

2024 April Eclipse

Fuller said, “we need to start thinking about Park and Recs event ideas for this event.” Wiley said the Parks and Recreation Committee would coordinate with the Trails Committee for a joint event.

RV spots at the Ouachita State Park are already sold out for the Eclipse Event.

Memorial Benches

Director Wiley said, “we are veering away from Memorial Benches because they deteriorate and are more maintenance than they are worth. We came up with the idea of etching memorial boulders, which we already have on POA property.” Boulders cost $800 to $1000, and our cost will be zero as they lie around. “We can sell these instead of benches; it is all profit. We are just going in our backyard and picking up rocks.” Money raised from this can be used to fund amenities.

Committee Members Leaving the Committee

The terms of Maureen Morgan, Debra Fuller, and Serena Gonzales will end after the May meeting.

Mark Quinton will no longer be on the P and R Committee as he is being installed as a Board Member in April. Fuller congratulated Quinton, saying, “Working with you has been a pleasure, and I can’t wait to see what you are going to do on the Board.”

John Shoesmith attended the meeting and may submit his committee member application.

Basketball Courts and Dog Park Poop Bags

After the meeting, I asked Director Wiley about the vandalized basketball courts and the dog park poop bags.

Wiley said the basketball courts were vandalized on two occasions by minors; the vandals have been asked to volunteer at the POA and pay for the new basketball equipment instead of formal charges being filed. The equipment will be replaced once the money is paid.

The POA was not refilling the dog park poop bags as often because someone was stealing them. The bags appear to have been refilled at the time of publication of this article.

Cover Image: P and R Director, Terry Wiley Updates Committee

Report by Cheryl Dowden