ACTIONS AND ACTIVITIES UPDATE – MARCH 17, 2024
In the words of General Manager Kelly Hale
“The tornado was three to four times worse than the one that hit the Village in the early 2000s. It moved like a yo-yo, bouncing up and down—hitting some homes, bouncing over others, and then dropping down to hit more homes, taking out trees and power lines in its wake.”
From the desk of Hot Springs Village POA Public Services Director Ken Unger – community briefing
Over the last several days, the POA and associated volunteers have been aggressively working to open all roads to the homes of residents trapped by Thursday night’s tornado. Since that time, Saline County has issued a disaster proclamation for the Village. We expect Garland County to do the same early this week. These proclamations opened the Village to emergency support from the counties for the ongoing efforts.
The next step is determining what happens at the state and federal levels. Our GM has been aggressively pursuing our state and federal representatives to identify what if any, aid we may qualify for based on the severity of the damage. That damage assessment is ongoing. Unfortunately, we will not have those answers very quickly.
In the interim residents are encouraged to engage their home insurers to begin any process for restoration and cleanup on their individual homes. In addition, the POA has been approached by several volunteer organizations, such as Gideon Rescue and Christian Aid Ministries, and agreed to allow them to enter the Village this coming week to support residents in the affected areas free of charge. Whether to utilize these charitable organizations is solely the homeowner’s decision. The POA is not recommending their use or nonuse. In addition, other charitable organizations, such as the American Red Cross, have also begun their process of assessing possible support to homeowners and plan to reach out to offer assistance.
At this point, there are no concrete plans for the approach that are tied to cleaning up debris from the tornado. We ask for residents’ patience as we navigate through the maze of regulatory steps necessary to determine the best approach for the residents and the Village at large. Many of the decisions for the next steps will be determined by decisions made at the state and federal level.
Please don’t call the POA or Police Department with nonessential questions
Going forward, we ask for the continued cooperation of Village residents in refraining from calling the POA or HSVPD to ask for status updates or other nonessential questions. Thank you for your support.
Photography courtesy of Nick Genty
CONTACT INFORMATION FOR HSVPOA PUBLIC SERVICES DIRECTOR
Ken Unger
Director Public Services
Hot Springs Village
501-226-9609
Kunger@hsvpoa.org
Click here to read the March 17, 2024, E-blast from the HSVPOA.
Click here to access all Ask Ken and Ask Matt articles published in the HSV Gazette.
Click here to join a private Property Owners’ Facebook group.
Comment sent to me (Cheryl Dowden) to post: “I just want to say that all of the people involved in the post-tornado cleanup and repairs have done a FANTASTIC job! I am very impressed at how quickly trees have been removed and power has been restored! Those people who have complained about the emergency vehicles should be ASHAMED of themselves and maybe should consider moving to a place that would better suit them. God Bless our POA staff and ALL of those who have worked so hard to get the Village going again!!”