The Hot Springs Village Parks and Recreation Committee met on June 13, 2022, at 3:00 PM at the Coronado Community Center.
The committee members in attendance: Debra Fuller; Serena Gonzales on speaker, Calvin Doody, Mark Quinton, Maureen Morgan, and Evan Hanson.
Staff in attendance: Terry Wiley, Director of Parks and Recreation; Tamara Orosco, Parks and Recreation Admin to Terry Wiley; Kelly Hale, General Manager
Board Director in attendance: Pam Avila
Visitors: Janet Rowe, Melinda Alvord, Maxine Klein
Additional Press: Lewis Delavan, Hot Springs Village Voice
Election of Officers
The committee elected new officers. The Chair position was again filled by Deb Fuller. Mark Quinton will sit in the Vice-chair position. Maureen Morgan will serve as Secretary again.
Chair Comments – Deb Fuller
The purpose of this committee is to work with the Parks and Recreation staff, to drive interest in amenities, to bring feedback from the community to the group, and make recommendations. Fuller said, “We are not the police, we do not decide, but partner with the POA and we roll up our sleeves and we get busy.” Fuller said the members have done a great job partnering with her and the staff.
Board Comments – Pam Avila
Board Director, Pam Avila, said that “overall the board is seeing a calmness in the Village that wasn’t here a year ago. The best reflection for us, a year ago we were getting 15 to 20 emails a day from residents that were unhappy or had questions or didn’t understand something. If we get five a week now, it is amazing. At first, we thought our email was broken…We decided it is a great reflection on how well things are going overall in the Village thanks to Kelly, staff, and other things. We are really pleased about that and we hope we can all continue to work together to keep it a happy place.” The Board will work with Kelly, and staff on committees to make them more effective and of more value.
Staff Comments – Terry Wiley
Stars and Stripes Festival
Terry Wiley, Director of Parks and Recreation said they have been working a lot of hours on the Stars and Stripes Festival. Wiley said they need volunteers to help after the firework show. The show starts at 9:15 and concludes at 9:45 and staff will need assistance with breaking down the stage and tables and loading everything on the truck. Terry is asking the Citizens Police Patrol to help with the shuttles.
Bruce Borton is the new Facility and Event Representative Manager. His job duties include rentals of the Coronado Center and the outdoor recreational rentals such as the shelters and pavilions. Wiley is still handling the events at the Woodlands.
Outdoor Pool
Wiley said they got a lot of heat about not having adult time last year at the outdoor pool. The outdoor pool adult time is in addition to the regular schedule. Wiley stated, “The bad news is everybody wants something and nobody uses it. We average less than three people during the outdoor pool adult time. Wiley said he is giving it another week or two and if weak attendance during the adult time doesn’t change, the adult time will be removed from the schedule.
Adult swim times (ages 21 and over) at the Outdoor Pool are Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM, and Thursdays, 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM.
Punch Cards
Avila said she previously asked about a special punch card that could be placed in the short-term rentals and wanted to know the status of this. This card is for visitors to use to try out the amenities. Wiley said he met with Paul Sage and Kevin Sexton to develop this and it is at the printer.
Wiley says this pass gives access to six different amenities. The punch card costs $50 and this gives the visitor five amenity visits.
Staff Comments – Kelly Hale
Hale said that we had a 100-plus-year storm last Tuesday. In some areas, we received 12 inches of rain in some areas. There was a lot of destruction to bunkers and some of the trails. At Isabella Golf Course, they pulled down eight trees last weekend. Other than that, we are in reasonable shape.
Candidate Screening
The committee has decided to continue searching for a candidate to fill the vacated seat on the committee bringing the total member count to seven.
Get in the Game
Serena Gonzales said only one team registered to participate in the Get in the Game Challenge. The purpose of Get in the Game was to get people engaged and participating in activities…it seems like it is not going to work out. “We probably need to regroup and try it again next year or try to do something totally different.
Fuller asked if they should nix the Get in the Game for this year and then revisit the idea next spring. It was marketed fairly well. What can we do differently next time?
Wiley said people generally like one or two things and they may not be interested in trying other things.
Yak Run
Yak/Run -This is a kayaking and running event scheduled on September 17, 2022. Participants can do both or only one. Bryan Lambert of Advantage title is a gold sponsor and Restoration Home Services is a bronze sponsor.
Cooper Ad-Hoc Land Evaluation Committee Update – Mark Quinton
Mark Quinton said, “We are very close to wrapping this up. We have one more meeting with Cooper next Monday.”
Urban Deer Hunt Update – Mark Quinton
The Urban Deer Hunt is not managed by the Parks and Recreation Department. It is managed by the Common Property, Forestry, and Wildlife (CPFW} Department, but Quinton is working with the CPFW Department to help with the hunt. Quinton said this year’s Urban Deer Hunt Field Day is July 15 (approximately). AR Bowhunters Association is running the qualifications this year.
The archery people are launching an archery club. Click here for information on the new archery club.
New Business
A Kayak Tryout Event at Waypoint is being considered.
Next Parks and Recreation Meeting
The Parks and Recreation Committee is scheduled to meet on July 11, 2022, at 3:00 PM at the Coronado Community Center.
