“Spring is here and we are open for business,” exclaimed Terry Wiley, Director of Hot Springs Village POA Parks and Recreation (P & R).
Wiley said that the department has a lot going on. The P & R activities have run the gamut this past month from an Easter Egg Hunt to performances at the Woodlands and a 1970’s/1980s tennis tournament, just to list a few.
The Balboa Spillway Bridge project is complete. Wiley enthused, “It looks amazing!”
A new sound system is being installed in the Coronado Community Center. Also, a new movie projector has been installed along with new lights at the Woodlands.
The Trails Committee is working on the repair of benches.
The mulch landscaping at the Woodlands has been replaced with river rock, saving money in the long run.
Committee Member Comments
Committee Vice-chair, Serena Gonzales, thanked the staff for cleaning the Village green where croquet is played.
Committee Member, Calvin Doody, reported that he has been assisting with the work on the bridge at the Cooper Reserve. Children’s Summer Camp coordination has begun and Doody will assist with some of the water activities.
Committee Secretary, Maureen Morgan, made her bi-monthly visit to the HSV library. The library plans to have a table at the 2020 Audubon Festival of Wings Event. Click here to read more about the Festival of Wings. The library will do a storytime event in July. The HSV library is coordinating with the Saline County Library on a crossword puzzle competition. The library trivia night was a success. Stay tuned for the date for the upcoming library trivia event.
Committee Secretary, Maureen Morgan, plans to be an art and entertainment liaison from the P & R Committee to the individuals who were on the now-disbanded Hot Springs Village Arts Council.
Morgan said that Terry Wiley is offering free Coronado Community Center rentals in rooms 1 and 2 at no charge for non-profits, community service organizations, and arts organizations only. Click here to read the details for the free room rental
Committee Member, Mark Quinton, said that the archery open house was a success. He thanked Wiley for installing the gravel at the archery range parking lot. Approximately 50 people attended the event.
Quinton suggested that members of the archery range should be issued a placard so they can be identified as having paid their amenity fees.
P & R Committee Has Open Committee Seat
Committee Chair, Deb Fuller, reminded everyone that there is still an open seat on the committee. The committee currently has only six members. Click here to obtain a standing committee application.
Fuller said they want “somebody who is truly dedicated, not to just one specific amenity, but to generate interest and activity around all of the Parks and Recreation amenities.” Fuller said they want somebody who is “willing to step in and roll their sleeves up and really do some of the heavy lifting.”
Sub-Committee Updates
2022/2023 Fees/7 year Operations and Maintenance Tables Review Sub-committee – This is done quarterly. The next topic the sub-committee tackles will be non-property owner resident (renter) amenity rates.
Annual Events Sub-committee – P & R decided last year they would begin having annual events in order to generate interest in the amenities.
- Get in the Game Challenge – Vice-chair, Serena Gonzales, said that for this event, posters were printed, a website was designed, and flyers were made. It has been advertised extensively in the Village Voice, in the Village Gazette, on HSV Inside Out, on KVRE radio station, on Nextdoor, and on Facebook. There have only been five people that signed up. Gonzales said that communication in the Village is difficult.
- The first prize Get in the Game winning team members will each receive an amenity bundle. The second prize for each team member is season tickets to the Woodlands. Third prize team members will each receive one ticket to a Woodland event.
- Morgan asked if the team concept was a problem with participation. The committee discussed reducing the team size requirement.
Yak Run – This fee-based event will be held on Saturday, September 17. This is a combination kayak and trail running event on Balboa Trail and Lake Balboa. A tee-shirt will be provided to the participants and first, second, and third prize winners will receive a medal. You will be given the option to participate in only one of the activities. Food trucks will be on site. More information is coming.
Cooper Ad-Hoc Land Evaluation Committee Update by Mark Quinton
Quinton said, “One thing to make clear to the Rec Committee is that there is no land that the ad hoc committee is looking at that affects the Parks and Recreation Department. Trails – yes. Gates – yes. Water towers – yes.” Quinton said the ad hoc committee will have a Powerpoint document to present at the next ad hoc meeting (May 12) which shows all the properties the committee is concerned about.
Urban Deer Hunt
Next year the POA has tentative plans to handle the orientation and tree stand safety training for 2023/2024 Hot Springs Village Urban Deer Hunt in-house. General Manager, Kelly Hale, is onboard with this thought, as is Todd Noles, Common Property, Forest, and Wildlife Manager. Doing this will be financially advantageous to the POA in the amount of approximately $15,000 to $20,000 a year. This is still in the planning stages and has not been definitely decided yet.
Balboa Beach Swim Platform
In the POG – Hot Springs Village Property Owners’ Facebook Group, a question was asked about the Balboa Beach Swim Platform. The platform was previously removed from Lake Balboa. There was interest and support from the group members to finance and take on the building of a new swim platform for Balboa Beach. Because of this POG Facebook discussion, the committee agreed to address the issue at its May 9 meeting.
Wiley said that due to previous COVID concerns, the Balboa Beach Swim Platform was repurposed as a kayak launch at Waypoint. Additionally, he said that when the platform was located at Balboa Beach there were children throwing other children off of the platform and this created a safety issue. There were no lifeguards monitoring the activity and some of the children did not have parental supervision. “In my opinion, this is dangerous,” explained Wiley. Previously a child drowned at this location.
Committee Vice-chair, Serena Gonzales, said, “The problem with the swim platform is the problem with the parents who are not supervising their children appropriately.”
Wiley said that if members and/or organizations wish to donate materials and their time to build a platform it may be possible to reinstate the platform at Balboa Beach.
For individuals or groups interested in seeing this project come to fruition, a detailed proposal and building plans will need to be submitted to Wiley. This proposal should include the names of those who are willing to help and plans for the fundraising. Wiley said he would then talk to General Manager, Kelly Hale, about the project. Risk Management would need to weigh in as well as talk with the insurance company. Next, the idea would be brought to the Board of Directors, and also the Architectural Control Committee (ACC) would need to approve the plans. Volunteers would need to sign a waiver of liability.
Recreation Line (Punch) Card
Board Director, Pam Avila, discussed using line (punch) cards in order to promote the use of the recreation facilities. She said this is now in the works.
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Cheryl Dowden, Publisher
hsvgazette@gmail.com
