The Common Property, Forestry & Wildlife Committee (CPFWC) met on February 5, 2024, at 1:30 p.m. at the Coronado Community Center. The committee discussed the January storms, the Goose Egg Addling Program, the Urban Deer Hunt, two encroachment issues, and old permits.
HSV Committee Member faced close call with January 12 windstorm
David Harper, Superintendent of Lakes, Dams, Common Property, Forestry, and Wildlife, and CPFW Committee liaison, reported his take on the January storms to the committee.
Harper said, “As you know, we had a windstorm on Friday, January 12.” During the windstorm, one committee member experienced over 100 downed trees in a six-block area surrounding his home.” Harper said he did not know how the committee member’s house stood.
Barton Langford, Hot Springs Villager, and CPFWC member said he and his wife became aware of the tornado [microburst] when their automatic outdoor light came on at approximately 3:00 a.m. “We saw the tornado [microburst] spinning in our yard!”
“The next morning, we got up and couldn’t leave the house because hundreds of trees were in the way. If the tornado [microburst] hit 30 steps further east, I would not have a house or maybe even worse,” explained the committee member.
While his house was shaken, Langford said experts had examined his home, and no structural damage was found.
The silver lining of the event is that the fallen trees are salvageable for logging and being transported to market.
Windstorm was destructive in areas of Hot Springs Village
Harper said Balboa Golf Course sustained a lot of damage. Another committee member reported the storm severely damaged the Coronado Golf Course. “It took the trees down on Number Eight,” exclaimed Committee Vice Chair Scott McCord.
“I documented five pages of calls the first day, and we are still receiving phone calls,” shared Harper. His two phones were ringing off of the hook. Harper said he explained to the callers that they would be there, but it may take some time. “Most people were okay with that,” said Harper.
Harper had to stay on the job overnight for two nights to help take care of the trees. “We did sustain a lot of damage. The Balearic area is a mess,” said Harper. Powerlines were down.
Additionally, Harper said the storm blew the Coronado Boat House loose and tore off about half of the roof.
Harper said that by 1:00 p.m. that afternoon, the crews had reopened 99% of the roads. Harper estimated there were close to 500 or 600 downed trees.
“We have a logger who is salvaging the trees for market. I’ve got my four-man crew picking up treetops on the side of the roads and hauling them to the Terlingua Pit. This is going to take months to clean up,” emphasized Harper.
Harper stated that snowfall accumulated in leaning trees by Sunday night, January 14, causing more trees to topple. “Some of the roads we cleared on Friday had to be recleared on Sunday night and Monday morning.” He said they did not haul the trees away but pushed them off to the side of the roads.
Harper said if you have never run a chainsaw in these circumstances, you may not understand the difficulty and danger because the fallen trees are twisted amongst each other.
The Superintendent promised to report on the number of trees hauled at the next CPFW Committee meeting. Forester Langford said the POA would make thousands of dollars.
Coronado Boat Ramp Trail
This area will be cleaned up when time allows. Langford said, “If it were just a forest, we probably wouldn’t worry about it so much. But it is not just a forest it is a trail area.”
CPFW Committee Member Scott McCord on the Goose Addling Program
McCord said they are working with the Lakes Committee to identify geese nest locations. Villagers can report geese nests by email to hsvgoosenest@gmail.com with the identified nest location. Click here to read about the HSV Egg Addling Program.
McCord is compiling a list of goose nests but is soliciting help with the addling operation. McCord has a couple of helpers, but he is still recruiting individuals with boats.
McCord on the Urban Deer Hunt
One hundred fifteen deer were donated by HSV hunters to Hunters Feeding the Hungry at the end of December. McCord said this was 85 short of the goal. Ronnie Ritter of Hunters Feeding the Hungry said the total numbers are down this year. AR Game and Fish issued an order 12 hours before the season opened that the hunters needed to register so they would be legal. AR Game and Fish also had a computer “blow up,” During the computer downtime, hunters were not able to submit their numbers, so it is unknown how many deer were taken. McCord estimated 224 deer were taken from the Village. “Our goal is to keep up with the birthrate plus a little more so we can gain some ground on overpopulation.”
McCord said another deer survey by AR Game and Fish should occur. McCord also wants to conduct a hunters’ survey.
Board Member Mark Quinton reported there were 28 vehicle-deer accidents in 2023. In past years, vehicle-deer accidents were around 50 and as many as 80. McCord said he didn’t know if the deer population was down or if the reduced accidents were because the habits of the deer were changing.
CPFWC Vice Chair, Scott McCord discusses egg addling and urban deer hunt with the committee.
McCord on viability for program for handicapped hunters
McCord would like to explore the viability of having a designated hunting area for handicapped hunters. First, solicit applications from residents and then the program could be expanded to include hunters outside the HSV gates. “They will need to be sponsored hunts if people from outside the gates want to hunt. It may be a challenge to find sponsors,” said McCord. The use of blinds would most likely be necessary due to the difficulty of using a tree stand, and the sponsor would field dress the deer and perform other tasks. Quinton said there may be liability problems.
Committee Member Max Billingsley – survey report & recommendation on encroachment
There is disagreement about whether a rock garden and fence were encroaching on common property. Billingsley, a professional surveyor, and forester, examined the property.
According to Billingsley’s measurements, the bottom line is that an encroachment exists. The property owner does not own the rock garden. Also, part of a fence is located on common property. Both encroachments existed when the property was purchased, but a survey was waived. Billingsley says the rock garden, which was allegedly portrayed as being part of the property by a real estate company, should be maintained as it is, but the property owner needs to know that the rock garden is not on her property. Neither the rock garden nor the fence infringes on the drainage. Billingsley felt that regrading the area and removing the rock garden could cause problems with drainage. The fence and mulch in the rock garden area were installed with a POA permit.
McCord said this is a tough issue. “This is an issue, like we had before, where we said, look, there are a lot of past cases where something was done that is an encroachment on common property. When we find these things, we must restore that common property so it is not an extension of someone’s yard… We have direction from the POA that we have to correct those things; from a reasonableness standpoint, it is no big deal; it is not causing any problems. But, if we deviate and become inconsistent in approach, it will blow up in our faces.”
McCord said the committee needs guidance on making exceptions. Quinton said the committee does not have the right to make exceptions; only the Architectural Control Committee does.
Bruce Caverly, Board Member, and CPFWC Liaison recommended that the fence issue be moved to Community Support and no further work allowed on the common property.
McCord said the committee is divided on what should be done, but we know the common property has encroachments, so we want you [staff] to tell us what should be done. The committee decided to send this issue back to Community Support (formerly the Compliance Department).
Quinton said the committee is bound to follow the covenants in place.
Eight old permits were discussed
There were no new permits requested. The files for three of the eight properties discussed were closed. Two permits need to be resubmitted or extended. The committee and staff were unsure of where the process was on two outstanding permits. Harper will investigate.
Another property involved a lakeside encroachment. Harper is working on this and felt a cease and desist letter to stop further work should be issued. Anne Shears, CPFWC Chair, said she would help draft a letter for Community Support to send to the property owner in violation.
Next month’s CPFWC meeting will be on Monday, March 4 at 1:30 p.m. at the Coronado Community Center. All HSV property owners are invited to attend.
Featured image: CPFWC Member, Max Billingsley explains encroachments of a fence and rock garden on a common property.
By Cheryl Dowden
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