The Big Splash – DeSoto Pool
By Judy Weatherly, May 15, 2020
Happy days! At long last, the Hot Springs Village Property Owners Association’s new outdoor swimming pool has been completed. Carrothers Construction was tasked with the job of building the Lazy-L shaped pool.
Presently the HSVPOA awaits Arkansas State approval from the Department of Health in order to be able to open this brand new amenity. This approval has been delayed due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Pool use fees are below: (taken from the Explore the Village website):
- Monday – Thursday: Members $5.00 and non-Members $8.00,
- Friday – Sunday: Members $6.00 and non-members $9.60,
- Daily family member pass Monday – Thursday: $6.75,
- Daily family member pass Friday – Sunday: $8.10,
- Annual individual member pool pass is $250, and
- Annual member family pool pass is $437.50.
Thank you High Performance Concrete and Bennet Brothers Stone Company
Below please find excerpts from a Village Voice article that addresses the new outdoor swimming pool. Apparently, we remained on track with our budget because two local businesses were kind enough to donate materials and services in regards to the sun deck and retaining wall and large planter bed. The companies donating are High Performance Concrete and Bennet Brothers Stone Company. We owe them huge thanks for this.
The Voice reported:
“‘During construction, we identified an area that we could expand into a sun deck and add to the deck space and ability for members and guests to enjoy the pool. High Performance Concrete, owned by Matthew Green and Natosha Soliday of Hot Springs Village, donated their labor to the project in order to make the Sun Deck a reality,’ [HSVPOA Recreation Director, Stacy Hoover] Hoover said.
“’As the project neared completion and thoughts turned to landscaping, a retaining wall on the front side of the building was discussed and Bennett Brothers Stone Co. Inc. of Jessieville, owned by Gary and Norman Bennett met with staff and offered to donate the labor and materials to install a retaining wall and large planter bed,” she said.
“The first outdoor pool discussion began in 2010. Hundreds of volunteers from community members, committee members, to board members were involved in replacing the outdoor pool. ‘We also had some help from our local businesses. Bennett Brothers Stone Co. and High Performance Concrete were gracious enough to volunteer their talents, time and materials to ensuring an amazing entrance and deck experience will be available for all our property owners and their guests,’ she said.”
Click the arrows to view the photographs in the slider
HSVPOA pool remained on budget
….”The project budget for the outdoor pool was approved at $1,251,546. The project remains [remained] on budget with no expected overages.”
Click here to view the Voice article.
Photography & article by Judy Weatherly, May 15, 2020
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Tom Blakeman
05/15/2020 — 4:40 pm
Good News: Pool soon to open. Donations of certain “finishing touch” items. Completion on budget.
Bad News: It’s going to cost all property owners to use it. Totally Ridiculous.
Part of the justification for the pool was so we could be like all other communities. Problem is that everywhere else that has a pool it’s free to the membership.
That’s what happens when you do something you can’t afford.
Casey
05/15/2020 — 6:51 pm
By non- members does that mean anyone can come in at the gates.
Patricia Howard
05/16/2020 — 10:43 pm
Mr. Blakeman, Don’t property owners pay to play golf? And pickle ball? I have no concerns paying for the use of our new pool. We don’t all enjoy the same activities, but never in the 20 years that I have lived here, have I begrudged my share going to pay for others to golf.
Walter Chance
05/15/2020 — 4:53 pm
When I was on another POA board. The biggest pain was the pool. 1). It’s not if someone drowns, it’s when. Huge liability 2) The maintenance was extremely high 3). Referring to #3. Covid 19 could cause this pool NOT to open this year. The question is do we know chlorine kills the virus. Not at this time. 4) Lastly, building a pool in our financial position was another ill advised choice. One must have the funds to pay for such an amenity. We did not. Another loan.
Anne Shears
05/15/2020 — 7:25 pm
A pool is a hole in the ground into which we pour copious amounts of money.
Bill Gianulis
05/15/2020 — 5:31 pm
I think it was overpriced, but I’m glad that it is finally finished! I’m sure that my Grandchildren will love having it here! At this point my opinion of the price that WE paid is irrelevant. I am glad it’s done and hope we can afford to keep it open and in top condition! The pool is very expensive to maintain, but it’s done and let’s not let go and follow the way the original pool went! Congrats for finishing a project that is needed, no matter of how much it cost! Let’s just hope the new BOD doesn’t take on any more overpriced projects! When will it actually be open for us to enjoy all that it offers?
Judy Weatherly
05/15/2020 — 6:49 pm
They have to wait until the AR Dept. Of Health clears it for use.
Greg
05/15/2020 — 8:38 pm
$500,000. for a piece of junk. $50,000. at a pop on who knows what??
contract ,contract+++++ ++++++ Getting close to what the pool cost???????
well we have a new pool. I hope that we will be able to keep it..IT costs a lot for upkeep<..
MY daughter was what you might call a water rat. She was at the old pool
every day that it was open for 6 years in a row. if pool was closed for weather
over to the rec center the kids would go. HAD 3 birthday parties for her
at the pool .MY daughter has great memories from her water rat days..HOPE many other people can have good memories
as she did..
Carl
05/16/2020 — 6:22 am
We only need 250,000 unique paid visits to pay for it. Now that’s a good deal. A few visits less if we get enough outsiders to pay the extra $1. And we will get them.
If we generously assume 9000 visits per season, which is quite generous, it will only take 27 years. This is a great timeline for payback. It is exceedingly great.
Of course, left out is maintenance and personnel, so let’s call it 30 years. Excellent!
And it looks so big! And it is so much more attractive than the old one. I am sure it will be a great success. So modern. So enticing with the gentle walk-in feature. And the lovely rails. Down, down we go.
That old pool was on it’s last legs and could not possibly have been renovated. At any cost. Certainly not for less than 1.2 million. It had to go. Wiser minds prevailed here and the years without any pool were well worth it for this masterpiece.
Anyone seeing an aerial shot of this new grandiose facility will want to move here immediately. I have never seen such a beautiful, spacious, and inviting outdoor pool. And the locker rooms? Don’t get me started. Fantastic. And the fact that it lies flat with the ground with no raised decking even makes it more enticing. It really blends in so much as to be almost invisible. Signage might be needed.
And wait until they here that it is only $5 a swim per person. A family of 5 could have quite a day here for the cost of a couple pizzas! That is value. True value.
Just hope not too many families of 5 come at once. It isn’t really that big, is it? In fact, it seems MUCH smaller than the old pool, which was really in bad, bad shape. It was a mess and had to be demolished. I think it may have even leaked a little.
I am so proud of this masterful accomplishment. I have my swim trunks on now and my 5 dollars in hand! If only they would let us open it.
Vicki
05/17/2020 — 5:34 pm
Sarcasm??
James
05/16/2020 — 12:50 pm
While I’m not in the same demographic, I think the pool is a waste of money, when compared to feeding starving children. However when attracting a family of 4 from Little Rock communities I can say whole heartedly we discussed the NEW POOL and how fantastic it was going to be in a supportive community. Was I wrong?
Allan Cain
05/16/2020 — 3:53 pm
The community pool at our last residence cost 350,000.00/yr to operate. I wasn’t aware that HSV had that much extra cash.
Alan
05/16/2020 — 4:13 pm
What a joke. Overpriced, poor design and approval was ramrodded by the previous board. Can’t wait to hear about the first baby ruth spotted in the pool. I will never set foot in the pool.
Sparky
05/16/2020 — 4:19 pm
People need to realize the pool was never meant to be a revenue stream from pool use.
It was built for marketing property. It will show up on marketing brochures, web sights, and it sits right o the main road like a marketing billboard.
The revenue generated will come from selling the 70,000 plots the POA has for sale.
Chipmunk
05/16/2020 — 4:39 pm
How long to get those sales completed? Do I need to think about losing my home under the rotten tree on the vacant lot?
Carl
05/17/2020 — 5:36 am
It is such a fine pool that it will really draw in the new home buyers. Of this there can be no doubt.
CD
05/16/2020 — 5:56 pm
I was hoping for an adult only pool, or at least certain hours for adult on,y, at this stage in my life I do not need to hang around a kiddie pool, sorry if this offends anyone with grandchildren but i would like the ability to use the pool for healthy exercise.
Moe
05/16/2020 — 8:09 pm
You will not be able to exercise in this pool.
Moe
05/16/2020 — 8:09 pm
You will not be able to exercise in this pool.
Davis
05/18/2020 — 11:33 pm
For the lovely same price u can go to a pool at work out at the corando center!
The fees for this are much to high for someone who lives here and would go several times a week with my 3 kids. But not going to pay $20 each time when realistically we would only be there an hr at a time..
Lucy
05/17/2020 — 4:43 am
Why all the bitchin’ and complaining? Typical comments from the old grouches in HSV. Never Happy.
The pool is a necessity in a resort community and it looks like they did a beautiful and thoughtful design.
A big THANK YOU to the business that did the work and those that donated supplies.
Yes, it is an expense to have a pool, and I will never be able to use it.
But then the expense to maintain the money pit that is the Coronado Center is paid for by the members that use it, too. (I quit using it when I saw a father raising his baby up and down to hear the kid laugh while washing out his diaper in the pool. ) On several occasions, they have had to close and empty the pool because the e-coli count or whatever they measure from unclean people made it necessary to empty the pool and refill it. People who are incontinent should know better than go in a pool.) But at least the new one is out in the sunshine if that helps?
I can’t even imagine what it costs to maintain a golf course and the clubhouse (I really dislike golf and find that a waste of time).
BUT I REALLY HATE THEM SHOOTING THE DEER EACH YEAR.
AND IT MAKES ME VERY SAD WHEN THE WILDFLOWERS ARE BLOOMING WELL AND THE MOWERS CUT THEM ALL DOWN BEFORE THEY CAN GO TO SEED FOR THE NEXT YEARS BLOOM.
Looks like everyone has their likes and dislikes, but we should all keep it to ourselves.
THANK YOU POA AND BUILDERS FOR BUILDING SOMETHING SOME VISITOR AND KIDS WILL ENJOY WHEN IT IS OPEN IN THE FUTURE.
Susita
05/17/2020 — 10:43 am
They addle the goose eggs, too, and they all die.
The whole place is a death trap for wildlife.
RAB
05/17/2020 — 1:32 pm
What are the non-property owner rates going to be? According to some, this new pool will bring many visitors through the marketing program to our “Recreation Village”. Don’t know where that came from. And then there are all the people from the Little Rock area that are going to drive an hour just to get here. And the big elephant wandering around the property is, how much is it going to cost the Village, when a child gets seriously hurt or (God forbid) drowns, when there are no life guards around 4 days a week, and the parents sue??!!
Moe
05/17/2020 — 4:35 pm
Hot non-residents will swarm the place. Trust me on that.
6 bucks a pop.
What could possibly go wrong??
Me
05/17/2020 — 5:49 pm
Gated community? How will they get in? Why would anyone drive from Little Rock to use our pool? Marketing attraction? Probably not! We had a kiddie pool and adult pool- not any more. No lifeguard?
Moe
05/19/2020 — 5:10 am
They get in by tailgating, or simply telling the gate “guard” they want to come in. They are then allowed free and unfettered access to HSV. Where have you been to not know this??? We are not a gated community by any definition of the words.
Why would the POA establish non-resident rates if no non-residents can access the pool? They would not.
Thus, they plan on non-residents coming in to use the pool. And if it is hot enough, they will come.