HSV – What’s Happening – First Six Months of 2020

A look at What’s Happening in the Village after first six months of 2020

It’s time to send you the quarterly What’s Happening in Hot Springs Village package of information about our community.  You can open it by clicking here.

Some items of note you’ll find in the package:

    • The POA had $10.4 million cash in the bank on June 30, up from $7.8 million on the same date last year.  The $2.6-million increase is from the $3.1 million federal Paycheck Protection Program grant.  Without the federal funding, cash would be down $420,000 because the pandemic has curtailed amenity revenue.

    • Net revenue in the first six months is $100,000 behind last year, but $1.2-million under budget.  Remember: This POA board has been pulling its hair out over the poor budgeting in recent years.

    • The POA has tightened spending.  Operations spending is $600,000 below last year and $1.6 million under budget.

    • Capital spending also is below budget as maintenance of things like roads and buildings has been put off.

    • The biggest financial burden the POA shoulders is the 11,490 unproductive lots, now 33.7 percent of all our lots.  7,985 lot owners are 61 days or more past due to paying their assessments.  3,505 other lots are in the POA inventory and not paying the assessment.  The good news: Aggressive collection efforts reduced the money owed the POA by $748,310 from last year.

    • One of the biggest hits from the coronavirus pandemic has been at the Fitness Center.  Attendance in the first six months fell to 31,346 from 65,173 in the same period last year, a drop of 51.2 percent.

    • Golf rounds continue to decline, but revenue for each round played is up.

    • Perhaps the most profitable POA operation is the RV park, with six-month revenue of $25,907 and a profit of $20,545, or 79.3 percent of revenue.  There were 258-night visits in June, a record high.

Villagers have been clamoring for more transparency in POA finances.  Dan Aylward, who volunteered to serve as treasurer for the last three months, delivered for you.

If you want to know how much a POA restaurant is making, how much revenue a particular golf course brought in, or how much it costs to maintain our fleet of vehicles, it’s all there.  To see a copy of this month’s financial report, click here.

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Missing from this package are numbers showing how safe our community is.

I like to show this by comparing our crime stats to those of other cities and counties in Arkansas.  Unfortunately, the state won’t release its 2019 report until next week.

When I get those numbers, I’ll pass them along and you’ll see what a good job Chief Ricky Middleton and our police department are doing.

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Yesterday I mistakenly said former POA treasurer Aylward would continue as chair of the Finance and Planning Committee.  He’ll be a member of the committee.  The committee charter says the treasurer – now Wayne Foltz – is chair.  I apologize for the error.

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The Hot Springs Village Community Foundation sent out this excellent request for help for our three local school districts – Jessieville, Fountain Lake, and Mountain Pine:

“As the start of the school year looms ahead, preparations for ‘anything can happen’ scenarios are taking place.

“One of the main adaptations for the coronavirus is having personal protective equipment (PPE) for all staff and all students. Obtaining masks, hand sanitizer, face shields, and other equipment is putting an added financial burden on the local school districts.

“Fountain Lake, Jessieville, and Mountain Pine are all struggling to provide this added requirement without having additional funds to pay for it.

“The schools are in need of paper masks, adult cloth masks, child-size cloth masks, hand sanitizer, and Lysol disinfectant.

“Answering the Call in North Garland County, a volunteer effort to help the schools, suspended its program last spring when in-classroom instruction stopped mid-semester.

“The group, coordinated by the Hot Springs Village Community Foundation, is hoping to help the schools now, asking for donations to fund the purchase of PPE. The Community Foundation has set up a fund with the Arkansas Community Foundation to collect donations to help the three school districts.

“If you would like to help, you can donate on-line at Hot Springs Village Arkansas Community Foundation.  Click on “Hot Springs Village funds and endowments,” and donate to the Answering the Call in North Garland County fund.

“You may also send a check payable to HSV Community Foundation with Answer the Call in the memo line to P.O. Box 8024, Hot Springs Village, AR 71910. All donations are tax-deductible.

“Also, if you are able, you can make cloth masks and donate them to the schools.

“All funds will be distributed to the schools specifically for the purpose of purchasing PPE.  Any questions, call Kim Harrison at 501 984-1545 or email hotspringsvillage@arcf.org.

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Another very solid and useful volunteer program in the Village is UU-Computers 4 Kids.

Most of us have one or more old computers in the basement or the closet.  Contact the guys at Unitarian Universalist Village Church and they’ll come to collect your old hardware, refurbish it, wipe clean all your old programs and files, install Windows 10 Pro and Office 2010 and donate the computer to a local student.

Click here for more details.  It’s a great program and Joyce and I were delighted to give them our old machines.

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As expected, the number of new coronavirus cases in Arkansas went over 30,000 yesterday as 564 new cases were reported.  Another 817 new cases were reported today, and Gov. Asa Hutchinson issued a mandate requiring everyone to use a face mask beginning next Monday.

By Former Board Director, Frank Leeming, 7-15-20

Click here to subscribe to Frank’s email list.

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Thank you for reading. Click here to visit Hot Springs Village Community Forums.

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Click here to visit the Hot Springs Village People Facebook Group.