HSV Matters and So Does Your Voice – Let the Board Know
The Future Revenue Analysis Task Force (FRATF) has worked hard over the past eight months. There is no doubt about this and the group deserves kudos. Undoubtedly, FRATF has produced a large volume of work in a detailed and professional manner and has done a fine job in fulfilling its purpose. But let’s get real and understand exactly what FRATF’s end goal was. While intending no disrespect to the fine individuals on FRATF, the ultimate goal of FRATF was to “sell an assessment increase to the Property Owners.” This has been obvious to almost everyone who has been paying attention over the past eight months.
Reckoning Time is Near
This week on Wednesday, August 18, 2021, at 9:00 a.m. the Hot Springs Village Board of Directors will hold its regular monthly meeting.
At this meeting, the Board will vote on whether to have a Property Owner vote for an assessment increase and what option from FRATF’s recommendations it will use. Of course, the Board could also go with a different option or a variation of FRATF’s recommendations.
Although FRATF recommended three different options they also gave a fourth option of not having an assessment increase. It is doubtful the Board will proceed in this manner.
So, although I said “whether” there will be a vote, it is not really, “whether” as we can count on the Board to okay an assessment increase to be voted on by Property Owners.
Currently, there is a movement from some Villagers for a greater assessment increase than what is being proposed in FRATF’s final recommendation. FRATF has recommended the BOD go with option three. Click here to read FRATF’s recommendations:
IT’S UP TO YOU – ARE YOU SOLD?
Let the Board Know Where you Stand on this Important Issue
As already stated, FRATF’s ultimate goal was to “sell an assessment increase.” As a Hot Springs Village Property Owner, are you ‘sold’ on this increase?
If you want to make an impact regarding this issue, your window of opportunity is closing. You have only one way to make a difference regarding this important topic and your voice can be only be heard only if you contact the Board of Directors and make your wishes known. It is important that you let the Board know NOW where you stand on this issue – whether you support FRATF’s recommendation or not.
If in support of an increase, which option do you support? Do you support FRATF’s Option 3 recommendation?
An email to the BOD only takes a few minutes to write. The larger check you will be signing for future higher assessments will also only take a few minutes to write, but you will be writing this check month after month and year after year. And your assessment check is guaranteed to continuing rising. This is a certainty. Are you comfortable with this? If so, fine. But the critical question I am asking is, ‘are you comfortable knowing you did not let the Board know where you stand on this very important issue?’ If you have already sent them an email, send another.
Thank you in advance for contacting the Board.
The Hot Springs Village Board of Directors may be contacted by email at the following email addresses.
Joanie Corry, Chair | jcorry@hsvpoa.org
Tucker Omohundro, Vice-Chair | tomohundro@hsvpoa.org
Pam Avila | pavila@hsvpoa.org
Gary Belair | gbelair@hsvpoa.org
Chris Jones | cjones@hsvpoa.org
Robert McLeod | rmcleod@hsvpoa.org
By Cheryl Dowden, August 16, 2021
* * *
For your convenience, included below are FRATF’s PowerPoint slides for all three options and also the comparison chart. For a complete explanation, please go here.
FRATF Option 1 – Rapid Recovery
Rapid-Recovery-FRATF-Option-1FRATF Option 2 – Special Assessment
Special-Assessment-FRATF-Option-2FRATF Option 3 – Balanced Approach
Balanced-Approach-FRATF-Option-3FRATF Comparison of Three Options
Comparison-of-Three-Options-FRATF* * *
Thank you for reading. If you like, please comment below. We love to hear your opinion, but comments must be made using your first and last real name, or they will not be accepted. If you would like to submit an article for publication, please contact us through this website. Be sure to bookmark this website. Click here to visit the Hot Springs Village People Facebook Group.
Mary Kennedy
08/16/2021 — 1:03 pm
Property owners have an important decision to make and it will take more than reading social media posts to determine which vote is the wise vote. FRATF and F&P committees produced many other options to increase revenue and reduce expense, but assessments seems to be the only thing property owners are talking about. I don’t know about an assessment increase being the “ultimate goal”, but even without an in-depth study, it doesn’t take a mathematical genius to recognize that $70/$40 a month is insufficient to support HSV. The committees produced other revenue generators that kept their recommendation for an assessment increase as low as possible. Option 3 proposes three small incremental annual increases, beginning in 2022. If my vote alone was the deciding factor, I’d vote to increase the assessment to $100 right away and go with Option 1. It will be the decision of the board to determine what option they believe will be supported by the voters. I challenge anyone who promotes a “no vote” to produce comparative documentation from another gated community anywhere in the country.
We’ve been spoiled with low assessments for many years because 1) CCI kept the assessments low for the purpose of developing and selling lots and 2) Property owners refused to vote for assessment appeals that were as low as $2 and $4. Without assessment increases along with Cooper’s marketing and large subsidies, which he took with him in 2003-2004, there is no way to sustain our quality of life unless property owners take responsibility to pay the bills and restore our infrastructure. There should be no excuses – past board/administrators as well as current and future boards/administrators will make mistakes – that’s life – we’re all human. We learn, we improve, and move on. We don’t continually blame other people and situations for what we believe were faults causing failure. The future of HSV is in our hands and it would be prudent if we finally join together to do what’s right for the community we call home.
Dee Dixon
08/16/2021 — 11:15 pm
Very well written, Mary Kennedy. Thank you.
Andy Kramek
08/17/2021 — 7:54 am
First, as far as I know nothing stops you from paying $100 per month to the POA right now. Nor has there been a barrier to your paying more than the current assessment at any time you wanted to do so. So just why have you NOT been paying more for years since you apparently believe that assessments are too low?
Second, I believe most people would agree that some sort of raise in assessment is necessary. However, the fact that the POA has wasted, and continues to waste, money on ill conceived and mismanaged “hero projects” (e.g. Gates, CMP, RV Park, pickleball courts, swimming pool, garbage trucks,) instead of concentrating on the things that needed to be done, has made property owners distrust both the POA’s willingness and their ability to act as good custodians of their money.
Third, the fact that FRATF had nothing to say about POA costs and management apart from suggesting that maybe they might “Consider hiring professional contract specialist” and “Consider implementing performance-based management (the word ‘pay’ was missing – just an oversight I am sure )” – note the key word in both of these is “Consider” which means that people see their report as just more of the same. Where were the proposals for things that drain the treasury? Compensation that accounts for more than 56% of all revenue, or the millions that go to subsidizing golf, food & beverage etc? Not surprisingly many are wary of giving yet more money to an organization that, hitherto, has shown only that it does not know how to spend it wisely.
Of course, all this is just my opinion which is worth no more than yours anyway.
HSVP C
08/16/2021 — 3:36 pm
I was just told that I disrespected FRATF because I said the purpose of FRATF was to “sell an assessment increase to Property Owners.” This was not in any way intended to disrespect the work of FRATF. They did a lot of work and did exactly as the Board instructed them to do (as far as I can tell). A Board Member told me this was the purpose of FRATF.
Tom Blakeman
08/16/2021 — 4:06 pm
There should be no increase and no vote on any option. Despite their good work, FRATF has only offered ‘band aids’ and no real solutions to the problems which got us here. Actually they were not even asked to solve the problems, just to quantify the needs and neglect and offer ways to get more money. We cannot trust the board of directors in its current makeup and configuration nor can we continue to operate with bylaws as they are currently structured. Governance and management must change before we commit to new money. If there is a vote: JUST VOTE NO!
Gene Garner
08/16/2021 — 4:24 pm
“That’s life we’re all human. We learn, we improve and we move on”. That’s true but how do you judge the quality of a person, a company or a board of directors? We do it by reviewing the past performance of that person, company or board of directors. If we erased our memories after every bad experience we would make the same mistakes over and over again–and that’s what your asking us to do.
The performance of the past Boards have been less than spectacular and they continue to spend money on frivolous, shiny things with no explanations or attempts to include the people that pay the bills. Why should we trust them to do the right thing?
One of the main reasons our assessments have been so low is because this part of the world has a lower standard of living then other states. The price of food, gasoline, housing etc. is lower here and also labor is a lot cheaper.
We property owners need to know where the extra money went from the first 2tier increase. I don’t see any great improvements to our streets or common properties and we hear the “deferred maintenance” backlog has increased. We also need to see some cost-cutting options instead of only ways to increase revenue. It’s a lot easier to economize than find new sources of income.
It’s obvious we can’t continue on this path of uncontrolled spending, then raising assessments on resident owners to bail the POA out. It’s not sustainable and it’s not fair.—Gene
Mark Oliver
08/16/2021 — 4:35 pm
I contacted all board members. I received a single response which was arrogant and condescending. It appears the particular board member is highly enamored with the report and a firm supporter of continuing the status quo. I’m not a fan of throwing more money into a hole. I have a significant investment here and don’t appreciate the ridiculous waste of money with no property owner input or positive results. I’ve never been to a board meeting, but I’ll be at this one.
HSVP C
08/16/2021 — 5:30 pm
Although we were left with the impression at the last Board Discussion Session that this issue would be voted on at the next regular Board Meeting (August 18, 2021), will they kick this can down the road?
HSVP J
08/16/2021 — 5:44 pm
It is almost bizarre reading some of the posts and comments on NextDoor, the website, email chains, and other FB groups by people who cheered the ex-CEO on the CMP, the pool, new pickleball courts, CNU junkets all over the country, and a myriad of other boondoggles.
All the while letting our infrastructure rot to the ground and roads go to waste. Some of these Village Friends promoting a higher assessment rate than what FRATF recommended are ex-Board members and ex-Board Chairs who pretty much rubber-stamped every expensive whim the ex-CEO desired.
These are the people that ran HSV into the ground and kicked the infrastructure can down the road. Well FRATF made a recommendation” Board should encourage the establishment of the endowment fund or a donation process.
The people who are responsible for HSV’s decay should be supporting the establishment of a donation process and should donate heavily to pay for their past disregard to the property owners and Hot Springs Village.
It is a shame that these people want to pickpocket more money from property owners to pay for their poor leadership and bad decisions. It is sad they think it is ok for people to have to relocate from the Village because of their mistakes.
Andy Kramek
08/16/2021 — 6:06 pm
If one carefully examines the three options it becomes apparent that none are actually acceptable. Clearly the first and second could never pass a property owner vote and the third (which by their own statement the FRATF believed has the best chance of passing) does, by their own numbers, not even solve the stated problem.
I agree with Tom Blakeman, there should not even be a vote on ANY of these options. FRATF, whether by accident or design, and despite all their work, were put in a position of trying to defend the indefensible. In other words, getting property owners to pony up more money with no commitment to anything other than ‘business as usual at the POA’!
Lorri Street
08/16/2021 — 7:21 pm
To All HSV Property Owners and Non-resident Property Owners…we’re at a most “pivotal vote” forthcoming once again. The We The People (WTP), a HSV Property Owners grassroots campaign/movement served us well in the 2018 “Vote No” on Declaration changes and several! Articles of Corporation changes. To all the new Property Owner’s please take a minute or two to visit that not-so-distant POA financial disaster. Those of you who feel we need to take a ‘push back’ position…just let me know. A GoFundMe type fundraiser can be established (by me once again) to help make out voices heard once again! Money contributed pays for ads in the HSV Voice as well as yard signs indicating “Vote No”….and other methos of getting OUR Vote No position clearly established. To be clear…I believe we need an assessment increase but not until the previous ceo regime egregiously spending has been accounted for. I can’t move a grassroots Vote No movement forward without HSV like minded Property Owners put their $$ where their beliefs are. Feel free to PM me with your (supportive) thoughts/ideas. =
Walter Chance
08/16/2021 — 7:23 pm
FRAFT, What were your recommendations for reducing expenses? Where was the deep dive into financial accountability since the red blob grew and grew. I think a reasonable person would ask, why is the solution an increase in assessment when no transparent accountability has been produced. Actually I have no idea what data you have been using. This goes back to the trust the owners have in the previous administration and the previous decisions by the BODs including the hiring of GM King, who proved to be unqualified to run the POA. Personally I would be for an increase if we had some sort of audit to show how money is being spent by the POA.
Kirk Denger
08/16/2021 — 10:19 pm
VOTE NO.