Charles King, the relatively new General Manager of Hot Springs Village, has given his notice. Property Owners were notified via email on January 18, 2021. King has only been serving in the capacity of HSVPOA General Manager since August. Click here to read the article about King’s Meet and Greet. Below is a copy of the email sent:
“BOARD ANNOUNCEMENT“
“With profound regret, the Board today accepted the resignation of the Hot Springs Village General Manager, Charles King. In his short tenure, Mr. King created a more streamlined organization, improved staff morale, implemented a conservative budget, and started the Village on the road to a stronger financial future. He will remain in his position until January 31st.
“In expressing his disappointment and the difficulty in making the decision to resign, Mr. King noted that a number of factors interfered with doing the job he was hired to do. He felt constantly hampered by the day-by-day barrage of Villager emails about how he should be doing the job for which he is highly qualified. An equal challenge observed by Mr. King was feeling overwhelmed by the negativity and hostility he received on a daily basis from a vocal segment of the Village population. King observed that the attacks on his performance began on social media his first week on the job. He also noted that the POA staff is subjected to that same constant negativity and hostility, creating what he terms an “unhealthy and hostile work environment”.
“From the perspective of the Board of Directors, the Village, through its own actions, has lost a general manager who brought a wealth of HOA experience and knowledge to his job, in addition to exhibiting honesty, integrity, and a strong desire to help make the Village the best it could be.
“We thank Charles and his family for making the Village their home, even for a short period of time; and we wish him success in his future endeavors!”
Below is the year-end report from the General Manager, due to be presented at the January 20, 2021 Board Meeting. In this report, the GM mentions that there is a lot of drama in the Village.
Mr. King also states in his January report, “The Village will never reach its full potential with all the ‘rogue’ agents out there constantly dividing the Village with the Negative rhetoric and the bashing of staff and Board members. The negativity spewed on social media is an embarrassment to all the people who call HSV home. The POA staff works for the Villagers, so the constant harassment and defamation that goes on in the so-called ‘community’ pages is creating an extremely unhealthy workplace for all the good people that Chose to work here.
“If you want to know what the biggest issue is to tackle in the future I will tell you, the social media negativity and DRAMA is harming the Village and everyone who calls it home. It is an absolute embarrassment that people who say they love this place would go onto this platform to badger, harass and smear the good people that are here to do their jobs and do them in the best way they know how, this includes the Volunteer Board that is continually attacked and harassed.”
He talks about the Food and Beverage operations being deep in the hole due to the pandemic but “mostly due to lack of support from the Village.”
General-Manager-Report-1-20-21Click here to read the Hot Springs Village Voice report. (Edited 7-7-21 to add that the Voice has removed this article from the internet. Here is a link to an article from N Opera News website.)
* * *
Thank you for reading. Be sure to bookmark this website. Click here to visit the Hot Springs Village People Facebook Group.
“
Mark
01/18/2021 — 6:06 pm
Who knew that social media was full of drama and negativity? I for one am shocked.
Mark
01/20/2021 — 1:07 pm
After watching Charles King’s rant this morning, I’m thrilled that this guy quit and amazed that the board allowed him to continue that tirade. Never heard a word from him before and maybe that’s a good thing. I guess he was unaware that people bitch. Sadly, it’s a fact of life. Stay off of social media or toughen up. I have no real assessment of his performance, but if any potential employers watch this crap, he’ll never get another job.
Deb Kichi
07/20/2021 — 2:11 am
You wouldn’t know a good and decent person if they stood in from of you Mark.
Just an observation
01/18/2021 — 6:08 pm
WHY IS THERE SO MUCH DIVISION?
This is just my opinion, nothing more.
It all started with about 55% of the HSV residents dissatisfaction with the CMP.
Then this website was created by Joe and Cheryl Dowden and created a forum for people to argue.
Prior to its establishment it was “We the people of HSV” campaign started by Lori Street. The Dowden website was spawned from the Lori Street initiative.
Now we find ourselves in a community that will likely never get a qualified GM that will want to put up with what Charles King has described in his letter.
HSV is a great place to live if you don’t use social media and don’t listen to any of the recorded committee meetings, Board work sessions, and Board Meetings.
Final words: It’s just a matter of time until HSV is forced to become an incorporated municipality.
Robert Busse
01/18/2021 — 7:21 pm
There is some truth to King’s comments about the negativity, bashing, division, etc. But I don’t think it is as bad and detrimental as he portrays it. How did Nalley survive several years of that type of activity which appeared to be much worse than it is now? I guess Mr. King never faced a situation or an atmosphere like we have had here for a decade or two.
I would like to hear some discussion from knowledgeable folks, with the pros and cons, of hiring a Management company to run the POA, using the existing employees as needed. We need to try something new cause things apparently are not good within the BOD (resignations/turnover) or throughout the POA (according to King). We all need to change our ways, discuss and compromise, and then join together to support the new
path that Mr. King and the BOD have started our community down into the future.
Gene Garner
01/19/2021 — 10:04 am
Bob, as you know I’ve been advocating the last few years to hire a professional POA management company to replace the dysfunctional “General Manger” system we’ve been kicking around for the last 50 years. With the recent upheavals and changes in players we need to consider alternative systems.
Professional management companies have a number of advantages like; having a history of successful HOA/POAs that continue to use their expertise, the lack of personality cults, the knowledge of what works and what doesn’t and the latest innovations in gated community management.
By having a year to year contract we can change vendors if we’re unhappy with their performance- without paying them $300,000+ to change. We can talk with communities that use these professionals to hear the pros & cons and get an idea of the costs.
I’ve floated the idea with JC III but he’s not convinced it would be in CCI’s best interest. I thought of Cooper first because they built our Village and who would know it better? Also the caliber of people that work for John (like Jody & Ernie) are above reproach and very knowledgeable when it comes to our day-to-day operations.
Of course there are other vendors beside CCI that could do what we need and the cost would be less than what’s been wasted these many years since Dave Johnson was fired. If we consider the unneeded water plant upgrade ($6 million +), the geothermal HVAC ($1.5 million) that never worked, the “Luxury RV Park” fiasco, the CMP ($500,000) etc. we could have used professionals for a lot less money.
I didn’t know Charles King so I can’t comment on his capabilities but anyone that constantly uses social media to gauge his workplace acceptance and performance will constantly be battered and bedeviled. Facebook and the like are open invitations for others to vent their frustrations and disappointments, no matter who’s at fault. He would have been wiser to get his performance reports from his employer, the Board of Directors.—Gene
Phillip Lemler
01/19/2021 — 10:52 am
Actually, I believe that Gene’s suggestion has a lot of merit! It should be considered and evaluated.
Tom B
01/19/2021 — 5:34 pm
Guys, I doubt that the management company idea will ever even be considered. My guess is that our fractured board will rush to hire someone, again from outside, again to be paid too much, again with no idea how this place works or needs to, again with no appropriate management experience, who will yet again fail. But should they want to consider a management company I could provide input on why that’s probably just another unworkable idea. Not gonna go there right now though. Frankly, nobody wants my (or our) opinions anyway.
Diana Podawiltz
01/18/2021 — 9:58 pm
The team in place during the summer was doing a very good job and making progress. That team was John Paul, Jama Lopez, Dan Aylward and his replacement Wayne Foltz, Lloyd Sherman, Tucker Omohundro and myself. (Note: I was only on the board with Joanie for a few weeks but I believe she’s a very hard worker but is a majority follower). We were the ones doing the bulk of the day to day work. I spent hours on the phone and emailing with the Board and the community to keep people informed, listen to opinions and correct misinformation. I assume the “investigations” referred to by Charles involved our contracted legal team. I also spent a great deal of time seeking legal opinions and advice.
I believe the “train jumped off the tracks” beginning on the night we interviewed Charles King. During dinner there was much talk about the role of the board being strictly governance. This tune was being sung by Tucker (very surprising), Pam & Joanie. Dick & Kirk are always very noncommittal at this type of event and Lloyd & I both looked at each other, shaking our heads.
Shortly after Charles was hired, I was removed as Chair (2weeks after I offered the Board my resignation from this office via Lloyd, Vice Chair, who was assuming my duties while I took a much needed break and celebrated my only child’s wedding). Wayne Foltz was removed as Corporate Treasurer and replaced by a staff member. This is a very bad decision as Coreena was already overworked and it removed checks and balances. Jama Lopez who put together the PPP documentation to turn the loan into a grant, was accused by Charles as being a mole when she resigned as a result of mine and Wayne’s removal from office. Mr. King refers to Drama. It’s my opinion that :
1). He didn’t properly research the situation before accepting the position
2) He likes to take credit for other people’s work ( the Accounts Payable system he refers to was started by former CFO, Liz Mathis
3). Lack of understanding of financials. I contend in real dollars we ended the year well behind the prior year given the fact we received a $3.1M Grant. How much of the “cost savings” in golf occurred in the 8 months prior to his arrival?
4). He spent a great deal of his time on Food & Beverage. Complains about Villager support. So very difficult for us to find such things as menus, hours of operation etc online. We weren’t proactive on doing carry out and we had to shut down on more than 1 occasion for COVID outbreaks among staff. This is scary to a community where the majority of the population is over 70. How can we build reserves when we have this big area of expenses exceeding revenue? Why do we build reserves and continue to grow the backlog of deferred maintenance?
I have been “caught up” in the Village Drama since December of 2018. We are harming ourselves with our rhetoric and biased opinions. This will sound crude but, I’ve found it be somewhat true over the years. My husband once had a boss who said “opinions are like assholes, everybody has one and most of them stink.” Social Media exacerbates this concept. In so many ways, we emulate what is going on in our country on a National Level. We have a very vocal minority who don’t want to accept the reality that you cannot continue to operate a 26,000 acre private gated community on the amount of assessments we collect. So many want their pet project to be funded, I.e. spend $500k on a piece of property for another beach instead of having $500k for culverts, sewers, roads, roofs, windows, HVAC, etc. Most of our employees have had their wages frozen for the 2nd year in a row. We have many problems, We need solutions and to stop the complaining. Our social media has got to be more positive and proactive. We have to work together if we’re going to remain the largest private gated community.
I have always tried diligently to be honest, these are my thoughts and opinions.
Mary Szczepaniak
01/19/2021 — 6:02 am
Thank you, Diana, for all the work you have done& for your honest assessment.
Robert Busse
01/19/2021 — 9:50 am
Diana, thank you for giving your honest opinion. Since you were in the trenches and fought the war, you are one of very few that can talk about the situation from actual experience. We all need to slow down, cut back on the finger pointing and rhetoric and let the leadership work. People are expecting too much too fast. We must give our new leaders time to find out the details, put remedial ideas in place and then have time for things to work. That path will take more than a month or two. We can’t keep running off elected or hired leaders with little time to work. We must compromise and accept some change. Without change, nothing will be different!
Lloyd Sherman
01/19/2021 — 12:14 pm
Many of the comments that Diana made are accurate. I do believe that we all need to be more mindful of not only what we post, but in what tone we post it. In the end result, people have a right to state their opinion and that fact needs to be accepted. Now, further inside information would confirm that working around fellow board members and listening too much to a new GM is a mistake. I suggest this maneuver has been going on over several current or past boards. Diana was blindsided and it was unnecessary. As was Wayne Foltz and I still believe the board needs an independent Treasurer to provide guaranteed audit controls. Investigations is an interesting term and if that is to suggest that the board or tasks are given to the committees by the board are illegal or improper is absolutely nothing but somebody trying to protect “their territory”. Were contracts being looked into to determine if the POA was getting the best deals available. Yes. Were insurance policies being looked at to ensure we had adequate coverage and they were cost-effective? Yes. Why wouldn’t any board member who was concerned or even understood their fiduciary responsibility want these types of activities undertaken? And to believe that “you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours” doesn’t exist is just naive. Once again, a board member must ensure that type of climate exists; and I’m not suggesting it does, but all those traps need to be run. It is unfortunate that Mr. King wasn’t the right hire, but I can assure you it is not because I as a board member didn’t try and convey that to not only Mr. King but to the board. What Diana points out and I can confirm is that politics are still alive and well in HSV.
Patrica
01/20/2021 — 5:41 pm
I just watched the RANT by the last GM who quit. Diana and Sherman I know, you, remind me of a playground bully who didn’t get his way and quit. As a former POA employee tired of the Mis Management…Bye!
Dan
01/18/2021 — 11:27 pm
All of our problem and President Biden is going raise the workers rate to $15 an hour and other raises we will have meet. Lets us hold out hiring any GM for excess and use the money for our needs.
Jermyn Winslow
01/19/2021 — 5:41 am
When I read the announcement last night, honestly, I could not believe my eyes. To air this type of dirty laundry in an e-Blast message to all Property Owners which, of course, lead to the replication of this drama on social media, (including this site), was as unprofessional and callous as it can get! Way to go BOD! Just when we are experiencing a nice up-tick in our property values you all come along with this dirt and make it public to anyone with a smart phone! Idiots! My advice – try THINKING about the impact your written words will have on our Community before you publish our internal affairs. Your announcement came off as a bunch of school children placing blame on the rest of us for causing the resignation of this “fine GM”, a man that many of us have never heard a word from. Maybe Charles could have been a great GM, maybe not, but I call “foul!” This information could have been disseminated with one simple sentence – “Mr. Charles King has resigned for personal reasons.” But no, you had to create the next shitstorm of drama like the all the other lowlifes that loiter on Nextdoor, Facebook and other social media outlets. Congrats on another failure to protect our property values. Disgusted with all of you!
HSVP C
01/19/2021 — 10:05 am
Jermyn Winslow, the General Manager put out all of his complaints in a report to the board directors. This report will most likely be read at tomorrow’s board meeting (1-20-21) and will forever be a part of the HSVPOA records. We report the news – we don’t make it and we don’t censor it. For the purpose of transparency, Board Chair, Tucker Omohundro, asked me to help with the publication of information. The loss of the GM is regrettable, but HSV will quickly move past this loss and will survive and thrive. Here is a link to the HSV Voice article about this situation: https://www.hsvvoice.com/story/news/2021/01/18/hot-springs-village-general-manager-charles-king-resigns/4206783001/ Thank you.
Elmo Wiggins
01/19/2021 — 8:28 am
Seems like a group of people who never hired nor managed a CEO/GM type of executive before.
Minn Daly
01/19/2021 — 10:55 am
Gene Garner, agree with you on your assessment of a manager relying on social media for his daily dose of what is happening within your job title. Social Media did not hire, request to resign or pay individual. The BOD is the one the manager reports to. Also agree professional management would be an asset for HSV. Hopefull that HSV is not into CANCEL CULTURE as our freedom is precious. Minn Daly
Moe
01/19/2021 — 4:51 pm
As I have said before. We are doomed.
Tom Blakeman
01/19/2021 — 6:33 pm
What a disgusting e-blast to send out to property owners. Our Board should be ashamed. Also, what a sorrowful letter I’ve seen excerpts of by this GM. How unprofessional! If there is fault here it is with our Board and an obviously unqualified candidate they hired and supported. It is not their job or his to blame us property owners who pay the bills for anything. Not Anything. We Pay The Bills. We Own The Place. We have been expecting more for years and years and have not seen it. All we hear is how we are not paying enough and we are too critical, nasty, negative and on and on. Well, too bad. Maybe our leadership needs to get the massage and actually get to work and fix what’s broke. It hasn’t happened since I’ve been here and it isn’t happening now.
Laura Lewis
01/19/2021 — 7:51 pm
I have heard so many positive things about this man! I am deeply disturbed that the Villagers have run him off so quickly. He is qualified & was making progress in getting things organized in our community! Could we all keep our negative opinions in check? Unless one of you old farts wants the job, perhaps you should keep your pie hole shut, play golf or pickle ball, or write your negative opinions in a journal. I for one hope we can “keep” the next GM so we can continue to take care of, improve, & market the Village as a “place” that welcomes people!
#KeepYourNegativeTrapShut
Mark
01/21/2021 — 5:39 am
There won’t be one to keep. Who in their right mind would ever work here?
Moe
01/20/2021 — 6:17 am
Methinks this guy should have been out of the office doing his job – not reading emails and feeling sorry for himself tucked into his little office all alone and afraid.
The board messed up on this one big time. Horrible hire. Horrible.
I have an idea. Quit hiring these fools and follow Gene’s idea of a professional management company.
How could that be any worse than the failed previous three choices the board has made??? It could not. Impossible to do if you tried. All have been abject a d utter failures. ALL.
Remember this folks. Many people have left HSV in the past 6-7 years because they saw that the board is a dysfunctional mess of poorly prepared amateurs doing a very poor job. Thus, why stick around? The whole place is a laughing stock.
All we get are promises that things will get better. They NEVER do. Ever.
So we continue to sink further in debt while we have a whole new slate of ill-prepared amateurs ready to do the same stuff over and over again. And these sultans of smart can’t even figure out how to hold the election. Great work if you can get it.
And you wonder why people gave up on the “dream” of HSV? Because that is all it ever has been. A dream.
Wake up!! It is over for HSV as we know it. Finished. Done. What possible reason is there for anyone to believe otherwise?
You either leave or surrender to the failed state of malfeasance and live your little life paying more and more for less and less.
Those who could have left. More will continue to do so.
Funny how that works.
And guess what? Raising the fees and the monthly POA dues will accomplish NOTHING. Just more waste, fraud, and nonsense.
Hard to accept, but there it is folks.
Until there is a MAJOR change in governance the place is doomed. Doomed to fail at every turn. Am I the only one who sees this?
Sad. Truly sad indeed.
Andy Kramek
01/20/2021 — 7:45 am
No, Moe, you are not the only one. I was asked my opinion of what Mr King’s resignation would mean for the village by a friend who still lives there – here is my reply:
—- Begin —-
The expression ‘up s*** creek without a paddle’ leaps to mind. Clearly HSV is now completely ungovernable and the current BoD has no idea what they are doing, no clear sense of direction and no real plan for the future.
First they promised the GM job to the superbly qualified, long-term resident and then Treasurer, Dan Aylward (who had said he would quit his highly paid job to take on the GM role) but then they decided to hire someone else. Not surprisingly Dan resigned as Treasurer, sold his house and left the Village.
Then the Board in-fighting started to the extent that we now have only three elected Board members – the others being appointees and they seem to come and go at the rate of one every couple of weeks.
The new GM (with his questionably relevant experience of managing ski resorts in Utah) arrived in August and set about carving out his empire. The Board effectively relinquished all authority to him, giving him a free hand and total control over the finances. In less than 6 months he has quit citing negative comments from residents as the primary cause! Not exactly the behavior you would expect from a Senior Manager running a $35+ Million operation!
My opinion, for what is worth, is that he was way out of his depth and knew it. If you look back you will see that I was one of those who refrained from criticizing his appointment, his salary or anything else in August. Instead I strongly advocated giving him 6 months to see what he could do before attempting to assess him – unfortunately it seems that even 6 months was too long for him.
I am sorry but right now the only option that I see for HSV is a complete change of how the Village is run. Whatever course it takes I cannot see how assessment fees can remain close to what they are now – something on the order of $150 per month is clearly what is needed – but that won’t happen because it requires a vote of property owners! Basically the only other options are either to hand the whole shooting match off to a management company (if you can find one willing to take it on) or incorporate as a city. Take your pick! Either way I honestly believe the Village as we knew it is finished.
I just hope I am wrong in my assessment, but I very much fear that I am not.
Good luck to you all
Tom Blakeman
01/20/2021 — 9:02 am
I agree with Moe. The basic governance model is broken. And, no, a management company won’t fix it either. That would only be adding another layer of cost and insulation between Property Owners and the Village we own. Not acceptable and there is no such company out there anyway.
Phillip Lemler
01/20/2021 — 10:09 am
I respectfully disagree Tom … a professional management company would actually reduce the layers and costs … now= Board-GM-Operations … with a management company it would be Board-Management Company. The costs should be lower as these firms are probably much better run, they have a vested interest in controlling costs and there are companies out there now managing communities. They only way to make a good decision about this is to call some in and get their opinions and quotes. Otherwise, we are just opining … not good from a decision-making perspective!
Andy Kramek
01/20/2021 — 10:41 am
With all due respect, I have to agree with others who have posted their assessment of why the Village management is in the parlous state that it is. It seems there are two factors in play.
The first is that, as has been pointed out pointed elsewhere, “Our senior management is made up with personnel who got their positions through attrition or nepotism. Not by qualification or training.” Whether that is true in all cases or not, the fact that the perception even exists is a fundamental problem.
The second is that, whether you like it or not, Hot Springs Village is a small town (population about 14,000) with an annual budget in excess of $35Million and around 500 employees.
You can’t run that kind of enterprise by appointing accountants, lawyers, realtors, sales or IT managers to the Board or as a General Manager! People in these professions, while undoubtedly worthy and well-intentioned, all have a common set of skills in the sense that they require an essentially ‘small business’ mindset. By this I mean that they are either a one-person operation, employ just a couple of people (typically secretary and/or an assistant), or are running single-function departments whose budget, policies and strategic direction comes from senior management.
Having run such a “small” business myself, for over 25 years, I know that I am not qualified for either a Board position or the GM role because I just don’t have the right mindset. So who does have the right skill set? The UK’s Institute of Directors lists the five essential skills for a good director as being:
*** Strategic Thinking Good strategic thinkers can analyze the marketplace and identify opportunities to stimulate growth. They act decisively and are not afraid to change tack if a product isn’t delivering the anticipated results. But they also consider the impact of key decisions, offer contingency plans and risk mitigation.
*** Decision Making As a director you are required to determine the future of the organization, its strategy and structure and protect its assets and reputation. You also need to consider how decisions relate to ‘stakeholders’ and the regulatory framework. Stakeholders are generally seen to be the company’s shareholders, creditors, employees, customers, and increasingly, the community in which it operates.
*** Communication Effective communication means providing employees with the information that will enable them to do their jobs properly.
*** Leadership What makes a good leader is a subject so broad and far-reaching, that it has spawned countless books on the subject. Leadership is, in many ways, a discretionary bonus. It’s rarely what gets you promoted. That is getting the job done! But it can have an exponential impact on performance of the organization. Leadership is when one person follows another of their own free will because they feel engaged and inspired.
*** Analysis and Use of Information Whether it’s crunching the numbers, identifying market trends or simply cutting through the jargon that often masks what somebody is really trying to say, it’s important to know how to successfully harness the information and intelligence available about your business or sector. Ultimately, it helps you to understand where your business has a competitive advantage and what issues you should be addressing.
Interestingly these same traits are almost identical to those required for a good General Manager. Substitute “Meticulous Attention to Detail” for “Strategic Thinking and Decision Making” and you have it.
So take a good look at the resumes of those running for the Board (and if they are every published) the resumes of candidates for the GM position and ask yourself how their experience stacks up against those skills.
Phillip Lemler
01/20/2021 — 11:15 am
completely agree with Andy!
steve bylow
01/23/2021 — 1:48 pm
WOW – after reading some of these posts everyone better put their house up for sale as soon as possible and get off this sinking ship…
No, I think I’ll continue to enjoy the Village and just be thankful for the following:
1. The 2020 Board, under the leadership of Diana and Lloyd, did a great job of getting HSV back on track with transparency and sound decision-making like dumping the CMP. The fact that some Board members agreed to disagree and some left happens all the time in the real world.
2. Charles King did a great job of engaging and gaining the respect of staff and right sizing the organization. While I had hoped he would have been a long term employee, the results he and his team achieved over a short period was very impressive. The fact we are losing a talented GM should not shock us – he has a wealth of experience which is in demand.
3. I also appreciate the fact that the leaders of the POA and BOD are comprised of neighbors and not some out-of-state management company or consultants.
Thanks
Steve