The Hot Springs Village Board of Directors approved the 2022 Fee Schedule at the October 20, 2022 Board meeting.

Director Gary Belair presented the motion

I move to approve the 2022 Fee Schedule, Version 1 as published.  It includes a few changes.  They are published.  Would you like me to read each one?

Chair Joanie Corry stated that it is important that we understand what we’re doing here.

Belair read the proposed changes:

• The 2022 Fee Schedule includes increased assignment and deeded owner changed transfer fees.
• Introduce a notary services fee of $7.00.
• Introduce credit card processing fee of three percent for assessments, utilities and annual memberships.
• Introduce $10.00 work pass vehicle decal and $10.00 annual work pass for six plus work passes purchased annually.
• Introduce buy-in fee for unimproved lots for first time buyers, only.
• Introduce buy-in fee for improved lots for first time buyers, only.
• Increased golf annual, daily fees, 30 day passes, cart registration and fees, and cart lease fees.
• Rounding increase of fitness daily fees.
• Remove fitness personal trainer fee.
• Decreased annual pool fees.
• Rounding increase of pickleball fees.
• Increase tennis fees.
• Increase dog park fees.
• Increase annual recreation bundle passes without golf.
• Introduce annual recreation bundle passes to include Coronado golf on Tuesdays and Thursdays, only.
• Decrease croquet fees.
• Introduce new archery annual fees.
• Introduce new five and ten visit amenity recreation pass fees.
• Rounding increase of rental facilities fees.
• Rentals changed from quarter hour to hourly fees.
• Introduce rental fees of Casa de Carta.
• Introduce concert backline rental fee.
• Increase set-up and tear-down rental facility fees.
• Introduce fee for donations on ticket sales five cents.
• No change to library fees.
• Increase boat annual and seven day fees.
• Increase shoreline herbicide applications.
• Introduce residential sanitation curbside monthly fees and 20% medical disability discount on at-house monthly fees.
• Introduce sanitaiton truck trip to tip residential container fee – $5.00.
• Increase commercial sanitation fees.
• Increase water and waste water fees.
• Introduce meter and box replacement, and meter tampering, and theft of water service fees.
• Introduce back flow preventer annual inspection and report fee – $50.
• Introduce utility shutoff fee – $50 minimum monthly.
• Introduce fees for dumping, wastewater repair, commercial wastewater service calls, relocation of tank, pump, discharge line and panel and repair for damages and theft to wastewater lift station and/or facilities.
• Increase road and utility service connection fees.
• Increase property pins location fee.
• Introduce compliance boat ramp violation fee – $50.
• Increase public safety false alarm and police service fee for estate and auction sales.
• Increase animal control fees.

Director Pam Avila seconded the motion

Discussion of Motion – Belair said:

The Finance and Planning Committee, with a lot of input, examined the fee schedule and the budget, by the way.  But has nevertheless, spent time on the fee schedule and determined that it was within the recommendations from the FRATF task force this summer and input from the committee.  So, I would recommend passing the fee schedule.

A lot of changes were made including rounding up

Director Tucker Omohundro said, “Coreena [Fetterhoff, Controller and Board Treasurer], it sounds like a lot of things are going up.”

Coreena Fetterhoff responded, “there’s a lot of cleanup for rounding. [Indecipherable]

Director Bob McLeod, “a lot of rounding errors.  It sounded a lot worse than it is.”

Fetterhoff said, “yes.”

Omohundro stated, “correct me if I am wrong and I could be.  But, none of these fee increases are, some are probably less, but probably are increased above the [Southern] CPI.”

Fetterhoff replied, “no, the only things that did have a substantial difference was some of the repairs that were, that are being added, that are new.  So that would cover material costs.  Other than that, the biggest increase would have been with the 5.8 percent and many of those items were much less than that.”

Omohundro, “right.  I want to be clear.  It just sounded like everything, everything raised way up and that’s not the case.  Some of it was twenty cents, rounded up, maybe twenty cents on something.”

Avila stated, “well I think the other important thing to keep in mind is that the recommendation from the task force was really for a more balanced approach to our financial situation and our revenue generation and this is part of balancing that approach so that it is not all falling into the assessment bucket.”

Three percent credit card fee

Corry asked, “I have a question.  This 3% credit card processing fee is probably going to – we’ll hear a lot about that, I would guess.  Would you tell us why we did that?”

Fetterhoff said,  “this is to help offset the fees that we are incurring everytime a card is being processed.  So, if you guys recall from our presentation, our credit card fees are drastically over budget.  That’s all banking and credit card fees.  But this would just be to help offset, because we do spend several hundred thousand dollars a year in credit card and banking fees.  So, like I said, it’s…”

Corry replied, “that’s par with any other business.”

Fetterhoff said, “yeah.”

Corry said, “I mean you pay the…”

Fetterhoff replied, “you go to get tags on your vehicle at the revenue office or you want to pay your property assessment on line, all of those, there is a 3% charge, as well.  Kind of try to follow that structure.  We’re not applying it to everything.  So if you go out and you’re buying something at the golf shop, it doesn’t apply there.  It is to your assessments, your utilities, and the annual purchases.”

Omohundro responded, “and all of these things could be done – if you want an automatic payment – it can be done through your bank account.”

Fetterhoff said, “you can always set up ACH [automatic withdrawal from your bank account].  There will not be an additional fee for that.  You can always still pay by check.”

Omohundro said, “the negative is going to be – they are not going to get rewards or dollars back on their credit card purchases through that way. “

Corry explained, “because that is really what surcharge is going to – to pay for you to get airline miles or …”

Omohundro said, “we don’t offer discounts for that, but we’re doing it when we let them use a credit card.  Right?”

Fetterhoff replied  “yes.  There are alternative methods, so that you do not have to pay that 3%, but we pay it.  So it is just to help offset, if you do decide to use it.”

Belair said, “so to be a bit redundant.  It is a pass through on these items.”

Omohundro stated, “Before we were basically eating it.  Now they are gonna have…they will now be paying for it.”

New amenity bundle  With Coronado golf included on Tuesdays & Thursdays

Corry agreed.  “Another one I had – I think this may be wording, but I dont’ know.  ‘Introduce annual recreation bundle passes to include Coronado golf on Tuesdays and Thursdays, only.’  Is Coronado golf not opened any other day except Tuesday and Thursday?”

Fetterhoff answered, “they are one of our slower participated-in courses.  And so that is why they have chosen that one on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  They have less going on.  So it is the most open time of Village-used course.”

Corry asked, “to do what?”

Fetterhoff replied, “so they are adding golf to that package.  The bundle that we have currently gives you access to several different amenities as far as the dog park and stuff like that.  We are taking it one step further and introducing the same bundle, but with golf play at Coronado on Tuesdays and Thursdays.”

Corry said, “Gotcha!  So if you buy that annual recreation bundle, you get Coronado golf on Tuesday and Thursdays, only.”

Fetterhoff  answered, “if you choose that one.”

Omohundro asked, “and that is green fees?”

Fetterhoff replied, “yes, you would still pay the golf cart [fee] and surcharge.

McLeod said, “in going over these fees, I know that a lot of my golfing friends are curious as to the green fees going up.  For a daily minimum fees at the golf courses – they are not going up.  And then the golf cart is only going up fifty cents.  So when we talk about all of these increases, there is a lot of bookkeeping that we’re doing, rounding up to the next dollar and it sounded a lot worse than it is and I just want to point that out.  Keep pointing that out because it sounded like we have a lot of increases, and we don’t.”

Avila said, “it did sound pretty bad.”

McLeod,  stated, “it did, it did.”

Introduction of new sanitiation fees

Corry inquired, “‘Introduce residential sanitation curbside monthly fees and 20% medical disability discount on at-house monthly fees.’  So, does that mean if you have a medical disability, then you can get a discount on the fee to pick up at your door?”

Fetterhoff answered, “correct.”

Corry  asked, “that’s the $5 fee? “

Fetterhoff stated, “no, the $5 fee is for if you were supposed to have your trash out by a certain time and the truck is already down the road and you call and say, ‘wait, I need you to come back and get my trash can.'”

Corry said, “I didn’t know you could do that.”

Omohundro replied, “I didn’t know that was an option.  Can they come back?  I missed it last week.”

Fetterhoff said, “so that is the ‘return trip fee.’  If they’ve got to come back out while they are still out on their route.”

Corry asked, “really?  I did not…”

Omohundro said,  “I thought we were just out of luck.”

Fetterhoff replied, “well, usually you are.”

Meter tampering and theft of services

Corry asked, “Do we have a lot of meter tampering and theft of services?”

Interim GM, John Paul answered, “You would have to ask Jason [Temple, Director of Public Services].

Corry repeated the queston.

Temple replied, “not a whole lot.  We really don’t have a whole lot, but we do have a few every year and the staff is – without any type of a fee or policy in place – the staff has no means to manage those situations and so that is what the fee is for.”

Illegal dump site discussion

Corry said, “also, I just have a separate question.  It doesn’t have anything to do with this.  I am on a roll today.  One of your reports, and it is back a month or two months ago, talked about – I think it was your report – talked about cleaning up an illegal dump site.  Do you do that?  Is that what your department does?”

Temple answered, “yes ma’am.  The Street Department – Sanitation Department – we’ve got the new grappel truck and even before we had the new grappel truck, we would physically go out and clean up an illegal dump.  Lot of times the Police Department will report those to us at the end of a cul de sac, way out there in the middle of nowhere.  We do have folks that will dump their leaf debris or dishwasher or something like that out there and we’ll go out and clean it up.”

Corry asked, “do you ever find out who did the illegal dumping?”

Temple replied, “I’d have to ask Chief Ricky Middleton.  I don’t know of any time we’ve ever caught anybody in the act or found out later, but often we get reports by people who walk their dogs or the Police Department and we’re just taking care of the Village.”

Corry said, “I noticed that there were nine illegal dump sites in a two-month period and I just was curious.”

Water at construction sites

Omohundro said, “I know we allow basically when we don’t have a meter on a new job site or something like that, we allow the contractors to get water.  That’s going to continue to be okay, if it doesn’t have a meter.  Am I correct?”

Temple answered, “without a meter, there is no way – if there is just a service tap there, we’ll haul water to them or we’ll bring water to them – type of thing.  But you usually put a meter there at that service box for them to get water to their site.”

Belair asked, “Do we own a meter that can be attached to the fireplug?”

Temple said, “we do that, too.  We do that too.”  But let’s say for example, we’re out there – they’re on a street that doesn’t have the water and sewer down it and they want to start laying block now and they need water for their cement, we’ll try to bring water to them to fill up a barrel or something like that so they can get water for it.  But then, once we get that water line in and we put a meter box there, at that site, then we put a meter in and then they are buying water under a contract meter or construction meter.”

Omohundro responded, “I’ve done that a few times and there have been plenty of times there wasn’t a meter there is the reason I am asking the question.”

Temple said, “that shouldn’t be allowed.  I know it does happen.  But it is not supposed to happen.”

Omohundro said, “yeah.”

Temple added, “we’d rather just work with the contractors and give them what they need because we want rooftops.  We want to help out in that area.”

False alarm fees and police service fee for estate auction sales

Corry asked, “the last one may be run together.  I don’t know.  ‘Increased public safety false alarm and police service fee for estate auction sales.’ Are those two separate things?”

Fetterhoff answered, “yes.”

Corry continued, “And do we now charge a police service fee for estate auctions or only if the police are called there?”

Fetterhoff replied, “let me refresh with one this is.”

Corry said, “and that’s okay.  I just was curious.”

Fetterhoff stated, “I’d have to have Ricky [Police Chief Middleton] give you the full explanation.  I’m thinking its if they were called out there to…”

Multi-visit amenity pass

McLeod asked, “I have one more question.  What is the ‘multi-visit amenity pass?'”

Fetterhoff  replied, “I will let Terry [Wiley] kind of speak to that – the multi-visit amenity pass.  I think it is five and ten.”

McLeod stated, “Five and ten, what is that?”

Wiley said, “it basically provides for a discount of the daily fee at pickleball, the fitness center and tennis is $8 and if you buy five or ten, you get a discount.  It just encourages particpation through bulk buying.”

Fetterhoff said,  “I think, especially if you have family visiting and stuff like that.” 

Corry asked, “We have a family member pass.  How many family members get to be on them?”

Fetterhoff responded, “There is not a limit to how many family members.  There are rules of which family qualfies.”

Corry stated, “but it doesn’t matter.  If you have 15 kids?”

Fetterhoff said, “there are rules that come into play.”

Omohundro stated, “If you have 15 kids, you can’t afford to go with the discount.”

Fetterhoff elaborated, “it is based upon – there’s different criteria under which category they would fall better.”

Interim General Manager, John Paul, said,  “brothers and sisters don’t qualify as family?”

Fetterhoff answered, “no, the lineage has to go up and down.”

The Proposed 2022 Fee Schedule Motion was passed unamiously

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2022 Fee Schedule (Click on the arrows to enlarge in order to see both the 2021 fees and 2022 fees and the difference)

9_2022_Fee_Schedule

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