HSVPOA Common Property Manager Updates Committee April 2022

Hot Springs Village Property Owners’ Association Common Property, Forest and Wildlife Manager, Todd Noles, addressed the CPFW Committee on April 4, 2022. He talked about many issues which included road patching, mowing, forestry management, and the Urban Deer Hunt.

Noles Thanks Billingsley for his Service

Noles said, “First of all I want to thank Max [Billingsley] for all you have done for the committee…You’ve done a great job. You’ve been a big help to me.” [Max Billingsley is stepping down from the position of committee chair due to being assigned to the Cooper Land Ad Hoc Committee. Billingsley will remain a regular member of the CPFW committee.

Mowing

The mowing contractors will start mowing in May. All of our tractors have been serviced, including blade and oil changes. Some of the wildflowers by the Woodlands are coming up.

Road Patching

Noles said he has spent most of the past month assisting with road patching for the Streets Department. They are trying to get caught up. Noles said, “I think we are averaging 30 or 40 tons of asphalt per week.”

Tree Thinning and Trimming

“Our logging project on Elcano has been slow because of the rain. The contractors have still been removing the brush. We will get that done.”

“Entergy is trimming around the transmission lines. They started on Pizarro and are working west.”

By Balboa Gate, the POA is going 75′ to 100′ past where Entergy was working and clearing the area for a proposed waterline.

“First Electric is trimming its powerlines on DeSoto Boulevard.”

Noles said the POA burned a massive amount of brush over a three-day period.

Forestry Management Project Being Planned

Noles said they are looking at an 80-acre overgrown stand of timber. They plan on thinning the land for forestry management purposes, but there will also be quite a bit of revenue collected from harvesting the timber. This site is very overgrown with 60′ to 80′ tall pines, with a circumference of 18″ to 24″.

Noles is conscious of preventing fire hazards and said there is no fire hazard when brush and limbs remain on the ground. A fire hazard is created when there is a ladder of debris. This happens when material builds up.

Urban Deer Hunt

The Urban Deer Hunt Application has been filled out and signed by GM Hale and is ready to be submitted to the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.

The hunt dates will be extended to February 28, 2023, which is the same as all of the other Urban Deer Hunts in Arkansas. The hunt begins on September 1, 2022.

Over 380 deer were tagged in the ’21/’22 season. When you take into consideration the number of deer that were taken illegally or those that were shot and got away, Noles estimates that a total of around 520 – 530 total deer were taken.

Problems with Last Year’s Urban Deer Hunt

Last year some of the hunters did not follow the rules or guidelines.

The theft of cameras, tree stands, ladders, and salt licks was a problem last year, simply because we had so many hunters, stated Noles. Littering was also a problem. One reason for the increased thefts and other problems was because word got around that there were monster bucks (bucks with large racks) in the Village. Noles said he spent two days cleaning up the debris left by last year’s hunters.

“Everybody wants to kill a big buck. That’s a problem. We’re not in here to kill big bucks. We’re in here to take out deer – to cut the number down – to stay up with the breeding cycle.”

In ’23/’24, possibly the Village Urban Deer Hunt will be limited to Members and one guest. Also, POA employees would be allowed to participate. In the ’21/’22 season there were 195 HSV participants out of 322 total. Noles and some others will be evaluating to see if there is enough interest among the Village residents to exclude outside hunters and make the Urban Deer Hunt another amenity. This may increase lot sales. People may purchase a lot so they can participate in the HSV Urban Deer Hunt.

If the hunt is limited to the Villagers and one guest each along with POA employees, the HSVPOA would collect the hunting fee instead of the Arkansas Bow Hunters Association. The Arkansas Bow Hunters collected $16,000 last year off of the Village hunt.

The HSV Archery Club and other bowhunters could handle Orientation, Qualification, Blood trail event, and the Treestand Safety class.

Limiting the urban hunt to members and one guest each plus the POA employees means the number of hunters would be lowered, therefore lessening problems. Noles feels Members would show more respect for the Village and be less likely to leave their trash.

Board Vice-Chair, Tucker Omohundro, asked if bypassing the Arkansas Bow Hunters would mean an increased liability to the POA.

GM Hale said, “We would have some responsibility because they are on our property, anyway.”

Scott McCord said they would do some due diligence on the liability.

Hunters Feeding the Hungry

The Games and Fish Commission would still monitor the hunt and donations would still be made to Hunters Feed the Hungry. This is a program where the hunters donate deer which is then processed into snack sticks and distributed to disadvantaged children at Arkansas schools.

Scott McCord shared an interesting fact. “There are seven urban deer hunts in the state of Arkansas. If you take the other six, add up all their deer donated to Hunters Feeding the Hungry, multiply that number times two, Hot Springs Village still donates more to Hunters Feeding the Hungry than all the others combined, times two.

Hot Springs Village Urban Deer Hunters feed children from the south border to the north border of the state. 85% of the snack sticks at the last hunt came from the Hot Springs Village Urban Deer Hunt.

Cheryl Dowden, April 5, 2022

Photography Joseph Dowden

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