By Former Board Director, Frank Leeming, 5-25-20
Former POA board president explains why he cast deciding vote for CMP
As we celebrate Memorial Day in a way none of us has ever done before, let’s also cheer the diversity of ideas in our wonderful country.
An example is the explanation below of why John Weidert cast the deciding vote when the POA board adopted the Comprehensive Master Plan (CMP) in his final meeting as board president.
John is a good guy who spent 41 years in service to our country as an Air Force officer and working for the National Security Agency and the U.S. State Department. After a three-year tour in Afghanistan, John retired in 2010 and joined his wife Connie here in the Village.
He was chair of the POA Recreation Committee before being elected to the board of directors in 2015. He is president of the local chapter of the Military Officers Association of America, president of HSV Rotary Club and active in the Hot Springs Metro Partnership.
Here’s what John wanted you to know:
Frank, I would like to thank you for the opportunity to write this and your providing room for it in your blog for its distribution. You and the folks reading this may be wondering why I have waited until now to say what I have to say. And, that would be a particularly good question.
That said, I was going to put something together concerning the Hot Springs Village Comprehensive Master Plan months ago. But, based on a conversation I had with an individual at that time, who was not the CEO or a former POA Director, I decided not to put something out.
However, I feel now is the time. Nothing I will say here will be confrontational in any way. Only factual!
The Hot Springs Village Comprehensive Master Plan was started, completed, and voted on during my tenure as Chairman of the POA board from April 2017 to April 2018. In fact, I was the deciding, tie-breaking vote in April 2018 to approve the plan.
Some background:
Our POA board sent out a Request for Proposal (RFP) early in our CMP planning process. We asked for a response no later than July 27, 2017.
Our initial HSV developer, Cooper Industries, gave a perfectly understandable negative response to our RFP request based on a previous business decision they were working at that time.
The eventual CMP contract was awarded to Crafton Tull and Associates, who have offices throughout Arkansas. They partnered with DPZ, a Miami firm.
Based on our RFP, the CMP would address the need for an overall plan to direct a phased development approach spanning our entire 26,000 acres and 40 square miles with 1-, 5-, and 25-year project prioritization, with emphasis on an April 2020 50-year milestone.
The plan should move the community focus from maintenance to successional development, build on existing HSV market studies and highlight missing analysis, identify programming gaps, and create a shared community vision that facilitates project prioritization and financial planning. The completed CMP would serve to attract additional resources needed to implement the plan over the next several decades. The effort must have community involvement, including neighborhood residents, non-resident property owners, and other stakeholders.
To ensure all these RFP items were covered, as a Village, we utilized the expertise of nine CMP subcommittees to work alongside our contracted companies.
The subcommittees were composed of board members, our professional staff, property owners, and our professional HSV business associates. Everyone worked together to make what we considered all the right things happen in coming up with a meaningful and workable CMP.
While the CMP was under development, it was stressed by me and others that the final CMP product was designed to be a “Living Document that is a road map, not something stamped in concrete. It could be changed when need be.”
The CMP is what I refer to as a “Contingency Document!” A road map, a guide, something that can and should be changed based on day-to-day situations you need to deal with. And when your contingency is dealt with, come back to the road map, and proceed on toward your final destination.
Folks, I have a couple of things to say and a request
There are a lot of folks out there who just seem to believe the CMP was created so we would build “Town Centers” in this Village. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
The fact is, over time, decades, if the demographic of HSV lends itself to Town Centers being a way to go, contractors would make that decision and ask property owners at that time if they, the contractor, could build such a Town Center. It would be the contractor’s financial venture, not an HSV financial venture.
Now here is my request!
Hot Springs Village has a CEO who has and is taking a lot of heat for a CMP that was not of her making.
The CMP was a 2017-2018 board’s request that it be done. I was the requester!
Our CEO only helped make that happen from an operational standpoint. And a major reason for that is the points in the CMP were the grading criteria for her annual report. So, under those circumstances, I would bet each of us would have embraced the CMP.
A major reason why we, the 2017-2018 board, figured we needed a CMP was twofold:
One, to incorporate within it three other studies which were done by prior boards and laying on a shelf gathering dust.
The other reason is Hot Springs Village did not have a plan for sustainable growth. We needed a plan, a CMP that was current and sustainable.
So, as I said at the onset if you harbor any negative feelings about the CMP, please blame me for its implementation. Because, had it not been for me being the deciding vote, we would not have this CMP.
And folks, we need to be smart. Let us make sure that before we get rid of one plan for the growth and sustainability of Hot Springs Village, we have one to take its place.
I want to thank each one of you for reading what I have had to say. And, Frank, thank you very much for giving this document room in your blog.
Everyone, please have a safe and blessed life in this wonderful Village of ours.
All my best,
John Weidert
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Last Wednesday, the new POA board annulled the CMP. The board also nullified more than 100 pages of protective covenants adopted when the CMP was approved.
In anticipation of the board’s action, Villager Gene Garner withdrew a suit filed in January 2019 against the POA. He argued the POA exceeded its authority when it adopted a 119-page set of rules, replacing three pages which had been in effect for nearly half a century.
Garner said the new board shared his call for transparency and he sees no reason to waste the time and money seeking what the new board has already taken care of.
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Cover photo from Max Pixel
Tom Blakeman
05/25/2020 — 3:45 pm
Opinion noted.
Kilroy
05/25/2020 — 4:15 pm
All this did was infuriate me.
John Weidert you are so very naive. Do you honestly think what you are saying now at this late date will soothe anything, anybody, anymore, anytime??
What do you take us for?
Probably subordinates?
First, your taking credit for as much as you did in your assessment of how this document (CMP) came to be; is vane and conceited.
There were way more people involved in its (CMP) birth, and we can probably say they had only “6 degrees of separation.”
Too many in your little network was working together to implement something that common sense would tell you…..knowing full well that it was an ill conceived piece of tripe, that could or would be implemented and happen only by working on the fringes of the community. These surveys and charrettes were during Christmas holidays when NO ONE knew what hit them.
You are now sending up a “red herring” to protect the most disturbingly dishonest little secretive “ceo”. She is also working in the shadows just like you and your protégée Weiss.
Second, the con game has gone on long enough. We are sick of your type. Building some trust in the community will not work with this feeble admission of yours. It only solidified my suspicion that the fraternity of yours was hard at work with the arrogance and audacity to think that you know what is best for Hot Springs Village.
Thanks for your military service.
Your service to our community pisses me off.
Joseph Vlasek
05/26/2020 — 8:17 am
Kilroy………….. Spot on!
I do have a question for John Weidert though? Where is the sustainable growth you promised us when YOU passed the CMP?
Al
05/25/2020 — 4:21 pm
This is the reply I sent to Frank via email….”I don’t give a crap what he has to say. I didn’t even read it ! Just another example of piss-poor management that has plagued the BOD for the past several years.”
Lorri Street
05/25/2020 — 4:35 pm
This was my reply to Franks email.
Dear Frank..this is BS! Feel free to forward my commentary to John Weidert.
Frank did just that and copied me. Smacks of the Trials at Nuremberg. Complicit…complicit…complicit!
Lorri Street
05/25/2020 — 4:38 pm
I have no idea why my comment no has a savedeletecancel attached to it?
HSVP C
05/25/2020 — 4:57 pm
Lorri, it has save, delete, and cancel because people now have a 30 minute period in which to edit any typos in comments. Thank you for commenting. – Cheryl
Monica Impellizzeri
05/25/2020 — 4:47 pm
Not impressed! All this sounds like is you still defending our overpaid CEO. I suppose you must have been the one to encourage all the trips Nalley, Hefner and other upper management took to the New Urbanism conventions. That must have been for the good of the Village too! I’m sure you must realize your little confession does nothing to change anyone’s mind about Nalley!
Dano
05/25/2020 — 4:47 pm
The plan should move the community focus from maintenance to successional development……………………………… John Weidert
What it was intended for is irrelevant because of what it became.
Successional development brought us a huge amount of overhead, staff, and middle management costs that exploded and maintenance got the short end.
Some championed the CMP as the the only way to move forward and neglected the things ABOUT HSV that brought us all here originally.
Sometimes we try so hard to be what we are capable of becoming, that we forget who we are. Holds true for people and for HSV
Frank Waller
05/25/2020 — 5:07 pm
Well John if that makes you sleep at night good for you. But facts are you wasted $500,000, spent even more on staff positions to support this farse and handcuffed the village with this CEO. Sleep well knowing your CMP (community manipulation plan) nearly ruined HSV.
Henry Ewersmann
05/25/2020 — 5:27 pm
I happen to have the minutes for the 9:00 A.M. Wed. April 18, 2018 BOD regular meeting of the Hot Springs Village.
Current Business: Comprehensive Master Plan
Director Roe MOVED to amend the MOTION.
The MOTION failed 4-2.
Director Mermel MOVED to to amend the MOTION.
The MOTION failed 4-3.
The original MOTION was approved 4-2 with Vice Chairman Weiss, Directors Cunningham, Medica & Parker voting in favor and Directors Roe and Mermel voting against. It looks like Chairman John Weidert did not vote.
But, I am just going by the actual minutes of the meeting.
I thought that it might be good to state the facts.
Thanks,
Butch Ewersmann
Fred Hale
05/25/2020 — 6:40 pm
Thank you, Mr. Ewersmann. That was a very informative posting.
Melinda
05/28/2020 — 9:57 am
Those same minutes also state “The CEO’s CMP…..”
Henry Ewersmann
05/28/2020 — 11:18 am
John Weider states: “However, I feel now is the time. Nothing I will say here will be confrontational in any way. Only factual!”
John, in his next paragraph, states “In fact, I was the deciding, tie-breaking vote in April 2018 to approve the plan.”
Melinda, you are correct about “The CEO’s CMP ……”.
I’m not sure what John deems as factual. It seems there are numerous things stated that are not true.
Thanks,
Butch Ewersmann
Fred Hale
05/25/2020 — 5:49 pm
Mr. Leeming, you should have known better than to send this item on this day. I am disappointed in you.
Mr. Weidert, after reading Mr. Leemings words then your words, noting your military service and the Memorial Day delivery of this post I am convinced that the CMP was first and foremost intended as a monument to the career of John Weidert. HSV majority property owners simply got in your way. I’m glad we did – because that was quite a circus you wrought.
At the time, I wondered why consecutive elections that gutted any hope of successfully implementing the CMP did not result in the resignation of anyone and everyone who championed the pro-CMP effort. Now I understand. Ego is a powerful driver.
Mr. Weidert and Ms. Nalley, the standing HSV BOD was elected with a mandate to:
1. Reign the HSV POA under immediate control both fiscally and operationally.
2. Immediately separate any employee(s) or contractee(s) who oppose task #1.
Mr. Weidert, surely you hoped that your attempt to deflect fire from Ms. Nalley would be seen as “noble”, especially today (of all days). Again, ego is a powerful and at times fickle driver. I find your statements to be contrived – not contrite.
Ms. Nalley has seen ample opportunity to demonstrate her allegiance to HSV in recent weeks. I have watched on YouTube as she has taken every opportunity to condescend rather than amend. I have watched as she attempts to OWN HSV property/records/etc rather than be an able steward. Misplaced loyalty inevitably comes at a high career cost. How long the damage stands will depend on how quickly Ms. Nalley learns.
The HSV BOD will chose its manner of bringing Ms. Nalley under control. I will support their decision.
Thank you, Dianna, Lloyd, Tucker, Kirk, & Dick. I really appreciate the five of you.
Fred Hale, HSV
Tom Blakeman
05/25/2020 — 6:32 pm
Amen, Fred.
Vicki Husted
05/25/2020 — 6:13 pm
I have no idea what possessed Mr. Weidert to pen this pathetic commentary. Trying to appear he’s falling on his sword for Ms. Nalley’s sake? Whatever his motive, I’m not buying anything he’s selling, and regret the wasted space and time it took to read.
Walter Chance
05/25/2020 — 6:58 pm
John, It is apparent you still believe in CMP and Nalley. Shame. You forgot that the property owners were not awarded the opportunity to vote on the initial plan. That the plan cost 500,000. That the Village was being neglected even then of maintaince of everything. Defer, defer. That the CMP was not amended or changed. It was set in concrete. Thank God we have a new board.
Chipmunk
05/25/2020 — 7:00 pm
I may be wrong but it seems to me this dude Weidert was also the one who instigated (mandated) Nalley becoming “ceo” and either dreamed up or helped implement (along with Weiss) her ridiculous contract. Maybe he’ll explain that too. Nut job.
Julie
05/25/2020 — 7:04 pm
I agree with all of you above…and I voted for the guy…and am very sorry I did. Luckily his words have no effect whatsoever on anyone or anything. None. It was a complete joke and a waste of electrons to send it to anyone.
The board has done the right thing and corrected the wrong he and the others foisted on us.
Anyone who wants to take credit for spending $500,000 for a worthless piece of paper from a worthless firm has to have a screw lose somewhere. There is no chance any of the CMP was ever going to be implemented. None. We are broke. There is no way any of it can or ever will be implemented.
All this post does is remind us all of the serious mistakes we made in the past supporting people like this guy….who were so woefully incompetent as to be laughable.
I thank him for his service to our country, but that has NOTHING to do with what he did to HSV through this scheme. Not even worth mentioning.
Onward people…just ignore these kind of wacky statements from those who no longer have any power to effect any change whatsoever. And give thanks that they are out of power. Finally. We waited to long but for now they are gone.
Karen Bump
05/25/2020 — 7:04 pm
If there were three strategic plans on the shelf gathering dust – WHY? Isn’t staff responsible for implementing the plans? Why did the boards of 2011, 2012, and 2013 not hold staff accountable to the plan(s)? Twiggs started in 2013, just 3 years into the previous strategic plan. Why did that board allow him to (or ask him to) completely change direction of the village to the New Urbanism concept?
To me there still seems to be a questionable motive as to why change the village focus from maintenance to development when no comprehensive marketing plan had ever been fully implemented to gain new residents/thus revenue instead.
Water under the bridge now though. I am glad for the actions of the current board to date and hope to see additional positive direction in the coming year.
Tom Blakeman
05/25/2020 — 7:12 pm
So the real question is why are not any of these prior “leaders” held accountable? Sounds just like DC.
Hans Kappen
05/30/2020 — 5:39 am
That’s the 500,000 dollar question,I would suggest,we make weidert,personally pay that back…
George
05/25/2020 — 7:12 pm
Doesn’t his quote sound backwards to anyone else?
“Our CEO only helped make that happen from an operational standpoint. And a major reason for that is the points in the CMP were the grading criteria for her annual report. So, under those circumstances, I would bet each of us would have embraced the CMP.”
The bottom line… $500,000, two plus years of churning and nothing was accomplished. Things that are sustainable result in ongoing improvements. That is not the case here.
Failures should not be rewarded.
Hold someone accountable.
DanO2
05/25/2020 — 7:47 pm
Someone is getting desperate. Still wondering what the compelling, unflagging motivation is for the pro-CMP club members. And the need to write such drivel. I can’t believe it is simply idealistic love of new urbanism.
The current board is off to a great start, but we still need to keep an eye out for all of the snakes in the grass. Slither, slither.
steve bylow
05/25/2020 — 8:13 pm
Frank – thank you for the post.
John – thank you for sharing your perspective and your service. While some folks are upset, I think a lot of people appreciate folks sharing their views.
In regard to my opinion, I believe most folks in the past Village Leadership positions were well intentioned. I may be wrong but it really does not matter because we’ve got a strong BOD focused on the future and wasting time debating the past is simply a distraction.
Thanks
STeve
Andy Kramek
05/25/2020 — 11:12 pm
I have rarely seen such a self-serving, sanctimonious document. Mr Wiedert states that: “Our POA board sent out a Request for Proposal (RFP) early in our CMP planning process.”
That is a completely disingenuous statement. The so-called RFP actually contained a comprehensive set of “deliverables” that had to be part of any “proposal”. In other words it was not a request for proposals, it was a request for an implementation plan to bring about that plan which the Board (and its 9 sub-committees!) had, without reference to the Property Owners, already decided upon.
They spent a half million dollars on a plan that could not possibly work without significant changes to the rules governing Hot Springs Village – changes that were subsequently soundly defeated at the ballot box by the Property Owners.
Now this person wants us to believe that he acted out of genuine concern for the future of the VIllage? Please, give us some credit for being able to read between the lines. This is as phony as the CMP itself.
Phillip Lemler
05/26/2020 — 7:18 am
Thank you for your service, Mr. Weidert!
Jeff Atkins
05/26/2020 — 11:10 am
I met with Lesley Nalley in her office in December 2016. During that meeting, I presented a plan for resolving the “lot issue”. The POA was preparing to hire the Broker for the Real Estate operation which started in January 2017.
Lesley told me during the meeting that the CMP would be the POA’s focus in 2017. I thought it was an excuse to brush me off.
John states that “The CMP was a 2017-2018 board’s request that it be done. I was the requester!” I’m not sure how Lesley could be telling me about the CMP in December 2016 if it wasn’t “requested” until 2017-2018.
Side Note #1: I was later told that the Real Estate Broker didn’t have time to read my *2 page* plan
Side Note #2: Please stop referring to the CMP as a $500,000 waste. The total cost was considerably more, including legal fees and other direct and indirect costs. I suspect the total cost was well of $1,000,000. Somebody should ask 🙂
Sbm
05/26/2020 — 2:51 pm
Add all the salaries that went into it all and the new hires and management….much much more then a million✌️😷
Melinda Noble
05/26/2020 — 11:10 am
There’s plenty of blame to go around. I for one want answers as to why someone without the experience or skills was hired in the first place. Not just hired but given a contract, salary and benefits that were never earned. You get what you paid for, well we never got what we paid for. How did the BOD not know they had made a mistake? Not only did the BOD not admit the mistake they continued to renew her contract, increase your salary and benefits. I want to know how this happened?
Patty MacDonald
05/26/2020 — 11:56 am
I’ll bet that every Villager who ever served in the military remarks on first entering HSV, “This reminds me of a (somewhat scruffy) military reservation. What it needs is a change of command.” If memory serves, John Weidert was one of three retired colonels on the POA board at the same time, whose adult life experience was in the military. The colonels’ total management experience was “top-down control.” Like a dictatorship, it’s stable and efficient for awhile, but it does not work well over time when imposed on a bunch of independent-minded civilians.
The military is continually working on contingency plans, as they should. Interesting that Weidert mentions the involvement of DPZ of Miami in crafting our Comprehensive Master Plan. The much-despised 103 pages in it smacks of the regimentation at the “The Villages” in Florida. (When I toured new home models there, a sales rep. told me that I could choose 1 tree for the front yard from a short list—“and don’t ask for two.”) Early manifestations of these “new towns” were Columbia, MD and Reston, VA. I lived in Reston back in the 1980’s and I can attest that it was not Utopia. An interesting research project would be to compare similarities of The Village’s CMP and the one the colonels imposed on us here. I’ll bet their ideas were not even new. An Army widow
Minn Daly
05/26/2020 — 7:20 pm
Agree totally with all above, especially Jeff Atkins! HSV has been a mess under last 4 LEGACY BODS tenure. They did not concider the developers rights or membership rights. This was not just done by One it took all on BOD at time of passing. This is not about Military service it is about business sense. Not political or rocket science. It was & is about BUSINESS. Apparently all on LEGACY forgot that dues run the village & people who are owners resent being dictated to on issues that are totally STUPID when all interests are not concidered. This was a waste, HSV can’t recoup, but certainly learn from. We now have a BOD with business creds as well as common sense who love this community. Looking back should only be educational, not putting targets on all legacy Board members who started a failed plan, division with membership. NEW BOD have enough on their plate to deal with a CEO & a CONTRACT from hell, an over bloated highly paid POA Staff. Minn Daly
Mark
05/26/2020 — 8:07 pm
My guess is Air Force Lt. Colonel with minimal real world experience. Fire Nalley and Weidert can follow her out.
Robert Busse
05/26/2020 — 8:41 pm
Weidert is a bigger jerk than I thought!! “The plan should move the community focus from maintenance to successional development” right at the time it was becoming obvious to everyone, including the POA/BOD that our Village was grossly behind (some say $40 million or more) in its maintenance programs for infra-structure, assets and amenities and the place was falling apart!
“The effort must have community involvement, including neighborhood residents, non-resident property owners, and other stakeholders.” The completely innocent CEO (according to John) and Weidert and the BOD could not figure out from the Declaration and Articles vote that this CMP requirement was not going to get much large scale approval and member involvemant.
“To ensure all these RFP items were covered, as a Village, we utilized the expertise of nine CMP subcommittees to work alongside our contracted companies”. I may not have gotten the info, but I don’t recall the formation of 9 subcommittees to look at and study the CMP. And if there were, like all POA committees, the committee members are made up of pro leadership individuals and POA staff and now with the Tull/DPZ persons. If the committees were established and came up with anything backers didn’t want, it was ignored.
” The CMP is what I refer to as a “Contingency Document!”. Again, I might be wrong, but I think a contingency plan is something that is held in reserve or backup to normal operations/happenings/events, so that if things go wrong, the plan is there to get things redirected. It is not something that is turned into a ByLaw that governs everyday activity and dictates your everyday moves.
Finally, ” Hot Springs Village has a CEO who has and is taking a lot of heat for a CMP that was not of her making.” ” The CMP was a 2017-2018 board’s request that it be done. I was the requester!”
If Nalley and the POA were just bit players and the CMP was generated and driven by Weidert and the Board, why does Nalley claim that the CPM was her baby and other POA Executives are so entrenched in the program. After Weidert and company left the scene the CMP was elevated to be the prime overall item in POA operations that governed everything that was done daily and anything that was proposed for future action.
If this is all hard facts as Weidert claims, it just enhances my thoughts that he and his leadership was extremely detrimental to the Community and he needs to get his head out in the sunlight!
George Phillis
05/26/2020 — 9:59 pm
Thank you for your military service Mr Weidert. I appreciate your explanation regarding why you decided to vote yes for the CMP, although I find it insulting and nothing more than trying to protect a ceo who has failed miserably. There’s a lot more to the evil scheme than most can imagine. You said you wanted a “Contingency Document”. Really? In my experiences I’ve always had a “contingency plan” whether it was a military operation, starting a small company, or heading off on a 6 week adventure somewhere. To me a contingency plan (document) is not a 300+ page animal. It is for when things/events do not go as planned. When taking on a mission/job/project a good commander/manager has a fairly good idea of what can go wrong and you plan for it. You also know there are things/events which happen and were not in the contingency plan. No one can plan for everything so you learn to roll with the punches. Contingency plans are concise directions put in simple straight forward language.
The CMP, in my opinion, was a development plan and I dare say the majority of property owners feel the same way. Consider the company you and the board hired to come up with the CMP. They gave the board a development plan based on their (DPZs) philosophy. DPZ is an architectural and town planning firm who are known for urbanization. I believe the board with their own research and utilization of the talent in the Village could have come up with an outstanding plan without spending $500,000 of POA money. I understand wanting to “look down the road” however there is much in the CMP that simply will not work in the Village because of topography alone. It was a cookie cutter plan they dusted off and soaked the POA for half a million dollars. It’s painful to know one vote was the difference. The adoption of the CMP and the method by which management forced it along on a painful path lead to a division not ever experienced in the history of the Village and I pray not ever again. I would hope you are not proud of what you did as it wrecked havoc on the Village and unleashed an incompetent, power hungry ceo on us.
The other large problem, besides the expenditure for a plan destined to failure whether everyone was for it or not, was/is the leadership, specifically the ceo. There was no listening of the Villagers by management. No transparency. There was so much tunnel vision to cram the CMP forward whether the finances were there or not. In my opinion the ceo looked at the CMP as an opportunity to write her own ticket if successful. Blind ambition. Yes, the ceo has some skills however not the skills or qualifications, either business wise or personel wise, to carry off such a grand scheme. All efforts were to fulfill the basic concept of the CMP and while doing so management ignored our infrastructure and financial stability. The current problems in HSV are do to poor management decisions supported by a board who did not fulfill their fiduciary responsibilities to the property owners. Leadership, not the CMP, has gotten us to the brink of bankruptcy. The need to borrow three million dollars to pay our operating expenses speaks volumes regarding HSVs financial status. It’s not the pandemic that did it. If we were in “sound” financial condition as stated by the ceo at a recent meeting the current pandemic would have been just a bump in the road and not put us in the dire situation we are at the present time. The CMP was only the catalyst……poor management has taken us down the wrong path.
I write this as my opinion based on life experiences, HSV financial information/data, decisions/actions by the ceo and past boards. I will not debate this post.
Regards,
George Ken Phillis
George Phillis
05/26/2020 — 11:39 pm
I posted the below scenario well over a year ago, then posted it again about 6 months ago when LTD were running for board positions. I feel it is important to revisit that post as I see the question asked again and again….”Why would anyone do this?”…..in reference to the incessant push for the CMP. As an aside I find it interesting the ceo just recently, at one of the video meetings, read a section from the CMP to the new board members. She read a portion which stated “the POA could not be a developer”….regarding CMP projects. So was this done to deflect any idea that she, board members and others were intending to be developers for CMP projects? It says the “POA” can’t be developers but does not specify individuals, or a “development company” comprised of board members, their friends or employees. That’s what’s known as a “loop hole”.
The following is that post. It is my opinion based on life experiences and common sense….”Follow the Money.”
The following is what I believe to be the reason(s) for the CEO/BOD cramming the CMP down our throats. First, in my opinion the CEO and the BOD members (including past and present, excluding Diana Podawiltz and Dick Garrison) know what they are doing regarding the CMP and their nefarious scheme for HSV. The question must be asked why so many secret meetings and outright refusals to provide information, to which property owners are entitled? What is it “the group” (CEO/BOD/others) don’t want us to know? They are not stupid. They knew IF they were up front and truthful with property owners their nefarious scheme would not have been acceptable, especially with a price tag of $500,000 for a cookie cutter plan….the CMP. They were also counting on the fact property owners were still asleep at the wheel because, in reality they have been for many years.
The effort to slide the declarations through with a vote was in their minds, an easy task. They did not expect some property owners would realize they were up to no good and started a movement to quell their attempt to totally neutralize any say property owners would have regarding what goes on in the Village.
One must also follow the money. Whose pockets will be filled if the CMP is forced upon HSV? In my opinion there are several people with their finger in the pie. The individuals who are having secret meetings, possibly some present and past BOD members and the CEO. It is also my opinion there are others we’re not aware of that are involved with this endeavor to change HSV drastically.
The “plan” involves a number of construction projects both commercial and private. Pocket neighborhoods and a town center, alone will entail a tremendous amount of construction. There will be the need for a “developer” and of course, investors….after all, it takes a lot of money to pay for the construction. Who will be the developers? Those who are involved in cramming this CMP down our throats….”the group”. There is a tremendous amount of money to be made being a developer. They will make fancy brochures and hype it up in various ways to attract investors. Financial projections will be made on soft numbers with the caveat….there’s no guarantee, however the ROI (return on investment) will be juicy. I assure you there are those out there who will roll the dice. If the whole idea fails it doesn’t matter to the developer because they will pocket their money upfront…it will be a “built in expense”.
I have seen this scenario in the oil exploration business when I was a Certified Petroleum Geologist with my own exploration company. The difference is the developers were called operators and they made money despite drilling a dry hole. The bad part was the operators knew the chances of a commercial well….a well that makes more money than it took to drill it….was a long shot. They used “soft” data along with inflated financial projections based on cost, recovery and future oil prices to lure investors. And of course the caveat……there were no guarantees. The operators used OPA (other people’s money) to fund the drilling prospect with their profit built in so no risk for them. In my opinion this is one possible scenario of what is happening here in HSV……same story just different subject and actors.
Another possibility is the intentional push of HSV into bankruptcy. We’re then easy pickings, and down go the gates. Become a municipality? Possibly, however it doesn’t matter to “the group” as they will be the developers to slice and dice the Village as they please. They will swope in to make the big bucks as the developers. When it fails…and I have no doubt it will, ‘the group” will pad their pockets and walk away with a smirk on their face.
This is why we ALL must elect Lloyd Sherman, Tucker Omohundro and Dick Garrison come March. We must be proactive in getting out facts and information to property owners and getting them to vote for the three I’ve mentioned. “The group” is not going to lay down. We must ramp up our fight. We must be watchful and insure “the group” doesn’t use POA money….OUR money (as they did during the declaration vote) to push their agenda for their candidate. And don’t kid yourself. “the group” has their candidate. Those who are doing the research must continue to find as much information as possible regarding the nefarious dealings of our management. A huge thank you to those who are doing the research and those who support this effort to right the ship.
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George “Ken” Phillis
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George “Ken” Phillis
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George “Ken” Phillis
Carl
05/27/2020 — 6:27 am
If this Weidert guy had any sense of decency his letter would have been a complete apology for whatever part he had in the whole CMP nonsense.
He should be begging for forgiveness, not making senseless claims that are beyond the pale.
Like all megalomaniacs, it is all about him.
Well, I have news for the guy. It isn’t about him. He is gone. Out of power, thankfully, and impotent.
He did nothing to help HSV when he was on the board. In fact, everything he did hurt HSV more than we may ever know.
The lies, the manipulation, the secret meetings, the insane contracts, the bullying, the malfeasance, the missing money, the sheer foolishness and insanity of all of it is beyond words.
I have news for the guy. Weak people turn to others to send out their pathetic, whining, insincere, and crazy little missives, just as he did by turning to Frank to get the job done. Is he too cheap to buy an ad in the Voice??
He is now nothing more than a distraction, which maybe was his whole point.
How he can continue to hold his head high and brag about his duplicity and malfeasance is beyond belief.
I wish he would run again for the board. I would only need one hand to count his votes.
Linda
05/27/2020 — 10:52 am
Seriously, really I do not believe a word of this explanation. I believe this is a strategy of trying to keep the CEO in her position. The POA Board needs to follow the money. We should all be convinced now and especially the new Board that all avenues must be researched. The Treasurer should be able to get financial reports that is needed whether the CEO wants the Board to have them. An audit needs to be conducted by the Board not the management of the POA. This is my opinion, however our Board is definitely working hard to get the answers. Thank you for all you do and will do for this beautiful place we now call our forever home.