Editor’s note: The following email from HSVPOA property owner, Clark G. Vernon, is in response to comments made by Vice-chair Dick Garrison at the November board meeting and reported on in an article in the Hot Springs Village Voice. This article was written by Lewis Delavan and dated Tuesday, December 1, 2020. Click here to read the Village Voice article.
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FROM: Clark G. Vernon,
DATE: December 1, 2020
TO: Board of Directors, Charles King
SUBJECT: * Building Trust / Re: Your “Delavan” article in the 12.1.20 “Voice”
Dick, I totally disagree with your comment that you’ve (the Board) had accomplished nearly all you wanted in the last 6 months, and are now ready to move on to bigger things.
In fact, I find that the tenor or the article referenced is sounding more and more like the old “Legacy Board.”
If you want trust I suggest you start with:
1. Amending the Articles of Incorporation (which right now only the Board can do) to give the property owners the right to vote on issues substantive to them as the stakeholders of this community, and most importantly give property owners the right of Board Member Recall.
2. We have just crawled through more than 15 years of abusive “Legacy Board” domination, irrational leadership, and irrational spending. During that period of time and before – we have never had a complete “Control Audit.” But we have had Board members and Staff who have controlled our accounting function, changed systems, and written accounting policy. What we do not have is definitive proof that the accounting system, accounting policy, and controls meet our expectations. Since we have no knowledge of whether we have adequate accounting controls that are both effective and being followed – who do we trust until an appropriate control audit is performed by appropriate accounting professionals? Give us this and we can begin to trust.
3. During the aforementioned period of time and back even further, the Village has languished in a partially developed state, but with “built-out” status of some of its amenities. I refer to Golf. The Golf operations have never made money to the best of my knowledge but been a continuous cash drain. Before you come to us for more money, do something about a perennial loser. If you expect the population to support paying more dues, then first do what you can to improve the situation. Failure to do so just shows us we continue to lack good management with the gumption to do what is right. And, this forces the exercise of what should be rule number one – “Don’t give more money to bad management.”
Golf courses need to be closed. Want an outline?
a. Find the 3 or 4 greatest annual losers.
b. Determine the impact on the lot and built home values of converting from an active golf course to maintained green space/ maybe even a Frisbee Course. How do you do this – hire a reputable and appropriate appraiser. (From the history of sales in the Village, I think you will find the incremental value of homes on the golf courses – particularly on the homes surrounding the 3 or 4 greatest losers will be less than you imagine.)
c. Include the club/house/restaurants in this. After all, until Nalley split the restaurants out they were part of the golf courses. She only was trying to make the golf operation losses look less, by moving another losing operation to the side.
You can’t ask homeowners and lot owners for more money to continue this suicide mission you’ve been on. Sure some golf course frontage property owners will be upset – so be it. It will be exponentially fairer to the great majority of stakeholders, and when you’ve been fair to them – then you will find their support.
Some random comments: **I noticed your new Article 15 – who are you to determine when someone is verbally abusive? It comes with the territory. Do your job, and you will have less of it. Continue on this path, and you will find yourself sideways to “Freedom of Speech” issues, and you will end up costing us a whole lot more money. (This really smells like “Legacy Board” action and the not so distant scent of Nalley.)
The 3 minute Board meeting presentation rule was adopted to ward off the population and keep them at bay – want trust – do away with it! Give priority to folks who notify you in advance they would like to address Board and Management. Don’t start back up by pushing them off again!!
This is not a normal HSV/POA that you can routinely compare to others like you, our new manager, and Board have recently been doing. You take a 1,000 lot POA/HOA that is only 25% built out and 70% developed from an infrastructure standpoint, and it would be out of business in less than 5 years period.
Our management/government has been incompetent and over-bearing for way too many years – you need to fix that – but do not come around for more money until you have done your job and represented all the stakeholders here to the best of your ability.
Want a way to ease the pain of golf course closure? Ask me.
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*Additional Editor’s notes: Below is a portion of Vice-chair Garrison’s commentary that Mr. Vernon refers to:
“We’ve been – the new board – at this for about 6 months now, and I want to say we’ve accomplished most of the short-term objectives we had, and the people out there had for us,” Garrison said. “We’ve spent a lot of time lately discussing our long-term objectives. We don’t have a finished product yet, but we’re working very hard on it.”
“You hear Charles (King) say earlier that he and his staff are working to build reserves that we can use for our long-term needs – and I’m talking basically about our infrastructure needs.”
“In our discussions, something came out that’s very real to me, and it’s that most of you out there spend more money on your cell phone monthly than you do on your assessments; most of you out there spend more money on your cable service than you do on your assessments.
“Most [home-owner, property-owner associations] pay for everything through assessments, we only pay for about half of what we do here,” Garrison said.
“So we’re going to need an assessment increase, and I’ve said for a couple of years now that we need to earn the right to ask you for an assessment increase, and we will do that.”
**The comment Mr. Vernon makes regarding Article 15 has to do with the following change.
Chapter-One-Article-15-Rules-Violations-and-or-Abuse-of-Property-Policy* * *
Click here to visit Clark Vernon’s website, “Americana When dot com.
Thank you for reading. Be sure to bookmark this website. Click here to visit the Hot Springs Village People Facebook Group.
Joseph Vlasek
12/02/2020 — 5:21 pm
Clark Vernon: Spot On! And No Assessment Increase!
David Sintich
12/02/2020 — 6:38 pm
Very good article. I can understand a minor increase in dues BUT first give us all an outlined plan as to what monies will be used for and spent on exclusively. At this point in time and near future any and all money is to be and must be used for infrastructure only and not wage increases or trips, parties or any unnecessary ideas. We are sinking and need to regroup before other desires are given out. Employees are earning a wage and have benefits. In business, at times, employees have to take one for the business to have a future. If they desire to leave, so be it, others are in need of jobs also. In the four years I have lived here there has been too much waste and not enough wise choices. Don’t give away board responsibility and keep a thumb on Village happenings. Learn from the past, the future may bite you in the ass.
Mark
12/02/2020 — 6:52 pm
HSV will never be financially healthy unless some of the golf courses are closed. Raising assessments to support losing “amenities” is not a viable option.
Bob Mollerberg
12/02/2020 — 9:47 pm
Bob Mollerberg
Just what I always wanted. A $200,000 Executive GM & Dick Garrison lecturing me about their need for more money. Here’s a thought & a few suggestions for you both.
Thought: Most Villagers would not object to a modest assessment increase. We do however seriously object to waste & mismanagement of the funds that we provide.
Suggestion: Cut the GM and top Mgt. & Directors salaries by the same % as the increase you ultimately ask for. Mr. Garrison, if you are so concerned about the financial condition of HSV why don’t you set up a “go fund me” account to solve the problem. You can be the first contributor as a % of your retirement income. That ought to give you a clue as to how an assessment increase might go over.
George
12/03/2020 — 4:46 am
No more money until these fools stop losing it.
Marty
12/03/2020 — 7:44 am
Posting on lame websites will never solve a single thing. Ever.
HSVP C
12/03/2020 — 8:45 am
LOL Marty, you are pointing the finger at yourself. Thanks for my chuckle of the day. Have a great one! – Cheryl
Lloyd E Sherman
12/03/2020 — 10:32 am
And what is your answer to attempting to inform the property owners of what is actually going on; or not going on in most cases? And why are you posting on what you must consider as a lame website?
Tom Blakeman
12/03/2020 — 7:53 am
Clark makes some excellent points. I doubt they will listen. Here’s what I expect will happen:
* current board will recruit others (or themselves) of their same mindset about raising assessments to run for the board. They will get elected because no one else with any other (outside their box) ideas wants to waste their time joining a dysfunctional system.
* they will look at no new ideas for anything but just keep on doing what has been failing for the last 15 years. This includes little or no effective marketing, continuing to raise fees on everything and failure to right size our bloated payroll and compensation system. In particular, restaurants and golf will continue to lose big bucks. And nothing will happen to solve the broadband problem.
* in a secret meeting they will grant our new GM another sweetheart contract deal (like Nalley’s). After all their biggest fear is losing him. They fear this for two reasons: losing him would make them look bad because, after all, they hired him and then they also might have to get their hands dirty and actually have to delve into the day to day POA operations.
* they will grab a “sounds good” number out of the air and force an assessment increase vote. They will spend a couple hundred K of our money marketing and promoting the vote. Ultimately some of us will start another grass roots effort which will get it voted down. Or maybe there will be another lawsuit – we’ll see.
* the post COVID-19 “miracle” of all those city folks coming here to buy up lots and build homes will fail to materialize. New construction will continue to plod along at + – 60 homes per year (and only on the East side around lakes and golf courses). Many lower income West siders will feel the pinch of increasing costs and stagnant home values and move away.
* and, last but not least, they will again try to go down the road of trying to build a hotel, somehow some way. Guaranteed to solve all our problems . . . .
David Ellison
12/28/2020 — 4:13 pm
We need to file a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request according to Arkansas Attorney General’s Office conversation today, and fee for windshield decals should be in Our By Laws; do We have any? FOIA request would ask for Financial Books on what they are spending over $400K on?
Does We The People have an Attorney?
James Rosenow
12/03/2020 — 9:39 am
Eliminating a golf course is like cutting off one of your limbs because you wear too much. Are we overbuilt with golf courses? Yes, but blame Cooper for that, not the POA, and it’s too late to now change that. Instead, better to find ways to turn a liability into an asset.
Mark
12/03/2020 — 10:48 am
More like cutting off an infected limb to save the body. Cooper built multiple golf courses to sell more of the higher priced lots, but what happened under Cooper is irrelevant as that is in the past. Courses could be closed or repurposed to stop the current bleeding and possibly give this place a chance to become healthier in the future. Continuing to fund losing amenities defies all logic and guarantees failure of HSV as a whole.
James Rosenow
12/03/2020 — 2:14 pm
You obviously don’t live on a golf course or maybe not even golf – I do, but don’t golf. You want to destroy real estate values in HSV, eliminate a golf course or two. Then you can start draining lakes. Cooper sold a dream, not reality. All lots were sold, but only 25% are currently built. Maybe our infrastructure could handle at most maybe 20-25% more long term. One of the smart ideas in the CMP was to identify those parts of the Village that should never be developed or expanded in order to save on future infrastructure costs. That makes more sense than to slaughter one of the golden geese that makes the Village what it is today.
Mark
12/03/2020 — 5:19 pm
We obviously have a different definition of Golden Goose. What percentage of HSV residents play golf? What percentage moved here for reasons other than golf? What retirement community has this many golf courses? How would you propose we “turn a liability into an asset” when year after year courses lose millions? How would HSV buck the trend of a declining interest in golf? Have you ever been a member at Bushwood Country Club?
James Rosenow
12/03/2020 — 11:17 pm
I’m not a golfer, but know (and knew at the time) that HSV is a golfer’s paradise and should be marketed as such. For many (if not most) who moved here, the courses were there before they moved. HSV amenities are no surprise. I agree that we have a challenge in the Village to maximize course utilization in order to reduce the amount of subsidy needed. But I also know that the courses, along with other Village amenities, helps my real estate value and the overall quality of life we enjoy here. By comparison, it’s much like a city having a great school system that attracts people even though I don’t have any kids in school. A few years back, an enlightened gentleman gave a powerful presentation here in the Village on why golf should be HSV’s primary brand and create a marketing plan around it. Unfortunately, we were still mired down in the CMP controversy to pay greater attention to it. As I said above, I’m not a golfer, but I do realize the golf amenity value we have here. I just hope those in power have the foresight to recognize it and do something about it. Bushwood?? Never was a Caddyshack fan. Also, no sense continuing this dialogue if your mind is firmly made up, as anything I would say won’t change that.
Phil Lemler
12/04/2020 — 8:04 am
James Rosenow – I am not sure if you are referring to me but I made such a “marketing presentation” as you mentioned in your post. It identified “golf” as the major focus of HSV (I believe Cheryl and Joe recorded it).
In my opinion, if HSV begins to close courses, it will be the end of HSV as we know it. Golf is the golden gift that keeps on giving. The secret is developing a way to use golf (knowing everything we know) and leverage our 9 courses into something that is productive and beneficial to ALL villagers.
I authored and offered such a plan (free to the board) in 2018. It eliminated the subsidies, generated the funds to catch up the $45 million in deferred maintenance and created a flow of new potential property owners who could visit and experience our wonderful Village.
The board refused to even talk to me.
James Rosenow
12/04/2020 — 2:35 pm
Thank you for responding, I thought you’re idea of branding the Village as a golfer’s paradise (my paraphrase) is the only real way to secure the Village’s future. Currently, the courses are seen as a liability — need to turn that around asap. I would encourage you to resubmit your plan to the current board for their consideration, even if you can get one or two to talk with you. Not that the old CMP is history (or least only an advisory document), it may be time to consider other options. Perhaps it also would be helpful to contact the golf committee as an additional approach. Many past bad decisions were shots in the foot — closing a course would be a shot into the head with its fatal results.
Phil Lemler
12/04/2020 — 2:49 pm
James Rosenow – thanks for the suggestion and your kind commentary. Unfortunately, I no longer live in HSV and would have no interest in involvement with the board or any committees. I was mostly encouraging your perspective regarding golf as the center of HSV’s brand. It is the right approach and therein lies the answers to the Village’s success!
David Ellison
12/28/2020 — 5:55 pm
I believe that We The People should vote on building Condo’s on a collection of Golf Course Vacant lots to be leased out to the Public. Have them built by a reputable builder with credibility. Sure, solicit bids and closely review each regardless of insider Real Estate influence. Let’s Get Started on something positive! Large Corporation’s would jump at the opportunity to offer a benefit such as this.
Lorri Street
12/03/2020 — 4:35 pm
To all HSV Property Owners:
Below are some de’ja vu excerpts from the 4th full page ad that We the People (WTP) placed in the HSV Voice just prior to the (defeated) Declaration & Articles proposed changes vote. Thought it would be worth taking a look at ‘what was’ and now ‘what is’.
“To the other extreme, we have been threatened by some very powerful people because of our opinions and targeted questions.”
“The Membership needed this open disclosure of information sharing, but, we were denied. To that end, WTP believe this election has come down to a referendum on respect and trust. Simply put, our vote will be cast based on….
“Who Do WE Trust?”
Think about “Who Do YOU Trust?”
“Ask yourself if you are happy with the way our Village is being managed, or could we do better?”
“Ask yourself if you feel that our administration is being completely transparent with their methods of operation or could the Membership be more informed with respect to critical changes to our Village?”
“Ask yourself if you feel our administration is spending our assessment money wisely, or should there be more Membership approval of large expenditures?”
“Ask yourself if you are satisfied with the current list of amenities our Village has to offer or do we need more?” (or less?)
“Ask yourself if the acceptance or rejection of the ballot items will serve to heal the divisiveness we are now experiencing in the Village? Who’s at fault for causing this intense erosion of trust and respect?”
“Ask yourself what it’s going to take to put all Villagers back on the same path? In our opinion, it has to be respect and trust in our leadership.”
“Ask yourself, how will we heal ourselves? Can our current administration heal the wounds of this conflict or do we, the Membership, need to take control over our own destiny?”
“Again, for We the People for the People, this election is a clear referendum on…Respect and Trust.”
And, in my humble opinion, ‘We’ have sadly headed down this slippery slope once again. General manager, Charles King and current BOD’s, you must do better!
Keith
12/04/2020 — 12:39 pm
While Clark may be confused by adding two numbers together in order to connect the dots between golf and restaurants, most of us are capable of evaluating details and understanding what is broken. Any way you slice it though, whether using common core math or what the rest of us learned, Clark is right about the golf ops and restaurant ops being broken. It’s supply and demand 101 and, unfortunately, it appears our board and new GM are re-plowing the same ground. Our time as a private community will come to an end if we refuse to correct this problem of fewer non golfers willing to continue subsidizing golfers and all of us subsidizing people’s dinner parties and bar tabs in our restaurants.
Elmo Wiggins
12/05/2020 — 5:53 am
I actually agree with Keith!
Gene Garner
12/06/2020 — 10:25 am
There has been a lot of “hand wringing” over the $2 million subsidy supporting the golf courses in the Village but no realistic solutions have been offered to fix the problem. I’ll try and suggest some.
First we know eight golf courses would require many more golfers than we have in a 50 mile radius of HSV just to break even. How many courses can we support? We don’t know because the BOD won’t conduct a study to find out- because then, they would be forced to admit we have a problem. Also we know the BOD’s are deathly afraid of lawsuits if a golf course is closed down. Whatever the plan the legal question must be settled before we proceed.
Then we have to acknowledge that owners of golf course lots paid a premium to buy their property and we have to design a system to fairly compensate those owners if we want to close down a course. There are equitable ways to determine what the premium would be.
The POA could buy the Property Owner’s permission to cease operations with an agreement not to file a lawsuit. There could be a provision to keep the golf course property as a “green space” or allow the owners to decide how the property will be used (community garden, park etc.) or as a Limited Common Property, as authorized by the Declaration, for the exclusive use of the golf course property owners only.
These are only a few suggestions, there are more but it will take some effort and determination to make them work. I don’t know if our present/future BOD has the necessary desire to tackle the problem.—Gene
Phil Lemler
12/06/2020 — 10:53 am
Gene – I applaud your effort to come up with ways to solve the golfing amenity issues. The problem with simply paying golf course property owners a premium for the closing of their golf course (even if you could miraculously get them all to agree on a plan) is multi-fold.
First (in addition to agreeing on the premium), is that the financial sacrifice would be felt when they decide to sell their property. Many future buyers will not assess the same value to a home on an open space/garden park as they would a golf course lot. You have essentially converted a premium lot into just another lot (and potentially lower than just an average lot). The seller would be competing with many HSV lots/homes for sale versus a smaller inventory of golf course homes.
Secondly, it is likely that the mortgage companies would balk at this idea as they had approved a mortgage based upon a premium that would be eliminated and, in many cases, the value of the property might drop more than the premium reduction. You may experience many loans being called in.
Thirdly, many unimproved lots on golf courses may go delinquent in their POA payments. I imagine that a lot of them keep paying their dues because they don’t want to lose a premium lot. If their lot becomes just another lot, HSV will most likely experience more delinquencies.
These are just some of the problems you may have with your ideas.
Gene Garner
12/07/2020 — 11:48 am
Phil- thanks for your critique and what plan do you propose to reduce the golf course subsidies?
I don’t know if your arguments are based on fact or conjecture, do you have any examples of HOA/POAs having these problems? I’m sure the many communities that have closed their golf courses managed to navigate the legal situations and move on.
I won’t argue with your individual objections, but I will contend that closing a golf course and restricting the use of the course property for residents only, doesn’t detract from the value of a lot, in fact it may increase in value. There will still be an attractive green space outside your back yard- only without the parade of golfers and the errant golf balls.
Of course we would have to rename the property, maybe “environmentally protected green space” or “exclusive woodland home-site”. I’m sure the Realtors can come up with a catchy name.—Gene
Phil Lemler
12/07/2020 — 3:01 pm
Gene – you may be right. I don’t want to argue. However, my guess is there is a whole lot more people who are actively looking for a home on a “golf course” than are looking for a home on a “green space”!
And, if you are correct that the “green space” will actually improve the golf course lot value, you will probably have a whole bunch of golf course residents lining up to vote for your proposal!
Tom Blakeman
12/08/2020 — 12:43 pm
Gene – The problem with the golf courses is the management of the entire golf operation is now and has been failing for years, decades even.
Example: I played yesterday (Dec 7, 2020 – Pear Harbor Day) at Balboa finishing my round at about 1PM. After my round my threesome had lunch there and we watched as almost nobody came thru the 18th hole for an hour or so. (PS: there was nobody else in the restaurant either). I then came home to where I live on Cortez GC and, guess what, virtually nobody on that course all afternoon either. Then I took a look at Golf Now to see what POA might be offering and guess what? While other area courses are advertising for people to play, HSV was nowhere to be seen, not tomorrow, not next week, not the weekend, not anything or anytime at any price. Apparently no marketing, no advertising, and no interest in getting outside players to come support us. Meanwhile out golf leadership salary and benefits burden and other perks, not to mention other administration costs, totals out in huge six figure numbers.
Last year I wrote a paper, half of which (20 pages or so) was on how to fix golf. Did anybody listen? NO! Did anybody in POA or the BOD even ask me to come in to discuss? NO! Golf committee members? NO! The fact of the matter is nobody is listening and the ones who have been in charge over the last 10 years or so are still the same ones in either management positions, on the BOD or on the Golf Committee. These people think it is just dandy for us to operate like a private country club so they can always get a choice morning tee time and have the 80% of the Village that doesn’t play golf paying the tab. Remember: $2,000,000 per year “subsidy” for the last 10 years and counting.
I also did a little study a year and a half ago over 4th of July weekend. We had dozens of open tee times all weekend not being filled by property owners or others. POA, at the time, did have a small presence on Golf Now. But, they were totally pricing themselves out of the market with $80 per round fees to the public. Simply more lost revenue. The only retort to this pricing issue I hear is that “our courses are premium, championship quality” or “everywhere else with comparable courses are much more”. The problem is that all those other courses are in destination and resort areas like Branson or South Florida – and our courses are far from premium or championship quality. Meanwhile, as I also wrote about recently, is that anyone can play at any other golf course in a 50 mile radius of HSV for LESS than our daily member golf rates. LESS THAN OUR DAILY MEMBER RATES.
So, the answer is not closing golf courses. The answer is two-fold: Management & Marketing. What are they doing isn’t working and has not been working. Why isn’t our BOD fixing it? Who knows?
Phil Lemler
12/08/2020 — 1:04 pm
Tom – welcome to the club!
Gene Garner
12/08/2020 — 2:47 pm
Tom, you’re right about the lack of marketing and poor management of the golf courses. It’s like “deer in the headlights”– no one on the BOD has the imagination or determination to suggest a change in the status quo. I believe with the right marketing and better management HSV could probably double the number of rounds in the next 5 years.
But while management and marketing are essential, can a village of 14,000 support 9 golf courses? Even including the surrounding small towns (F.L., Jessieville etc.) there’s less than 20,000 people and the sport has lost a lot of golfers in the last 10 years. Add the pandemic and the high unemployment rate and we have the “perfect storm” when we look at leisure activities. If we don’t close courses we could look at “mothballing” some of the lesser used courses with limited maintenance, until play picks up.
My main complaint, as you noted, is nobody seems to be listening and we all know the problem will only get worse.—Gene
David Ellison
12/28/2020 — 4:40 pm
Does each course have a maintenance staff? If so, start there and reduce staff. Is there a reason the Maintenance Crew cannot rotate between gold courses? Maybe they do not that already and I am talking out of school. In other words, reduce Maintenance Staff; how much could be cut from budget? Do the same for Management; do a review and crunch the numbers. I like to do a Work Base Structure Analysis which will show number of work hours performed on a specific task over a daily, weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, quarterly, etc. The numbers will not lie. From that, develop a Technical Estimate which will show the resources required to do the work.
Just some suggestions. I served on the Secretary of the Navy Retiree Council for 3 years where we drafted legislation that was signed in to law for all Military Retiree’s, not a small number. I am also a Navy retired Chief Petty Officer and a retired Department of the Navy Program Analyst managing resourcing the Navy Cyber Workforce.
Dale
12/06/2020 — 5:56 pm
We (wife and I) have been following this mess for a year now and were looking forward to changes with the new board.. We have been contemplating retiring there but the more of this poor management we see, the less interested we have become.
There are other communities that appear to be better run with less internal strife. I hope the homeowners eventually get the kind of management that serves their needs. For now, Hot Spring Village has been moved towards the bottom of our list.
Gene Garner
12/08/2020 — 3:22 pm
Dale, I’m sorry you feel that way, but HSV has a population of elderly (average age 68), well traveled and demanding Property Owners. While you may think the things we complain about are major defect it’s “small potatoes” in the general scheme of things.
We live in an area that’s not only beautiful but generally untouched by overcrowding and pollution. The natives are friendly and the cost of living makes our retirement very affordable. There are many clubs, fraternal organizations and recreational facilities nearby if that’s your interest. And, naturally, we have many well laid out golf courses.
In you search for the perfect retirement community beware of the ones where there are no complaints. It’s no different than the internet, be suspicious of any community with no one or two star ratings. —Gene
Mary Ann Kennedy
12/10/2020 — 8:07 am
Dale, I don’t know if you’ve ever visited HSV, but please spend at least a few days here before you scratch it off your list for retirement. We may be “elderly”, but you’ll never meet more vibrant, active, and friendly people if you enjoy golfing (on gorgeous courses), pickleball, tennis, fishing, boating walking trails, etc. Although I occasionally comment on this website (especially when I see multiple negative posts), it tends to gather mostly negative comments from the same vocal people. I fear it’s discouraged many from choosing to make HSV their home. The title includes “working together” but it should be “complaining together”. Our new GM has impressive experience in managing communities and he’s only been here a few months but has reorganized and streamlined the workforce already. Our new board is working on many projects, including marketing. A schedule for infrastructure repair has been in place for years, although you wouldn’t know it from the comments here. We’re on track for a great future, but we do need an assessment increase which is under $70 a month right now. Many of us believe it should be at least $100 a month considering all we enjoy and the obvious expense of maintaining our security and safety. Assessment increase discussion alone always sparks criticism and angst among the agitators. If you track the complaints, you’ll find they come from the same people who comment on most articles published (most names are fictitious, so who knows if they’re property owners). Don’t let this website be your guide – come experience what it’s like for yourself. Don’t forget, we’re a community of approximately 14,000 – most of us are out playing golf most days or engaging in the many affordable activities we enjoy. Count the commentators on this site and that will provide perspective.
Our many golf courses were never meant to make money, they were meant to attract new property owners. New construction is booming and houses are being sold as quickly as they go on the market – I’m told by a top realtor here that it’s not unusual to sell a home for well above the asking price due to multiple bidders. My husband and I moved from St. Louis in 2012 – there’s nowhere we’d rather live. We feel like we’re on “permanent vacation” and many of us call it “Paradise”. I hope you’ll check it out for yourself!
Tom Blakeman
12/10/2020 — 5:01 pm
Mary Ann,
You are correct that there are many good things about HSV. But you are so dead wrong on so many other things, things you want others to take as fact, it proves you have not a clue about how things really are here. Shame.
For whatever it worth to you or anybody else reading this, this website, which you discredit, it is the only source of actual factual commentary and opinion in the whole place. I suggest if you don’t like the comments then simply don’t read them.
Mary Ann Kennedy
12/11/2020 — 5:17 pm
Tom,
Your opinion that I am “dead wrong on so many things” is simply your opinion, and your opinion brings me no shame whatsoever.
I don’t recall that you’ve ever held a board seat (correct me if I’m wrong). If that’s the case, I seriously doubt you know half as much as you pride yourself on. I have no agenda to dictate and demand changes from our leadership and neither should you since neither of us has a “clue”. I can only hope that this most recent resurrection of your “plan” will be viewed for what it is and that readers are now familiar with your established reputation for publishing your many complaints of what’s wrong and who’s to blame. I hope they recognize that this “plan” came from one who has never been in charge of a $40 Mil budget, managing a community of 14,000, or even the responsibility to manage a single golf course or restaurant. You must think “serving the community” means pointing out your perceived faults of everyone and every action that doesn’t align with your ideas. What about serving on the golf committee – ever try that, or does your disdain for committees preclude service in that area as well?
My opinion, which is shared by others, is that you have gone to great lengths to control our governance to the point of vigorously promoting candidates to stack our board in order to form a majority to do your bidding. That hasn’t worked out, so you are once again advertising your 42-page plan with the help of HSVP and articles authored by our most recently resigned and very dissatisfied board chair. Lloyd and other caring property owners bought into your disgruntled campaign, and that’s disappointing. Your plan was first featured on HSVP in August of 2019, before the successful take-down of HSV’s prior BOD and key administrators (which was one of your top goals). Most of your “plan” consisted of insinuations and criticism of hard-working people – some who were volunteers and some salaried. You pulled some easily accessible charts reflecting what most of us already knew – we’ve been in need of funding for many years and golf declined (temporarily as it turns out). The rest of the plan was simply a reiteration of common suggestions regarding marketing, golf, etc. Nothing praise-worthy or “new”, but 42 pages of writing is impressive, even if the content is questionable. Your effort garnered 40 comments from a composition of 9 anonymous/nickname readers and 16 of your regular supporters (many enthusiastic fans commented more than once). A comment was posted in March 2020 from a non-resident who appreciated your effort. The only other response was from a prospective retiree, looking forward to meeting you. Did you convince him to buy property here?
I happen to agree with a few of your observations and suggestions and have even communicated similar ideas directly to POA administrators, board members, and appropriate committee members over the years. Using public media to blame every board and GM since CCI left us holding grossly accumulated expenses is unconscionable. If you didn’t arrive in HSV until 2016, you may not remember the details. I’ve never seen them in any of your copious writings, so here’s a brief recap: taking their own financial interest into consideration, CCI pulled out of HSV, leaving property owners with aging infrastructure, deferred maintenance, a declaration that would protect their corporate interest well into the future, with established assessments they set so low that it would be impossible to fund future community expenses with little hope for HSV to catch up anytime soon on all of the neglected maintenance left behind. Now, those are facts, Tom and it’s also a fact that HSV remains a viable community which no other golfing/retirement community can even compare itself to. Prospective buyers and new residents may not be aware of those facts – I doubt they’ve read it anywhere on HSVP.
There are many more readers on HSVP than commentators, and I’ll decline your suggestion to stop reading. Commenting is time-consuming and often meets with insults from you and others who do little for HSV, but take every opportunity to register their unending complaints. I once said I’d never want my name associated with this website, however, more and more prospective buyers (like Dale) and non-resident property owners across the country are researching on-line and finding HSVP which appears to be a great, positive website at first glance. Then they read the misleading/negative articles and presume we all disapprove of an incapable leadership and a long history of purposely neglected amenities and infrastructure. Worse, they think we’re all a bunch of Grinches rather than caring, generous members who cherish our community and lifestyle. HSV is then moved to the bottom of their list of places to retire. Shame!
Tom (if you’re still reading), since you took time to write 42-pages last year and respond directly to me by calling my civic awareness into question, I figured I could take a few minutes to share more of my unwelcome opinion. As I mentioned in my response to Dale, most of us who are happy here are too busy enjoying our lives and have little time to sit at our computer. I’m sure there are many “Dales” out there who will never experience the joy of living in HSV, thanks to HSVP.
Speaking of “joy”, these words have brought none for me. Maybe we can all take a breath and enjoy the approaching holiday season. I’m going to focus on decorating, gift wrapping, and relaxing. I wish you all happy, healthy holidays that continue into 2021!
Tom Blakeman
12/11/2020 — 5:49 pm
Gee! Hit a nerve didn’t I? And what have you ever done either here or elsewhere to ever make anything better, fix any problems or anything else. Write us another diatribe.
Gene Garner
12/14/2020 — 3:08 pm
I won’t defend Tom-he doesn’t need it but I will defend his right to offer his opinion. I hear this same lame advice from many Villagers “if you don’t like what’s going on, join a committee or run for the Board”. But as Lloyd has proved– by being elected to the Board (or joining a committee) you lose the right to voice your opinion and have to “go along to get along”.
A well organized and capable government can handle opposition, it improves the performance of the ones in power and often brings to light ideas that may improve the situation.—Gene
Robert Busse
12/17/2020 — 8:50 pm
We have seven individuals, all with their own upbringing, education, training, opinions, ideas, that are elected by the members to oversee the management and operations of the POA GM, staff and employees who actually operate the Village. In actuality, what we call our BOD, could be called our Village Council, our Steering Committee, or whatever appropriate name we wanted. But way back when they were dubbed the Board of Directors. And then someone or small group decided they were were to be clones of corporate America’s big businesses. They all had to ultimately present a united front and agree totally with what the “Board” decided, whether it was a unanimous decision or a 4-3 vote. This took away each director’s individuality and background that made them who they are.
We now see that for several years our Directors were recruited and voted for by did they have similar thoughts or ideas. And this uniformity has become so important that it as made law or policy and a Director can be disciplined or discharged for deviating from the “one voice” law or rule.
But out country and governance was formed around differences and a persons ability to express those ideas and/or opinions. We see now that we have had one director resign, possibly another, and how many in the past give up on their thoughts and ideas to join the group because they were in the minority or different from the majority. This “all must agree” idea has stifled varied thought and discouraged Directors to feel strongly or have passion for their thinking. They can not keep an idea or solution alive over time because it goes against the grain. Almost never do we see a City Council. a State or federal Legislature present a 100% front on things that have been done. There is constant disagreement or differences. But In HSV for much of the past 5-7 years everything done by the BOD is !00% all agreed upon when brought out in public.
This is wrong and must be changed. Yes the majority vote prevails but those Directors that have different opinions or ideas should be able to openly express their views. The membership knows that 4 votes rules, but it is necessary to hear differences for it to be realistic. Total agreement is rarely found. So or Board has to get away from this “one voice” nonsense and get back to reality that there is always some difference in thought and it should not be taken away from a person just because he/she is elected to the HSV Board of Directors.
Tom Blakeman
12/18/2020 — 11:05 am
Robert, I agree totally with your comments. Can you point us to the actual Village law, rule, policy, bylaw, etc. which requires this “one voice” law or rule bullshit? I just did a cursory scan of our governing docs and couldn’t find it. Thanks.
Kirk Denger
12/18/2020 — 8:26 pm
It is my duty of obedience to my Master, who is the original author of the HSVPOA Bylaws, Article IX, Section 3., 1.
Tom Blakeman
12/20/2020 — 5:06 pm
Thanks Kirk. Found it. You might be interested to know that your “Master” and “original author” of that section of the Bylaws was the 2017 Board of Directors led by Weidert and Nalley which at their board meeting 12/20/2017 approved a ‘motion’ presented by Cunningham which instituted that whole bullshit section of the Bylaws including the “obedience” part and much other wording essentially neutering the entire board of directors and enabling the POA to do whatever it wanted under the direction, naturally of the CEO (now GM). Prior to that date such wording and provisions did not exist. Thank them sometime when you have a chance. Or, better yet bring a motion at the next board meeting to strike that section in it’s entirety.
Phil Lemler
12/21/2020 — 9:15 am
strike that section, Kirk!
Kirk Denger
12/21/2020 — 11:04 am
You are welcome Tom, I am grateful to be able to contribute what little I have learned and am hungry to learn much more from all commenters posting on this website, excluding no one. It seems to me that there are more than 2 sides to every opinion, square pegs do not always fit into round holes, and what I once thought were square pegs, now turn out to be other quadrilaterals and upon further contemplation may even have more than four sides.
The 2017 Board were only agents of their Master of the Congress of New Urbanism, DPZ. Eight Bylaw changes and 31 Policy changes, 119 pgs of Protective Covenants changes and a complete rewrite of HSVPOA Articles of Incorporation, were successfully made by the accumulative ‘17, ‘18 and ‘19 Boards. The failures are too numerous to list although the 13 Declaration changes which had 40% YES voters compared to 60% NO voters and the ten million dollars of our assessments wasted on the Comprehensive Master Plan should be listed staying on topic.
Yes, I have made the point of rescinding the changes made to Bylaw Article IX, Sec. 3., 1., along with rescinding the other seven Bylaw changes and also rescinding the 31 Policy changes, but could not get a second let alone a majority Board vote. The only changes made were to replace the term CEO with GM so our state of affairs of where we find ourselves is understandable.
The ’20 Board only has had only two across the board NO voters with one of us seemingly succumbing to the Master. We managed to pull out the CMP and the illegal 119 pg. Protective Covenants, but the roots did not come out with it, and have been resprouting since then. There is still plenty of time for Property Owners to apply to fill five available positions on the 2021 Board. Please apply.