POA GM tells church group "tough times ahead"
Posted on Wednesday, November 19, 2008
When Property Owners Association General Manager Tommy Bailey needed a topic for his talk at Highlands Church on Nov. 11, he didn’t have to look far.
A day earlier, he sat with the POA Board of Directors to hammer out some details on the upcoming operating budget. Those four hours of discussions gave him plenty of material for his talk with the United Methodist Men, or Hummers, as they are known.
Had he been challenged to define the essence of his speech in three words, it would likely have been “ tough times ahead. ”
That was the way he described the coming fiscal year, based on what is known and what is speculated about the economy and how it will impact the POA’s bottom line.
Bailey said the administration knows certain things, such as the price of fertilizer and seed has skyrocketed, as high as 42 percent; maintenance costs on POA equipment has gone up as much as 10 percent; fewer people are building in Bella Vista these days, which means less income from assessments and other fees; and a number of those already living here are becoming delinquent on their monthly dues because of dire economic straits.
And, as Bailey showed the men’s group, inflation is eating up a lot of what the POA would normally have to spend on amenities.
“ We believe assessments will be down about $ 300, 000 in 2009, ” he said.
Inflation is expected to cost as much as $ 2. 1 million, he added.
While some people are not sending in their monthly dues, others are. One of those who is paying up is National Recreational Properties Inc.
The company used to bring prospective clients into Bella Vista and show them lots for sale. NRPI went out of business earlier this year and left the city.
It is estimated that NRPI owns 2, 000 lots.
Bailey said the association has received assessments on approximately half of those lots and expects to receive the remainder before the end of the year. In addition, he said, NRPI is attempting to sell its properties and totally divest itself of the market.
With a loss of revenue anticipated in the coming fiscal year, Bailey told the men that cuts will have to be made to bring the budget into balance.
One idea being considered is the closing of Branchwood Golf Course and the northern end — nine holes — of Kingswood Golf Course. Both areas would then be converted to parks and walking trails. Branchwood also would be the site of a disc-golf course.
Bailey was quick to caution his audience that any cuts are strictly proposed at this time and would not become reality unless approved by the full POA Board in December.
One audience member asked Bailey if the administration had considered closing the back nine of the Scotsdale course instead of Kingswood.
They had, Bailey said; however, because of the topography of the Scotsdale land, it would not be conducive to any future conversion to parks and trails.
Cutbacks will, as Bailey said, “ certainly be a shock to our system. ”
At a time when the POA is looking to cut expenses, Bailey said the association is also looking at ways of raising revenues. One of those is to market the village to potential homeowners.
“ We’re working on bringing in pre-retirees and retirees, ” he said. “ We’re trying to attract more people to Bella Vista. ”
He added that the POA does not want to bring in just anybody.
“ We don’t want this to be a cheap place to retire; we want it to be a great place, ” he said. “ It’s up to us to generate a market for Bella Vista. Cooper (Communities Inc., which started the village ) doesn’t care anymore. They aren’t building homes here anymore. ”
Bailey said that not too many years ago, when as many as 1, 000 homes a year were being built here, the POA didn’t have to worry about it.
“ Now we need to try to get people to come in, ” he said.
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