Board OKs pickleball courts in Branchwood

BELLA VISTA — New pickleball courts are coming to the west side next year after action by the Bella Vista Property Owners Association board last week.

At the August meeting, the board approved a plan to spend $61,000 over two years to add four additional courts.

The original proposal, discussed at the August work session, was to build the four courts in Metfield Park, using the site of the old tennis courts. The Metfield tennis courts were deemed too damaged to be salvaged and taken out a few years ago.

One board member, Sandy Fosdick, and an association member speaking during the open forum argued the west side needed its own pickleball courts. The game is growing in popularity, they agreed.

Branchwood also has badly damaged tennis courts. Although they have been in use this summer, the board agreed to remove them and use the space for pickleball courts.

The plan is to build the base this year at a cost of $34,000. After the base is settled, the final cost of the courts, $27,000, will be part of the 2021 budget.

General Manager Tom Judson said he believes the price will be similar for the new plan.

Judson’s proposal said the association is operating better than its 2020 budget, so the money is available this year. Pickleball courts were recommended by the recreation committee for both the 2019 and the 2020 budgets but cut at the last minute due to a lack of money.

The board also approved a capital expenditure of $25,000 to purchase two mowers that have been leased for the past three years. Golf maintenance director Keith Ihms said he expects the mowers to last another seven years. The association has already purchased attachments that can only be used with the brand of mower currently in use.

A new trailhead was also approved after some discussion. The land is off of Chelsea, west of Arthur Road. It will be licensed to the Trailblazers, the nonprofit group that has been helping develop mountain bike trails in Bella Vista.

Judson said the goal is to prevent people from parking along the side of the road. Since the site is under power lines, its not useful to the association. The agreement says that the licensee will be responsible for maintenance to the property for three years.

While the association will retain ownership of the property, any other use of the land during the 25 year period will need to be discussed with the Trailblazers, association attorney Doug McCash said.

Fosdick said she was against the plan. Someday, she warned, the association may want to charge for parking on that land in order to pay some of the costs of maintaining the trails. The agreement was passed, with Fosdick and Jerry Hover in opposition.

A long list of policies was considered and most passed as a first reading.

Two policies, both dealing with members recording board meetings, were passed as a second and final reading after some discussion.

“Meetings open to the membership will be streamed on social media in real-time by the association, plus an unedited copy of the recording will be made available on the association’s website. No other individual, group or entity will be allowed to record or stream these meetings without the express written permission of the association,” according to the new text in Policy 1.03.

For the past several years, a member has been videotaping association board meetings and work sessions and posting them on Facebook.

The board’s newest member, Mike Abb, said recordings and imagery from meetings have been used to make caricatures and videos used out of context and in a negative manner to personally attack and often villainize board members to the community.

Fosdick pointed out association recordings can be used the same way. She argued a policy about mutual respect between the board and members would be more useful. Penalties for members might be to suspend the membership of violators.

The vote was six to three, with Fosdick, Hover and Teah Bidwell opposed.

A change to the bylaws was also discussed. Article III, Section One, describes board members’ qualifications. An addition to the policy prohibits board members who are removed for cause from running for the board for three years.

Fosdick said she was opposed.

“It should be the members who decide who gets elected. I don’t think we have ever had a director who was removed get elected,” she said. If a director is removed for a serious cause, they can be asked to sign a settlement that prohibits them from running again.

Abb argued if a director is asked to leave, there’s no sense in the board being forced to do it a second time after the annual election. Some directors, he said, are more interested in “sharpening a battle-ax” than serving the community. Three years gives everyone a chance to chill out and think about what they have been doing. Bidwell also disagreed. The vote was six to three, with Bidwell, Fosdick and Hover opposing the measure.