Property Owners Association introduces ‘My Bella Vista’ app

Right now, the app can help members find their way around Bella Vista, which can be challenging for new residents.

BELLA VISTA — The Property Owners Association has a new tool in its information toolbox.

Besides the quarterly magazine, the newsletters that go out via email to various groups and the printed newsletter included with the water bill, the association now its own app.

The app, “My Bella Vista,” is free and easy to find on a smartphone.

Although it’s available now, the app will continue to improve, association general manager Tom Judson said.

“We’re still working out the challenges,” he said.

Eventually, the app may replace printed activity cards and guest passes.

Right now, the app can help members find their way around Bella Vista, which can be challenging for new residents. Press “Trailheads” and a list appears illustrated with photos of the actual trailheads. Chose one and a map pops up that shows exactly where each is located. There are also GPS directions available.

There’s a button available for fitness classes. That schedule changes often so it’s important to keep up to date. Not only is the schedule available on a calendar, but each class also has its own short description, including any fees attached and the number to call to reserve a spot. The information can be exported from the app to the member’s personal calendar.

The restaurants will be added to the app in the future, so reservations can be made. Even reservations for rental boats at the marina will probably be added.

There are directions to each golf course and the regular hours listed. The pro shops and the golf course snack bars are also listed so, if a member wants to find a place to have a meal or a beer after a game, he or she can see what the options are. Links to the association web page reveal even more information.

There’s also a news button, so members can read press releases or other information about the association. Right now, one of the stories available under the News button explains the new policies about the dog park which is currently shared by small and large breeds.

The association has a good response to its newsletters, Judson said. But it’s always better to get important information out in as many forms as possible.

Last spring, the membership services department went virtual, Judson said. That step was taken because of the coronavirus, but both staff and members have found it easy to use. Members can pay bills, get activity cards, and register boats from their own computers or smartphones. Right now, there are no plans to open the office to the public, he said.

Judson and his staff are aware that there are members who don’t use technology, so phone calls and printed material will always be available, but for smartphone users, the app is another way to have information at their fingertips.