Property Owners board approves policy, portal

BELLA VISTA — The weather had a big impact on Property Owners Association financials in February, with revenue well below budget, POA controller Stacie Higgins told the board at last week’s regular March meeting.

Golf courses and restaurants were closed for some portions of the month. Golf courses were closed 18 out of 28 days, Golf Operations director Darryl Muldoon told the Golf Committee earlier this month.

Not all the effects of the temporary closures are apparent in the February numbers, Higgins warned. Some will influence March and April numbers.

Water was also affected by weather and will be for the next month or two, Higgins said. Expenses appear low because maintenance work had to be delayed, but it will be done in the future. But the Property Owners Association did make a payment of $50,000 to the water department for the loan that helped pay the expenses of the Trafalgar Road fire.

The board approved a license agreement that will allow BV Central Storage to continue to use a small strip of common property that the business has been using for years.

The business did not have a survey until recently when it was discovered that some of the asphalt around its buildings is on land that does not belong to it, General Manager Tom Judson said. The 10-foot strip of land is not usable for the Property Owners Association, he said. The business will pay $5,000 for the agreement.

Sandy Fosdick voted against the agreement, explaining that the Property Owners Association’s governing documents say that common property should be used for the enjoyment of all members. While the small strip of property isn’t particularly useful, it should be available for all members, she said.

Attorney Doug McCash pointed out that the licensing agreement is not a sale, so the common property is still available for members to use.

A policy that outlines specific guidelines that allow some members to use common property for a leech field if their existing system fails was approved. The policy has been a topic for the board for several months.

The board also approved a new payment portal for Property Owners Association assessment and water payments. The new portal, provided by Regions banks, will probably be available in July. It includes a 3.5 percent fee for credit card use but allows electronic payments from bank accounts without a charge. Fees can also be paid by check.

The portal will give members the ability to set up recurring payments, and the bank will store credit card information for members’ convenience. It will be linked to the Property Owners Association phone app so, eventually, payments can be made on a smartphone.