Vote to protect your investment

Bella Vista is a beautiful place. It is a place where the average American, not the rich and famous, can enjoy wonderful recreational amenities. These amenities are what sold Bella Vista Village to hundreds — no, thousands — of us in the first place. Our Property Owners Association Board has fiduciary responsibility to protect our amenities for us and for future generations and has proposed a small dues increase in order to do that. The last dues increase was in 2001, so I did some research.

If you had bought standard units of bread, butter, eggs, steak, bananas, potato chips, chocolate chip cookies, bacon, tomatoes and ice cream back in 2001 and then the same unit items today, you would pay well above 60 percent more than your 2001 costs.

The $9-per-month increase the board is requesting is, by every measure, a modest one and it should be supported for the benefit of all of us. And yet yesterday, on the way to church, I already saw “No” signs popping up along the way. At least two of these signs were posted illegally, either “within the public right of way” or actually on POA common property.

As we ponder the future of Bella Vista, I am asking three things:

• First, if you care about protecting our property values and preserving this exceptional amenities community, vote ‘Yes’ for this small dues increase.

• Second, if you must put up a sign, please put it on your own property.

• Third, to the city code enforcement office, please remove illegally posted signs immediately and keep Bella Vista looking beautiful.

Ralph Patterson Bella Vista