John Nuttall
Although he was removed from the board last year, John Nuttall is once again a candidate for the POA Board of Directors.
“I love it here. It’s a great place to live,” he said about his reasons for running. He said disagreements with the former chairman and a few others on the board — mostly about the need for golf courses — led to his removal but he doesn’t hold a grudge.
“It’s all water under the bridge,” he said.
Nuttall is a national sales manager for Gang Yan Diamond Products. He’s lived in Bella Vista since 2011 and acted as board liaison to the Community Involvement, Recreation
and Lakes Committees. He uses many of the amenities in Bella Vista, including golf courses and bike trails.
“We do need to address the numbers on golf,” he said, referring to the declining numbers of rounds played each year.
While an assessment increase will be inevitable at some point, it’s important to first get spending under control and make sure all members’ needs are met.
Nuttall, who has experience with restaurant
management, believes that the POA’s role in food service isn’t a bad thing. Two restaurants have opened under POA management over the past two years. Lakepoint has not yet shown a profit, but it was not expected to be profitable immediately. When it opened, the plan was to allow three years before the new venue would show a profit. There is still a year left and it may meet that deadline.
The second restaurant the current administration opened, BV’s in the Country Club building, is less of a high-end destination and is doing very well, Nuttall said.
The next big projects
should probably be the proposed archery range and an updated Riordan Hall. The members need to decide what to do with Riordan, he said. During a campaign for an assessment increase last year, members were vocal about their disapproval of a plan to replace Riordan with a Community Center.
“We need a better pool and possibly an indoor pool,” he said. The exercise room at Riordan needs to be updated.
But it’s important, he said, for members to get all the facts about costs and options. That means the POA needs to be more open and stop having closed meetings.