Assessment discussion continues at Coffee and Questions

The monthly Coffee and Questions event was mostly about the assessment increase last week. The event was held at the Highlands Clubhouse on Tuesday, Dec. 10.

It was a small group in attendance and seemed to be split between members who wanted the assessment to pass and members who did not.

One man wondered why the restaurants are allowed to operate at a loss. When General Manager Tom Judson replied that it takes three to four years for most restaurants to show a profit, the man disagreed.

Judson said both Lakepoint and BV’s Bar and Grill inside the Country Club are on track to make a profit in the near future. He pointed out that other planned communities similar to Bella Vista — like Hot Springs Village — do not do as well with food service.

Judson also answered a member who wanted to know why the POA needed an increase since expenses associated with city services were “spun off” when the city incorporated in 2007.

Coincidentally, the city was incorporated just as the recession was beginning, Judson said, so in 2007 the POA lost almost a million dollars in transfer fees when building stopped. Inflation has also been a factor.

“I don’t mind an increase if it’s fair,” member Ken Nelson said. Increasing the fee for improved lots, but not for unimproved is not fair; it is divisive, he said.

Statistics show that few unimproved members use the amenities, Judson said.

Golf Operations Director Darryl Muldoon said he called a man he knows in Kansas City who owns a membership lot so he can play golf in Bella Vista once a year. His source told him that he voted no in the last election because he didn’t see any benefit in paying an extra $2 a month.

“Unimproved owners don’t have the investment,” Judson added, “so property values are not as big a deal.”