Rules and Regs Committee addresses email lists

The Rules and Regulations Committee met to talk about campaigning, hunting and the use of email addresses on Tuesday.

The committee is made up of four board members and meets when needed to look at recommendations for changes to the policies and bylaws of the Bella Vista Property Owners Association. The full board votes on the recommendations, usually with two readings needed. Last week, the committee discussed policies 9.04 and 2.05.

Policy 9.04 is titled “Board Election and Political Candidates/ Use of Facilities.” The committee looked at two different changes to the policy.

First, Policy 9.04, Section 1.1, regulates board members and senior staff campaigning in POA elections. The committee agreed that the policy for senior staff can only be applied when the staff is working. The change to the policy will read, “Neither members of senior staff (while conducting Association business), nor the board shall endorse any candidate running for the Board.”

The language that would have prohibited staff and board from endorsing other political candidates was left out.

A possible new section, 1.3, was discussed but, eventually, the committee voted to not recommend its addition. The proposed policy would have prohibited any use of email addresses collected by the Association for non-association related activities, including campaigning.

Doug McCash, the attorney for the POA, pointed out that there is already a policy that prohibits the use or sale of members’ addresses and phone numbers. General Manager Tom Judson reminded the board that email lists can easily be purchased.

Committee member Mary Sinkus suggested that anyone who might have access to board collected emails should be told not to use them for campaigning.

A change in Policy 2.05 was developed to help control hunting on the common property by non-members. Judson told the group that three staff members who are also hunters helped develop the policy.

Hunters usually leave a vehicle on the roadway when they go into the woods to hunt, and by requiring a permit that can be left on the dashboard of the vehicle, it will be possible to identify nonmember vehicles.

“We’re not going to be sending lake rangers into the woods to confront people who may be hunting. It would just be trying to control the vehicular access,” McCash said. The first time a vehicle is found without a permit, a note would be left. If the vehicle was found again and it belongs to a nonmember, the Bella Vista police might be called to enforce a trespassing law.

Members who fail to show the permit could lose their membership privileges, McCash said.

The permits would be free to members and members would be able to bring guests. Along with the permit, members would be given a copy of the hunting regulations. Some members might not realize that they can’t hunt close to the trails.

Only bow and arrow hunting is allowed inside city limits.