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The way these clowns dealt with (ignored for a year) the stump dump problem that THEY created they don't deserve another cent. They want to raise it to $35/mo from $24, no way - vote no.
The way these clowns dealt with (ignored for a year) the stump dump problem that THEY created they don't deserve another cent. They want to raise it to $35/mo from $24, no way - vote no.
Sorry Duke; this goes much deeper than the horrible mistake made last year this time, involving the city, the POA and others. I understand your feelings and they may be justified, but if you had attended any of the question and answer meetings I really think you would see beyond the stump dump. This is not about raises for the management or anything like that, this is about keeping our property values going up. At this time we have about the lowest POA dues anywhere in the country, twice as low as some places and we will see some of the amenities close or be downsized if there is no increase. We haven't had the dues raised since 2002. When we moved here 11plus years ago, the, Now Lake point was called the yacht club and was pathetic The Country club bar and grill was awful and the Highlands never had any business. The golf courses were in questionable shape and Branchwood was a disaster. Still Riordan needs help some way or another. Not to the extent the POA would like but they are already looking for options to improve the facility without totally rebuilding it.
I could go on and on, but with the reductions in cost for members and the need for improvements I just can't see anyone not supporting the assessment. 2 wrongs do not make a right.
I have only heard a couple of legit arguments against the increase and they have nothing to do with the stump dump. Even people we know who live near the stump dump and were very affected are still voting for the increase. The legit arguments are; I never use any of the facilities so how will this help me? and 2-there are some who are on a fixed income and can barely make it now. Both arguments I do understand but property values play a big issue for us and we do not have much extra we make our monthly payments nor do we use most of the facilities.
Sorry Duke; this goes much deeper than the horrible mistake made last year this time, involving the city, the POA and others. I understand your feelings and they may be justified, but if you had attended any of the question and answer meetings I really think you would see beyond the stump dump. This is not about raises for the management or anything like that, this is about keeping our property values going up. At this time we have about the lowest POA dues anywhere in the country, twice as low as some places and we will see some of the amenities close or be downsized if there is no increase. We haven't had the dues raised since 2002. When we moved here 11plus years ago, the, Now Lake point was called the yacht club and was pathetic The Country club bar and grill was awful and the Highlands never had any business. The golf courses were in questionable shape and Branchwood was a disaster. Still Riordan needs help some way or another. Not to the extent the POA would like but they are already looking for options to improve the facility without totally rebuilding it.
I could go on and on, but with the reductions in cost for members and the need for improvements I just can't see anyone not supporting the assessment. 2 wrongs do not make a right.
I have only heard a couple of legit arguments against the increase and they have nothing to do with the stump dump. Even people we know who live near the stump dump and were very affected are still voting for the increase. The legit arguments are; I never use any of the facilities so how will this help me? and 2-there are some who are on a fixed income and can barely make it now. Both arguments I do understand but property values play a big issue for us and we do not have much extra we make our monthly payments nor do we use most of the facilities.
They want to reduce the fees they charge for amenities such as golf courses and pools/exercise equipment, boat dues etc and increase the fees for everyone - including those who don't take part in any of these activities. This is BULLSH$T. If they need more money, charge those who use the amenities, not those who don't. They rake in PLENTY to take care of the trails, lakes and so forth - if they don't have enough for that then the management needs to be replaced.
Sorry Duke; this goes much deeper than the horrible mistake made last year this time, involving the city, the POA and others. I understand your feelings and they may be justified, but if you had attended any of the question and answer meetings I really think you would see beyond the stump dump. This is not about raises for the management or anything like that, this is about keeping our property values going up. At this time we have about the lowest POA dues anywhere in the country, twice as low as some places and we will see some of the amenities close or be downsized if there is no increase. We haven't had the dues raised since 2002. When we moved here 11plus years ago, the, Now Lake point was called the yacht club and was pathetic The Country club bar and grill was awful and the Highlands never had any business. The golf courses were in questionable shape and Branchwood was a disaster. Still Riordan needs help some way or another. Not to the extent the POA would like but they are already looking for options to improve the facility without totally rebuilding it.
I could go on and on, but with the reductions in cost for members and the need for improvements I just can't see anyone not supporting the assessment. 2 wrongs do not make a right.
I have only heard a couple of legit arguments against the increase and they have nothing to do with the stump dump. Even people we know who live near the stump dump and were very affected are still voting for the increase. The legit arguments are; I never use any of the facilities so how will this help me? and 2-there are some who are on a fixed income and can barely make it now. Both arguments I do understand but property values play a big issue for us and we do not have much extra we make our monthly payments nor do we use most of the facilities.
They want to reduce the fees they charge for activities such as golf course, annual boat fees, exercise and pool access, etc and increase the fees for everyone - including those who don't take part in any of these activities. This is BULLSH$T. If they need more money, charge those who use the amenities, not those who don't. They rake in PLENTY to take care of the trails, lakes and so forth - if they don't have enough for that then the management needs to be replaced.
As far as charging the lowest fees in the country or whatever, I don't know of too many cities that charge EVERYONE monthly dues. Typically a city has neighborhoods that charge dues, so no - I don't agree their fees are low by any stretch when you consider EVERYONE who has property here, even those without houses on it, has to pay monthly dues.
Another point I want to make is the property tax rate here is the highest in the state, and WAY higher than average for the country. I'm paying about 50% more annual property tax for a property worth about 50% less than the property I had in Castle Rock Co, just for an example.
I still don't agree with you: you are talking about city taxes which have nothing to do with the POA> Many communities have both city taxes and POA or HOA dues. When we lived just outside DC we had a town home;: the dues were $30 a month and we had no amenities what so ever. They did cover mowing the lawn in the median strip and keep the streets in good order That was it. BTW I am talking 1988, I can't imagine what the costs are now I have talked to several people from our social groups and church who have lived in other communities with POAs and they think our dues are so low it is scary almost.
I knew I would never be able to change your mind and yes, there are those who do not use the facilities but they do have them available. That is the positive. Oh and BTW you talk about property taxes, we have never lived anywhere that they were so low. Even in crappy NM with lousy schools and almost nothing positive they were higher.
I still don't agree with you: you are talking about city taxes which have nothing to do with the POA> Many communities have both city taxes and POA or HOA dues. When we lived just outside DC we had a town home;: the dues were $30 a month and we had no amenities what so ever. They did cover mowing the lawn in the median strip and keep the streets in good order That was it. BTW I am talking 1988, I can't imagine what the costs are now I have talked to several people from our social groups and church who have lived in other communities with POAs and they think our dues are so low it is scary almost.
I knew I would never be able to change your mind and yes, there are those who do not use the facilities but they do have them available. That is the positive. Oh and BTW you talk about property taxes, we have never lived anywhere that they were so low. Even in crappy NM with lousy schools and almost nothing positive they were higher.
I know my rate is higher than yours because I'm in the Benton county school district, and yours is frozen to whenever you turned 63 but I can tell you for certain the rate is high for me. It may not be socialist Minnesota high, but it's WAY higher than a low rate state like Colorado. I pay over 1% the value of my house each year - that's a high rate. Sales taxes are also ridiculously high here (9.5% wtf?!) and they have state income tax. So no, I have no sympathy for the poa wanting more money. If they need it to keep the amenities open, CHARGE THOSE USING THE AMENITIES!
If the POA were actually worth a sh$t I wouldn't be so against a rate hike, btw. After the way they ignored the stump dump fire I'd like to see the whole thing ended and have a normal city government replace it.
As a long time resident of HSV, I always wonder why someone who doesn't "use the amenities" would move some where that had so many amenities
Seems like there are plenty of other places to live nearby without the HOA fees. Oh, they aren't as nice a place to live? DOH!
I don't use the pool, golf courses and gyms so you wonder why I moved here?
The POA has been trying to raise dues every year, and every year it gets shot down. Fingers crossed this trend continues.
Another gripe about the way things are taxed around here - all services are hit with that same 9.5% tax. I've never lived in a state that taxed services, and I find it ridiculous. While Arkansas as a whole is very cheap to live, NWA is an exception - it ain't that cheap, except for housing.
Just points for anyone considering moving here to consider. The big one is property tax - the online calculators are WAY off, and in BV unless you are a senior citizen who got rates locked in when housing was cheap people pay a high rate here - a bit over 1% of your homes value.
I don't use the pool, golf courses and gyms so you wonder why I moved here?
The POA has been trying to raise dues every year, and every year it gets shot down. Fingers crossed this trend continues.
Another gripe about the way things are taxed around here - all services are hit with that same 9.5% tax. I've never lived in a state that taxed services, and I find it ridiculous. While Arkansas as a whole is very cheap to live, NWA is an exception - it ain't that cheap, except for housing.
Just points for anyone considering moving here to consider. The big one is property tax - the online calculators are WAY off, and in BV unless you are a senior citizen who got rates locked in when housing was cheap people pay a high rate here - a bit over 1% of your homes value.
Duke where in the heck do you get the idea they have been trying to raise the dues every year? I think it was 3 years ago the last time they tried, maybe 2 and it barely failed.
that was only the second time in the 11 plus years we have lived here an attempt was made to raise them. This is a much better deal. Again, I can assure you property taxes in most places are much higher than here. The one tax here that is higher is sales tax, but that has nothing to do with to do with amenities nor the POA. And there are a lot of things that are not expensive here. Of course some things are higher than in some parts of AR. This still has nothing to do with the POA>
As for the facilities, it is your choice not to use them. certainly we do not use them as much as many others, but I am still willing to pay $11 a month more to have some guarantee we will be able to have them available when we do want to use them. We do use Branchwood regularly and enjoy our small discount at Lake Point and BV Bar and Grill
Obviously you will vote based on your wallet which is fine. My question is: do you ever even eat at any of the restaurants that are managed by the POA and do you care about the property values and what will happen if some facilities will have to be shut down soon or at best not be well maintained? You don't think this will hurt in the long run?
As will the assessment be raised this time? My guess is yes we will know soon.
Duke where in the heck do you get the idea they have been trying to raise the dues every year? I think it was 3 years ago the last time they tried, maybe 2 and it barely failed.
that was only the second time in the 11 plus years we have lived here an attempt was made to raise them. This is a much better deal. Again, I can assure you property taxes in most places are much higher than here. The one tax here that is higher is sales tax, but that has nothing to do with to do with amenities nor the POA. And there are a lot of things that are not expensive here. Of course some things are higher than in some parts of AR. This still has nothing to do with the POA>
As for the facilities, it is your choice not to use them. certainly we do not use them as much as many others, but I am still willing to pay $11 a month more to have some guarantee we will be able to have them available when we do want to use them. We do use Branchwood regularly and enjoy our small discount at Lake Point and BV Bar and Grill
Obviously you will vote based on your wallet which is fine. My question is: do you ever even eat at any of the restaurants that are managed by the POA and do you care about the property values and what will happen if some facilities will have to be shut down soon or at best not be well maintained? You don't think this will hurt in the long run?
As will the assessment be raised this time? My guess is yes we will know soon.
I've already told you that I have to pay over 1% of my property value every year - I paid almost $1,800 last year on a property that they asses as worth $165k -THERE IS NO F'G WAY THIS COULD BE CONSIDERED A LOW PROPERTY TAX RATE - IT'S DAMN HIGH!
My neighbor who has lived here 20 years told me they have tried to raise the dues every year, was going on what he told me - all I know for sure is they have tried to raise them every year since I moved here.
No, I don't eat at POA restaurants, really weird question. Why do you ask, is the food free? if not, then why do they need more dues money to support them?
Here's a question for you: why do they want to make free access to the rec centers and gun range and lower golf course fees while at the same time raise rates for everyone regardless of whether someone uses any of these amenities or not? Seems to me, what they are really trying to do is make those who don't use them pay the bill for those who do. Now, how the F is that fair? and if they really are short money to keep them going, then how can they lower the fees for those who use them? I don't think there's a shortfall at all, I think they just want to pass the cost of keeping them going onto everyone and remove the extra fees (except for the $30 activity card annual cost) from those who do. Totally unfair.
The $24/mo is more than enough to maintain the things I do use - the trails and lakes. Lets see if the rate increase passes - I'm confident it won't. I'd actually like to see a vote for eliminating the POA altogether - maybe that lawyer guy who puts up all those "vote no" signs every year at vote time will get one together.
Last edited by duke944; 10-10-2019 at 11:39 AM..
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