ARKANSAS’ LARGEST WEEKLY NEWSPAPER Vol. 26 No. 50 Tuesday, September 13, 2016
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Committee reviews Articles of Incorporation By MARY ELIADES Voice correspondent The ad hoc governing documents review committee has completed its initial examination of the Property Owners’ Association Declaration and Covenants, and is now beginning to look at the Articles of Incorporation. A draft of recommended changes to the Declaration and Covenants has been prepared, but the committee intends to review them before submitting findings to the board of directors. The committee has discovered, according to chair Bob Cunningham, that “all of the [governing] documents are intertwined with the Declaration” and changes to supporting documents will hinge on membership approval of recommended changes to the Declaration. Cooper Communities, Inc. – the developer of the Village – still retains some control over Village properties, but has shown willingness in the past to relinquish some authority to the POA (e.g., responsibility for paving/maintaining roads and the architectural control committee). An initial review of the
Articles of Incorporation raised questions about the need for language that is duplicated in other governing documents, and a comparison of the Articles to current requirements for incorporation revealed information “way beyond” what is required, according to committee member Cindi Erickson. Erickson remarked that the document was only for the purpose of “establishing a corporation – nothing more,” and was the only document that “sets forth the purpose” of the corporation. Several of the articles in the document are “not within the bounds of the [stated] purpose,” although the committee was not in complete agreement on which of the articles were redundant or matched requirements for incorporation. Some members, however, stated that certain of the articles were “innocuous,” with no need for change. Erickson recommended striking redundant articles, to prevent having to amend several documents when a change is merited and to “eliminate all unnecessary language from documents
Governing documents review committee chair Bob Cunningham leads the discussion on possible changes to the Articles of Incorporation. (Mary Eliades photos) having higher authority, to prevent the potential for [legal] conflicts.” Staff liaison Linda Mayhood noted that filing requirements may have been different when the Village was incorporated, and offered to research the history of the document. In the past, changes to the Articles required a court
petition; Mayhood will also look into methods of amendment. She suggested tabling further discussion until she has had time to get an attorney’s opinion. The committee will not meet again until Sept. 27 and, in the interim, members will review the Declaration and Covenants and start looking at the Bylaws.
Staff liaison to the committee, Linda Mayhood, discusses the history of the Articles of Incorporation and its numerous amendments. Mayhood said she and her staff are very familiar with the Bylaws – they consult them on a regular basis – which should prove invaluable to the review process. The committee will keep track of which changes could be effected immediately and which are tied to the Declaration. Erickson asked why the
Village has so many governing documents – “it creates complexity” – and offered to research which areas of governance belong in various documents, based on those for similar entities. The next working meeting of the committee is Sept. 27, 11 a.m., at the Coronado Center; the next “official” meeting will be Oct. 11.
GAC members hear various reports By LEWIS DELAVAN Staff writer The new CHI St. Vincent clinic near the West Gate is a great asset for Hot Springs Village, Property Owners’ Association board vice president John Weidert told the governmental affairs com-
mittee at the GAC’s monthly board meeting. The clinic is open 7:30 a.m.-6 p.m. weekdays and 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday. Weidert praised the efforts of Villagers who worked to get the medical facility, which he said adds to the Village’s quality of life. “A
GAC member Curt Malone discusses regional efforts to obtain Lake Ouachita water. (Lewis Delavan photo)
lot of work went into getting that,” he said. The report was part of his board summary, which he presented in the absence of board president Mike Medica. Also attending was director Bob Cunningham. All three generally attend GAC meetings. Also, Weidert said an Arkansas Supreme Court ruling on the court challenge to the POA’s two-tier assessment and proposed overlay zones could come as early as this month. While the POA is optimistic on its chances for winning the case, Weidert said even if it loses, the possibility would exist for the POA to develop overlay zones. The late John Cooper Sr., developer of the Village, set the possibility of overlay zones in the Village’s initial plan. If needed, an agreement for overlay zones might be reached with Cooper Communities Inc., which retains developer rights over HSV, Weidert said. In other reports, Curt Malone outlined the efforts to obtain water sales from Lake Ouachita. As with most of Arkansas’ lakes built by the U.S. Army Corps of
Inside this issue Real Estate/Classifieds .........1-8-E Calendar of events.................. 6-D Church news ........................ 4-8-C Club news ...........................1-10-D Crossword............................... 2-C Entertainment .....................9-10-B Obituaries ................................8-A Police report ............................ 7-A Sports ...................................1-8-B Hot Springs Village Viewer .1-20-H © 2016 Hot Springs Village Voice
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Engineers, Ouachita was authorized by Congress for flood control and power generation. The Corps’ Vicksburg District office is nearing final stages of a recommendation for water sales of 30 million gallons/day. Congressional authorization would be required. In a nutshell, power generation receives a significant allocation of Lake Ouachita water, with a portion of revenue going to the U.S. Treasury to help recover the project’s cost. Because water sales would reduce the water pool available for power generation, wholesale water customers would have to reimburse the projected loss to potential power generation. The proposal was developed by Mid-Arkansas Water Alliance, or MAWA, a not-for-profit membership corporation. HSV, a MAWA member, hopes to obtain a two mg/d water allocation. MAWA’s plan provides economies of scale for its members, helping reduce the overall cost of water. DeGray Reservoir, which later became DeGray Lake, was an Arkansas lake that included water sales in its congressional authorization. The project’s high cost, in part because of the lake’s levee, could not be met by the normal flood control/power generation formula used by most other lakes. However, Lake Ouachita is at a higher elevation, and water can be delivered to many areas with less power. In his Benton Chamber of Commerce report, Paul Day told the GAC the Saline County Economic Development Commission will update the status of the
proposed Saline County Career and Technology Education Center, or CTE, at a Chamber luncheon at 10:30 a.m. tomorrow in the Benton Events Center. The project would greatly expand vocational career education available for the region’s public school students. “The presentation will discuss the pathways that will be taught, unveil a picture of the proposed facility, and answer any questions regarding it. All interested parties are invited and lunch will be served,” Day wrote in his report. Day presented the HSV social and economic impact study to 18 community leaders attending an economic development meeting last month, and gave copies to those who requested them. The main speaker at that meeting was state Sen. Alan Clark, R-Hot Springs, whose district includes parts of Hot Springs and Benton. The impact study was published recently by the University of Arkansas Department of Agriculture. Day said Clark’s main focus in the 2017 legislative session will be three items: • Managed health care reform. Day said Clark believes it is possible to save some $90 million, even with a nursing home exemption. • Education reform. With a recent report finding that only 31 percent of Arkansas students read proficiently, based on recent tests, Clark said that must change, Day reported. • Tax and regulation reform. Day also spoke with state Rep. Lanny Fite on Aug. 24. Fite, who served several terms as Saline County judge, is working on solid
waste reform. “He believes that lack of oversight and regulation will require several solid waste sites to close due to financial difficulties and inadequate controls,” Day said. “In addition, he believes that used tires are not being disposed of properly.” In his social and economic impact study report, Lu Otto said hand-delivery of the impact report continues to targeted recipients, including public officials. “The Web remains our primary vehicle of distribution and the GAC website dashboard indicates that the report received 318 hits this past week,” Otto said. “An interesting and informative feature of the GAC site, compliments of Mike Dollar, is that the dashboard also lists referring sites.” The Voice was the referring site for 16 hits that week, and another 10 were referred by the POA website, www.hsvpoa.org. Otto noted that the Voice recently completed a fivepart weekly series of interview articles drawn from the impact report. Verbal presentations on the report were given to two Village clubs and organizations in July, FOCUS and Breakfast Lions. Presentations to Kiwanis and Rotary are scheduled in September. Others are under discussion. Otto said critiques of the present report and recommendations for future reports are also encouraged. “These are being summarized and will be passed on to posterity for future consideration,” he said. Cindy Calhoun’s report covered the Senior Services Expo, set for Oct. 13 at Coronado Community Center.