It's a shell game
Let’s say you are standing at the Country Club waiting to play golf. You are all dressed up and have your bag and clubs just waiting for your playing partners to arrive. I walk up to you and start chitchatting. “Beautiful day,” I say. “Boy, that is a nice set of clubs. Could I see one?”
“Sure,” you say as you hand me the 8-iron.
I take a couple little practice swings and say “This is a nice club. I would say off the top of my head this is worth about $100. I tell you what I’ll do, I’ll sell it to you for 20 bucks.”
“What?” you say, “You can’t sell me that. It’s already mine.”
“I know”, I say, “and since it is worth a $100, buying it for 20 bucks is a really good deal.”
“But, you idiot”, you say, “you can’t sell me something I already own.”
That’s a pretty ridiculous story but it is exactly what our POA Board wants us to do when they are asking us to approve selling the fire stations to the city for $1.8 million.
This proposal is saying that the Bella Vista POA - that’s you and me - will sell to the City of Bella Vista - also you and me - property we already own for $1.8 million. The city of Bella Vista - you and me - will give the POA - you and me - $1.8 million to buy something that already belongs to us.
The POA administration just found a way for you and me to give them $1.8 million dollars out of our pockets without getting anything in return and without having to vote on an assessment increase. I have been exhorting the POA to come up with new and innovative revenue streams but this ... This is a shell game from the word go and you and I are the victims.
The POA needs to merely transfer ownership of this property to the city. It is our property now and it will remain our property. It is nothing more than a name change. If this is a problem with Cooper Communities, some bylaw someplace, or some other legality, then our lawyer should straighten that out and get this done.
Politics in action - you gotta love it - but I’m sure everyone who voted for incorporation will vote for this.
Larry Blech Bella Vista
Editor’s note: The police and fire building at Town Center was actually built by Cooper Communities and turned over to the POA.
Later the POA added onto the building.
Opinion, Pages 6 on 03/27/2013