Bella Vista is holding an election through Aug. 19 at 6 p.m. But it’s not for city council, it’s not for mayor, and it’s not even being held through the city of Bella Vista. Ozarks at Large’s Matthew Moore explains.
Bella Vista is structured differently than most cities.Three separate entities essentially run the city — city government, the Architectural Control Committee, and the Bella Vista Property Owners Association.
The city portion is as expected. They’re in charge of fixing potholes in the streets, maintaining police and fire, and running a library. The ACC is comparable to an HOA. They enforce aesthetic and structural standards like what color homes can be painted and how big a deck a person can build. And then there’s the Bella Vista Property Owners Association.
“And the POA basically oversees the amenities of the city,” said Larry Fleury, marketing and communications manager for the POA. “That’s the seven golf courses, the seven lakes we have, a majority of trails, which we partner with the city if they’re on city property, four restaurants, a beer garden, and multiple amenities that are still growing. We have pools, fitness centers, a beach.”
Part of the funding for these amenities comes from a monthly fee for all property owners on their lots of land.
“We have improved lots and unimproved lots,” Fleury said. “The only differing factor is a water meter running through it. So if there’s a plot of land that has piping and a water meter, even though there may be a house there currently and people want to move in, you are part of the improved lot, which has a different rate of assessment. If you have an unimproved lot, which means just a plot of land with no water, that is a different pricing structure.”
The monthly assessment fee for an improved lot is $40 and $16 for unimproved lots for now.
“We’re proposing a $5 increase for improved lots and a $1 increase for unimproved lots,” Fleury said. “That would be from $40 to $45 for improved and $16 to $17. We leave it to the members, which is roughly 38,000 people in good standing, to make that vote.”
The infrastructure of this election is familiar in some ways but different in others. You will have a ballot to vote yes or no, but this is not a one-person, one-vote situation.
“It’s by plots of land. If you own multiple plots, your vote might have more weight than someone who owns one property. One vote could, for a wealthier individual who may have inherited or bought a bunch of land, have a 0.5 percent vote compared to someone who has 0.001 percent power. It’s really putting power into those property owners to make the decisions.”
One of those property owners is Chris Maestri. He and his wife moved to Bella Vista in the summer of 2019.
“We actually last summer purchased an empty lot next to our current home, so we have a combination of improved and unimproved,” he said.
He said they recently picked up golf and have enjoyed living close to one of the courses.
“We live very close to Metfield and the golf course, so being able to hop over there and play for such a low cost, even with a cart, has been awesome. But up until this summer, we have historically used the lakes more than anything. Having those lakes as a private spot for POA members to use has been really nice. When you compare to some of the larger bodies of water like Beaver to the east and south of us, that are a little busier, a little heavier traffic, and not quite as peaceful as the Bella Vista lakes might be.”
Maestri said he intends to vote for the increase in assessment fees, in part because he saw the improvements that came with the previous increase three years ago.
“It’s been very obvious since they brought those increases in POA dues a few years ago that they’ve been very diligent about using those to improve the facilities, and everything that we personally use has seen an improvement within that time frame,” he said. “While it is additional cost per month, I think the small amount that we’ve seen so far has gone a long way to keep Bella Vista amenities what they are.”
Fleury said he’s heard from some older residents who are opposed to the increase.
“You might have a retiree who retired 20 years ago and they’re on a fixed income,” he said. “Maybe they retired as a teacher, for example, who didn’t make a lot of money compared to some of the other jobs you may see in Northwest Arkansas. Any increase scares them. They don’t want to pay any more. They may also be older or have some ability issues where they don’t golf, they don’t hike the trails, they don’t fish, they have no interest in it, but they like where they live. We’ve heard that as a reason to vote no, because people say, ‘I don’t use these amenities. I don’t want to pay for them.’
“But the same conversation happens on the national level — ‘I don’t go to this school, I don’t have kids, why should I pay taxes? I don’t drive down these roads.’ The rebuttal I give is if you love your community and you want the amenities to be strong for your neighbors, your family that comes to visit, that’s why we’re doing this vote.”
Another way this election is different is that voter turnout determines whether the votes even count.
“We need to hit quorum for this vote to be successful, whether that’s a yay or nay vote,” Fleury said. “If we do not hit quorum, the board decides the next steps — running a second vote or increasing usage fees — and it affects the entire community.”
That means 50% of property owners, plus one, must vote for the results to be valid. If quorum is not reached, the nine-member board will decide what to do next, but it’s likely to have the same result as a no vote — a rise in usage fees.
“Currently, if you remember going to the driving range or to the gym, it’s free with your activity card,” Fleury said. “If we have to increase usage fees, that might be $1 per visit, which in the long run is much more expensive than the proposed assessment fee increase.
“If the vote is yes, starting March 1, 2026, the assessment will increase from $40 to $45 a month for improved lot owners and $16 to $17 for unimproved. We will be able to get to work and put more energy into keeping things up to date, and even go beyond, building new amenities. We hear the public about what they want, certain restaurants and operations they want to see, and we want to provide that, but we also need the funding and the backing from the community.”
Matthew Moore: What would be your pitch to someone who is unsure of which way they want to vote on this rise in assessment cost?
Chris Maestri: “If you’re not using the amenities in Bella Vista, you’re doing yourself a disservice. Everything the POA provides and maintains and continues to improve has been a huge boon for– I personally believe– the city. That’s one of the many reasons my wife and I decided to settle down in Bella Vista and one of the reasons we don’t see ourselves leaving anytime soon. So I would say, take advantage of what you have and be willing to invest a little in those amenities yourself, as everybody else is going to do, and you’ll see continued improvement like we’ve seen over the last few years. I think that’s a positive for everyone that lives here and owns property in Bella Vista.”
Voting ends on Aug. 18 at 6 p.m. for this election. A ballot has been mailed and emailed to members in good standing. Results will be read and confirmed at the boardroom of the country club and live-streamed.
Ozarks at Large transcripts are created on a rush deadline. Copy editors utilize AI tools to review work. KUAF does not publish content created by AI. Please reach out to kuafinfo@uark.edu to report an issue.
