BELLA VISTA — The Bella Vista Property Owners Association Board of Directors is in the process of filling seats vacated by three members who resigned July 14.
Chairwoman Anita Werts said the board plans to appoint new members to replace Bob Evans, Nancy Owens and Susan Wyatt for the remainder of their terms.
Article III, Section 6 of the POA bylaws gives the board the authority to appoint any member in good standing to serve until the completion of the term. The newly appointed members will serve about 22 months since the resigning members were elected in May 2009, Werts said.
People interested in serving on the board can submit resumes to Kathy Ferguson by dropping them off at the Bella Vista Country Club at 98 Clubhouse Drive or e-mail Ferguson at [email protected]. Resumes will be accepted through July 30, Werts said. The deadline may be extended if there are only a few applicants.
Werts said she had received three resumes as of Tuesday.
“I think there’s speculation out there that we already have these people replaced, but that’s not the case,” she said.
Roberta Dale, former POA chairwoman, said she agrees with how the board plans to select new members. She thinks asking for resumes is wise.
“It costs money to go back out to the membership,” she said.
Dale said having a special election could cost upwards of $30,000.
The board members are still deciding on a method to use to evaluate people during interviews. One idea is creating a candidate-evaluation form, which Werts said will be “a systematic way of evaluating each person” during an interview.
Werts said the form would list categories of different qualities the board is looking for in candidates, including community involvement, volunteer work, leadership, possible work experience, education and breadth of knowledge. It will likely be a scale of 1 through 5 for each category and every board member will get a copy to fill out on a candidate, she said.
“We’re being as fair as we can be in the selection,” she said.
Dale said she would advise the board to look for people who are positive and want to improve Bella Vista. She also suggested finding people who “have a broad base of support in the village and know the membership.”
Werts said she does not have anyone in mind for the open positions.
“I think the overall good of the community has to be the number one reason for applying for the board,” she said.
Werts would like the board to make a decision on new members by the end of the first week of August.