BUSHNELL - Gary Moyer, vice president of development for The Villages, asked Sumter County commissioners at a meeting early last month if they'd make a decision on gates in the retirement community.

Commissioners did - indirectly - by agreeing to take over the retirement community's 55 miles of public roads. Following plans set in place years ago, the developer-built roads in The Villages are supposed to be turned over to the county after two years. Commissioners Jim Roberts and Joey Chandler at the early August meeting urged The Villages to seek input first from residents of the retirement community on gate access.

"I still believe most residents buy into the gated community," Roberts said. "I don't have a problem with a gated community. That's why you live in a (community development district). But I don't think (pushing a button to gain entrance) is acceptable to the residents."

The rules, which were adopted later last month by government boards in The Villages, would make access easier for anyone wanting to enter the community. The other two options were removing the gates or privitizing the roads.

"Anybody with a ski mask can get in now," Roberts said Tuesday about the decision. "I still think this should have been a decision by the residents."

Motorists interested in entering neighborhoods in the community through gates will no longer have to press a button and wait for a voice response. Gates will automatically rise after several seconds when motorists push the button at visitors' entrances.

"The Villages basically wouldn't be refusing access to the public," said county administrator Bernard Dew.

Roberts said he didn't understand why Moyer and The Villages' developer were in a hurry to change gate access before finding out what Villages' residents thought.

"That's what shocked me," he said. "They did not want the input from the residents."

Moyer said that residents in neighborhoods in the community could still petition to change their road designations to make them private, which would restrict access to their areas. But that would entail raising fees for road maintenance, which is done by the county.

Pete Wahl, the administrator of The Villages Center Community Development District, said the presence of the gates "serve a deterrent purpose."

Whether that's true, some residents are still concerned about their safety. Burglars have broken into homes in The Villages dozens of times this year, shattering the perception held by many residents of their community's security.

Commissioners last April had discussed requiring The Villages' developer to hang onto the community's roads for an additional three years to ensure the roads remain in solid shape.

Public Works director Tommy Hurst said he had received numerous calls from residents of The Villages complaining about problems with roads that were about to be turned over to the county.

The developer is reimbursed or receives impact-fee credits for building the community's road, which become official county property after two years. New home buyers and new property owners pay fees for road construction.

County officials say heavy construction traffic in new developments is straining and shortening roads' longevity. The developer has told the county the roads are expected to last 20 years before needing significant repair, Hurst said.

"We get them, and six to eight months later we get calls to fix the holes," Hurst said during the earlier meetings.

Extending the time the developer incurs maintenance and upkeep costs will serve as an incentive to build sturdier roads and to divert heavy construction traffic, county officials said.

"It gives us a better idea at the end of five years instead of two years," Hurst said.