Unfortunately, we can’t do this because of the way Chapter 190 Florida Statues works.  This is the law that created CDDs and continues to regulate their activities.  This allows the developer of The Villages to effectively appoint the supervisors of the VCCDD and the top administrators, including Wahl, Andersen, and Rohan.  There is no way residents can exercise their will on these issues or vote to retain or not retain any of these officials.

So, until we either change Chapter 190 or incorporate into a municipality (or a similar government organization) and throw out all the CDD-entanglements, we are stuck with all these people problems.

Rather than let these problems fester, the POA would like to make several recommendations below that may be able to counter these negative personnel assessments.

First, the three key people and the five VCCDD supervisors (total of eight) should be required to attend an off-site three-day sensitivity training course.  These courses are popular with business organizations as a way of sensitizing people to how they are perceived by others.  The goal of these courses is to train people to be more sensitive in their everyday dealings with the people with whom they interact as they perform their duties.

Second, all of these eight administrators should be required, individually, to have at least one breakfast meeting a month with a random selection of eight or ten Villagers.  The purpose of these monthly meetings would be to frankly discuss Villages issues and allow each of the eight administrators to get to know typical Villagers.  The goal here would be better public relations, mutual understanding, and better personal rapport for our government officials with residents.

Third, all eight should be required, individually, at least once a month, to be the guest speaker at a Village club or organization to explain the workings of the VCCDD.  The objective would be to encourage better rapport between these eight administrators and Villagers and a better understanding of VCCDD operations.

Fourth, there should be a section in the annual Villages survey devoted to tracking the progress of Villager attitudes about all eight officials.  Favorable progress would have to be demonstrated quantitatively for each on a year-to-year basis, or termination of the individual would be indicated.  If the Villages or the VCCDD cannot or will not add tracking questions like this to their survey, then the POA can handle this in its annual survey.

Fifth, the twice-weekly VCCDD school conducted by Mr. Pete Wahl is worthwhile and should be televised by VNN at least once a week.  It would be immensely helpful to have this televised.  This would help Villager understanding about CDDs.  And, the school would get to a larger and perhaps untapped audience.  

Sixth, the monthly meeting of the VCCDD should also be televised on The Villages Television channel (VNN).  The meeting generally lasts only about 30 minutes once a month and this would not represent a burden for VNN.  This would be an excellent communication tool for the VCCDD and provide Villagers with a better understanding of the operations of our government.

Seventh, the weekly “Pete’s Place” column of Mr. Wahl in the Thursday Daily Sun Supplement should be focused on important governmental issues in The Villages.  Mr. Wahl should not be allowed to publish trivial or non-related material as he has done in the recent past.  No more of his nonsense about sun screens, and SPF ratings,  or “that golden orb in the sky.”  Let him focus on relevant matters rather than frivolous blather.

In Summary - Villagers need better relationships with their government officials.  Let’s not ignore the problem or try to sweep it under the rug.  Let’s make a real effort to address this problem and solve it.  Maybe we can make The Villages an even better place in which to live.

-  Try for a whole new slate.

-  Two bits says Pete and Rohan stuff the ballot box.  Probably has his help doing them in the office.

-  I think your organization and publication can serve a very useful function, but so long as you are so confrontational, arrogant and do not present well-thought out constructive views, much of what you publish will fall on "deaf ears", especially yours truly and fellow Villagers.  Polo Ridge Villager

-  Definitely not retain:  Wall, Rohan and Andersen.

-  Absolute Power corrupts.  Power corrupts absolutely (very true here).

-  Get rid of the Gestapo that runs VCCDD and Neighborhood Watch.  Their way or the highway.

-  Great editorial on the hospital.

-  It would appear that all these people (Wahl, Andersen, Rohan) are doing the same job.

-  Pete’s a good man, but he must answer to a constituency and not to “the money man.”

There are several alternatives as follows for the “creative financing” that you mentioned:

1.  Sell the hospital to any one of many hospital management companies that are better financed and managed and would relish the opportunity to own and expand TVRH.  Please do not get hung-up on the self-serving aspects of LRMC ownership.  These hospital management companies are true pros at managing hospitals.  We would be much better off than with the provincial thinking of LRMC.  Furthermore, we seriously question the capabilities and judgment of LRMC management as demonstrated on this issue over the past year.

2.  Arrange a joint venture with any of the hospitals around here, including those in Ocala and/or Orlando.  This could bring in the necessary financing.  And, association with any of these hospitals could prove to be worthwhile for the professional and medical interaction benefits that would certainly follow.

3.  Talk to the developer of The Villages about using its resources to arrange financing.  After all, a picture of Mr. Harold Schwartz hangs in the lobby of the hospital.  It was he who said: “I will build a hospital here.”  If Mr. Schwartz made the commitment, then his family should recognize the continuity requirements by using its resources to help us over this financing hurdle.  The family helped considerably on the charter schools – why not the hospital?  Remember, there are substantial advantages for the developer’s sales efforts for helping the community on this issue.

4.  LRMC should arrange its own financing no matter what problems they claim with their existing loan covenants.  The problems LRMC cites always seemed to us to be a bogus argument anyway.  Any covenant restrictions can be renegotiated.  And, we refuse to believe that the future cash flow of TVRH cannot more than satisfy any loan requirements.  Remember also that we are no longer required to pay the substantial burden of 20% off the top to the Morse Family Foundation -- this should improve the financing picture.

5.  As a final suggestion, LRMC should do a better job of laying out the financing issues for us to consider.  LRMC management never made the case that the tax was needed.  They never provided 10 year financial statements showing the “With The Tax” and the “Without The Tax” alternatives.  And they never embraced the “creative financing alternatives” that you just mentioned.  As a Letter To The Editor in the December issue of the POA Bulletin said: “It is not the money for the hospital tax that has me so shaken; it is the attempted swindle.”  Villagers saw through the blizzard of “we-need-the-hospital-at-any-cost” emotional appeals.  And, they recognized Mr. Wooten’s poor judgment in trying to stick us with this public handout fiasco.

By the way, I have been contacted by at least one of the hospital management companies profiled in the December issue of the POA Bulletin.  There is interest in acquiring TVRH.  I would ask that you use your influence with the LRMC board and ask them to have an open mind on this question of selling TVRH.  If the directors truly have the best interests of our community in mind, they should seriously consider this possibility.

One final point: the sunset provision that you mentioned would be meaningless without a requirement that all TVRH surplus operating funds and/or excess cash flow be directed to debt reduction until the final payoff.  During this time, any TVRH repatriation of funds to LRMC through dividends, royalties, loans, equity transfers, etc. should be prohibited.  If you don’t close this loophole, LRMC could draw out debt repayment for much longer than necessary.

Mr. Gibson, you have taken a courageous stand to scrap the hospital tax bill.  We applaud you for this stand.  Now, let’s light a fire under LRMC management and get going with the financing and the expansion.  We need that expansion asap.

Please let me know if either I or the POA can be of assistance to you on this issue.

Sincerely,

Joe Gorman

President

The POA

   Dec. 20 - Ribbon cutting ceremony 

Please note that this schedule is preliminary and may change as the process unfolds.

The recreation staff will be contacting clubs and organizations meeting in the Paradise Center to arrange alternate meeting rooms during the construction period.

Let’s all be happy this process is proceeding.  Let’s all be patient and understanding during the inevitable disruptions during this period.  And, let’s say “thanks in advance” to the staff and the VCCDD for making this happen.

This is the fact that all residents in the Lake County portion of The Villages are compelled to contribute to the Lake County Hospital Taxing District.  LRMC has identified this as amounting to $540,000 annually that is now being paid by Villagers, but used for LRMC operations.

That money should be directed to The Villages Regional Hospital (TVRH).

The POA calls on Representative Gibson, our State representative in the Florida Legislature, to sponsor legislation to break out the portion of The Villages in Lake County from the Lake County Hospital Taxing district and allow those funds to go directly to TVRH.

Along similar lines, a portion of The Villages in Marion County is part of the Marion County Hospital Tax District.  Although Marion County has the tax-enabling legislation on the books, it has not activated the tax.  Any Marion County taxes collected in the future, if the tax is eventually activated, should also be directed to TVRH.

In the event that the TVRH expansion proceeds without the need for a hospital tax, Mr. Gibson should introduce legislation abolishing the tax in the Lake County and Marion County portions of The Villages.  To not do this would subject residents of our community to unequal tax treatment.

The letter to Representative Gibson lists and explains several “creative financing” options that LRMC could pursue.  I would urge you to read these comments and then seriously consider these suggestions.  For you to not consider these alternatives now that the tax idea has been scuttled would be morally wrong and unethical.

Please contact me in confidence if you have any questions or comments.

Cheers - To Pete Wahl, district administrator, for his Pete’s Place column describing the problem with the recent increase of the minimum wage.  This is a Villages-wide problem that will impact our assessments starting in the next budget cycle later this year.  Thanks, Pete, for a worthwhile explanation.  This is a really good use of the Pete’s Place column.

Jeers - To the owners of many of the buildings in the La Plaza Grande strip mall for allowing deteriorating conditions in the buildings.  Some need paint; some need a good washing; some need new awnings; some need better maintained landscaping.  Shabby is not always chic.

Cheers - To Representative Gibson for canning the idea of revising the hospital tax legislation that was decisively defeated with a 74% negative vote in the November elections.  Mr. Gibson correctly read the mind of residents.  We hope that he can swing the “creative financing” that he mentioned as the alternative.  Hopefully, he will now be part of the solution rather than part of the problem.  We may have defeated the tax -- but, we really need the hospital expansion asap.

Jeers - To Katie Belle’s for allowing too many non-residents to grab and hold multiple tables during entertainment times.  Please make a better effort to monitor and control this situation -- it seems to be getting out of control.

Cheers - For the Villages developer for finally starting construction on the new Sumter County library.  New commissioners Francis and Hoffman grabbed all the glory in the ground-breaking ceremony pictured in the Daily Sun.  However, the real thanks has to go to Commissioner Roberts who wasn’t even invited to the ceremony.  He insisted that the developer follow through with its promise to build a library in Sumter County as pledged in the original development plan filed by the developer.  Roberts insisted that the developer honor its promise to build a library after the developer tried to renege on that promise.  So, Cheers to Commissioner Roberts also.

Cheers - To the town of Lady Lake for considering having a Christmas parade to replace the one so cruelly cancelled by Pete Wahl.  We hope the town can find enough support and participants and make it happen.

Jeers - To the Daily Sun for another frivolous front-page article on Jan 27 that Florida might re-institute a sales tax on ostrich feed.

If you see that the POA Bulletin and either the Lady Lake Magazine or the Village Spectator, enclosed in a single plastic bag, are delivered but left on the driveway or the lawn of an unoccupied house, or where people are away for a few days, please be a good neighbor and remove these from the driveway or the lawn.  Either dispose of these papers or hold them for your neighbor’s return. 

Papers left for several days in a driveway might signal an unoccupied house.  Our delivery service tries to avoid tossing the papers on these driveways, but it is not always evident which houses are unoccupied. 

So, please help us avoid these situations.  Thanks in advance for your help on this.

The various CDDs in The Villages meet once a month for meetings as follows: 

Last Friday of the month at the Sumter Landing Offices, 1894 Laurel Manor Drive:

      VCCDD at 9:00 a.m.

      CDD # 5 at 9:45 a.m.

      CDD # 6 at 10:15 a.m.

First Friday of the month at the VCCDD  Offices, 3231 Wedgewood Lane:

      Sumter Landing CDD at 9:00 a.m.             

      CDD # 2 at 9:45 a.m.

      CDD # 3 at 10:30 a.m.

      CDD # 1 at 11:15 a.m.

      CDD # 4 at noon

These meetings are worthwhile and show our local governments in action.  Residents wanting to know what’s going on or to give input into any of the governments’ decision making processes should attend.

Also, the District Administrator, Mr. Pete Wahl, conducts a weekly CDD school at the district offices on Wedgewood Lane.  Each school lasts about two hours and is held twice a week, on Monday and Thursday, at 10:00 a.m.  Contact Pete Wahl’s office at 753-4508 for details.

CDD school is informative and provides a good overview of how CDDs work and are organized.  The POA recommends the program.  However, the POA also recommends that, after going to this, you come to a POA meeting for the rest of the story.  You will not get the whole story at Pete’s CDD school.

• Send in your annual membership dues as early in the year as possible,

• Make an additional cash donation at the time of your membership renewal,

• Make a direct payment to cover some of our operating expenses,

• Help pay for the Bulletin’s monthly printing or distribution expenses,

• Make a gift of stock, insurance, or other asset,

• Make a gift of real estate or personal property,

• Make a bequest and/or remembrance to the POA in your will,

• Make a special gift memorial for a friend or loved one,

• Donate cake, cookies, and/or refreshments for members at our monthly meetings,

• Tell your neighbors and friends about the benefits of membership in the POA,

• Say a prayer in support of the POA -- this is always welcome.

Whatever method you use to support your POA, please know that it will help enhance the wonderful way of life  we enjoy here in The Villages.

The POA board needs help on the following tasks.  Joe Gorman (259-0999) can provide more information on either of these positions.  Both of these positions will be compensated:

-  An experienced sales representative is needed to sell advertisements in The POA Bulletin on a part time basis.  A generous commission will be paid.  Previous experience selling newspaper or magazine ads is helpful, but not necessary.

-  We need route delivery people to help with distribution of the Bulletin in Sumter and Marion counties.  Routes taking between one-half to two days per month are available.  A dependable car is needed.  Compensation will be paid.  Call either Joe Gorman or Pete Cacioppo at 259-9774 for details.