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The
POA is identifying three important issues in our community that we are taking
on or confirming as Special Projects. These
are:
- The Vinyl Siding Issue
- The Poor Workmanship Issue
- The Poor Service in Our Hospital On
each of these, the POA will publicize and endeavor to resolve the problems
some way or another. Hopefully, we
will be able to get some sort of accommodation from the people responsible.
We have tried efforts like this in the past and have had some degree of
success (see secondary story in right- hand column). In
each case, we ask that Villagers with any stories or comments, be these good,
bad, or indifferent, write or email to the POA an explanation of their
experience. We will gather these
stories and eventually present them to the appropriate people or agencies.
If
you have a story or comment, please come forward with the letter or email to
us. If you don’t say something,
then we will be left to assume that there are no issues.
So, you have to come forward and tell us what your experience was.
Only when we gather the stories from many individuals will we be able
to push for a successful resolution. You
will have to identify yourself for verification purposes. The
three Special Projects are the following: The
Vinyl Siding Problem - The Vinyl siding Committee of the POA has
inspected over 700 homes and found not one of them to be problem-free.
The key problems are: stapling or nailing at much greater distances
than required by the manufacturer’s instructions, failure to use all the
important component parts required by the manufacturer, improperly installed
sheathing under the vinyl, improper stepping of the vinyl panels, nailing or
stapling too tightly, sloppy workmanship, etc. This
is disgraceful on the part of the developer to allow something like this to
happen in our community. The
developer hails The Villages as a “Quality-Built” housing development, but
we find that hard to believe given all of these problems. When
first approached about these problems, the developer labeled the lead person
on the Vinyl Siding committee as a “troublemaker.”
He said that residents didn’t have a problem unless someone told them
they had a problem. The comment
was made that we were stirring up the residents and scaring them.
The
developer’s Warranty Department has adopted a posture of delay, deceit,
intimidation, denial, and condones sloppy workmanship. Some
of the developer’s builders and contractors have been helpful, but others
have aggressively denied any responsibility for the problems and appear to be
practicing intimidation of residents. It
is absolutely incredible that the developer has behaved this way and allowed
these problems to fester. The
developer is unbelievably bull-headed in failing to take responsibility for
these problems and in failing to make things right.
We don’t think people of integrity act this way. So,
we need your written explanation of your vinyl siding problems.
Please either email these to us at: poa4us@gmail.com
or mail your comments to us at:
POA - Vinyl Siding Comments
POB 1657
The
Sloppy Workmanship Problem The
is related to the Vinyl Siding problems, but we want to gather separate
comments about problems people see with their new homes right after they move
in. A
list of horror stories was presented as a front-page article in the Bulletin
last month. To read this again,
see the February Bulletin in the Bulletin Archives section of the POA website
(www.poa4us.org) on the internet. Something
is seriously wrong with the construction departments, required inspections,
and the quality control follow-up when bath and kitchen cabinets are installed
in the wrong places, sometimes up-side-down, and when construction debris is
swept into open toilet drains before commodes are installed.
There are many other problems. It
is absolutely astonishing that problems like these could happen in this
“Quality-Built” community. So,
if you have experienced these problems that go way beyond the typical and
usually minor problems noticed on move-in, or if you had a problem with the
Warranty Department or any of the contractors, we need to hear from you.
Thus,
we need your written explanation of your initial construction problems.
Please either email these to us at: poa4us@gmail.com
or mail them to us at:
POA - Workmanship Comments
POB 1657
The
Hospital Problem The
POA printed some comments in the Bulletin a few years ago that led off with
the comment: “Something is wrong with The Villages Hospital.” That
was then and this is now. But, the
same story could be written about our Hospital (TVRH) even today.
The
earlier story focused on the problems in the Emergency Room (ER).
We could write the same story today about the same problems in the ER
– and, nothing seems to be getting better. Remember
the two stories in last month’s Bulletin about the unbelievable charges for
a blood test in TVRH (again, available on the POA website in the Bulletin
Archives) and the infuriating story about a patient waiting
for assistance in the ER for a serious burn. It
is just unacceptable for these problems to continue.
And, the delaying excuses for these festering problems are the same
today as they were a few years ago and are, frankly, unacceptable. We
need your comments about your dealings with the hospital.
These can be good, bad, or indifferent.
We need to document the situation in anticipation of taking these
stories to the proper officials and agencies.
Hopefully, we can get some serious pressure on TVRH to mend it ways. So,
we need your written explanation of your Hospital experiences.
Please either email these to us at: poa4us@gmail.com or mail your
comments to us at:
POA - Hospital Comments
POB 1657
Summary The
POA has taken up the banner in the past for a variety of causes.
Some we won; some we lost (see the story on page 1).
But, we tried to make a change for the better.
All three of these problems need to be addressed.
This is our community and the POA is going to try to make a difference.
And, we need your help. Please write or email to us with your comments and stories. We can’t make that difference by ourselves – we need your help. Please, do it today....
Here’s
a list of some of the causes the POA has championed in the past in the name of
Residents’ Rights: -Rebuilding
the -Getting
the developer to pay the $165,000 bill to repair a pond sinkhole on his Nancy
Lopez golf course rather than sticking CDD4 residents with the bill, -Defeating
the -Pressuring
the -Getting
the Central Districts to rescind their Activities Policy which required any
gathering of two or more residents wanting to demonstrate for any cause to
provide a $1 million liability policy and advance notice of the demonstration, -Advocating
passage of the Straw Vote to give residents voting control in the VCCDD, -Publicizing
the concerns of Lake County residents regarding the heavy-handed way the
developer tried to force residents to accept the Bob Evans Restaurant on the
east side of Hwy 441/27. -Trying
to save the -Promoting
the passage of the Chapter 190 Disclosure Reform bill in the Florida
Legislature, -Demanding
developer responsibility and a fix for the Vinyl Siding problems, -Publicizing
deficiencies and arrogance in the Home Warranty department, contractors, and
sub-contractors in performing repairs for residents, -Identifying
significant billing discrepancies in the VCCDD favoring the developer, -Identifying
the differences between the POA and the VHA, -Suing
the developer when he reneged on promised amenities on the east side, -Supporting
the efforts of five class action representatives in the current lawsuit and
the $50 million proposed settlement with the developer, Have
you ever wondered what are those five-inch square blue reflectors that are glued
to our streets in various locations? Those
blue reflectors are put there by The Villages Fire Department to help firemen
quickly locate fire hydrants at nighttime. Notice
that the reflectors are located close to fire hydrants and reflect blue light
when a flashlight is aimed at them, even at night time from blocks away. The
problem is that the reflectors sometimes are missing. Some have speculated that
snowplows scrape off the reflectors. Sometimes reflectors just come loose with
age and dislodge. Sometimes the
ducks eat them. So,
a missing blue reflector needs to be replaced as a safety priority.
And, it is up to residents to notify the Villages Fire Department because
it’s impossible for the department to notice all of the missing reflectors in
the entire community. Call The Villages Fire Department at 205-8280 to report the loss. Someone will come out and install a replacement. Afterwards, be sure to watch out for the snowplows. And, make sure that you don't need another replacement anytime soon or have a fire in the meantime.
Jeers
- To the Nick Xenos, the Deed Compliance officer of The Villages, for
prohibiting Will Pruitt, candidate for Hugh Gibson’s seat in the Florida
Legislature, from visiting homes in The Villages in his campaign for office.
This looks to us like Mr. Xenos is trying to muzzle political free
speech. Mr. Xenos says the deed
restrictions and covenants in The Villages prohibit it.
However, we think those apply to commercial solicitations, not
political campaigning or efforts of a politician to canvass residents in his
or her own district. If
politicians are OK on the Squares with the approval of the developer, then
they should be welcome elsewhere in The Villages. Cheers
- To Janet Tutt, District Administrator, for reversing the position of The
Villages and Mr. Xenos on the above-mentioned ban on political speech, but
doing so after the paragraph above was written.
It is good to see some common sense in the Central Districts in
deciding these issues. Cheers
- To the VHA for championing the idea of having another post office here in
The Villages. We need it, and the
VHA has stepped up to help make it happen.
All residents should support the VHA’s initiative. Cheers
- To the RAC (Resident Advisory Council) for doing great work on behalf of all
Villagers. These dedicated
individuals are living proof that residents have the skills, experiences, and
dedication to effectively make major decisions in The Villages.
We hope that many of them will run for the soon-to-be-formed AAC
(Amenity Authority Committee) to be elected by residents this November. Jeers
- To the golf division personnel who select the pin locations on the Roosevelt
and Truman golf courses. They have
a demonic sense of humor. Well,
OK, if you like tough courses, maybe this is a Cheer. Jeers
- To the Chicago Cubs for starting their second century without winning a World
Series. The last win was in 1908.
The Red Sox finally did it! – Cubs are next. Jeers - To the developer for pulling the wool over our eyes on the issue of garbage recycling. Now we appear to be stuck with a bad and unpopular deal. And somebody is going to make a ton of money off our recycling efforts. OK, everybody, don’t forget to buy your special garbage bags. The
next POA membership meeting will be on Tuesday, March 18, in the big room
(Lincoln) at the We
have changed meeting days (from the third Wednesday to the third Tuesday) in
order to have our meetings in the bigger room.
This should eliminate the “standing room only” situations we have had
in the past. Carol
Anderson, attorney for the plaintiffs in the recent lawsuit with the developer,
will comment on details of the lawsuit. Please
join us for this important meeting. Coffee
and donuts afterward make for a nice social time.
And, the discussion and opportunity to meet fellow Villagers add up to a
thought-provoking and interesting evening.
Feb
10: We go to this restaurant most Saturdays. Where
else can you get good food at a good price AND talk to the man that runs
everything? Where else can you see the bar person (Stacy Muilenburg) take care
of a handicapped man sitting by himself, speaking with him and taking his food
order? Where else do you see the proprietor speaking with the patrons, making
sure all is to their liking? We don't live in the Orange Blossom area, but with
all the Country Clubs in The Villages, we still love the best one, The Orange
Blossom, that has the most beautiful pool, great Tiki bar, waterfall, &
executive golf course? If this area changes in any way, The Villages will lose
the original concept created by the man himself, Mr. Schwartz. I just hope his
family remembers the love he had for the original Country Club. A recreation
center? What a horrific concept! One
of the main reasons we moved to The Villages in 2004 was the security gates for
each Village. It is my understanding
that the County forced us to open our Villages to the public because First,
is this true, and, Second, if it is, will the Jim Smothers We
are visiting The Villages for two months and are enjoying the wonderful
lifestyle. We especially like
reading the Daily Sun each morning. Not
only do you have the local, national and international news and sports, you
keep us updated on Villages activities with pictures of residents who
participate and appreciate what this amazing community has to offer.
I think the diversity of the people from many states (and countries)
living here is one of The Villages’ best selling points.
Your newspaper is everything a hometown paper should be. But
I have a question. Is there a
balance in the editorial pages? The
first time I opened to the editorial page, I saw Ann Coulter.
Wow, she is a pretty divisive personality.
Anyone whose hero is Joe McCarthy, thinks the 9/11 widows are
"harpies" looking to profit from their husbands’ deaths, and wants
God to smite all liberals, is a pretty hateful, intolerant person, and not
what I expected to see in OK,
no matter, free speech and all that; there will be a balance in another
column, I figured. The next page
featured Mona Charen. Not exactly
a bipartisan voice of reason. Looking
further for a moderate voice, I saw Oliver North's face looking back at me.
Whoa! The man who almost
single-handedly brought down the Reagan Administration with the Iran-Contra
scandal and who Nancy Reagan called a liar.
Not the rational voice of moderation I was expecting.
The following week I found even the local writers to be right of
center. With people from all parts
of the country living here, I’m surprised the Daily Sun takes such a far
right view of the world without at least letting the other side voice theirs. I
am disappointed all points of view don't seem to be presented in the newspaper.
If you are only going to represent the conservative point of view, that
is your right. But please consider
some conservatives who are more respected and reasonable like George Will,
Charles Krauthammer or even Bob Novak. The
intolerance put forth by Coulter and North does a disservice to the wonderful
people we have met here and the kind of friendly, caring people I would hope The
Villages wants to attract. Feb
11:
I don't know where Mr. Campbell lives or how long he has lived in The
Villages. However, I violently
oppose going back to individual district elections of our Feb
10: My wife and I are snowbirds,
here for only Jan and Feb. We read
the POA Bulletin for the first time. Seems
to us that there is way too much whining and complaining.
The residents need to understand that the developer will not be here to
hold their hands and pay the bills forever.
It's only a few years down the road that the residents will have to make
their "own decisions" on everything and "will have to pay for
it." Who do the current
complainers think will be paying for the present infrastructure when the
developer walks away? If you think
the county will assume responsibility, you need to wake up!
They will take care of it, only when you pay for it.
So whether it's called "fee" or "taxes," your monthly
fee will go up, up, up! So wake up
Folks! Now is the time to start
planning for the time when you, the residents, will need to manage your village,
all aspects of it. Our guess is that
you are headed to hiring a city manager and all the infrastructure that
accompanies it. And you can look
forward to the need to repair roads, rebuild or replace golf courses, maintain
all the buildings that will now be yours, resurface pickle ball courts, bocce
courts, etc. Look around you!
There are hundreds and hundreds of maintenance or repair possibilities in
your future. So we say to the
complainers, either grow up or else, act your age.
You're adults and need to step up now and face your future responsibly
and positively. The
Florida Hometown Democracy petition failed to get enough signatures to get on
the ballot in November. It ended
65,182 signatures short of the required 611,009 needed.
Had
the initiative been placed on the ballot and passed, it would have required
local voter approval of any land-use plan changes.
Opponents claimed that this would have substantially reduced plan changes
and produced slower development. After
almost 17 months of publishing information about the vinyl siding problems we
have seen, we have begun to note a partial change in attitude from the
Warranty Department and the Villages contractors. Lately
we’ve been hearing about Robert Locke, an inspector for Home Warranty.
Several homeowners have recently told our committee members that he has
come to check their siding and he told them everything was OK.
Our siding committee members checked the same houses and found between
15 and 20 defects on each home that need attention.
Is Mr. Locke truly not seeing these problems?
If so he should not be an inspector.
Or is he trying to deceive the homeowners? We
are finding that Home Warranty is sending out some representatives who are more
receptive to the fact that repairs are often needed because of poor workmanship
on original installations. Sometimes,
now, the flaws are being confirmed by Home Warranty reps and siding crews are
being sent to do the repairs, with less regard for the age of the home and
without having the homeowners deal directly with the subcontractors. We
don’t know for sure why this change in attitude is taking place, but it could
be because we have published that the installations
were never done right in the first place—in violation of Florida Building Code
that states vinyl siding installation is to be done in accordance with
manufacturer’s instructions. We
won’t thank the Developer, Home Warranty, or the contractors for doing
something they should have done a long time ago: overseeing their work and
fixing their own “mistakes.” We’re pretty sure they wouldn’t be doing
any repairs now if they could still avoid it. And the quality of repairs is
another thing—there have been plenty of recalls for inadequate and incomplete
repairs. For
those of you who have had some repairs done, but were refused with regard to the
missing undersill/finish trim, remember, this part is required on several
levels: 1) the Florida State Building Code requires installation according to
the manufacturer’s installation instructions; 2) county building inspectors
have also referenced manufacturer’s instructions when questioned about this;
3) installation instructions from manufacturers require it; and 4) the key trade
organizations specify it. The
use of this part is individually specified. It is not an optional part and it is
not a decorative part. It is a functional part. Therefore,
we consider the failure and the refusal to use it not only a violation of state
and local building codes, as well as the manufacturer’s instructions, but also
a violation of basic common sense. And
while The Villages has acknowledged the need for this part by including it on
newly built homes, existing residents are still being shortchanged and their
homes are being left in violation of code. The
response of Villages contractors or subs that “We don’t use it...” or
“We weren’t using it when your house was built...” is not a satisfactory
answer. We paid for a properly built house, not one built by contractors who
decided, for whatever reason, that they didn’t have to follow the rules. The
POA will continue to press for resolution of this matter on behalf of all owners
of vinyl-sided homes. We
have read with disappointment comments from disgruntled residents who don’t
want to read about the siding issue any more because it is a “rehash” of
old news. Yes,
it is indeed redundant, but we are not publishing this information to hear
ourselves talk. We are publishing it because this remains a serious and
widespread problem even though it may be on the road to resolution. Do
you think that The Villages would have made any changes at all in their siding
installation techniques on new construction or come back to repair so many homes
had we not proven their methods lacking? Do you suggest we just give up and drop
the whole thing? If discussing it is a “rehash,” what do you consider the
need for repeated repair visits to fix what was supposed to be fixed already? Why
not demand quality from the developer, instead of demanding silence from those
who shed light on a problem. Folks,
this is how change happens. We believe that the improvements that are being made
on the newest vinyl installations, from worker training to use of the proper
manufacturer parts, are due to our continuing efforts and repeated publication
about this issue in the POA Bulletin over the last year and a half.
We are trying to raise awareness of the problems, inform residents, and
tell the developer that this is not something to ignore. We
think that without our persistence, the siding issue would have just been swept
under the rug and the hundreds of homes that have had repairs would have been
left with siding installations sadly lacking in quality and workmanship, while
new construction would still exhibit the same kinds of problems that we have
found in every neighborhood we have visited, from Chatham to Lynnhaven, Tall
Trees, Liberty Park, Duval, Mallory Square, Virginia Trace, Caroline, and more. The
POA and the Vinyl Siding Committee are not negative about The Villages.
We all feel fortunate to live here. We are simply pressing hard for
needed improvements and quality repairs. Resolution will never happen if
problems remain hidden by silence. For
those of you who find this matter boring or redundant—just skip to another
article. The vinyl siding articles are there for those of us who want to read
them and the developer people who should read them. The
siding installations we have seen here in The Villages, on every home we have
observed, regardless of neighborhood, have exhibited neither the “skill and
care” or the “professional installation techniques” that are required by
Alcoa’s Vinyl Siding Installation Manual. We have seen neither the
“quality installations” or the “proper installations” described in the
manual. We
remain shocked and extremely disappointed that the Villages Home Warranty
Department and the contractors and subs still don’t seem to get it. We’ll
spell it out again: When you go back to do a repair, do it RIGHT! Don’t take
more shortcuts. Don’t make excuses. It
seems that you think this is a game to see how little you can do on each home
so our committee members have to check over and over and homeowners have to
call in complaints again and again. If
a homeowner has a list of 20 items, then fix all 20, not just 3. Don’t try
to convince homeowners that repairs are complete using polite, but empty
words—just do the complete repairs! You may think you’re fooling the
homeowners, but you are not fooling the Vinyl Siding Committee. As
for the undersill/finish trim, don’t give the excuse that The Villages
wasn’t using this manufacturer’s part when the home was built. We have heard
that one far too many times and the fact remains: Florida Building Code says to
follow the manufacturer’s installation instructions. This Code requirement has
been in place for years. And the manufacturer’s manual, with its
“easy-to-follow instructions,” says to use finish trim. So why are the
Villages builders still making excuses and refusing to put it in on some homes? Disregard
of this instruction, among many others, appears to be a violation of the I
want to share my vinyl siding saga with Villagers.
I will try to keep it brief, although my successful venture took nearly a
year of persistence and perseverance to accomplish.
I
moved to The Villages just over a year ago, and within three months, pieces
started falling off my home. I
called the Warranty Department, they were polite and sent someone out to work on
my house. This process was repeated
with SIX different contractors, and entailed my having over 45 contacts with the
warranty department, the builder, and contractors. Lesson
#1. Document all your contacts in
this process. Lesson
#2. Don't accept shoddy workmanship
just because you are discouraged. Lesson
#3. Be polite, but persistent. Lesson
#4. Be sure you request New Look
Exteriors, Inc., the only company of the six sent to my home that did the job
right. Steve Justice, the owner, and
his crew, are polite and knowledgeable. They
care about doing the job correctly, not just about slapping some siding up and
calling it done. They also do
remodeling, so I recommend this fine company for more than siding.
Lesson
#5. Thank Ray Micucci for doing all of us a great service with the Siding
Committee, and the hundreds of hours spent in inspecting and instructing
homeowners about their siding. My
long trial with this problem is finally over, but be aware that many are still
struggling to have their homes done properly.
It can be a very long and trying process, but persistence and
perseverance can succeed! We
have been residents of The Villages since April, 2006. Our siding on our home
was recently repaired due to the efforts of your committee, the Bulletin
bringing the problem to our attention, and the cooperation of the Villages
Warranty Dept. Just prior to our
one year anniversary of residency, we thought we were being cautious and hired
a property appraiser to check our home from top to bottom.
The property appraiser report made no mention of any siding problems
and listed a few minor things which were promptly repaired. After
the appointment was made with the Warranty Dept. to repair the siding, I called
the property appraiser to inquire why this problem was not part of our report.
I asked what his criteria was for examining the siding. Needless to say,
I didn't get an acceptable response. The
disclaimer we signed when we hired this appraiser negates any recourse on our
part. My purpose in writing to you
is that by stating my inexperience, false security and expense, other property
owners will not be duped the way we were.
Jo Witte When
we bought our new houses in The Villages, we expected the construction to be
of the highest quality. We put our trust in The Villages, as their reputation
depends to a large degree on the construction of the houses they sell. Most
of us bought our new houses in 2006, we thought our houses were in perfect
condition. Our houses are of frame construction with vinyl siding, and not
being experts in vinyl siding, it appeared that there was no problem with the
vinyl siding. However,
there was an article in the POA Bulletin about free observations of houses
with vinyl siding, so we thought it would be a good idea to have someone from
the Vinyl Siding Committee look at our houses and inspect the vinyl siding. Boy
were we surprised. The committee member discovered numerous areas where the
vinyl siding was improperly installed. He pointed out to us everything from
improper installation, to pieces of siding that were loose and ready to fall
off, as well as not having finish trim on our houses, The Villages will not
put finish trim on older houses (our houses are less than 2 years old) but
will only install finish trim on the newly constructed houses. Even
though we paid for finish trim The Villages is telling us we are not entitled
to have it installed on our houses. We certainly did not get what we paid for
as far as the installation of our vinyl siding is concerned. We
are angry, upset and frustrated that we were taken advantage of by The
Villages as well as by the contractors who installed the vinyl siding. We
were told The Villages is fully aware of the problems with these contractors
installing the vinyl siding, however, despite numerous complaints these
contractors continue to do their poor installation of vinyl siding on many new
homes in The Villages. This type of sub-par, unprofessional installation of
vinyl siding is totally unacceptable. We
believe every house in The Villages that has vinyl siding has the potential to
have major problems with their siding. As Village residents, we need to get
together to do something about the poor installation of vinyl siding on our
houses. Until
your house is inspected by someone qualified in the installation of vinyl
siding, you will never know what problems you may have. We
live in the We
paid for a full and complete installation of vinyl siding when we bought our
houses. All we are asking is that The Villages repairs our houses properly and
give us what we paid for. Feb
12: Piping Versus Desalinization And Enforcement of Water Restrictions:
At
the last meeting of The Village Greens, a conservation group based in central Participants
in this project are The Southwest Florida Water Management District and The
Villages of Lake-Sumter, a private developer and Community Development
District. There
is quite a history as to the cause of central In
March of 2002, T. Daniel Farnsworth and two friends filed a formal objection
to the permits for pumping water out of the ground to supply new construction
in The Villages. They argued that The Villages' plans would waste one million
gallons of water a day, drying up farmers' wells and opening sinkholes galore.
They
pointed out that while state officials say there is plenty of water for The
Villages in To
rid the area of this troublesome Farnsworth group, The Villages of Lake-Sumter
and a new pro-developer group, The Citizens for Economic and Environmental
Balance, or CEEB, presided over by Terry Yoder, president of T&D Concrete,
sued Farnsworth and his group stating that "Mr. Farnsworth is a
self-centered, selfish man," and that "Farnsworth wants Sumter
County to himself," and has caused economic damage to the central Florida
area. They
won and Farnsworth and his group were forced to end their so-called frivolous
suits. Well
it seems now that Mr. Farnsworth and his group, Sumter Citizens Against
Irresponsible Development, were right and the CEEB, The Villages of
Lake-Sumter, and the Southwest Florida Water Management District were wrong.
The
Southwest Florida Water Management District Governing Board has now issued
Water Shortage Order No. SWF 07-02 and extended this order until June 30,
2008. This order is LAW and this law is supposed to be enforced by local law
enforcement. Where I live this is the code enforcement department of the
Sumter County Sheriff. I
have reported to my local governing agency The Villages Community Development
District number two (CDD#2) that many residents are disobeying this law and they
should be reported to our sheriff. At this time I am unsure whether this
information is being relayed to our sheriff by our local CDD or that this law is
just not being pursued or enforced by our sheriff.
If
either party is ignoring this law I feel that the temporary fix of piping water
from already low rivers and not enforcing our conservation laws make no sense.
If
more water is indeed needed then it is time to look to the future and
desalinization instead of piping already low levels of river water.
Depleting
river water is only a short-term fix and what happens then when this natural
resource dries up? Initial cost of developing desalinization plants and
pipelines are costly but they use a never-ending resource, which cannot be said
of our fresh water rivers and streams. I
hope you will help prevent the grabbing of water from these rivers, promote the
idea of water desalinization and make local policing agencies aware that they
are required to enforce the laws of The Southwest Water Management District. Did
you see the Letter to the Editor in today’s Daily Sun, written by Rich Cole?
I guess Will Pruitt must be posing a threat to their hand picked
candidate if they had to write a letter to bash him.
I wish someone would write another letter explaining Will is only
exercising his First Amendment rights and the No Soliciting policy, anywhere,
not just The Villages does not apply to political candidates.
I guess Cole knows that or else he would have tried to do something about
it. If The Villages tried to stop a
candidate from going door to door and the candidate took them to court the
candidate would win. I’m sure The
Villages knows that so they had Cole write the letter.
The “Do Not Call” list does not pertain to political calls and
charities either but I guess they don’t know that either.
Anyone who would make a decision on what candidate to vote for based on
whether the candidate “bothered” them by ringing their doorbell shouldn’t
be allowed to vote. That’s no way
for us to pick a candidate.
Feb
9: Anybody have any comments on the POA monthly rag?
I
have tried on two occasions to have a Letter To The Editor printed in The
Daily Sun, but they feel my letter is not important. Here
is a copy: of that letter: BRING
BACK THE STOP SIGNS! What
in the world were they thinking? What could have ever possessed someone to
change the stop signs on Because
of the Rio Grand stop lights, you cannot safely make a left turn out of If
this problem cannot be fixed, BRING BACK THE STOP SIGNS! Phil Salus Feb
9: My wife also got a ticket on Parr drive for passing a golf cart that
was going very slow. There was no
traffic at the time, though she did have to cross the double line a little bit
in order to pass safely. Incidentally,
she hadn't got a ticket for anything in more than 40 years.
A warning should have been sufficient.
Yes, it was a trap! Later,
on several occasions, I have had to pass a gardener's trailer parked in front
of residences which required crossing a double line.
Are we suppose to stop and back up traffic until the gardener finishes?
It seems like a little common sense should be used by the sheriffs
before handing out tickets rather than warnings.
In
the recently completed POA Survey of Residents, reported on in last
month’s issue, we asked for open-ended comments on whatever residents
wanted to comment on. We were
almost inundated with comments. And,
we found most of these to be worthwhile for reporting to our readership.
So, here is the first batch. We
will continue with a selection of comments in future issues as space
permits. ******************************** I
love living in the Villages. I came here in 1990 and bought a house for my
mom; I knew then that this was where I wanted to retire. Mr. Schwarz, whom I
met, had a vision, the vision still holds true. Yes there are problems, but
working together we can continue to make our Villages the best there is in
the world. The
RAC is doing a great job. Thanks for representing property owners. Keep
up your good reporting. If it were not for the POA I would not have known
how to handle my siding problem. It
is wrong to charge a resident for a trail fee, if he rides on a golf cart.
The trail fee has already been paid for. I
do not use neighborhood Watch since they started charging for it. We
need a All
you do is complain about the Villages, the majority of us love our life
here. We live in the best place in Take
care of the scum on Mira Mesa ponds. The
property golf fees are too high for Snow Birds. We
need a state of the art The
Champion Golf courses are out of reach for lower income seniors. The
Village phone book is a “joke.” Who
cares where people lived before? We need a business section like most phone
book!!! People
do not understand how to use two lanes in the circles. The Daily Sun is so
right wing in their objectivity. Looking
forward to recycling program, but cannot understand the use of
non-recyclable plastic bags. What’s wrong with reusable bins like 95% of
cities with recycling programs use? How
about some articles on planting Natives and I
have many questions on the recycling proposal. Residence should not have to
pay the cost for recycling, because recycling brings in its own money. I
dislike Paul and Barbara Vesco’s monopoly on entertainment in the
Villages, from charging for concerts in the Church on the Square to charging
a cover entertainment fee at Katie Belles, to charging for space at the Town
Squares, then canceling New Year’s Eve. The
music program (concert band, swing band, philharmonic), is wonderful, but
has become more expensive, as are the theater productions. These are put on
by volunteers who are not paid for their time and energy. A performing arts
centers fees will probably be exorbitant. To
ticket golf carts is just another abuse by the city government whose hand is
out to get revenge from any means they can. Most of these people do not live
in the Villages, but think that the Village residents should pay for
everything. I am proud to be a Villager!!! Many
if not all of the administrators are employed by or are “Puppets” of the
Developer. This works against the Villagers, the Developer has the lawyers
and the money to quiet protestors. Greed
and power today are so important for businessmen to gain more financial
wealth than they will ever need. Mr. Schwartz must be turning over in his
grave. It
is interesting to note that 8 out of 50 questions refer to golf courses
(almost 10%), which gives a sense of the priorities in the Villages. Many of
us are not golfers and would like other issues, such as medical, mental
health services, help for elderly, transportation, etc, explored. As
for Recycling – Thumbs Down!!!!! No
enforcement of animals in the entertainment areas, non-smoking areas of the
Town Centers. Charging
cart fees on executive courses for visitors riding in resident golf carts.
There should be no charge on theses courses or the Championship courses. I
pay trail fees. Priority
membership for a single person is too high compared to a couples charge. There
is not much learning going on in the When
the Developer took over the water and trash, you knew there were $$
involved!! Why are you surprised when the rates go up again and again? Who
does the pay usage go to, Himself?? !!! Traffic
in the Villages is bad on The
Villages Daily Sun needs a competitive newspaper. Why are editorials written
by a felon (Ollie North), or reported almost daily from the right winged San
Diego Union, Times, or written by Ann Coulter? Why are independents or
democratic candidates not invited to the Villages? We only get to have
visits by Republicans. Over
development is eroding the original feeling of a close knit community.
Recent attempts to charge for previously “Free” activities, such as New
Years Eve in Town Squares is one negative result of this over-development. The
monthly amenity fee is unclear; we were not advised of this, even though we
asked about it. I do understand it is needed, so we paid for it. We are
upset that this goes up every year. Since we were not advised, it is
upsetting that they did not think it important to tell us about this raise. I
feel the POA to be a negative organization. While several causes and
critiques are well founded the constant negativity detracts from the
organization as a whole. On
recycling, why not continue the twice a week for trash pick-up with a
pick-up yard waste every other week and the recyclables on the alternate
week. No additional cost and no trash sitting around. The
neighborhood Watch Service Director and Assistant Director lie a lot and
have too much nepotism. The
Morse’s are running a family business; no business is perfect, look at the
stock exchange. The
POA serves us well, very well and I thank you. Great
place to live. The
Development and his cronies are dictatorial in their attitudes and policies.
POA
keep up the good fight. Traffic
has become increasingly worse, rudeness, speeding, running yellow/red
lights. We need better police presence to alleviate some of this. The
POA is doing a very good job telling us about the other side of the picture.
Thank you for checking up on what we can’t and publicizing the good and
the bad. The
police should ticket golf carts more often when they are going 25-35 mph. The
developer seems to continually find ways of squeezing money out of the
residents. The latest is the Village Art League was charged $900.00 per day
for a room to hold an art class in, and the students were charged $250.00 each
for the 5 day class. POA
is doing a great job, Keep up the good work. Good
job keep it going. Question, why doesn’t Publix in Radar
for golf carts, OK? Where is radar for Morse and The
Bond is too high. They overdue the landscaping, too costly. They are not
completely honest; we do not have enough say. The college classes cost are to
high. I moved here 7 years ago and the increases make me wonder. The shuttle 7
years ago was $15.00 both ways, now it is $35.00, Give me a break. I
think its time the governing of the I
think Mr. Wahl is a good Administrator. But I also think he is a toad for the
Developer. If you had a question on the survey that asked for “Objectivity
of Mr. Wahl, as Developer and resident positions appear in conflict,” I
would give Pete a 3.
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