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One of the key issues in The Villages, as identified by the POA, is the problem of not being able to vote for our various government leaders and administrators. This is in regards to the VCCDD (or the SLCDD south of Highway 466) in which the key people (administrators and directors) are in effect appointed by the developer of The Villages rather than elected by residents. The
VCCDD or the SLCDD make all the big money decisions in The Villages, and
residents are not able to vote for these people, approve any of their decisions,
or reject the burden of repaying the millions of dollars of debt obligations
that are passed on to residents. On
this last point, there are, for example, no “bond referendums” like those
available under other forms of government seeking voter approval for big
spending plans.
the POA presents below an opportunity for residents to participate in a Mock Vote for various governmentofficials for whom residents did not have the opportunity to vote for in the November 2nd election. Voting
here will have no official effect on the offices or people involved.
But, it will be an opportunity for residents to voice their opinion about
officials who in the past have not needed to be responsive to the electoral
process or voting residents. The
POA asks that you vote your preferences on the “Mock Voting Form” below on
the questions of whether to retain or not retain various officials for whom
residents cannot now vote in a general election.
Since this is a mock vote, the results will have no legal effect on the
tenure of these officials in office. But,
we hope that a message will be sent to all involved that residents want to be
able to vote for these officials. Please
then return the “Mock Voting Form” to the POA at POBox 1657, Lady Lake, FL
32158. Or, you can drop your form in the POA box in the Paradise
Center. We will tabulate and publish the responses in either the December or January issue of the POA Bulletin. Please vote just once, but vote soon so that your input can be included with those of your fellow residents.
Mock Voting Form For Villages Residents
Please
return this Mock Voting Form to: The POA, POBox 1657, Lady Lake, FL 32158 The
POA received word from the Bob Evans Corporate offices that the company has
decided to build its restaurant on highway 466, somewhere close to either
Buena Vista Blvd. or Morse Blvd.
The
POA is happy that the wishes and well-being of residents close to the Wales
Gate location have been recognized. It
would have been inconsiderate to build the restaurant so close to the
residents in that area who didn’t want it.
On
the other hand, we missed an opportunity to have that new, full-service
restaurant located somewhere on the east side of highway 27/441 and accessible
by golf cart. It would have been
nice.
The
Bob Evans organization should be complimented for being sensitive to the
wishes of residents. Residents
should give their full support to the restaurant when it is finally built.
The
developer of The Villages should also be complimented for not pushing the
covenant changes to accommodate this unpopular commercial venture.
The developer showed good judgment and sensitivity to the wishes of
residents. Thank you.
For
residents on the east side, we should do what we can to support the Orange
Blossom restaurant on the Hilltop. Give
it your business when you can. Perhaps
a successful business up there will eventually lead to a full breakfast and
all-day service. At the very least,
it should be successful with resident support.
Remember what happened to the Silver Lake club when support and patronage
dwindled – it was unsuccessful and was closed.
If residents want a nice restaurant on the east side, they have to fully
support it.
One
final note: residents should appreciate what residents can accomplish when we
band together and assert our rights and preferences.
If you don’t care, or you don’t want to make a fuss, or you don’t
want to get involved – well, then, don’t squawk when your favorite amenities
or neighborhood features are taken away. You
need to be involved to protect the wonderful way of life we enjoy here in The
Villages.
Happy Birthday to us! November
20, 1975, was the formal incorporation date of the POA.
So, we are 29, and we are starting our 30th year. Congratulations to all of us! The
POA has survived for going on 30 years because it represents the best interests
of residents rather than the best interests of the developer.
In
many ways, it is still “Our POA” as it was referred to in the early days.
This is because the POA represents you, the residents. The
POA is more dynamic today, with more members and stronger finances, than it has
been in, perhaps, the past twenty years. We
think we articulate a message that more and more residents are agreeing with.
And, more and more residents are responding to the POA message with
active support. So,
Happy Birthday to us – and thanks to all members for making the POA the vital
and significant property owners’ association that it is.
And,
it is still “Our POA.” An
angel came to help me Tuesday when my husband and I went to see President
Bush.
When
we were on our way back to the parking lot, my husband got very weak and
dizzy. We asked a girl who was guarding a porch if we could sit down
for a minute. She said “no”
– we could sit on the curb.
So
we kept walking and when I turned around my husband was not anywhere to be
found. I walked all over trying to find him. After an hour, I went up to where we had parked.
But, I could not find our car. A
young man came to his van with his daughter.
He put her in and he got in. He
then pulled over near me and asked if he could do anything for me.
I told him my problem. He
said to get into his van and he would help me find my husband. After
an hour-and-a-half we saw our car. He
stopped his and got out and we saw my husband.
I was so relieved. I
did find out while we were riding that he did painting for The Villages.
He painted the mural in the Savannah Center. But, I did not get his name. We
would like to thank him for his kindness. We
need more employees that work here to have the same kindness. Rose
Harvey Pete
Wahl approached me in the early spring of 1999.
He asked me to head up the Neighborhood Watch.
He wanted my experience as a Police Chief to make drastic changes. Pete and Mark Morse interviewed me. I started in August, 1999. During
my five years of service, I kept Neighborhood Watch in line with many changes. We went from 85 Employees to 185. The expansion of The Villages was very big, with small
villages going up like wildfire. The
house checks program was expanded. The patrols were placed as they were
needed, and we added gates. Over
the period of time I was there, I took people from the ranks and made them
part of my staff. Two Asst.
Directors are now Directors in other areas of the VCCDD. Special
Events got so big, that a separate Director was named.
I started a well-being program that helped single residents of The
Villages. With the help of my
staff, we made a new dress code and Neighborhood Watch took on a new look. We also replaced personnel with friendly “people
persons.” To
enhance our image, I opened a new office with a 24-hour Dispatch Center.
That office is now up to date with computers and staffed with the best
we could find. The office has a
nice homey atmosphere and a friendly staff helps out thousands each year.
I kept in touch with my employees and had communication going up and
down the chain of command. I made certain that all our equipment was clean and usable.
With
the help of the gate staff and the Maintenance Dept., the gates are now
something to be proud of. Each
month one of the eleven gates is cited as ”Gate of the Month.“
I
changed the working hours, with a new 4 on and 4 off system along with a 6
hour shift. The last 3 years passed with full staff for each shift, 24
hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year with NO OVERTIME. I
kept in constant touch with all our Law Enforcement entities and we met each
month to exchange information. I
put in ten-hour days and was in touch with all the various operations within
The Villages. I loved my job and
certainly loved The Villages. So
you can see how surprised I was when Pete Wahl ordered me to retire or be
fired. He
used me to make Neighborhood Watch a complete and functional operation.
Now that it is
up and running good, he stated that I was not up to
moving Neighborhood Watch to a new level because I had a Police Mentality.
Well I think having 36 years in various positions during my Police career
would lead me to having a police mentality.
For
the amount of money they pay, I think Neighborhood Watch personnel are the best
and I was proud be their leader. Ed
Burgess Recently
you were told of the merge of the two resale offices and the new sales office
of The Villages. The effects of
this merge are already being felt by the homeowners who had put their trust in
companies that were affiliated with the National, State and Local Board of
Realtors, only to be told they now have to list with Properties of The
Villages. The
first real effect is advertising. The
homeowner has little say as to what type of advertising is provided. The National, State and Local Boards gave world wide exposure
through www.Realtor.com or Planet Realtor.
They
have put the homeowner in direct competition with new construction.
Before the resale agent had only their best interest in mind, now they
must contend with the demands of the developer. They have deleted their affiliation with the Multiple Listing
Service that assured homeowners that the information on resale prices were
accurate when preparing their home for marketing. Now they will have to rely on tax information that is not
posted for public record until months after the sale of a home.
This is very serious because the Villages market sees change on almost
a monthly basis.
We've
been given this song and dance that it will save the homeowner money by the
recent reduction in sales fee, but what good does a reduction in sales fee do
the homeowner if they are obstructed by offers that may bring more than asking
price by offers from competing companies.
After talking with several local Realtors, they commented on the
numerous times they were in multiple offers last year, resulting in often
netting the seller a price that was over their list price.
Along
with seller representation, we need buyer representation.
In the days of old, the buyer was on his own.
Today the buyer is given much more respect and can demand to have total
representation through Single Agency. The
Villages have voided that opportunity for any buyer wishing to purchase a home
through Properties of The Villages.
Representation,
exposure and full disclosure of correct information is the reason the National
Association of Realtors, Florida Association of Realtors and local board of
Realtors were started. We have
now returned to the cavemen days of real estate when we delete Realtor from
the end of any sales associates name. Florida
Real Estate Commission gives sales people great instruction on how to insure
the well being of the public. My
questions to the homeowners of The Villages would be: Do you have clear
representation? Will your home be
commingled with new sales? Are
you working with a Realtor?
After
talking with several local companies, RE/MAX, Ken Casey and Fox Fire, it's not
the merge of the three companies that bothers them.
It is the fact they have pulled their resale homes out of the Multiple
Listing Services, denying local Realtors access to information and the
opportunity to show these homes to prospective buyers.
According to the letter recently sent to the above mentioned companies by
McLin & Burnsed, Villages’ attorneys, they are not allowed to contact the
homeowners. So, the new For Sale
sign says it all: "Properties of The Villages." As
proven throughout our democratic society, a monopoly of any kind has never been
good for the public. It prevents
competition and opens the door for well, you just never know. Deb
Okruhlica RE/MAX
Realty, POA
Select Sponsor, and
a Villages Resident The
statement below shows a summary financial statement for the VCCDD covering the
period 2003 Actual through the Adopted Budget for 2005.
Note that these statements apply only to the VCCDD, the Villages
operations north of highway 466. The
SLCDD (Sumter Landing Community Development District) operations south of
highway 466 are a separate set of financial statements.
Fiscal years run from Oct. 1st through Sept. 30th. In
lines 1-4, Amenity Fees and All Other Revenues grow from $23.8 million in 2003
to $31.3 million in the 2005 FY Adopted Budget, an annual growth rate of 16%.
Amenity Fees grow faster, at 19% per year, compared to a flat growth rate
in All Other Revenues. The growth
in Amenity Fees reflects both increased charges to residents as well as more
residents paying the fees. In
the Disbursement section in lines 7-10, the charges for Maintenance and
Administration show an annual growth rate of 9% per year, from $12.8 million in
2003 to $15.1 million for 2005. Debt
Service, however, shows a 24% growth rate per year, from $11.0 million in 2003
to $16.2 million for 2005. Debt
Service refers to the payments required for the debt (principal and interest)
authorized by the VCCDD to purchase common facilities from the developer. Chapter 190 Florida Statutes allows VCCDD supervisors to
authorize this debt without seeking approval from residents. In
line 16-17, Debt Service is shown as a percent of Amenity Fees as growing from
56.4% in 2003 to 60.0% in 2005. There
has been a steady yearly increase in the portion of Amenity Fees going for Debt
Service. Actually, this percent of
Debt Service stood at 0% in 1992, before the CDDs were established. Lines
20-23 show an estimate of how the monthly Amenity Fee is broken down into
Maintenance and Administration on one hand and Debt Service on the other hand. The
Maintenance and Administration portion of the monthly Amenity Fee is estimated
at $45.60 for the 2005 Budget. This
is roughly the same as in 2003. If
it wasn’t for Debt Service, your Amenity Fee check in 2005 would be about
$45.60 per month rather than around the current $114.00 average. However,
the Debt Service portion is showing
an 8% per year approximate increase since 2003 and now stands at an estimate of
$68.40 per month. This is up from
an estimated $58.67 in 2003. Bulletins
are sometimes not delivered to your driveway as they should be in the first week
of the month. If this happens to
you, remember that you can pick up the Bulletin at the following locations:
Plaza Grande Shopping Center Ace (Sweets)
Hardware
Publix Supermarket Winn-Dixie
Supermarket
Spanish Springs Shopping Center Albertsons
Supermarket Walgreens Drug
Store
Mulberry Grove Shopping Center Publix Supermarket
Walgreens Drug
Store
Southern Trace Shopping Center Ace Hardware Eckert Drug Store Publix Supermarket We
do not yet have home distribution of the Bulletin west of Buena Vista Blvd, or
into Marion County, or south of Highway 466.
Residents in these areas can get a copy at one of the distribution points
listed above. The annual POA Christmas Party is scheduled for the general membership meeting on Wednesday, December 15th. We plan a feast with some deli department trays and dishes brought in by members. A sign-up sheet will be passed around in the November general meeting for food dishes and helpers. Be sure to sign up for whatever you can. Also, we plan to decorate three entry gates with ribbons and wreaths. We need two or more volunteers (gentlemen) who can help us with about an hour’s work in early December to help put up these decorations and then in early January to help take them down. Please
contact Sadie Woollard at 753-0615 or for more details.
Thank you.
Cheers
- To President Bush for visiting us in The Villages.
No matter what your politics, you had to be awed and honored to see a
sitting U.S. President visit our community.
Cheers also to all of us for going out to welcome the President.
That’s home-town hospitality from The Villages. Cheers
- To the Boston Red Sox for finally winning a World Series.
Congratulations. Cubs,
you’re next. Jeers
- To Citizens Supporting Expansion of TVRH, Inc. for trying to scare people into
voting for the Hospital Tax. The
group mailed a slick brochure to Villagers upping the tax and interest cost over
30 years to $295 million (!!) while threatening to divert patients to other
hospitals if the tax is not passed. All
this covers up the fact that 20% of the tax will go to the private foundation of
the Morse family for most of the next 30 years.
LRMC also wants to sell you The Brooklyn Bridge. Cheers
- To the Villages entertainment department for the Oktoberfest and Italian Fest
celebrations on the two Squares. Now,
if they could only devote the same energies to organizing the traditional
Christmas parade. Jeers
- To the excessive users of water in The Villages for their part in the over
usage that may result in fines and restrictions from the regional state water
authorities. We all have
to be careful in how much water we use.
The 25 or so households here in The Villages using more than 70,000
gallons a month should be dehydrated. Jeers
- To whoever decided to put all those constitutional amendments on the November
ballot. Changing the state
constitution every four years is no way to run a state (remember the pregnant
sows in 2000). These issues should
be decided in the state legislature. Jeers
- To all those judges up for a retention vote on the November 2nd
ballot. If they didn’t make an effort to inform you about their
record, their philosophies, or their programs, then they shouldn’t get your
vote. POA
annual elections are scheduled for the November 17th POA membership
meeting. All officer and director
positions will be up for a vote and open to all active members.
Please bring your POA membership card to the meeting in case we need to
verify active membership. Nominations
received thus far include:
President
Joe Gorman
Treasurer
Bill Garner
Secretary
Mary Paulsboe
Director
Pete Cacioppo
Director
Dorothy Cheshire
Director
Jeanne Regnier
Director
Richard Kilgore
Director
Al Johnson
Director
Irving Yedwab Officers
and directors will be sworn in at the December meeting.
The term of office begins in January.
Please
take a moment to consider how you might participate in the activities of your
POA. We need more people to take an active role in the
administration of the POA by running for these officer and director positions.
In many cases, you may find that the time commitment is less than you
might think. And the rewards are
truly satisfying on a personal basis. So,
please consider running for one of these positions and joining the other
officers and directors of the POA in helping to make The Villages an even better
place in which to live. If
you want more information, please call Joe Gorman at 259-0999 or talk to any
other officer or director. Phone
numbers are listed on page 7. The
nomination period for the POA Hall of Fame has been closed.
Several nominations have been received.
These nominations will be reviewed by the POA Board of Directors.
A decision will be made as to which of the nominees will be inducted into
the POA Hall of Fame at the December 15th meeting. The
deciding criteria for induction into the Hall of Fame will be whether the person
made a significant contribution to the POA in the past.
Popularity itself will not be a deciding factor.
We
hope to have the inductees available at the December meeting for the induction
ceremony. This will be a splendid
way to celebrate the POA’s efforts to champion the wonderful way of life that
we enjoy here in The Villages. If
you see the POA Bulletin in its plastic bag 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
of unoccupied houses, 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.
If your group or organization is looking for a speaker at one of your
meetings, why not consider having a POA speaker in for a 15 minute presentation
on the POA, its mission and goals, and the Residents’ Bill of Rights.
This is a good opportunity to learn more about the POA and how it
represents the best interests of residents.
Our standard speaker fee of one cup of coffee (or a donut) will apply.
Call Joe Gorman at 259-0999 to check the speaking and meeting schedule. You
write it – we will print it. Well,
within limits, that is. If you want
to write an article for the Bulletin, we will be happy to consider anything
reasonable. An
article on a local government issue? OK! An article about your grandfather’s watches?
Sure! An article about
problems in a local grocery store? Nice!
An article about your bottle cap collection? Super! An
article about a problem in The Villages? Do
It! An article about something nice
in The Villages? Even Better!
Just
talk to one of the POA officers or directors about your idea – we would like
to hear about it. 200-300 words
would be ideal. And, you can claim
the official title of “contributing editor.”
The
POA has a Discount Program for its members.
The Discount Partners are listed with program details at the POA web
site: www.poa4us.org. Just identify
yourself as a POA member and show your 2004 membership card when ordering a
product or service. Please
also mention that you saw the Discount Partner listed in the POA Bulletin.
Please thank the merchant for making these discounts available for the
POA. The
various CDDs in The Villages meet once a month for meetings as follows:
5.
Last Friday of the month at the Sumter Landing Offices, 1894 Laurel
Manor Drive: VCCDD at 9:00 a.m. CDD # 5 at 9:30 a.m. CDD # 6 at 10:15 a.m. 2.
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. You
know you've had enough of hurricanes when... ...someone
asks what time it is and you respond “10 minutes until the next advisory.” ...an
oak tree on the ground looks twice as large as it did standing up. ...you're
happy to see a chainsaw-wielding man coming your way. ...you
start feeling guilty for having power when friends don't. ...instead
of talking about being “in the zone,” you talk about being “in the
cone.” ...terms
like “Bermuda high” and “sub-tropical ridge” roll off your tongue. ...you
worry about the temperature of the water in the Gulf of Mexico. ...you
vow to stock only TV dinners in your freezer during the “season.” ...you
start thinking that blizzards up north weren’t so bad after all. ...instead
of trading stocks and bonds, you're following plywood futures and the price of
ice ...you
describe a closet as “cozy with plenty of leg room.” ...you're
thinking about getting a Christmas gift for your favorite TV meteorologist. ...your
eyes are glazed over from watching the Weather Channel. ...the
words “tropical depression” send you into a depression of your own. ...you
think a TV reporter hanging onto a tree in the wind looks foolish. ...you
get a call from someone you haven’t seen in 15 years to ask how you are doing. ...you
think every afternoon shower MUST be a “feeder band.” ...every
time you're at the store, you wonder if you have enough batteries. ...despite
it all, you still think you live in paradise. Bubble,
Bubble, Toil and Trouble. Harold
Built this Place from Rubble. Could
it Be? Did He See? A
Vision of What Was To Be? Now
he built two Squares for double.
The
Chicago Cubs won the World Series by defeating the New York Yankees in a sweep,
four games to none. The Cubs
recorded two shut-outs, one no-hitter, and a perfect game pitched by Mike Ditka,
former coach of the Chicago Bears. At
the very instant the fourth game ended, hell froze over. November
17, 2004 THE
NEXT POA GENERAL
MEMBERSHIP MEETING Third
Wednesday of the Month – 7:00 p.m. Main
Auditorium – Paradise Recreation Center POA
Elections, Town
Hall Discussion on Everything, and Demonstration
of the Heimlich Maneuver COFFEE
AND DONUTS FOR
ALL AFTER THE MEETING ALL
RESIDENTS WELCOME – COME AND JOIN US |
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