THE VILLAGES - A drive in The Villages takes visitors past clusters of palm trees, colorful flower beds and neat rows of single-story stucco homes on manicured lots.

On Main Street, couples glide along in golf carts, sip cappuccino at outdoor cafes, stroll hand-in-hand along unlittered streets or hoof it to an afternoon show.
 

People who move to The Villages buy more than a place to hang their hats. They buy a lifestyle. They buy dancing in the downtown square. They buy golf at nearly a dozen courses. They buy a host of recreational activities and unlimited eateries. For many, it is an idyllic setting in which to spend those hard-earned retirement years. It is a movie set, with all the props in place and the "cast and crew" - hundreds of Villages workers - tending to every last detail on this picturesque stage. But one vocal group notes that residents are paying a price for all

Joe Gorman, the president of the Property Owners' Association in the Villages of Lady Lake, says residents should have more of a say in how the money they pay in fees is spent.

"We're not babies," said Joe Gorman, head of the 1,200-member Property Owners Association. "We're adults, and we'd like to be able to decide issues that are important to us. Basically, we think residents are stuck in a situation here where it's almost taxation without representation. We have no ability to control our own destiny."

The Property Owners see themselves as the logical counterweight to, and watchdog of, the Village Center Community Development District, the community's special purpose government that collects taxes and monthly assessments and then decides how to spend them. They say The Villages developer, as the major landowner in the community, largely controls the makeup of the VCCDD, as it's commonly known.

The Property Owners put together a residents' "Bill of Rights" that reflect many of their concerns.

For example, they want the residents to have more say in choosing the members of the district board of supervisors and the district's top administrative officer. Villages property owners get one vote per acre, or part of an acre, that they own. Two districts have no residents at all - the commercial district where the VCCDD offices are located and the Sumter Landing district that is still under construction.

In those districts the developer owns most of the acreage and carries the vote.

Gorman also is concerned about the method the developer uses in handing over common property - such as golf courses and community centers - to the Center District.

The district office purchases the right to operate and maintain the facilities and the developer gives the district the facility.

But, Gorman says, the district buys the contracts at millions of dollars higher than the original cost of building the property, and the financial obligation is passed on to the homeowner through monthly fees. Such was the case with the transfer of the Savannah Center, a large community center, last year.

Then, there is the new sales office in the downtown square, an area frequented by residents on a daily basis. Gorman feels that if the property owners had a say in the sales office construction, it would have a different look.

"The building is totally out of character with the architectural styles that have been established on the square," Gorman said. "Never once did the developer consult with residents as to whether or not they would be happy with that monstrosity."
Gorman added that the developer does not consult with residents when making changes or additions.

"Right now it belongs to the developer," Gorman said. "He will eventually sell it to us for some god-awful amount."

However, Villages spokesman Gary Lester, while not confirming or denying the increased price attached to property handed to the VCCDD, defended the process as reasonable.

"If you built a McDonalds for $3 million and it brings in a guarunteed (sic) annual profit of $1 million, what is that business worth?" Lester said in an e-mail correspondence. "Would you sell it to me for only the $3 million you spent on the construction of the building? Or would the future income coming from that business make its real worth much more?"

Lester goes on to dispel the notion that the developer control over decision-making in The Villages is anything unusual or heavy-handed. It is, he says, normal business.

"The home purchaser signs a contract which includes amenity fees," Lester wrote. "That purchaser receives a home and the seller receives proceeds. Does that give the purchaser the right to tell the seller how to spend his proceeds?"

And concerning the appointment of the board of supervisors, elections to the VCCDD are held consistent with Florida Statute 190, Lester said.

"Every community has some 'discontented' people. Ocala does. Mount Dora does, etc.," Lester wrote. "They, like the 'discontented' people here, have the right to choose what community they want to live in. Obviously, most people are happy with their decision to live here or The Villages would not have been so successful over the past 3 decades."

On the other side of the spectrum from the Property Owners Association is the 9,000-member Villages Homeowners Association, a group that welcomes the developer's - and the VCCDD's - involvement in all aspects of the community.

Florentino "Chico" Mir , the outgoing president of the VHA, said he knew when he moved in that most decisions would be made by the district office.

"They're doing a great job," Mir said. "First of all, we came here because we like the lifestyle that is here and we like the uniformity of The Villages. Ninety-nine percent of the people don't want to deal with it. We don't want the politics of it. We know the VCCDD will take over, and that's fine with me."

A resident of The Villages for six years, Mir said he chose to join the Homeowners group because he didn't agree with the way the Property Owners handled things.

"They started unreasonable demands that the members did not go along with - what to do, what not to do. They wanted to run things," Mir said. "About 11 or 12 years ago, a bunch of members did not agree with that approach, so they formed their own organization."

Rather than fighting with the developer, the VHA chose to cooperate, said Don Burgess, current president of the Homeowners Association.

"It's a problem-solving organization," Burgess said. "We have the interest of The Villages at heart. We have a lifestyle here which we're trying to maintain."

While the Property Owners group has the longer history - it's been around since 1975 - the Homeowners enjoy far greater membership. Gorman said that's because the developer encourages membership in the Homeowners Association.

There was a time when Gorman belonged to both homeowner groups. He left the Homeowners Association because he didn't believe it was aggressive enough in defending residents' rights. That group, he said, is more like a welcome wagon.

"I think the VHA performs a great function," Gorman said. "It helps people adjust to their new life in The Villages, gives them a wonderful sense of welcome and belonging and community, and that's good. (But) the VHA will never support a resident's rights that are contrary to the interests of the developer. The POA, on the other hand, will champion these rights."

Burgess insists there is no special relationship between the district office and his group.

"We don't side with anybody. This is not a game with us," he said. "We represent our membership and residents of The Villages, and we bring things before the developer.

"There's a million ways you can look at things," he said. "You can see them as a half-filled glass or a half-empty glass. You can complain, or you can sit down at a table and talk things through. I prefer to talk things through."

Village Center District Manager Pete Wahl said his door is open to both.

"If I'm available, by golly, I'll meet with them," Wahl said. "We invite people to make suggestions all the time. If possible, we can do them; if it's not possible, we can talk about how we can resolve those issues in the future."

Recently, Wahl invited Gorman to his office for a chat, which centered around golf. Gorman said together they resolved a longstanding gripe over not having enough golf courses to satisfy the growing population. The developer agreed to open two executive courses that are not yet completed, until the snowbirds depart, Gorman said.

"Everything considered, what's here in The Villages is 90 percent pretty darn good," he said. "You see some of the facilities here - they're top-notch. But, the 10 percent part is spoiled, sour, a problem, and we need to address that 10 percent. That's what we're trying to do."