[Villages Kahuna]

Coincidentally, I attended the Residents Advisory Council meeting last week. One of the items on the agenda was the use of recreation facilities by non-residents. Some of the examples related by the head of the Recreation Department and Janet Tutt, the head of the central Villages District were amazing and disturbing.

It was pretty clear that the primary source of unauthorized use of facilities are Villages residents themselves. They are the source of the issuance of unauthorized guest passes; they sponsor large parties of non-residents at our pools; there is even a "ring" of talented residents who are now counterfeiting resident ID cards.

I think the bottom line is that each resident of TV moved here to enjoy the lifestyle and the recreation facilities that are provided. We each pay an amenities fee each month to fund the operation of the facilities. The Recreation Department is trying all kinds of economical measures to assure that the facilities that we all pay for are used by residents only. It seems to me that the requirement that our ID cards be scanned is a simple and effective way of assuring the use of facilities by residents only. If everyone took the same position that you're taking, how would the Recreation Department provide the security that we all desire? How long would it take before unidentifiable non-residents would displace some fee-paying residents from the use of "our" recreation facilities?