Quote:
Originally Posted by Cedwards38
In my entire time living in The Villages, I've met one couple who say they do not like living here, yet they still live here, so go figure. I wouldn't take the discussions on TOTV as a indication that people are disenchanted with this community. Those are often about a specific situation, and last for a specific period of time, and certainly not everyone agrees. A place can be fantastic and still not be perfect. And if it isn't perfect, then it's up to those of us that love it and enjoy it to try to make it so.
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For the record- I am a Villager resident for well 10 years and agree with the original post. While I'm happy living here for the most part, the original developer, Mr. Harold Schwartz, treated us residents as the most important and put us first. Bless him for the lifestyle he created and he was entitled to every dollar of the millions which he was rewarded.
His successors appear to have placed money making up top. The facilities- rec centers, athletic fields, golf courses, etc. are insufficient to accommodate the the number of residents they've brought here with our help. One often cannot get into an activity because of the overcrowding, nor get a reasonable tee time. The building continues without addition of sufficient golf holes or other facilities, unless we can force same thru our local CDD Boards or the POA. Many of the residents are unaware of actions by the developer over the years which negatively affected the community. There were good reasons why the developer agreed to pay $40 million plus to settle the law suit. Examples of his greed are the wall constructed in the middle of the night blocking cart access to Lowes & the East Medical Campus, the order restricting protesters from the street in front of the sales office in Spanish Springs, lack of cooperation on the siding and roofing failures, etc., etc. The POA Bulletins document these and other problems over the years for those interested in pursuing the subject!
Because of how the bonding was set up by the developer for his monetary advantage, we have paid almost ONE HALF MILLION DOLLARS in legal fees alone, to date, fighting the IRS suit which still has not ended. This amount excludes the cost of thousands of hours expended for staff time required. Further there are numerous examples of how he set up to have us pay for maintenance of his commercial endeavors such as the retention pond entirely on the Lopez Legacy golf course.
Yes the developer has done many good things. But, each of us must weigh whether we should have to fight so vigorously for the things for which we pay.