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Originally Posted by Happy Villager
We like having the gates but we wish it were a true gated community. We understand the fact these are county maintained roads so we have to have them open but why couldn't we take over the maintenance ourselves and close the road off to everyone but residents? I can see leaving Morris Blvd and Buena Vista open since they are thru roads but the road in individual villages should be private. We have read CDD 4 has talked about putting aside money in their budget to pay for road maintenance in case Sumter County doesn't have the revenue to do it. If I remember correctly they did put aside $29,000 in their general fund for this purpose but didn't want to have a separate line item for it. The Villages has a population larger than a good size City and can well afford to bid out the road maintenance. The threat that is used to keep the roads open is that FEMA won't help us if there is a major weather occurrence with major damage. I don't see other retirement communities opening their roads in the hope FEMA will come to their assistance. FEMA's response wasn't all that great in New Orleans.
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Happy Villager - I can understand your desire for a more "secure" community. However, keep in mind that CDD's are local units of special purpose government formed under Chapter 190 of the Florida Statutes. TV is not just any "retirement community". It is very unique. Each of the Districts are public entities or "governmental agencies". Even if all of the Districts maintain their own roads, they will still be "public". Also, the roads (all roads) were built with tax-free municipal bonds, therefore, the roads in The Villages will always be public roads and you just can't restrict access on public roads. I think the FEMA issue was just a secondary issue. But, yes, by closing the gates CDD 4 would have forfeited any local, state or federal funding for anything - not just FEMA. Also, they would be taking on the liability for everything behind the gates, not just the roads. A big financial gamble in my book. And for me, I would rather see my amenity fees and maintenance fees going toward services that enhance my life here and not cleaning up after a Florida storm. Let Big Brother take care of that.
I know it is disappointing. Almost all of us moved here with the understanding that TV was much more "gated" than it really turned out to be. But, I still feel safe and the gates haven't bothered me all that much ( when they are working properly ;D).