Quote:
Originally Posted by Goldwingnut
If you've seen my videos then you must know that I do a lot of research and digging for information. Much of this is on the internet and in public records searches. Some is puzzle solving and putting the pieces together of what I find to make since of it. The most fruitful information comes from the friendships and relationships I've built since living here and the trust I've earned from many people.
These relationships yield both fruit and direction to new information. Knowing that trust in a relationship is key translates to both knowing what and when to say something, and when not to say anything, to maintain this trust.
Sometimes just being in the right place at the right time and keeping one's ears open is all it takes to find new hints and pointers. My early days of literal "dumpster diving" to find clues and information has been replaced with a less painful (and fragrant) version sitting at a keyboard.
It didn't take a genius to know that KB and HH were doomed for failure. In the few times I visited these establishments it was easy to see that it couldn't possibly be a profitable endeavor. People sitting for hours at KB drinking water or iced tea and ordering only an appetizer for a table of 4 while enjoying "free" entertainment yields little profit for a business.
Watching people bring their own snacks and drinks to the HH pool and not patronizing the bar surprised me but lead to the same conclusions about profitability.
I once posed the question to a knowledgeable individual if they had any idea how much the HH pool was used by non-priority members vs. those who paid for a Priority Membership at the country club. The non-verbal response spoke volumes, very few priority members.
Both KB and HH were private businesses, run to make a profit. They were not amenities; they were not supported by the amenity fee we all pay; they were not an entitlement just for buying a home and living in The Villages.
Have I actually seen the books? No. But the discussions of KB and HH I have had about their operations and losses always come back to just 2 words, "significant" and "unsustainable".
Do I know everything that is happening and going to happen in our community? No, but I do have a pretty good picture of a lot of what is to come, most of which I'm not a liberty to discuss at this point without destroying a lot of trusts in the process, something I will not do.
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The number one priority is to keep the Spanish Springs square open and vibrant - squares are an important component to the magic that is The Villages. That means the various commercial enterprises must have enough customers spending money to allow them to be profitable. The Developer is looking for ways to bring more spending into Spanish Springs and one of the ways to do that is to have a concentration of people actually living there. It was pointed out in a prior Forum post that the parking code requirements for apartments is less than for commercial space - less burden and more spending.