1000 GOLF COURSE JOBS to be taken over by DISTRICT RESIDENTS good or bad ?
https://www.**************.com/2023/...-golf-courses/he
Developer wants to shed the responsibility for the 1,000 employees at golf courses in The Villages.
Members of the Amenity Authority Committee, with some suspicion, wrestled on Wednesday with the notice from the Developer that he would like to cease providing staffing for executive and championship golf courses.
“It’s the natural progression and how we do things in The Villages,” said Deputy District Manager Carrie Duckett.
The 1,000 ambassadors, starter shack employees and Golf Operations Administrator David Williams would all begin receiving their paychecks from The Villages District government, rather than the Developer.
“It’s going to be the same starters and people. But rather than working for the Developer, they will be paid by the District. Residents won’t see a change,” Duckett said.
At least in the beginning, the AAC would not be paying more for the staffing of the executive golf courses. The AAC already pays a service fee to the Developer who is currently providing the executive golf course staff.
The AAC already has budgeted $1.7 million to pay the Developer for staffing executive golf courses north of County Road 466. The amount includes a 5 percent surcharge paid to the Developer, amounting to about $90,000. The AAC would be saving the $90,000 surcharge.
The Developer will pay the District for providing staff at championship courses, just as the Developer pays for Recreation Department staffers to work at recreation centers still owned by the Developer.
AAC member Don Deakin wondered whether golf course workers would still receive the discount they currently receive when playing at championship courses.
“Many of them have told me that they aren’t working for minimum wage, they are working so they get that discount,” Deakin said. “Would we lose 1,000 employees if the Developer suddenly wasn’t offering that discount?”
He also said that too many times the AAC has been rushed to make a decision on an important issue and later came to regret the decision. He pointed specifically to the push by the Developer in 2019 for the AAC to purchase the Hacienda Country Club. In the end, the Developer demolished the country club, which upset many residents.
“I am not in favor of rushing through deals like this,” Deakin said.
He said he wanted more information and time to evaluate the contract to terminate the existing agreement.
Community Development District 4 Chairman Cliff Wiener, who also heads the Property Owners Association, said there is likely more to the story about the motives of the Developer.
“If the Developer was making a profit, he wouldn’t want to get out of it,” Wiener said.
AAC member James Vaccaro questioned picking up the tab for a potentially hefty salary for the golf operations administrator.
“Don’t we already have enough managers?” he asked.
It was also indicated that the starters and ambassadors would likely be offered dental and vision benefits when they become District employees. Residents pointed out there would be a cost associated with the benefits.
In the end, the AAC voted 4-1 in favor of the Developer’s request to terminate the existing agreement and move forward with a new agreement.
The change will take place Oct. 1.
The Project Wide Advisory Committee, which oversees amenities south of County Road 466, will discuss this same issue when its members meet at 8:30 a.m. Monday, Aug. 14 at SeaBreeze Recreation Center.