[livsea2]

Originally Posted by NJblue

I am participating in the Resident Academy at which we have 2-hour lectures every week for 6 weeks where each of the departments that comprise the VCDD gives a presentation. One week was spent with the budget and finance department. Here's what they said concerning the amenity fees and how they are dispersed:

We paid almost $57 million during the 12 months ending this past June. Of that about 47% went to pay the debt on the bond used to buy the amenities. About 10% went to operation/maintenance of the executive courses. Another 10% went for other maintenance services. 15% for professional services. 3% for fire services. 4% for other operating expenses. 4% for utilities. Plus other misc expenses.


As you will note, the largest chunk of the amenity fees goes toward paying off the bonds for the purchase of the amenities from the developer. Another complicating factor is that organizations like maintenance are funded by different districts. While the amenity fees are used to support the two amenity districts and their respective maintenance, there is also funding that comes from the numbered districts that gets their funding from the maintenance fees. So, its hard to look at any single department like maintenance and attribute the origin of their funds to a single source.

Other interesting tidbits that we learned include:

- most of the amenities south of 466 are still owned by the developer. He collects the amenity fees and then pays the Sumter district a fee to provide the various services (as well as a fee to collect the money from the residents).

- none of the town squares are controlled by the VCDD. They are owned and managed by the developer.

- none of the entertainment that we have in the town squares is provided out of our amenity fees - it is the developer. Same for the Savannah Center and Katie Bells.

- Contrary to popular opinion, the water for irrigation of home lawns south of 466 does NOT come from recycled wastewater from the houses. It comes from two sources: storm water runoff and deep wells in the lower aquifer. The golf courses get their irrigation from the above two sources plus the recycled wastewater from the houses.

So what happens to the entertainment at build out when the developer walks away?