Quote:
Originally Posted by Tbugs
This will probably generate a lot of responses but here goes anyhow -
The Villages is a great place to live and the Morse family has done a wonderful job of making this slice of Heaven available to us. Where else could you be so happy for such a reasonable cost. $135 monthly amenity fee is almost unheard of anywhere - and for all we get!!
Greed on the part of the developer? The Morse family happens to be wealthy but this is America, folks. They developed The Villages and keep it beautiful. I begrudge them absolutely nothing and anyone would be foolish if they did. If you do not like it here, nothing is keeping you from leaving to go somewhere else.
If you do not want to donate to the Moffit Center - don't donate. No one is forcing you to donate. There are plenty of charities around who are totally separate such as Salvation Army, local food banks, donations directly to Red Cross, Boy Scouts, or whatever. Donate to your churches. Animal shelters need contributions. None of these are connected to the Morse family.
The POA does some good but it is also full of naysayers. Get that good feeling back when you moved to The VIllages and enjoy being here without griping. You never had it so good as you do right now!!!
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Why is the fact that The Villages is a nice place to live even slightly relevant to the controversy at hand? As I see it, the controversy arises from three basic issues, all related to the Developer's role in the so-called Moffitt fund raising and having nothing to do with The Villages lifestyle:
1. What can charitably (no pun intended) be described as misrepresentations being published in the Developer's newspaper in order to raise funds that will flow back to the Developer.
2. Total lack of transparency in regard to the arrangements between the Developer and Moffitt. Is the Developer a paid fund raiser? Is the rent normal rent, or somehow tied to the Developer's fund-raising efforts? Who knows exactly how the Developer is benefiting from the fund raising? Moffitt won't tell us.
3. The Developer's shameful attempt to shake down the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life for the Developer's own financial benefit.
Yes, we don't have to contribute to the fund raiser. But we also don't have to stand by and see our friends and neighbors doing so without their being informed about where their money is going.
Finally, as to your allegation that the POA is full of "naysayers": Those naysayers brought the class action that got you, the other residents of the Villages, and me about $40 million that the Developer was wrongfully taking from us. We all owe those naysayers a debt of gratitude. When you tell us that you have written the Developer a check for your share of that class-action settlement (call it $1,000), I will start to listen to your complaints about the POA being full of naysayers. Until you write that check, you may want to temper your name calling.