[DougB]

June 2, 2014 By Meta Minton 1 Comment

The card-access gate off Paradise Drive in The Villages.
More than 50 people, many of them veterans, attended a meeting Monday afternoon at Stonecrest trying to find a way to gain golf cart access to The Villages.
Last summer, a wall abruptly went up on the Historic Side blocking a well-traveled golf cart path allowing residents to have access to Wal-Mart and Lowes, outside The Villages. Residents rebelled and within a week, the wall came down. The wall was later replaced by a card-access gate. The gate allows Villlagers in and out, but Stonecresters and others are kept out of The Villages.
Steve Oelrich, a former Republican state senator, has gotten involved with the group to help find a solution.
Oelrich said in particular he got involved because he wants to ensure veterans access to medical care, including the VA Outpatient Clinic on County Road 42 in The Villages
Oelrich said he tried to set up a meeting with Gary Lester, vice president of community relations for The Villages.
He quoted Lester as saying there was no point in setting up a meeting. He said that Lester said that non-Villages residents were not going to be granted access to Villages amenities.
“‘It’s not just no,’” Oelrich quoted Lester as saying. “‘It’s hell no.’”
Oelrich said he was puzzled by the response.
“It would seem an organization would want to bend over backwards to help veterans whether they want medical treatment or just to go shopping,” Oelrich said.
He said he has talked to Marion County Sheriff Chris Blair who has indicated he will gather facts about the situation and will approach Villages developer Gary Morse about a possible resolution.
The sheriff sent Lt. Louis Pulford to act as his observer at the meeting. Stonecresters said that in addition to medical appointments, they want to access restaurants and shopping opportunities in The Villages. Those opportunities are accessible by automobile, but not by golf cart.
“To me it doesn’t pass the straight-face test,” Oelrich said. “It seems like The Villages is trying to promote a ‘them versus us’ mentality.”
He pledged to continue working with his contacts in the state legislature and elsewhere to resolve the issue.
He also collected names and contact information to continue the dialogue on this topic.