Sign of Things to Come? Let's Hope Not

[Hawkwind]

During the Sunday evening entertainment at LSL an employee of a pizza buffet located on 446a was parading around the center of the square with a sign promoting that establishment. He also had a pocket full of menus to give out. Tacky, very tacky.

Now on Tuesday at the Rocky and the Rollers performance at LSL I was setting on the "upper deck platform" (for a lack of a better description) located in front of the sales. At about 8:00 I look to the left at the back of the Christmas tree and see someone physically disappear into the tree. Did I really see that or was I dreaming? A few seconds later another teenager walks over to the same spot and sticks his head into the tree and climbs on in. There is now a hole in the tree and keep watching and I see four more kids climb into the tree. OK enough is enough as someone could get hurt. I go over to the bar and ask if there is any security present. One of the bartenders leads me over to a guy from the district watch (blue windbreaker) or VDCC. I explain to him what I witnessed and point out the location. Now there are about five or six teenagers standing outside the hole and it is anyone guess how many inside the tree. Well Barney tells the kids standing on the outside to get away from the tree and that is it. He did not even wait until those five or six teenagers got on the other side of the chain barrier. Barney then high tails it to the other corner of the square. Three or four minutes later four teenagers come from inside the tree and meet up with their pals. I hear one of the ones that had been standing outside the tree that they were yelled at for standing there. I walk around the square and now see the entire group in front of the gazebo (Rocky was on a break). I continue around the square and I run into Barney again and let him know that the entire group was and he tells me that there is nothing that he can do but shoo them away. Barney was the only "security" I saw all night. At least at SS there is a police presents on one corner just in case.

What did I expect Barney to do? A little more than what he did but he may have not had any backup. He could have at least looked at the hole that was created in the tree. He could have at least got the kids out of the tree. Oh well I just may have expected too much.

Now on the drive home I got to thinking if this is happening now what will it be like when Brownwood opens with its location right on the outer edge of TV and it's close proximity to Wildwood.

This morning I stopped at LSL and looked at the back of the tree and you could see the hole where the kids climbed into and out of the tree. I also stopped at the VDCC office and reported the incident to them.

[l2ridehd]

That tree is reused every year and is actually quite expensive, probably around 15K to 20K. Shame to see thoughtless teenagers destroy it. Because I doubt that anyone will spring for a new one.

Glad you at least tried to take some action.

[graciegirl]

I copied your post and sent it on to TheVillages.com.

It is a very real concern. No one should be allowed to vandalize our pretty things.

[Talk Host]

What other community of 70,000 people do you know of that doesn't have it's own police force? Even on college campuses with far fewer people, there is campus security. High schools and grade schools now have community service police officers on duty during school hours.

What you have observed is a real issue that needs real attention. If kids can climb inside the tree without pause, they can also climb inside your house.

[Bogie Shooter]

How would a police force prevent someone from entering a house? Cop on every street?

[Talk Host]

How would a police force prevent someone from entering a house? Cop on every street?

Of course not. My point is that, word spreads pretty quickly that there is no police department. If I were a crook, I would head for a community where there is no police department.

If kids can climb in and out of a $15,000 Christmas tree without any repercussion, what else would they try?

I'm guessing that you are one who believes that there is no need for any kind of law enforcement protection in The Villages.

[REH7380]

It is a shame the sheriff office was not called as they are quick to respond and are always available. At one of the POA meetings an officer in the Sheriff's Dept spoke and in particular recommended to always call them and they will respond.

[Bogie Shooter]

I agree we have the sherriff's department. I for one do not want to pay more taxes for a Village police force.

[chuckster]

I'm guessing that you are one who believes that there is no need for any kind of law enforcement protection in The Villages.

We have the sumter county sheriff and I have experienced fast response times when they were called. Sheriff and EMT/Fire service do an excellent job.

As far as LSL, wonder if there is an agreement with the sheriff's dept. to promote order and prevent vandalism and if not, why not. I don't recall seeing a patrol by the sheriff at LSL but have seen Lady Lake Police at Spanish Springs square. Wonder what the reason is for no patrol at LSL. Anybody know??

[Skip]

It's a delicate situation. The police can't really "patrol" the area because it's all private property. It's not public; it's owned by "The Villages". The police must be asked to come into Lake Sumter Landing. Everything inside Lakeshore Dr. and Old Camp Rd. is private property. Same goes for Spanish Springs inside Avenida Central. It's all private - streets, sidewalks, parking lots, etc. (The buildings, however, belong to "the developer".) That's how you can walk around the squares with a drink in your hand. The "open container law" only applies on public thoroughfares.

Only "The Villages" can call police to have those kids removed. If severe damage was to occur, my bet would be - just like in shoplifting - The Villages would make you sign an agreement that states you would never come back again - if you did, you would be prosecuted for "trespassing".

By the way, when that holy tree needs to be replaced next year, guess who pays for it? You guessed it!

Skip

[Bogie Shooter]

Skip, is it written somewhere that explains all that?

[downeaster]

I

Only "The Villages" can call police to have those kids removed.



Skip

Anybody can call the police if they see private property being destroyed. However, it is more effective if the owner or owner's representative makes the call. Hawkwind did the right thing by bringing the problem to a community watch person who is pretty close to being a rep of the owner. IMHO, that person should have called the police.
This is a clear example of why so many people are asking, "what does the community watch really accomplish?".

[Talk Host]

This is a clear example of why so many people are asking, "what does the community watch really accomplish?".

I had a situation where a group of people would gather each evening and allow their dogs to run unleashed. The dogs would chase walkers, runners and bikers. I called The Villages Deed Restriction office and they told me that the next time it happened, I should find a Community Watch car and tell them.

Well, there was a next time, and I did just that. And, it so happened there was a Community Watch car near-by. I told him about the situation and he said, "you'll have to call the Deed Restriction office in the morning."

:undecided:

[Skip]

And, it so happened there was a Community Watch car near-by. I told him about the situation and he said, "you'll have to call the Deed Restriction office in the morning."

:undecided:

Yup. No one wants to enforce the rules until it's you breaking them. (Like "running an internet business" from your house - right?)

The police can't tell the kids to leave the square unless the property owner asks the police to do so for them. (That's what I meant.)

Skip

[NJblue]

By the way, when that holy tree needs to be replaced next year, guess who pays for it? You guessed it!

Skip

By implication you are implying that we pay for this out of our amenity fee, but this is wrong. All decorations (and entertainment) at the town squares are paid for by the developer.

I agree with those who think the sheriff should have a higher presence at LSL. He appears to have jurisdiction since he did show up to clear the streets of Old Camp road when the crowd at Red Sauce overflowed into the street.

For this particular situation Community Watch should have called the police. While CW has no police power to do anything more than what they did, as representaives of the developer I think they should have called the police. The fact that they didn't is not a good testiment of their value. If I were the developer I would question my funding of them for patrolling the town squares.

[graciegirl]

My next door neighbor in Hadley is a retired New York policeman and he has been hired to patrol LSL. Primarily because the kids are unruly. I don't know in what guise he is employed but I do know this happened in the last 3-4 months (that he began this employment.) He is a big guy and a triathlete.