UsuallyLurking
08-14-2024, 05:14 PM
(This note is presented as an example of the complexities of life and governance in The Villlages, as shown in the recent thread on amenity fees and the lengthy explanation provided by Don Wiley, AKA GoldWingnut.)
In response to a query from a District 4 supervisor, the following update was provided to the Board. It can be found in the agenda packet for the August Board meeting, under old business:
"This facility [Fire Station #42, located on Belle Meade Circle in the Marion County section of The Villages] houses a Battalion Chief and is an active Fire Station. When the Fire Station #41 [located at the intersection of 466 and Morse] renovation is completed, this station will be taken out of service, signage removed and converted to a VPSD Logistics Storage Facility."
As part of the whole business surrounding the creation of a fire district, the mutual aid agreement between Marion County and The Villages Fire Department (TVFD) was revisited. The mutual aid agreement as it now stands states that the VPFD will respond to callouts in Marion County when requested by Marion County dispatch. The quick response vehicle at Station #41 was replaced with one of the nine on-duty ambulances available to VPFD at the rollout of assuming transport service.
At the Board of Supervisors meeting last Friday, the deputy district manager said that an analysis indicated that the relatively few calls for service from Marion County did not justify keeping station #41 open as an active fire station. (If needed, support can be provided by TVFD stations on or near 466 -- the one at Morse and another one, one block south, next to Belvedere.)
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Editorial comment: It is good that people are gathering and actually paying attention to various aspects of providing service to the community. There can be arguments made about the wisdom of the decision noted above as well as whether budgetary pressures may have influenced the decision. However, I will stick with my very narrow focus noted at the top that life is complicated in The Villages and only getting more so. Decisions big and small can have unforeseen and should-have-been foreseen impacts. To move from the farthest north of The Villages to the south, an argument could be made that the decision to not create a PWAC II had an impact on the size of the assessment increase in District 14.
In response to a query from a District 4 supervisor, the following update was provided to the Board. It can be found in the agenda packet for the August Board meeting, under old business:
"This facility [Fire Station #42, located on Belle Meade Circle in the Marion County section of The Villages] houses a Battalion Chief and is an active Fire Station. When the Fire Station #41 [located at the intersection of 466 and Morse] renovation is completed, this station will be taken out of service, signage removed and converted to a VPSD Logistics Storage Facility."
As part of the whole business surrounding the creation of a fire district, the mutual aid agreement between Marion County and The Villages Fire Department (TVFD) was revisited. The mutual aid agreement as it now stands states that the VPFD will respond to callouts in Marion County when requested by Marion County dispatch. The quick response vehicle at Station #41 was replaced with one of the nine on-duty ambulances available to VPFD at the rollout of assuming transport service.
At the Board of Supervisors meeting last Friday, the deputy district manager said that an analysis indicated that the relatively few calls for service from Marion County did not justify keeping station #41 open as an active fire station. (If needed, support can be provided by TVFD stations on or near 466 -- the one at Morse and another one, one block south, next to Belvedere.)
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Editorial comment: It is good that people are gathering and actually paying attention to various aspects of providing service to the community. There can be arguments made about the wisdom of the decision noted above as well as whether budgetary pressures may have influenced the decision. However, I will stick with my very narrow focus noted at the top that life is complicated in The Villages and only getting more so. Decisions big and small can have unforeseen and should-have-been foreseen impacts. To move from the farthest north of The Villages to the south, an argument could be made that the decision to not create a PWAC II had an impact on the size of the assessment increase in District 14.