District to Pay for Unauthorized Tree Cutting
 

The Villages Daily Sun, page 1 of Section C Local News, has an extensive article of illegal clear cutting of trees on Lake Miona. The cost to put the damage right is estimated to be upwards of $30,000 and will be paid by "The District".

My question is does anyone know who is "The District" and what monies do they use to pay for this illegal cutting.

The District is likely Lake Sumter CDD.

An even bigger question for me is "Who done it"? I hope the Sheriff's offices finds the culprits and makes them pay the costs back to the District.

If it is Sumter Landing CDD, does this mean it comes from our amenity fund, or is there some other way of handling this?

Someone knows for sure and is just not giving out the information. I was at a meeting last week when this was mentioned. At that time we were told that you do not ever mess with South West Florida Water Management District, the speaker said "they are the law in Florida", and the clean up of the clear cutting in the preserve area could cost whatever they wanted to charge!

And of course the "approved answer", is the same as the blocked gate in the night,"I know nothing, I see nothing". Sounds like sergeant Schultz is the answer man for the villages!

"Who done it and why did they do it" would be a good question for the sheriff's office.

This could get very interesting. Where the trees were cut should show who would benefit.

As I speak I am trying to recall the ex president of the VHA around 2005-2006 who was appointed to the Board of SWFWMD? I can see his face clearly but his names escapes me

I found this article mystifying. The "investigation" seems to be moving at a snail's pace. And what's with the two of the four homes "believed to be for sale." Either they are or they are not. Just the noise inherent in cutting these mature trees would certainly lead to neighbors asking questions. Something sounds fishy, and I hope folks living in that CDD don't end up paying.

I really cannot in my best day imagine that someone/anyone could go into an area like the one off Lake Miona Drive and begin taking down trees without the immediate neighbors as well as many others that certainly did witness what was going on......raising hell about it.

How was it possible for a task of that magnitude to go unchallenged.....behind ones home?....on one's block?

Exactly! According to the Sun, some of the residents were "traveling" when the incident happened. The sheriff states it's "incredulous" that none of the residents questioned by them knew anything about it. It would have taken hours to accomplish the job.

No doubt whoever did this was paid by somebody or some group.

It's my personal feeling that now that this has been printed in the paper for all to see, someone will come forward with more information. What blows my mind is the people, or company, who actually did the clear cutting. They have to be local and they have to know you absolutely cannot work in a preserve, and they have to have been paid HUGE money to take this chance. On second thoughts, if you have sufficient money and you wanted to get rid of the trees that badly, you could bring in a company from Georgia to do the deed.

So who now has a spectacular view!?!?!?!

Exactly, sounds like Lake Miona has adopted the Ghetto Don't Snitch mentality. District should plant twice as many mature oaks where the old ones stood. It would not be to hard to find some poor local bubbas to do the cutting.

Early last March we watched in dismay as a contractor cut down 25 healthy oaks, ranging in diameter from 9" to 19" in a large oak grove on the championship course behind our house.

While the cutting was going on, we called The Villages to report it. The rep sent out by Community Standards sympathized but said The Villages had nothing to do with this; it was under Golf Management's jurisdiction. So I called head of Golf Management, Todd Basso. He told me he ordered the trees cut so that "the remaining trees would flourish." When I asked if he had consulted an arborist on which and how many trees needed to go, he replied "no," he himself decided which trees to remove.

So there may be rules for us homeowners re cutting down trees, but they obviously don't concern or apply to Golf Management.

Someone right her in The Villages knows who did this, and they are perfectly content to let the rest of us pay for it through the District. Thanks Neighbor!

Oh that is terrible. I'm a tree hugger. I see so many people who are anti-tree. What's up with that? Those people who live there know who cut the trees.

I would guess that everyone who lives there feels they know who did it. I hope the persons at fault get the bill and I hope they learn a lesson. You can't break laws to get what you want. Period and AMEN.

And I am not a tree hugger. Well maybe a little. I love those big oaks near the intersection of Buena Vista and Stillwater. I always imagine that is what Heaven looks like.

Actually, they may very well face criminal charges. I'm thinking obstruction of justice, maybe a felony based on the amount of monetary damage and any impeding of the investigation that may have transpired. I hope the person that ordered this spends some serious JAIL time and learns that money doesn't buy anything they want. I see a very spoiled person that just doesn't give a damn about anyone else!

The loss of the trees At Miona is criminal, but the real reason the SWFTMUD is on our backs is for the obliteration of the preserve area. When whoever did this they took both the trees and clearcut the preserve to the ground and that is considered a criminal act by the SWFTMUD.

It's heavy reading, but if anyone is interested this is a State report on both Miona and Black Lakes which are in some way interconnected. https://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/proje...rt_sep2006.pdf

Buried within this article is the information on the preserve.

I think that it will be very hard to prove. I think that those folks got together and found someone who would do it for cash. No paper trail, certainly no marked trucks. But those of us who read the paper know who did it or are pretty sure.

And to the folks who are pickin' on the Bridgeport folks in general, that isn't nice or fair or even true. There are folks who live in all the other kinds of homes that do bad things too. Square footage is not a factor..

If you lived down at the other end of that village, you wouldn't have been aware. I would think that the immediate neighbors would know, unless the folks used hand saws.

And quit blamin' the developers. Why do some folks always blame the developers. The developers had NOTHING to gain.

No I don't work for them and I am grouchy.

Is the sheriff's office treating this as a criminal act? Wouldn't the state have a horse in this race. Who would benefit most from this act--it is probably obvious to the neighbors.

This smells real bad!!!!

If this is a criminal act, couldn't those folks be subpoenaed to testify? Maybe I'm naive, but would they perjure themselves under oath?

If they were brazen enough to arrange it to happen, knowing it was wrong, I would guess they would lie under oath.

Sheriff's office has issued a thousand dollar reward for information etc.. That might be attractive to one of the tree sawer's friends and associates.

"Silence" is there a darker agenda affecting this issue in the neighborhood? Why is the District paying for this crime??? Have they been found to be responsible?

Obviously there is a whole lot more to this story

I think this case will be be solved. It sounds like a lot of people were involved. The police/sheriff may apply some pressure to get people to cooperate. You can't make people testify (you can make them appear in court). If I were the Detective working this case I would interview everyone of the neighbors and then go to the States Attorney and ask about granting immunity to one person willing to testify. I would also let it be known for those who do not cooperate criminal and civil charges will be forthcoming.
With that many people involved someone will give the information. People love to talk and gossip and the word will get out.
If anyone ever decides to commit a crime my advice is to do it by yourself and not let anyone know, even your spouse. So many cases are solved by someone being mad at someone else and turning the other person in.

Maybe all the people of that village should be held responsible and let them pay.

Sounds right

Still would like to know why District is on the hook for pymt of the fines???
Dosen't pass the "smell" test

One other thing if this took several hours to do did the block watch guys see it they should know something.

You know that I am a great fan of yours Challenger, but I can't figure out what you are getting at. Do you think that someone from the district issued the orders for the tree removal?

I don't think so. They have carried new trees everywhere in the new areas to be planted. It would not benefit the district for a few homes already inhabited to have a clear view of the lake. I think the fault lies where the wood lay stacked.

Rightly or wrongly, I'm going to assume that the District is on the hook for this due to the fact that the damage is in their District. According to the information that was passed along in the meeting I attended, SOMEONE has to pay for the damage, and right now that someone is The Villages in one form or another. I am only assuming that if, and when, the perpetrator is found they will be prosecuted, and it will then be up to court to decide how painful the settlement will be.

This is much bigger than it seems on the surface ........... we will now have the State Environmental Dept. crawling all over TV, we will have SWFWMD as regular visitors and certainly more Florida Agencies breathing down the Developer's neck. I, personally, believe that the Developer has done everything by the book in building TV and this criminal act will make him a target.

Gracie,

I am a great supporter of the Districts, the Developers , and am not shy about expressing my support for their actions and integrity.

That being said, we need some clear explanation why a District would be required to pay a fine for the criminal actions of others.

This may be all on the up and up, If so the speculation would be cleared up buy some "facts" There may be a good explamation.

It is back in "the woods" between the houses and a desolate area of Lake Miona and if someone used handsaws , it could have been undetected, but not by the immediate neighbors. Those homes adjacent would be where somebody would notice something.... Someone knows.

Read the article and go to Sumterpa.com and type in Lake Miona (not drive), just Lake Miona, and see where this is. You will see the trees and see how out of sight this area would be to many.

I have never known you to be wrong, sir. I admire you very much.

I don't know the law or the details, but I'm guessing that these trees were located on land either belonging to the district or under the care of the district. If so, then the district is charged with protecting the land from this type of encroachment and destruction, and thus they are held responsible.

I think you are correct. This area is designated as wetlands and I'm under the impression that wetlands cannot be "owned" by anyone, but are managed by State, Federal and Local Agencies. There is actually a Home Owners Guide to Wetlands which gives 50+ pages of information on what you can and cannot do. In this case the land that was cut was not "owned" by the homeowner, there is a large buffer zone between wetlands and the homeowners property. So on top of everything else, they were trespassing and destroying on State/Federal land.

Someone has opened Pandora's box ......................

I smell a rat !!!! Maybe more than just one. My thought are that perhaps several neighbors joined together and hired someone to cut the trees. The act took considerable time and no one saw or heard anything ?? C'mon. Those who know something are not talking.

Good point, it would not be the first time someone from the district made a mistake and tried to hide the damages. It concerns me that the district was awfully quick to assume they would pay to clean up the mess.

If they used "hand saws" they would still be there. District manager Wartinbee states in the article "They were out there for hours with a chain saw." No doubt he inspected the cut down trees.

I have no doubt the developer had nothing at all to do with cutting down the trees. Most likely stuck with cost of rehab of area since it lies within district.

Rather convenient for some residences to be "traveling" while trees were cut. I would also want to be out of down when something like this took place.