Application Withdrawn!
 

Congratulations to The Villages Developer! The City of Wildwood's attempts to hold TV hostage for more, more, more...and yet more...failed! Hurray! When the powers-that-be in Wildwood wake up and smells the coffee, they'll realize the abject stupidity and short-sightedness of their own greed.

Unfortunately, the real losers in all of this will be the business owners - and ultimately the citizens - of Wildwood, not those who took such a foolish and arrogant stand. :pepper2:

OP, Exactly, Wildwood (according to the Daily Sun) missed out on a great opportunity. If their Leaders think they can "bully" the Village Developer, they sure got fooled. Sooner or later this property will be developed---- it is valuable mainly because of The Villages.

Yes, Kudos to the developer.

Still probably a chance to get back to the negotiating table. You never know.

The mayor of Wildwood, in trying to dictate to The Villages and the Morse family, was involved in negotiations that were "way over his head". I believe the mayor's main fear was that he would lose his "job" in the city's next re-election... Well guess what?... He will... When Wildwood wakes up and realizes what they missed out on. The damage for them has already been done and IF AND WHEN they would want to re-open the negotiations with The Villages again ... it will never be at the same price or conditions originally offered to them.....IMHO....

It's probably not greed so much as it is prejudice toward the potential voting bloc that wisely votes for fiscal solvency and against deficit spending that accumulates and cripples the economy.

Some other fly by night outfit will build there.

Agree w all above post. I also hope the Morse's still purchase the land.

So was it just about trees and sidewalks??

personally I think it was the zip code issue.......it would be a wildwood zip and not a village zip code. potentially may cause a lower price point for the developers....when they attempt to sell the houses.

The residents of Wildwood become the real losers here....all thanks to the misguided leaders of their city.

Offering my condolences to the taxpayers and business owners of Wildwood; and my congratulations to the Developer! Sorry, too, for the Villagers whose homes abut the Wildwood tract - especially if the Mayor and Commissioners get what they think they want!

Amateurs VS Professionals....not intended to be a negative bash at all.

As a villager that lives close to the proposed Wildwood development, I am somewhat glad that Wildwood has initially balked at the proposed development. IMHO, there are several issues that need to be addressed, as noted in the newspaper article, so now the 2 sides can sit down and discuss these. One of the biggest issues, I think, will be golf cart access, it appears that it will be very inconvenient for the proposed residents to get to Pinellas Plaza or Brownwood areas. The direct access between TV and Wildwood by golf cart would seem to be another sticking point. For example, most of the roads to the West of Powell and 462 do not appear to be suitable for golf carts, and even the newly redesigned 466a has a BYCYCLE lane, not a GOLF CART lane, so while the mayor wants access, it looks like this would just create a major safety issue.
Personally I lean more toward the mixed use concept, possibly with a strip mall of convenience shops (NO MORE BANKS), and some additional housing. These are already several facilities for the care of aging adults, so not sure if this would be needed at this location.
Since this appears to be a hot button, it would be interesting to see if the developer would have an open meeting with the TV community to get feedback from the residents regarding their concerns, and see if there is common ground between Wildwood, TV residents, and the developer.

These are just my humble opinion, please do not shoot the messenger.

Is it just me thinking .... I'm actually relieved there won't be 800 more houses on that corner. Does anyone other than myself think about our property values down the road and an overly developed community?
After the baby boomer generation is over, will there be a lot of our kids who have money to retire comfortably and afford a place like TV's? I'm not so sure about that. Just my thoughts ...

Wildwood no thank you.

http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/i.../Wildwood3.jpg

The withdrawal of the application has affected me exactly as much as the submission of the application.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...ive-A-damn.gif

We will all be in the Village of Heavenly by then. The world will be run by others. Now is the day to dance.

I feel comforted as long as there is a Morse presence felt. I just worry about when the inmates try to run the asylum.

People will overspend on foolish things, deleting the beautiful flowers because it is too expensive, and use too much water, make it into a multi generational community. Decide they would like to see government housing where the golf courses are. Oh yes.

Glad to be here, alive and kicking right now with The Morses at the helm.

Without saying whether or not I share villagetinker's opinion, I will say it is well said. I congratulate the messenger.

Just my opinion:
We need another 800 homes in this area like we need a hole in the head. This was a poorly conceived plan by the developer. Home owners in this proposed addition to The Villages would be essentially hemmed in with no golf cart access to other areas of The Villages and it's amenities or to nearby shopping.
Congrats to Wildwood officials for saying no to this atrocious proposal!

Thanks for sharing the issues at hand.

Glad to see Wildwood take a stand and not just roll over for the villages.
Does the Villages help the area. Yes.
Do they exercise too much control over Sumter County and the surrounding area. Yes I think so.

Any association with Wildwood changes The Village's demographics. We don't need a Village future that includes residents in a Village zip code with a propensity to riot, commit crime.. It is already happening in Brownwood and Spanish Springs
Be careful who you invite to the party...

I agree.

Excellent points. What too many folks seem to not understand is The Villages is a BUSINESS. It is not a city.

DEFINITION of 'Business Model'

The plan implemented by a company to generate revenue and make a profit from operations. The model includes the components and functions of the business, as well as the revenues it generates and the expenses it incurs.

I'm not sure where some got the idea that decisions about how to run this business that the Morse family built with their own money at RISK should lie with the residents. We as homeowners or renters are consumers who have purchased the product and services (amenities) that the business owner has created.

If someone buys a home in a subdivision anywhere and decide they do not like aspects of it, they can decide to live with it, work to change it, or move on. The difference between a home in a subdivision in a city and a home in The Villages is none of us live in the CITY OF THE VILLAGES. We live in a master development spread out over 3 counties and several towns. Yes, we live in Wildwood or Lady Lake or Fruitland Park (soon). Ever notice the police presence around us is Lady Lake police, Wildwood police, Sumter County sheriff, etc.?

Yes, I do love living in the business known as The Villages. The only consistent negative that I see is the incredibly small group of residents who seem to complain about everything and seem to believe they are ENTITLED to change the business model that they did not create.

As one wiser than most wrote, "Now is the day to dance" .

:pepper2::pepper2::pepper2::pepper2::pepper2:

Couldn't agree with you more. I have two children and their families that live in Sumter County and I hear that stance often from their in-laws. None of my children or their spouses work for any businesses that are supported or are in any way affiliated with anything "Villages." Neither are any members of their extended families. It is an interesting take when you have conversations with these folks because they often see TV impact much differently than many found on this forum.
I personally applaud the Mayor for not immediately rolling over and am convinced that this will be resolved with both sides satisfied in the end.

Amen!!! Those who have never risked everything they own to follow a dream are all-too-eager to criticize those who do. Great post! :pepper2:

I think you are essentially describing Trailwinds Village, the mixed-use development that has already been approved by Wildwood. Trailwinds Village Property Overview

The mayor is "concerned" about trees, sidewalks, and land use. Maybe he should consider his own backyard; a stroll in downtown Wildwood reveals a treeless main street with lots of vacant storefronts, crumbling sidewalks, dusty parking lots, a plethora of resale, antique, auction, tire , used car lots, storage lots, and pawn shops. Upscale shopping at Tin Can Pam's followed by fine dining at the Oakwood Express. Then there is speedy quick road reconstruction, 1 1/2 mile takes more than 18 months and is still far from complete, and how many trees were chopped down for that? And what would Wildwood do with all that new $3.5 million to spend each year??? It must boggle their minds. And all the free entertainment in Wildwood's downtown park (no music, but watch the trains roll thru).
Politics is the name of the game, the heck with progress or "relatively clean" tax revenue. "Save my job":crap2:

But I'm sure these "family members" don't complain when they come inside The Villages for some of their entertainment, shopping, eating etc.
Hmmmmm...............

Absolutely right. Wildwood has very little to offer anyone. It has a couple of tearoom restaurants, a couple of barbeque joints, and just about nothing else. There are closed businesses on Main Street, the town looks just plain dirty, and there is a LOT of crime there, mainly drug related.

I know I am glad not to be living near the Wildwood edge - or any edge - of The Villages.

I agree with most of your assessment.

But while TV is definitely a business, it is also a CDD. To simply state that TV is a business and not a city is a bit simplistic. While a CDD is not technically a city, it is definitely more than just a business, and resembles a city in many ways.

Plus, whether it's technically accurate or not, I think most residents living here, shopping here, socializing here and having fun here would say TV much more closely resembles a city than just a business.

I agree completely, from seeing the highlighted phrases above happen. Friends in a beautiful golf community of 55+ condos in the midwest have watched…... as the family apartment village bordering the golf course and pool was sold to some trashy investment apartment conglomerate, to make the hundreds of apartments in the complex into Section 8 subsidized housing…..

….IN the golf community, not "by" it, and beside the beautiful condos run by retired business executives who know how to manage the HOA solvently and keep the condo fees down, under $200/mo.

I wish more people who complain here had actually worked in a business where they saw and had to understand an income/expense worksheet, and how the revenue is earned in sales and brought in to pay the bills. Nobody--especially not politicians glad-handing for votes--is going to match the TV developers in that arena.

I'm not understanding the zip code issue. We live south of 466A which is "in" Wildwood, but we have a Villages zip code. What's the big deal???

Let's see here…..

Looking at my Sumter County Property tax on a Villages 3/2 home here with selling market price of $225,000 or so, I see tax billed as:

Sumter County: $1,062
Sumter School Board: $1,128

I'm sure those relatives don't mind 50,000 homes paying school taxes into the county school taxes, all by residents/homeowners having no children to be schooled and in need of added schools in Wildwood or Fruitland Park or wherever.

Lake County only dreams of having that school tax revenue from TV.

Dumbwood I mean Wildwood has a business plan? Who knew?

I don't mind paying school taxes even though I have no family using the schools. It is in my best interest to have an educated population, and to have the little bastards off the streets during the day.

By all related reportage, it was not Wildwood, but The Villages, which took the final stand. A fair and equitable proposal was made by the Developer. When the Mayor of Wildwood thought the deal was "in the bag", he overestimated his position of strength in the negotiations and tried to extort unreasonable last-minute concessions. It was a common, rather foolish, error of judgment.

Unless the Mayor has a rabbit somewhere in his tiny bag of tricks, this faux pas will cost the citizens and businesses of Wildwood dearly. Hope he has his resume in order.

The Mayor has painted himself into a corner by negotiating in the press. Bad practice, he should know better. It leaves him no place to go until/if The Villages decides to come back to him and most likely offer less.

Your question made me curious so I googled: Wildwood FL city limits map.

turns out that your area and most of TV south of 466a is NOT included, while the parcel in question and Pinellas Plaza is.

Interesting. Sorry...cant post the link but youll find it if you google it.

Whether it resembles a city or not, the reality is that is is not one, any more than Recreation Plantation on 466 is. Both are organized businesses providing housing and amenities / activities. Yet I would be highly surprised to see anyone at Recreation Plantation going to great lengths to tell the ownership how to run the park, what and where to build, dispute their right to add or remove attractions (like the buffalo, Katie Belle's, etc. :shrug:) ,and otherwise how to put their financial investment at risk. And even if they tried, the ownership there would probably tell them (and rightfully so) that if they don't like and appreciate the business proposal, maybe it would be best for everyone if they moved on to another place that fit their needs and wants. After all, Recreation Plantation does a robust business. So does the Villages. I think both business principals know what's best for their own operation.

We all move here knowing (or should know) that there is no mayor and council government at The Villages. Anyone who landed here without understanding that needs a history lesson.

Application Withdrawn!
 

I'm a bit surprised at your reply since I expressed agreement with most of your post. TV is a for-profit endeavor and I'm all for it. But if you want to press the point...
The Villages & Recreation Plantation. Yeah...that's a really good comparison. Give me a break.
If you want to use technical definitions for what is a city, you're 100% correct. TV is not a city. In any other commonly perceived sense of the word, your comparison fails miserably.