County will not pay for repairs to brick crosswalks in The Villages
 

As reported by a non-specific newspaper.

Interesting. I can hear the conversation that was had.


District: "Hey Mr. Sumter County Public Works Dept, we need a cross-walk repaired in Sumter Landing".

SC PWD: "No problem, we'll get to that next month. We're doing some paving in that area and will have some extra paving on the truck".

District: "Oh no, the cross-walk is made with brick pavers".

SC PWD: "Oh, that's too bad. We only repair roads with paving, we don't do brick work".

District: "Well, that's what's there now"?

SC PWD: "That's too bad. We own the roads now and we fix 'em as we see fit".

District: "No problem, we'll make a deal so we're responsible and charge our residents".

SC PWD: "Works for us, go for it".


Said and done.

We often seem to be the not ready for prime time players. Brings back memories of the windmill.

we get the shaft , they get the gold mine.

I say any bricks in road way STOOPID.

Few hundred years ago seem to be ok but for now, do not understand.

Are they bricks or stamped asphalt that has been painted?

Does any of the above violate Sunshine Laws! :1rotfl::1rotfl:

Pull um up and pave it over.

Maybe they can stamp old railroad tracks for the sentimental

I guess there’s nothing else to complain about.

Current estimate from the District is $20,000 per walkway. Not exactly chicken feed.

The sun shines on the beaches and golf courses in Florida.

The sun never seems to shine on politics in Florida.

Sure, while you are at it, fill in the lake, the canal and get rid of the bridges, water wheel and fake locks. Make it look like any dumpy town with boarded up buildings and lots of graffiti. And to make it real, let's get a tent city where the playground is now.

Wouldn't it have been nice if any if you had attended your CDD meeting to hear what this is actually about?

The District and your CDD finds the brick crosswalks to be a desirable feature. The County is not at all interested in replacing the bricks if that section of the road needs to be worked on. The County and the District agreed to have the District maintain that small section of the road to preserve the attractive brickwork.

If you disagree with that sentiment and would prefer not to spend the money, the most recent CDD meeting would have been the right place to voice your objection.

Not much different than the agreement between the CDDs and county about maintaining the streets in the villa neighborhoods. County won’t so we do. End of story.

Completely different.

The majority of "streets" in Villa neighborhoods aren't "streets", they're driveways.

Paved crosswalks are a higher class feature.
Higher class features lead to a higher class neighborhood.
A higher class neighborhood leads to higher property taxes.
Higher property taxes provided money to maintain higher class feature.
Why is the county renege on their responsibilities? What are they doing with the excess funds?

The pavers on the south quadrant of the Morse / El Camino Real / Paige circle are collapsing, possibly into an incipient sink hole.

Why should people who live in Bushnell, and other far away places, pay to repair fancy streets in The Villages?

The Villages is attractive for many reasons, most of them aesthetic. These things cost money. Move if you don’t want to pay for it.

I don't think they're reneging on anything. I don't think they ever had any responsibility to maintain anything they own, up to TV standards.

Personally, I think this is one of the Achilles tendons of the CDD concept.

Developer builds 1st class roads, utilities and appurtenances. County eventually takes them over and manages/maintains them, the same as they've maintained the rest of that county.

The only way I know of to change that scenario, is if there are enough voters in the CDD areas, to control County Government. Otherwise, the future is in the hands of County government, not the CDD's or Developer.

County taxes
 

For the same reason residents of The Villages pay county taxes for schools that they don’t use.

The residents in the district should
 

I agree that those who benefit the most by retaining the brick facade should pay for it if they want to keep it. The look bolsters their home’s values, not mine nor most of the rest of the districts.

Don’t get me started on TIF, PILOT and other developer friendly agreements ....developer blind. But I digress...

We just closed on a site that was developed with an Industrial Revenue Bond, in the 70's. Sorting out the title was an adventure.

The future north of 466A.

There are two spots on that traffic circle that are sinking. They're the exact same two spots that were sinking two years ago, that were "repaired" a year and a half ago. They need to dig up those spots, dig deep - open up the sinkholes that are under them so they can be properly filled in. And THEN replace the pavers. If they don't do that, they'll just keep pulling the pavers up, adding some sand, and putting the pavers back every 2-3 years when enough people complain.

This whole argument is manufactured. Put the puzzle together . Not all people get the same benefit from taxes collected. Those that live on dirt roads with no sidewalks could argue that they are not being treated the same as those on boulevards that are paved lighted and mowed. If we were all paying the same taxes the argument may have some validity.
Also, if the county accepts responsibility of roads and facilities, there should be some good faith that their acceptance includes certain standards. Lighting, Materials, maintenance etc. They can't in good faith say that they will no longer pave and revert to dirt roads. I would guess that could happen but voters might be an impact.

So if the people say "nah - let's just not have them anymore" - you're okay with the county bearing 100% of the cost of maintaining them? Since they already pay 100% of the cost of maintaining all the other crosswalks in the county that are just pavement and not pavers/bricks.

I don't see why there can't be a shared expense. Let the county pay whatever they WOULD have to pay to maintain it, if it was normal pavement. And let the CDD cover everything over that amount.

fill in the paver crosswalks and white paint the crossing.

They don't seem to be the best choice for an old folks community, any tripping hazard is doubly bad here.

Agree. No different than everyone paying the same for their base model SUV, then those that want GPS navigation and Bose sound system pay more.

According to the newspaper that shouldn't be quoted, I don't think that's what happened. It appears the District assumed all maintenance costs for the crosswalks.

I bring up the issue, because I think it's merely the tip of the iceberg. Counties typically don't maintain or replace things, with the same quality and attention to detail, the Developer put into constructing them. Crosswalks and ponds today ... who knows what's next?

Agree
 

They were put there for looks only. Serve no purpose and after a while get pretty bumpy and need maintenance. No one should think Sumter County would pay for the maintenance.

Eventually
 

We have all seen the eventuality of a government taking this problem over. They come in , strip away the brick, fill in any holes, lay bank gravel and pave the sucker. There, the county fix at its finest.

Bricks went away when things heavier than horses were invented.