Did you attend Fruitland Park Meeting?
 

How do you all think it went?

Does anyone have any info regarding what transpired at the meeting?
Thanks!

Good writeup in today's paper.

I suspended the paper since wecare oyt of the house for now

Could someone please post a link to the article??

Thanks in advance

http://www.*******************
Its the online news site

Bogie, would you please provide a synopsis of the article since the link was removed?

Wonder why?

From a different news source
 

http://www.*******************/villa...oject-3-weeks/

"About 200 local residents filled the 99-year old Casino community center beyond capacity Thursday night to hear developers, city staff and city commissioners discuss plans to develop 1,972 new homes in the Villages of Fruitland Park, located on the Pine Ridge Dairy property along the Sumter County line at the city’s western edge.
If approved, the development will accommodate almost 4,000 new residents, nearly doubling the city’s population in the span of two years and ranking Fruitland Park as the nation’s fastest-growing city.
Fruitland Park mayor Chris Bell called the meeting to explain the development and air resident concerns. The Villages sent two of its biggest guns—Dr. Gary Lester, Vice President for Community Relations, and Gary Moyer, Vice President of Development—to help sell the project.
None of the speakers had to work hard, and the standing room only crowd applauded each presentation.
City planner Greg Beliveau, a principal at LPG Urban & Regional Planning in Mount Dora, detailed a Project Impact Analysis study his company completed two weeks ago.
The 980-acre Pine Ridge Dairy site was annexed into the city in 2006 with zoning restrictions that allowed development of 3,233 residential units on 705 acres of the site at a gross rate of 3.3 units per acre.
Changes in the county’s comprehensive growth management plan to allow such density are expected gain approval early next year, Beliveau told the group.
Current zoning restrictions on the entire Pine Ridge Dairy site limit commercial development to 173 acres and require that 72 acres be set aside for public uses such as a school, a well field and parks, and 34 acres for greenbelt.
The Villages currently plans to acquire 760 acres to build 1,972 new homes—or approximately 2.6 units per acre gross, along with three community centers, a golf course, and city administrative offices.
Beliveau’s study estimates that the Villages will pay more than $13 million in impact fees and inspection fees, building permits and the like, while the city will need to add and equip an estimated nine police officers at a cost of more than $1 million the first year and $750,000 per year annually. Improvements to the city’s water system will cost more than $3.5 million.
At project buildout—which the Villages estimates will take two years—the city will more than double its property tax revenues.
Dr. Lester, a longtime local resident who built North Lake Presbyterian Church into one of the fastest-growing Presbyterian churches in the U.S. before joining The Villages in 1999, urged the audience to trust their senses when judging the proposed project.
“A lot of developers come in from out of town with artists renderings and all kinds of promises,” Lester said. “This is a different situation. We all know each other here. My kids attended Fruitland Park Elementary School. We bump into each other in grocery stores. Villagers attend many of the churches here in Fruitland Park, and a lot of Fruitland Park children attend the Villages Charter School,” he said.
“You also know what we do,” Lester said. “We’re a known quantity. You know what our neighborhoods look like. You know how we plan things, how we maintain things, you know what our neighborhoods look like. So you know what you can expect from us,” he told the group.
Moyer, who has helped to develop more than 250 communities and is widely regarded as an expert on sustainable communities, told the group First Baptist Church approached the Villages five months ago to offer the Pine Ridge Dairy site for sale. Dr. Charles L. Roesel, who headed the First Baptist Church of Leesburg for more than 30 years, is president of Pine Ridge Dairy, Inc., which owns the site.
Moyer said city residents will have several more opportunities to air any concerns that may arise.
“If we decide to proceed with our acquisition, the city will have to amend its comp plan in public meetings, alter the zoning on the property in public meetings, and adopt a development order so that we can undertake a DRI review,” Moyer said.
“If everything goes smoothly, we should complete those processes by next summer,” Moyer said. After site-specific planning, design, engineering, and platting, The Villages of Fruitland Park could break ground—and start selling new homes—about a year from now.
But the wait—even at such an accelerated pace—will be worth it, Moyer explained.
“This project will not only pay for itself in ad valorem taxes but will generate surpluses that the city can use for the betterment of the Fruitland Park community,” Moyer said.
“There will also be additional commercial development near the project that will generate additional tax revenues as well as retail opportunities for residents,” Moyer added, “and you’ll see other developers who want to build more communities nearby.”
The Villages is expected to push the button to start the project—by closing on its acquisition of the site—in about three weeks."

From The Daily Sun
 

In First section this morning;

I have been to more of those town hall meetings than I care to remember and each and every time the developer uses the same lines as I read here.

Color me skeptical but there is an uneasiness floating in the air

I attended, and my thoughts are the same as "RUBICON" and think "ANGIEFOX10" must be connected with the Villages somehow. There were residents sitting all around me, and what i heard from them were snickers and boos when Mr Moyer, gave his speech at the residents. There were many standing, who came in late that were applauding when each of the Villages officials spoke, I doubt they were Fruitland Park residents.
Then a public meeting was 1 on 1 with individual commissioners, so not all attendees were able to hear there conversations, how strange.


My gut tells me the Fruitland Park will turn down the Villages offer of big bucks

An interesting item in the Daily Commercial said that The Villages wants all the permits and approvals to be done by Sumter County, even though the entire project is in Lake County. Is there a precedent for this anywhere in the state of Florida, building in one county while another county gives the approvals?

IMO there is a reason why TV has not built one residence in Lake County since the late 1990's, and that is they don't have all the elected officials in their pocket. Hopefully, Lake County will say no to this request if this project ever gets off the ground.



http://www.dailycommercial.com/news/...e9f18ce21.html

That sounds ugly. "in their pocket". I am so tired of this disdain toward the Morse family for no good reason.

You caught me....I'm Gary's daughter!

Ummmm If you look at my post you will notice I copied the article from the paper. I made a point of going back to edit it with quotes to indicate it was just that... a quote. I didn't give my thoughts one way or the other...

Now... leave me alone, or I will tell dad on you.

I don't understand why the residents of Fruitland Park wouldn't want to reap the benefits this project would bring to their city. It is a small portion of land that will be developed that will have a huge financial impact for them.