Re: Bison Valley residents using The Villages family pools
 

Bright..sandy is right you can get them each a annual pass...you know the one for the screaming kids....the only difference is that with a regular guest pass a guest can come and go as they please....where ever they want on their own.....with a annual pass...they can ONLY go somewhere if joined by the host resident...

Thank you for all of your wonderful thoughts in this post....love to you!!!

Re: Bison Valley residents using The Villages family pools
 

Is this pdf file current on regulations about guest passes here in TV? http://www.thevillages.net/login/RecreationHndbook.pdf

Re: Bison Valley residents using The Villages family pools
 

Well here you have it!!! Thanks Taltarzac!!!

Guests, children and grandchildren who reside in Lake, Sumter or Marion counties:
• If your guest resides in Lake, Sumter or Marion county, they are excluded from using The Villages Recreation
facilities, however, they may visit with you in your home and enjoy The Villages public facilities.
• If your child or grandchild resides in Lake, Sumter or Marion County, you may obtain a Guest “In Area” ID
Card for them at any of the Regional Recreational Centers. Cards are valid for one year from date of issuance.
Residents must accompany these child(ren) or grandchild(ren) to all recreational facilities.

Re: Bison Valley residents using The Villages family pools
 

To Barb1191

To get a in Area guest pass you have to be a relative and you have to be with them at all times to use any facilities.It is renewable at the end of each year

drd

Re: Bison Valley residents using The Villages family pools
 

brightspot01

you can get a in area pass for son and family, then he can use our facilities

drd

Re: Bison Valley residents using The Villages family pools
 

I also support NO year round passes! :cop:

Re: Bison Valley residents using The Villages family pools
 

Had no idea Guest Pass rules were so convoluted!!

Need to simplify the situation:

No in-area yearly passes.

No charge for passes.

Passes issued to VISITORS only (whether they be family or friends). Issued just for the length of visit.

IMPROVE MONITORING!!!!!!

The amount of passes issued in a month is staggering, as noted in Tal's reference above!!
The only way to resolve the issue is to simplify and implement with effective monitoring.

Analogy: You live in a private residence and have a pool on site. Would you issue guest and/or family passes for an open invitation to your property??? Think NOT. Well, this is our turf here in TV, we pay for it and welcome guests to our turf, however, discretely and not open house and/or continually. Visitation passes ONLY, accompanied by a resident.

Re: Bison Valley residents using The Villages family pools
 

Barb1191, you are a voice of reason and I agree with you. I would like to add the guest/family pass should be limited to the 30 days per year. This limit is what we were told when we purchased in 2005. The Villages is our home and we pay for the privilege to use the amenities. I for one do not want to hear of suggesting outsiders pay and then get to use our amenities. Hey if people want to visit their families there is nothing stopping them from visiting them at the other's home. They just want to come to our adult disneyland. Well guess what this isn't a tourist attraction but our home bought and paid for after year's of working for it.

It is getting to the point where The Villages is just another city only we're the suckers paying the bill.

Re: Bison Valley residents using The Villages family pools
 

I own a home in TV but live in NY..I spend total of 6 weeks in TV and do not rent my home. I pay for ammenities that I barely use.
I would gladly pay a yearly fee for my tri-state grandchildren (and I have them in Marion County) as I think this is fair..However when I do reside there permanently I do not plan on having my grandchildren "visiting" everyday as I do have a life!
I think it is so unfair for all these non residents to use our pools and golf courses and gof cart paths while we are paying for it all.
TV has many people like myself as well as a tremendous amount of "snow birds" who pay and pay and hardly get to use the ammenities.
We are definately in trouble here...Laura

Re: Bison Valley residents using The Villages family pools
 

Barb, I totally agree. TV clearly needs to simplify the system and improve monitoring. Sounds like it is currently very poorly controlled.


Laura, I am also a snow bird and live in The Villages for six months a year. I pay for amenities twelve months a year. I understood this when we bought and don't mind at all.

But I do believe amenities should be for the use of residents only and short-term visitors.

Re: Bison Valley residents using The Villages family pools
 

Remember what we were told when we purchased a home here ???? The Amenities Fees were to maintain the facilities here for our recreation , and visitor passes are for short term visits from family and friends and they are to be escorted...Visits can to be accumulated of up to 30 days a calendar year.......If this doesn't suit your needs then you shouldn't have bought here...
Even little screaming kids should be monitored as they disturb the surrounding homes........
NO EXCEPTIONS

End of story................ IF OUTSIDERS WANT TO PLAY HERE ,LET THEM BUY A HOUSE

Re: Bison Valley residents using The Villages family pools
 

Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A few of the most important reasons for moving to the villages for me is, or maybe was, that I would not be bothered with Screaming Kids and teenagers. After reading this string of comments, I am going to reconsider. I already have several friends in The Villages, so I should look at buying a like home for less money outside the gate and use one of the catch 22 rules to use the facilities on site for free. I would like to see the rules, bylaws etc. on these issues before buying now. I will contact my realtor for some help with this issue. And by the way, I have grandchildren that I will travel any distance to see and be around, but I will not bring them to the villages to bother folks next door. So before you bend rules, consider the many that buy in the villages because of the rules. Sorry if I have offended anyone, but thats my opinion on this issue

Re: Bison Valley residents using The Villages family pools
 

:o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o

This is really getting out of control! LEt's sit back for a minute and think about some common sense information about TV's.

EVERYONE knows that there are children visiting here on a regular basis. If you bought here because you did not want to be around kids and teenagers....well then I think you are mis informed. Children are always here. They are perhaps not living in your back yard every day...but chances are there could be some in your backyard/at a neighbors/down the street/across the road at least 30 days out of every year.

You should also be aware that there is a WHOLE school system here...where children...and teenagers....go to school! Yes here in TV's....but that just means they live nearby and their parents work here. But there are children! Some of them even live in the family villages....GASP.....they even have golf cart access!!!

You should also know that out of the 30 + pools there are here....only a small amount of them are designated as "family pools". So if you do not want children around you when at a pool.....don't go to a family pool. There are many others to choose from.

I think that this thread was started because someone was upset about Bison Valley residents who had grandparents in "TV" were able to utilize the pools and amenities...well that is true with their "annual pass" they are allowed to....but grandma or grandpa MUST be with them. They can not just go at anytime, to anywhere, they want. The resident host must be with them. Atleast you know if there are screaming kids then their is a Villager sitting there allowing it to happen! The guest host can't just be a friend or an aunt....it has to be a grandparent or parent that is the Villages Resident. There are strict rules about this! I actually saw a 14 year old girl told to leave one of the pools as she didn't have her grandparent with her!!! This happened at HH pool last winter! She came back with grandpa!

A regular guest pass....allows someone to go visit anywhere in the villages without their host with them...so families with screaming kids can go off to a family pool all by themselves and make all the noise they want with out the supervision of their resident host.


I am not sure what everyone is really getting all upset about. This has been going on for a long time. You can't just get an annual pass for anyone....it must be a certain kind of relative and you must be with them when they use it.....how many villagers do you know that even have time to spend with their grandkids or kids everyday!!! It is just a convenience for them so they do not have to order a pass every other weekend just to swim with the grandkids for a few hours!!!!

As far as outsiders coming in.......They are all over the place!!! Has anyone been to the squares on the weekends? Has anyone seen the other 55+ communities coming by golf cart into TV's.....do you think that everyone that shops at Walmart or target lives in TV's...no! there are many people that live both inside and out....that use many of the village amenities....this is not a NEW issue...

Re: Bison Valley residents using The Villages family pools
 

It sounds to this outsider that Maria is more of the voice of reason. TV has pools for adults and pools for children guests. We alternatively complain that there aren't enough people around to support the restaurants etc. and then we complain that there are too many people around.

I understand the take that it is the monthly fees that provide this but what is the alternative? No access for anyone? Only 30 days for everyone? Maybe just more monitoring to make sure the current rules are abided by. "If it isn't broke, don't fix it!"

Re: Bison Valley residents using The Villages family pools
 

Maria: The Town Squares, the movie theatres, Southern Trace Plaza, Walmart, all of the restaurants except for Katie Belles, are ALL open to the public! No-one disputes that. They are not supported by our amenities fees. They were never intended to be for use of Villagers only.

I believe this thread is about outsiders using Village amenitites for free such as pools and golf courses, which are supported by the amenities fees that Villages residents pay!

Re: Bison Valley residents using The Villages family pools
 

I totally agree with Mariab. So what if local family members get annual passes. Only those under 19 are limited to 30-day passes. Any other family member/friend who does not live in the Tri-Counties can visit as long as they want and they don't have to pay a fee every 30 days -- they get a guest pass good for the amount of their visit (1 day or 6 months). These guests are free to use the amenities without a resident in tow. Tri-County residents are truly limited in what amenities they can use, even if a family member. Those eligible to get a family member annual pass are restricted far more than other guests -- they have to have their resident host with them at all times.

People seem to be forgetting that the residents are paying for these amenities, for themselves and their guests. If you choose to have a visitor for 6 months, they will have a right to use our amenities at no cost to themselves other than the initial guest pass fee. Some of us will have few, if any, visitors. Some of us will have many. I know of one couple that have guests at least every weekend. It evens out in the long run and I believe that includes those locals who get annual passes (even the ones who do use our facilities on a daily basis).

My gripe is the fact that the rules are not well-enforced. Annual pass guests have been known to use the facilities without their resident host. People have been known to use the amenities without having their ids checked. This, to me, is where the problems occur. TV personnel should see that the rules are enforced. I think it would save a lot of grief and resentment.

Re: Bison Valley residents using The Villages family pools
 

barb1191 :agree:

keep it simple and enforce it,

visitor passes for length of stay only

Re: Bison Valley residents using The Villages family pools
 

;D Ok only because I am so emotional and because I love to have the last word.....I say....


GO RED, GO RED, GO RED

Re: Bison Valley residents using The Villages family pools
 

I think everyone is missing the point of Bison Valley and use of the amenities. The Villages has these family sections for what I would consider a specific reason. The people that live in these family sections more than likely have a work connection with The Villages whether it be a drywall contractor, the manager of the grocery store, the owner of your favorite ice cream parlor, or maybe a server at one of the restaraunts you all complain about.

I personally feel that The Villages needs more of these family sections to encourage more people to move to the area to serve you the Village residents. In exchange for these people serving your everyday needs they get to use your cart paths, pools, rec centers, etc.

After reading the post on this topic I felt as if I just read the POA Bulletin. You all have complained about poor service, and when The Villages tries to accommodate and bring in higher quality people you still complain. Get over it .

Re: Bison Valley residents using The Villages family pools
 

Nicely said green!

Re: Bison Valley residents using The Villages family pools
 

I haven't decided which way I would like to see this situation go but I'm not impressed with the argument:

"In exchange for these people serving your everyday needs they get to use your cart paths, pools, rec centers, etc."

Why not give Village employees the keys to your house too? IMHO, I wouldn't want the landscapers, painters, Drs., postman or whoever to come and swim in my pool at home but accordingly to that philosophy, if they work for me I must share everything I own and I must provide everything in which they would like to participate. Must we feed them too? If this is a wide open community, we need to tax everyone accordingly so that everyone can enjoy the features and not stick some of the people with the amenity fee bill.

And aren't these people being paid wages? What areas of the country advise us if we employ someone, we must turn over our property to them for use?

Re: Bison Valley residents using The Villages family pools
 

Developer wants to sell houses there? Let him provide their own recreation in those family villages and charge a small amenity fee (if necessary).

Skip

Re: Bison Valley residents using The Villages family pools
 

UMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM the Greenerside I don't think so, I pay my fees they don't. Cheers to you Peachie, you have come a full 360 degrees. We can make our voices heard. As I said previously Bison Valley is just the beginning. Lets see: Parkwood, all the condos being built on 466 and how about all the schools using facilities our amenities are paying to maintain and pay off the bonds while we have no control and no say.

Re: Bison Valley residents using The Villages family pools
 

:barf:

Re: Bison Valley residents using The Villages family pools
 

I don't believe employees should be allowed to use the amenities. The golf cart paths? Okay, that I can see. Our paths are open to anyone who wants to use them and can find a way to get to them regardless of where they live. I don't particularly agree with this policy and would love to see mini-gates on those that access outside areas. If you don't have a gate pass, you pay an amount to enter ($1.00? or something like that). Pretty simple solution to me.

Again, I do believe that those who live nearby and have relatives in TV should be allowed access PROVIDED they are accompanied by their relatives. Yes, some families will abuse it and use the amenities on a daily basis. Personally, though I think we'd find that the majority are pretty close to the 30-day time period (grandma and grandpa are too busy to babysit every day as a norm) or they would be if the rules would be enforced.

Re: Bison Valley residents using The Villages family pools
 

I'm with graciegirl on this one!

Re: Bison Valley residents using The Villages family pools
 

Gracie...are you barfing because we have beat this to death...or at someones specific comment? Just curious.....

Re: Bison Valley residents using The Villages family pools
 

I agree with JohnN and Barb 1191. Keep it simple and improve monitoring.

Re: Bison Valley residents using The Villages family pools
 

Kathleen, sometimes I don't think you read any of my posts. I have consistently stated we need to stay alert and when and if there is a specific issue, get involved. I have no time for persistant ranting and broad complaints which denounce the developer constantly and do not offer a solution, just a "the sky is falling" attitude. I think that's the tack most Villagers take. There is a difference!

Re: Bison Valley residents using The Villages family pools
 

Okay Peachie,

You totally misread my posts. You say stay alert, okay stay alert then what. Are you willing to go to district meetings???????????

Re: Bison Valley residents using The Villages family pools
 

Kathleen, you have the lucky priviledge or unlucky onus, however YOU look at at, to live in The Villages fulltime. We do not, we are still working. Finish reading my sentence, "if there is a specific issue, get involved." Can you please advise all of us how much change you have implemented by attending these district meetings and how you effected these changes? I have the distinct feeling, if someone does not have the same viewpoint as you do, you must take them to task. That's a waste of time. I do not know you personally but I think all of your concern is based on financial issues for yourself. I understand that and finances are important to most of us. But you're better off enjoying the moment and deal with a problem WHEN and if it arises. Wise ole Ben Franklin said, "Do not anticipate trouble, or worry about what may never happen. Keep in the sunlight". Maybe then you and I could meet someday and enjoy each others company, Kathleen.

Re: Bison Valley residents using The Villages family pools
 

The in area annual passes are (were?) intended to accommodate TV family members that live with a 50 mile radius of TV.

Family from anywhere outside the 50 mile limit can get as many 30 day passes as they can use up. So the spirit and intention of the in area pass was for family members of TV residents. And if you have family in the area it most likely makes sense.

Some home work needs to be done to put the issue into a proper context. From what I understand (3rd hand) there were less than 500 in area passes throughout 2007. That would be about seven tenths of one percent of TV population spread across all the facilities in some distribution. Hardly an inundation of the facilities or am entities.

The bigger issue is the ongoing violation of the 30 day passes that numbers in the hundreds and thousands per month by being issued to almost any and all that know the rules and back into the answers for the passes. Add to that the number of folks who know which pools and rec centers that check ID and those that don't.

IMHO, the in area annual passes are not the problem! The lack of discipline in all the other passes and walk ins are the real problem.

BTK

BTK

Re: Bison Valley residents using The Villages family pools
 

LadyKat - I guess you just go ape **** when you pay your property taxes every year as well. Not only are you paying for .25 % of the population of TV to use a swimming pool, but you are also paying for thousands of kids to go to school. Life is horrible.

Re: Bison Valley residents using The Villages family pools
 

To pay for education is an investment in our country and for the future lives of not only our children but for future generations. I gladly contribute to the education of all children and believe it is my American duty to help provide for their learning experiences. Where would all of us be without the money to help pay for education?

But, then again, if we did not support education we wouldn't have all the loud mouths, know it alls, holier than thou people here because they wouldn't be able to read and write!

By the way, I'm a teacher and very passionate about this subject, can you tell?

Re: Bison Valley residents using The Villages family pools
 

Bright my friend I do love your passion and points of view! :agree:

I also wanted to let you know where to send the check for the Burns child college fund....
;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;)
:joke:

Re: Bison Valley residents using The Villages family pools
 

Per Current guest ID Information facts/figures ----average number of in-area guest passes issued monthly---123------Active in-area guest ID cards as of July 3, 2008---1,358

Re: Bison Valley residents using The Villages family pools
 

Just wanted to let y'all know that today I struck a blow against those no good, dirty, low class, non-amenity fee paying, bottom-feeding :edit: who live in Bison Valley and threaten our lifestyle and very existence. This afternoon, with no forewarning and without seeking their permission, I drove on their cart paths and multi-modal trails. I was going to make illicit use of their amenities, maybe swim, play shuffleboard, or sit in on a bridge game, but I couldn't find any.

Be warned, Bison Valley residents, this is just the first salvo in what could become an eternal conflict. I'll be back!!!

Re: Bison Valley residents using The Villages family pools
 

Cassie aka Maria

I contribute to Boys Town in Nebraska and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

Re: Bison Valley residents using The Villages family pools
 

OH DARN!!! It was worth asking!!!

Re: Bison Valley residents using The Villages family pools
 

I do not live yet in the Villages but will be renting for a year as of this October. We are planning on looking to buy. The only thing that i don't think is fair is that if I have my Grandkids come and visit for a week or two in the Summer I would have to pay the $50 for each and the others that live near by get a year for FREE!!! That is not fair. They should have to pay the same guest pass fee that we have to pay for our grandkids to use the facilities.