[Northwoods]

Originally Posted by angiefox10

Most of the people in this group (except for a few) have fake names so no one knows who they are. I do not. I am open and transparent. It has been asked and answered... I am Oren Miller's wife. I am also a resident of Sumter County. I am not hiding anything.

I started this thread because of a previous thread that was started with a lie. It is about the same issues. I am OK with taking this thread down but feel the thread that says the candidates want to get rid of the entertainment should also come down as it quotes Oren's comments without full context.

Don't you agree.

Angie - I posted that other thread. I said "It appears that we COULD lose our entertainment on the squares."
Oren in two separate threads said he would vote against using hotel tax money for square entertainment. That's a fact.
You and Oren are ASSUMING The Developer will put in $120,000 to keep entertainment going. You don't know that. What if they don't?

[angiefox10]

Originally Posted by Northwoods

Angie - I posted that other thread. I said "It appears that we COULD lose our entertainment on the squares."
Oren in two separate threads said he would vote against using hotel tax money for square entertainment. That's a fact.
You and Oren are ASSUMING The Developer will put in $120,000 to keep entertainment going. You don't know that. What if they don't?

It's call "The Villages Entertainment". They have paid for it for years. Why do you think they would stop now?

In the past they have only gotten the money for Brownwood and yet the entertainment continued at Lake Sumter and Spanish Springs.

Why do you think the Developers would stop the entertainment if they didn't get $120,000?

[angiefox10]

From the comments in TOTV it appears that not a lot of you do not go to the BOCC meetings. Meetings where things are voted on 1 to 25 items without discussion and the vote is always 5 to 0. I saw a meeting go from start to finish in seven minutes. No kidding. I would like to see commissioners discuss where the money is going. Make a decision on the discussion. Listen to the residents of The County.

I watched a group of people from the Village of Duvall come into several meeting asking for a speed limit sign on ONE street. They did their homework. They had their ducks in a row. They were respectful in asking. It was one of the few times there was a bit of a discussion and the commissioners wanted to give them the ONE speed limit sign. Bradley Arnold said NO and they all fell in line and voted 5 to 0 NO!

One sign. They could show were every other major street had a sign but this major street didn't. I want a commission that one speed limit sign is not out of the question.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

All of this makes me glad that I live in Lake County. You guys in Sumter have WAY too much drama going on for an overdeveloped, otherwise-rural part of the country.

Sheesh and I thought New Haven politics was crazy.

[Mleeja]

Originally Posted by angiefox10

That someone would post there will be no more entertainment is an over reaction and I'm pretty sure promoted by the incumbents. . The money is money that goes to tourism and this is how it breaks down.

"Villages Charter School gets $106,000 The Wildwood Middle High School gets $5,000. The Blackjack gun club they belong to gets $105,000 Bushnell Fall Festival gets $9,000 Villages Entertainment gets $120,000. The Villages Softball club gets $20,000. The Southern Draft Horse Contest gets $50,000. The Villages VHA Hoedown gets $37,500."

The incumbents wanted to pick out the entertainment (easy pick) and say that entertainment would go away. Why? Do you think the developers can't afford it? I assure you they can and It's how they sell homes.

"According to Bloomberg, the family’s wealth crossed the $3 billion mark in 2018, making Mark Morse, Jennifer Parr, and Tracy Mathews all billionaires."

I have no issues with the developers making money but then why are we paying for the things they should be paying for while businesses and tourism that could use it go without?

First let me say this money in the past has ONLY gone to Brownwood. Lake Sumter and Spanish Springs has not gotten the money previously and sill, this year only Brownwood and Lake Sumter are getting the money, and yet the entertainment has gone on without it at Lake Sumter and Spanish Springs.

The entertainment is NOT going to stop because the commissioners don't give them this money.... If it does, it's on the developers because they are responsible for entertainment NOT the county. If you look at the breakdown of the money most of it goes to the developers. Even when it doesn't look like it does, if you drill down you will find that it does go to the developers or T and D.

Why is it wrong to ask the developers to pay their fair share? Why can't money be spread all over the county and not just The Villages? Isn't that what representatives are supposed to do? To represent EVERYONE or is it just one family? The Morse family does live here (although I'm told they are moving out soon)

AND I might add, I don't believe there has been entertainment at the squares for months and may not be for many months to come so there is that.

Have you ever wondered how communities build football stadiums, baseball parks, etc.? They issue bonds then payoff the bonds by enacting hotel taxes, rental car taxes, and extra sales taxes, etc. It is not the team owners financing the stadiums. The same thing is happening here on a smaller scale. The hotel tax is used for paying for the entertainment on the squares. If this is taken away, I would expect the entertain to end. At least at LSL and Brownwood.

I hope these guys lose. It seems they will be just anti-developer and do anything to “stick-it” to the Morse family. That is not what we need to grow. Let’s face it, the Morse family can walk away from The Villages anytime they want. Think about all the jobs and opportunities that would be lost.

[justjim]

Reminds me of a quote I once saw. I’m paraphrasing: The very powerful and the very naive have something in common. They don’t alter their views to fit the facts. They alter the facts to fit their views.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by Mleeja

Have you ever wondered how communities build football stadiums, baseball parks, etc.? They issue bonds then payoff the bonds by enacting hotel taxes, rental car taxes, and extra sales taxes, etc. It is not the team owners financing the stadiums. The same thing is happening here on a smaller scale. The hotel tax is used for paying for the entertainment on the squares. If this is taken away, I would expect the entertain to end. At least at LSL and Brownwood.

I hope these guys lose. It seems they will be just anti-developer and do anything to “stick-it” to the Morse family. That is not what we need to grow. Let’s face it, the Morse family can walk away from The Villages anytime they want. Think about all the jobs and opportunities that would be lost.

Maybe that's how they do it in hotel-rich communities but in the town I lived in, we only had one motel and no hotels. We had one rental car service that had maybe 5 cars available, total, one UHaul drop-off garage. And yet we managed to build a gorgeous new High School with a high-end stadium, rebuilt several public parks, and renovated the library. How? With property taxes. We paid through the nose. And got a beautiful, well-run, efficient town in return.

If we had a lot of hotels, I probably wouldn't have wanted to live there. Our town was settled, not a lot of transients, not a tourism destination. It was better that way.

[angiefox10]

I have been to meeting after meeting where the people have said "vote them out" because the commissioners wouldn't listen to the residents. The tax meetings are a good example of that. People one after the other asking to help them with the budget, explaining why they didn't have to raise the Ad Valorem Tax 25%. They looked at the people with blank stares and voted 5 to 0 for the tax increase. The only way the residents will be heard is to vote to be heard. This is the opportunity to do just that. Your choice.

The entertainment is not going away unless the Developers want it to. The entertainment has NEVER been dependent on the $120,000 from the county before and it's not now.

No one is trying to "stick it" to the Developers. These are YOUR words.

I posted the videos of the meetings. You've seen them. If this is who you want to represent you... OK. But stop with the hysteria of the music in the squares going away. They didn't go away before they got the money. The entertainment didn't go away in Lake Sumter the years before and it hasn't gone away at Spanish Springs .

[Jayhawk]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

Our town was settled, not a lot of transients, not a tourism destination. It was better that way.

Why would anyone ever move away, given that opinion?

[Aloha1]

Those of us living in the other two counties that comprise TV are very concerned that a misinformed group in the third county could do serious damage to TV's reputation and the value of our investments.

[Mleeja]

Originally Posted by angiefox10

I have been to meeting after meeting where the people have said "vote them out" because the commissioners wouldn't listen to the residents. The tax meetings are a good example of that. People one after the other asking to help them with the budget, explaining why they didn't have to raise the Ad Valorem Tax 25%. They looked at the people with blank stares and voted 5 to 0 for the tax increase. The only way the residents will be heard is to vote to be heard. This is the opportunity to do just that. Your choice.

The entertainment is not going away unless the Developers want it to. The entertainment has NEVER been dependent on the $120,000 from the county before and it's not now.

No one is trying to "stick it" to the Developers. These are YOUR words.

I posted the videos of the meetings. You've seen them. If this is who you want to represent you... OK. But stop with the hysteria of the music in the squares going away. They didn't go away before they got the money. The entertainment didn't go away in Lake Sumter the years before and it hasn't gone away at Spanish Springs .

You are suggesting to take away half of the funding and then blame The Villages if they cancel the entertainment. If that is not sticking it to the developer, I do not know what is.

[angiefox10]

Originally Posted by Mleeja

You are suggesting to take away half of the funding and then blame The Villages if they cancel the entertainment. If that is not sticking it to the developer, I do not know what is.

I'm suggesting you are over reacting and the entertainment is not going away. I am suggesting the Developers will be fine if they have to spend a little money for entertainment in the squares. I think they will be fine.

I'm suggesting there are other venues in Sumter County that could use that money. The Wildwood School only got $5,000 and the schools in South Sumter got nothing.

The Villages will be fine. The sky is not falling.

[Moderator]

This thread, like the earlier "no entertainment in the squares" thread, is here to discuss an important local issue which also has ties to a local election.

As long as the replies stay on topic, don't get partisan or nasty, and stay away from name-calling, the discussion can continue. Please be civil. Discuss the topic and not each other.

Thanks for your cooperation.

Moderator

[angiefox10]

One of the very first meetings I went to one of the commissioners made it clear that with them it was "one for all and all for one". That's exactly what we have seen over the years. No discussion.. 5 to 0 DONE!


What will be different with this election. If EMS gets voted in... It won't be one for all and all for one. Just because one feels that something will be a certain way, if the others don't agree, they will get to discuss and vote. We will start seeing 3 to 2 or 4 to 1 or maybe 5 to 0 but we will be seeing the different personalities come out and know what they are voting for and why.

[angiefox10]

The people who have started this rumor don't want EMS to win so no matter what, they won't let go of the rope. I only hope people are smart enough to see through it for what it is... .an election ploy.