[Bill14564]

Originally Posted by crash

You mean maintenance of fairly new facilities that because the houses aren’t all sold the fees are distributed over fewer number of residents.

Originally Posted by crash

The cost is shared by the people who live there less people the higher the cost. What I don’t understand is why did we take them over before the area was built out.

Originally Posted by CybrSage

The more people there are that use something, the more wear and tear it gets.
The hope is that the increased revenue from the increased number of people offsets that. When it does not due to bad inflation from the last 3 years, the fee has to go up to cover it.

From the explanation in the video and the data in the maintenance assessment documents for CDD14 and CDD15 it appears that the cost is distributed across all the platted homes whether they are built, sold, occupied, or just lines on a paper. The fee does not matter how many people are living in the CDD, the fee depends on how many homes are encompassed by the CDD.

For example, the total CDD15 fee is distributed across 3,616 homes on 639 acres. Is it even possible that all 3,616 homes are even constructed, much less occupied? Yet the fee is being assessed to those properties anyway.

The more people who move in the less of the fee comes from the Developer paying for unoccupied properties. The CDD receives the same amount whether all properties are sold or not. An individual homeowner pays the same amount whether all properties are sold or not. It is only the Developer who loses if there are vacant (or unbuilt) homes.

[maistocars]

Originally Posted by Bill14564

1. Haven't seen the article or the details about that; where do I find more info?
2. Did they donate $2M or was that their calculated share of the CDD15 fee for the unsold properties?
3. If a donation then that's really nice but just kicks the can 12 months down the road

For #3, it doesn't really kick the can down the road, assuming that way more houses will be sold to absorb the cost. It was a problem this year because of the few houses (on a % basis of total expected homes) that have been sold. I would fully expect the fees next year should be more in line with what others pay in other districts.

[SaucyJim]

Originally Posted by Topspinmo

Chicken feed. If they are donating means they got out of something?

if $2 million is chicken feed to you can I have $1 million please?

[Bill14564]

Originally Posted by maistocars

For #3, it doesn't really kick the can down the road, assuming that way more houses will be sold to absorb the cost. It was a problem this year because of the few houses (on a % basis of total expected homes) that have been sold. I would fully expect the fees next year should be more in line with what others pay in other districts.

Please read the post immediately preceding yours.

[SaucyJim]

Originally Posted by BrianL99

For whatever it's worth, I can't find anything online about the donation. I can't find it on the newspapers site, nor on the District's site.


I'm sure the apparently $2,000,000 "donation" has benefits of some sort to the Developer. That's just common sense.

If the Developer is simply interested in public relations and this is simply a token of his largesse, I don't believe it. There would be much better ways to generate goodwill, than subsidizing the budget of (2) isolated CDD's.

I'm sure most of the story will soon come to light and everyone will have a better idea what's behind it.

“The Developer” is not an individual, most likely. It a board or committee that, of course, has the sense to be mindful of public relations. This circumstance was extreme. They saw that and made a gesture to help. Based on this thread, they may have been better off doing nothing.

As far as benefits to a donor, there is no such thing as a selfless act. When I give to a charity, I get nothing in return? Not true. I get to feel good about mySELF.

[ThirdOfFive]

Originally Posted by Marathon Man

Well, it was a nice try. But the kind of hatred that we see around here will take much more than this to relieve. It could have been 20 million and the comments would be the same.

Whatever the particulars, the fact remains that this donation is available money that simply would not be there, had the developer NOT taken this action.

For the life of me, I am totally mystified by some of the negative reactions to what is essentially a very good thing. We were taught as kids that nothing is impossible in America: that hard work and dedication can reap hugely positive rewards. The financial success stories of the day were not something to disparage, but instead to admire, and the people achieving those successes were seen not as some kind of villain or just lucky in some kind of dice-roll, but instead as role-models. We could be them, if we just worked hard enough.

I have nothing against the developer: he has created a one-of-a-kind entity here in The Villages that to many is the standard for what a retirement community SHOULD be. If he continues to get richer thereby, more power to him. It is something worthy of admiration. But the negative reactions of many are, to put it bluntly, unfathomable. For my wife and myself, we intend to continuing to enjoy this world-class creation called The Villages, and not to spend any time at all consumed with jealousy or envy of the entity who created it.

[Shipping up to Boston]

Personally, i think in my short time on here that I’ve been very complementary of the Morse family. Heck, I want Wharton to bring Mark in and teach this stuff to the future business leaders of America. So forgive me for asking for specifics before I pass judgment on any of his ‘gestures’. Even his contributions to said members of the BOCC...my commentary wasn’t ‘damning’ the developer, its all legal and he has a right to support those that align with his vision. TV is unlike any other municipality in the nation....because in those ‘cities and towns’, the majority of development has been established. Here, it rolls on. So just like a municipality, I never take my eyes off of the wheel of progress. It affects all of us and the real ‘losers’ are the ones that stop paying attention and circle back at a later date....and after the fact with ‘Huh?!’

[Michael 61]

Originally Posted by ThirdOfFive

Whatever the particulars, the fact remains that this donation is available money that simply would not be there, had the developer NOT taken this action.

For the life of me, I am totally mystified by some of the negative reactions to what is essentially a very good thing. We were taught as kids that nothing is impossible in America: that hard work and dedication can reap hugely positive rewards. The financial success stories of the day were not something to disparage, but instead to admire, and the people achieving those successes were seen not as some kind of villain or just lucky in some kind of dice-roll, but instead as role-models. We could be them, if we just worked hard enough.

I have nothing against the developer: he has created a one-of-a-kind entity here in The Villages that to many is the standard for what a retirement community SHOULD be. If he continues to get richer thereby, more power to him. It is something worthy of admiration. But the negative reactions of many are, to put it bluntly, unfathomable. For my wife and myself, we intend to continuing to enjoy this world-class creation called The Villages, and not to spend any time at all consumed with jealousy or envy of the entity who created it.

You echo my sentiments exactly! I did my research before deciding to move here and spend my retirement years. The organization, rules, politics, infrastructure, philosophy of the developer, etc of The Villages come as no surprise to me, and was actually the reasons why I’d decided to move here. I actually sorta feel bad for those who were not aware of how The Villages is run prior to moving here, and are now unhappy as retirees. Not a way I would want to spend my retirement years.

[Bogie Shooter]

Originally Posted by ThirdOfFive

Whatever the particulars, the fact remains that this donation is available money that simply would not be there, had the developer NOT taken this action.

For the life of me, I am totally mystified by some of the negative reactions to what is essentially a very good thing. We were taught as kids that nothing is impossible in America: that hard work and dedication can reap hugely positive rewards. The financial success stories of the day were not something to disparage, but instead to admire, and the people achieving those successes were seen not as some kind of villain or just lucky in some kind of dice-roll, but instead as role-models. We could be them, if we just worked hard enough.

I have nothing against the developer: he has created a one-of-a-kind entity here in The Villages that to many is the standard for what a retirement community SHOULD be. If he continues to get richer thereby, more power to him. It is something worthy of admiration. But the negative reactions of many are, to put it bluntly, unfathomable. For my wife and myself, we intend to continuing to enjoy this world-class creation called The Villages, and not to spend any time at all consumed with jealousy or envy of the entity who created it.

I agree!

The list of Debbie Downers is not that long, but is a list nonetheless.
They jump on the trivial to the major topics with their direct or indirect criticism of the “Developer”. Adding their far off solutions assuming they know the background of the topic. Their commentary gets very old…………

[LeRoySmith]

Originally Posted by Michael 61

The organization, rules, politics, infrastructure, philosophy of the developer, etc of The Villages come as no surprise to me, and was actually the reasons why I’d decided to move here. I actually sorta feel bad for those who were not aware of how The Villages is run prior to moving here, and are now unhappy as retirees. Not a way I would want to spend my retirement years.

I think this response works for about 3/4 of the complaints here on ToTV. 10 years from now this place will still be nice, there will be a lot to do, there will be a bunch of old folks and prices will still be increasing.

Someone here has a tag line in their sig that says something like 'people are as happy as they make up their minds to be'. We're gonna die pretty soon, try to enjoy what's left.

[Markus]

Originally Posted by Happydaz

Without the pushback by residents of CDD’s 14/15 the developer may not have contributed the $2,000,000.

They should not have done it. Now others will want them to chip in for their rise in rates.

[Markus]

Originally Posted by Goldwingnut

I agree with you, it shouldn’t be relevant and I have been trying to figure out the logic behind this additional contribution. I had a conversation with Mr. Blocker yesterday morning about this, he compared it to the turnover of the Hogeye preserve area in CDD12 a few years ago where the increase was deferred over a 3 year period, but it’s not the same thing. I’m still trying to put the pieces together on this one and have a few more stones to turn over.

Some things are certain:
1) this is only a deferral of the increase, the developer won’t pay it again, so an increase will come again next year.
2) next year there will be an outcry over the increase and people will expect the same or greater contribution by the developer again.
3) no matter what the developer does, nothing is ever good enough for some people, as is evident by many of the posts on this thread and elsewhere.

Completely agree. I don't think they should have done this.

[Shipping up to Boston]

Originally Posted by Markus

Completely agree. I don't think they should have done this.

Yup. The dreaded ‘precedent’ argument is in the oven already for next year!

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

I don't know anything about the motives of the Developer. But it's not a deferral. The raise in fees is happening this year, and the Developer is paying an extra portion of it.

There'll be a raise in fees next year too. This gives current and potential new homeowners a year to save up for the next year's bump or to choose a different place to live in, if they're not already here. That's something they didn't have this time around.

[Pat2015]

Originally Posted by kcrazorbackfan

I guess you folks now can quit damning The Developer now that they donated $2 million of their money towards CDD’s 14/15 maintenance fees assessment increase.

What’s your next topic?

I think it was horrible optics for the developer to have increased like that on newcomers to TV thus they are kicking in for this year. It’s still a 20% increase in all the newest areas which is a big increase, and what about next year?