[another Linda]

Oops! Sorry. That was my evil twin who appears to be a bit edgy today. Guess that's what happens when you are stuck in the deep freeze. I'm sure my evil twin and I will both be better when we get to TV.

[skip0358]

My daughter lives in Fulton, NY just north of you. She called this AM. Says she can't wait to come down for Christmas either. Snow, cold yuck.

[charlie49]

I have no concern with families visiting from distant places and enjoying our ammenities. What I see as a potential problem is families moving into the developments surrounding the Villages and getting guest passes for long periods of time. My wife was golfing with snowbirds who were renting outside the Villages and had relatives in the Villages who got them guest passes for the winter. It is difficult to tell if this is a problem; if your tee time request is rejected you do not really know if long term guests had anything to do with your not getting a tee time.

Charlie

[Bogie Shooter]

Originally Posted by charlie49

I have no concern with families visiting from distant places and enjoying our ammenities. What I see as a potential problem is families moving into the developments surrounding the Villages and getting guest passes for long periods of time. My wife was golfing with snowbirds who were renting outside the Villages and had relatives in the Villages who got them guest passes for the winter. It is difficult to tell if this is a problem; if your tee time request is rejected you do not really know if long term guests had anything to do with your not getting a tee time.

Charlie

We want names and addresses.

[tpop1]

Originally Posted by charlie49

What I see as a potential problem is families moving into the developments surrounding the Villages and getting guest passes for long periods of time.

Abuses can only occur if someone is not doing their job (see Requirements below) by stopping 30 day renewals where not warrented as your example above and if residents allow it to happen.

From the Village Community Development Districts Guest ID Card Program Policy at the following address: https://gcs.thevillages.com/policy2.

Eligibility Requirements:
A resident with a valid Resident ID card can make application for a Guest ID card. A qualified guest is defined as an individual whose current residence is outside Lake, Marion and Sumter counties. A resident who has a son, daughter, grandchild or great grandchild (and their spouses) who reside in Lake, Marion or Sumter counties may apply for an In-Area Guest ID card.

Issuance:
Approved Guest ID cards for a guest(s) whose current residence is outside Lake, Marion and Sumter counties may be issued for up to thirty (30) days with an option to renew. The In-Area Guest ID card for qualified family members is valid for one (1) year from date of issuance

[dillywho]

Originally Posted by charlie49

I have no concern with families visiting from distant places and enjoying our ammenities. What I see as a potential problem is families moving into the developments surrounding the Villages and getting guest passes for long periods of time. My wife was golfing with snowbirds who were renting outside the Villages and had relatives in the Villages who got them guest passes for the winter. It is difficult to tell if this is a problem; if your tee time request is rejected you do not really know if long term guests had anything to do with your not getting a tee time.

Charlie

This is exactly the type situation that prompted the formation of the focus group that proposed making some changes. The changes proposed did not target legitimate guest IDs, only system abuses like these. The snowbirds renting outside TV are not the problem; the residents getting them the passes are. If they are renting for the winter, they are technically residing in FL temporarily and not eligible guests if they are within the tri-county area. The other poster is right...get names and then call and report it.

[ceejay]

to have to get 11 guest passes to bring down my entire family!

To all that have family visiting for the holidays: Enjoy your visit and each other and know that many in TV are truly happy that you will be together!

(just my son who just got back from Iraq and if anyone says anything to him you'll have to deal with an angry mother bear!!!

And if you need backup angry mother bear...I'll be right behind you!

[rshoffer]

Originally Posted by dillywho

What may seem like crabby seniors to some, are simply people trying to protect their investment. Sometimes, perhaps they don't completely think through a question before voicing it. Just because they get 12 or so ID's doesn't mean that they will use them. It is just better to have them and not use them than to need them and not be able to get them because of site issuance closures. I sometimes get them when my sons come in and end up not going to any of the facilities. If everyone here had 12-20 guests on an ongoing basis, then yes, there would be a problem. Some families are not able to get together every year, even for Christmas and when they can, they want to share all they can with them. I think we can all live with that. After all, isn't that part of what Christmas is about....sharing. Until something becomes a real and ongoing issue, let's cut folks a little slack. I sure don't want something here that I can't share with my family (no, ours don't all come at once and probably never will and I do get to see most of them fairly often, some more than others). They would all wonder why we chose to live in such a "crabby" atmosphere if we couldn't enjoy things with them. Most of us are proud of what we have here and love to show it off to others.

Of course another way to look at it is your "investment" may lose value if The Villages develops a reputation that, once you move here, your family has severe limitations on visiting you.

[another Linda]

Originally Posted by ceejay

to have to get 11 guest passes to bring down my entire family!

To all that have family visiting for the holidays: Enjoy your visit and each other and know that many in TV are truly happy that you will be together!

(just my son who just got back from Iraq and if anyone says anything to him you'll have to deal with an angry mother bear!!!

And if you need backup angry mother bear...I'll be right behind you!

Thanks, ceejay. My angry momma bear was a bit premature. I do feel very lucky that we will all get to enjoy our Christmas together. And, when it's over, we will all probably be glad to leave the chaos behind until the next time we all get together. Funny how we keep coming back for more.

[captain1202]

"Approved Guest ID cards for a guest(s) whose current residence is outside Lake, Marion and Sumter counties may be issued for up to thirty (30) days with an option to renew. The In-Area Guest ID card for qualified family members is valid for one (1) year from date of issuance"

It's the one year local passes that get me. I'm sorry, I don't think this should be allowed. 30 days yes, 1 year, no. As TV gets BIGGER it's going to be a problem.

[downeaster]

Originally Posted by rshoffer

Of course another way to look at it is your "investment" may lose value if The Villages develops a reputation that, once you move here, your family has severe limitations on visiting you.

I don't consider the regulations severe. The abuses became severe. An employee told me about a lady resident running a child care operation out of her home. She would take the kids to a pool and claim them as her grandchildren.
There have been cases of outsiders bringing their kids in and when a pool monitor would show up the adult would slip into the pool to avoid bring "carded".
I have seen this type of situation get out of hand in HOA controlled sub divisions and it gets ugly. Thank goodness our CDD is getting a handle on this.
BTW, we have eight family members coming from all over the US. Went on line and applied for passes, picked them up with no problem. The people at the Savannah office were great.

[dillywho]

Once again, it's about the cheats and not those who abide by the rules.

[downeaster]

Originally Posted by dillywho

Once again, it's about the cheats and not those who abide by the rules.

Absolutely!
The cheaters will continue to cheat until "leaks" in the system are fixed. They are trying to fix those "leaks". Unfortunately, the more the cheats find a way to cheat the more some who are now abiding by the rules will follow suit.
They have gone a long way towards making the golf tee time system fool proof. I am not now nor never have been a pool user. However, I heartily support the efforts towards doing the same for the pools and other amenities.
As I have stated before, if this goes unchecked it can get ugly.