[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by Ginasewell

The Villages is not a true gated community, therefore, problem will never be resolved.

No it is not a true gated community. It is a community with gates, primarily to protect the golf carts crossing and there is nothing wrong with that. I think this is an issue at times of the year like now, when we are deluged with visitors visiting us Villagers....and sometimes I see the teens throw trash out of the golf cart and driving the golf carts unsafely and probably are the ones in the pools that people are wondering about.

We hear about this problem right around Easter every year and at Thanksgiving too. Outlanders don't like us and you read that on social media and some villagers don't like outlanders. Me? I'm worried about the rise of crime that is quickly getting closer to The Villages and I have noticed that mostly in the last four years.

[Joe C.]

Originally Posted by GpaVader

While I don't want uninvited guests using our facilities, I really wish we could revisit this 3 county rule as it applies to things like clubs. I run a club and have a lot of people that would like to attend but can't because they don't have a Villages ID or guest pass. These are people that have something to contribute to the club and the community, not take anything away from other Villagers.

Is it possible to strike a balance on this? A Non Villager can play golf at the Championship courses....

Is it possible to strike a balance???? SURE ...just charge them the monthly assessment fee. Or you could take your club outside of the Villages and have your meetings there.

[Danube]

Originally Posted by jimkerr

We already have Park & Recreation as well as Community watch employees that should be doing this but they don't. There is no need to hire even more people. Even if they did check, people know all they have to do at a pool is jump in and they don't check ID's.

I called Community Watch about a vagrant using a restroom next to the Paradise postal facility as a changing room/shower. (not the first time- same guy) He had brought his bike & junk inside.

Community Watch said there was nothing they could do and would not come out.

I know he was in the bathroom for over an hour because I stopped by when going to & from the store. You could hear him "grunting" and talking to himself from outside.

[El Lobo]

What's all the uproar about nonresidents using Villages amenities when the uproar should be about why aren't the rules being enforced by the recreation department.
I posted this on a local next-door platform and got 15.2k views with some excellent ideas.
Home watch to check ID at the pools
Locking system on pool gates
Magnetic ID bracelets
One person turnstile with card swipe
Hire more rec center ambassadors
Need authority to enforce.
The overall theme was that the rec department is not doing enough to keep nonresidents from using our amenities.
It seems like a lot of infractions but with a total of 150,000 residents is pressure on the rec department needed for more enforcement and if so, what can we do about it to bring this to the attention to the rec department!!!!!

[HORNET]

If Community Watch would just get out of their vehicle. And if they are in the poll, make them get out and show their ID.

[Jeremy#1]

Met a gentleman on shuttle to airport this past Monday that was a Village resident and now lives in Stone Crest. Enjoys taking his golf cart thru to TV because still has a gate card. Really?!?!?! Why wasn’t that deleted when he left?

[Bill14564]

Originally Posted by Jeremy#1

Met a gentleman on shuttle to airport this past Monday that was a Village resident and now lives in Stone Crest. Enjoys taking his golf cart thru to TV because still has a gate card. Really?!?!?! Why wasn’t that deleted when he left?

… or disabled. Or not included in the recent database scrub. Good question.

One possible answer: the card is a clone of a current resident’s. Probably less likely but possible.

[swimdawg]

I was on Facebook when an advertisement popped up for the new retirement community, Cresswind at Hammock Oaks (near Rolling Acres). The ad shows photos of The Villages, (“WELCOME TO THE VILLAGES” BIG SIGN), The Polo Field, downtown Spanish Springs, The Square at LSL, etc. The thing that upset me the most was that they showed a photo of Eisenhower Rec Center and photos of the main room at Eisenhower which made it appear like it’s open to Hammock Oaks residents! I have gone to the pool every day for years and never been checked for ID. I heard sun bathers jump into the pool when they come to check ID.

[tophcfa]

Originally Posted by Bill14564

Or, in the regionals, typing in guest-pass information for those who didn't do that online?.

That shouldn’t be allowed. I had to wait for 20 minutes to pick up guest ID’s I ordered online because someone was too lazy to order their guests ID’s before going to the Rec center.

[Nana2Teddy]

Originally Posted by asianthree

I guess we are one of the few that has an employee on site everyday, at all the courts, pool, shuffle board and beach facilities open to close. As soon as you park they are right there asking for ID before you exit your cart or car. Many of us are everyday players, that employees wave as they drive in. Maybe it’s a south of 44 perk

Fenney family pool is monitored too. I think it depends on the location and type of pool. Our DeLuna pool isn’t monitored, but it’s been taken over by a rowdy group of DeLuna residents, so we don’t even go to it unless it’s 5pm or later after they’ve cleared out. We’ve used the Richmond adult pool and have never seen anyone checking IDs, so you must be talking about the Clarendon pool and recreation courts.

[Nana2Teddy]

Originally Posted by Arlington2

That is likely the excuse TV uses to avoid taking action. The infrastructure change needed would take extra bucks (like renovating golf courses), but in the long run reduced personnel needs would reduce cost. I suggest interviewing communities that successfully use the approach to see how they control interlopers rather then continue to take the stick your head in the sand approach to ignore. The longer TV waits the more difficult is will be to make change. Maybe already too late?

At 115+ pools and counting, I think that ship has sailed.

[Nana2Teddy]

Originally Posted by Bill14564

Pools open at 7:30 and close at dusk which is usually defined as 30mins after sunset
Sunset in Orlando ranges from 5:30 in the winter to 8:30 in the summer

If we take an average of 7PM sunset plus 30 minutes to reach dusk that means a pool is open an average of 12 hours per day.

12 hours/day * $13/hour * 90 pools = $14,000/day or $5M/year

If the day is split into two shifts to avoid overtime considerations that would require a minimum of 180 additional employees.

But they would have to work seven days per week which is unreasonable. If we break the week into two parts with one employee working four days and the other working three that means 360 additional employees.

I'm not sure where Florida part-time/full-time rules kick in requiring benefits so maybe we will need three employees per position per week to keep the number of hours down for a total of 540 additional employees.

So an on-site ID checker for all but the sports pools would seem to require an additional $5M per year and 540 employees. The current VCCDD and SLCDD budgets anticipate $130M from amenity fees this year so coming up with an additional $5M/year would require an ADDITIONAL increase of 4%. Coming up with an additional 540 employees might be a bit more difficult.

The villages has at least 115 pools now, likely more, and several under construction.

[Nana2Teddy]

Originally Posted by Bill14564

It may be true that at some rec centers they are better about checking than others but I can say that I have been checked at every event for the seven clubs I am part of which have been held at six or seven different rec centers.

I have also seen employees check IDs about 50% of the times I've been at the pools. (Could be the particular pool, could be I'm just unlucky)

Some outsiders have learned how to game the system at the pools. If a rec center employee appears at a pool the outsider just hops into the pool quickly. No one is ever asked to get out of the pool to show their IDs. We’ve seen it a couple of times at family pools.

[Nana2Teddy]

Originally Posted by El Lobo

What's all the uproar about nonresidents using Villages amenities when the uproar should be about why aren't the rules being enforced by the recreation department.
I posted this on a local next-door platform and got 15.2k views with some excellent ideas.
Home watch to check ID at the pools
Locking system on pool gates
Magnetic ID bracelets
One person turnstile with card swipe
Hire more rec center ambassadors
Need authority to enforce.
The overall theme was that the rec department is not doing enough to keep nonresidents from using our amenities.
It seems like a lot of infractions but with a total of 150,000 residents is pressure on the rec department needed for more enforcement and if so, what can we do about it to bring this to the attention to the rec department!!!!!

The problem is there are villagers who make clones of their white gate cards, and would likely start cloning the magnetic bracelet to sell to non-villagers.

[ElDiabloJoe]

Originally Posted by Danube

I called Community Watch about a vagrant using a restroom next to the Paradise postal facility as a changing room/shower. (not the first time- same guy) He had brought his bike & junk inside.

Community Watch said there was nothing they could do and would not come out.

I know he was in the bathroom for over an hour because I stopped by when going to & from the store. You could hear him "grunting" and talking to himself from outside.

I bet cash money the homeless guy locking himself in the bathroom for over an hour is actually in there curled up on the floor after shooting himself up with heroin.