Talk of The Villages Florida

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-   The Villages, Florida, General Discussion (https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/villages-florida-general-discussion-73/)
-   -   More people are coming to use our facilities that we pay for (https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/villages-florida-general-discussion-73/more-people-coming-use-our-facilities-we-pay-357769/)

HappyTraveler 04-18-2025 10:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by golfing eagles (Post 2425421)
Below is a sign that I would like to see adapted to all our pools, courts and golf courses, clearly stating the trespassing statute. The statistics cited above are ambiguous, but if they CAUGHT 168 freeloaders in 5 months, we can assume there are many more, and even one is too many. Yes, it would cost a lot to stop them, but I would offer another solution---prosecute those caught to the fullest extent of the law and publicize it area wide. If these trespassers realize that the consequences of taking a dip in our pools significantly outweighs the benefit, the word will get around that we do not tolerate this type of behavior. If they are a minor, prosecute the responsible parents.

Every business has to weigh many factors when adopting (or choosing not to) comprehensive policies.

From marketing, publicity and general Villager experience perspectives - I get why TV manages it the way that they do. On the whole, it likely provides the greatest benefit this way....by utilizing spot checks and not creating a scene or public legal disputes.

golfing eagles 04-18-2025 10:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Altavia (Post 2425425)
Has anyone brought up the possibility of using wrist bands similar to what the resorts use?

There are problems with that idea. Would the bands be removable? They pretty much would have to be, in which case they can be lost, stolen, or lent to others. Could 6 people enter on one band? Maybe every resident should have an implantable chip that activates the gate :1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

Stu from NYC 04-18-2025 12:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by golfing eagles (Post 2425431)
There are problems with that idea. Would the bands be removable? They pretty much would have to be, in which case they can be lost, stolen, or lent to others. Could 6 people enter on one band? Maybe every resident should have an implantable chip that activates the gate :1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

Can I sign up to implant the chip? Need a new hobby

golfing eagles 04-18-2025 12:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stu from NYC (Post 2425450)
Can I sign up to implant the chip? Need a new hobby

Only within the jurisdictional borders of the Village of Stu

golfing eagles 04-18-2025 12:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HappyTraveler (Post 2425430)
Every business has to weigh many factors when adopting (or choosing not to) comprehensive policies.

From marketing, publicity and general Villager experience perspectives - I get why TV manages it the way that they do. On the whole, it likely provides the greatest benefit this way....by utilizing spot checks and not creating a scene or public legal disputes.

Disagree. TV is not a department store or restaurant. The population that needs to be catered to are the residents and those that are likely to become residents. Teenager tenants of apartment buildings on our borders don’t fit into either category

Bill14564 04-18-2025 12:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by golfing eagles (Post 2425452)
Disagree. TV is not a department store or restaurant. The population that needs to be catered to are the residents and those that are likely to become residents. Teenager tenants of apartment buildings on our borders don’t fit into either category

Pull everyone out of the pools or off the courts, line them up against the wall, and demand IDs. That will certainly find the outsiders and teenagers freeloading off the residents but at what cost? The lighter touch approach likely is an attempt to cater to the residents who want to enjoy the amenities without feeling overly policed.

The current approach clearly isn’t working for some pools or some people.

Perhaps a period of increased enforcement? Would that make sense now or in the fall when population increases again?

Technology-based solutions sound good but will be expensive.

Stu from NYC 04-18-2025 01:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by golfing eagles (Post 2425451)
Only within the jurisdictional borders of the Village of Stu

Did you not see in the very Happy paper that we have taken over the villages?

asianthree 04-18-2025 03:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by golfing eagles (Post 2425431)
There are problems with that idea. Would the bands be removable? They pretty much would have to be, in which case they can be lost, stolen, or lent to others. Could 6 people enter on one band? Maybe every resident should have an implantable chip that activates the gate :1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

Theme parks have used bands for special events for years. Each person is required to wear band at all times. Band is waterproof, can’t be removed unless cut. Once cut no longer valid, and some refuse to reissue unless a medical emergency. The longest I have had a special band was 10 days. Not a big deal. Instead of paper guest pass, a band could be printed for the same cost.

golfing eagles 04-18-2025 03:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill14564 (Post 2425459)
Pull everyone out of the pools or off the courts, line them up against the wall, and demand IDs. That will certainly find the outsiders and teenagers freeloading off the residents but at what cost? The lighter touch approach likely is an attempt to cater to the residents who want to enjoy the amenities without feeling overly policed.

The current approach clearly isn’t working for some pools or some people.

Perhaps a period of increased enforcement? Would that make sense now or in the fall when population increases again?

Technology-based solutions sound good but will be expensive.

So which is it? Villagers want to enjoy life without being over policed, or they clamor for more police, more enforcement especially on the roads. Pick one

HappyTraveler 04-18-2025 04:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by golfing eagles (Post 2425452)
The population that needs to be catered to are the residents and those that are likely to become residents.

Yes indeed, precisely the point. As well as the fact that TV is an ongoing enterprise. All of those factor in.


Quote:

So which is it? Villagers want to enjoy life without being over policed, or they clamor for more police, more enforcement especially on the roads. Pick one.
My vote is for the standard, ongoing spot checks and not being overly-policed. I think that's what most would ultimately prefer whether they realize it or not. It's much less intrusive to daily living.

Bill14564 04-18-2025 04:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by golfing eagles (Post 2425487)
So which is it? Villagers want to enjoy life without being over policed, or they clamor for more police, more enforcement especially on the roads. Pick one

I don’t disagree. In a thread some time ago I suggested giving them what they are clamoring for until they realize it really isn’t what they want.

Papa_lecki 04-18-2025 04:44 PM

Is this a solution looking for a problem?
I believe there are probably some amenities being used by non villagers. I personally don’t experience it, or if I did at a pool or a court, I may not have even known about it.
Comunity watch should have a testable number, if there are a bunch of rowdy kids at your pool, text and CW comes by.

FloridaGuy66 04-18-2025 05:25 PM

For the people that are so triggered by a fraction of 1% of people being found using our facilities even though they're likely just unregistered guests (kids, grandkids, etc), I think maybe they should take up a hobby or something instead of looking for witchhunts to join.

OrangeBlossomBaby 04-18-2025 05:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Papa_lecki (Post 2425500)
Is this a solution looking for a problem?
I believe there are probably some amenities being used by non villagers. I personally don’t experience it, or if I did at a pool or a court, I may not have even known about it.
Comunity watch should have a testable number, if there are a bunch of rowdy kids at your pool, text and CW comes by.

I drove up Paradise yesterday and saw 4 kids playing basketball, with no adult present at all. The oldest of the four might've been 16, the youngest, possibly 10.

That's a lawsuit waiting to happen. Kid gets blocked by the bigger kid or smacked in the face by the ball by mistake, falls, breaks their elbow on the court, and parents sue for medical damages.

Even if the suit gets thrown out, it would mean our community's lawyers getting involved, the rec center having to recover from the reputational damage when it hits the newspapers that we LET it happen (and yes - we absolutely LET it happen by not enforcing our ID rules).

Insurance premium for the community would go up if the parents filed a claim against it.

We shouldn't be borrowing trouble. We should be pro-active in preventing it, whenever practical and possible. There needs to be more recreational employees whose jobs it is to roam between rec centers and check IDs at spots where there isn't any employee already stationed (like pools and shuffleboard courts and archery ranges and dog parks and basketball courts).

golfing eagles 04-18-2025 05:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FloridaGuy66 (Post 2425507)
For the people that are so triggered by a fraction of 1% of people being found using our facilities even though they're likely just unregistered guests (kids, grandkids, etc), I think maybe they should take up a hobby or something instead of looking for witchhunts to join.

So, what number of trespassing freeloaders are you willing to tolerate before it's a problem? The questionable statistic right now is 168 caught in 5 months or around 400/year. I contend that if 400/year are CAUGHT, there are probably 4-5x as many, if not more. Is 2,000/year acceptable? What is the number that we should tolerate? How much should we spend to prevent it? All good questions, but "taking up another hobby" will not get them answered, any more than an ostrich avoids danger by burying its head in the sand.


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