[784caroline]

OK alot of concerns and I agree...but did you highlight this issue in the recent questionaire that was just sent out????

[golfnut]

my card opens all gates wihout rolling down the window, just try to pull as close to the reader as you can. Sam, when I approach a gate where the resident side is backed up and the visitor side is clear I go through the visitor side and show my card as I pull up.

[The Baker]

Originally Posted by Frangyomory

Our ladies group had a presentation by the Sumter County sheriff's department and a representative of Village Watch.

Every gate has several cameras installed. Some where you can see and some you cannot. A photo is taken of every vehicle going through. The Village Watch fellow brought many examples of the photos that had been taken on several different days and at a few different gates.

Now, I can't speak to the "manned gates" over on the other side on any of this.

When we had the rash of burglaries here in Tall Trees, they were downloading the cameras every afternoon to see if there were any suspicious persons/vehicles that came through the gates.

The cameras are only good AFTER the fact in the investigation of a crime committed.

IMHO since we have NO security even at the manned gates, we should just open them up and let go of the people who are working the manned gates and save some money. I don't know what good the cameras are since they are only useful AFTER the crime has been committed.

The made up sales pitch that we are a "gated" community is now totally known to be false so it makes no sense to have the darned gates, gate cards or employees.

Anyone who wants to get in right now can do so just by pushing the button and saying they are visiting someone or working on something. Waste of our money.

I would love to hear an opinion on why we should keep funding salaries and technology on this very useless issue.

As an ex gatekeeper I can assure you that you are correct. Some streets are county streets and you cannot stop anyone from using them so every gate on those streets are useless.

[sagtag10]

Actually, you don't have to come in through the Resident's gate...use the Visitor's Side of the gate....it's much faster. When we bought our new car, the salesman told us that putting an electric window down and up when they are wet is a no-no, so I never use my gate card anymore at the manned gates.

[islandgal]

When I moved here two years ago, I was devastated when I realized the “gated community” is false advertising.

I moved from a place where each “village” had a manned gate 24/7 and no one was permitted through the gates without an owner’s sticker on their car, a visitor with a card in their window which was called in by an owner or a contractor or service person whose company had paid an annual fee to gain entrance.

Unfortunately, with so many villages here, that seems impossible to do. I am sure the Neighborhood Watch is a help, but does anyone know why we don’t have regular police surveillance since we have county roads.............and pay taxes?

Are there any TOTVers who are Neighborhood Watchers who can fill us in?

[MnGirl]

Didn't they have pictures of the guys that murdered the lady in Springdale? It was Springdale wasn't it.
We started with a gated community, then Sumter County said they wouldn't maintain the roads unless all citizens could drive on them, I guess we didn't want to pay for any roads, so we let everyone in.

[Vic]

You could still use the gates without the guy sitting on his butt and getting paid for it. Just have push buttons and camera to take picture of whomever uses that gate. And Villagers use their cards.

[Talk Host]

Are we paying for the gate greeters? If not, we have no say in it.

[Barefoot]

Let's not dismantle the gates too quickly! Lots of residents are still under the impression that all TV is "gated" .... because of the gates!! :cop:. What we have in place is a "pretend" security system. It took us a while to figure out that anyone can easily gain entrance. My point being: Even if it isn't truly gated, if the bad guys think it is, couldn't this conceivably be a deterrent?

[krash]

Why do you want to take away the jobs from gatekeepers? Perhaps, in this economy, it is putting food on their table. These people are your neighbors... it's not as if YOU are paying their entire salary - for crying out loud, they're only making about $8 an hour at best. They are always happy to answer questions in regards to directions, and I find it quite welcoming to be waved thru by another happy villager.

I live on the edge of The Villages and I can watch a back gate into theLynnhaven/Ashland area and I am so thankful for that gate. I have seen MANY,MANY U turns because people don't think they can get in.
Often on a Sat at night...coming from the direction of Wildwood, ...yelling out windows... drunks on a county road don't come in because they don't know how the gate system works. You can see the little camera at our gate. Ours is an unmanned gate but you can see the camera.
It is just like Taltarzac said. This gate is a real deterrent to MANY people and I only wish we could have more security.