Can anyone tell me the last time that a hurricane had serious widespread damage to The Villages or the surrounding area?

So why not be extra extra cautious and close everything as soon as a tropical depression, that could turn into a hurricane that could hit Florida occurs. Or better yet, since this is hurricane season, why not just close everything beginning in mid August until the snowbirds all come back.

Again, the question is how cautious have they been and how cautious should they be. No one is saying that facilities shouldn't be closed at some point, but we all moved here because of the lifestyle. We pay for these facilities and should be able to use them as much as possible. No one has had major impact on their lives by closing them but that is not the question. The question is were they closed to early and I believe that they were.

The only thing gained by closing a pool and rec center is that The Villages didn't have to pay employees for those days. Someone mentioned giving the employees time off to prepare for the storm. Has anyone considered that some of these employee might need the extra five days pay that they're going to lose?

And how long does it take to prepare for these things anyway. We should all be 80% prepared anyway. Pull the lawn furniture inside. That's got to take whole hour. Fill the cars with gas. Another hour. What else does anyone do?

Hurricane
 

NO! You can’t fool or 2nd guess Mother Nature. Being thru many hurricanes (SC & FL) you prepare for the worst and hope for the best. What a true blessing if this monster ends up never making landfall

It's all good, they made the correct moves to protect the facilities, they can start to re open on Tuesday, enjoy some calming time and rest.

Hats off to The Villages management for making the right move early on! :BigApplause:

Since none of the weather experts know, or still don't know the exact direction the storm will take then TV did the right thing. On Thursday one report said the "storm could hit anywhere between Key West and Jacksonville".

I've been thinking about this too. Preparing for the storm, basically all we plan to do is bring in the lanai furniture and our two potted plants. That should take about 20 minutes tops.

Time and money spent purchasing bottled water is really not necessary. We all have perfectly good tap water that we can stock pile before the storm. I would imagine most everyone has empty receptacles to put tap water in to. Fill the tub with water to use for flushing toilets.

We don't plan to board up windows. Should we? We don't have hurricane shutters on our home. How many people in TV do? The Villages doesn't board up windows on rec centers and such so I would imagine it really isn't necessary.

We gassed up the car already so that was done a few days ago when everyone else was at the gas stations. I know now we could have waited to do that and that took about 20 minutes. Gas lines during Andrew were MUCH worse and folks were running out gas in their cars as they waited in line. Their cars had to be pushed to the pumps.

We always have plenty of batteries so no need there to spend any time trying to find batteries on empty store shelves.

Total hurricane preparation for us is less than an hour. Is there something we should be doing that I haven't mentioned?

Our home was 60 miles from the eye of Andrew when it came ashore in south Florida. Our community suffered downed palm fronds and that was all. Hope that is all we have here as a worse case scenario.

Who cares when they pulled the trigger? If it wasn't done soon enough you'd hear they should of done it sooner, now it being said they did it too early. It's over and done err on the side of caution period. So you couldn't play golf or swim or use the rec center big deal. Oh you pay a fee to use this stuff so what, Guess you never go on vacation or leave the villages or get sick. What about those who never golf, play tennis or pickleball. They still pay for it. You had plenty of time to get ready just in case the Stuff hit the fan and I'll bet if the storm changes course again and heads for us there will be another panic shopping at the supermarkets. Chill and be thankful we don't look like the Abaco Island area. JMO now you can bash my comment.

Closed way to quickly. Everything closed for a week is ridiculous.

The Villages has little to fear from a hurricane due to are large distance from either coast. Tornadoes are a danger to us, but not hurricanes.

This is pretty ridiculous.

First off, TV has a resposibility to get the work done and the workers out of harms way before the storm hits. Not everything in life is about money.

Second, if staff did not make decisions erring on the side of caution, many of the same people complaining about early closures would be criticizing their lack of judgment.

They have a thankless job. How about giving them a break.

The rec centers will only be closed for 3 days (sun, mon, tues). I would guess that it simply isn't worth the effort to reverse course and reopen any earlier and shutting down starting Sunday was the prudent thing to do considering the forecast when they made the announcement. There is obviously some planning that took place and employees have probably made plans based on the announced 3 day closure. They clearly pulled the trigger based on the best available information and will see their plans through and you really can't fault the management for this.

The announcement to keep the executive courses closed through Friday is a good one. We may see up to 5 inches of rain and keeping people off the courses is a good idea.

And what are you missing?

Agree. Also- this is Labor Day weekend. Getting things taken care of before people have a long weekend off work was the way to go. We didn't know on Friday what we know now. Not everyone who works here lives here. And even if they do-employees had properties of their own to think about. I think it was a thoughtful and courteous decision for them. But- if you want to know for sure, call Customer Service. They'll direct your questions.

Closures
 

Fail to plan is a plan to fail

So a few people have lost a couple of extra days of amenities that they "paid for" (plus of course, ALL those other things that are part of those amenity fees...that are unaffected)...yet you admit it hasn't had a major impact on anyone.

What it really boils down to then, is the fact that none of the complainers have a clue as to the logistics/planning/contingencies needed to make those changes, much less the same to reverse them...and then implement a couple of days later instead. :ohdear:

Having made a career of planning large projects, with a plethora of moving parts, I can tell you...that it doesn't work nearly as easy as you wish it did.

TV made the decision based on the best info they had at the time and now that the projection has changed...the 'experts' come out and play Monday morning quarterback. :oops:

You'll live with missing a couple of days of free executive golf...so chill. :ho:

Absolutely not.... I think they do a great job and as a person who is watching the ongoing’s from New York State it gives me great comfort knowing they’re doing the best they can in preparing for the worst scenario.

Based on...…………?

Sorry to have stuff cancelled but good to be safe and lucky dogs to miss the action

Winds can topple trees, and it doesn’t have to be a very strong wind...trees falling have been known to destroy homes, injure and even kill people, the upper right quadrant of a hurricane is where tornado formation can take place. Any hurricane going up the state may not be a CAT 4 or 5, but it could be rain maker and flooding is not beyond the realm of possibility. Winds can cause objects to become fast moving projectiles. It’s probably better to never make any statement about since it’s never happened, why should it happen now. Mother Nature has a mind of her own and sometimes she can be nasty.

Getting ready might be easy for many, but there are some individuals living in our community who are less able to prepare in a short time. While many might always have plenty of food available to carry them over for an extended period, not all do or can do. Some older individuals might not totally comprehend potential or impending danger.

What does this have to do with the topic...did TV act too soon? They didn’t. Workers may need to help their family, neighbors, friends prepare. It is NOT the fault of TV that this particular storm is being so slow in its trek.

Ohiobuckeye
 

Pulling the trigger to fast. I think we should think pulling the trigger a little fast is a little better than to late. Could you wonder if they would of said nothing or just a day in advance. There would of been a lot of upset people.

Yes! They could have waited until later like other companies/stores have done, but then again they wouldn't have had a 5 day vacation. Now we know we are not having any issue and everything is closed.

And what is it you are implying?

The Federal Government gives their employees notice late the night before as to whether they are to come in to work the next day or not in situations like this.

Same way with schools. I remember my senior year at St. Petersburg High in '68 we got a day off for a hurricane. It was probably the nicest day of the year, those with cars went to the beach.

Totally agree. Begin to open things now.

What would have come of us if the people who removed Garbage Cans, Benches, Signs, Gates and did all the things we don't even realize that need to be done didn't show up for work because the Brains of the Operation Waited Until It Was to LATE?

What if the staff didn't show up for a Vast Variety of reasons and Risk Their Hide for $8 to $9 big ones an hour. Maybe some of them bailed out already.

Count me as Totaly in for those who made an Unquestionably Fine and Prudent Decision to act when they did instead of waiting One Minute longer than they did. Bravo. To those that question their judgment, I'm speechless and only because of the rules of our Forum. Best of luck to all and to all the people who keep us safe during the storm and Thank You.

:icon_wink: I have emailed the District Government. I gave them your name and the the name of several others who want to be in charge and make the important calls in the future when the well being of residents may be on the line. I am sure this will take a large load of responsibility off their shoulders and make them happy. Thank you for volunteering. :coolsmiley: And thanks for your expertise...... I had no idea safeguarding a development of over 65,000 homes and related infrastructure is no different than closing a store. :undecided:

Don’t you even listen to the weather experts?? We “know” for 100% certain absolutely nothing as of right now. That speaks to the total absurdity of your post.

Did not jump the gun, think of how many rec centers, pools, etc that need to be prepared by putting in outdoor furniture and outside rec items. also remember that those who work those places also have their own and family homes they need to secure.....it all takes time. Storms are unpredictable and I would rather have them prepared early rather than risking their lives at the last minute. Thank goodness we have people who care about all of us.

Some people will go out of their way to find things to complain about. :ohdear:

I was addressing the response that some people had saying that closing the amenities gave the employees time to get their homes prepared. This hurricane was predicted to impact our area on Monday or Tuesday. Now they're saying Wednesday. It has been one of the slowest moving storms in history to those predictions were pretty accurate.

I have friends who had all of their outside stuff pulled in last Thursday. That's pretty ridiculous IMHO. Again, how long does it take to prepare your house? If it takes days, you're not preparing properly to begin with.

Yes, closing up the rec centers and pools takes a bit longer but 4-5 days? I would think that if they kept them open until they had a better idea of what was going to happen, closing them down could be accomplished in a day. They might even ask employees who were off to come in and assist with the closing up operation since they are going to miss out on several days pay.

Regarding all the previous comments, I am reminded of the wisdom of the old adages, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure". and also, "Better safe than sorry."

We are NOT out of the woods yet.

Yup, and if I lived on an island out in the middle of the ocean or near the east coast of Florida, I'd be very concerned. In fact, I'd probably have evacuated to someplace inland like The Villages by now.

I'll ask again. When was the last time the area of The Villages had serious widespread damage from a hurricane? I haven't been able to find an answer.

I know tornadoes hit in 2007 but that's not a hurricane.

We had the eye of Irma go directly over us in 2017 and it was not a big deal. We lost power in my area for about three days, but had no damage to the house and never lost water. Several manufactured homes had some damage, but it was mostly to carports and lanais. We also had a few roads that were impassable for a few days, but again, nothing that impacted most of us all that much.

Irma was a CAT 5 and the largest storm ever to make landfall in Florida. As it progressed up the middle of the state however it weakened and was a CAT 3 (I think) when it got here.

Here is what happened in Florida a few days in advance of Irma.
"An estimated 6.5 million Floridians were ordered to evacuate, mostly those living on barrier islands or in coastal areas; in mobile or sub-standard homes; and in low-lying or flood prone areas."

The question really is how much times does it take. All of those rec centers have staff. I can't imagine it taking more than a day to put away all of the outdoor furniture and other items. And like I said, many of the employees are going to miss several days pay. I'm sure that many of them would have been willing to come in and assist with whatever had to be done.

Your opinion is noted, but unless you work, run, manage any of the areas closed, your opinion is only noted and useless. I work for, Manage, one of the closed areas. Our employees were grateful and relieved for the quick action. Work was one less thing to worry about. Some staff left the area, their choice, but it gave them the ability to leave in a timely fashion. You are correct that this is a slow moving storm, BUT what if it speeds up and turns west?

Again we can live without a few days of Rec Centers, golf pools etc. But I know my staff has the peace of mind that they have time to make their personal choices.

Kudos to you, your staff, and district management for taking quick, decisive action. Over time, we realize some posters are experts on just about everything: golf course operations, golf course turf management: facility operation and management, and now hurricane preparedness. I wonder why we pay people when there is so much free expert advice available.

I think that even if the storm was on the original schedule to hit the Villages on Tuesday, they could have waited at least one more day to start preparations. It would still have given all employees time to prepare their offices, rec centers, pools, other amenities, with plenty left over to attend to their personal property and family plans to evacuate if that's what they chose.

Having said that, a day isn't going to make or break the Villages. If you're inconvenienced by "over-cautious" planning, I can't imagine the tirade you'd go into, if the storm hits and the Villages can't be back up and running for another three weeks (or longer). Remember all those stores where you buy milk, they have employees too and they will be doing whatever it is THEY do when a hurricane hits. So you might not be getting more cigarettes, or milk, or lottery cards, or bread, or ground chuck, or Wendy's burgers, for a long time if this hurricane happens to interrupt the power supply longer than a couple of days.

Relax. You're retired. What's the rush? You can play golf next week. You don't have to play it this week.

or does that only apply when it's someone other than you with a concern?

51 years ago, I wonder if their policy has changed?

:boom::boom::boom: