[jojo]

Originally Posted by collie1228

Today's web newspaper has a letter to the editor with a photo of the boardwalk in Sumter, showing disrepair and danger tape at the dock going to the pagoda. Unfortunately, seeing disrepair in a community like ours is usually the first sign that the developer has taken his eyes off the ball, and there could be more to come. I hope this isn't true, but someone "in power" should be pushing hard to avoid this kind of dereliction.

It would be good to hear from the officials about this. . Somewhere I read that they are experiencing challenges in lowering the water levels of Lake Sumter. We have experienced unprecedented rates of rain in the last two years. They cannot repair the walk as long as it's under water.

[maureenod]

Originally Posted by collie1228

Today's web newspaper has a letter to the editor with a photo of the boardwalk in Sumter, showing disrepair and danger tape at the dock going to the pagoda. Unfortunately, seeing disrepair in a community like ours is usually the first sign that the developer has taken his eyes off the ball, and there could be more to come. I hope this isn't true, but someone "in power" should be pushing hard to avoid this kind of dereliction.

Anything near any kind of water or wetlands has to undergo extensive permitting and evaluation so it doesn't disturb the ecosystem , and conservation. I know about that firsthand. Not a doubt in my mind the developer is on top of things.

[John_W]

It seems most people are concerned about density, speaking just in terms of Florida, I grew up in St. Petersburg. In the 1960's we could drive north on Hwy 19 and not see a building for 15 miles until we reached Clearwater and then there was a sign that pointed to the left and said, Clearwater Beach. Today St. Petersburg, Pinellas Park, Largo, Clearwater, Dunedin, New Port Richey, Hudson, Spring Hill is just one large mass. If I was asked this question many years ago while still living in St. Petersburg, I would of said, stop building!

Here in TV urban sprawl doesn't have the boundaries of the Gulf or Tampa Bay, homes here are on the same size lots in the Village of Chatham in the north end as they are in the Village of Fenney in the newest areas. I don't see any negative to growth, only positives in bringing more new possibilities. Yes, traffic in the winter gets to be a burden, but that is going to happen with 100K people or 200K people. I live very near the new Lowes and Aldis and yet when I drove to the Village of Fenney it was 14 miles by car. The size of this place is so huge, that you really never see the growth until you're asked.

[bbbbbb]

A person asked about coming here, what to do and other opinions. OK here are some thoughts:
1. We Cruise a lot and have met some great friends on Cruise Ships. A lot of "Cruisers" from Florida have great experiences to share on board about ALL the Senior Communities in Florida, at Lunch, Dinner etc.
2. One couple we met on a ship, got us a really great package, 3 days 2 nights at Del Webb, Orlando. Awesome, indoor swimming pool and a lot of well managed activities and areas of wide interests.
2. We met a couple who live in Harbor Hills and another couple who live in Stonecrest. We now bicycle with them at their locations, wow, no happy hours makes that very nice.
Both of those places are really well managed.
3. In the Villages, you mentioned you wanted to meet folks, so: We do volunteer a lot, some great programs. Tutors for Kids, (Frank and Carolyn), The Enrichment Programs, Camp Villages, and other Individual clubs. Check the Rec news for all of the coverage. Very well managed by Mr. Rohan, Paul Arn and several others. And Thank You Mr. Rohan for the excellent breakfast yesterday! We both like teaching, sharing skills with the Children and also with the Grandparents who want to do interesting programs or Constructive Learning with the younger set, giving back to the community. Many programs will welcome you, some are a bit set and may not, so watch for that and Good Luck.

[twoplanekid]

The locals are having similar discussions about growth taking place in and around Homer, Ak. If I didn’t live in Tv, I might want to live in Homer. I have had a great visit with friends and the weather has been super until today. The ferry to Kodiak has been delayed a day because of gale force winds in the open sea.So, another day in Homer to see more interesting things!

[Goldwingnut]

Originally Posted by collie1228

Today's web newspaper has a letter to the editor with a photo of the boardwalk in Sumter, showing disrepair and danger tape at the dock going to the pagoda. Unfortunately, seeing disrepair in a community like ours is usually the first sign that the developer has taken his eyes off the ball, and there could be more to come. I hope this isn't true, but someone "in power" should be pushing hard to avoid this kind of dereliction.

Shall we get a few facts straight on this?
1) the dock is not in disrepair, it is taped off because of the hazards caused by the high water level in Lake Sumter - slippery when wet, alligators, etc.
2) the 2 new pumps have been running nearly around the clock to get the water level down in LS but because of the rain that was experienced it is going down very very slowly. LS has no natural drainage (river, canal, etc.- welcome to Florida, this is how swamps are made here) so we either let it drain naturally or pump it. Both are happening but it still rains. Do you see the sprinklers running day and night on the golf courses? That is the water being pumped for the lakes and retention ponds trying to get the levels down. We will be wishing for rain here in about 4 months as the dry season comes upon us and the lake levels drop again.
3) the lake itself is a part of the common properties of The Villages that are maintained via the Project Wide Fund managed by the PWAC and administered by the Sumter Landing Community Development District. The "developer" doesn't own the lake and is neither responsible nor involved in the operation or maintenance of the lake. Do they care what it looks like? Who is to say, most certainly they care, for now though it is up to mother nature to give us some relief.
4) the community is not in despair and those "in power" have not taken their eye off the ball, the water level issues are being tracked very closely.

[justjim]

Originally Posted by Chatbrat

Just looked at the populations of cities in Fl, the TV's will,IMHO most likely be in the top 10,population wise, in a few years!!!

The Villages is way ahead of whatever retirement place is in second place.

[justjim]

Originally Posted by Buffalo Jim

Another excellent point . During the " busy season " we often read complaints about the grocery stores being crowded because they are ......... at certain hours .
However I learned 7 years ago when I first moved here that if I went for groceries at 7 PM I " owned " the store and seldom did I find them out of any of the specials or things that I needed .
And same thing with the restaurants . Go a bit later and you seldom have to wait and frankly the noise level is much more tolerable .
Aw gee .... now everyone will be doing so . Oh Well .......

People are creatures of habit. You go early or late to shop or eat and you find fewer people. Traffic is still very tolerable here compared to most places in Florida.

[PennBF]

The real question is not if the Villages are growing too big as we will grow based on demand. The real question is if the infrastructure to support the growth as it happens and are the people managing the infrastructure the "Right people". As an example the Wildwood/Brownwood area has grown significantly while has the Law Enforcement grown at the same pace to protect and serve the community?? The same type of concern can be applied to the roads, the community maintenance, fire support, medical needs, etc. To support the infrastructure required for these and others you MUST have qualified people. As an example to point out one area the Wildwood Police Force has not expanded at the same rate as the community growth. I am not on this service nor to I have a relationship with anyone on the force but can tell just by observation and hearing. Key to meeting the critical path of Infrastructure growth is the right people to manage it.

[Buffalo Jim]

Originally Posted by Goldwingnut

Shall we get a few facts straight on this?
1) the dock is not in disrepair, it is taped off because of the hazards caused by the high water level in Lake Sumter - slippery when wet, alligators, etc.
2) the 2 new pumps have been running nearly around the clock to get the water level down in LS but because of the rain that was experienced it is going down very very slowly. LS has no natural drainage (river, canal, etc.- welcome to Florida, this is how swamps are made here) so we either let it drain naturally or pump it. Both are happening but it still rains. Do you see the sprinklers running day and night on the golf courses? That is the water being pumped for the lakes and retention ponds trying to get the levels down. We will be wishing for rain here in about 4 months as the dry season comes upon us and the lake levels drop again.
3) the lake itself is a part of the common properties of The Villages that are maintained via the Project Wide Fund managed by the PWAC and administered by the Sumter Landing Community Development District. The "developer" doesn't own the lake and is neither responsible nor involved in the operation or maintenance of the lake. Do they care what it looks like? Who is to say, most certainly they care, for now though it is up to mother nature to give us some relief.
4) the community is not in despair and those "in power" have not taken their eye off the ball, the water level issues are being tracked very closely.

Great Post Goldwing . Thanks for taking the time to provide us with factual and useful information . Hope that you continue to do so .

[deano_hoosier]

Those of us with homes in Rio Ponderosa can attest to the Morse Blvd traffic during high season. We have to use the mail station just south of San Marino and trying to make a left turn out onto Morse after getting mail can turn into an extremely long wait for a break (if ever) in the traffic. Makes me wonder if TV could expand the Rio Grande mail station and switch our boxes over there? TV size also affects the single venue sites such as The Sharon, TDS Box Theater, and Savannah as those limited number of seats fill much quicker than in the past.

[twoplanekid]

Originally Posted by deano_hoosier

Those of us with homes in Rio Ponderosa can attest to the Morse Blvd traffic during high season. We have to use the mail station just south of San Marino and trying to make a left turn out onto Morse after getting mail can turn into an extremely long wait for a break (if ever) in the traffic. Makes me wonder if TV could expand the Rio Grande mail station and switch our boxes over there? TV size also affects the single venue sites such as The Sharon, TDS Box Theater, and Savannah as those limited number of seats fill much quicker than in the past.

All special events are filled quicker as most places in TV were built with less population in mind.

[Love2Swim]

Originally Posted by kcrazorbackfan

Really, what does it matter if TV gets bigger?

A big percentage of residents probably don't venture outside the close proximity to where they live anyway; people that live close to SS, LSL and Brownwood have a tendency to stay close to those areas.

People in Fenney, Desoto, McClure and all the other soon to be southern Villages, will eventually have the same mindset once retail businesses are built up; some will drive their carts to Brownwood but cart traffic from the southern locales will be almost non-existent in LSL and SS.

I don't care if we get 500k people here as long as the Developer keeps the infrastructure up (in the existing Villages), retail businesses, the amenities and most important, the golf courses, on the same pace as the growth of residents.

The developer will hopefully put in enough golf courses, etc. But the big issue is the traffic. Morse is a main thoroughfare and people use it to get out to 27/441 where they go to doctors, restaurants, and other stores. There are a ton more landscapers and other worker bees on the roads to support the additional population, and without question, there is more congestion every year. Its summer, and quieter now, but by October when a lot of the snowbirds come back, we will definitely notice the traffic, and will need to take extra time to get where we want to go. It will be brutal in February and March when the bulk of the snowbirds are here.

[swooner]

Originally Posted by graciegirl

There are pluses and minuses to population size.

There will be more crime, probably, and congestion, especially during high season but...

An increased population brings us the businesses we long for and will perhaps attract other perks such as more doctors to choose from, more everything to choose from.

The are already 20-50 Doctors (est.) per person here but the good news is about half of them speak English. TV got way to big at least 10 years ago.

[billethkid]

Must be a lot of folks come from small cities where there is little or no traffic.

Any good restaurant anyplace will always have waits at certain times.

And most cities that have places for events like The Sharon do not build to facilitate the population size (big or small)....some will have more than one showing....like The Sharon does on some of their presentations.

As some have posted earlier in the thread....just go for a drive to similar theatres and good restaurants in Orlando or Tampa.....and when returning to TV take note the difference.

A lot of nation wide establishments that we have here would not be here if TV had topped out in population of 10 years ago.

Most of what most of us need to access on a daily basis is usually within a short distance of where we live.

Most of our home towns have much more traffic/congestion than here. Most popular businesses or entertainment venues are busy.

There are alternative times to be out and about that are not as busy.

Just think of the opportunities we all have to rub shoulders with our fellow residents when we are out and about.

There is more good that has come with the increase in size of TV than bad. However, like most issues the things some do not like get the more visibility and commentary.

Many who talk about too big would not have been happy with what TV did not have here 10-15 years ago.