Maybe more to it
 

You are approaching it from someone using the pool who is not a resident viewpoint. I am thinking more along the lines of letting in people with bad intent. Perhaps someone who wants to steal things out of your unattended bag. Someone who is there trolling for his next victim. For me, this is why I think security is important. Someone sneaking in for a dip is not going to be a danger to my family. Perhaps I have seen too many evil things done by bad people to view this as a simple "you can't use the pool" issue. Then again my job is to prevent the worst from happening so that may raise my level of concern.

When my daughter visits with her two young girls we usually go to a rec center, usually Odell. My daughter insists on taking the girls to the desk to have IDs checked because she thinks it's a good lesson for them about responsibility. Of course there's no desk at smaller family pools, but there could be someone stationed at the gate at random times as a deterrent.

I ask again how big is the "problem"?
 

To infer that there is stealing at the pools without any data to back it up is wrong. I would not be in favor of adding pool monitors or off duty police to insure no one steals my towel or for that matter to keep out non residents. No one has come forward to share the number of violations. If there is a problem then it can be addressed.
As another poster has said on an other thread.....what a waste of key strokes and hand wringing.

I don't really think or worry about evil much around here, but many do. I suppose it has a lot to do with your life experiences and/or where you come from. Things are more dangerous than they used to be everywhere I know but no more dangerous here than at our country club pool back in Ohio IN MY OPINION.

I don't take anything with me but a towel when I go because I walk. Most of the time I remember to take my I.D. I am absent minded, and always have been. I don't take a bag with money, (nothing to buy), with sun tan lotion, (don't use it.) Sometimes I remember to take my sunglasses. I go to the Odell pool and so far I have not seen anyone who I think doesn't live here. They annoyed me a couple of times when they checked my I.D. because I have chatted several times with the person at the desk as we go in and out of Odell frequently, and I thought that she would remember me. (silly me)

They do come out almost always when I go and usually we are in the water. Dear Daughter and I usually don't sunbathe. We live within site of the pool and use it for a quick dip a couple of times a day.

I don't think there is a problem at Odell anyway.

I think the idea of the wristband is a good one. Everyone in the pool would know you belong there. We use a beach tag at our Jersey Home Lake, and you just pin it on your bathing suit, but a wristband is even more viewable, and would put the entire problem to rest. To pay for the bands perhaps a small fee could be charged for Visitors...our community charges $2 for each extra Tag, and also for Lost Tags.

Theft is not much of a problem in TV in general. The bathrooms at the pools are used by workers (they really have nowhere else they can go) but they go straight to the bathroom and then back to their trucks. Sometimes they will eat around the pool area, but not in it.

The biggest petty theft seems to be golf clubs while golfers are enjoying the 19th hole. It is rare to hear of a purse or wallet being stolen. In fact, the exact opposite is true: it is very common to hear of someone having dropped an item with quite a bit of cash in it and it being returned to them, frequently at a good deal of inconvenience to the finder.

So, I do believe that having someone at the pool area to prevent thefts is a complete and utter waste of time and money. As I have said before, I really don't care if a "local" uses our facilities as long as they are respectful and do no harm. I do understand the issue that they don't pay for the use and we do, but it is a very small number and it is usually friends of residents who are visiting the residents. I have always felt that guest passes should be issued to these visitors and do not understand the rule prohibiting tri-county, non TV residents from using facilities with residents. But the rules say no, so that is that. The only way to prevent it is to have a monitor at the pools at all times. Otherwise, I think we TVers have to resign ourselves to the fact that locals (whether from Spruce Creek or Wildwood) are going to use the pools and we can rail, complain or whine about it all we want and it will change nothing. So, how about we quit beating a dead horse and enjoy our beautiful bubble and gracefully share when it does no harm.

We don't live in TV yet, but we will within the next 8 to 10 months. One of the reasons we chose TV is BECAUSE of the rules and restrictions that are imposed on residents and visitors. If you start to overlook one minor infraction of the rules, pretty soon, there will be two or three. Not a big deal, right? That's probably what everyone thought about the illegal aliens coming into the US years ago. It's only a few, we won't say anything. Now look at what has happened. Do you want this to happen to TV? I certainly don't. When you pay your amenity fee, you are paying for the right to use the facilities as well as your guests. Anyone using the facilities that have not paid are stealing from you. It's not much, but it's still stealing.

I don't know what the solution is, maybe the armband thing, but someone will figure a way to get around that too. I think we should do like Barney Fife said and "Nip it, Nip it in the bud".

Solution to what? You assume there is a problem.

:agree: NJBlue ... a well thought out response. It seems like an inexpensive solution.

Not a Big Problem YET
 

Why wait until this issue becomes a "big" problem? Kudos to jblum for teaching her young ones responsibility...that's part of what I have tried to say and yes, it is one solution. Another poster (getdul) got it right about the illegals....when it was just a few nobody got excited and look at it now. I can remember, I think it was last summer, how many people were complaining because too many residents were using and/or bringing their LEGAL guests into Bridgeport's pool and it was too crowded. (Bridgeport seems to be a favorite of many.) I remember reading about that one.

There was a focus group formed about guest ID's and how best to handle them. You want to know why this was done? Primarily because of the cheaters. One example: More and more who had dual residences were moving just outside TV because they didn't want the expenses associated with living here, especially having to pay the ammenity fee year-round. They continued to use TV ammenities by simply getting their Villages buddies to get them a guest card which is renewable every 30 days. Guests must present their Villages issued guest card as well as a picture ID. No problem, since their picture ID listed their out-of-area address and not their FL one.

The ID bracelet is the best idea IMHO. I would certainly be willing to pay. Before you say it, yes, someone will still be willing to cheat on that one as well. Theft of personal belongings is not a problem, but just any and everybody coming in could change that. I remember how amazed I was when we first came here a few years before moving here about people being able to leave their clubs (and anything else) in their carts without concern. Look how that has evolved, but it wasn't a "problem" then.

I tend to think the issue is minimal from my experience around the Mallory area pools. IMO, the current solution is a reasonable response to the issue. :duck:

How could we enhance this? How about some self policing. It is OUR community. If every time the pool monitor comes through 3 people hop in the pool, maybe we could slip the monitor a note....

As far as the bracelet, am I the only one that does not want to wear a bracelet? What about my tan line?:D

In addition, the bracelet offers much less security than the ID. There is no way to know you are the person who should have the bracelet/tag. The ID gives the monitor a way to verify the you are really authorized to be here.

Well stated P!

If there really isn't much of a problem then do we need to do anything?

No.

No.

And Vinny...If I remember correctly you have been here less than six months. I just sorta think that you will change your mind after a little more time. You will find like we G's have, that the only problem at the pools is that some four year olds don't aim well when they are jumping in.

Russ - 2 or 3 illegal aliens wasn't much of a problem, but do you want things to blossom into a problem?

Several folks have already answered this NO and :agree:

In my earlier post I said the issue is minimal in the Mallory area pools. To be accurate I have never seen an issue at the Mallory pools when I am there. I need to work on being more precise in my posts......

Please re-read my post. Unless we use different dictionaries I did not infer anything. I expressed concern about the possibility based on my experiences at other community pools where I have lived.

Keystrokes are never wasted as they are a renewable ininite resource . :)

Pool Security
 

I guess it would be too expensive but looks like TV could install gates similar to gates at village entries at each pool and issue ID cards with chips that would allow access to pools. :pepper2:

Wow, wasting keystrokes. How many keystroke are we allowed? :<))

You are probably right Gracie but you can see from these responses that many people think security is only to deal with existing problems rather than also to prevent things from becoming a problem. This is why many people buy burglar alarms AFTER they are robbed. I am not a big fan of waiting for a problem to develop and harm be done before instituting security. Then again, if the average person was knowledable about security it would put a lot of security professionals out of work. I deal with this mindset of nothing is a problem until the damage is done on a daily basis so I am used to it. No one wants to be inconvenienced or spend money to prevent something that has never happened before. That is why in my industry the Federal government sets the rules. If they did not we would not voluntarily protect against the possibility; only react to that which has already happened but by then it is too late.

It all comes down to the level of acceptable risk we are all willing to take. My mind is haunted by those people who were harmed due to a lack of some extra lighting, video camera or better security in place. YMMV. Hey, I have always been a big city boy do I have seen it all. I am sure that TV is safe.

I think 128. It is weird that prople will waste keystrokes to tell you that you are wasting key strokes. Let's hope that future generations of prople will still have key stokes to use during their lifetime. :)

I vote for chips to be implanted in our heads. As we pass by a gate we simply stick our heads out of the car window. In the pool, GPS positioning satellites could verify the identities of everyone in the pool. What I thought was funny about checking for people not allowed to use it by only checking those not using it has wasted a lot of keystrokes. I just saw it as a waste of money. It is a moot point as it is easy to tell the Village residents from the non residents. The residents are the ones with a smile on their faces.

It's different because if you give a "free pass" to anyone in the pool, it is more like a speed trap where the police posted a sign a mile ahead of the radar location announcing the fact that they are checking speed ahead. In the case of the pool mooch, as soon as they see any sign of enforcement, all they have to do is slip into the pool until the pass checker goes back into the building.

Just for the record - Linda and I were once asked to show our ID even when we were in the pool.

As Smokey would say, "Only you can prevent wasted keystrokes." :police:

Yep
 

BP is a prime example of that mindset. Look what it got them (and us).

Vinny, your chips in head, whizzing by the gate entrance vision made me laugh harder than I have in a while...thank you...

Vinny, your chips in head, whizzing by the gate entrance vision made me laugh harder than I have in a while...thank you...