[jflynn1]

My question:
Does anyone know who pays the additional expenses asociated with the the vists of Glen Beck, S. Palin, and other idivisuals who might be promoting their books or special agendas. These expenses would lncude, Special event staff, traffic control, security, clean up after the event, construction of special effects etc?

[jblum8156]

I'm assuming the Republican party pays, but I could be wrong.

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by jblum8156

I'm assuming the Republican party pays, but I could be wrong.

Another assumption would be the Publisher. Follow the money. They are selling books.

[BobKat1]

Late this past summer, Oprah had a big event which closed part of Michigan Ave. in downtown Chicago for a few hours during the day! I guess her company paid for the extra security and traffic control.

graciegirl might be on to something with the Beck thing.

[BarryB]

Originally Posted by jblum8156

I'm assuming the Republican party pays, but I could be wrong.

Beck is not a Republican and Palin no longer holds a political office

[Talk Host]

Originally Posted by jflynn1

My question:
Does anyone know who pays the additional expenses asociated with the the vists of Glen Beck, S. Palin, and other idivisuals who might be promoting their books or special agendas. These expenses would lncude, Special event staff, traffic control, security, clean up after the event, construction of special effects etc?

If I had to guess, I would guess that the developer pays. It is in their best interest to host highly visible conservative celebrities.

[RVRoadie]

I suspect that this is no different than any other event held at the squares. Any time an event brings a large number of people into the squares it generates a lot of economic activity for the square merchants. This is about economics, not ideology.

[rshoffer]

Originally Posted by Talk Host

If I had to guess, I would guess that the developer pays. It is in their best interest to host highly visible conservative celebrities.

I agree--->Steve Doucy (sp?) was singing The Villages jingle this am on Fox and Friends when talking about Becks visit. Now how's that for some "free" advertising?

[mrdills]

I think its part of the Villages and part to Glenn Beck. I know its good for the merchants but I also know they have to pay for the bands in the squares at night also.

[Irish Rover]

The publisher pays. However, I 'm sure Obama has kicked in just to be sure we get both sides of the story.

[jflynn1]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Jflynn1
To: richl17@embarqmail.com
CC: mpsierota@comcast.net
Sent: 11/21/2009 8:08:48 A.M. Eastern Standard Time
Subj: Re: Who Pays ?


Thanks for the information. Based on what you have told me it is not a Barnes & Noble event nor a Villages event as it has been advertised but strictly an event for the developer. In that case shouldn't that be the way it is promoted.

Thanks

Joe Flynn


In a message dated 11/20/2009 4:29:37 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, richl17@embarqmail.com writes:
Mr. Flynn,

I didn't think I would be able to get enough info for you on a Friday afternoon, but I was able to get to John Rohan who had the information.

The events you are talking about are typically coordinated by the developer (tomorrow’s Glenn Beck event for example). Whatever District employees are needed to support the event will be billed to the developer. The Sumter County Sheriff’s office will handle traffic control, crowd control and security. If Community Watch is needed, their time will be billed to the developer. The event sponsor, in this case the developer, is responsible for setup, take down and clean-up.

Net, if there is any district expense associated with the event, it will be billed to the sponsor – in this case the developer.

Hope this answers your questions.

Rich Lambrecht

Thank you for the quick response. I did receive a response form the Villages that disturbs me a great deal.
Based on their response it appears that the developer is using The Villages to promote His or her agenda. I do not think this is what the villages was all about and that is probably one of the reasons that the IRS is all over them. The Tax free bonds used to construct the area that the developer is now using to promote a political agenda surely was not the designed use of tax free bonds nor the purpose of the development of CDD districts in the state of Florida.

[villages07]

Just for clarification....

The IRS issue on tax free bonds ONLY deals with the amenities.... golf courses, rec centers, pools. It has nothing to do with the town squares. The town squares are private property owned by the developer and were not funded with bonds.

I think the answer you received was informative. Whoever sponsors the event (in this case the developer) pays for the expenses, even if/when it is using CDD resources (rec dept staff, community watch, etc).

If it was an event for which there was no local interest, I'm sure the developer wouldn't sponsor it. But, I suspect they will get a large turnout today.

[Taj44]

[QUOTE=jflynn1;234694... I did receive a response form the Villages that disturbs me a great deal.
Based on their response it appears that the developer is using The Villages to promote His or her agenda. I do not think this is what the villages was all about and that is probably one of the reasons that the IRS is all over them. The Tax free bonds used to construct the area that the developer is now using to promote a political agenda surely was not the designed use of tax free bonds nor the purpose of the development of CDD districts in the state of Florida.[/QUOTE]

I agree with you 100%. He is one of the biggest contributors to the Florida Republican party, the Daily Sun is another vehicle he uses to push the Republican agenda. Obviously if you're a Republican, it is of no consequence, but a number of more liberal people are moving to TV, and they find the republican bias of the developer to be a drawback to say the least. And I can't believe it will sit well with the IRS, which could have consequences for the general population of TV in the future. Pushing a political agenda is definitely not what The Villages is supposed to be all about.

[Russ_Boston]

Some of these posts remind me why TOTV started a separate political forum.

The idea of AGENDA is silly.

If you had 10,000 pink people in one area and the leader of the pink people was visiting you'd draw a huge crowd. If there was only 100 purple people then they probably wouldn't want the purple leader to visit.

It's economics pure and simple. Like someone said - follow the money.

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by Taj44

I agree with you 100%. He is one of the biggest contributors to the Florida Republican party, the Daily Sun is another vehicle he uses to push the Republican agenda. Obviously if you're a Republican, it is of no consequence, but a number of more liberal people are moving to TV, and they find the republican bias of the developer to be a drawback to say the least. And I can't believe it will sit well with the IRS, which could have consequences for the general population of TV in the future. Pushing a political agenda is definitely not what The Villages is supposed to be all about.

It is pretty well known that the owners are very involved with support of the National Republican party.

It is pretty well known that the paper has a political slant. Many newspapers do.

It is kind of like if you send your child to a Catholic school, you can expect they will be exposed to certain attitudes and ideas. It is not like you don't have a choice to go to these events, you do. Just don't expect to use one of the rec centers for a meeting of the Democrat party.

Living here is a choice.

Many people have a wonderful experience living here. Even Democrats.

(I think I am channeling Muncle)