The District Office has received a check in the amount of $25,788.60 from the “Friends of Lake Miona” to pay for tree remediation that has generated great anger in The Villages.
The check was received through attorney Brett Swigert. It was reportedly made out to the Sumter Landing Community Development District.
The trees were unlawfully removed at Lake Miona late last year. The theory has been that a homeowner did it to improve the view of the water.
This past month, Community Development District 5 Supervisor Gary Kadow proposed waiving prosecution of the guilty party if a check was received to cover the cost of remediation.
The damage occurred in CDD 5, but the costs were to be covered by the Project Wide Advisory Committee which includes CDDs 5 through 10.
The cost of the remediation was estimated to be between $40,000 and $50,000. In July’s CDD 5 meeting, the “ballpark” cost of remediation thus far was estimated to be about $25,000.
Swigert has been a practicing Florida lawyer for more than 20 years with a concentration in the areas of elder law, estate planning, probate and trust administrations, real estate transactions, and business entity formations and transactions. His communication to the District did not detail who makes up the “Friends of Lake Miona.”