The Project Wide Advisory Committee has voted to spend $12,000 to re-work a Villages entrance to support flowers, which will be changed out four times per year.
The entrance is located at the Village of Osceola Hills at Deskin Lane off Morse Boulevard.
When the Developer constructed that entrance, plants were put in that did not require water.
PWAC, which includes representatives of Community Development Districts 5 through 11, has agreed to spend $12,000 to install irrigation equipment and the first round of annuals. The ongoing cost of flowers and maintenance will be $4,500 to $4,800 per year.
District Manager Richard Baier warned PWAC members that they might receive requests for similar work at other entrances. However, he said that a major distinction is the location of this particular entrance.
“This is more of a major entrance off a main roadway,” Baier said.
PWAC member and Community Development District 7 Supervisor Jerry Vicenti feared this project could open up “a Pandora’s box,” fueling similar requests.
“They are going to come and say, ‘I pay amenities like everybody else.’ It’s going to be a problem,” Vicenti warned.
He and PWAC member/CDD 9 Supervisor Steve Brown both sought reassurances that there will not be future instances in which residents would be paying to re-work an entrance constructed by the Developer.
“The Developer was smart enough to put in the plants that did not need water,” Vincenti said. “I just don’t want to see it happen again.”
In the end, the committee voted unanimously to move ahead with the work.
