After the Aug. 29 demolition of the original Tierra del Sol Recreation Center, construction appeared to be stalled. Trees were being uprooted and earth was being moved, but the site looked barren for five or six weeks. Villagers who lived nearby wondered what was happening — or not happening.
That was because of the permitting process, and the complex infrastructure that was being updated under the ground. The infrastructure, which had to be completed before the building’s foundation was poured, included new storm water drainage pipes, sanitary sewer lines, electric wiring and fiber optic cables to bring the new facility up to date.
Once the foundation was in place, the cement blocks were stacked within a week. Then, almost overnight, black insulation covered the exterior block walls and roof trusses were being hoisted, one by one.
“Because we’ve had mostly dry weather,” construction superintendent Brendan Hoffman, said, “we’ve moved ahead quickly and have been able to start work on both the roof supports and some interior finishing at the same time. We are hoping to meet or beat our goal for a spring project completion.”
Community Development District 1 Supervisor, Clyde Long, credits his Palo Alto Village neighbor, Tootie Jackson, a long time advocate of this project.
“She and her husband, Jim, who unfortunately has passed away, were the main impetus for this new building,” Long said. “They kept needling Amenity Authority Committee members to get the project into the plans.”
He said the new building is important to nearby residents because the old facility only held 32 people.
“Our Palo Alto social club often attracts around one hundred neighbors, and we have to go all the way to La Hacienda Rec Center for our meetings.,” Long said.
Jackson, is thrilled at the daily construction site progress, which she can see and hear from her screened lanai.
“This all started back in July 2011, according to my notes, when a group of my women friends met here and talked about what we would like to see built,” Jackson said. “We listed all the things that were wrong with the old facility. We had to go outdoors to use the restrooms, which were often wet and slippery from swimmers at the pool, and the building was just too small for neighborhood needs.”
She then met with District Manager Janet Tutt, who directed her to the Amenity Authority Committee.
“I started attending every AAC meeting to pitch our plan,” Jackson said. “My husband, Jim, supported me every step of the way. They listened. Carl Bell and Ann Forrester on the AAC really liked the idea, and encouraged me. I only missed one meeting, when I was in the hospital with a MRSA infection, and a neighbor went in my place. At first they said nothing could be done, because there wasn’t sufficient space for parking and renovation would disrupt the adjacent tennis and bocce courts.”
“But my neighbor, Gloria, who is now 90 years old, said ‘Tootie, why don’t you do something about this?’ Women can have an attitude,” Jackson continued with a smile. “Tell a woman it can’t be done, and she’ll find a way. I’m not a very large person, and I’ve never been involved in politics, but I enlisted about ten people from our close-knit Village to go door-to-door with a petition. When Jim and I got back from a vacation in Canada, they had collected 500 signatures.”
She had been a physical education teacher and swimming coach for 41 years and her only captive audience had been her students.
“I was a nervous wreck speaking in front of the AAC — but the petition was a convincing argument that Tierra del Sol expansion was what the people wanted. Carl Bell told me to get the plat from Sumter County, and that really started the ball rolling. [The Villages Recreation Department Director] John Rohan got involved, plus neighbors Alice Smith, Judy Biebesheimer and others, and we discussed updates that needed to be done at the Southside Pool, the Silver Lake Recreation Center, El Santiago Club, and Tierra del Sol. Women in De La Vista North and de Allende Villages joined us — and the AAC finally said ‘yes.'”
“John Rohan used to call us ‘Tootie’s entourage,” Jackson laughed, “and we are all thrilled to death to see this happening. Janet Tutt and John Rohan were considerate to show us their plans and ask if they included everything we wanted. They looked wonderful. I was visiting my husband at The Villages Regional Hospital at the time, so John brought the plans there for me to see,” Jackson said, “New residents south of CR 466 are having new homes and new facilities, which are beautiful, but we can’t let them forget about us longer-term residents!”
The Amenity Authority Committee recently agreed to name a room at the new Tierra del Sol Recreation Center after Jackson in recognition of her efforts.
