What started out as a candidate meeting Thursday night soon turned into a forum for angry residents to voice their complaints about abandoned, dilapidated homes in older neighborhoods of The Villages.
The meeting, sponsored by the Property Owners of Lady Lake/Lake County Portion of The Villages, was supposed to focus on three candidates running for the Amenity Authority Committee to represent the area and replace Jo Weber, who declined to seek re-election after she was appointed a Rotary Club district governor.
Candidates are Lowell Barker, Frank Kirschenheiter and Rick “Doc” Jones. The election is Nov. 4 with one vote per household.
Although the Amenity Authority Committee has no jurisdiction over private homes, residents still used the meeting to complain about inaction in getting the homes fixed.
“All we get is lip service,” said Richard Bartello, who said he’s failed for eight years to get anyone to help with the abandoned home next door in his Mira Mesa neighborhood. “My property values have gone down, my taxes have gone up.”
Bartello said the woman who lived there moved away after her husband died and has declared bankruptcy. The Villages has a $12,000 lien on the property, but weeds and grass were waist-high this summer. Toni Millar, who also lives in the neighborhood, said The Villages currently has 120 homes in foreclosure.
“We have one house in our neighborhood empty for seven years and the mold dripping out of it,” said Darlene Wilcox, who lives in the Village of Country Club Hills. Donna Husick, who lives next door, said her husband put plastic bags over the gutters to prevent insulation from running out on the ground.
Dan Bard, regional director for the Villages Homeowners Association, passed around a sheet of paper where people could write down the addresses of abandoned property. Bard, who organized the meeting, said he will take the list to The Villages Community Compliance Department.
But Recreation Director John Rohan said it’s often difficult to determine who can take action on these homes. Some homes, for example, are in Lady Lake while others are in Lake County.
“It is kind of a cobweb of who has responsibility,” he said. “There are a lot of legal ramifications.”
The Developer has purchased some properties on The Villages historic side, torn down the older homes and built new ones.
The candidates for the Amenity Authority Committee sympathized with the plight of the residents, but the committee, which supervises recreation centers, executive golf courses and the spending of amenity fee revenue north of County Road 466, has no role in supervising private property.
The election pits two retired educators against the owner of a computer repair business.
Lowell Barker, who spent 38 years as a teacher and school administrator in Indiana, said he has plenty of experience with budgets.
“We may not always agree, but I’ll talk to you and look you in the eye,” he said.
Frank Kirschenheiter, who describes himself as “the computer geek,” worked 44 years with computers in Illinois and bought a computer repair business in Ocala and The Villages in 2013.
“I have a passion and I believe I can bring that passion,” he said. “Basically, people can’t pull the wool over my eyes.”
Rick “Doc” Jones was a teacher, coach, school administrator and grant manager in Charleston, W.V. He also worked a variety of summer jobs including summer school counselor, milk truck driver and mobile home salesman.
“I have varied experience and I’m very proactive,” he said.