To the Editor:
I suspect our club president Mike Borfitz will be providing a more complete letter. However, I would like to point out some things that Mr. Edwards and others may not be aware of. We are a Club. Just like many of the other thousands of clubs in The Villages. We are not a Villages amenity per se like golf courses or recreation centers. Therefore, we give equal access to our club members not anyone in The Villages because they have an ID card. We can close our membership at any point. Ms Borfitz and her Board did an exceptional job of balancing safety, access to equipment, and dues income. I am impressed with her leadership and value being one of 900 “cronies”.
It is not clear where Mr. Edwards’ estimate of 11,000 potential club members came from. I believe that the board’s best estimate is that we will have approximately 700 members in each of the two woodshop facilities. That appears adequate in the near term. Membership to the club requires a substantial initiation fee, an annual fee and 12 mandatory volunteer hours per year.
Robert Rutkowski
Village of Hadley
