Two elected officials in The Villages have raised objections to residents one day soon purchasing the golf cart bridges that will act as billboards advertising Florida’s Friendliest Hometown.
The golf cart bridges being erected across State Road 44 and the Florida Turnpike will provided a crucial artery for golf cart transportation to and from the Village of Fenney, the massive yet-to-be-constructed Villages of Southern Oaks and other areas in the southern end of The Villages.
Two Community Development District 8 supervisors are already raising questions about the inevitable purchase of those bridges by the residents. The cost of maintenance of the infrastructure will be absorbed by the Project Wide Advisory Committee, which includes CDDs 5 through 12.
“I don’t know what it’s costing to build those bridges, but it’s got to be millions,” said CDD 8 Supervisor Larry McMurry. “We are going to get to buy it, and we are going to get to maintain it.”
He said it’s not too soon to begin forecasting what the cost of maintenance of the bridges will be, if for nothing more than “transparency” for the residents who will soon be footing the bill.
He pointed to the coating on the bridges.
“No how matter how well you coat them, it’s going to corrode,” he added.
CDD 8 Supervisor Sal Torname had a slightly different take on the golf cart bridges that remain under construction in the southern end of The Villages. He said the bridges are giant advertising billboards for The Villages.
“Why doesn’t the Developer offset the cost for us with advertising expense? We are promoting The Villages,” Torname said. “We are providing the structure that supports the advertisement for The Villages, and they are selling housing.”
A district official said PWAC will take over maintenance of the bridges “six months after they are operational.”
