A Villages official on Wednesday “congratulated” the Amenity Authority Committee on “squandering” a record amount of residents’ money.
Community Development District 2 Chairman Bryan Lifsey took to the podium at the AAC meeting at Savannah Center to voice his displeasure with the decision to hand the Developer more than $500,000 in annual amenity money when he builds apartments at the former site of Hacienda Hills Country Club. The AAC angered residents when voting 4-1 last month to turn over 286 amenity contracts to the Developer to add to the lure of the age-restricted apartments to be built at the former country club site.
Lifsey has also been a vociferous critic of the print-version of Recreation News, the weekly supplement printed and inserted in The Villages Daily Sun at residents’ expense. He and others have argued an online version of Recreation News makes more sense in a digital age.
The Village of Alhambra resident said the ACC has set “a new Villages record for the squandering of our amenity money.”
He said that between the Hacienda Hills deal and Recreation News, $1.3 million worth of residents’ money has been given away.
When Lifesy asked for an accounting for the Recreation News, Budget Director Barbara Kays pointed to a Power Point presentation given in May to the AAC in which Recreation Director John Rohan said the AAC’s share of Recreation News would shrink to $197,500 for 2020-21. However, the final budget approved Wednesday by the AAC showed that the amount for Recreation News actually will be $234,150. You can see the number in the attached document (Account 471 under “Printing and Binding”.) AAC 2020-21 budget
The Project Wide Advisory Committee has approved a budget which provides $659,350 for Recreation News. You can see the number in the attached document (Account 471 under “Printing and Binding”.) 2020-21 budget for PWAC:SLAD
PWAC oversees amenities south of County Road 466. AAC has oversight of amenities north of CR 466.
The AAC and PWAC combined expense for 2020-21 for Recreation News is budgeted for $893,500, according to District budget documents. Last year, the AAC’s share of Recreation News was $245,306. The PWAC share for 2019-20 was $565,020.
The Developer also contributes money to support the publication of Recreation News for residents south of State Road 44. That dollar amount was not readily available.
Kays noted that the allocation is based on the number of recreation centers.