A bid for canopies has come in more than $10,000 higher than originally projected, adding to the cost overruns at the new Brownwood Woodshop in The Villages.
The Brownwood Woodshop, located across from the Eisenhower Recreation Center, is a sister facility to the wood shop on Rolling Acres Road and operated by The Villages Woodworking Club. Its members are the only ones who can use the two facilities. The club has 1,300 members with another 275 on a waiting list.
Members of the Project Wide Advisory Committee, which oversees amenities south of County Road 466, balked last year at surprise costs overruns at the new $3 million Brownwood facility.
Among the additional costs discussed by PWAC were new canopies at the facility that were projected to cost $75,000. The recommended bidder appears to be Mark Cook Builders Inc. of Leesburg, with a bid of $85,934.
Residents have long complained that the The Villages Woodworking Club runs the operation with an iron fist. They contend the two facilities amount to a “private club” with Villagers who want to join kept for years languishing on a waiting list while long-time club members enjoy top-line privileges and equipment paid for by residents who cannot use it. The two facilities are funded with amenity dollars.
