The Amenity Authority Committee split 3-2 on Wednesday in a vote on a controversial tee time services pact with the Developer.
The revised 10-year agreement would no longer allow the Developer to use coverage of trail fees on executive golf courses as a perk for priority golf memberships, sold by the Developer. You can see the agreement at this link: Tee_Time_and_Trail_Pass_Services_Agreement_Final
Doug French, who lives on Conservation Trail in the Fruitland Park section of The Villages, went to the podium at the AAC meeting at Savannah Center to complain that as a priority member, he felt he had been “thrown under the bus.”
He said he will see a 15 percent increase in the cost of golf because of the change.
“Somebody has to address the priority members being thrown under the bus,” French said.
He wondered where the extra money that he and others will be paying will end up.
“Nobody knows the cost. Show us the cost. Where’s the money going?” he asked.
Villager Cary Sternberg said the golfers in The Villages have been put in a difficult position. He said the tee time system in The Villages is so complex, no outside vendor wants anything to do with it. Thus the complexity of the agreement.
“The operation of everything in The Villages is so convoluted that nothing can be done quickly,” he said.
Sternberg urged the AAC to develop a contingency plan in case the Developer walks away from the golf operation one day.
AAC Chairman Don Deakin unveiled a “compromise agreement” that he described as a “win, win, win” for all parties involved. You can see his proposal at these links: Deakin Proposal 1; Deakin Proposal 2
However, some of his fellow AAC members grew exasperated as Deakin methodically went through his proposal – point by point.
“Are we going to sign this contract and move on or not?” asked AAC member Ann Forrester, who like others noted that the agreement has been debated for months.
In the end, Deakin and Donna Kempa voted against the agreement. Carl Bell, Sandy Mott and Forrester voted for it. The Developer’s representative on the AAC, Robert Chandler IV, did not vote citing a conflict of interest, since he had a hand in drawing up the agreement.