More than one year ago, then-Project Wide Advisory Committee Chairman Don Wiley called for work to be expedited to address a problem at a frequently flooded golf course in The Villages.
In the past 12 months, Wiley gave up the PWAC chairman’s gavel and won election to the Sumter County Commission. The snowbirds have come and gone. But the golf course is still flooding.
The flooding has been occurring near Hole #4 at the Heron Executive Golf Course and has been impacting the nearby homeowners who have long coped with mosquitoes and stench from standing water.
Tim Collins of the Village of Sunset Pointe has served as the point person for the long-suffering homeowners coping with the flooding. He’s suspicious about reason for the delay in getting this “expedited” project started.
“Keeping the course open for the snowbirds appears to have been the motivation for the huge delay, indicating a possible disregard for resident concerns regarding the flooding issue that might potentially affect private properties in the area,” Collins said.
Assistant District Manager Bruce Brown, who oversees District Property Management as well as Executive Golf, denied the delays have had anything to do with the snowbirds.
Brown said that the golf course project has faced challenges with design work, design changes, permitting, bidding, contract award and a late change order.
“That plus extensive geotechnical investigation and multiple repairs to stabilize the area before we could even begin the bid process. Contracts, chemical grout availability and other issues were part of the challenge,” Brown said.
A year ago, when PWAC ordered that the work at the Heron Executive Golf Course be expedited, the cost of the project was estimated to be $100,000.
