To the Editor:
The waterfront pier structure at Lake Sumter and the shoreline on Lake Sumter are not in anyway an amenity. They are privately owned and it is their responsibility.
Yes, our fees are going up and it is our responsibility to plan for and keep up with those requirements but let’s set this up with some real transparency. The people responsible for the structure around The Villages made decisions good or bad about who was going to do the work but they were paying for it because it is owned by them.
Our representatives within individual villages may or may not be experienced enough to assume responsibility for those structures but it makes no difference when the Developer for WHATEVER reason no longer want to support them, they are turned over to us at a HUGE cost. I would be interested in seeing the paperwork going to FEMA about cleanup in The Villages. It was not a disaster, it was a mess that should have been taken care of by the county we live in; not FEMA.
The water system that the Developer sold to us has a history of failure for whatever reason, i.e. history of accepting the lowest price for every major project without regard for longevity. Maybe that is the answer. The Developer was going to take credit for everything until and then the bill comes to us. How about a water tower in Brownwood? That was not an amenity, but a liability for the Developer if someone got hurt, so they make the District pay for it.
How about the joke about those living above County Road 466 not having to pay for the bridge which is not an amenity it is the responsibility of the Developer who cut corners to construct it and now wants to dump it on us to do it right. Just thinking out loud.
Mike Sanger
Village of St. Charles