A safety concern has pushed the pricetag for a dust collection system above $500,000 at The Villages Woodshop.
The Village Center Community Development District supervisors in August approved a contract amount of $485,400 for the dust collection system project, which also includes a replacement of the heating and air conditioning system, at the wood shop on Rolling Acres Road.
During the permitting application aspect of the project, The Villages Public Safety Department required that the facility undergo a Dust Hazard Analysis (DHA). The objective of the DHA was to identify areas where combustible wood dust is present and could create a fire, flash fire or explosion hazard, evaluate the design and planned upgrades of the a dust collection system, assess the adequacy of new and existing safeguards (spark detection, isolation, venting and abort gate) relative to applicable National Fire Protection Association standards, and recommend additional or procedural measures. The analysis revealed requirement to connect 13 additional pieces of equipment to the new dust collection system to mitigate 13 high risk-level areas.
This has prompted a $74,095.59 change order, bringing the total cost of the project to $559,495.
In 2022, the Project Wide Advisory Committee was feeling the heat when there were cost overruns at the $3 million Brownwood Woodshop. At the time, residents were unhappy about the amount of money being spent at the members-only facility. Residents said it was unfair to spend amenity money on what has essentially turned into a private club. The longstanding complaint about the wood shops is that residents have to be a member of the woodworking club to use the facilities. It has been said that to become a member of the woodworking club, residents can languish for years on the waiting list.