How many times have you heard politicians say: Let me be clear? Well, let me take another stab at trying this, regarding the little white cross case.

At the last District 8 Board Meeting there was too much misunderstanding, misinformation and mistrust revealed about this case.

Let me declare from the mountain top. The lawsuit is over. Villagers have read of this ongoing saga for over five years. It was quite the news story—an interest even for those readers in London! But now the case is closed, even though questions with homeowners may still linger.

For those 30,000-plus Villagers who have a little white cross, or another religious icon in your yard, you can keep it…with a proviso.

The proviso is, you can’t have it stuck in the ground, like the old days.

At the meeting I asked: “But if you put it on a planter or in the planter, then you’re good to go?”

 “I can verify the answer is yes,” said Board Chairman Phil Walker.

This is the reasonable compromise: Use a planter/pot to display the cross above the ground. This planter compromise is what our lawyers “Team Cross” created and proposed. The idea came after a deposition we took with a Village official. You see, good ideas can come from adversarial situations.

Empty pots in yards are a no-no; that’s the rule. But if you put flowers in the pot, you’re in compliance. So logically, if you put your cross in or on a planter (synonymously a flowerpot) the cross should be treated the same as a secular plant. No discrimination. All is good.

Also, you have read my wife and I were awarded $70,000 in the settlement. That is true. But all that money went to our great and faithful attorneys of Team Cross. They fought the good fight for five years—on contingency. My wife and I did not make a dime on this lawsuit Correction, not a penny.

Yes, we fought the good fight. And, The Villages fought for what they thought was right, too. In the end, the Lord’s words in Isaiah 1:18 prevailed. “Come now, let us reason together.”

I expressed to the Board last Tuesday that something like this lawsuit should never happen again. Five years of litigation and nearly $250,000 in costs. No repeats.

But the Board said they are going to take it “case by case.” Fair enough. But we can, as a Board and your representatives, put in place some preventive measures so this never happens again.

One is to eliminate the anonymous-complaint process. Another is to say goodbye to the trolls. Eventually I hope our Board will work with staff to clarify that an sacred icon is permitted, even without a planter. One can hope.

These issues will be discussed at the next board meeting on Feb. 10 at SeaBreeze Rec Center at 10 a.m. Please come and help rid District 8 of headaches and heartaches.

Nothing is perfect. But we can get pretty close to it.

Wayne Anderson is a Community Development District 8 supervisor.