Huge crowd stands up for attendants and gates in The Villages

A huge crowd turned out Monday morning at Savannah Center to stand up for the attendants and the gates in The Villages.

The Amenity Authority Committee held the workshop session to take a look at gate operations.

A standing-room only crowd of residents filled the room, with many of them lining up to offer their strong support of the gates.

First, Community Watch Director Nehemiah Wolfe offered a presentation about the gates, which fall under his leadership.

“Gate operations touch the lives of each and every one of our residents,” said Wolfe, who served as District Commander for The Villages for the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office prior to taking the helm at Community Watch in 2017. “Many residents know their gate attendants by name. Gate attendants know the names of the residents, and their pets.”

Wolfe also said the gates are part of the reason many residents decided to spend their retirement years in Florida’s Friendliest Hometown.

“It’s part of the service that homeowners invested in when they purchased their homes,” said Wolfe.

There was a large contingent of law enforcement personnel on hand to make the case for the gates.

One of the powerful testimonies from law enforcement was delivered by Sumter County Sheriff Pat Breeden. He turned back the page several years to when he was a deputy on patrol in The Villages. He said he made it a point to regularly stop and speak with gate attendants, because they were always in the know.

He said surveillance and cameras are great for documenting what has already happened. That technology can help solve crimes. However, the human factor, the eyes and ears of gate attendants, are better at preventing crime, the sheriff said.

The total Community Watch budget is about $12 million. The AAC’s share of that $12 million is $3.4 million per year. The gate portion of the budget works out to about 16 cents per day per household in The Villages.

Peter Russell, a Village of Pine Ridge resident who also heads The Villages Homeowners Advocates, encouraged AAC members to look at the big picture.

“We came here for a sense of security,” he said. “Don’t try to save 50 cents there or a dollar here when it comes to our safety and security.”