An official in The Villages is under increasing pressure for his stance on Morse Boulevard.
Amenity Authority Committee member Jim Vaccaro has insisted that Sumter County should pay to widen Morse Boulevard north of County Road 466.
Vaccaro, a resident of the Village of De La Vista, contends that too many deaths and serious accidents have taken place on that roadway.
Vaccaro has come under fire from the Sumter County Commission chairman and the president of The VHA. Sumter County Commissioner Andrew Bilardello also offered an Opinion piece in Villages-News.com earlier this week in an attempt to counter Vaccaro’s position on Morse Boulevard.
“It is disappointing to see Chairperson Don Wiley and other county commissioners characterize my position as unreasonable. The residents of The Villages already bear the financial responsibility for maintaining infrastructure across 60 square miles of the county — including water and sewer lines, fire protection, recreation, and landscaping. Furthermore, residents recently funded the erosion repairs for a county-owned bridge,” Vaccaro said.
“Despite these significant contributions, the county is requesting that residents personally fund the widening of a dangerous, accident-prone section of Morse Boulevard. The threat to cut off golf cart traffic in our community if residents do not pay for these county-owned road improvements is unacceptable.”
Vaccaro also was surprised to read a not-so-subtle dig at him by the leadership of The VHA, printed in Thursday’s The VHA Voice, appearing in The Villages Daily Sun.
In his “From the Top” piece, VHA President Peter Russell addressed the Morse Boulevard funding controversy and praised the AAC for its recent decision to move forward with a possible solution.
“Thank you to the four members voting in favor of widening Morse North. Residents living in CDD 1 should remember who voted against the proposal at the polls in November,” Russell wrote.
Vaccaro represents Community Development District 1 and cast the lone “no” vote on the proposal. He continues to insist that amenity money should not be spent to fix a county road.
“Suggesting that residents should not vote for me this November because I oppose spending $2 million of resident funds on a county road is a clear overreach. Tax revenue should be used to cover the expenses of maintaining and widening county-owned infrastructure like Morse Boulevard,” Vaccaro said after reading Russell’s piece.
“I remain committed to ensuring that tax dollars are used appropriately and that the safety of our roads is prioritized without placing an unfair financial burden on residents,” Vaccaro added.