Priority members are cheering a decision by the Developer to keep the pools private.
It was announced at Wednesday’s Amenity Authority Committee that the Developer has dropped the idea of working out an arrangement that would have opened up the Orange Blossom Hills, Nancy Lopez and Glenview pools to all residents during the upcoming Paradise Recreation Center tear-down and rebuild. The $20 million Paradise project will include the construction of a new pool. The Paradise family pool is extremely popular and AAC members fear the two-year closure of the pool could be a hardship for residents of the Historic Side of The Villages.
AAC member Rich Cole originally suggested the idea of approaching the Developer to ask about the idea of opening up the Orange Blossom pool during the Paradise renovation.
The Developer came back with a counter proposal of opening the Lopez and Glenview pools as well as Orange Blossom. In return, the Developer was asking the AAC to pick up the estimated $239,000 annual maintenance costs at the three Priority Pools.
The AAC was open to the idea, but there was intense backlash from existing Priority Pool members, faced with the loss of the exclusive use of the pools.
The announcement of the Developer’s decision to drop the idea of opening up the pools, drew cheers from the Priority Pool members in the audience for the AAC meeting at Savannah Center.
“I applaud this decision because it will please, I think, the majority of the people,” said AAC member Sandy Mott, who represents the Historic Side of The Villages.
