Lady Lake officials have been asked to welcome back an Alcoholics Anonymous group at its longtime home.
But Lady Lake officials aren’t ready to put out the welcome mat.
The Lady Lake Commission in March 2023 voted 3-2 to kick the Sunday night AA group out of the Community Building on Guava Street, where it had been meeting for 40 years. The majority of commissioners wanted to free up Sunday evenings for event rentals at the newly remodeled facility. The town’s new policy would have cost the AA group more than $4,000 per year to use the meeting room for one night per week.
Since that vote occurred, three new members were elected to the commission – Ed Regan, Treva Roberts and Mike Sage.
On Monday night, Sage raised the possibility of welcoming back the AA group. He said he had examined the Sunday night income for the Community Building and welcoming back the AA group would cost the town about $600 in revenue. Sage pointed out that the Chamber of Commerce rents the Lady Lake Log Cabin for $10 per year. In addition, the town is currently paying the electric bill for the Chamber’s use of the Log Cabin as its headquarters.
“AA can be a matter of life and death. AA members want to meet at the same time and place on a regular basis,” Sage said.
However, Commissioner Ed Regan countered that it was not fair to allow the AA group to tie up the Community Building at 7 p.m. every Sunday, when other residents of the town might desire to rent the Community Building for gatherings and celebrations. They would be turned away.
“I don’t know if locking it in every Sunday night is fair to everyone else,” Regan said.
Commissioner Treva Roberts made a motion to table the matter until a future meeting. The commission unanimously agreed to table the issue.
The Sunday AA group has relocated to St. Alban’s Church in Lady Lake. The church is relatively small and attendance at the AA meeting has been reduced to about a dozen people. The attendance at the Sunday evening AA group at the Community Building averaged 50 to 55 people.
