VHA Rep UPDATE

[Gerald Tucker]

Praise for Villages/Sumter County Cooperative Effort

The significance of a recent amendment to the Villages Companies regional road agreement provides a huge tax savings to Sumter County taxpayers while also providing some significant traffic relief to everyone who uses or will use Central Parkway as the county continues to grow in the south. This main road is considered part of the designated evacuation route network for Central Florida.

A recent amendment to the agreement provides a voluntary contribution of $27 million to widen old County Road 470 while the state works on improvements to U.S. 301. If you’ve ever driven in that area recently, you know how challenging it can be to move efficiently through that area.

This agreement eliminates the need for county taxpayers to spend $27 million of 2026 dollars on this project so that they can continue to focus on other area roads which are in significant need of repair. Old county route 470 is not only used by new homeowners in that area. It is a main corridor for the county and is one of the key roads that takes travelers to and from the Florida Turnpike.

This agreement allows the county to have 15 years to pay back the $27 million dollars with no interest! Regional road transportation is a government responsibility, not a developer responsibility. Imagine how much Sumter County taxpayers are saving by having a 15-year, $27 million dollar interest free loan? Trying to go to the bank and get a loan like that. Please let me know if you have any luck getting that type of loan!

Hope this was interesting, Jerry