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Highlands Today

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Golf Course

Clyde Deeds

Published: February 3, 2009

This is in reference to the article of Jan. 26. For some, and probably most people in Spring Lake, this is huge news. There are many questions on our minds, and there certainly must be others here who have them as well.
Why does Spring Lake Improvement District need more water retention ponds now that the flooding of private land to the east of Spring Lake has been resolved?
Who will have to pay for the golf course? Will our taxes be raised to do this? If so, how much? Is the current owner of the golf course wanting to sell the golf course? Is the course making a profit? Is the property clear and free of liens?
Did Joe DeCerbo in the past want to buy the golf course himself? If so, is this a conflict of interest? Who would manage the golf course if Spring Lake buys it? Will Mr. DeCerbo do that? If not, what will be his role? What will happen if Spring Lake doesn't have enough money to keep the golf course up as it is presently? Would SLID have to sell it? Would Mr. DeCerbo be excluded if he and others had tried to buy it previously? What happens if it is sold for less than we paid for it? Do we continue paying that indebtedness?
How many people will remain in Spring Lake if this deal goes through? Some people have made it known that they will move out of Spring Lake if this purchase goes through.
If taxes are currently being paid, would they be paid under SLID ownership? Would there be a loss of tax revenue to SLID/Highlands County?
There definitely needs to be several meetings for the Spring Lake property owners to have these and many more questions answered. Something is amiss here. Why the big hurry? Why haven't there been open meetings to discuss such a huge endeavor as this? Who were the 200 people who had seen a slide show? Where did this take place? To read this in the newspaper is a powerful blow to us here in Spring Lake.
Clyde Deeds
Sebring