Disintegratation

The Village of the century is slowly but surely disintegrating before our very eyes. The promise of idyllic retirement is quickly fading along with the way of life we envisioned upon taking our place in the sun.

We see the loss of the wide open green space that held our beloved golf course and the broken promise of perpetuity.

We endure the threat of speculators taking advantage with no care or concern for the wishes of the residents and criminal offenders living side by side with honest and upright people who can do little to escape them.

We watched millions of dollars being spent on security that is failing, more millions have been spent on an inadequate road re-paving that will require many more millions to rectify.

We see a beautiful lake that promises clean sparkling water but delivers toxic algae that demands untold amounts of money to restore.

We see the ripening infrastructure with rusting pipes and neglected drainage systems laying next to aging underground electrical systems that constantly fail.

We see the signs of neglect that are the harbinger of things to come, small things like faded paint in the roads and crosswalks, a sign at the entrance that leans drunkenly and doesn't light up anymore, the hole in the wall at the entrance that took months to repair while the administration argued and denied responsibility.

While the systems crumble, the administration occupies their time with pie in the sky projects to spend more and more of residents hard earned money while concealing their activities and attacking anyone who dares to question their competency.

We see the property values falling away, while prospective buyers choose other options.

We see a demoralized population, frustrated with the myriad of rules and regulations and the squabbling among their leaders.

We see the vindictive actions of the administration in the treatment of volunteers and the selection of cronies with little or no experience being chosen to serve the wishes of the few at the expense of the many.

We see the abandoned units , shuttered and forlorn, and spend more money, paying off loans and liens to bring them back to life.

We can point the finger of suspicion and blame others for the mess. The reality is that each and every resident bears responsibility, It's not only a failure of the administration, it's a failure of the system as a whole.

I see the similarities between Century Village and The United States. Each and every condo association can be likened to one of the States that make up this great nation. Each and every State has it's own legislative body, much like all the boards of directors in Century Village. The difference is that The United States has a governing body in Washington that dictates policy and enacts legislation according to the will of the people. Century Village, though it needs it, does not , As long as the population is divided into little kingdoms with emasculated leaders, the will of all the people will be lost in the fog of bureaucracy forever

Neil J. Moore