April 7, 2007

Mayor Chuck Reed visits the Republican Club at the Villages

Republican Club President Shirley Ritzheimer presenting a plaque to the Mayor.

By Pete Ryden
Special to the Times

The Republican Club at the Villages was honored to have Mayor Chuck Reed as their guest speaker Tuesday evening, March 27. 

The Mayor was warmly welcomed by an overflow crowd of 165 attendees who heard him cover many topics relating to the city and Redevelopment Agency. Referring to his Reed Reforms on which he campaigned, Reed was glad to say that he and the council were working together in an effort to determine sensible and realistic priorities with regard to how the tax dollars are to be spent, i.e., police and fire facilities, street and parks maintenance, waste disposal, entitlements for city employees and balancing the needs for industrial growth with housing along with many other topics.

The Mayor also fielded questions in case there were concerns the audience had that he hadn’t covered in his talk. Many topics were discussed from the city’s relationship with the county, zoning, the Evergreen Project, downtown, etc. Reed has spent much of his time on the budget and talking with the tech CEO’s in the area, who have assured him they want to stay.