The Mark Twain Library: The Mark Twain Library is a unique institution in The Villages. It is operated by volunteers and lends books and other materials donated mostly by Villagers. It is popular with its comfortable atmosphere and awesome volunteer staff. The library is part of the Paradise Regional Recreation Center complex in the historic side across US Highway 27/441.
Soon, the Paradise Rec Center is due for major upgrading. Once the First Responders Recreation Center opens this summer, it will be able to handle some of the recreation load while Paradise is closed.
Several residents have voiced their concern that the library may be unavailable during any demolition and construction work. Worse, they fear it might be forgotten in the plans for the new and improved Paradise complex.
I have written to the District Government voicing my hope that the Mark Twain Library will be included in any final plans, and the library staff are doing the same. Any residents who have used, or hope to use, the library might also want to provide input. At this point, the planning is only preliminary, so input is welcome.
If you wish to write, the easiest way is to use the CDD Request Form page on the District Government Website: https://districtgov.org/incident.aspx. Under Category, select Budget. Then fill in your contact information. I would suggest starting the Question/Comment box with “Re: Paradise RRC”, followed by whatever you want to say about the library’s inclusion in the plans.
Alternatively, you could attend an Authority Amenities Committee Workshop on March 16th, where the Paradise RRC upgrade is tentatively scheduled to be the first agenda item. Here are the meeting details:
Amenity Authority Committee Preliminary Budget Workshop
March 16, 2022 @ 9:00 a.m.
Savannah Regional Recreation Center, 1545 Buena Vista Blvd.
With positive effort and luck, we will have a new and improved Mark Twain Library in an equally new and improved Paradise Regional Recreation Center.
Karl Arps, Vice President
karl.arps@ gmail.com
(920) 285 – 1382