A Marion Oaks woman is fighting to turn her subdivision of more than 15,000 people into its own city.
For 10 years now, Mildred Musho has been on a mission to turn her sprawling subdivision in Southern Marion County into its own city. Marion Oaks is most known for its waterfall entrance, but Musho said it's the agreement with the county for special taxing units and administrative fees to cover roads and recreation that's flushing money away.
“In essence we are a city. The county is giving us no services, we are buying them,” Musho said.
Musho was appointed back in 2005 by Marion Oaks Civic Association to explore incorporation. State lawmakers said based on a study then it wasn’t feasible. Musho is trying to raise nearly $20,000 for a new study as she expects the area to balloon when a bridge is built over I-75 in the next couple years connecting the area to The Villages.
“I just think it’s a waste of money to do a study of that magnitude and nothing is going to come of it,” said Marion Oaks resident Bronda Blake Newman.
Right now the civic association isn’t funding the study. President Richard Dennison said he’s not sure the needed tax base and business infastructure are in Marion Oaks right now or they’d ever get county or state support.
“I don’t think that’s going to be feasible and I think the questions that are going to be asked by the legislators are going to be the exact same questions. How are you going to provide for services?” Marion County Commission Chair Stan McClain told Musho as the commissioners expressed unanimous dissent about funding the study.
The idea seemed to have some supporters in the subdivision Wednesday. “We’d have our own police department and resources we don’t have as a subdivision right now,” Tony Velez said.
Musho said now she has just a matter of days to come up with the money if she hopes to get the measure on a 2016 ballot, but she isn’t giving up hope.
“Don’t close your eyes to the future,” she told commissioners.