MILTON, Del.-- A controversy surrounding a housing community in Milton was brought up at the Sussex County Council meeting once again on Tuesday morning.
Housing members at the Vines of Sandhill said they've dealt with ongoing construction and lack of amenities promised for a few years now.
Amenities, including a 9,900 square-foot clubhouse, swimming pool, and tennis court were to be completed within two years of the first building permit being issued. The subdivison for the Vines of Sandhill was approved back in 2008, however, the first building permit was not issued until 2017.
The community hosts a 393 lots single-family homes between Milton and Georgetown.
Tony Sposato--known for his local wine and landscaping business--is the housing community owner. Members who bought a home at the Vines of Sandhill said Sposato has failed to deliver on a vision that may not be realized.
Robert Tomchak moved to the Milton community in 2019 and he said Sposato keeps making modifications to the original plans. Most recently, 'The Lodge' is now a smaller 6,685 square feet clubhouse.
"It shows a two-story structure facing the pool...we had a recent meeting, HOA (Home Owner's Association) meeting, which was the first we've had in two years and we were presented with the new clubhouse, (a) nice pretty-colored picture that's about a third smaller than the one originally posted."
In fact, the billboard with the promised amenities is still posted right outside of the housing development. Some locals like Sabrina Hill and her husband Mathew, military retirees, insist it is all simply false advertisement.
"We could've gone other places and we've been paying almost three years now, HOA dues that should have gone to you know, to build those amenities and to maintain those amenities and nothing has started," Hill said.
The county council said it will continue to look into the matter and see if they can use this as a learning lesson for future developments. Meanwhile, people who live in the Vines at Sandhill just want the community finished so that they can get what they paid for.
WRDE reached out to Tony Sposato multiple times for a comment and as of Tuesday evening, has yet to hear back. The County Attorney Everett Moore said residents could potentially file a lawsuit if the situation is not resolved.Â