By Marc Crail
Mount Dora City Council District 4 Representative
 
I've selected several items of interest from City Council's January 7, 2025 meeting to share with you. Please understand that I'm reporting to you as one member of City Council and not in any official capacity on behalf of the Council.

A food drive to benefit Lake Cares Food Pantry is coming up on January 25. It's a friendly competition with our neighboring cities for a very good cause. You can drop off canned goods, etc, at either of our fire stations anytime between now and 1/27. Thanks in advance for your help!

There was an update on the Donnelly Street temporary sidewalk construction. Beginning this Thursday, 1/8, expect one lane to be closed while the contractor is working on the temporary walkway. We anticipate completion in about two weeks. As a side note, we still haven't received notification that our grant proposal for the "permanent" sidewalk has been approved although it still seems likely.

We also got updated on the noxious odor issue. We received a preliminary report a few days ago from the company that has been monitoring the smell for six months. Here are the highlights greatly simplified. Hydrogen Sulfide that results in a strong rotten egg smell appears to be lower inside our Wastewater Plant 2 than it is in other surrounding areas. It is 0.1 parts per million at intake which is extremely low. This seems to confirm that our wastewater treatment plant isn't the source of the bad smell. If that is the case, the next step will be to zero in on the actual odor source. We have hired Halff, an environmental engineering firm, to figure out where the smell is emanating from.

City staff, council members and affected residents are all frustrated and desperate to find solutions asap.  The fact is that this is very complex and a quick fix isn't likely but we are committed to continuing to do all we can as quickly as we can. We are hoping to get Lake County, Orange County and the FDEP (Florida Department of Environmental Protection) involved to help share data and the costs involved with solving our mutual problem.

We adopted a resolution to apply for a Federal RAISE Grant for the proposed Wekiva Bike/Hike Trail. We have applied for similar grants previously but this time CSX Railway Company has signed on and their cooperation could be a game changer.

A Parking Workshop meeting will be held on Monday 1/13 at 6:00 p.m. Community members are invited to attend but generally during workshop meetings, public comments are not allowed.

Thank you for your interest in the goings-on in Mount Dora government. It is my privilege to serve as your District 4 representative.

Our quote for today comes by way of Gotta Giggle Memes & Funnier. "The difference between me and Superman is... he has super vision and I require supervision".  I think they've nailed it!

By Marc Crail
Mount Dora City Council District 4 Representative

​By Marc Crail, City Council Representative for District 4

I've selected several items from the December 17th. Mount Dora City Council agenda to share with you. Please keep in mind that I'm reporting to you as one individual and not in any official capacity.

Our police department has hired a crime analyst whose job it is to collect data that helps the department deploy officers and other resources based on the areas of town and times of day where and when crimes occur. She presented data that showed decreases in violent crimes in several categories. With just two weeks to go in 2024, the statistics are definitely trending in the right direction. In the upcoming months she plans to post this data on the city website.

The City Manager and his public safety team are expecting to receive a quote for construction of a temporary asphalt sidewalk on the east side of the Donnelly Street. This is a public safety concern. As soon as the quote is received and analyzed by our staff, we will get that project underway. In the long term, we hope to get final approval of our grant application that will cover the lion's share of the permanent sidewalk on the west side of the street very soon but that construction will take several months.

Another public safety priority is dealing with the noxious odor situation. As soon as we get the latest data report, council will meet to review that data and begin next steps to mitigate the problem. Residents and council members are rightfully frustrated and eager to resolve this issue.

We heard some good news on the long awaited Wekiva Rail-Trail Extension. The CSX railroad has relented and is now willing to sell the railroad property. We voted unanimously to sign a memorandum of understanding agreement to proceed with negotiations. We are now working with the Trust for Public Land, an organization that has long experience with similar projects. Our partner, Lake County voted to move ahead at their meeting on Monday and Tavares City Council is expected to approve their participation at their meeting on Wednesday. Fingers crossed!

There is also progress on some other projects around the city.  The new playground at Gilbert Park is looking beautiful.

Construction is well underway for converting the tennis court in Donnelly Park to pickelball courts. Construction of a new basketball courts at Summerview Park is finished. The tree planting campaign continues. You can check out the newly planted oak trees at Frank Brown Sports Park.

Our quote for today comes from author, Ernest Hemingway who said; "It takes two years to learn to speak and sixty to learn to keep quiet."

Thanks for allowing me to serve as your District 4 City Council Representative. Enjoy your family and friends during this holiday season.

Marc Crail
Mount Dora City Council District 4 Representative

By Marc Crail
Mount Dora Vice-mayor and District 4 Representative

I've selected several important items for our September 17th City Council meetings to report on. Please keep in mind that I'm not sending this on behalf of City Council in any official capacity. It comes from me alone.

We learned that a traffic light will be installed by FDOT within the next several months at the intersection of SR 44B and Way Cross Road near Lowes. This isn't a Mount Dora project but many Mount Dora residents will benefit from it.

City Council approved a plan to design sidewalk extensions and traffic calming near the intersection of Lakeshore Dr./Heim Rd. and Sylvan Dr. This will be a city project. It is needed because Lakeshore Dr. is a heavily cut-through route causing safety issues.

I've written several times about the budget building process for FY 2024-25 that your City Council has been working on for months now. As anticipated, we were able to balance the City's budget with a millage rate of 6.3 mills. This is less than the maximum millage rate we saw on our TRIM notices that we got in the mail several weeks ago. It is 11.22% over the roll-back rate of 5.6642 mills. We unanimously voted to approve this final resolution.

After evaluating our City Manager, Vince Sandersfeld's performance, council members voted 4 to 2 to give him a raise of 3.5%. We all agreed that his performance has been excellent and we appreciate his first class work since he took over as our Interim City manager in late January. Some council members favored a larger salary increase of 8%, but the majority thought that given our financial circumstances we should give the manager a more modest raise.

Now that the recent water main break caused by a contractor's negligence has been repaired, I want to assure our residents that the contractor will be billed for the full cost of the repair work.

Our quote for today comes from President Theodore Roosevelt. "This country will not be a good place for any of us to live in unless we make it a good place for all of us to live in."

Thanks for your continued interest in our city!

By Marc Crail
Mount Dora Vice-mayor and District 4 Representative

Parking in Mount Dora may be a bit easier beginning October 4, after the city launches a free, on-demand parking shuttle program with two electric vehicles which will run from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.  There will be no service on the other weekdays.  

There are no shuttle routes or schedules, but passengers can download the Ride Freebee app on their cell phone to request a pick-up or drop-off anywhere within the service area (see the orange area in the map). If anyone does not have a smartphone, they can call 855-918-3733 for assistance.
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Enter any of these addresses in your GPS for the free parking lots close to downtown.  During special events and festivals, many of these lots are not available, but many private lots do provide parking for a fee.
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City Hall
510 N. Baker Street

First United Methodist Church
428 E. 5th Avenue

Parking Garage 
250 N. Donnelly Street

Tremain Street Parking Lot
225 N. Tremain Street 

3rd & Baker Grass Parking Lot
210 E. 3rd Avenue

3rd & Donnelly Parking Lot
300 N. Donnelly Street

4th & Baker Parking Lot
400 N. Baker Street

4th & Alexander Parking (Renaissance) Lot 
400 Alexander Street

5th & Baker Parking Lot 
481 N. Baker Street
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Most of us received our TRIM notice for Ad Valorem (property taxes) in the mail from the Lake County Taxing Authority last week. This notice never fails to raise the collective blood pressures of property owners because it shows the highest possible tax rates from Lake County, Lake County Schools, Mount Dora, St. Johns River Management District, etc.

Florida law requires all taxing authorities to state their maximum millage rates for the upcoming tax year in mid-July. I can't speak for the other taxing entities and I don't speak for the City of Mount Dora, but we tend to guess high because at that early date we don't have all the data needed to pin down our eventual millage rate. It's easy to reduce that maximum proposed millage rate, but next to impossible to increase it.

To comply with the law and meet the State's timeline, on July 16 Mount Dora City Council set our maximum millage rate for Fiscal Year 2024-25 at 6.6 mills, well up from our FY 2023-24 millage rate of 5.9603 mills. That's the rate you saw in your TRIM. We anticipated that a millage increase would be needed but hoped that we could eventually settle on a lower number.

After our Budget Work Session last night, it appears to me that our eventual final millage rate will be 6.3 mills which was our pre-Covid millage rate. If that's the case, a Mount Dora homeowner who has a Homestead Exemption, and whose home has a market value of $344,000 (average home market value) will see an increase of about $151 in their Mount Dora real estate taxes next fiscal year. That's an increase of about $12.59 per month. Of course, your house may be worth more or less.

Please keep in mind that I have no idea what other taxing authorities will need to pay their bills. Their final tax rates won't go up any higher than what was on your TRIM notice and they might go down from that maximum millage rate.

I think it goes without saying that crafting the City's budget is one of the most important things City Council does and that collectively, we take that responsibility very seriously.  The final vote will be held during our September 17 City Council Meeting.

With college football season kicking off (pun intended) I've selected a quote from Coach Paul "Bear" Bryant.

"When you make a mistake, there are only three things you should ever do about it: 1. Admit it. 2. Learn from it. 3. Don't repeat it."

Thanks for allowing me to represent District 4 and serve as your Vice-mayor.

by Marc Crail
Mount Dora Vice Mayor and District 4 Representative

For more news and events in Mount Dora, Tavares & Eustis, visit Mount Dora Buzz's website, its Instagram  and Facebook page.  Download the area's free mobile app for info on the go.  For local food recommendations, follow Mount Dora Foodie's Facebook and its official Instagram account.

Marc Crail
Mount Dora Vice Mayor and District 4 Representative
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Mount Dora City Council met for its August 20th regular meeting. I've selected a few items of interest from the agenda and discussions.  Please keep in mind that I'm reporting to you as one individual and not on behalf of City Council as a whole.

We heard a presentation from Police Chief Mike Gibson about the possible installation of School Zone Speed Cameras near Triangle Elementary School, Round Lake Charter School, Mount Dora Middle School and Mount Dora High School. The state legislature approved the use of school speed zone cameras last year. I was stunned to learn that hundreds of motorists exceed the 20 mph speed limits by 11 or more mph during the opening and closing hours of our local schools every day. This creates a daily danger for thousands of our students and school staff.

City Council authorized the Police Chief to look into an ordinance that would need City Council approval. There would be no cost to our tax payers. The cost would be covered by $100 school zone speeding tickets. Chief Gibson expects that this would result in significant decreases in school zone speed violations.

We also heard from our health insurance broker and an actuary regarding anticipated increases in the cost of our employee medical insurance premiums. FYI, city employees pay about 14% of the cost of their health insurance. That leaves 86 %  coming from the city's budget. Not unexpectedly, claims are more costly than in previous years and our costs have increased over the last few years. We asked our experts to give us their best thinking on options that could help control this expense.

Council approved contracting with Redzone Robotics for manhole and sanitary main inspections. It makes good sense to me to use a contractor like Redzone that has the proper equipment and expertise to scope out our underground pipes.

That's about it for today's meeting agenda. I'm switching subjects now to talk a bit about development in and around Mount Dora. I've been fielding lots of questions recently about all the new development going on in and around Mount Dora. Including:
Why is so much development happing now? What are the rules for approving proposed projects?  Why can't we just stop development and keep Mount Dora the way it is?  What are the benefits and downsides of growth in and around Mount Dora?

In order to help folks understand development in Florida and answer their questions about what's going on, our Economic Development director, Misty Sommer and I have put together a presentation that we call "Development 101". We've presented "Development 101" twice so far for residents at Waterman Village with large crowds and lots of great questions. We're scheduled to make a similar presentation for Lakes of Mount Dora residents at 2:00 p.m. on Monday September 16th in the LoMD social hall . All Lakes of Mount Dora neighbors are invited to attend. Mark your calendars now.

If you don't happen to live in Lakes of Mount Dora but have a group (your Mount Dora neighborhood, a club, etc.) that would be interested in scheduling a "Development 101" presentation please contact me and we'll try to accommodate  your group.

Our quote for the day comes from C.S. Lewis the British author and theologian who said: "You can't go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending." Here's to new beginnings!

Thanks for allowing me to serve as your District 4 Representative and Vice-mayor.

Marc Crail
Mount Dora Vice Mayor and District 4 Representative