Government & Education news

MOUNT DORA STOPS CURBSIDE RECYCLING

1/25/2021

Beginning in February, residents will no longer have curbside recycling collection in Mount Dora. Here are the answers to frequently asked questions about the new trash collection and recycling process:

What’s the change?
All recyclable and non-recyclable waste collected at the curb in Mount Dora will now be transported to a private Waste-to-Energy Plant (WTE) that incinerates waste to generate electricity for the company to sell.

Residents will no longer wash or separate recycling products from their other household waste, but will continue to use both garbage and recycling carts to use for the combined trash.

Why is Mount Dora making the shift?
Over the last few years, circumstances have resulted in the cost for recyclable materials to significantly increase, according to the City. Specifically, China, the largest buyer of U.S. recyclable materials, established a new quality specification of 0.3% contamination by weight for any imported waste paper. The prior standard had been 10% contamination. Other countries followed suit with similar specifications for cleanliness of materials, which drove the processing costs up.

The increased cost in traditional recycling processing, along with a low resale value, have made recycling very costly. According to the City, Mount Dora City Council agreed to stop curbside recycling collection to avoid a fee increase to Mount Dora's residential customers.

ABOVE: Hierarchy of Waste Management (graphic by Brown University Earth Institute)

Is incinerating trash environmentally friendly?
Incinerating waste in compliance with current government regulations, reportedly emits less greenhouse gases than the carbon dioxide and methane gas created by landfills. However, Mount Dora's recyclable waste was previously destined for Chinese recycling, rather than a landfill. Recycling is the most environmentally friendly form of waste management, according to Brown University's Earth Institute and the "Hierarchy of Waste Management", a standard used to rank waste strategies according to their environmental impact.

Where is the WTE plant located?
All the materials residents set out at the curb will be transported to the Covanta Waste-to-Energy (WTE) plant in Okahumpka. Every year, that facility processes more than 167,000 tons of waste, which produces 14 megawatts of electricity 24 hours a day, 7 days a week - enough to power 8,100 homes for a year. That is a general reference and those homes are not in Mount Dora.

How does this change benefit the City of Mount Dora?
According to the City, the change avoids a cost increase to customers caused by a rise in cost of traditional recycling processing services. Also, under new State of Florida guidelines, a 50% recycling credit is provided to the City of Mount Dora government for the trash being converted to energy at the WTE plant. This credit is higher than that of the average traditional recycling programs in Florida, according to the City.

Is traditional recycling still available?
Anyone who wants to continue traditional recycling can bring their recyclable waste to the downtown Mount Dora recycling compactors or any of the Lake County Drop-off recycling sites. The following is a list of the downtown Mount Dora recycling compactors:

City parking lot at southwest corner of E. 5th Ave. and N. Baker St. (400 block of N Baker St.)
City parking lot at northeast corner of E. 3rd Ave. and N. Donnelly St. (300 block of N Donnelly St)
City parking lot at northeast corner of W. 4th Ave. and Alexander St. (400 block of Alexander St.)

Do I need to do anything different on trash day?
No. Collection days will not change. The City is recommending residents utilize both carts for all materials. It does not matter if customers mix materials in the carts.

How does this change affect disposing of yard debris?
It doesn't. The days of collection and separation of yard trash remain the same.

Residents with other questions can contact the City of Mount Dora at 352-735-7151 For more news and events in Mount Dora, Tavares & Eustis, this month, click here. Discover the area's online event calendar here. Also download the area's free mobile app.

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LAKE COUNTY EXPANDS COVID-19 IMMUNIZATIONS WITH APPOINTMENT-BASED SYSTEM

1/25/2021

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In recent weeks, Lake County government has been coordinating with DOH-Lake and the Florida Division of Emergency Management to establish an appointment-based immunization option alongside DOH-Lake’s first-come, first-served sites.

Lake County has now been selected for the initial roll-out of the Sharecare appointment system following pilot programs in Miami-Dade, Hillsborough and Duval counties. The scheduling system will accept appointments by phone at 866-201-6909 (or 833-476-1031 for TTY users) for frontline healthcare workers and Florida residents 65 and older.

At this time, the Lake Square Mall immunization site will prioritize first dose appointments. Appointments are based on vaccine availability. Persons who received their first dose at the County immunization site at Lake-Sumter State College will be redirected to the new site at the Lake Square Mall and will receive an email confirming the new location. Florida now requires proof of Florida residency for COVID-19 immunizations.

Lake County is among the top five counties leading in vaccine distribution per capita in the state of Florida, according to a Lake County press release.

For more news and events in Mount Dora, Tavares & Eustis, this month, click here. Discover the area's online event calendar here. Also download the area's free mobile app.

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MOUNT DORA CITY COUNCIL UPDATE: January 19 Meeting

1/20/2021

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By Marc Crail
District 4 Mount Dora City Council Representative

Our January 19th City Council meeting was relatively brief, about 2 hours long. We will also have Work Session from 10:00-4:00 on Thursday 1/21. I've selected several items from our discussions and agenda to tell you about. Please remember that I'm not representing Mount Dora City Council when reporting to you. I'm just doing so as an individual.

We heard a report on on the ongoing COVID-19 immunizations that are being provided at St. Patrick Church. First, some background information; we approached the Lake County Health Department about hosting a vaccine location locally so our residents wouldn't need to drive to Clermont or Leesburg. Our St. Patrick location is a cooperative effort. The church has volunteered their campus which is great. Eustis, Tavares and Mount Dora each have provided police to help manage traffic. Mount Dora has had our fire/paramedics there each day along with a contingent of volunteers. We were open Monday-Thursday last week and Tuesday-Thursday this week. Immunizations begin at 11:00 but plan to arrive by 7:30 or so in order to get in line.

Each day so far we have had 600 doses of Pfizer vaccine allotted to us but by careful conservation of precious vials we have managed to stretch those 600 to about squeeze out between 650- 709 doses per day. Last week we gave about 2,700 shots and today we gave another 709 shots bringing our total immunizations to well over 3,300. That's a good start. More options and more locations are sorely needed as are more doses of vaccine.

We are hopeful that we will be able to continue this St. Patrick program and possibly even expand our efforts to provide service to even more people by providing shots at underserved locations that may include churches, apartment complexes, condos and other residential developments. None of this is not set in stone yet but we are hopeful we can continue to expand our efforts through cooperation with our partners.

We approved 2 Resolutions today that will authorize engineering and design services for important park projects. One project will be renovations to Cauley Lot & Lilly Parks and another to do the create a brand new park/playground in cooperation with Lake County Schools on the campus of Triangle Elementary School.

Lakes of Mount Dora neighborhood residents will be seeing another Traffic Signal Warrant Study take place in February at the intersection of S.R. 44 and Lakes of Mount Dora Blvd. We can expect the results of that study by the end of March. Depending on the traffic count numbers a traffic light there might be recommended. I'll keep you posted about the results but the good news is that the City requested this study meaning that residents' concerns have been noted. We are also looking into other options for safer ingress/egress to the neighborhood including a request for the State to reduce the speed limit on S.R. 44.

The rollout of our new version of recycling is due to begin in early February. Residential Waste Management customers will be able to use both their yellow top (recycling) cans and their green top (garbage) cans for any kind of waste materials. Your pickup day will not change and you will get more information with you next "water" bill. One truck will come by your house on trash day rather than three. All trash will be incinerated to produce electricity.

Yesterday was Dr. Martin Luther King Day. I've shared quotes by Rev. King with you before but today I'd like to give you a quote about Dr. King provided by Bob Woodson. "We honor King not for his victories that are incomplete. We honor him for his vision and his sacrificial commitment to that vision. He saw what we might be capable of as an individual and as a nation. He held it high so we could all see."

Thanks for your interest in our wonderful City.

By Marc Crail
District 4 Mount Dora City Council Representative

For more news and events in Mount Dora, Tavares & Eustis, this month, click here. Discover the area's online event calendar here. Also download the area's free mobile app.

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COVID VACCINATION SITE OPENS IN MOUNT DORA

1/11/2021

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A new drive-through COVID-19 vaccination site will be open January 12 through 14 at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church located half a mile south of the City of Mount Dora. The free vaccines are available to people 65 years old and older, as well as to front line workers on a first-come, first-served basis. There is no residency requirement and no appointments are currently available. Appointments are expected to be available for the second dose.

DOH-Lake is anticipating to have approximately 550 to 750 doses available each day at the Mount Dora area site and will administer vaccines while supplies last for each day. The site will be open this week at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and will remain open until the vaccine supply for that day is administered.

The church campus is large enough to hold the number of vehicles for the amount of vaccines available and then the entrance will be closed. A one to two-and-a-half hour wait in a line should be expected. Face masks are required to be worn in cars.

St. Patrick’s Church is located at 6803 Old U.S. Highway 441 in Orange County. Further scheduling will be listed on Lake.FloridaHealth.gov and MountDoraBuzz.com .

For more news and events in Mount Dora, Tavares & Eustis, this month, click here. Discover the area's online event calendar here. Also download the area's free mobile app.

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DOWNTOWN MOUNT DORA ASSIGNED DEDICATED POLICE OFFICER

1/1/2021

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Over the years Mount Dora Police Department (MDPD) has assigned a dedicated officer to patrol the city’s historic downtown. Now the area will once again have its own officer to handle the area's specific public safety needs and parking enforcement.

MDPD Officer Jack Andreano, who has been with the department for two-and-a-half years, will work closely with downtown businesses and residents, as well as the Community Redevelopment Agency which helps make improvements to the downtown business district. Andreano will be working 10 hours a day, four days a week and patrolling on foot, as well as on marked vehicles, including a bicycle, Segway and patrol vehicle.

RELATED: Downtown Mount Dora's entertainment calendar

In addition to performing the functions of a patrol officer, Andreano will also help plan and coordinate MDPD’s community events and programs, as well as assist the local public school resource officers.

Andreano is also involved in MDPD recruiting and field training, and is a traffic homicide investigator for the department. He was previously assigned to the uniformed patrol division.

For more news and events in Mount Dora, Tavares & Eustis, this month, click here. Discover the area's online event calendar here. Also download the area's free mobile app.

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