It was once touted as one of the nicest places to be laid to rest in the area.   Located in the center of town, Mount Dora’s historic Pine Forest Cemetery lived up to its name of a peaceful  place where towering pines dotted the lawn among the paths of headstones and monuments. Inside the aging cemetery are the humble gravesites of the city’s founding families, as well as burial sites of recent residents.

Earlier this year some of that peace and beauty changed after City staff were directed to remove some aging landscaping and damaged gravesite coping in order to make maintenance easier and to remove potential tripping hazards at the City-owned cemetery, according to Amy Jewell, Mount Dora’s Director of Leisure Services that oversees the city-owned cemetery.

A 1969 City ordinance prevented more coping from being added to the cemetery.  That was the year after the City's cement mason, Carl Risley, passed away.  Last September the City Council, as well as the City’s Parks Advisory Committee comprised of residents, voted unanimously to adopt a policy that reaffirmed the prohibition of the coping at Pine Forest, said Jewell in a letter dated February 24.    

Staff members were not directed to remove all of the gravesite coping. However, an overzealous supervisor removed excessive amounts of coping, according to Jewell.  As a result, swaths of unsightly scarred earth were left behind and those parts of the cemetery appeared desecrated (see video below). Residents began complaining to Jewell and City Manager Robin Hayes. The issue lit up on social media last weekend with dozens of angry residents accusing the City of disrespect and desecration.  

By Marc Crail, Mount Dora City Council
District 4 City Council Representative

I've selected some items from the February 18, 2020 Mount Dora City Council meeting agenda to share with you. I'm reporting to you as an individual not in any official city council capacity.

We approved a memorandum of understanding Philips Corp. that manufactures ultrasound machines. Phillips has agreed to provide training by physicians for our Mount Dora firefighters to learn how to operate their ultrasound equipment. Eventually we may be able to have those ultrasound machines on our fire trucks. That way our firefighters would be able to check traffic accident victims on the scene to help determine if their injuries require immediate transport to a trauma  center. There is no cost to the city for this training.

We also approved our part of a joint resolution along with the City of Tavares and Lake County Commissioners identifying a cooperative initiative to develop a "rails to trails" recreation trail. The proposed rail trail would be about 12.5 miles long running from Sorrento through Mount Dora and on to Tavares.  I think that this cooperative effort could help us to obtain state or federal funding to help make the rail trail a reality. I'm excited about the prospects!

Ordinances were approved that will enable our police officers and firefighters buy up to 60 months of their military experience. This is a common benefit for first responders and the costs are minimal.

We finalized a much needed ordinance that amends our land development code pertaining to Bed and Breakfast establishments. These changes will help B&Bs which are important businesses in our town to host special events and help their bottom line

In my opinion, back in November of 2016 city council foolishly approved an agreement with Medallion Home in order to settle a pending law suite. Part of that agreement (which I opposed) was that the city got a temporary deed and had three years to build and occupy a fire station on a small parcel of property located near the S.R. 44 entrance to Lakes of Mount Dora where the retention pond is currently located near the Medallion sales office. Since that site was not at all well suited to house a fire station, there was never any serious intention to build one there. The three year timeline for building and occupying the fire station is now over so we authorized the mayor to execute a Quit Claim Deed reverting the ownership of that parcel to Medallion Home.

Allow me to end with some good news. We passed a resolution for a 2020 summer youth work experience program for up to 30 high school students who reside in our Northeast community redevelopment area. These students will be able to earn $11 per hour gaining job experience over 7-10 weeks this coming summer. This program was a great success last summer and it has been tweaked to make it even better this year.

February is Black History Month so I'll give you some words of wisdom from Booker T. Washington who said; "A lie doesn't become the truth, wrong doesn't become right and evil doesn't become good just because it's accepted by the majority."

It's a privilege for me to represent District 4 on Mount dora City Council. Thank you.

By Marc Crail, Mount Dora City Council
District 4 City Council Representative

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