MOUNT DORA UPDATE: Recap of Feb. 18 City Council meeting

By Marc Crail
District 4 City Council Representative
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I've selected several items from our  February 18th meeting agenda that I think will be of interest to you. As usual, I am reporting to you as one individual council member and not on behalf of city council as a whole. Thanks for your continuing interest in the goings on of the city we all love.

As you may already be aware, the First United Methodist Church and the City have had a cooperative parking lot sharing agreement going back decades. In return for allowing downtown visitors to park in the church's 124 space lot during non-church hours, the City maintains the parking lot. There is no "rental" fee involved, only maintenance. Today we approved $135,000 to repair a retention wall on one side of the lot. Downtown Community Redevelopment Area (CRA) funds will be spent, not General Fund money. Keep that lot in mind next time you are wondering where to park downtown. Everyone concerned appreciates this parking lot sharing agreement.  It's only a couple of blocks from downtown shopping and dining and it's free for you to use!

At long last, construction of a 31,100 square foot Community Resource and Recreation Center on the corner of Lincoln Avenue and North Simpson Street will begin later this year. The need for this kind of facility dates back 50 years. The "not to exceed" cost is $15 million. The firm of Charles Perry Partners Inc. was selected to do the project. Northeast CRA funds will be used to pay for construction.

On the odor front, now that it appears that the source of the bad smell is NOT our Waste Water #2 plant, we are focused on identifying the source or sources of the noxious smell. We hope to cost share on a 50/50 basis with Lake County on this effort. Each entity will pay $135,000. County Commissioners are due to vote to approve their participation at their next meeting and if they approve, we have agreed to participate. This study should be complete by mid-June.

Keeping in mind that I'm expressing my personal opinion, I have been very disappointed in the lack of financial contributions and technical expertise from FDEP. It seems to me that FDEP should be a better partner. This is precisely what they should doing. Mount Dora residents pay state taxes to fund FDEP and we are not getting any bang for our tax bucks. I hope State official will get onboard soon and own up to their responsibilities.

As usual there is both progress and frustration in this report. Everything costs more and takes longer than it should but, we are making progress. One good example is the recent completion of the temporary walkway along the north end of Donnelly St. The safety of our citizens and visitors must be first and foremost. I appreciate the hard work of our city staff.

 Our quote of the day comes from civil rights pioneer, Fredrick Douglas. "It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men."

By Marc Crail
District 4 City Council Representative

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