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

'll begin with my usual admonition that I am reporting to you entirely from my own perspective and not on behalf of City Council as a whole. I've selected some topics that we discussed and/or acted upon today that I think you might like to hear about.

Our meetings began with a 2:00 Work Session around the topic of continuing to revise our Special Events Ordinance and Policies. We've been reviewing Special Events (festivals) for awhile and after conversations with event organizers, downtown merchants, city staff, etc. we aim to clarify, simplify and update our Ordinance and Policies. Mount Dora is known as "Florida's Festival City" and our festivals and other events are a big part of our tourism and our commerce. Thanks to a great deal of hard work by our city staff we are closing in on the completion of this project. We got an update today and should have a final product soon.

Next up was our Final Budget Public Hearing. After nearly 6 months of hard work, we have asked our City Manager to reduce the proposed budget by $114,000 which represents .1 mill. We voted 6-0 to reduce the millage rate from 6.3 mills currently in effect to 6.2 mills for the upcoming 2019-2020 budget year that begins October 1. That new budget will be about $98,822,000. Because of the addition of new houses and businesses over the past year and rising property values we will take in more real estate tax dollars next year even though the millage rate will be slightly reduced.

During our Regular Meeting a proposal to award a contract to a company called GAI for planning renovations to the Lincoln Park pool, locker rooms and a proposed splash pad failed on a 3-3 vote. Mayor Girone, Mr. Massey and Mr. Rolfson voted "yes' while Mr. Tucker, Ms Stile and I voted "no". I can't speak for the others but my reason for voting no was that GAI was the company that produced our Parks & Recreation Master Plan over the past year and I was not happy with their work. I favor the idea of improving the pool, locker rooms and adding a splash pad but I think we should find another company to do the work and possibly save some money too.

We approved the final reading of an Ordinance to change the zoning of the property the City owns on Limit Ave. so that a fire station and a new public works building can be constructed there. These are important projects and I'm glad to tell you that we are moving forward with them.

Everybody wants to strive for success and my quote for today is from Tim Fargo who said; "Success is normally found in a pile of mistakes". In my experience I think he's spot on.

Thank you for the opportunity to help represent you as your District 4 City Council Member.

Dr. Marc Crail
Mount Dora City Council 
District 4 Representative

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

During the public backlash over the 2017 project and the City’s policy,  city council members firmly advised Hayes they were dissatisfied with the process that eroded the public’s trust and that the City should be held to the same Historic Preservation Board approvals and permitting standards as residents and businesses.   Council members also advised that multiple design options should have been presented, in order to ensure that the best remedy for downtown was selected. One council member at the time, Mark Slaby, passionately warned Hayes and his colleagues about the potential for incrementally destroying downtown’s uniqueness.   

Fast forward two years: The City has again commenced a seemingly unvetted project on taxpayer property involving the same property owner without presenting options, without reviewing it with the Historic Preservation Board, and without having architectural plans of its finished design.  The difference this time is that the project is on the most visible intersection of the historic district, and no one at the City knows what the completed project will look like. ​

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

By Marc Crail
District 4 City Council Representative

Mount Dora City Council held two meetings on September 5. The first meeting concerned the 2019-20 budget and the second mainly focused upon a proposed new residential development called "Cottages on 11th". I'm reporting to you from my own personal perspective and not as a spokesperson for City Council as a whole.

Our budget meeting was held to meet the legal requirements to pass resolutions to set the TENTATIVE millage rate for FY 2019-20 and to define the amount of the proposed budget. There is a state required timeline and this is another step in the long budget building process. I need to stress that this was not the final step of adopting the budget. That final budget adoption will take place on Thursday September 19 at 5:30 p.m. that will culminate a six month long journey that began back in March involving many hours of discussions, asking thousands of questions, and resulting in getting seven divergent council members to agree on the "right" budget for our city. That's how good government works.

Important city needs were left unmet in previous years mostly due to a long and deep recession. We've been playing catch up during my four years on city council. Progress has been made but we still have miles to go and our "rainy day" reserves are nowhere near adequate in my estimation. I favor keeping our millage rate the same as it has been at 6.3 mills. I consider myself to be a fiscal conservative and to me that means that we should restrain our spending when we can but also that we must provide for our city's needs in a fiscally responsible way. There were rounds of applause from the audience when token millage rate cuts were suggested, but I remain unconvinced that doing so would be prudent. After another long debate the tentative millage rate resolution remains at 6.3 mills after a 5-2 vote with council members Tillett and Stile opposing and the proposed budget amount being $98,800,000 on a 6-1 vote with Ms Tillett voting no. The final millage and budget amount for FY 2019-20 will be determined on September 19.

The second meeting was dominated by conversations about a proposed  27 home residential development off 11th Ave. The developer would like a zoning change from R-1A to PUD. This would allow smaller lot sizes in exchange for higher end architectural designs including garages in the rear of the homes. I thought that the many community members who spoke, as well as the developer, made excellent points. There was a great deal of unanimity among city council members who expressed concerns that setbacks, landscaping, parking, drainage, traffic on 11th Avenue and the number of houses need to be addressed. I sensed that there is a willingness to compromise in order to resolve these issues so that this exciting project can move forward. We approved the Preliminary PUD and over the upcoming months the developer and city planning staff will work together to tweak the concept before asking for final council approval.

My quote for today comes from the well known philosopher, Groucho Marx who quipped; "Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong remedies."

Thanks for your interest in Mount Dora!

Marc Crail
District 4 City Council Representative

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