Government & Education news

MOUNT DORA UPDATE: Recap of September 17 City Council meeting

9/17/2024

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

Mount Dora launches free shuttles beginning October 4

9/16/2024

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.

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.

DOWNTOWN PARKING LOTS

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

UPTOWN & BOATING PARKING LOTS

Highland & Liberty Parking Lot
853 Liberty Avenue

First Baptist Church
1000 E. 1st Avenue

Boat Ramp/Lighthouse Parking Lot
417 S. Tremain Street

Palm Island Parking Lot
411 S.Tremain Street

Gilbert Park
310 S. Tremain Street

There are still calls from the public for a parking garage, but the lack of a large and available space downtown and traffic issues virtually preclude the practicality of constructing a parking garage within convenient walking distance to downtown.

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.

New "Mount Dora North" development proposed in Lake County

9/1/2024

A significant new development is proposed for Lake County on Round Lake Road across from Round Lake Charter School and north of State Road 46. The proposed 260-acre project has 3,242 residential units at an average density of 12.45 dwelling units (DU) per acre. (See conceptual plan below)

For comparison, nearby Sullivan Ranch is 299 acres with 692 residences with density of 2.31 DU per acre.

The 10-parcel project will have a public hearing at the Lake County Planning & Zoning Board on Wednesday, September 4, and the Lake County Commission on Tuesday, October 1.

The capacity for City of Mount Dora water and waste-treatment utilities to service the large development and others in the pipeline has been a concern of residents already dealing with the recurring smell of sewage in the eastern area of Mount Dora. The City of Mount Dora's public information officer (PIO) would not answer whether the City supports the Lake County project as currently proposed, or if it has waste-water treatment capacity at the controversial plant which currently serves that area and has been the alleged source of a noxious odor for years.

The City, via its PIO, also opted not to answer whether it would have a representative at the upcoming Lake County zoning hearing. According to Lake County’s rezoning staff’s 36-page report, the county’s final ordinance was provided to the City of Mount Dora staff for comments on June 25, 2024, yet the City made none.

The September 4 and October 1 public hearings are to consider the Richland Developer Florida Inc’s. (Richland) request to rezone the parcels from agricultural and rural residential districts to a Planned Unit Development (PUD), which includes higher density residential and a mixed-use employment center. Currently the parcels are single-family homes and agricultural pastures.

The proposed Mount Dora North project is one of two developments which encompasses 593 acres and also includes the Mount Dora South development. The majority of the North and South project is within the Wolf Branch Innovation District (WBID). In total, 3,746 residences are proposed, along with over 12 million square-feet of non-residential space intended for office, commercial and light industrial-flex uses. The residential densities for the combined Mount Dora North and South projects range from 4 dwelling units (DU) per acre to 18 DU per acre and the dwelling types include single-family homes, townhomes and low-rise residential. Both of the proposed developments are on the September 4 agenda.

RVi Planning & Landscape Architecture, Richland’s consultant, submitted a summary and narrative on the development which stated Mount Dora North would result in a projected 30,232 trips daily, with 2,360 of those occurring in peak morning hours, and 2,462 occurring in peak evening hours. The developer would pay the required roadway impact fees for the development.

Lake County’s Planning and Zoning Board meeting will be held on September 4 at the Lake County Commission Chamber at 315 W. Main Street in Tavares at 9 a.m. and is open to the public. The October 1 public hearing is scheduled at the same location.

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ABOVE: Conceptual plan of proposed Mount Dora North development with key on right. (Click on image to enlarge.)

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.

Important Questions & Answers for Lake County voters

9/1/2024

This year’s general election takes place on November 5. Changes have been made to voting in Florida and Lake County, so Mount Dora Buzz compiled the top 10 things you need to know to ensure your vote counts in November.

1. What is the new process for voting by mail? How do voters request a vote-by-mail ballot?
Vote-by-Mail requests expire every 2 years, every even-numbered year.
Voters may request a Vote-by-Mail ballot by:

Calling Lake County Supervisor of Elections office at 352-343-9734.
Completing an online request at their official website at https://www.lakevotes.gov/Voter-Information/Vote-By-Mail .
Printing and completing a Vote-by-Mail Request Form and returning it to the Lake County Supervisor of Elections office at 1898 E. Burleigh Boulevard in Tavares. Vote-by-Mail Request Forms are available on LakeVotes.gov or at Lake County Supervisor of Elections office at 1898 E. Burleigh Boulevard in Tavares or at any Lake County Library location.

Voters can visit the Vote-by-Mail tab at the official website at https://www.lakevotes.gov/Voter-Information/Vote-By-Mail for more information.

2. What's the deadline to mail in a Vote-by-Mail ballot?
The United States Postal Service recommends five to seven days to return a Vote-by-Mail ballot by mail.

Secure Ballot Intake Stations are available for voters to return a voted Vote-by-Mail ballot to any one of 12 Early Voting locations during Early Voting. Early Voting dates and hours of operation for the General Election are:
October 21st through Nov. 2nd from 10 a.m to 6 p.m.

Vote-by-Mail ballots MUST be received at Lake County Supervisor of Elections office at 1898 E. Burleigh Boulevard in Tavares no later than 7 p.m. on Election Day.

3. Were any voters removed from the voter rolls since the last general election? If so, how do voters check to see if they are still shown as valid voters?
Yes. Voters may call the office of the Supervisor of Elections at 352-343-9734 or visit its official website, LakeVotes.gov, select the Voter Information button, select Look up My Voter Information, and complete the Voter Information Lookup Form.
The link is https://www.lakevotes.gov/Voting/Voter-Information .

4. How do voters confirm their signatures? What is the deadline to update a signature?
Signatures change due to a variety of reasons. Lake County Supervisor of Elections encourages voters to update their signature on a consistent basis. Age, illness, injury and more can impact signatures.
Should a voter wish to view their signature on file, a visit to the Supervisor’s office at 1898 E. Burleigh Boulevard in Tavares would be required.

5. Are there any new Florida voting requirements that voters should be aware of?
Lake County Supervisor of Election’s official website, LakeVotes.gov has a plethora of voter information available. Voters who are heading to their polling location for in-person voting need to bring a valid and current photo ID with signature. Examples of what is acceptable can be found at LakeVotes.gov in its digital Voter Guide.

6. Can people register to vote online? If so, what is the link?
Yes, voters can absolutely register online. The links to register in Lake County and Florida are:

7. What is the deadline to register before the November 5, 2024 election?
The deadline for new voter registrations is October 7, 2024.

8. Have there been any precinct changes since the last general election?No. However, voters are encouraged to review the location of their precinct prior to heading out for in-person voting. Voters can find their precinct:

On their Voter Information card.
By visiting the website LakeVotes.gov, select the Voter Information button, select Find my Precinct.
By calling the Supervisor’s office at 352-343-9734.

9. When does early in-person voting begin and end in Lake County?
October 21st to November 2nd from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

10. How transparent is the process in Lake County?
Anyone curious about the inner workings of Lake County Elections can schedule a 90-minute tour of the facility. The tour is guided by Supervisor Hays or another team member. This is a great way to experience how elections are administered by the office. Voters may sign up for a tour by visiting https://www.lakevotes.gov/Educational-Resources/Facility-Tours .

New concrete walkway set replace boardwalk on Donnelly Street

9/1/2024

The City of Mount Dora has completed construction plans and obtained environmental permits for reconstruction of the pedestrian way located along the west side of Donnelly Street between Limit Avenue and U.S. Highway 441. The City plans to replace the dilapidated pedestrian boardwalk with a concrete sidewalk on an improved roadside shoulder.

The wood boardwalk was undermined by stormwater-caused erosion, which progressively undercut its supporting structure. The City sought and qualified for a FEMA-related grant to help with the cost, and is also awaiting a final determination from the State of Florida concerning the award of its grant.

Following complaints from local residents in June, City officials inspected the boardwalk and found it to be unsafe for further use by the public in its current condition.

Presently, the Florida Department of Emergency Management (FDOEM) is expediting its review of the City’s grant application. If the grant is approved and the City enters into a grant agreement with FDOEM, it can proceed to construct the new sidewalk and receive the grant monies needed to complete the project.

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.