By Marc Crail
Mount Dora City Council representative, District 4

I'm leading off my meeting summary tonight with this Mark Twain quote; "Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please". It never ceases to amaze me how critically important it is avoid distortions of facts if our goal is to make progress and show respect for one another. We spent a good deal of meeting time today debunking assertions from a few people in order to assure city council members and city residents that the approved Stormwater Management Plan for Phase 3D at Medallion Home's Lakes of Mount Dora development has been carefully reviewed by Mount Dora city staff and correctly permitted by Saint Johns River Management District. Rumors have been circulating recently on some on-line sites that the safety of some Mount Dora residents was going to be compromised due to careless disregard for their property and wellbeing. In fact, information from City staff, Lake County Water Authority staff and the staff of Saint Johns River Management District has confirmed that those rumors are not true. I certainly believe that when citizens have questions or concerns they should be encouraged to ask their questions and get information to alleviate their worries, however we should be aware of Charles Spurgeon's wise admonition that; "A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes".

The other discussion topic of import was in regard to the carefully planned and highly beneficial reclaimed water connection soon to be built between Apopka and Mount Dora. An easement has been purchased near the front of the Sullivan Ranch Development so that the underground reclaimed water pipes can be installed. Sullivan Ranch residents will have access to a good supply of reclaimed water to sprinkle their lawns and plantings as will other neighborhoods that depend on reclaimed water for irrigation. In my estimation their representatives are throwing up unreasonable roadblocks that could end up costing Sullivan Ranch residents and Mount Dora taxpayers time and money.

I've already voiced my views on two topics so I want to remind my readers that I am not writing as a representative of Mount Dora City Council as a whole. I am a city council member but I'm reporting only my own opinions.

We passed a resolution approving the purchase of about 739 linear feet of book shelving and a new circulation desk for the W. T. Bland Library's Children's section. This $69,000 expenditure is part of a comprehensive renovation of the children's area. Participation and circulation at the library are booming and we have donors and volunteers as well as a great staff to thank for their efforts for our youngest library users.

Resolutions were also passed that will extend our fiber optic upgrades and provide enhanced security system upgrades in several locations.

FYI, on April 23rd. we will celebrate the 66th. anniversary of Mount Dora becoming a "city" back in 1953. Happy anniversary to the best small city around for miles around!

We are beginning the process of developing our city budget for the upcoming fiscal year. We will be holding a Work Session beginning at 9:00 a.m. on April 30th to work on our Capital Improvements Budget.

Despite a few frustrations, I am grateful to have the opportunity to serve as one of your city council representatives.

Dr. Marc Crail
District 4 City Council member

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By Marc Crail
Mount Dora City Council representative, District 4
 
There were two City Council meetings on 4/2/19. We had a 1:00 Work Session as well as a 6:00 Regular Meeting. I've picked out several items from each meeting to share with you. Please keep in mind that what follows comes from me alone. I am not representing City Council as a whole.

Work Sessions are meetings where we hear presentations and discuss topics. They are open to the public but public comments are not permitted. No final decisions are made and no formal votes are taken during Work Sessions.

During today's Work Session we heard an update from city staff regarding our Downtown Parking Implementation Plan. Very early on in my tenure as a city council member in 2015 we began the process of identifying multiple downtown parking solutions and we have been working on them ever since. Today we learned that some but not all of the eight "15 minute loading zones" will be eliminated. I had hoped that since most downtown deliveries like FedEX and UPS occur in the daytime (between 9:00-5:00) we could utilize those loading zone spots in the evening for restaurant patrons or evening shoppers. Apparently both FedEX and UPS are now making a second round of daily deliveries to downtown shops late in the day and into the evening due to Amazon same day fulfillments. Plans are still on track for a new surface parking lot near downtown.

You probably are already aware that passenger train service to Mount Dora is scheduled to end as of April 22 due to the need for expensive track upgrades required for passenger trains. Thousands of people use the train to get to downtown during festivals and on regular weekends as well. Mayor Girone held a meeting on March 22 to discuss this development with stakeholders. He reported the results to us. The situation is very complex since one company owns the land under the tracks, another company owns the tracks and a third company runs the trains. Both Tavares and Mount Dora are interested in pursuing ways to revive train service between our towns but this will be a long term project. Rail service will likely end in on 4/22 and probably won't resume anytime in the foreseeable future. There is strong interest in resuming rail service so we won't give up yet!

During the regular meeting we heard a quarterly update from Dr. Richard Levey who is our Economic Development Consultant. The Wolf Branch Innovation District will be comprised of about 850 acres (6 sq. mi.) near S.R. 46 and Round Lake Rd. He continues to refine the mix of residential, commercial and infrastructure to make Wolf Branch a unique place to distinguish it from other new developments.

In my estimation, the best news of the night was a great report about our upcoming summer camp programs. Parents of school aged kids often worry about providing safe and fun activities for their children during the long summer school break. In addition to the vastly improved 10 week Kidz Quest weekly day camps there will also be an Adventure Camp, a Fishing Camp, a First Responder Camp and a Kayak Camp. The prices are very reasonable and scholarships are available for families who can't afford the fees. This is amazing for Mount Dora's youngest citizens and their parents.

A couple of weeks ago we talked about the pros and cons of beginning our regular city council meetings earlier than our current 6:00 p.m. meeting time. Just for your information; Tavares meets at 4:00, Leesburg meets at 5:30 and Eustis meets at 6:00. By a 4-3 vote we decided to adjust our regular meeting time to 5:30 beginning with our next meeting on 4/16.

Sir Winston Churchill was a cynic with a wonderfully wicked sense of humor. He once quipped that; "The best argument against democracy is a five minute conversation with the average voter". In light of what's going on currently in the U.K. and right here in the U.S. he might have hit the nail on the head!

Thanks for the opportunity to serve as your District 4 City Council representative,
Marc Crail

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By Dr. Marc Crail
District 4 City Council Member

The Tuesday March 19th schedule featured a 1:00 Work Session and a 6:00 Regular Meeting. I've picked out several items from each meeting's agenda that I think you might be interested in hearing about. Please keep in mind that I am not writing in any official capacity and certainly not on behalf of City Council as a whole. I am just one member and what follows are my own observations.

The Work Session included discussions about several interesting topics. The first was a review of a community meeting held last month in the Lakes of Mount Dora neighborhood where city staff members and about 160 concerned residents discussed options to improve safe ingress and egress as residents, tradespeople and guests pull out of the development onto S.R. 44 which is currently the only exit/entrance for nearly 600 homes with another 400+ still to be built. Residents at Lakes of Mount Dora (LoMD) are very concerned that they are putting their lives on the line every time they leave their neighborhood and attempt to merge onto S.R. 44 where drivers are often clipping along at speeds in excess of 55 m.p.h. Residents at the February 13th table-top workshop worked in teams to voice their concerns and to identify their preferred solutions.

Just a couple of weeks ago Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) announced that it has plans to install a traffic light at the nearby intersection of S.R. 44 and Britt Rd. City staff will be meeting next week with their counterparts from FDOT and Lake County to discuss how that future traffic light can be constructed so as to help LoMD residents exit and enter their neighborhood more safely. A followup meeting with LoMD residents has been scheduled for May 8. It's good to see that this safety problem is being recognized by the City, the County and the State.

The recent increase in the residential Fire Assessment Fee from $50 per year to $219 will help fund the construction and staffing of three new fire stations which will shorten our emergency response times throughout Mount Dora. I think that this will save lives and property and I support that 100%. City Council members are concerned that some homeowners will be hard pressed to pay their Fire Assessments so we are looking for options to help low income homeowners who live in homes that they own (eligible for Homestead Exemptions) with some kind of a hardship reduction. This is a work in progress but I will keep you posted as we progress.

During the Regular Meeting we heard a presentation from a recently formed group who plan to offer free advice and help to Mount Dora small business owners who could use some short term assistance perfecting their business plans, planning for slow sales seasons and the like. The group called the "Volunteer Business Solutions Advisory Committee" is comprised of veteran entrepreneurs whose goal is to lend their business expertise to new business owners. What a great concept!

We passed a resolution to purchase a new forklift costing $91,761 to replace our current forklift that is about 20 years old. Three departments will be sharing the cost and the use of the new equipment.

We also adopted our new Parks & Recreation Master Plan which has had the benefit of numerous public meetings and on-line surveys completed by hundreds of residents over the past year. That plan will be our blueprint over the next decade as we strive to improve access and opportunities for all Mount Dora residents to enjoy city parks near their neighborhoods while improving our existing parks and our recreational opportunities.

In the wake of the tragic slaughter of 50 innocent people worshiping in Christchurch, New Zealand I've come across a quote for your consideration. It's from Connie Schultz a syndicated columnist and professor at Kent State University who wrote; "Forty-nine (now 50) people were murdered during Friday Prayer in two mosques in New Zealand. We feel helpless in these moments, but we are not powerless. We can be kind to strangers who do not look like us or are different in other ways. We can be daily signs of hope for our hurting world."  Let's all work to be signs of hope, the world could really use that right now!
Dr. Marc Crail
District 4 City Council Member

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It was intended to be a partial solution to a nagging problem.  Last November, the City of Mount Dora purchased property for $798,000 (including closing costs) to develop as a downtown parking lot to help reduce the parking shortage.

The plan was to tear down the unsafe metal barn, as well as two small historic homes on the property located at the intersection of Third Avenue and Baker Street and replace them with a parking lot to accommodate varied estimated of 43 to 60 cars and public restrooms.

On January 30, the proposed demolition of the historic homes and barn, all built between 1925 and 1927, went before the Historic Preservation Board which denied the request.  The Board, comprised of seven residents appointed by the City Council, is responsible for all matters relative to historic preservation in the city.

From the outside, one of the houses appears in poor condition, but the condition of the other is more difficult to ascertain.

The city could have brought its plans to the board for a preliminary review as part of its due diligence prior to purchasing the property, but instead opted to bring the proposed demolition for review only after the hefty transaction was complete.   

The matter is slated to go before the City Council on March 5 when its members will decide whether to uphold the historic preservation of the buildings or replace them with the parking lot.  If the council supports the historic preservation, it will then have to decide what to do with its newly acquired property.    ​

For more news and events in Mount Dora, Tavares & Eustis, visit the area's website and download the area's free mobile app.  Free subscriptions to Mount Dora Buzz' monthly updates are available here.   ​​

By Dr. Marc Crail, District 4 City Council Member
​ 
Today was a busy day. There were two important ribbon cutting events. The first was for the 22,000 sq. ft. Adventist Health Medical Office Building located on U.S. Rt. 441 near Country Club Dr. This new facility is due to be completed by fall of this year.

The second one marked the completion of the reconstruction of Magnolia Ending cul-de-sac. Magnolia Ending is in the Dogwood Mountain neighborhood. It is on the edge of one of the steepest embankments in Mount Dora and the roadway suffered a catastrophic collapse as a result of Hurricane Irma about 18 months ago. The street has been completely rebuilt and the drainage system vastly improved to prevent any future reoccurrence. Neighborhood residents, city staff and officials including Congressman Michael Waltz were on hand to celebrate the "grand re-opening".

I've picked out several items from our 1:00 City Council Work Session and our 6:00 Regular Meeting that I thought would be of interest to you. I'm not writing in any official capacity so what follows is just my opinion and not necessarily representative of Mount Dora City Council.

During our work session we began a review of our draft Parks & Recreation Master Plan. After months of public meetings, online surveys, and work by our consultant and city staff we received the draft plan late last week. It is several hundred pages long and its importance cannot be over emphasized. I for one pushed for a several weeks to carefully read and discuss the draft master plan before formally considering its adoption. We will be asking questions and studying the draft plan over the next month.

I always try to represent the needs of residents from all over Mount Dora but in this case I will be partial to the residents of my district, District 4 which has no city parks of any significance. I strongly believe that our parks need to be located throughout the city so that all of our residents can easily access and enjoy them. Our parks are concentrated near the center of town. That was acceptable when Mount Dora was a compact village but as our town grows I'm going to insist on equal access to parks for all of our residents. I'm looking forward to hearing from members of our Parks & Recreation Advisory Board and other city council members.

During the regular meeting we gave our final approval to the PUD for Timberwalk which will include 376 new homes on Round Lake Rd. near Round Lake Charter School. Look for dirt to begin being moved later this year.

We approved the first reading of an important ordinance which will help protect our citizens from the prospect of having our citizen-owned utilities such as our water, wastewater, sewer and electric utilities sold by city council without the approval of our residents.

February is Black History Month and I've selected a quote from Harriet Tubman that struck me as inspiring. She said:

 "If you hear the dogs, keep going. If you see the torches in the woods, keep going.  If there's shouting after you, keep going.  Don't ever stop, keep going.  If you want the taste of freedom, keep going."

In order for all of us to be free,  each of us must "keep going" toward the goal of equal opportunities for all. Thanks to brave leaders like Harriet Tubman we have made progress toward that goal but there is still work to be done.

Thanks for your interest in your Mount Dora city government!

Marc Crail
District 4 City Council Representative

For more news and events in Mount Dora, Tavares & Eustis, visit the area's website and download the area's free mobile app.  Free subscriptions to Mount Dora Buzz' monthly updates are available here.   ​

By Dr. Marc Crail, District 4 City Council Member

There were actually three city council meetings on February 5th beginning at 1:00 with a Work Session, a 6:00 Regular Meeting and a brief Northeast Community Redevelopment Agency Board meeting that wrapped up at about 9:00. I've selected some items from these meetings that I thought you would like to hear about. Please remember that I am reporting not as a spokesperson for city council as a whole but only from my own perspective.

Several important topics were discussed during our Work Session. We all know that traffic is ever increasing on our roads in and around Mount Dora. With the recent completion of the Wekiva Parkway this trend will continue and accelerate in upcoming years. In order to help us to make informed decisions about "traffic calming" options we will be undertaking a citywide study over the next several months. There will be opportunities for public input and consultations with experts as we  begin to implement recommendations to deal with excess speed in our neighborhoods and on our streets.

There are many worthwhile organizations that seek money from the City to help them run programs and facilities that benefit our residents. These include; The Merchants Association, Chamber of Commerce, Donnelly House, Lake Cares Food Pantry and the sponsors of the African American History Festival among others. We want to develop a set of standards by which proposals for City grants can be rated and scarce resources awarded.

During the Regular Meeting we passed a series of Resolutions mostly dealing with utility line relocations, State Revolving Loan Funds to finance the construction of utility lines, and awarding a contract for the construction of an interconnect project so that we can get additional reclaimed water when its needed from the City of Apopka.

Several ordinances were also preliminarily approved during first readings. The most exciting to me is a 376 unit single family residential development to be located between Round Lake Charter School and Wolf Branch Road. It is called Timberwalk and it will be the first development near the Wolf Branch Innovation District that will be subject to our recently adopted "enhanced architectural standards" which will require developments to include more green space and nice touches that should make homes there unique and help improve property values. Smart, controlled growth is essential to preserving our quality of life in Mount Dora.

I'm proud to be your District 4 City Council Representative and I'm proud to have the opportunity to work with our great staff and my colleagues on City Council. Thanks for the opportunity!

I've got a Mark Twain quote for you to consider; "Patriotism is supporting your country all the time and your government when it deserves it."

By Marc Crail
District 4 City Council Member

For more news and events in Mount Dora, Tavares & Eustis, visit the area's website and download the area's free mobile app.  Free subscriptions to Mount Dora Buzz' monthly updates are available here.   ​

“Since our transition to becoming a no-kill community, we’ve struggled with overcrowding at the shelter,” said Lake County Animal Shelter director Whitney Boylston. “The new facility will allow us to better serve the pets as they wait for new homes.”
 
After being designated as a no-kill shelter in 2017, concerns about overcrowding were quickly recognized by Lake County Commissioners, who approved the new facility last year.
 
The new shelter, to be funded by Lake County’s penny sales tax, will also feature an education room, a surgery room, cat and dog isolation areas and adoption areas. Lake County invites the public for a groundbreaking ceremony for the new facility at 12280 County Road 448 on January 14 at 11 a.m.   

For more news and events in Mount Dora, Tavares & Eustis, visit the area's website and download the area's free mobile app.  Free subscriptions to Mount Dora Buzz' monthly updates are available here.   ​