Government & Education news - MOUNT DORA BUZZ

MOUNT DORA SEEKS RESIDENTS' INPUT

12/1/2020

Residents providing informed input to city leaders is key to good policy making. Those policies can make a community thrive. Currently, there are several openings on Mount Dora’s Advisory Boards and Commissions composed of citizens who want to help shape the future of their community. These boards allow residents to discuss their ideas and have a say in how the City grows and maintains the charm that makes it “Someplace Special.”

The CIty of Mount Dora is seeking to fill volunteer seats on the following boards. No prior experience is necessary.

Planning and Zoning Commission
Helps shape smart growth and development in the city.

Redevelopment Agency
Helps establish economic and social viability for the community.

Northeast Community Redevelopment Advisory Committee
Helps shape economic and social viability and housing issues in the Northeast area of Mount Dora.

Historic Preservation Board
Helps with the historic preservation of the City through codes, review of future projects, property protection and public programs.

Parks and Recreation Advisory Board
Advises the City Council about the city’s parks and recreation facilities.

Public Arts Commission
Helps make decisions about public art, encourages creativity, as well as art education and appreciation throughout the city.

Library Advisory Board
Helps advise the Library Manager about development of the library and library programs.

All of the boards are looking for three new members. A resident can serve on one or several boards on topics that are of interest where they seek to make an impact. Anyone interested in serving can fill out an application on the City’s website or in person and submit it to the City Clerk’s office at City Hall.

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CURRENT FREE COVID-19 TESTING SITES

11/20/2020

ARTICLE UPDATED to reflect new CDC quarantine guidelines released 12/2/2020.

The CDC revised it’s quarantine guidelines for people who have been exposed to someone who has tested positive. The CDC’s new guidelines say that after exposure to someone who has tested positive,

As Florida’s cases of COVID-19 increase, free testing is available in Lake and Orange Counties. A PCR test (also know as a molecular, or RNA test) should be used to test for active COVID-19 infections.
People who test positive should self-isolate.

Anyone who has been in close contact with someone who tested positive should quarantine. Close contact is defined as indoor or outdoor contact within six feet for 15 minutes or more within a 24-hour period. The quarantine can end after Day 10 if no symptoms are present. Alternatively, quarantine can end after Day 7 with a negative test taken on Day 5 or later. Appropriate tests are RT-PCR tests or antigen tests with 70% sensitivity. Antibody tests are not recommended for this purpose at this time.

The new CDC guidelines also state people should still watch for symptoms (headaches, fever, a cough, runny nose, sore throat or a loss of taste or smell) for the full 14 days after possible exposure. People can continue to quarantine for 14 days without testing per existing recommendations. This option maximally reduces risk of post-quarantine transmission, according to the CDC.

FREE LOCAL COVID-19 TESTING :

Free testing sites include CVS pharmacies which offer nasal swab PCR tests and Curative Labs which has highly accurate PCR mouth swab testing at three convenient Orange County locations. Appointments can be made quickly on their websites and only minor symptoms are required. PCR tests are considered the most accurate COVID-19 tests available. The optimum time for testing to detect the virus is 5 to 7 days after exposure or upon symptom onset.

The Florida Department of Health in Lake County is also offering free PCR nasal swab tests for residents and non-residents at the Clermont WIC location, located at 560 W. DeSoto Street. Testing is available Monday through Friday beginning at 9 a.m. and until test kits have been exhausted. No symptoms are required and children may also be tested.

Lake County has partnered with Adult Medicine of Lake County until December 8 to offer free rapid antibody testing to Lake County residents with no appointment or symptoms necessary. Rapid tests are considered significantly less reliable due to false negatives. Instead, PCR tests taken 5-7 days from exposure or upon symptom onset are recommended for more accurate detection of active COVID-19 infections (see below). The rapid antibody tests are available at Lake Square Mall in Leesburg from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. (except Sundays and Thanksgiving Day).

For anyone that isn't mobile, Costco offers its members in-home saliva PCR tests for $140 online. Local outpatient clinics, labs and private providers may also provide testing, but the public should inquire if they administer PCR or rapid tests.

For questions, call the Florida Department of Health COVID-19 Hotline at (352) 742-4830. The hotline is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

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EARLY VOTING IN LAKE COUNTY STARTS OCT. 19

10/12/2020

Lake County voters can head to the polls in advance of the November 3 General Election beginning on October 19. Early Voting will continue through October 31st and sites will be open from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. daily. Two additional Early Voting sites have been added this year to make a total of 12 locations throughout the county.

During Early Voting, voters may choose any one of the different locations to cast their ballot, instead of waiting until Election Day to vote at their assigned precinct.

“We believe there will be a high turnout at the polls. Utilizing the flexibility of Early Voting will help decrease wait times on Election Day,” said Lake County Supervisor of Elections Allan Hays.

For the list of all Early Voting locations and directions, click here. Additionally, secure drop boxes will be available at each Early Voting site for any voters wishing to deposit their completed vote-by-mail ballots instead of returning them by USPS.

Sample ballots will be mailed to all voters who have not opted to vote by mail. Voters can mark up their sample ballot and bring it with them to the polls. They can then easily transfer their selections to their actual ballot. “If voters are already prepared with their selections, it will help minimize the amount of time spent in the privacy booth and therefore improve wait times,” said Hays. Sample ballots are also available here.

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MDPD SEEKS PUBLIC'S ANONYMOUS INPUT WITH SURVEY

10/12/2020

A quick glance on social media and it’s easy to see plenty of suggestions about how police can better serve their community. Now Mount Dora Police Department (MDPD) is asking residents to provide their anonymous input to help the department better serve the community.

Mount Dora’s Interim Police Chief Brett Meade is utilizing a community survey created by the National Police Foundation (NPF) to help assess the department. The 12-item questionnaire has been used by law enforcement departments across the country, and all of the information provided is anonymous and goes directly to the NPF for independent assessment. The NPF is a nationally-recognized police research organization with the purpose of helping police departments be more effective at doing their job.

The short survey will help identify areas of concern and accomplishment for MDPD and help officers and command staff to improve police policies, community policing, and other areas addressed in the questionnaire. There is also space at the end to provide further comments on topics not covered in the survey.

Available in English and Spanish, the survey can be found online here or hard copies of the survey are available at the Customer Service/Utilities window at Mount Dora City Hall. The survey will be available online for 30 days. Completed hard copy surveys can be dropped in the ballot box located in the lobbies of City Hall or the Mount Dora Police Department.

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MOUNT DORA CITY COUNCIL UPDATE: Oct. 6 Meeting

10/7/2020

(Mount Dora Buzz file photo)

By Marc Crail
District 4 City Council Representative

City Council had a full agenda so I've selected several of the items to share that I think you might like to hear about. Please keep in mind that I reporting from my own perspective only, not in any official capacity.

Throughout the pandemic we have tried to be flexible as we do our best to navigate the ever changing situations that we find ourselves and our city in. The Mount Dora Arts Festival is certainly one of the longest running and most loved events that we have in town. The Arts Festival is the single most important fundraising source for the Mount Dora Center for the Arts and it regularly brings over 100,000 visitors to town. Once people come to town for the Arts Festival they tend to come back later to shop, dine, stay and play here. The 2021 Arts Festival is scheduled for February 6-7. It will be smaller this year because some exhibitors and shoppers are reluctant to participate because of COVID-19. The City has agreed to forgo collecting event fees this year. With fewer booths it will be a bit easier to spread them out (10' apart) which will help with social distancing. Masks will be required. Food will be consumed only in a food court area. With these changes this event that is essential to the Arts Center and to our local economy will look different but we hope it can happen safely.

We approved a Resolution to add a couple of new businesses to the retail plaza near Target. A Panda Express drive through will be built there and another retail space will also be built.

You may recall that I've previously mentioned that the City is going to build two solar array fields in order to generate a total of about 6 Megawatts of electricity. Those solar arrays will be located on City owned land near Wastewater Treatment Plant II near the intersection of US Rt. 441 and SR 46 as well as near SR 19-A. Of course we will spend money to build them but we anticipate over $700,000 in cost savings over the 30 year lifespan of the solar farms. Good news I think.

We approved a Resolution to hire a company called CPH to create a citywide Transportation Master Plan. As new residential, commercial and retail developments are built it is critically important that we have traffic rules and regulations in place so that our City infrastructure is designed and constructed to handle the increased traffic. We want to have "smart growth" in Mount Dora and in order to do that our old 2007 master plan needs to be updated. It will take about a year and will cost us $200,000. I've been a big proponent of this project so I''m pleased that it is happening.

Every once in a while a Developer approaches the City with an unsolicited proposal for a Public Private Partnership called a P3. We're always interested in partnering if the proposal is beneficial to both Mount Dora and for the Developer.

There are costs involved for the City to reviewing P3 proposals. We are working on setting up some rules that will cover our costs while encouraging Developers to give us their best ideas. We're looking for win-win opportunities so we have begun to work on the parameters of P3s.

Remember that we will be voting on two Charter Amendments this year. City Council supports both of them. If you'd like more information before you vote visit: mountdoracharter2020.com

I've got a quote for you that I found on TheHealingMoon.com.

"The first to apologize is the bravest.
The first to forgive is the strongest.
The first to forget is the happiest."

Please stay safe and stay well.
Marc Crail
District 4 City Council Rep.

For more news and events in Mount Dora, Tavares & Eustis, click here. For local things to do, click here and for the area's free mobile app, click here.

FINANCIAL HELP AVAILABLE TO LAKE COUNTY RESIDENTS

10/7/2020

On September 29, 2020, the Lake County Board of County Commissioners voted to allocate $15 million in CARES Act funding to assist residents of Lake County. Eligible residents who have been negatively affected by COVID-19 may receive up to $4,000 in rent or mortgage assistance as a reimbursement of funds already expended or as a direct payment to a landlord or lender for past due balances.

Lake County anticipates the application cycle will open in mid-October, 2020. Interested applicants can preregister to be notified about the program criteria, required documents and the opening of the application cycle by visiting https://lakecountyfl.submittable.com/submit. Qualified applicants will be awarded on a first-come, first-served, first-qualified basis while funds last.

For additional information and preregistration of the Lake County CARES Resident Assistance Program, visit http://www.reopenlake.com#cares. For other inquiries, please email CRFhousingassistance@lakecountyfl.gov. Additionally, the CARES Act program helpline is available Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at (352) 268-9299.

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MOUNT DORA CITY COUNCIL UPDATE: Sept. 29 work Session

9/29/2020

(Mount Dora Buzz file photo)

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

On Thursday, September 29th City Council held a "Work Session" to discuss several outstanding items. A Work Session is a public meeting but it is for discussion only and not actions are taken.

Our discussions today involved several interrelated topics including planned renovations to Cully Lott Park and the Lincoln Park Swimming Pool, a proposal to build additional pickelball courts, a possible community center that could include 2 indoor basketball courts along with rooms, etc. and an update on the CARES Act. Most of these discussions were preliminary but there were some worthwhile ideas.

At this point I'll just comment on the CARES Act. CARES Act funds are federal dollars divvied up among the states to help County and City governments pay for expenses that they have incurred dealing with the COVID-19 Pandemic.Mount Dora's share of the money allotted to Lake County is about $770,000. That figure might go up if other cities don't utilize some or all of their share of the available money. Our City staff has worked very hard to document all of the various COVID related costs we have incurred and we hope that the Lake County Commission will approve our request. That would be a big boost for us but the trick is that all this money must be spent (not just encumbered) by December 1. That doesn't give us much time to work with but even if we can only manage to utilize part of the available dollars it will help our City's bottom line.

The following was not on our agenda but I've heard recently from numerous friends, neighbors and constituents who have recently received their vote by mail ballots. If you're planning to vote in person you may have similar questions about 2 Mount Dora City Charter Amendments that are up for a vote this election. What do these Charter Amendments mean?

The first one would be a switch from 2 year terms for City Council members and our Mayor to 4 year terms. This would save the City the expense of holding elections every year which can be quite expensive.

The second Charter Amendment would limit any Council Member or the Mayor to serving no more than 8 consecutive years in the same office. It's the local version of setting "term limits".

I've described the amendments in very simple terms. If you'd like more complete information, you can visit the City's website to find more details. I should add that the entire City Council endorsed both of these amendments meaning that we all support their passage. There are no tricks in the ballot language; vote YES if you agree with the change or vote NO if you don't support these changes.

As usual, the information in this report comes only from me. I'm not reporting in any official capacity for City Council as a whole.

I found a wonderful quote for you from Dr. Martin Luther King. "The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."

Thanks for your continued participation in the progress of our city.

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

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ENTERTAINMENT CALENDAR

MOUNT DORA CITY COUNCIL UPDATE: September 24 Meeting

9/24/2020

(Mount Dora Buzz file photo)

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

As usual, I have selected several items from City Council's September 24th. meeting that I think you might be interested in to share with you. Please keep in mind that although I am a member of Mount Dora City Council my report is from my perspective and not necessarily representative of city council as a whole.

Over the past several months we have continually monitored our city's safety requirements related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the new school year began last month one major concern has been for the safety of Mount Dora students, teachers and school staff. Although things could change quickly and adjustments might need to be made in the future I was pleased to hear reports from both our public schools and from Mount Dora Christian Academy indicating that there are currently no reported cases of the virus locally.

We formally adopted our final millage rate for fiscal year 2020-21. As I explained after our September 10 meeting, we were able to balance our budget at the roll-back millage rate of 5.9603. That means that the City of Mount Dora portion of your real estate tax bill will not increase this year. This is very good news.

We also approved our final budget for FY 2020-21. The total budget including loans for capital projects like building 2 new fire stations and a new public works complex along with about $773,000 in CARES Act funds from Lake County totals $126,277,375. I think our city staff and city council have done a good job of working through the long and complex process of building our new budget. Of course COVID-19 has greatly impacted our economy and that only added to the difficulty of planning for our city's future needs.

A company called Hubbard Construction has requested that a 180 acre construction waste landfill that they own and operate located south of Rt. 46 and about a mile east of U.S. Rt. 441 be voluntarily annexed into Mount Dora. That property is currently in unincorporated Lake County. We are working our way through the process of learning about the potential benefits and disadvantages of that. Several nearby residents have expressed concerns about odors they believe emanate from the construct material landfill. We decided to postpone our possible annexation process for now so that we can gather additional information before making a decision on Hubbard's request.

Our country is morning the resent passing of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader ?Ginsburg. This woman who stood just over 5 foot tall was a giant intellect and a forward thinker. Her efforts to work for equality under our Constitution are legendary. Among her many noteworthy quotes was the following; "Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you." We will miss Justice Ginsburg.

Thank you for your interest in our wonderful community. It's a privilege for me to serve as your District 4 City Council Representative.

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

For more news and events in Mount Dora, Tavares & Eustis, click here. For local things to do, click here and for the area's free mobile app, click here.

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MOUNT DORA CITY HALL UPDATE: September 10 meeting

9/10/2020

(Mount Dora Buzz file photo)

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

This month both of our regular City Council meetings are on Thursdays rather than our usual Tuesday meetings. The reason for this change is to comply with state deadlines with our budget process.

As usual I have selected several agenda and discussion items from our nearly 5 hour series of meetings to highlight for you. Please keep in mind that I'm reporting to you from my own personal perspective not as an official representative of Mount Dora City Council as a whole.

After nearly 25 hours of public discussion and deliberation over the past several months we have closed in on the millage rate needed to fund our 2020-2021 city budget and I've got some good news to report to you. In my last report a couple of weeks ago I said that I thought that we would ultimately be able to reduce the needed millage rate from the 6.2 mills that appeared on the TRIM Notice we all received in the mail last month to 5.977. When you're building a budget, you keep tweaking the numbers based on new and better information that you get along the way. How much money will we get from the State or County, etc.? How can we maintain a safe level of reserves? When will our tourist driven economy begin to recover?

We have now determined that we can balance our budget at the even lower "Roll-Back" rate of 5.9603 mills. We have now tentatively set the 2020-2021 millage rate at that Roll-Back rate and baring some unlikely financial problem we will finalize that 5.9603 mills rate in two weeks on Thursday 9/24 at 5:30 p.m. That means that the Mount Dora portion of your tax bill for next year will not increase in most cases. These are all public meetings and if you want to see how the sausage is made or make comments or ask questions you are welcome to attend. That meeting will be in the large Mount Dora Community Building where social distancing is possible. Masks are required.

We passed a number of Resolutions. Several of these resolutions included sizable grants from state, county or federal sources. That grant money allows us to do more needed projects with fewer local tax dollars. Here are a couple of examples. The first is a grant from the Lake County Water Authority that will pay 50% of the anticipated $133,000 cost of designing and installing a "Baffle Box" pollution capturing device at Lake Gertrude.

Along the same lines, we accepted $1,500,000 from a County Economic Development grant to help pay for a master lift station. The rest of that project's costs will ultimately be reimbursed by developer funded Impact Fees.

The Fire Assessment fee that we each pay on our homes will remain steady at $219 for next year. Commercial properties pay into that also but the amount they pay depends on the square footage of their business. Obviously a large business like Walmart or Publix pays more than a small mom and pop store. We will be investigating possibilities for somehow decreasing that Fire Assessment fee over the next several months but any decrease wouldn't take place until next year.

Our city's "Charter" is very much like our country's Constitution. You might recall that last year we voted to approve several "Charter Amendments". At least once every five years a Charter Review Committee made up of seven citizen volunteers carefully reviews our Charter and recommends changes that they believe will improve the operation of Mount Dora. As I recall there were five or six Charter Amendments on last year's ballot and all of them were approved by the voters. Since last year's amendments won approval two additional Charter Amendments will be on the ballot for your consideration this year. You will be receiving more complete information about them in the next few weeks. If approved they would change the terms of our mayor and city council members from two years to four years and would limit any mayor or city council member to serving no more than eight years in the same position. FYI, all of our current City Council members fully support passage of these Charter Amendments.

Since we've been talking a lot about taxes lately I've got a quote for you from Oliver Wendell Holmes who once said; "I hate paying taxes but I love the civilization they give me".

Thanks for your interest in our city and thanks too for allowing me to serve as your District 4 City Council Representative.

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

For more news and events in Mount Dora, Tavares & Eustis, click here. For local things to do, click here and for the area's free mobile app, click here.

MAIL-IN BALLOTS AVAILABLE NOW FOR LAKE COUNTY VOTERS

9/1/2020

This year more voters than ever are interested in voting by mail in November’s General Election. In Lake County, here’s what you need to know:

BEFORE YOU BEGIN THE PROCESS:
Voters need to know that their signature on file with Lake County Supervisor of Elections Office must be current when voting by mail. The signature on the return envelope of the vote-by-mail ballot will be compared with the signature on file in the Elections office in order to verify the ballot.

HOW TO REQUEST A VOTE-BY-MAIL BALLOT

The deadline to request a Vote-by-Mail ballot is October 24th at 5:00 p.m. Voters can request their ballot online here or by calling the Lake County Supervisor of Elections Office at 352.343.9734. Please note: military voters and civilians living overseas have different deadlines for requesting/returning their mail ballot.

All active/registered voters can request a vote-by-mail ballot without an excuse

Voters that want their ballot mailed to a different address than the one on file in the Elections Office must make that request in writing, and a signature is required. If making the request online, the system will prompt the voter to print, sign, and mail in the request.

HOW TO RETURN A VOTE-BY-MAIL BALLOT

General Election voted ballots MUST be received by the Lake County Supervisor of Elections Office before 7:00 p.m. on November 3, 2020. The office is located at 1898 E. Burleigh Blvd. in Tavares.

Voters can mail their completed vote-by-mail ballots to the Supervisor of Elections Office in the postage paid return envelope supplied with the ballot. The United States Postal Services recommends mailing AT LEAST one week prior to the deadline.

Completed vote-by-mail ballots may also be turned in at any of the Early Voting sites between 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. during the Early Voting Period. The General Election Early Voting period runs from October 19th- 31st. A list of all Early Voting sites is available here:

Voted mail ballots may also be deposited at the curbside dropbox located in the Elections Office parking lot located at 1898 E. Burleigh Blvd. in Tavares. This option is available 24/7 until the 7:00 p.m. Election Day deadline.

Whichever option voters choose when returning their ballot, they MUST sign the voter’s certificate on the back of the return envelope. The signature on the return envelope is compared with the signature on file in the Elections office to verify vote-by-mail ballots. If the signature is missing or there is a mismatch, voters must resolve the signature issue by completing an affidavit and providing valid ID with photo and signature. The deadline to cure a signature issue is 5 p.m. on November 5th.

To avoid signature issues, voters who think their signature may have changed over time are encouraged to complete a voter registration application to update their signature prior to returning their voted mail ballot (see below).

REGISTERING TO VOTE OR UPDATING YOUR REGISTRATION:

Lake County’s registration books close on October 5, 2020 for the November 3, 2020, General Election. There are several ways to register.
1. Online at www.LakeVotes.com
2. In-person at area libraries, tax collector driver’s license locations, or at the Lake County Supervisor of Elections Office located at 1898 E. Burleigh Blvd. in Tavares.
3. By mail to P.O. Box 457, Tavares, FL 32778 (registration forms can be downloaded online, or call the Lake County Supervisor of Elections Office to request one).

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