city council news: Mount Dora

By Marc Crail
Mount Dora City Council Member, District 4
I'm happy to give you this update on the April 4 Mount Dora City Council "work session" and council meeting.  I am just one of seven city council members and not its spokesman. I selected 3-4 items covered at the meeting and briefly report on them for your information.  I try to be unbiased in my reports, but what you're receiving is strictly from my perspective.

This evening's meeting(s) ended early because we started early (5:00 p.m.) with a "Work Session" and then began the regular meeting at 6:00.

The main item on the Work Session agenda was a discussion regarding the investigation of a complaint of harassment made by a city staff member against Lonnie Groot who is our City Attorney. The hiring of Mr. Groot in 2016 was controversial right from the get-go. The situation had settled down somewhat but it has definitely re-ignited due to the harassment complaint and an investigator's report of the complaint. This is a complex issue and I can't explain it satisfactorily in this brief report. If you would like to, you can go to the City website to access the complaint, the investigator's report, etc. and read them. These documents are public records and available for your review.  Mayor Nick Girone and City Manager Robin Hayes will be meeting Wednesday April 5th. with the managing partner of Mr. Groot's law firm to discuss the issues. They will report back to City Council at a special meeting to be held at 7:00 p.m. on Monday April 10th.

There were a few noteworthy items on the regular meeting agenda as well:

1. Work is continuing on utility design work along Wolf Branch Road. we are using funds from the State Revolving Loan Fund to pay for this design work.

2. The Summerview residential development off Wolf Branch Rd. and Niles Rd. has requested to plat another 20+ lots. Their home sales have picked up and they hope to build more new homes there.

3. Staff will negotiate with the top bidders for the proposed Community Building sound system upgrades. They will come back to City Council with their recommendation and costs in the next month or so. In related matters, both Visit Mount Dora and the Mount Dora Chamber of Commerce have pledged donations to help pay for the new sound equipment.

Your quote of the day comes all the way from Johannesburg, South Africa. A woman named Alison Billett owns a gas station there. She posts clever sayings on a chalk board outside her business and you can view them at #PetrolPumpWisdom. I love this one; "In a world where you can be anything, be kind."

Whatever your viewpoint, thanks for caring deeply about our wonderful town!

By Marc Crail
Mount Dora City Council Member, District 4

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