MOUNT DORA CITY COUNCIL UPDATE: Dec. 15 Meeting

By Dr. Marc Crail
Mount Dora City Council, District 4 City Council Rep.​
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Our December 15, 2020 meeting is the last scheduled City Council meeting of the year. I've selected several discussion and action items to tell you about. What I'm reporting to you is from my perspective and not on behalf of City Council as a whole.

We heard complaints from several residents of Tangerine and Sullivan Ranch neighborhoods who spoke of noxious odors that they think may be emanating from our nearby wastewater treatment plant. These odors come and go but when they are present it is difficult for affected neighbors to enjoy opening up their windows or sitting outside in their yards or on their patios. Our public works department will be stepping their efforts to identify where those odors are coming from as there are several possible sources.

Mount Dora has been working for some time now to create a plan for a potential bike & hike trail that would run from the Tremain St. Greenway to Plymouth-Sorrento Rd. (C.R. 437) connecting to the Seminole Wekiva Trail. This proposed trail would be called The Innovation Trail. It would be a great asset to Mount Dora and an important economic development tool. There would be multiple trailheads, parking, restrooms and other amenities. The trail would be 12 to 14 feet wide and paved.

Like any great idea this would be an expensive project but we would be partnering with Lake County, Sorrento, Mount Plymouth, the Lake-Sumter MPO and the State. This newly completed trail planning study will be a good tool to use as we continue to look for funding to make it all possible.

We passed a Resolution providing for engineering services to drill a third drinking water well at our water plant #2. We have 2 water plants serving our city. Plant #1 currently has the capacity to produce enough drinking water for the entire city but plant #2 can not. If something would ever happen that would take plant #1 offline we would not have the capacity at plant #2 to satisfy the city's needs. By drilling a third well at plant #2 we would have redundancy in the event of emergency and the capacity to handle future growth. All of the money for this estimated $750,000 project would come from impact fees. The engineering part of this project has been included in this year's city budget and should take about 6 months. Then we would be able to begin drilling.

We also passed a Resolution approving an amended agreement for architectural services to continue the designing of  a new fire station (Station #35) to be located on County Road 19. The motion passed 6-1 with Austin Gunther voting no. The estimated cost of this new station is $4,511,472. The design team has been asked to sharpen their pencils to see how these costs might be reduced. For now we have only approved the continuation of the design process.

This is the time of year when we count our many blessings and wish one another Merry Christmas or Happy Hanukkah and Happy New Year. Here's hoping 2021 is going to be healthier and happier for one and all.

My quote for you today comes from Miami Dolphins coach and John Carroll University graduate, Don Shula. "One thing I never want to be accused of is not working".

Dr. Marc Crail
District 4 City Council Rep.

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