MOUNT DORA CITY COUNCIL UPDATE: June 15, 2021 Meeting

​By Marc Crail
​Mount Dora District 4 Council Representative
​I've selected some discussion and action items from our 6/15 Mount Dora City Council meeting to fill you in on.  As always, please keep in mind that I report to you not on behalf of Mount Dora City Council as a whole but only as an individual member.

In our audience this evening were the 15 members of this year's Mount Dora Youth Leadership Group. These young leaders are all students at Mount Dora High School who were specially chosen to participate in this summer learning opportunity. They have already spent time with our fire department, police department and conducted a simulated city council meeting. Over the upcoming days they will continue to learn about our city government. Due to the pandemic this program didn't happen last year but it was great to meet and talk with these outstanding young leaders.

With lots of new homes being built and new businesses being permitted along with renovation projects the City is in dire need of additional building and plans inspectors. The qualifications for these jobs are stringent and we are looking to add 2 positions immediately and possibly more later. Adding these new jobs won't impact the city's general fund budget. These salaries will be paid by permit and building fees.

If you prefer to watch and listen to City Council meetings from your home you can anticipate improvements in the video and audio technology. There will also be better audio visual equipment for those attending meetings in person. Those improvements should be completed in about 3-4 months.

You've probably experienced very loud engine noise, blaring music, etc. coming from cars and other vehicles around town. We approved the first reading of a new excessive noise ordinance. When this is finalized we hope that our police officers will have more tools to issue warnings and significant fines for vehicle noise ordinance abusers.

Two items of particular interest to residents of The Lakes of Mount Dora neighborhood are the preliminary approval for plating 66 new homes in Phase 5B in the south-west corner of the development where the newly paved streets are located AND at long last we received word from the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) just today that a traffic light for the main entrance to LoMD at S.R. 44 has been "warranted". I don't have many details right now and there hasn't even been time to notify Medallion Home management about the warrant yet. It is the Developer's responsibility to pay for the design and installation. Rest assured that as details about the timeline for design and construction get fleshed out I will be sure to let you know. Please keep in mind that we will need to be patient because things usually happen slower that any of us would like. Getting the FDOT Warrant is certainly a positive development, but don't hold your breath. Keep being vigilant when entering or exiting the neighborhood  because there have been several accidents already and we want you to stay safe.

I came across the following post on the internet.  It was posted by Romulo Vinhaes who may also be the author. "Wrong is wrong even if everyone is doing it. Right is right even if no one is doing it."

Thank you for your interest in our wonderful town.
Marc Crail
​Mount Dora District 4 Council Representative