SEPTEMBER EDITION: News & Events for Mount Dora, Tavares & Eustis

Drum roll, please! Mount Dora Buzz readers cast their votes for the Best of Mount Dora in categories ranging from dining and libations to shopping and pampering spa services. Now is the time to discover who earned the title the "Best of Mount Dora!" Find the winners here.

This local season of Friday Night Lights is expected to be better than ever as Mount Dora High celebrates its 100-year anniversary. Take in the local high school games and their bands starting this month. Find the schedules here. To usher in its centennial year, Mount Dora High School has launched a community campaign to help raise funds to improve its almost 50-year-old stadium and auxiliary facilities. Read more

With a growing number of Mount Dora art studios popping up, aspiring artists can now get their creative juices flowing in six different downtown venues offering art classes. The art studios welcome beginners and experienced artists with diverse classes ranging from painting, glass and ceramics to jewelry making, mosaics and photography. Next time you're downtown, pop into the studios to inquire about their schedule of classes.

This November's Mount Dora election has attracted a notable difference in the candidates for both of the races. Two local small business owners have stepped up to put their hat in the ring for the mayor and city council positions currently up for grabs. Read more

This month's Day Trippin' location doesn't require too much effort. Nature-loving residents just have to travel a quick 15 minutes to be transported a world away. It's the perfect way to spend a weekend morning or afternoon. Read more

In an impressive grassroots feat, Mount Dora residents far surpassed the number of voter signatures needed to let voters decide whether to reinforce the existing 35' building height limit in the historic district by adding it to the city's charter. Residents created a Facebook page to provide updates to interested residents and the media about the initiative. Get the details here

Need a friend? Now through September 19 the Lake County Animal Shelter is offering free pet adoptions to loving homes as part of a national initiative. Get details

As part of Mount Dora Buzz's recurring column on Mount Dora's throwbacks, learn more about the city's historic Parkview Building and what its most recent tenants are. Read more

Scroll down for new local eateries and stores, plus government buzz, the Best of Mount Dora winners, and more.

​Edge Coffee, Mount Dora's new community-minded coffee house, opened last month with rave reviews. It's located on 3rd Avenue in the former spot of Magical Meat Boutique.

After more than a decade in downtown Mount Dora, Matamo Designs, the home decor and gift shop on the corner of Fifth Avenue and Donnelly Street, recently sold to a local resident. We wish Debbie Belton, the store's longtime owner, a fun and relaxing next chapter.

Watch for the non-profit Fifth Avenue Thrift Store to open downtown on the campus of First United Methodist Church. The expected opening is Labor Day weekend.

Scroll down for local government buzz, the Best of Mount Dora winners, and more.

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When Mount Dora residents receive their TRIM Notice they will see City of Mount Dora's anticipated tax millage rate as 6.2. That will likely be reduced to 6.0 mills or lower by the City Council before it's finalized. At 6.0, the owner of an "average" Mount Dora house with a homestead exemption will pay $25.10 more in tax next year. That translates to approximately $2.09 more monthly on a house with an assessed value of $182,607.

Interested residents can attend the first of two public hearings on Mount Dora's proposed 2021/2022 budget at 5:30 p.m. on September 7th at City Hall. That's when the City Council will adopt a tentative millage rate and budget. A second public hearing will be held on September 21 at 5:30 when the final millage and budget will be adopted. These are public meetings at City Hall.

Be sure to check Mount Dora Buzz's government page regularly to find out what's happening at Mount Dora City Hall.

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