by Marty Proctor, South Lake Tablet
Last Friday, Lake County Commissioner Sean Parks led a coffee and conversation meeting with many local politicians, residents, and special guests at Cheezer’s Palace in downtown Clermont. Parks welcomed special guest Daniel Webster, US House of Representatives 11th District which includes most of Lake County.
Commissioner Parks reminded those present that this was not an event about speech making but rather about one-on-one interaction. With that, he quickly wrapped up the introductions and stepped out of the spotlight to join the other participants in sharing coffee and conversation. The event was an opportunity to meet some of our elected officials in a casual setting. Conversations ran the gamut from local school issues to traffic to state/national issues to family matters. This group of elected officials is very engaged with their local constituents, businesses, and each other.
Sheriff Peyton Grinnell was on hand and mentioned that he will present his record budget to Commissioner Parks and the rest of the Board of County Commissioners. His budget presentation is a big ask but will be presented with clarity.
Lake County School Board Member Marc Dodd, a school board member since 2014 representing district 3 (most of the schools in Clermont, Minneola and south to Four Corners) was also present. He reminded the group that over the last 5 years, the school board has incurred no new debt and reduced the previous debt level from 32 million down to around 18 million dollars. This enables the district to renovate or build one school per year. That schedule includes a new K-8 facility coming to the area near Lake Minneola High School.
Clermont City Councilmember Ebo Entsuah and Clermont Mayor Tim Murry also joined the conversation. Commissioner Parks pointed out that since Councilmember Ebo was in attendance, the crowd could focus its Clermont questions leaving him to handle the hard questions about potholes.
Chairman Parks regularly hosts Coffee & Conversations to offer convenient opportunities for South Lake County residents to speak one-on-one with various officials representing the county.
For more information about future Coffee & Conversations, contact Chairman Sean Parks (sparks@lakecountyfl.gov) or through the Board of County Commissioners office 352-343-9850. Better yet, attend a BCC or City Council meeting and be ready to vote in important elections coming up in November 2022.
