By Marty Proctor
Mascotte City Council elects four council members and a mayor at-large. The entire City votes for each candidate.
Early voting starts October 19 and ends October 31. Election day is Tuesday, November 3.
The South Lake Tablet asked each candidate three questions:
- Please tell the South Lake County readers about yourself.
- What do you see as the biggest problem facing Mascotte?
- What solutions do you suggest?
Incumbent Brenda Brasher, Mascotte City Council, Seat 4
1) Personally, I have been a resident of Mascotte for 25 years. I am married and our blended family has 4 children and 7 grandchildren.
Professionally, I have dedicated nearly my entire adult life to public service. I have been employed by several local municipalities since 1995.
I hold a Master Municipal Clerk Certification and I am one of 1,388 people worldwide to do so. I am the former President of Lake County League of Cities,a former board member for Lake County Emergency Medical Services, Inc. (EMS). I have sat on numerous boards and am currently on Mascotte City Council.
2) The council strategy since the recession has been to eliminate City debt and lower the financial burden of taxes on our citizens. While this strategy has succeeded, there have been many areas of our City services suffering the ramifications of the deferred costs to maintain and repair that was necessary to pull the City back from the brink of financial crisis that occurred during the recession. These areas, mainly public safety, road and utility infrastructure, cemetery, and parks are in need of master planning to improve the conditions, services, and image the Citizens have come to expect.
3) Council is responsible for establishing and communicating an overall vision, beyond that Council is responsible to hire a City Manager who conducts the day to day operation of the City. We currently have an opportunity to hire a new City Manager. This is the most crucial time in the history of this City. With the right City Manager, many of the problems facing the City would be resolved in a reasonable time frame. Beyond that, and with Council support I would suggest establishing committees to invite more public input, suggestions, and hopefully guide our future decisions for public safety, cemetery, and parks in the City of Mascotte.
Brenda Brasher, Mascotte City Council, Seat 4, Brenda.Brasher@Cityofmascotte.com
Matthew Lemonakis, Candidate for Mascotte City Council Seat 4
1) I am a Florida native and have been living in the City of Mascotte since 2018 when my wife and I bought a house and live here with extended family. I have a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a minor in Criminal Justice from the University of Central Florida. I worked in restaurants and went on to manage a large restaurant. After that, I went on to study Law and had the opportunity to represent my fellow Law school students as a Senator in the Student Government. Currently, I am a business sales agent for a construction data corporation and a local realtor.
I have always had a heart for serving, and have been involved in community service since I was a teenager. For example; I have volunteered at King’s Kids, an inner-city youth program, Give Kids the World, Lord’s Lunch outreach, Second Harvest Food Bank, and Rise Up World. I have also taught financial classes for Financial Peace University at my church in Orlando, which is a program that focuses on fiscal responsibility. I also support various charities through 5k and 10k run, walk, and jog events.
My involvement with serving in the community taught me to have a passion for others, and that community matters. Mentors in my own life had a dramatic impact on my success. I know that I would not be where I am today without the help of a few good people. It would be an honor to help serve in this community and make an impact.
2, 3) Mascotte is growing. As we grow in population, the revenue grows, which opens us up to both possibilities and problems. This means that we will be able to add things that are desperately needed in our city. After speaking with various residents, there is work to do in our city. For example, many residents have voiced that we need an expanded park with a pavilion for birthday parties, picnics and a place for kids because they are our future. Other suggestions include; adding speed humps to keep our children and pets safe from reckless speeders, cleaning up the city and the trash people throw out along the roadways, encouraging new local businesses through grant writing. The resounding topics I heard from many residents included; adding a local market, having resources, programs, and places for children to learn and grow, and having a council and leaders who listen to all the citizens.
As Mascotte grows, we will have numbers to support more locally owned businesses, which means that the profits remain local and enrich our community. Planning in advance to zone things accordingly will allow this to happen. Most major municipal expenses come from problems that were not identified early enough. The solutions to many of the problems that residents have expressed can be addressed and made possible by planning ahead, and becoming an active community. We have to anticipate problems before they develop by having a well-drawn out plan and using the revenue to fix problems so they never become critical. We can’t be so focused on the immediate issues that we fail to address trends and growing problems. If you only focus on the immediate problem happening right now, then you are always trapped in an emergency framework taking emergency action as we see. For example, the growth in population in this city will create an increase in traffic in our community, and we need to have a plan ahead of time so that the traffic can be manageable. Also, things like forest management and clearing out underbrush isn’t glamorous and exciting, but it’s a lot less expensive than having huge fires that drive people out of their homes, like what is happening in Oregon and California. We need to keep Mascotte solvent while improving infrastructure and expanding services to handle the additional residents and growth.
I think that with the right combination of businesses, economics, personal finance/budgeting classes, we can help those citizens with good business ideas and can make them a reality and create a bustling town that we are proud to be a part of. It may take time and work, but it can be done and the time is now!
Website: www.matthewlemonakis.wixsite.com/website
Matthew Lemonakis on Facebook
