Hey! I’m still here!
These last few months have been non stop – Go Go Go!
Hard as we tried and with the help of Senator Dorothy Hukill – getting the government to fund our big road project on Virginia Drive failed- Governor Rick Scott had other plans with that money. But, when a city has had to go on with out help, it becomes thrift and resourceful. We’ll keep going and keep trying.
Some of the best moments have been just simply connecting and helping directly with our people. I went out to Mitchell Park and helped Todd Preston/CHOPS (Citizens Helping our Public Service) and Joy Taylor/PickaPark-LoveaPark (i took a picture with Kelly Frasca and Todd)
We did several proclamations- a noteworthy one was declaration for David Butler Day. His wife Virginia and family were present to receive this honor in memory of Mr. Butler for the legacy he left in the hearts of many with the Butler Express train which had become a Lake Helen Christmas tradition.
and talk about the pace of a snail, remember those trees that FDOT promised the city of Lake Helen… still waiting. FDOT said they need to determine which trees will be used.
– oh… let’s not forget the Automall… I received a few applauds for my slide presentation. I simply wanted to educate our citizens about the annexation process and it turned out it did a bit than that – once the map of DeLand came up it revealed an interesting spread and annexation pattern – talk about the pot calling the kettle black!
Very proud of our police department, our Police Chief Walker is very resourceful; we were trying to get the city police department speed trailer radar- and happy to say we got one for a very good deal!
When I became mayor for the city of Lake Helen, Florida… there was so much going on. One of those things was a lawsuit… city Attorney Scott Simpson reported the status of the lawsuit regarding the 2 unfinished houses on Main St: the developer D.R.Horton lost the case. The commission requested city administrator to reach out to Horton and see what options are available in moving forward… and they chose to demolish the structures and move on. That lawsuit is sticky business, yet most of the issues that had enraged the citizens (and perhaps the developer) have been addressed by moving with the pilot process – which has proven effective for the home builder/ home owner / the city and above all community, it allows input in what ultimately is the look and feel our Lake Helen within the Gateway Overlay AND shifts the final decision with the City Commission after recommendation received from Historic Preservation Board.
I’d rather talk about Arbor Day: City of Lake Helen Arbor Day celebrated by planting a tree at the equestrian center. Present were commissioner Michael Woods, vice mayor Vernon Burton, Kelly Frasca and Lake Helen Public Works. God bless Lake Helen, God bless Mother Earth thank-you Tree City USA 10 years.
This was followed by “Mayor Raislers Clean Up Day” – WOW, and event with my name in it wooo hooo! Cleaning up is the beginning! … 
This annual event is a Day of Amnesty to dispose of items free of charge – we kicked it off with pancake breakfast prepared outdoors by the Mayor herself. Present was commissioner Michael Woods who stuck with me through the whole event – what a sport!
Then there is the visit to the local schools… both Volusia Pines Elementary and Ivy Hawn Charter School of the Arts. I participated as judge for the Science Fair at Ivy Hawn – what very smart students we have!
There are happy moments, like the day Todd Preston received the 2018 Volusia League of Cities “Citizens of the Year” Award for his ongoing citizen engagement and contributions toward improving the quality of life for the City of Lake Helen citizens. A reminder that when we say the “Gem” of Florida… we include the people that make our city so special. 
Todd… congratulations! A well-deserved honor!
ah! Sometimes duty calls early – as Mayor I was asked to provide a warm welcome to the Gem of Florida to the Florida Scenic Highways Program and the River of Lakes Heritage Corridor Scenic Highway. We were glad they chose the City of Lake Helen – Hopkins Hall as your venue.
Keeping up with traditions, I came in as keynote speaker for our Miss Lake Helen Cassadaga pageant – glad that Joy Taylor and Kelly Frasca took help and revived this tradition. We were greeted with talented, beautiful and intelligent contestants-I am very confident that what ever these young ladies put their minds to- they will achieve.
O:) Sophia Goodman, Virginia Taylor, Hyla Benson, Natalie Strickland, Aleiannah Real, Haydyn Benson, Lillian Allen, Miya Joyce, Annabelle Coley, Jayden Gorman, Morgan Whitehouse, and Kristin Cox. <3 – I look forward to seeing these beautiful Lake Helen ‘Gems’ at our future community events.
Now going back to some more serious things we worked on, while trying to get a jump on getting our ‘street banners on light poles’ – we asked our city administrator to contact Duke Energy regarding pole banners agreement -well! Duke advised that they would be willing to update our 300 street lights with new LED’s for free – this would be a $5,000.00 saving for the city!! How do you like them apples?
The Volusia Leauge of Cities is working towards more citizen engagement they are assisting with a Citizens Advisory Committee where citizens from each city joins in advocating the city message with legislators beyond the walls of City Hall. I was able locate to ‘fine Gems’. ?? Ranger James Tyler and Sandy Miller – THANK YOU for volunteering and making a difference in your community your support will help our voice and needs be heard in Tallahassee.
…and sometimes you just have to get your hands in the dirt “literally”; the ‘butterfly garden’ behind city hall needed a bit of weeding, nothing like getting caught on camera, was hoping that we could have spread the word about the ‘mysterious city hall fairy and playful gnomes’.
Let me take a moment to talk about citizen pride, Lake Helen has so many individuals that just step up, so here goes my shout out:
-Thank you to Dara Stoltzfus, she took it upon herself to call the county about seeing if we could get equestrian signs up. and here they are, installed before the 4th of July!
-Thank you to Arlene Raffa and Jan for forwarding information for ‘Bark for Park’ grant, the information was forwarded to our city administrator and finance manager. I assisted with preparing parts of the grant and now all we can do is hope we get awarded – we can try!
-Thank you to Cheryl Gotbaum and Lake Helen PLDRC Chairman Joe Hammett for volunteering to be part of University of Florida Lakewatch Program… helping monitor the health of both Lake Macy and Helen Lake.
-Congratulations to Ms. Alzada Fowler for receiving the NAACP West Volusia Branch Trailblazer Award, recognized as the first African-American teacher to integrate Minerva Bond Long Elementary School in 1967 in Lake Helen.
so now we move on to the last quarter and God willing slide into the second half…
perhaps the Automall and our budget will be old news then… LINK media press
