Nonprofit site plan approved

As Maitland citizen Lisa Grady approached the podium, council members and citizens waited in silence. It's been almost one year since she lost her husband after he dove into a raging river to rescue their son, which cost him his life.

Monday night Grady stood at the podium ready to fight for an organization that fought for her in her darkest days.

For four years, New Hope for Kids, a grief counseling organization, has sought to construct a facility large enough to take care of their community. Monday night's Maitland City Council meeting brought them one step closer to doing just that, as Council, in a split vote, approved the site for the new building on Wymore Road just south of Eatonville.

"They're pivotal to our society," said Councilman Jeff Flowers. "We need them, and we need to support them."

At a meeting that was supposed to address more than just New Hope for Kids, the Maitland community came out in full force to support the non-profit organization. For almost two hours, council members, New Hope officials and members of the Maitland community debated everything from the number of parking spaces to the size of the building to be allotted to the buffer that will separate the nearby community of Lake Colony from the new site.

"The problem is the building is too big for the lot," said Councilman Phil Bonus. "They came in and told the neighbors they were going to build a 9000-square-foot building with 50 parking spaces, and they came back to council with a 12,000-square-foot building and 30 parking spaces."

The white elephant that stepped in and out of the room was the issue of helping a nonprofit versus following planning and zoning codes.

"There was not a single speaker in favor of New Hope who was able to separate emotion for their mission from their compliance with code," Bonus said.

One after another, supporters approached the podium. Many of them had a personal need for New Hope and had a strong desire to see it move forward.

Grady, who had come with a prepared statement, urged council members to see New Hope for its namesake and said how important the group had been to the healing of her and her two sons.

Despite the overwhelming amount of support, New Hope Director Dave Joswick wasn't convinced that the more powerful people in the room were aware of the organization's role in the community.

"I don't think people understand how we operate," Joswick said. "Unless you're there every day, you can't really understand."

Joswick was at least pleased that they had trudged through some of the mechanics of the issue, acknowledging there were still some wrinkles that needed to be ironed out.

"There's [council] people that want to go by a formula […] and we don't meet that formula."

Incoming Councilman Howard Schieferdecker was present for the meeting and spoke during the public period. He said that although he was in support of the organization, they should still follow the same rules and regulations that everyone else has to follow.

"I understand that it's a wonderful organization," said Schieferdecker, who said he didn't understand why another site was not picked within the 25-mile radius that was given. "Things may change. Things may happen. I could just see a nightmare for the city, and then when the building transfers to another owner, then what's going to happen?"

Bonus said the issue came to council at a convenient time.

"The three of them knew that this was the last chance to get the 3-2 vote because it's Flowers' last meeting," said Bonus who, although he voted no, is in support of the organization and its development as long as everyone is clear on the decisions.

Mayor Doug Kinson voted yes and said he hopes to see some progress made.

"I've worked with them ever since I've been mayor," said Kinson. "There's always going to be some residents that are unhappy that any development is taking place."

Kinson said that even though the motion has passed, no one knows exactly when construction will begin on the new building.