Little contention at Maitland candidate forum

With the Maitland Civic Center packed by residents lining up to question would-be leaders, four candidates contending for two City Council seats acknowledged that change is needed in the city.

Ahead of the March 12 election, Renee Stein Charlan, Joy M. Goff-Marcil, Charlie Adkins and John Lowndes answered questions Feb. 19 from concerned residents as to what they would do to improve upon some of Maitland’s problems. Though topics differed wildly — ranging from how to increase communication between the council, residents and city boards, and developing areas that will add to the character of the city, such as the city’s Public Library — responses did not.

Lowndes, a former Orange County attorney in the running for seat 4, suggested the idea of people being able to watch city council meetings from home, via live feed. But he still believes that having residents attend meetings in person is important.

“It’s nice to have people come together in one particular spot,” said Lowndes, suggesting that Maitland residents should use the opportunity to talk to council members in person.

Understanding the culture of Maitland and how the city is family-oriented, Goff-Marcil, a mother of three and private attorney up against Charlan for seat 3, agreed that the city council needs to find a way to tell residents what is happening in the community.

“Communication is key,” Goff-Marcil reiterated several times to the crowd. “Communication is what we need.”

But boards also need to be heard, said Charlan, a businesswoman who has served on several boards and city committees, including that of the Maitland Civic Center. In essence, she said she wants the city council and local boards to act as a team.

“It’s all about getting stuff done,” Charlan said. “Why have a board if you’re not going to listen to the board?”

Residents also pondered how each candidate plans to make sure that new structures will reflect Maitland’s personality.

Adkins, who has volunteered on Maitland’s Board of Adjustment and Appeals Committee and is in the running for seat 4, said that the top line is his priority, as there is a cash-flow problem in the city, but that he doesn’t want new developments to change the city’s culture too much.

“Maitland has a very unique character, and I think we have to be careful in the way we address it and the way we develop it,” Adkins said. “I don’t want to lose the community that we have.”

Charlan said she wants to make sure that new development will be of the highest quality, which means the people constructing them should also be well qualified.

“Let’s get out there and find the people who are high quality,” Charlan said. “We have to get out and take action.”

Lowndes said, overall, he wants to make sure residents have a say as to how the city will look in the future.

“We have to listen to y’all,” he said.

Amid big ticket decisions the city faces now and in the future – including pension funds, U.S. Highway 17-92 and “big box” stores, such as Walmart, potentially interrupting the scenery around Lake Charity – Goff-Marcil said through it all, Maitland has a certain sense of spirit that it needs to maintain.

“We love our Maitland,” Goff-Marcil said. “It’s our Maitland, it’s my Maitland, and we want it to stay the way it is.”