MOUNT DORA, Fla. — Mount Dora city leaders are set to meet about parking, which they say is one of the area’s greatest problems.

While they have taken steps over the years to try to make the city's parking situation better, Mount Dora Mayor James Homich said Monday that officials will discuss at least several new ideas.

Parking has been a continuous problem for some business owners like Jason Ferron.

When Ferron left Jamaica in 2007, he says it was his dream to open his own restaurant.

Just over a year ago, that dream became a reality in Mount Dora when he opened Mavis’ Jerk Shack.

“We were part of the Taste of Mount Dora and we won an award for the best entrée,” said Ferron.

He knew running a business would be difficult, but what he didn’t expect was for parking to be one of his biggest hurdles. He said making sure his customers have a place to park is a constant headache, especially when the majority of them are locals.

“For them to come, they have to find parking," Ferron said. "A lot of them sometimes they call I’ll be like, 'Hey, um I want to come and support you guys, but I can’t find parking so I’m just going to go,' and that’s rough to hear that."

He said it has even caused him to consider closing up shop.

“It’s very, very frustrating, because it’s at the point right now where it’s like, OK, should we stay open or I just go ahead and go?” said Ferron. “Because if it’s not going to bring in, all you’re going to do is just continue to invest something into it that you’re not getting what you need to get out of it.”

Homich said he knows that this is a problem.

“You’re not going to solve the problem with the magic wand,” said Homich. “It’s a good problem to have as a city to have parking issues, because that means people are coming to your downtown.”

That is why on Monday, city leaders will participate in a workshop focusing on finding ways to improve parking downtown. According to Homich, they currently have eight ideas on the agenda.

“One of the ideas is to convert one of the private lots into a golf cart parking lot, which would be good for the residents, because we’re not going to have any people from out-of-town driving their golf carts here,” said Homich.

Another includes adding spaces by changing traffic flow in certain areas, like Baker street.

“Change that to a one-way and put in diagonal parking, we’re going to increase probably 10, 12 spaces right there. So I mean, there are there’s a multitude of options,” said Homich.

Homich said he hopes to walk away from Monday’s meeting with items the city can start taking action on right away. As for Ferron, knowing that options are being discussed gives him hope for the future of his small business.

“I love to hear that, you know, that that gives you a little bit of hope," he said. "Say hey, maybe they want to change something to make it better or something."

Homich also said that on Monday city officials expect to hear the first report on how effective their free shuttle has been. He said that while it is convenient, many people may not know about it or about the app that’s needed to use it.