Kudos Abound

Several individuals were highlighted at the relatively brief June Palm Beach Gardens City Council Meeting:

• • Agent Tyler Witt was honored by PBG Police Chief Clint Shannon for being named both the Palm Beach Gardens Police Officer of the Year and 2021 Palm Beach County Officer of the Year for Palm Beach County for his incredible work ethic and significant accomplishments in drug enforcement activities, working with DEA, Homeland Security and the Postal Service. Congratulations Agent Witt!
  • Mayor Chelsea Reed, already Vice Chair of the Palm Beach Transportation Planning Agency (TPA), was recently named Second Vice President of the Palm Beach County League of Cities. Council Member Woods brought up the appointment, and both Council Member Tinsley and City Manager Ferris had planned to talk about it as well.

• City Manager Ron Ferris was up for his annual evaluation.
  • Council Member Tinsley discussed Ferris’ 20+ year tenure, his commitment to the city and his transparency.
  • Vice Mayor Litt highlighted his mentorship of employees, his ability to be proactive and forward thinking.
  • Council Member Marciano pointed out his team leadership and that there is not a better run city to be found anywhere.
  • Council Member Woods said the Mr. Ferris has respect from the community, council, staff and is a ‘well loved man in this city”.
  • Mayor Reed took another approach and asked his staff what they thought of him. Mentioned were teamwork, his track record, mentorship, they want him to be proud of them, they want to succeed, excell and more.
  • The City Manager replied that he was embarrassed and humbled and “needs another five years to get it done”.

Also on the agenda:

• Mayor Reed took a moment of personal privilege at the beginning of the meeting to talk about the recent mass shootings and encouraging contact with state representatives as there is little that can be done on a local level. She also mentioned that the PBG Police will be protecting camps over the summer.
• The Inaugural Pickleball Ball raised $11,000 for expansion of pickleball offerings
• Brandon Lopez, Audit Senior Manager at Marcum LLP, spoke about the external audit of the city’s 2021 CAFR. He stated that there were no significant auditor adjustments, that compliance audits would be required to be reported – no such issues/deficiencies, that the financial condition assessments were favorable back in time as well as in future outlook in comparison to peers. The Council praised Allan Owens, Finance Administrator and Sean O’Brien, Deputy Finance Administrator (who introduced the presentation).
• Public Comment was made by resident Manolo Calvo, who is President of the Soccer division of PBG Youth Athletic Association on their growth and accomplishments.
• City Management Report:
  • City Engineer Todd Engle gave an update on both the Burns Rd Aquatic Center and Golf Course projects. He showed aerial views of both projects.
  • The City Manager gave an update on the Beeline Hwy/Northlake Drive interchange: with final design to be completed by this august and construction in begin in spring or early summer 2023. The partial continuous flow intersection id deemed by FDOT to be the safest/most optimal intersection design.

The Consent Agenda as well as both ordinances on the agenda passed 5:0.  There was no City Attorney report.