An update on Covid-19 Response from the PBG Council

To our friends and neighbors of Palm Beach Gardens,

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant challenges for everybody and federal, state, county and local governments all have their roles to play. The mayor and council along with the city manager have received many calls, emails, facebook messages, etc. with questions as to what the city of Palm Beach Gardens is doing to help protect the residents of our city. Let me try to explain our role in this unprecedented outbreak.

• We are a city within a county and as a result, our emergency orders MUST be in coordination with Palm Beach county and the state of Florida. Know that your elected officials and city staff are in constant communications with the county and state representatives, including Mayor Kerner and county administrator Baker providing support and input.
  • The city has followed all emergency orders including:
    • Closing all city parks, pools, public gathering areas, etc.
    • Closure of all recreational activities, including public and private clubs
    • Adjusting city hall hours, and staff with many of our staff working remotely.
    • Encouraging stay-in-place behaviors
    • Ensuring all non-essential businesses remain closed
• Our first responders have developed a plan and safety protocols for our fire-medics, police and residents should any COVID-19 related calls come. They have done a fantastic job responding to our resident’s concerns.
• All nursing homes, independent-living facilities and assisted-living facilities have prohibited visitors for the past two weeks (or more in some cases) thus doing their part to self-quarantine the most vulnerable residents in our community.
• Many of our private, gated communities have restricted guests and visitors, again for the past one-to-two weeks to avoid spreading of the virus within those communities. These gated communities make up a significant percentage of our overall population and as a result, the risk of spread is being minimized in those communities.
• The city can not coordinate with suppliers to add more supplies to our local stores (toilet paper, sanitizers, etc.). All grocery stores and pharmacies will be responsible for stocking supplies but I have noticed that our local grocers have done a good job replenishing supplies and hoarding by some people seems to have lessened.
• The city can not tell the local hospitals how to operate and have no better access to PPE’s than our hospitals and emergency rooms. Our city staff are in communications with the local ER’s, along with our first responders to ensure proper patient care, when needed.
• Please sign up to receive emails from our city at www.pbgfl.com. The city has issued multiple press releases to the local press and have posted on our website and sent emails to our residents who are signed up to receive them. The city has also posted to our social media outlets (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram- @cityofPBG) as well. This is the best way for our residents to receive the most up-to-date information as possible.

Sincerely,

Mayor and Council

(editor note – above was received from Mayor Marciano;  this information will be constantly changing, and you should go to the website, social media or subscribe to the city email releases for up to date status).

Next City Council Mtg on Thursday, April 2 at 7pm

The next Palm Beach Gardens City Council meeting will be on Thursday, April 2 at 7pm.  According to Candice Temple, Public Media Relations Manager:  “We have arranged the room for distanced seating and there will be signage directing the public to enter through the exterior doors from the breezeway. We are encouraging the public to watch via LiveStream or email the City Clerk (at psnider@pbgfl.com)  any public comments in advance, however there will still be minimal audience seating.”  (In order to watch the meeting live or any past meeting as an archived video, one can always go to  Livestream.)

Top on the agenda will be the official declaration of the Election Results, the administration of the Oath of Office to new Council Member Chelsea Reed, and the Appointment of the Mayor and Vice Mayor.  At the end of the meeting, appointments to external boards and committees will be reassigned as well.

Consent Agenda includes:

• Purchase Award – Aquatic Vegetation and Exotic Species Management – Openly competed – 5 years with no option to renew – $180K
• Purchase Award – Contract Labor Services for Golf Course – Openly competed – 5 years with no option to renew – $1.2 Million
• Purchase Award – Employee Benefits Consulting Services – Openly competed – 5 years with no option to renew – $125K
• Purchase Award – Grounds and Turf Maintenance Equipment – Piggyback/access contract – one time – $92K
• Purchase Award – Fuel Card Services – Piggyback/access contract – 1 year with option to renew 4 times – $500K
• Resolution 2, 2020 – Moving the regular city council meeting to July 16, 2020
• Resolution 11, 2020 – A Resolution supporting an application to the Florida Department of Transportation through the Palm Beach Transportation Planning Agency (TPA) for the 2020 Transportation Alternatives (TA) Program for the construction of an eight-foot-wide pedestrian trail and a five-foot-wide bicycle lane on the north side of Kyoto Gardens Drive. “City Staff has reviewed the requirements of the TA Program and determined that the City’s Mobility Plan improvements consisting of an 8-foot-wide pedestrian trail and a 5-foot-wide bicycle lane on the north side of Kyoto Gardens Drive between North Military Trail and Alternate A 1A are eligible for the TA Program.
• Resolution 12, 2020 – Approving the appointment of a regular member to the Firefighters’ Pension Fund Board of Trustees.
• Resolution 24, 2020 – Dedication of easement to Seacoast Utility Authority (SUA) for water and sewer utilities at Kyoto Gardens Drive and RCA Center Drive. “In advance of the anticipated construction of the new FPL site along Kyoto Gardens Boulevard and RCA Center Drive, the City is desirous of providing an easement to Seacoast Utility Authority (SUA) for water and sewer utility lines.”
• Resolution 25, 2020 – A Resolution approving the Plat for PGA Office Center Planned Community Development (PCD). “A request by Florida Power and Light Company for approval of the Plat of the PGA Office Center project. The plat is consistent with the approved site plan and master plan for the project. Staff is recommending approval”

Public Hearings include:

• Ordinance 4, 2020 – First reading of A City-initiated request to amend Chapter 78 – Land Development, Division 1 – Development Review Process; Division 3 – Concurrency; and Article V. Supplementary District Regulations, Division 10 – Subdivisions to remain consistent with recent legislation.
• Resolution 23, 2020 – Nuvo Business Center at the Gardens Planned Unit Development (PUD) Amendment Public Hearing and Consideration for Approval – “The Applicant is requesting approval of a phasing plan for the Nuvo Business Center at the Gardens Planned Unit Development (PUD) project. The subject site is located on a 3.44-acre property at the northwest corner of Riverside Drive and Buckeye Street. The proposal is to develop the PUD in two phases. Phase I will include the completion of the self-storage building (Building 1) and all approved site and landscape improvements except for those to be completed in Phase II. Phase II will include the laboratory/research & development building (Building 2) and the site and landscape improvements adjacent to Building 2. The Applicant will be constructing several improvements to support Phase I until such time that Phase II is constructed. “On July 11, 2019, the City Council adopted Resolution 52, 2019, approving the modification of Condition of Approval 11 of Resolution 22, 2017 and adopting new Conditions of Approval 11 .1, 11.2, and 11.3 to modify the timing requirement for the completion of Building 2 in consideration of the Applicant’s funding of the City’s Miracle League ball fields.

Please check the agenda for any changes or additions prior to the meeting.

2020 Municipal Election Results

The March 17 municipal election in Palm Beach Gardens was a clear win for challenger Chelsea Reed with 52% of the vote over incumbent Councilman Matthew Lane. Many of the individual precincts were close though.

Lane carried BallenIsles, Frenchman’s Reserve and Creek, Old Palm, Osprey Isles / Carleton Oaks, Mirasol, Mirabella, Rustic Lakes and Bay Hill Estates. Reed carried the rest and was particularly strong in PGA National, Bent Tree / Garden Lakes / Shady Lakes, Evergrene and Westwood Gardens. (See Map)

The overall turnout of 22% was twice what a municipal election normally sees, but very light for a Presidential Preference Primary. In 2016, about 16,000 Gardens residents went to the polls for a 42% turnout. That year delivered 51% to David Levy in a three way race before a court overturned it in favor of Carl Woods.

The Group 1 and 5 seats were up for re-election this year, but no one came forward to challenge Rachelle Litt or Mark Marciano and so they won by default.

Municipal elections are non-partisan, meaning the candidates cannot campaign as a member of a political party. In reality though, when the candidates are registered in different parties, the word gets out on who is who, and at least some of the voting is driven by party affiliation, particularly among voters who don’t follow city business. Think about that as supporting candidates who “share their values.” Palm Beach Gardens goes farther than any other city in the county to discourage partisan activity, and actually has an ordinance that prevents a candidate from accepting money or assistance from a political party. (Code of Ordinances, Chapter 26-21 Unfair Acts)

A candidate’s affiliation can often be determined by their endorsements. Chelsea Reed carried endorsements from just about every Democrat office holder in the county, from Congresswoman Lois Frankel, down through state senators and representatives, county commissioners and Democrat officials from other cities. Matthew Lane’s endorsements from individuals were mostly from Republican officials, both current and former.

Since the Gardens has an R+7 electorate, you would think that Matt would have had an advantage, but he made it clear early on that he did not want to associate with his party, and many political activists who would have normally helped such a candidate sat on the sidelines.

Chelsea Reed on the other hand, had a big team of supporters doing sign waving at the library during early voting, seemingly led by former Mayor and Councilman Eric Jablin who was there most days.

Hovering over all of this was the strange turnout numbers county-wide that were influenced by Corona Virus fears, and the preponderance of Democrat voters given the choices in the Presidential primary.

In our opinion though, Chelsea Reed ran the better campaign, put in the work, got out the vote, and deserves the win she achieved.

Group 3

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Group 3
Strong Reed	Weak Reed	Very Close	Weak Lane	Strong Lane
Click the precinct on the map for vote totals.

	Neighborhoods	Voters	Cast	Turnout	Reed	Lane	Reed Margin
1186	Mirabella	1561	379	24.3	170	209	44.9
1188	Westwood Gardens	957	205	21.4	116	89	56.6
1189	Old Palm – North	107	22	20.6	7	15	31.8
1190	The Isles\ Paloma\ San Michelle\ Alton	4555	839	18.4	440	399	52.4
1192	Evergrene	1547	287	18.6	160	127	55.7
1194	Frenchmans	2197	560	25.5	229	331	40.9
1222	Avenir	13	4	30.8	2	2	50.0
1228	Osprey Isles\ Carleton Oaks	455	133	29.2	54	79	40.6
1238	Mirasol	1838	402	21.9	189	213	47.0
1240	PGA National	2576	603	23.4	337	266	55.9
1242	PGA National	2665	673	25.3	369	304	54.8
1244	PGA National	1612	344	21.3	188	156	54.7
1246	Bent Tree\ Garden Lks\ Shady Lks\ Gdns of Woodbury	2556	550	21.5	308	242	56.0
1247	Old Palm – South	265	46	17.4	15	31	32.6
1248	PGA-east.	1558	381	24.5	205	176	53.8
1250	Gardens Glen	64	17	26.6	2	15	11.8
1252	BallenIsles	2348	742	31.6	335	407	45.1
1254	Hunt Club	449	101	22.5	52	49	51.5
1260	Elm Avenue	1333	323	24.2	193	130	59.8
1262	RCA Center	2	0	0.0	0	0	50.0
1264	Northcorp	1	0	0.0	0	0	50.0
1266	Union Square\ Randolph Way	475	52	10.9	35	17	67.3
1268	Golfers Drive\ Lilac	317	37	11.7	25	12	67.6
1270	Lilac Park	11	1	9.1	1	0	100.0
1272	Holly Drive\ Riverside	1992	472	23.7	288	184	61.0
1274	Gardenia Dr\ Arbor Way	1625	344	21.2	175	169	50.9
1280	Lake Catherine	407	97	23.8	53	44	54.6
1284	Gardens Mall area	2344	405	17.3	226	179	55.8
1288	Oakway Circle	36	14	38.9	10	4	71.4
1290	The Oaks	2165	500	23.1	263	237	52.6
1292	Nature’s Way	91	24	26.4	17	7	70.8
1296	Prosperity Oaks\ Marina Gardens	795	89	11.2	57	32	64.0
1306	US1 and PGA	8	0	0.0	0	0	50.0
1310	Ellison Wilson	4	0	0.0	0	0	50.0
1324	Oaks East\ Sandelwood	1329	235	17.7	133	102	56.6
1326	Siena Oaks	589	148	25.1	91	57	61.5
1340	Landing Place	16	9	56.3	6	3	66.7
1352	Steeplechase\ Montecito	2242	405	18.1	245	160	60.5
1360	Sunset	946	253	26.7	127	126	50.2
1372	Sandtree	184	27	14.7	15	12	55.6
6062	Bay Hill Estates	877	228	26.0	87	141	38.2
6064	Rustic Lakes	127	29	22.8	13	16	44.8
TOTAL	Palm Beach Gardens	45239	9980	22.1	5238	4742	52.4

NCNC Celebrates Ten Years!

We had the privilege of attending the Annual Meeting of the North County Neighborhood Coalition on Thursday, March 5, 2020. This was the ten year anniversary of the formation of the coalition, which now includes 22 Communities and Associations, 45,000 Residents and 30,000 Voters in northern Palm Beach County. Sal Faso, President, kicked off the meeting and cited elements of their mission “to improve the quality-of-life for residents of North Palm Beach County.” One key element is to increase voter participation, and while Palm Beach County had a 61% turnout at the last election, NCNC Communities totaled 74%!

All members of the Palm Beach Gardens City Council were present at the event, as were other elected and municipality/county officials.

Speaking at the event were three highly accomplished women: Teresa Urquhart, CEO of Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center who described new robotics advances in operations; Kelly Smallridge, CEO of Palm Beach County Business Development Board – who spoke on the efforts to Recruit, Retain and Expand industry in Palm Beach County including activites in north county in the areas of Aerospace, Life Science and Corporate HQ; and Verdenia Baker – County Administrator for Palm Beach County, who summarized the current actions being taken to expand Workforce/Affordable Housing which is sorely needed in the County.

Congratulations to Sal Faso and the rest of the NCNC Board on their success and impact on Northern Palm Beach County!

For more information go to the NCNC Website.

Vice Mayor Litt Asks for the Mayor Job

The March City Council meeting ended with Items for Council Action and Discussion. During the February Council meeting, Mayor Marciano had stated that while he was honored to have served as Mayor, he did not want to be selected by the Council for the position again. (FYI – each April, the City Council selects its Mayor for the upcoming year.) The council members all thanked Mark for his service and praised his actions during the past year. While the results of the Group 3 Election will not be available until March 17 (incumbent Matthew Lane vs Chelsea Reed), the remainder of the Council will be unchanged and a new mayor will be chosen at the time. Vice Mayor Litt  spoke to her accomplishments and requested that the Council consider her for the next Palm Beach Gardens Mayor. Meanwhile, Council Member  and former-Mayor Maria Marino said that she looked forward to working with Mark (and everyone else) for the next couple of months. Since she is currently running for Palm Beach County Commissioner District 1, one can only assume that she was referring to ‘resign to run’. Mayor Marciano also alluded to upcoming discussions that will occur on how to fill the vacancy.

The meeting was called to order and closed out by “Mayor for the Day” Barron Roberts, a precocious and accomplished second grader from the Weiss School. Barron is already advanced in three forms of martial arts and trains for many hours in the week. His favorite part of being Mayor for the Day was visiting with the Canine Unit.

Vice Mayor Litt gave an update on the Palm Beach State College bus stop safety issue that she discussed last month. Palm Beach Gardens will pursue solutions on Campus Drive, while Palm Tran has asked for 4-6 weeks to look at possible route changes. Later, Brendan Rodriguez, speaking for the Student Government association, described the positive experience working with the City and other entities to come up with possible solutions.

Council Member Marino thanked a long list of the City’s employees who made the Honda Classic such a success and City Manager Ferris added to the list during the City Manager Report. He also showed the latest update from Brightline on the upcoming intersection construction and detours. The dates will continue to shift and the city will post the changes as they occur. You can always check by yourself at https://www.gobrightline.com/railroad-construction for updates. Mr Ferris also described the actions taken by the City for corona virus COVID-19.

Key on the agenda was Resolution 13, 2020 – Denouncing Anti-Semitism which had been discussed during the last couple of meetings. The Council adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition of Anti-Semitism. See the Palm Beach Post article for more details.  Laurence Milstein, Director of AJC Palm Beach County, thanked the Council for adopting the definition and voting for the resolution.

Vote in the Palm Beach Gardens Group 3 Election on March 17

March 17, 2020, is Election Day for the Presidential Preference Primary Election and Uniform Municipal Elections.  The polls will be open from 7am to 7pm at your precinct voting location.

Early Voting will be held Saturday, March 7, 2020, through Sunday, March 15, 2020, from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM.  See the Supervisor of Election website for locations.  The closest early voting location for Gardens residents is the Palm Beach County Library – Gardens branch.  However you can vote at any of the locations.

Vote by Mail is already underway.

See our Voters Guide – for information on the candidates and links to their websites.  See Candidate Profiles for the candidates’ responses to our questions.

While the Presidential Preference Primary is limited to those registered as either Democrats or Republicans, EVERY REGISTERED VOTER IN THE GARDENS CAN VOTE IN THE MUNICIPAL ELECTION – SO PLEASE VOTE!!!!

 

Martino: Councilman Matthew Lane Deserves Re-election

On Tuesday, March 17, 2020, if you are a legally registered voter in the City of Palm Beach Gardens you have the opportunity to cast your ballot for a candidate of your choice in both the Presidential Primary and City Council elections. As Americans we have the freest and fairest elections of any country on earth yet our participation rate is often abysmal. I would urge each and every reader to caste their precious ballot on March 17th.

The City Council election, though often overlooked, is as important as the Presidential Primary. I would argue that the City Council candidate of our choice in our City elections has as much or more of an effect on our daily lives as our Presidential choice. Our City Council members are responsible for much of the aspects of our local quality of life. The members are directly responsible for the health, safety, welfare, and recreational aspects of life here in Palm Beach Gardens. With the fiscal responsibility of the creation of a City budget Council members establish our property tax rates, as well as, fund our excellent municipal services and administrative departments. Providing for the governing of sustainable and controlled growth within our borders and a vibrant business community to serve us are other important responsibilities that our City Council members are given with our vote. Just about every local convenience we enjoy emanates from the City Council dais. Thus, the importance of our vote and our choice for our local City Council members cannot be overstated.

In the March 17th City election the Group 1, 3, and 5 seats are to be decided. However, Mayor Mark Marciano in Group 1, and Vice-Mayor Rachelle Litt in Group 5 were unopposed at the end of the qualification period, and thus re-elected. In Group 3, incumbent Councilman Matthew Lane has a challenger.

Regarding the Group 3 City election, my choice is Councilman Matthew Lane. In my opinion, he deserves re-election to a second 3-year term. In his first term Councilman Lane has established himself as the chief challenger to the status quo. With his legal background as a foundation he is always prepared to argue for the needs of the residents in making Council policy decisions. Councilman Lane is a tough questioner of Council issues using his always meticulous meeting preparation as a basis for them. He is and was a staunch defender of term limits as approved by the voters in 2014 and voted against attempts to make substantial changes to them. Councilman Lane is a strong and vocal advocate for safe and exceptional Gardens’ schools. Having served on the Palm Beach Gardens Parks and Recreational Board Councilman Lane has a firm grasp on recreational needs in the Gardens.

This is just a sampling of the on the job certification of Councilman Lane’s qualifications for a second 3-year term. He is my preference to continue working as a productive Councilman for the residents of Palm Beach Gardens. Please vote on March 17th and please consider marking your ballot for Councilman Matthew Lane.

Next City Council Mtg on Thursday, March 5th

The next City Council Meeting will be on Thursday, March 5th at 7pm

There are no Announcements or Presentation listed on the Agenda.

Consent agenda includes:

• Resolution 1, 2020 – Agreement with the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections (SOE) for Vote Processing Equipment Use and Election Services Agreement.
• Resolution 7, 2020 – Dedication of easement to Florida Power and Light for underground power line installation for Johnson Dairy Road from Military Trail east to the end.
• Resolution 22, 2020 – Economic Incentives Agreement for Carrier Corporation – “Carrier Corporation is requesting from the State’s QTI Program economic incentives in the amount of $560,000 with a local required contribution of $140,000, which is 20 percent of the total amount. The company is requesting $70,000 from the City and $70,000 from Palm Beach County, which is the total local match contribution. Carrier Corporation is also requesting the City appropriate an additional $140,000 as a local Economic Development Employee Incentive Grant.” Total impact to Palm Beach Gardens – $210K. See the resolution for details.
• Purchase Award – Aerification and Verticutting Services (for Sandhill Crane Golf Course turf and greens) – Openly competed – 5 year contract with no option to renew – $360K
• Purchase Award – Portable and Replacement Generators – piggyback/access contract – The portable generators will be used to support current operations in the event of failure, especially during the hurricane season. The stand-alone generators will replace old and deteriorating units at Fire Rescue Stations 3 and 4. – $374K

Ordinances and Resolutions:

• Ordinance 2, 2020 – 2nd Reading and Adoption – City-initiated Comprehensive Text Amendments to the Future Land Use, Transportation, Infrastructure, Intergovernmental Coordination, Capital Improvements, and Public School Facilities Elements related to the Palm Beach County School Board lnterlocal Agreement; update of the 5-Year Schedule of Capital Improvements; a new Vision Zero related policy; an update of Map A.4-Potential Future Annexation to include recently completed annexations; and the update of the City’s 10-Year Water Supply Facilities Work Plan.
• Ordinance 3, 2020 – 1st Reading – Nativity Lutheran Church and School Adult Day Care Condition of Approval amendment – the item has been requested to be postponed by the Applicant to address recent developments regarding the project, but since it was publicly noticed, the public hearing will have to be opened and then closed and postponed.
• Resolution 13, 2020 – During the February 6, 2020 City Council meeting, City Council discussed adopting a resolution denouncing the “Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions” (BOS) movement as an anti-Semitic attempt to delegitimize Israel. All Council agreed to provide input to the City Attorney in order to compose a more complete resolution. As a result, the Resolution states in part, the City Council denounces and declares zero tolerance for anti-Semitism in all its forms and further expresses support and solidarity with our Jewish brothers and sisters in their ongoing struggle against historical and systemic anti-Semitic hate speech and deeds.

Please check the agenda for any changes or additions prior to the meeting.