Turnpike Widening by 2024, Relief Fund and Capital Improvement Updates

The Consent Agenda and the only resolution on the agenda – Resolution 47, 2020 updating the fees and charges schedule passed 5:0 with no discussion. The bulk of the meeting was related to presentations and the City Manager report.

Turnpike Widening Project

The turnpike will be widened from 4 to 8 lanes to serve anticipated demand by 2040. The presentation was specific to the area affecting Palm Beach Gardens from the Beeline Highway exits to Indiantown Rd. Due to the widening, all overpass bridges will need to be replaced. The new lanes will be added on the west side of the turnpike. The questions by the Council and the City Manager were specific to noise levels and the project will be doing ‘noise wall’ needs assessments. While this was a short update, there will be meetings with those in impacted areas as well as public meetings in the 2021 time-frame.

Mission Lifeline Gold Plus award from the American Heart Association

This is the 4th consecutive year that PBG Fire/Rescue has received this award which is given to Fire and EMS agencies that meet strict guidelines when treating patients suffering a heart attack. Congratulations to the department! Cory Wilder, Director of Public Services, spoke about the award, and also reiterated that no one should hesitate in calling 911 – the hospitals and Fire/Rescue are safe!

City Manager Report

• City Manager Ferris summarized how many companies and people were aided by the Small Business Relief Fund and the Unemployed Resident Relief Fund
  • In total $989K went to 69 small businesses
  • 1248 residents received $200 Publix gift cards for a total of $312K with the efforts of a lot of volunteers – city staff, council and Christ Fellowship Church
• Covid-19 update
  •  Since March 10 – Fire/Rescue has had 179 covid-19 encounters (calls – not necessarily positives); 2 F/R personnel in quarantine
  • PBGMC has 32 Covid positive patients, 43 beds available but none in ICU – 4 deaths in total
  • Jupiter Medical center – 24 covid patients, 73 beds available, 7 beds in icu – 26 deaths in total
  • The city has 9 ALF/nursing homes with 1439 residents – current status 3 covid-19 patients
• Capital Improvements Update
  • Deputy Community Service Administrator Angela Brown and colleague Jennifer Nelli presented. See the Palm Beach Post article outlining the status of the major projects they covered here.

During items of Resident Interest – Council Member Reed encouraged everyone to Vote!

Martino: Council – Reconsider Wrongs and Make it Right

PBG Municipal Complex… name change?

Once again I find my opinion to be in conflict with a Palm Beach Gardens City Council decision. At the July 16th regular Council meeting the City Council passed with a 5 to 0 vote Resolution 49, 2020, renaming the City Municipal Complex. The new name is the Ronald M. Ferris Municipal Complex. Ronald M. Ferris is the current City Manager. This is at least the third instance in which a City Council has named a City owned facility after an individual in the last several years without notice to the public. I question the decisions and ask why.

So what is wrong with the above decision on Resolution 49, 2020 one might ask? To my knowledge there is no public clamor for a change in the identification of the Municipal Complex. In my view the fallacy of the decision has several components. The process used, if it can be called that, is wanting at best. The need for the change is neither necessary, nor urgent. The selection of the City Manager, who is a City employee, is highly problematical.

The decision process used lacks integrity. Resolution 49, 2020, proposed by the Mayor, traversed from the City Attorney’s briefcase to adoption by the City Council with little, if any, substantive discussion. It appeared to be a complete surprise to the other Council members. The Resolution had not been advertised for public awareness, was not listed on the published agenda, and had not been work shopped by the entire City Council prior to introduction. Why was the pubic not noticed for its input while four special interest individuals of the community were invited to speak? Conducting important City business, such as, the naming of publicly owned City property, in this manner is on the margins of legality and stresses the public’s trust in the City Council.

To my knowledge there is no public clamor for a change in the identification of the Municipal Complex. . It certainly was not necessary to process and approve this very important decision without public notification and participation. Neither the City Council nor any City employee “owns” the Municipal Complex or any other City facility. The residents and taxpayers of Palm Beach Gardens are the “owners”. To vote and pass Resolution 49, 2020 without advertising its intent to the public, is out and out audacious, and simply wrong.

The City Manager, Ronald M. Ferris, is a contract employee of the City. He serves at the pleasure of the City Council. His main duties are to administer the policies of the City Council. Mr. Ferris is among the top paid Administrators in Palm Beach County. His current salary is approximately $250,000 per year plus a basket full of benefits. Using conservative numbers Mr. Ferris has totaled in excess of $4,000,000 in just monetary compensation for his time on the job, thus far. In my opinion, Mr. Ferris, has been more than adequately compensated, rewarded, and appreciated for his job performance.

From my perspective, the approval of the renaming of the Municipal complex by the City Council was a mistake. The approval process used was wrong. Denying the public the right to comment on the exploitation of publicly owned City property was wrong. Selecting a City employee for the rename was wrong. Two wrongs do not make a right and neither do three.

The City Council needs to reconsider its wrongs and consider how to make them right!

Next City Council Mtg on Thursday August 6 at 6 PM

Note that from now on Council Meetings will commence at 6pm.  The meetings are also streamed live or as a video archive. Go to Livestream.

The August 6 City Council Agenda is relatively short. The listed items are:

• Presentation – Florida’s Turnpike Widening Project by Brandon Bobo of HNTB
• Presentation – 2020 Mission: American Heart Association Lifeline EMS Award
• Public Hearings and Resolutions – Resolution 47, 2020 –  Adopting the Fiscal Year 2020/2021 Fees and Charges Schedule
  • Parks and Recreation – New fees are reflected for new facilities, such as the showcase baseball field , covered cages, and Miracle League field, no fees increased, chart streamlining;
  • Fire Dept: Removal of Motor Vehicle Accident and Fire Fees;
  • Police Dept: Increases hourly rates for extra-duty personnel as follows: Captain or Major – from $57 /hr. to $65/hr.

Consent Agenda includes:

• Resolution 32, 2020 – Replacement of the Business Management and Community Development software module for the City’s Enterprise Resource Planning Solution through a Software as a Service Agreement with Tyler Technologies, Inc. – Contract cost: $854,525; $150,800 Subsequent Fiscal Years (Recurring License Fees).
• Resolution 50, 2020 – Establishing the regular meetings of the City Council to convene at 6:00 p.m. on the first Thursday of each month.

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