Next City Council Meeting on Thursday March 3rd at 7PM
The next City Council Meeting will be this Thursday, March 3rd, at 7pm in City Hall. While there is only one Public Hearing currently on the agenda, there are 2 Presentations and 2 items on the City Manager report which should be of interest to many residents. This is also the last City Council meeting for Council Member Joe Russo, who is term-limited – so expect Council and resident discussion and comment.
Presentations:
- Palm Beach County’s Proposed 1-Cent Tax Increase – This is an item that will impact EVERY individual working or residing or visiting Palm Beach County. If you have not heard the details yet, please attend or watch the meeting streaming. The increase is being considered for the November ballot and should the voters pass it, will bring in sales tax revenue to each of the municipalities.
- Design/Build of the New Golf Clubhouse – associated Resolution 22, 2016 and associated Purchase Award for $4.5 million, competitively bid, is on Consent Agenda
Consent Agenda includes:
- Resolution 22, 2016 referenced above
- Replat of City Centre II – PNC Bank,
- Purchase Award – Piggyback/Access contract for $113K for Community Service Department to replace outdated radios with those similar to ones used by the Police Dept.
- Purchase Award – Piggyback/Access contract for $660K for Lighting for the new areas of the City Park (expansion)
- Several Proclamations
City Manager Report (Note that this falls after Comments From the Public on the agenda; anyone speaking on these subjects should stay to hear from the City Manager):
- Flax Court Update
- Shady Lakes Update
Public Hearings and Resolutions:
- Resolution 15, 2016 requesting a Signage Amendment for Gardens Commerce Center PUD. (The Gardens Commerce Center PUD is approximately 4.45 acres in size and is located on the west side of Riverside Drive, east of Interstate 95, north of Plat 5, and approximately 300 feet south of Burns Road.)
There are no items listed for Council Discussion or City Attorney Report.
The agenda (with links to full detail) can be found here. Check the agenda to see if any additional items have been added before the meeting.
Remember to Vote on March 15th!
Watch video of the 2/25 Group 4 Candidate Forum
We get the government we deserve – and it’s up to us to watch what they do. Hope you can make it. If you can’t make the meeting try and watch live-streaming or on-demand.
2016 PBG Council Candidate Forum Synopsis
On February 25, PBG Watch, along with the Palm Beach County Tea Party, the Palm Beach Gardens Residents Coalition, the Republican Club of the Northern Palm Beaches, the Republican Club of the Palm Beaches, and the North County Democratic Club hosted a candidate forum for the City Council election. In Group 4, Vice Mayor David Levy and challenger Carl Woods shared their thoughts with us on a variety of prepared questions and some from the audience, and we heard a statement from Council Member-elect Maria Marino.
A Word about the Video
The video of the event, recorded for youtube by PBG Watch, can be viewed in full HERE. The video icons in the table below are links into the full video that start at the question of interest. If you have trouble viewing any of it, you can click on the “youtube” link under the video frame and view it there using the index provided.
Moderated by 12 term Gardens Mayor Michael Martino, the candidates were asked a set of questions about current issues facing our city, some of which proved to offer a real choice between the candidates.
Present for the forum was Gardens Mayor Eric Jablin and Council Member Marcie Tinsley, along with former County Commissioner Karen Marcus and former Gardens Mayor Linda Monroe..
The meeting was kicked off by PBG Watch Co-founder Fred Scheibl, who introduced the leaders of the other sponsoring groups including Mel Grossman, President of Palm Beach County Tea Party, Kevin Easton, President of Palm Beach Gardens Resident’s Coalition, Marilyn Parmet, President of the Republican Club of the Northern Palm Beaches, Rob Shannon, Outreach Chairman for the Republican Club of the Palm Beaches and Iris Scheibl, co-founder of PBG Watch. Timekeeping duties were performed by Barbara Grossman of the Palm Beach County Tea Party.
Below you will find a summary of the event, with the questions that were asked, and a link to a video of that section of the forum.
| Forum Questions | |
|---|---|
| Opening Statements:
David Levy: |
 |
| Question 1: Term Limits – The voters overwhelmingly approved of term limits for Council, and made them retroactive. The spirit of the charter change is that no Council Member can run for re-election if they have been elected to two consecutive terms. One of you is interpreting it differently – assuming that completion of the two terms is the criteria and resigning shortly before an election establishes a sufficient “gap” to allow a new run for the seat. Please state your opinion on how the new charter limits should function.
David Levy: | |
| Question 2: Council Salaries and Perks – Most Council members have “day jobs” and will tell you that being on the Council is part-time. While they certainly work more than the 3-4 hours a month in a Council meeting, it is supposed to represent public service, not a livelihood. Currently though, each Council person receives over $60,000 per year in salary and benefits, and over $90,000 per year when other perks (memberships, seminars, office supplies, etc) are included, and this amount is subject to automatic cost of living increases. What is an appropriate compensation for this position, and should a part time position get pension and health insurance benefits?
David Levy: |
|
| Question 3: “Ex-Parte” meetings – Prior to quasi-judicial hearings, the Council disclose their ex-parte communications with petitioners, but not what they discussed. Many residents where outraged at the conclusion of the Avenir meeting when after hours of public input on the proposal that had been recommended by staff, Mayor Jablin announced that he had negotiated a reduction in the allowed units in return for his support. Should this have been either disclosed at the outset or discussed in front of the public? What is your view of what occurred at that meeting?
David Levy: |
|
| Question 4: Growth in Spending – With property valuations continuing to rise, there is less pressure on programs and tax rates. Assuming this continues, how can we prevent the explosion of spending that occurred during the last period of rising property values? With low expected inflation and modest population growth, how do you decide what is an acceptable level of spending growth?
David Levy: |
|
| Question 5: Intergovernmental Grants – The county funds a lot of its operations and capital budget through state and federal grants, in excess of $500M in 2012, down to $315M this year. Palm Beach Gardens has not sought nor used intergovernmental grants very much in its budget, but lately has applied for some HUD grants for housing, as we are eligible as a city over 50,000. Since it is not really “free money” and grants usually come with strings. What is your view of this kind of grant use?
David Levy: |
|
| Question 6: County-wide Sales Tax – This month, the county commission has begun to consider a staff proposal for adding 1 cent to the sales tax (worth $2.3B over 10 years) to fund infrastructure projects for both the county and the School District, and provide money to the Cultural Council for expanding museums, theaters and other cultural attractions. This would have to be approved by the voters on the November ballot. The cities would get 40% of this if passed. What do you think of the county proposal, and what should be done with the PBG share if it is passed?
David Levy: |
|
| Question 7: Older Neighborhoods – The City of Palm Beach Gardens is 57 years old. The original platted areas of the City are starting to show their age. These plats do not have Homeowners Associations to provide neighborhood and property value upkeep but depend on the City’s codes and services to protect their neighborhoods and property values. How would you as a councilperson protect these areas from degradation and property value deterioration?
David Levy: |
|
| Question 8: Sober Homes – The City of Palm Beach Gardens has a growing number of Sober Homes (Drug Rehabilitation Businesses) and Assisted Living Homes infiltrating many of the City’s older neighborhoods. These are private businesses enabled and allowed by certain State legislation. These private businesses are setting up shop in residential single family neighborhoods which can and often do have a deleterious effect on property values and neighborhood tranquility. As a Councilperson what would you offer as safeguards to the residents of these affected neighborhoods?
David Levy: |
|
| Question 9: Deteriorating Properties – There are currently a significant number of multifamily duplex apartment units in certain areas of the older neighborhoods of the City of Palm Beach Gardens. In most cases these duplex apartment units are rental properties in the hands of absentee owners. These units often are not maintained to the standards of Palm Beach Gardens’ codes and ordinances, thus, causing neighborhood deterioration and a deleterious effect on property values. As a Councilperson what, specifically, would you offer to improve this situation?
David Levy: |
|
| Question 10: Cut-through Traffic – Traffic is a significant problem in the City of Palm Beach Gardens. Northlake Boulevard, PGA Boulevard, Alternate A1A, Military Trail, Hood Road and even Burns Road are the major roadways that most residents think of when vehicular traffic is part of their conversations. However, another traffic contagion, cut-through traffic, is commanding almost equal attention for problem solving. Cut-through traffic is turning residential neighborhood roads which are not designed for the increased traffic counts into major collector thru-ways posing safety, noise, and other traffic attendant problems. As a Councilperson how would you combat this growing residential traffic problem?
David Levy: | |
| Question 11: Shady Lakes Extension – The city wants to improve traffic flow on 117th around Timber Trace and Duncan and the City owned sports complex by running Shady Lakes Drive through from PGA to 117th. The neighborhood is mostly against it and a lawsuit may be in the works. An alternative is acquiring 117th from the School District and widening it. How should the city proceed to solve the traffic issues and also satisfy the concerns of the neighborhood?
David Levy: | |
| Question 12: Incentives – Attracting businesses and jobs to the city can be approached in a number of ways. One is to provide tax incentives and outright payouts for infrastructure development like the county did with Scripps. Another is to subsidize private business directly. Another way is to make the city attractive as a place to create or expand a business by reducing the tax burden and simplifying the permitting process. What is your preferred approach to economic development?
David Levy: |
|
| Question 13: Business DevelopmentProcess – A couple of years ago, the one issue that generated the most controversy in the city was the matter of the stadium proposal for 117th street. Public opinion was divided – business interests supported it, neighborhoods in the immediate vicinity did not, but many residents wanted to hear a full proposal before deciding. The way the city conducted the process – in secret and through misleading statements by both staff and Council, was a large part of the problem. Although the Business Development Board requires confidentiality for its projects, those of large impact must have early public involvement. How would you propose that projects like this are handled in the future?
David Levy: |
|
| Audience Questions on development in Brigar, trucks on MacArthur, I95 / Central interchange, daily rental of houses, people skills of the candidates, land use restrictions at Avenir, Panama Hattie’s property, climate change, and the Congress Avenue extension. | |
| Closing Statements
David Levy: |
|
Residents Simmer over Long-standing Grievances
The February 4th Council meeting ended up taking about 2 hours although the agenda was very light, with only 1 new non-controversial resolution (7, 2016 – Mirasol flag/flag pole) and 2nd Reading on the Budget amendment (Ordinance 2, 2016) – both of which, along with the Consent Agenda, passed 4:0. Council Member Premuroso was unable to attend.
Mayor Jablin started the meeting with a moment of silence for Tory Buckley, long-time dedicated resident. Others on the Council also honored his service to the community. Charleen Szabo, Director of the West Palm Beach VA Medical Center, was presented with a check for $21K – money raised through the City’s 10th Annual Mayor’s Veterans Golf Classic. The Golf Classic has raised over $233K over the last 10 years. The PBG Police Foundation also presented Ms. Szabo with a $5K check.
February 4, 2016Carol Westmoreland, Executive Director of the Florida League of Cities, presented awards to Mayor Jablin and Council Member Russo for their over 23 and 27 years of service, respectively on the Council. Council members Tinsley and Levy too gave kudos to Russo and Jablin, as did resident Joan Ellias.
Comments by the Public covered a range of issues, none new, but all unresolved to-date:
- Fire Station 64 staffing – has been an issue for Abby and Matt Baker for awhile (see PB Post article here). They seek full staffing of 5 rather than current 3 fire/rescue personnel. The couple last spoke on the issue in September during the Budget hearings.
- Shady Lakes Extension plans – continue to be a subject of resident dissatisfaction. There appears to be a significant communications breakdown, with staff insisting that the various HOA refuse to meet with staff, while the residents say that alternative proposals are rejected and that the project appears to be marching along. Speaking at the meeting were Carol Levinson, Kathy Beamer, John Frost and Vito DeFransceso. Unheard by the residents, who left after public comment, was discussion by the Council. Council Member Levy suggested that perhaps a workshop was in order to gather resident input. City Manager Ferris said that the Shady Lakes HOA refuses to set a date for a meeting and that they have hired an attorney, so that meeting with them further would not be a good idea at this point. Tinsley suggested that this be discussed while the people are here. Russo lamented the unhappy residents and potential legal action which further stifles interaction. Jablin cited Kyoto Gardens Drive as an example of how it could go smoothly. Ferris said that all the info is online, that there is a traffic study, that there is an engineering study underway, and that the City doesn’t own 117th Ct. Ferris said the City doesn’t even have a plan yet. City Attorney Lohman gave status on the Quit Claim Deed request to the School Board re: 117th Ct. and lack of response. Residents who left the meeting should replay Items XI-XIII part of the meeting video to hear the discussion.
- 4385 Flax Court (Plat 6) – Margaret Collins, Terry Pitchford and Gary Pitchford spoke regarding the longstanding, over 2 1/2 years complaint about the status of this property. This item was last discussed back in the July timeframe and the residents have seen no progress. Mr. Pitchford will be seeking court resolution for the damages incurred.
- Central Blvd/I-95 traffic relief proposal – Don Mathis spoke on his concern that the FDOT proposals don’t relieve the traffic on PGA/Military Trail area.
- Michael Marsh of Vero Beach, spoke on Corey Jones and Mr. Marsh’s business on body-cams and dash-cams, and legal issues re: those devices
Note to residents – there will be an FDOT workshop on Thursday February 18th on the I-95/Central Blvd Interchange
Next City Council Mtg on Thursday, February 4th at 7PM
The next City Council Meeting will be this Thursday, February 4th, at 7pm in City Hall. The agenda is quite short so unless there is much Public Comment or new additions, it shouldn’t be a long meeting.
Presentations: Will include Florida League of Cities’ recognition awards to Mayor Jablin and City Council Member Russo for their years of service.
Consent Agenda includes:
- Resolution 13, 2016 gives a utility easement to Seacoast for construction, operation and maintenance of underground water lines on 40th Terrace North.
- Purchase award for Comprehensive Generator Maintenance Service – for the City’s 16 stationary and mobile generators for a contract value of about $194K for 5 years. This contract was competitively bid.
Public Hearings and Resolutions:
- Ordinance 2, 2016: 2nd Reading and adoption of the Budget Amendment for Fiscal Year 2016, which passed 5:0 on first reading.
- Resolution 7, 2016: A Miscellaneous Mirasol PCD Amendment allowing for the installation of a 50′ tall flagpole and an 8’x12′ Flag at the Clubhouse. This was approved by PZAB in December, 2015 with a 7:0 vote.
There are no items listed for Council Discussion or City Attorney Report.
The agenda (with links to full detail) can be found here. Check the agenda to see if any additional items have been added before the meeting.
North County Neighborhood Coalition Hosts PBG Candidate Forum
PBGWatch to co-host Council Candidate Forum 2/25
Protest Planned before Term Limits Hearing at Courthouse
Tomorrow, January 22 at 9:00 AM is the next step in the Palm Beach Gardens Term Limits saga.
In 2014, city voters approved retroactive term limits (2 three year terms) for City Council, forcing Joe Russo to retire this year, and several more sitting members to leave in 2017.
Vice Mayor David Levy however sits in a grey area of the new law. Serving his third term in 2012, he resigned from the Council to run unsuccessfully for County Commission, but then was elected back on the Council in 2013. Term limits passed in 2014. His interpretation of the ordinance is that the clock reset in 2013 and he is in his first term.
Taking a different approach, Sid Dinerstein, former PBC GOP Chairman and a member of the term limits committee filed suit claiming Levy is ineligible to run. Kevin Easton, a candidate for Levy’s seat and also a member of the committee, has joined the suit which goes before a judge tomorrow at 9:00 AM.
Michael Peragine, a past Council candidate himself and the Chairman of the term limits committee, is organizing a protest in front of the courthouse in West Palm Beach for tomorrow at 8:30 AM.
For more information, see Sarah Peters entry in the Palm Beach Post Blog: Palm Beach Gardens term limits group to protest before vice mayor’s hearing
Avenir, Body Cameras and IAFF Contract Highlights of a Busy Council Week
The first order of business in the Regular City Council meeting was to complete the approvals for Avenir (Ordinance 4, 2016). City Attorney Max Lohman told the Council that ex-partes must cover the time-frame from 2013 until the present. All described several meetings with residents, applicants, emails, etc. except for Council Member Russo who said that he spoke with the owners prior to their purchase of the property. Since he felt that the size and issues surrounding the development could result in litigation, he specifically chose to not speak to anyone associated with the applicants nor residents. After presentations by Avenir and staff, 10 people made public comment including Karen Marcus who strongly encouraged that the City and Avenir work closely with SFWMD asap to design the water flow with Mecca Farms; Kimberly Rothenberg – stating that the City of West Palm Beach remains opposed and that the project is not viable without State Route 7 which they plan to block; Beth Kigel who continued ‘part 2’ (from the previous night) of her statements on the future of smart transportation technology. The ordinance passed 5:0 after brief discussion regarding State Route 7.
Two residents of Shady Lakes – Barry Mendelewicz and Cathy Beamer, spoke in opposition of the planned extension. In response, City Manager Ferris gave a report on the status of outreach. Here is a timeline from the City’s website.
Sarah Peters of the Palm Beach Post summarized the meeting. Resolution 9, 2016 provided funding for the implementation of Body Cameras for the Police Department. Chief Stepp made a presentation describing the steps involved, and a timeline leading to a full implementation by July-August 2016. He also described initiatives with the PBC Clergy Alliance, among them: Overall policy review, Plain Clothes policy and Human Diversity Training. All public comment was supportive of the City’s response and actions in the aftermath of the Corey Jones shooting. Council Member Russo, in his comments stated that it was important to make sure that everyone feels safe in Palm Beach Gardens, and that Corey’s impact, even though no longer with us, was to effect significant change. Mayor Jablin praised all involved.
Also of note was the Collective Bargaining Agreement reached with the IAFF.
Transparency Breaks Down in Avenir Approval
By many measures, Avenir is a “big deal”.
Development of the Vavrus Ranch, the last major undeveloped parcel within the PBG City limits, has been years in the planning. Starting with plans for the “Biotech Village”, when Scripps was expected to rise on adjacent Mecca Farms, proposals for the site, whose current zoning allows for about 400 ranchettes, have been as high as 10000 units. Opposition based on environmental concerns, infrastructure burdens and the traffic load on Northlake Boulevard have worked to help shape the plans of the current owner, Landstar Development Group, into a quite remarkable design.
The plan, which accounted for 3735 dwelling units (plus 250 units of workforce housing), puts the entire northern portion of the property into conservation, enabling a flow-way connecting wide swaths of open land, provides land to the city for recreation and economic development, and builds enough commercial facilities to capture upward of 25% of the traffic that would be generated by the housing units as well as that now originating from the Acreage. Furthermore, the developer provides land and funding to widen Northlake Boulevard from Beeline to Avenir, and will build a connector road between Northlake and Beeline Highway, further distributing the traffic.
City staff worked closely with the developer and agreed to a solid plan that was approved 7-0 by the Planning and Zoning Board, placing it before the City Council last night with the strongest support of any project of the last few years. Projects like this don’t come around very often, and it was an opportunity that needed to be embraced.
As you probably know, the Council voted 5-0 to approve Ordinance 3,2016, which modified the comprehensive plan, changed the land use designation of the site from RR10 and RR20 to Mixed Use Development (MXD), and relocated the Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) to include the property. This was a good thing.
The process for approval though was something else.
After 90 minutes of developer and staff presentations of the very detailed plan, and three hours of public comment on the specifics (about 50-50 for and against), Mayor Jablin led off the discussion by reading a statement. The gist of the statement was that he had reached a “deal” with the developer to reduce the size of the project to 3000 units (plus the 250 workforce housing units) in return for his support. This means that in effect, several years of detailed planning, give and take with staff and the public, and the bulk of discussion at this meeting, were all thrown aside in favor of a “back-room” deal, negotiated out of the public view, with no opportunity for involvement of Council, staff or public.
It was hard to tell if the rest of the Council knew this was coming. David Levy, who had been a staunch critic of the project said he could support it at 3000, but would have voted against it at the higher number. The other three council persons seemed to imply they would have supported it either way, which if true, meant the project could have been approved without the last minute “deal”.
For Rosa Schechter and the Avenir Team it is definitely a win, as their project can move forward, but an outside observer could almost conclude that the Mayor had held a gun to their head. After quite a few years of watching the Council interact with Developers, we have never seen an approval done this way. It made a mockery of the public process, and is somewhat reminiscent of the backroom dealings around the baseball stadium.
We are happy for the Avenir team that their project is being approved, but the process leaves a bad taste in the mouth.
Next Regular City Council Mtg on Thursday January 7th at 7PM
The Regular City Council Meeting will be held on Thursday, January 7th at 7PM.
Presentations:
- Presentations by the principals of Palm Beach Gardens Elementary School and Palm Beach Gardens HS outlining programs for the upcoming school year.
- Presentation on Honda Classic Economic Impact
Consent Agenda includes:
- Several Resolutions
- Purchase Award for Roof Repairs at City Hall, Lakeside Center and the Public Works Building, competitively bid, in the amounts of $286K.
Public Hearings and Resolutions:
- 2nd Reading and Adoption of:
- Mary Circle Commercial Rezoning and Approval of the development of a new 3560 square foot Office Building
- City initiated request to update the Capital Improvements Element of the Palm Beach Gardens Comprehensive Plan
- Resolution 1, 2016 – approving a request by Taco Bell America to demolish the current Taco Bell on Northlake Blvd and replace it with a new one.
- Ordinance 2, 2016 – First Reading – Budget Amendment for Fiscal Year 2015
- Resolution 6, 2016 – Approving and Ratifying the Collective Bargaining Agreement with the IAFF for Fiscal Years 2015-2016, 2016-2017, and 2017-2018.
- Resolution 8, 2016 – Amending the 2015-2016 Budget to fund the increase in personnel costs as a result of the Collective Bargaining Agreement: $818K from the Budget Stabilization Fund.
- Resolution 9, 2016 – Amending the 2015-2016 Budget to fund the cost of the body worn camera program for the Police Department, including training – $262K, also from the Budget Stabilization Fund.
There are no items listed for Council Discussion or City Attorney Report.
The agenda (with links to full detail) can be found here. Check the agenda to see if any additional items have been added before the meeting.