Next City Council Meeting on Thursday, March 5th at 7pm

The next City Council Meeting will be this Thursday, March 5th at 7pm at City Hall.

The Consent Agenda includes:

• A 5-year contract Purchase Award for Janitorial Services for Parks and Facilities, valued at $372,000.  5 vendors bid on the contract.
• There will also be 3 Proclamations: National Public Procurement Month, Irish American Heritage Month and Ethics Awareness Month

The Regular Agenda includes:

• Ordinance 1, 2015 is intended to amend sign code to regulate human signage.  This is Second Reading on the Ordinance which appears to be unchanged from first reading, limiting human signage to 2 consecutive days, 6 times per year.  (I encourage those of you who have not read the entire ordinance to do so since it covers rules on all signage from special events, and yard sales to political signage.)
• Ordinance 2, 2015 – An amendment to the Fiscal Year 2014/15 budget to adjust fund balance carryovers to actual amounts; re-appropriate amounts committed from the FY 2013/2014 budget for outstanding purchase orders and open projects; and for other purposes.  Note the increase in reserves as stated:  “After the above transfers are made, the General Fund Budget Stabilization Reserves will total $5,918,310 in FY 2015, an increase of $3,254,199 from the originally adopted budget. Unassigned General Fund Reserves are unaffected, and will remain at $23,066,106.”
• Ordinance 3, 2015 – creating specific signage requirements for gas stations in Palm Beach Gardens.  This is Second Reading.
• Ordinance 5, 2015 – First Reading; Updates the 10-Year Water Supply Facilities Work Plan and confirms the availability of water for existing development, new development, and redevelopment at the time of the required Evaluation and Report required by the applicable statute; this should be consistent with the SFWMD’s Lower East Coast Regional Water Supply Plan and the 10-Year Water Supply Facility Plans of Seacoast Utility Authority and Palm Beach County.
• Resolution 13, 2015 – amends the Banyan Tree Planned Unit Development (PUD) at the northwest corner of MacArthur Blvd and Northlake Blvd to allow for three single-story retail/restaurant buildings, one of which would have a drive-thru.  There are some opponents to this modification from the adjoining Lake Catherine neighborhood – as described here.

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.

See a summary of the February City Council Meeting as well as the All Aboard Florida Workshop on the PBG Watch website.

 

Some Answers, More Questions About Freight at AAF Workshop

Tony Doris, of the Palm Beach Post summarized  key topics from the All Aboard Florida Special Workshop held on Thursday, February 26th here.

Most in the audience appeared to be as skeptical as were the council members.  If you weren’t able to attend or watch, the video has already been posted.

Part of the discussion circled around what would or would not be paid for by AAF with respect to crossing improvements, and the costs for maintenance after the fact.   AAF said that the City would have to apply for Quiet Zones from the federal government before AAF could give them an estimate of the tehnical improvement delta (if any) between ‘Sealed Corridors’ (which AAF would cover) versus Quiet Zones – which they would not.  AAF was firm that maintenance costs would be performed by the City, under existing contracts with FEC.  But there were no estimates of whether those would be lower (due to improved crossings) or higher (due to much more elaborate crossings).   So questions remain.

Nor would AAF say what their fare estimates would be yet.

Additionally – AAF intends to market point to point travel to consumers – eg arrange for pickup at a location, deliver the rider to the train, and then provide for transportation to their final destination.  The rider would not have to worry about finding transportation to/from the train.  Also – they expect the final Environmental Impact Study (EIS) to be out shortly.

AAF made it clear that answers about freight would have to come from their ‘sister’ company, and increased freight traffic would be accommodated by either longer trains or stacked cars.  Answers would have to come, if any, from a workshop with the freight part of the company.

Special Workshop on All Aboard Florida – Thursday 2/26 at 7pm

The City Council will be having a Special Workshop this Thursday, February 26th at 7pm at City Hall. The presenters will be representing All Aboard Florida.

In November, 2014, Mayor Premuroso sent a letter to All Aboard Florida with several question specific to the City of Palm Beach Gardens concerns with the project.  On January 2nd, 2015, the Mayor received a response letter from All Aboard Florida, which none on the Council considered as adequate in addressing the City’s concerns.  They directed City Manager Ferris to set up this workshop where they hope to hear direct answers to their questions.

The agenda for the workshop can be found here.

Update:  Here is an article on the workshop in the PB Post.  Note that since this is a workshop public comment will not be permitted, but comments/questions can be submitted by card before the meeting.  Also the workshop will be streamed.

Signs, Traffic and Trains just some of the topics covered

SAVE THE DATE – FEBRUARY 26 AT 7PM CITY HALL – ALL ABOARD FLORIDA WORKSHOP specifically to answer the questions asked by Palm Beach Gardens in this letter by Mayor Premuroso.   It is hoped that the AAF spokespeople will address only these specific questions and not make another general presentation.

The City Council meeting had technical difficulties on February 5th.  The displays were down, so minimal physical visual aids were used for each of the agenda items. The presentations for the items will be made available on the City’s website on Monday.  Nevertheless, a lot was covered in the meeting.

Throughout the meeting, as at the last two, members of the Council lamented the passage of term limits either overtly or indirectly. It was also assumed by all on the Council that Councilman Levy would obviously be re-elected and become the sole pool of knowledge and wisdom in the coming years.

All Ordinances and Resolutions passed 5:0.

• Human Signs – While 4 people spoke against the proposed changes (Iris Scheibl, Jamie Gonzalez, Julie Poos, and Susan Cohen) 3 of which were small business owners or potential owners who depended on sign-wavers for consumers to find their stores, the Council was unanimous and adamant that Human Signs posed a significant danger to the public and were causes of accidents waiting to happen and must be stopped now. They did request that staff contact those who spoke and other potentially affected owners to see if a timeframe compromise could be reached somewhere between 12 days total and 365 days – which was definitely out, and that 2nd reading should reflect that change. (One of the speakers mentioned that Frank Cerabino had written a humorous piece on the subject entitled Curb on Human Signs is Aimed at Hiding Poor.  Perhaps he was the one who truly got to the heart of the matter…)

• Gas Station Signs – staff worked with the gas station owners and came up with signage that they (and the Council) believe meets the goal of informing the customers without the clutter and confusion of the County passed ordinance requirements. They will bring it as an Ordinance for second reading in March, in order to have passage by April. It was suggested that the County look at the City’s solution and perhaps adopt the modifications into the County’s ordinance.
• Fire Station No. 2 replacement – staff presented all the paperwork and forms as if they were a non-governmental entity. All were congratulated on their team working relationship.
• Nativity Lutheran Church was granted a two year time extension on their modular buildings and complimented on their fine landscaping and maintenance of those buildings, as well as their good works.
• The Central Gardens PCD plan to replace a 57,500 square foot retail center and 40,784 sq ft office building with a 140-bed Assisted Living Facility was hailed as a marked improvement as it would significantly reduce projected traffic on the Central Blvd/Hood Rd intersection by 54%. The requested 75 parking spaces would also be significantly less than the 200-250 spaces required for the already approved retail/office complex.

Comments from the Public included:

• Kevin Easton and Carol Courtney from the 40th Terrace/Sunset neighborhood, expressed their frustration with continued issues and perceived poor communications
• Sal Faso of the North County Neighbohood Coalition (NCNC) described an upcoming vote (2/11 at 9am – see agenda here ) by the Solid Waste Authority (SWA) to import expired pharmaceuticals from out of state to be burned at the new incinerator.  He was asking that the City speak out against importing the trash.  While the Council did not pass any kind of resolution, they volunteered Council member Levy to attend the meeting and express technical objections to the proposal.
• Drama was anticipated – at least by media with respect to Avenir – which was not on the agenda.  Former County Commission Karen Marcus and Jupiter Inlet Colony Commissioner Chip Block, along with others opposing Avenir were planning to speak but did not do so. But Jack Weir spoke on behalf of the project, and Rosa Schechter of Avenir Holdings invited the Council to visit the actual site and observe how degraded it is.   Tony Doris covered this in his article Marcus Holds Fire on Avenir .

Next City Council Mtg on Thursday February 5th at 7PM

The next City Council Meeting will be this Thursday, February 5th at 7pm at City Hall.

The Consent Agenda includes:

• Lease/purchase of a Medium Duty Ambulance for $319K as a Reserve Rescue Unit replacement for Fire Rescue
• Lease/purchase of a 100′ Aerial platform Truck for $1 Million. “The Fire Rescue Department currently maintains an aerial platform truck for emergency response purposes and as backup for the frontline vehicles. The aerial platform truck is the only 100-foot aerial in the Fire Rescue fleet.”
• Approving the plat for Cimarron Cove Planned Community Development (PCD) – this was last discussed by the Council on 9/3/14 approving the site plan.
• Changing the dates for the July and August City Council meetings due to adjustments around July 4th – (so save the dates Wednesday July 1st and Thursday August 6th)

The Regular Agenda includes:

• Ordinance 1, 2015 is intended to amend sign code to regulate human signage.  You’ve seen various businesses with sign wavers and spinners.  The PB Post covered this proposal, initiated by the City based on the premise that “Human Signs”, if not properly regulated as to time, place, and manner, distract drivers and impede pedestrian traffic in the public rights-of-way and pose a significant threat to public health, safety, and welfare.  This may generate some public comment.
• Ordinance 3, 2015 – creating specific signage requirements for gas stations in Palm Beach Gardens.  The City chose to develop it’s own requirements after PB County passed an ordinance last year; the latter was met by objections by local gas station owners.  Those same owners approve of the proposal described in Ordinance 3.
• Resolution 2, 2015 would permit Nativity Lutheran Church (located at nw corner of Holly Drive and Plant Drive) a 2-year extenion for existing modular structures.
• Resolution 7, 2015 is a request for site plan and major conditional use approval for the replacement of PBG Fire Rescue Station No 2 (RCA/Campus Drive) – which was discussed by the Council last year.
• Resolutions 8 and 9, 2015 – regard amending the Central Gardens Master Plan and approving a site plan for a 140-bed Assisted Living Facility withing Parcel B.  Central Gardens is located at the intersection of Hood Road and Central Boulevard.

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.

See a summary of the January meeting on the PBG Watch website.

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.

I-95/Central Blvd Interchange FDOT Public Mtg 1/29

The following flyer was available at the January 8th City Council Meeting.  For more information contact the FDOT representative as described in the flyer.

 

First Responders Honored; All Aboard Florida Concerns voiced; No Charter Review

Mayor Premuroso kicked off the January 8th City Council Meeting by reciting Governor Scott’s declaration of Florida First Responder Appreciation Week, and honoring all those from the City’s Police Department and Fire/Rescue, many of whom were present at the start of the meeting. Ed McEnroe gave a presentation on the impact of the Honda Classic and described plans for the upcoming one starting February 23rd.   (see Palm Beach Post article on the Honda Classic).

During Items of Resident Interest, several of the council mentioned the Economic Update meeting they attended by Hank Fishkind, with a sunny outlook for Palm Beach Gardens. The Post summarizes Mr. Fishkind’s presentation here.

City Manager Ferris stated that the City received a response from All Aboard Florida (AAF) to a letter sent on behalf of the City by Mayor Premuroso. The City’s letter (read it here) had 19 questions concerning the impacts of the expanded rail service on the City.   AAF’s response addressed none of them. The Council directed Mr. Ferris to set up a workshop with management of AAF (not the Marketing team) to answer their questions. Council frustration about AAF was evident later in the meeting during  Comments from the Public, when resident Marilyn Klausner, addressing the Council for the first time, questioned why no one in the Cities and the County Commission were doing anything to stop All Aboard Florida. The Council described actions taken, but Council Member Tinsley summed it up best by stating that the Railroad was there first and that the cities had to have permission from FEC to cross it’s tracks rather than the other way around. Note: While the Council (and PBGWATCH) were under the impression the US Coast Guard would be our last line of defense due to impact on marine traffic, an article in the paper on Friday quoted the Coast Guard as saying the recent public meetings on the bridges were not primarily about AAF.

Another topic discussed by the Council was whether there was a need for a Charter Review. After some discussion it was felt that the last two elections (2012/2014) had Charter resolutions and thus there should be no action taken in 2016 on any charter changes. Since the Council would be changing due to term limits – let the new council deal with it.

Comments by the Public generated most of the discussion for the remainder of the meeting.

• Alton Neighborhood Plat 1 was on the Consent Agenda and two folks (one from Boca Raton and the other from Palm Beach Gardens) spoke against any development on the Briger Forest. Council Member Levy rebutted claims made by the speakers about the pristine nature of Briger, which he said already had a damaged water table, and was surrounded by highways. He also rebutted the claim that the gopher tortoises would be destroyed – as all would be moved elsewhere and that Frenchman’s Forest had a similar habitat with lots of tortoises. Levy also stated that the property had alway been slated for development in the City’s plans.
• Kevin Easton, resident from the Sunset Drive neighborhood, spoke about December’s meeting, where it was decided to begin Eminent Domain proceedings against him for not ceding an easement on his properties. Kevin also spoke about the County’s attempt to lump in canal ownership in the transfer to the City. Mr Ferris agreed that the County did try that in the beginning but was rejected by the City. Council Member Tinsley, as she did last month, reiterated that every residence in Palm Beach County has required easements and right of ways and no one is paid for those easements. Mr. Easton was NOT going to lose his property, but have an easement as does everyone else. And if he wanted payment, while all his other neighbors did not, then it would only be fair that all in the community be paid. (We hope that this can be resolved amicably)

Save the date January 29th for an FDOT Kick Off Meeting Phase 2 Study of the I-95 at PGA Blvd/Central Boulevard.  More details in a separate post.

Next City Council Mtg on Thursday, January 8th

The next City Council Meeting will be this Thursday, January 8th at 7pm at City Hall.

Once again, this month’s meeting looks like it will be relatively short.

Presentations include Florida First Responder Appreciation Week Jan 5-9 – declared by Governor Rick Scott, and another on the economic impact of the Honda Classic.

The Consent Agenda includes:

• Approval of an agreement with The Children’s Healthcare Charity, Inc. for the 2015 Honda Classic PGA Golf Tournament to provide a public safety grant for off-duty Police and Fire Services and related staff services, and the use of specific portions of Mirasol and PGA National Parks for various parking facilities and general operations – as was done in 2014
• Approving the Alton Neighborhood Plat 1- which is part of the Briger tract between Donald Ross and Hood Rd.
• 3 Purchase Awards, two of which are piggyback contracts for equipment for Fire/Rescue (up to $100.2K) and for 2015 vehicles (not to exceed $528K).  The third is for a $2 million, 3-year contract with option to renew for small maintenance and construction projects.
• There is also an Arbor Day proclamation.

The Regular Agenda consists of only one item:

• Ordinance 14, 2014, 2nd reading,which is an amendment to the Fiscal Year 2013/14 Budget. This item had little discussion at 1st reading.

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.

See a summary of the December meeting on the PBG Watch website.

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.

Artistic Bus Shelters and Eminent Domain Dominate Mtg

What we expected to be a brief meeting took a little bit longer on Thursday, December 4th.

The agenda began with a very uplifting presentation on the results of the 9th Annual Mayor’s Veterans’ Golf Classic which in total awarded $29,114.47 to the West Palm Beach VA Medical Center. The sponsors were honored and many staff participated on their own time for this worthy cause.

The Annual Investment Update generated a little discussion on whether or not interest rates would be rising any time soon and in support of the strategy to focus the bulk of investments in 1-2 year bonds.

Presentations were added to the agenda:

• Artistic Bus Shelters – 13 locations were identified based on passenger usage and by virtue of the Consent Agenda approval – those would be the sites for the shelters. The contract approval was also in the Consent Agenda – and manufacturing of the shelters could begin in early January with a target to have them all in place by summer.
• Neighborhood Improvement Assessment Program (NIAP) at 40th Terrace/Sunset Drive
  • The roads have been transferred/accepted from Palm Beach County and one payment is still outstanding
  • Two contracts have been awarded – one for the water and the other for the roadwork
  • The projects can commence on January 15, 2015 and expected assessments will be $2,032.39/yr/parcel or expressed monthly $169.37 monthly/parcel.
  • All necessary easements have been obtained (for no charge) except for one big exception which was met by extreme consternation and frustration by the Council.  Kevin Easton, who has been the face of the neighborhood for several years and pursued these neighborhood enhancements wants payment for the easements on some of his 5 parcels – necessary for the water loop as well as for a Fire/Rescue turn-around.  He and the City have not come to an agreement.    Any payments to Mr. Easton will raise the costs for the entire neighborhood, according to the Council discussion.  City Attorney Lohman recommended that the Council approve Eminent Domain proceedings, which he assured them would go through.  Legal costs incurred would also be spread to the project costs.  The Council voted 5:0 to commence with the proceedings.  All hoped this can be resolved without such an action being taken.  Mr. Easton was not at the meeting and so his side of the argument was not represented.

City Manager Ferris gave quick updates on the stormwater inspections, swale repair, referenced the Palm Beach Post article on RAIDSONLINE , an excellent presentation made by Natalie Crowley at the Business Development Board Forum, The 31st Annual Holiday Bazaar underway now and the Holiday Joy Drive.

Council member Tinsely recused herself on the Azure Plat resolution – which passed 4:0 and the remainder of the Consent Agenda passed 5:0, as did first reading of the Budget Amendment. There were no other items for council discussion or a City Attorney Report.

All on the Council wished everyone Happy Holidays.

Note that the January City Council Meeting will be on January 8th at 7pm.

Next City Council Mtg on Thursday, December 4th

The next City Council Meeting will be this Thursday, December 4th at 7pm at City Hall.

Thursday’s meeting looks like it will be relatively short because many of the significant resolutions appear on the Consent Agenda rather than the Regular Agenda.

Presentations include the annual investment update by Steven Alexander with PFN Asset Management, LLC.

The Consent Agenda includes:

• Approving the Discovery Village Assisted Living Facility (ALF) Plat within the Gables Planned Community Development (PCD).  On February 6, 2014, the City Council approved a site plan for the Discovery Village Assisted Living Facility, consisting of a total of 120 units/138 beds comprising 129,831 square feet.
• Adoption of the Palm Beach County Local Mitigation Strategy.  The purpose of the Palm Beach County LMS Plan is to develop and execute an ongoing unified strategy for reducing the community’s vulnerability to identified natural, technological, and societal hazards, as well as place Palm Beach County in a position to compete effectively and productively for pre- and post-disaster funding. Palm Beach Gardens has participated in the Palm Beach County LMS Plan since 1998 and is required to adopt the updated LMS Plan to be eligible for pre- and post-disaster funding in the upcoming year.
• Approving the Azure Plat: In 2005, the subject site was approved to allow the development of 113 multifamily dwelling units and 9,900 square feet of ancillary office/retail space for use by the marina – the property is at the intersection of Donald Ross Road and Prosperity Farms Rd at Loggerhead Marina (previously named Frenchman’s Marina).
• Approving the Alton PCD Plat – which is part of the Briger tract between Donald Ross and Hood Rd.
• Purchase awards for the Artistic Bus Shelters, Tennis Center Parking Expansion and for the Neighborhood Improvement Asessment Program (NIAP) at 40th Terrace/Sunset Drive.  The latter will provide paved roads and piped water for residents of the community to bring the neighborhood up to the infrastructure standards of the City.

The Regular Agenda consists of only one item:

• Ordinance 14, 2014 which is an amendment to the Fiscal Year 2013/14 Budget. “As a part of the annual fiscal year closeout process, it is necessary to review the financial statements to determine if any post-closing budget amendments are required to properly reflect certain accounting transactions, and to ensure compliance with legal levels of budgetary control.”  Only 2 items are in this amendment – one with no impact on the City’s fund balance position and the other adding $1809 to Golf reserves.

The agenda (with links to full detail) can be found here.

See a summary of the November meeting, and the latest Martino Minute on the PBG Watch website.

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.

« Previous Page — Next Page »