Martino: Public Workshops or Private Meetings

I attended the June 6th Palm Beach Gardens City Council meeting to listen to the Costco renovation plans and subsequent vote to approve or disapprove. The vote was 3 to 1 to approve with not much discussion of substance by the City Council members. Also on the agenda were several other major projects petitioned by various business and developer interests. With little Council discussion these projects were approved to move forward unanimously which if you regularly attend the once per month Council meeting you will recognize as almost always the norm.

What I found most interesting about the above projects and Council votes was the “coziness” of the banter between the Council and the developer representatives and/or lobbyists. Some of these projects were scheduled for Quasi-Judicial Hearings. Law requires the Council members to announce their individual contacts with representatives of the project and anyone else that they may converse with concerning the Quasi-Judicial Hearing subject. The rub here is the Council members do not offer any real insights into these conversations; therefore, the Public is not privy as to how these conversations impact the decision-making process and, paraphrasing the Council members, “the relationship building”.

It is important to stress that wariness about the above does not suggest anything untoward but only awkward perceptions that can and should be avoided. To alleviate this awkwardness a simple and straight forward suggestion is more scheduled meetings with the Public in the Council chambers and fewer meetings with the lobbyists in private. Scheduled public workshop meetings on developer projects would allow the Council to discuss in Public what they now are discussing in private. The Public would have more notice that a petitioned project is being considered, more opportunity to digest the petitioned project, and therefore, may be more intellectually competent to comment pro or con with the Council both prior to and at the Public Hearings of said projects. Transparency, communication, and openness, are fundamentals of good government and required by Florida’s Sunshine Law.

It is my considered opinion, regularly scheduled workshops for development projects or for any other important Public business prior to full staff review are a necessity and important to the conduct of the Public’s business. Regularly scheduled workshops are not a new concept to the Palm Beach Gardens City Council processes and work product. It was a City Council process followed for over 40 years. When and why scheduled workshops were discontinued is mystifying. During most of those years, two workshops and two regular meetings were held each month on Thursday evenings. From my perspective, workshop meetings afford everyone and every entity involved in the Public’s business to become better educated and informed. The collective rather than individual thought and decision-making processes of the City Council members are better understood by themselves, by the petitioners, by the Administration, and most important by the Public. The Council’s policy directives concerning the petition are understood by the Administration before the petition is scrutinized and reviewed for compliance and other issues which in my view is not the current modus operandi.

With the imposition of term limits it was hoped new and different faces on the City Council would bring innovation and change to the City Council’s protocol. The faces have changed but by and large the conduct of City business has not. It is my opinion that the inherited process flaws are still embedded. I have suggested and discussed the need for scheduled workshops before but with no success. The lack of scheduled workshop meetings, agenda preparation, agenda reviews in private by Council members, Council and Administration intersection, among other concerns are subjects worth addressing and discussing, perhaps, in a scheduled workshop. It is my conviction that in some instances the City Council’s perspective on the processes necessary to conduct the City’s business are not always consistent with the best interests of residents.

New Development at City Centre and Downtown at the Gardens

Vice-Mayor Litt was unable to attend as she was attending the graduation ceremony for completing Leadership Palm Beach.  Council Member Marino is also a graduate of the program.  Congratulations to Mrs. Litt.

During Announcements and Presentations Officer Francine O’Brien was chosen as PBC Chiefs’ Association 2018 Officer of the year. Also the PBA voted on and the Council approved a collective bargaining agreement for the next 3 years. Key elements included a 6%/year annual increase for each of the 3 years and change of the retirement age from 55 to 52.

All Ordinances and Resolutions on this very busy agenda passed 4:0 with the exception of the following:

• 2nd Reading and Adoption of Ordinance 6, 2016 and companion resolution 20, 2019 – which entailed the changes to the Costco site plan, and approval for a retail expansion and 24 position fueling center (limited to members) received much discussion by the Council, and public comment against and for. Council Member Lane was opposed to the number of fueling stations and traffic impact and the final vote was 3:1.
• Ordinance 8, 2019 – 1st reading – Ballenisles East Outparcel rezoning for the development of a medical and professional office building to be located on the SE corner of PGA Blvd and Ballenisles Drive. Staff had recommended AGAINST approval. The applicant requested postponement of the vote until July; staff recommended an indefinite postponement until issues were resolved. After discussion, the council voted 4:0 for an indefinite postponement.

New development includes plans for Solera at City Centre, located on US1 and PGA Blvd – a 136-unit multi-family apartment building, including some workforce housing (see  the Palm Beach Post article,  and a Life Time Health Club and parking garage to be built at Downtown at the Gardens – see a description the Post’s coverage here.

Also approved was the hiring of a consultant to develop a workforce housing program for the City. And the Council, while having met individually with City Manager Ferris to give private feedback, publicly gave him a stellar annual evaluation and suggested that the City Attorney bring forward a new contract to for Mr. Ferris.

Next City Council Meeting on Thursday, June 6 at 7pm

The next City Council meeting will be on Thursday, June 6, at 7pm. The meeting has quite an extensive agenda covering a lot of topics. For those interested in the issue of Workforce Housing, see Resolution 40, 2019 regarding the development of a Workforce Housing Program and Ordinance 9, 2019 which will provide for a density bonus for projects in Mixed Use zoning districts that include a workforce or affordable housing component.

Presentations and Announcements include: Police Officer of the Year Francine O’Brien, PBA Collective Bargaining Agreement, Legislative Session Summary and an update on small cell and micro antennas in city right of way (a home rule issue).

Consent Agenda includes:

• Lease of an Altec Model AT30-G Custom Truck for the Public Services Department’s Sign Shop – $117K
• Resolutions 36/37, 2019 – approving plats for Avenir Pod 2 and 4 – consistent with prior approvals
• Resolution 41, 2019 – The Collective Bargaining Agreement with PBA – covered under presentations – 3 yr contract from 10/19 – 9/22
• Purchase award – Electrical Work for New Golf Maintenance Building – piggyback/access contract – upon completion – $126K
• Purchase award – Pavement Marking Services – piggyback/access contract – upon completion – $64K
• Bid waiver – Construction of Baseball Batting Cages and Pitching Areas at Gardens Park – $162K

Public Hearings and Resolutions – Only first readings and new business listed below:

• Ordinance 8, 2019 – First Reading: Ballenlsles East Outparcel PUD – request to rezone a 5.27 acre site located at the southeast corner of PGA Boulevard and Ballenlsles Drive and Site Plan approval for a 60,000-square-foot, 2-story medical and professional office building. – staff recommends denial
• Ordinances 9/10/11, 2019 – First Reading: A request from Eastwind Acquisitions, LLC to amend the 13.58 acre City Centre site on the Future Land Use Plan Map to Mixed Use (MXD), rezone to Mixed Use with a General Commercial (CG-1) and Residential High (RH) underlying zoning, and a PUD Amendment to convert the existing approval for a 6 story office building on Parcel F to develop a 4-story multifamily residential project with 136 units, with a workforce housing component. The proposed Land Use amendment in Ordinance 9, 2019 will provide for a density bonus for projects in Mixed Use zoning districts that include a workforce or affordable housing component. See map for City Centre.
• Ordinance 13, 2019 – First Reading: Requesting approval of Ordinance 13, 2019 that would grant an Ad Valorem Property Tax Exemption to Carrier Corporation providing for 100 percent exemption for 1-5 Years and then 50 percent exemption for 6-10 Years. On March 5, 2015 “The City Council also conceptually approved Carrier Corporation, “Project Diamond”, for the Ad Valorem Tax Exemption Program for 100 percent exemption for 1-5 Years and then 50 percent exemption for 6-10 Years, provided the company sufficiently completes the application process for the ad valorem tax exemption, and the City Council grants final approval.”
• Resolutions 26/27, 2019 – Downtown at the Gardens – to add 116,862 square feet of Health, Physical Fitness, Weight Reduction, and Spa use and amend the site plan for Downtown at the Gardens to allow for a Life Time health club facility and a 426-space parking garage
• Resolution 30, 2019 – AIPP (Art in Public Places) for PGA Station Residence Inn Marriott
• Resolution 38, 2019 – Avenir Clubhouse – request for site plan approval to permit the construction of an 8.99-acre community clubhouse and recreation facility internal to the Avenir Planned Community Development (PCD).
• Resolution 40, 2019 – award of the contract with Strategic Planning Group, Inc. for the development of a Workforce Housing Program, consistent with the needs and requirements of the City, and subject to the deliverables detailed in the Request for Proposals. Additionally, the Mayor is hereby authorized to execute the subject agreement.

Items for Council Action/Discussion: City Manager Evaluation

Check the agenda to see if any additional items have been added before the meeting here.

New Tax Collector Office Building for PGA Blvd

The May 2nd City Council meeting included first reading on changes to two sites on PGA Boulevard and Northlake Boulevard respectively.

The current DMV site on PGA across from the Gardens Mall will be replaced by a beautiful new building housing both the Palm Beach County Tax Collector’s functions currently housed in the North County Courthouse, as well as the drivers’ license functions previously conducted on the site’s locations.  All on the Council were impressed by the new building, along with the included traffic improvements allowing access from the North County Courthouse and PBC Library parking lot areas.  Residents will be able to access all three locations without having to enter via PGA Blvd.

Costco, located on Northlake Boulevard across from MacArthur Boulevard, will be adding a members’ only fueling center at the site of the old Sports Authority and Rooms to Go Outlet, as well as revamping the access roadway for better traffic management on Northlake, enhancing the appearance of the store itself, and modifying the parking area and landscaping.  The Council did spend some time exploring the last minute complaint by the owner of an adjoining property.

Also of note – the Council approved the sale of the Burns Road Public Works property to Johnstone Capital Partners for $2.8 million.  A previous sale fell through, and while there was another higher offer, that offer presented legal issues as well as tying up the property for many months with no penalty should that offer fall through.  After deliberations, the Council agreed that the Johnstone offer, with only 10 days of deliberation and a closing date of June 12  for the property appraised at $2.2 million, was the way to go.

All ordinances and resolutions passed 5:0.

 

Next City Council Mtg on May 2nd at 7pm

Congratulations to Mayor Mark Marciano and Vice Mayor Rachelle Litt

After the meeting was called to order and the results of the election were approved, Vice Mayor Woods asserted himself to talk first and nominated Mark Marciano for Mayor and Rachelle Litt for Vice Mayor, and both were unanimously selected.  Congratulations to them both!

Comments from the Public included a speech by Weiss School student and former Mayor for the Day (in March) James Delano summarizing the highlights of his experience. He was followed by former Mayor Joe Russo thanked the Council and staff for their outstanding work over the last three years and both outgoing and congratulating the in-coming Mayor and Vice Mayor.

City Manager Ferris had David Reyes, in his capacity as Director of Emergency Management decribe the actions taken the previous Tuesday immediately after the 4pm ‘weather event’ which severely impacted PGA National, the PGA/Military Trail intersection, and areas in Burns Road and Siena Oaks. By 4:30 all public services staff was onboard, and all issues were addressed, including checking areas not directly impacted by 7pm.

The Consent Agenda passed 5:0. Two items were pulled for further explanation. Vice Mayor Litt requested that a description be given of the grant application for construction/enhancement of twelve pedestrian crossings – several in the area of Hood Rd.  Council Member Lane requested a detailed presentation on the Fuel Card Purchase Award. Both also passed 5:0.

Ordinance 2,3 2019 and related Resolution 12, 2019 concerning small scale comprehensive plan amendment and rezoning for 2 parcels located on Alt A1A .5 mi south of Hood Rd for Convenience store and gas station, and car-wash/detailing facility passed 5:0 on Second Reading.

New business included first reading of Ordinance 4, 2019 which rezoned the Seacoast Utility Property. Plans were described for an entire redo of the municipal offices on the property. Meg Shannon of The Isles subdivision praised the collaborative working relationship of Seacoast with The Isles community. Also on the agenda was the Collective Bargaining Agreement with the Professional Firefightters and Paramedics of PBC, ratified by Local 2928 IAFF, Inc for fiscal years through 2020-2021. Both items also passed unanimously.

All appointments to External Boards and Committees remained the same except for the few that required participation by the City’s Mayor.

Next City Council Meeting on Thursday April 4 at 7pm

There are no Announcement/Presentations or City Manager Report listed.

• Purchase award for Fuel Card Services.  Currently fuel has been delivered to the Public works/Fleet Facility, which is for sale. The City needs an alternate source or arrangement to access fuel during the one-year period it will take to construct the new fueling station at the Public Services Operations Center.   After extensive market research, the City plans to implement a fuel card system that will allow the purchase of fuel at any service station in the country.  Piggyback/Access Contract – $1 million for 1 year – no option to renew
• Purchase award for Rootzone Mix for Gardens Park baseball compex – Bid Waiver – $132K
• Purchase award for Replacing the 20-year-old clay roof tiles on the Police Station with metal sheet roofing. Piggyback/Access Contract – $415K
• Purchase award for  Furniture for Public Services Operations Center – Piggyback/Access Contract – $180K

Public Hearings and Resolutions:

• Ordinance 2,3 2019 and related Resolution 12, 2019 – 2nd reading and adoption – small scale comprehensive plan amendment and rezoning for 2 parcels located on Alt A1A .5 mi south of Hood Rd for Convenience store and gas station, and car-wash/detailing facility
• Ordinance 4, 2019 – 1st reading – Seacoast Utility Authority – Planned Unit Development Rezoning, Site Plan, and Major Conditional Use – “The subject site has been operating as a water treatment plant since 1975 and has been modified several times before and after annexation in 1988. The existing administrative buildings were built in the early 1980s and are no longer meeting the needs of the Seacoast Utility Authority (SUA). As such, SUA is seeking to replace and demolish the existing buildings in the administrative complex, construct additional storage buildings, and enhance the overall functionality of the administrative operations. 
• Resolution 23, 2019 – Approving and ratifying a Collective Bargaining Agreement between the City and the Professional Firefighters and Paramedics of Palm Beach County, Local 2928, IAFF, Inc., for Fiscal Years 2018-2019, 2019-2020, and 2020-2021.   There are significant salary increases.  See details here.  

Items for Council Action/Discussion:  Appointments to External Boards and Committees

Check the agenda to see if any additional items have been added before the meeting here.

2019 Municipal Election Results

The March 12 municipal election in Palm Beach Gardens was a clear win for incumbent Vice Mayor Carl Woods over challenger Howard Rosenkranz. Woods won every precinct except 1246 (Shady Lakes, Bent Tree, Garden Lakes and the Gardens of Woodbury), and 1296 which includes Marina Gardens and Brookdale around the intersection of PGA and Prosperity Farms Road.

Ballenisles (1252) and Frenchmans (1194) should be congratulated for over 20% turnout, but turnout overall was a very light 9.5%, with the winner getting votes from only 6% of the eligible voters. It was not the lowest on record though – that honor goes to the Jablin/Easton race in March 2011 where only 7.6% (2775) turned out, but it was the second lowest since 2002 on a percentage basis. (See: PBG Elections for a summary of the elections from 2002-2019). Interest was low – neither candidate campaigned much past a few mailers, and there were no forums.

At least this race was a contest – in the Group 2 race, Mayor Marino had no challenger and won re-election by default.

Group 4

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Group 4
Strong Woods	Weak Woods	Very Close	Weak Rosenkrantz	Strong Rosenkrantz
Click the precinct on the map for vote totals.

Precinct	Registered	Votes Cast	Turnout %	Woods	Rosenkrantz	Woods Margin
1186	1509	103	6.8	60	43	58.3
1188	932	54	5.8	38	16	70.4
1189	100	11	11.0	7	4	63.6
1190	4036	265	6.6	186	79	70.2
1192	1498	108	7.2	89	19	82.4
1194	2137	479	22.4	349	130	72.9
1228	460	46	10.0	37	9	80.4
1238	1772	173	9.8	106	67	61.3
1240	2561	229	8.9	174	55	76.0
1242	2616	322	12.3	246	76	76.4
1244	1611	139	8.6	106	33	76.3
1246	2472	242	9.8	99	143	40.9
1247	241	32	13.3	27	5	84.4
1248	1564	173	11.1	112	61	64.7
1250	66	8	12.1	6	2	75.0
1252	2351	475	20.2	248	227	52.2
1254	470	31	6.6	20	11	64.5
1260	1302	135	10.4	92	43	68.1
1266	486	3	0.6	3	0	100.0
1268	319	9	2.8	6	3	66.7
1272	1975	156	7.9	112	44	71.8
1274	1631	128	7.8	89	39	69.5
1280	400	36	9.0	24	12	66.7
1284	2383	143	6.0	96	47	67.1
1288	35	2	5.7	0	2	0.0
1290	2188	181	8.3	140	41	77.3
1292	79	7	8.9	7	0	100.0
1296	774	27	3.5	11	16	40.7
1324	1318	63	4.8	52	11	82.5
1326	558	59	10.6	43	16	72.9
1340	15	3	20.0	3	0	100.0
1352	2262	154	6.8	111	43	72.1
1360	900	92	10.2	59	33	64.1
1372	178	5	2.8	3	2	60.0
6062	844	114	13.5	82	32	71.9
6064	123	5	4.1	3	2	60.0
Total	44190	4212	9.5	2846	1366	67.6

Elections, NCNC Annual Meeting and March City Council Mtg

Elections:

Vice Mayor Carl Woods was re-elected to the Council Group 4 in a relatively low turnout election. Congratulations to Mr. Woods, and thanks to his opponent, Howard Rosencranz for running. We of PBG Watch believe that every incumbent should have an opponent, and understand how much effort it takes to campaign – not just for the candidates but for their families. We will have a details precinct analysis when the Supervisor of Elections publishes the precinct results. See the Palm Beach Post coverage here.

NCNC Annual Meeting:

We attended the annual meeting of the North County Neighborhood Coalition. The event was attended by about 200 people including members, elected and newly elected officials, sponsors and other invited guests. NCNC President Sal Faso kicked off the meeting with some key facts about the NCNC and its impact. Member communities have a significantly higher rate of voter participation than is found generally in Palm Beach County, which is a testament to the information that is provided to the voters via their monthly meetings and outreach. The keynote speaker was Teresa Urquhart, CEO of Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center, who gave an overview of hospital. Following was a panel on the Opioid Crisis consisting of County Commissioner Melissa McKinlay, State Attorney David Aronberg and Dr. Kenneth Scheppke, who serves as State EMS Medical Director for the FL Department of Health. All three on the panel have had an intense involvement in finding solutions to the opioid crisis.

Check out the NCNC website and goals.

March City Council Meeting:

The Council had a very light agenda. The Consent Agenda and all Ordinances and Resolutions passed 5:0.  Sixth-grader James Delano, of the Weiss School was Mayor for the Day and he opened and closed the meeting.

Of note:

• Council Member Lane pulled the purchase award for Paving of Public Service Operations Center and Adjoining Areas so that the Council and the public could be informed about the large expenditure of over $800K and why it was done as a piggyback/access contract
• Resolution 6, 2019 – was for the development of a 10,000 sq foot state of the art indoor training facility at Gardens Park. This will be a public private partnership with Cressey Sports Properties, LLC, it will have no financial impact to the city, it will house an office for PBGYAA, and the City will own the facility after 31 years.
• City Attorney Max Lohman gave an update on the three most prominent cases:
  • Dinerstein #1 – challenge to the March question on 3 year sit-out – he stated that the City prevailed in the 4th DCA, a motion for rehearing and a motion for rehearing en banc was filed and summarily denied.  He’s waiting for the mandate to  issue on the case after which he will file a motion for costs, to try and recover some of the costs entailed.
  • Dinerstein #2 – challenge to question 2 from the August Election (charter replacement) – Judge Keyser ruled in City’s favor on motion for summary judgement.  Lohman is waiting to see if they appeal.
  • Summary judgement on Sears case on August 28th – judge granted alternative relief which was to find the Sears motion for attorneys fees to be legally insufficient, and directed Sears to refile a motion by April 1.

 

Group 4 Municipal Elections – Tuesday March 12th – VOTE!

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