Go for Easy or Solve the Problem?

Residents in the Shady Lakes and surrounding subdivisions have raised concerns about plans for the Shady Lakes Drive Extension for a long time. They have submitted petitions, come to Council meetings and spoken in an organized fashion, and proposed alternatives. Last night’s special City Council Meeting began with a presentation of conceptual proposals for the road in Phase 1 and Phase 2 along with attractive landscaping proposals, followed by Public Comment. Of the roughly 30 folks who spoke, 23 spoke against or had major questions about the implementation. Citizen questions were followed by responses by the staff/consultants. And finally, the Council took a vote on Vice Mayor Jablin’s proposal to proceed with Phase 1 construction and authorize the City Manager to pursue the Phase 2 components addressing aspects of the PGA/Shady Lakes Drive intersection, voting 3:1 with Council Member Premuroso opposed and David Levy absent.

Premuroso, during Council discussion, had suggested that his preference was to focus on solving the 117th Court issues prior to doing anything with Shady Lakes, and then determining what should be done with that later. Most residents in Shady Lakes would probably have agreed with that.   See Sarah Peter’s article  on the meeting in the Palm Beach Post here.

One should ask – what problem is being solved? And does the approved portion of the project solve it? Editorializing, if the problem was Central Blvd/117th Ct traffic issues and Safety, then does the Shady Lakes Extension solve that issue? Or was it just the easiest thing to approve because the road is entirely owned by Palm Beach Gardens, and the City has budgeted for it already and everyone involved (staff/consultants) are eager to make progress? Whereas getting FDOT/County/School Board issues resolved in fixing traffic management will be a much longer process and difficult. Time will tell….

See the Shady Lakes plans on the City of Palm Beach Gardens website.

Special City Council Meeting on Shady Lakes Expansion on Wed. 4/20

There will a Special City Council Meeting on Wednesday, April 20th on the Shady Lakes Expansion.  Plans will be on display from 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm. Presentation will be at 7:00 p.m. followed by questions from the public.

New Mayor Marcie Tinsley Leads Smooth Transition

NOTE: There will be a Special City Council Meeting on Shady Lakes Extension on Wed. 4/20 at 7PM.  Plans will be on display at 6pm

The April City Council meeting commenced with the Results of the Election, heartfelt goodbyes to Joe Russo (who was awarded a beautiful crystal gavel, as well as some ‘big shoes’ to fill by in-coming Council member Maria Marino). There was no mention at any time in the meeting, by City Attorney Max Lohman, that there are 2 lawsuits pending hearings related to Group 4’s result and Council member Levy’s eligibility to be seated. David Levy, Group 4 and Maria Marino, Group 2, were administered the oath of office and sworn in.

Congratulations go to Mayor Tinsley, who is only the second female to hold the office of Mayor (Linda Monroe was mayor from 1985-1986) of Palm Beach Gardens. She was nominated by Bert Premuroso, seconded by Eric Jablin and elected unanimously. Mr. Jablin was elected Vice-Mayor.

The three Public Hearings: Compassionate Friends Memorial Garden, Reduction in Square Footage for United Technology’s Center for Intelligent Buildings Technology Complex, and Combining PGA Commons Parcel 2 and 3 PUD Amendment, all passed 5:0 with little discussion after the presentations.

The bulk of the meeting was spent on Presentations, Comments from the Public and Discussion of the Sales Tax Referendum.

Presentations:

• Dorothy Jacks, Chief Deputy Property Appraiser (and candidate for Property Appraiser) gave an update on the Gardens property valuations. Ms. Jacks praised the mix of residential versus commercial properties and careful growth in the City. Her tentative outlook in 2016 Market Valuation for the Gardens was 8-10% or more. Note that those with homesteaded properties would not see more than a 7/10 increase.
• Mark Bannon, Executive Director of the PBC Commission on Ethics, briefly summarized the role of the Ethics Commission and encouraged the City to make use of their staff when ethics questions arise. There is a database of 400+ advisory opinions and while those are online, the City should ask Ethics staff for assistance. New opinions can be sought as well.
• FDOT (Florida Department of Transportation) gave an update on the I-95 Central Blvd Project – describing and showing images of proposed on/off ramps and intersections in the area between the Military Trail and Donald Ross Rd intersections. The next public meeting on the subject will be in late Sept or early October 2016 and will include a noise study.
• The Northern Palm Beach County Chamber of Commerce has had a 2-year branding initiative which will have it’s big Reveal on April 26th. The Chamber asked for a proclamation in support, by the City, as well as continued financial support, which City Manager Ferris said was already in budget.
• Sandra Wesson, of the Palm Beach County School System Choice Programs Manager, spoke a bit about the International Baccalaureate programs and requested a letter of support from the Council in order to assist in getting the next 3-year grant. Grove Park and H.L. Watkins Middle School have been participant schools.

Public Comment:

• Flax Ct – Gary Pitchford, speaking for the neighborhood, expressed their continued displeasure with the progress of the property.
• Andrea Ciampi had equestions on who was responsible for any I-95 related improvements to Central Blvd – answer was County
• Eileen Henderson requested biographical information on new Councilmember Marino
• Michael Marsh, speaking on Corey Jones, thanked the City for writing a letter to State Attorney Aronberg and described the actions by the Florida Legislature on body-cameras as ineffective
• Tom Murphy, President of the Palm Beach Gardens Police Foundation spoke on upcoming essay contests
• Rick Sartori, Executive VP of the Northern Palm Beach County Chamber, voiced the Chambers’ support of the Infrastructure Sales Tax Referendum proposal, especially commending the Cultural Council and Economic Developments components of the proposed tax.
• Matt Baker, along with 5 other residents of the Mirasol area, demanded that Fire Station 64 receive the same staffing as the City’s other 4 fire stations. Fire Rescue Chief Mike Southard has met with Mr. and Mrs. Baker over the last few months. James Ippolito, Division Chief of Emergency Medical Services gave a detailed power point presentation describing how ‘automatic aid’ works in balancing coverage in all areas of the city, with appropriate staff covering each area as vehicles are called to various emergencies. An external study was only begun a few days ago and could take 90-120 days to complete. The residents were requesting immediate increase in staffing to equivalent levels, but both the City Manager and the Chief said that such staffing would cost $234K in overtime for the remainder of the budget year, without any evidence that response time would be improved. Part of the problem with the Mirasol area is that there are gated communities within gated communities, that add to the response time. However response time averages in all 5 stations are all better than targets.

Sales Tax Referendum:

Councilmember Levy kicked off the discussion saying that while he was not for the sales tax in general, if it passed, there should be some way to reduce the millage or give back some of the increased costs back to the residents. Vice-Mayor Jablin described his opposition, as did the remaining council members. They voted 4:0 to not sign the inter-local agreement supporting the sales tax increase. Note that cities representing 50% + 1 of the population of the County must vote in favor of the sales tax referendum in order for it to get on the ballot.  See the Palm Beach Post’s coverage here.

Farewell to Joe Russo and Progress on Some Major Issues

There was only one Public Hearing on the March 3rd Agenda, Signage Amendment for the Gardens Commerce Center – which passed 5:0. However much of the meeting was spent on several topics.

First on the agenda was recognition of Barbara Nicklaus and the impact she has had on the Gardens, living here for the last 50 years. She was awarded a Key to the City and a plaque for her efforts on the Nicklaus Children’s Health Foundation. Council Member Joe Russo read the proclamation, as a long time friend of the family.

Sherry Brown, Assistant Budget Director for Palm Beach County, gave a very brief update on the status of the proposed sales tax increase with little detail and discussion. Purchasing Director Km! Ra and Special Projects Director Charlotte Prezensky gave an update on the status of the new Golf Club House and the awarding of the design/build contract. Public input will be sought on the City website as well as at a Residents’ Day at the golf course on March 17th from 9-10:30 and 4-7 (extended from the original 6pm by request of Council Member Premuroso). Council Member Tinsley asked how long buildout would take – and the target is 16 months to completion. Council Member Russo expressed concern that 40-60 banquets/years not interfere with the golfers.

The Council reserved much of the Items of Resident Interest to thanking Joe Russo for his 27 years of service to Palm Beach Gardens, as both Mayor and Council Member. Joe, in turn thanked everyone, highlighted what he viewed as the major City accomplishments over the period, and suggested that the City consider Districts and direct election of a mayor as it continues to grow. He ended with advising future councils to ‘be a leader and always listen!’

Comments from the Public included:

• Carol Courtney, of 40th Terrace spoke of the destruction of beautiful trees by the City, who did so without a survey, fines against Kevin Easton of $500/day, her arrest, and public record requests ignored, related to the Sunset Terrace/40th Terrace city water project.
• Warm thanks to Joe Russo and to his family from former County Commissioner Karen Marcus, Tequesta Mayor Abby Brennan, Mark Marciano (via a letter read by Joni Alias, Joni Alias and from Joe Russo’s son, Joseph R. Russo who described growing up in the City with his father always on the council and his father’s dedication and service to the City.
• Residents opposed to the Shady Lakes Extension included Ruth Peeples, Craig Allgood, Kathy Beamer, Barry Mandelewicz, and Vito DeFrancesco all reinforcing the point that they’re not being listened to.
• Flax Court neighbors Margaret Collins and Gary Pitchford questioned and discussed the results of the Special Magistrate Meeting, and inappropriate fining/treatment of the property owner and liens on the property.
• It was the 137th day without answers on the Corey Jones shooting and several friends and family members speaking included Michael Marsh, Terry and Sheila Banks, and Mami Kisner asking for justice. Mayor Jablin said that he would draft a letter to State Attorney Aronberg and urge him to come out with the findings related to the case and hoped the information would bring some measure of peace.
• Incoming Council Member Maria Marino thanked the Council for the progress on the Golf Club House.

City Manager Report:

Thanks to City Manager Ferris for placing subjects to be covered on the agenda. We hope that he continues to do so every month, making the agenda more valuable for affected or interested parties.

Flax Court Update – as a result of the Special Magistrate – the City will be abating the unfinished roof, securing the structure and addressing the exterior condition including debris removal. At the March 23rd Code Hearing, the owner will be assessed the abatement costs and fines. City Attorney Lohman addressed lien issues. See details from the Palm Beach Post article.

Shady Lakes Extension – Feedback from the residents will be incorporated into the project; once there is a plan to share, there will be a workshop in the April/May timeframe; Ferris cited a consultant report and traffic study justifying the need for the expansion as well as at 117th. He also showed ‘drone’ footage of the traffic patterns during school pickup – worth watching the video to see what the area residents are complaining about! Council Member Levy said priority of 117th Ct should be first and asked if doing that would alleviate the needs for Shady Lakes. Ferris said he would have to defer, without another study. Council Member Tinsley made major progress with the School Board on 117th Ct right-of-way. Council Member Russo said the entire plan should be worked out. The City Manager hopes to have many more answers prior the the workshop.

There were no items for council discussion or City Attorney reports.

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.

Carol 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

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.

Public Comment Dominates the Agenda

Two disparate but important topics plus an item culled from Consent Agenda took much of the first two hours of the meeting on a very rainy evening.

Eight members of the public spoke eloquently about their concerns regarding lack of progress on the Corey Jones investigation (Michelle Maiden, Derrick McCray, Dorothy Lowery, Monica Roundtree, Mami Kisner, Megan Cadet (sp?), Natasha Clemons, Rae Whitely). There were over 30 folks representing Corey’s family and friends. While the speakers praised and/or thanked the Council and staff for the firing of ex-Officer Raja, and for meeting with them on topics like Policy and Procedures, body cameras and an accountability review board, many issues remain. After saying Mr. Raja couldn’t be fired last month, why was he three weeks later? Several echoed the question – who was responsible and accountable for permitting Officer Raja to work in plainclothes? Was he even on duty that night? Why was the family not contacted for about 12-13 hours? City Manager Ferris replied briefly saying that the City can’t jeopardize the investigation; that they turned over the investigation to the Sheriff within 60 minutes. He tried to assure the public that if anyone was found by the investigators to have behaved inappropriately, action WILL be taken. The City is accelerating work on body cameras, and looking at the idea of the review board. Mayor Jablin called a quick break so attendees not wanting to remain for the rest of the meeting could clear the chambers.

The Shady Lakes Drive extension brought out a contingent of about 20 residents. Vito DeFrancesco led off the comments, suggesting a parallel roadway to 117th Ct to relieve congestion. Four other speakers echoed alternative proposal(s): Katherine Beamer, Jim Jaramillo, Randy Kerr, Christine Kerr.  It was clear that the residents had done some research to try to come up with solutions. Mayor Jablin had done his homework too:  he essentially personally attacked 2 of the speakers, who had no venue to respond, by pointing out that in a petition from 2008  those individuals had signed in favor of the Shady Lakes extension – although they didn’t live in Shady Lakes at the time. He then said it was ok when they didn’t live there but now it wasn’t. The Mayor cited past experience with objections to Kyoto Drive, and said the residents will be much happier with what the City does if they work with staff instead of objecting. The residents left the room prior to the City Manager report, where Mr Ferris showed a project plan chart showing construction of the extension beginning by the summer, and summarizing meetings with neighborhood associations.

Also speaking during public comment was Joe R. Russo thanking the City for its involvement with the Big Heart Brigade.

Pulled from the Consent Agenda (which passed 5:0) was Resolution 64, 2015 regarding North County Airport. Mayor Jablin gave an update on negotiations that had occurred over the last year or so. George Gentile, Rick Sartory and Carl Creedon all spoke in favor of the resolution that may allow for a contract Control Tower at some time in the future; Sal Faso of the NCNC expressed concerns that there is no date for such a tower, that the demand for a runway extension could be questioned and that many safety issues still remain. After a brief discussion the Council passed the resolution 5:0.

Ordinance 14, 2015/Resolution 65, 2015 Mary Circle Rezoning Ordinance: Resident Terry Brady from Garden Oaks said that building on the empty lot will make traffic worse in an area already bad due to school buses dropping off children right there. Robert Hanley reiterated the traffic issues  and said that school uses that lot for parking, and park on Mary’s Circle during functions. Planning and Zoning Director Natalie Crowley addressed the concerns, saying that many of the issues are related to enforcement of the nearby day care center and the applicant meets all requirements and will take care of maintenance/mowing of land across the adjoining canal. After some discussion by the Council, the item passed 5:0.

Resolution 56, 2015 – City Clerk Patricia Snider listed modifications, additions and communications fees (for turning on ipads) to the agreement between the Supervisor of Elections and the City, for 2016,  made unilaterally by SOE Susan Bucher. The SOE will entertain ballot questions ONLY on the August primary election ballot on case by case basis with cut-off date of June 20 at 5pm ; NONE on November ballot. Charges and fees are undefined by Bucher and will be invoiced after the election. Deadline for the contract is December 15th. Council Member Tinsley asked “How do we budget for this?” Snider replied that for City elections she can give the details to the penny – but the SOE has no such details. Tinsley: Charging for turning on an IPAD is ludicrous! Tinsley also had a big problem with providing this blank check.  She said that the Term Limits PAC had every right to put their items on the ballot, and had to sue the SOE to get it on the ballot but the SOE billed the City for the lawsuit, and had threatened to not do future elections if the City didn’t pay the $7,901 for the lawsuit immediately. More discussion on what to do? City Attorney Lohman did a public records request for the SOE 5 year budget in electronic form; it was sent in paper rather than electronically and the City was charged over $200 for the public records and being given 2nd notice for the payments. Lohman proposed having the contract document amended the way the City wants the contract, and also giving the Mayor authority to sign the modified agreement, and giving  City Attorney Lohmann permission to sue the SOE over the public record charges for not providing the records when requested and not providing them electronically. Should SOE Bucher refuse the modifications, the Council will vote on it in January; they can always have an emergency meeting if necessary to approve further contract changes in December.

All other Public Hearing Ordinances and Resolutions passed 5:0. Presentations were made by the Principals of Howell Watkins Middle School, William T. Dwyer H.S. and Allamanda Elementary schools.

SAVE THE DATE – City Council Special Meeting on AVENIR – Wednesday January 6 at 7PM in Council Chambers.

‘Justice for Corey’ Dominates City Council Meeting

The scheduled agenda for the Nov. 5th meeting was a light one – two items on the Regular Agenda, and two presentations. But on entering the Council Chambers, it was apparent that Public Comment was going to dominate: Media vans outside, cameras inside, along with fairly full chambers (usually sparsely populated for the average Council meeting).

The Palm Beach Post’s article sums up the justified concerns by those seeking ‘Justice for Corey Jones’, along with commentary by the Council and City Manager Ferris. The thirteen people who spoke were respectful, eloquent but adament that action be taken on the paid leave status of Officer Raja who they said clearly did not follow Policies and Procedures. Watch the video to hear the comments.  Here is a link to the City’s web-page for updates on the shooting.

Mayor Jablin called a brief recess after which normal city council meeting process resumed.

The scheduled Presentations were rescheduled to the January 7th City Council Meeting. During Items of Resident Interest, Vice Mayor Levy briefly mentioned the proposed Fire/Rescue Sales Tax Sur-tax of 1% that would replace the current ad-valorem tax. Watch for this – as it, along with other sales tax increase proposals are in the offing for the November 2016 ballot.

Public Comment included Kevin Easton, talking about the water hook-ups in Sunset Terrace, Maria Marino spoke on being Principal for the Day, two folks spoke against the proposed Shady Lakes road extension – and staff listed upcoming neighborhood meetings. Nothing has been decided yet on the extension. The final speaker from Jupiter primarily spoke against the Briger tract development which got a fairly testy reply from Levy.

There was no City Attorney report, and the two agenda items passed 5:0.

The Best Budget Ever!

While the primary topic for the September 10 City Council meeting was the first hearing of the 2015/2016 Budget, much of the meeting was spent on Public Comment. The chamber was filled with a sea of yellow shirts worn by members of Fire/Rescue and their supporters. Media was also there to capture the action.

First up was Thomas Murphy, President of the PBG Police Foundation to describe the 9-11 Rememberence Essay competition. Then Fire/Rescue Chief Southard introduced the winners – First Place: Brandon Gitto, Second: Rebecca Newbold, Third: Alexis Simm. For more details see here.

Senator Abruzzo was to give a Legislative Update, but had to cancel and will do so at a future meeting.

City Manager Ferris had no report, but mentioned that the Purchasing Department – Km! Ra, had once again been honored with a prestigious award. Congratulations!

Most of those present were there for Public Comment which was next. The Fire/Rescue contract expires on 9/30/15 and negotiations had reached an impasse. The 6 speakers spoke on the excellence of Palm Beach Gardens Fire Rescue/Paramedics, how their lives or loved ones lives had been saved, and the primary issue of salary compression. The Council thanked the speakers, but Mayor Jablin said that he couldn’t comment more due to the negotiations. Council member Russo spoke eloquently on understanding the frustration, that a similar issue had been resolved for the police, and that he expected a resolution for this issue as well. For more details see: the Palm Beach Post summary.   Mayor Jablin then offered a 5 minute recess so that those wanting to leave could clear the chambers.

Three additional folks had comments related to traffic in the Central Avenue/117th Court area. All acknowledged problems in the area, but were not in agreement on the solutions. The Council assured them that before any changes will be made, a lot of work still needs to be done and that it will be the subject of future meetings.

Hal Valeche, County Commissioner District One, spoke emotionally about the passing of long-time aide, Cindy DeFeLippo to Commissioner Marcus and then Valeche. The members of the Council knew her well, and had spoken of her loss in a prior Council meeting.

Finally, Allan Owens, Finance Administrator, gave an excellent presentation on the proposed budget. The Council had challenged staff to come back with a millage rate decrease, yet balance that with fulfilling the needs of the City. Mark Marciano, Chair of the Budget Oversight Committee, gave a report supporting staff’s recommendations. The Council was pleased with the results with Council Member Levy saying “solid budget”, Council Member Tinsley calling it ‘most transparent’, Council Member Russo mentioning that it would be the last budget he votes on, and counseling staff to not add employees; Council Member Premuroso called it a ‘spectacular budget’ and pointed out that millage had been lowered for 2 years ina row, that the budget allowed for funding the IG should the lawsuit appeal be lost, and that in 4 years the general obligation bonds will be gone. Mayor Jablin thanked staff and City Manager Ferris thanked all the department heads for the hard work needed to make this budget happen. Note that this budget still grows by 4%, but less than it would have had millage been kept unchanged.

We in PBGWatch – also thank them all for giving back to the taxpayers. Gardens is to be commended to be one of the few municipalities and taxing authorities to not just gobble up the valuation increase wind-fall. See gardens-budget-splits-the-difference-with-the-taxpayer.

The Second Hearing will be next Thursday, September 17, at 7pm in City Hall.

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