Both City Hall and Tennis Center 1-Cent Sales Tax Projects Revised

Construction bids for the City Hall Renovations (Resolution 7, 2019) and Tennis Center Renovations (Resolution 8, 2019), both funded by the 1% sales tax, exceeded the budget for the projects. So the City downsized the ambitious plans somewhat to fit both projects within their original budgets and worked with the lowest bidders to adjust plans and materials. These resolutions provided for the City Manager to negotiate and execute with the selected bidders for both projects. The City Hall Renovations will impact both traffic patterns and entry/exit points to the Municipal Complex.

Ordinance 1, 2019 – 2nd Reading and Adoption Budget Amendment – Finance Administrator Allen Owens informed the council that the sale of the Public Works Property did not go through, so the amendment was changed to delete $1.38 million from the budget stabilization reserve fund accordingly, now at $2.4 million.

Both Council Members Lane and Litt each pulled two items from the from the Consent Agenda for further discussion and presentations, but those items and Consent were all passed 5:0. One of Mrs. Litt’s items was a Proclamation by the Mayor on behalf of 211 Awareness Week, which was read aloud. More information on the 211 Helpline can be found on their website.

All Ordinances and Resolutions passed 5:0.

During Items for Council Action/Discussion, Council Member Marciano brought up the topic of Workforce/Essential Services Housing and how more work is needed on the subject. (In January’s meeting, Council Member Lane had said that a workshop will be held on the subject some time in the near future. ) Mayor Marino raised the subject of speed of the traffic on the western portions of Northlake Boulevard.

City Attorney Max Lohman gave a brief status on both lawsuits by resident Sid Dinerstein. When asked how much the two cases have cost the City so far, his response was in excess of $70K.

• 4th District Court of Appeals ruled on behalf of the City on Question 3 (3-yr sit out before running again) from the March, 2018 election – but is being asked for reconsideration
• 2/11 – Hearing for Summary Judgement on Question 2 (the Charter repeal/replace) from August, 2018 election, with the City taking the position that the case is without merit; at the hearing both sides were given additional time to provide the judge with additional information.

Other Upcoming Events:

• February 24 – March 3 – The Honda Classic
• February 28 – Beeline Highway FDOT Public Hearing at Burns Road Community Center (see http://www2.dot.state.fl.us/publicsyndication/PublicMeetings.aspx/publicmeetings)
• March 12 – City Elections – Group 4 (Candidates:  Carl Woods and Howard Rosenkranz).  See the City Elections site for more details.

 

 

 

Avenir and $64 Million in City Projects the ‘Big Ticket’ items at the 1/10/19 Council Mtg

The first meeting of 2019 included several presentations, a progress report on Avenir, an update on City Projects, and the usual first budget amendment of the year.

City Projects

David Reyes, CS Administrator/Dir. of Emerg. Mgmt, gave a comprehensive update on City Improvement Projects including those funded by the 1 cent sales tax. The over $64 million in projects are project managed by the team of Mr. Reyes, Angela Brown, Deputy Community Services Administrator, and Jennifer Nelli, Operations Manager, while simultaneously performing their current responsibilties. City Manager Ferris pointed out that other municipalities frequently hire additional staff to oversee such projects, but the Gardens instead is using current staff. Involved in every one of these activities is Todd Engle, City Engineer – who Mr. Ferris described as ‘the Everready (Energizer) Bunny” and the ‘Tasmanian Devil’ for Mr. Engle’s ability to be everywhere at once. A list of the activities can be found at Current City Projects  with a section for One Cent Sales Tax items. Among the items coming before the Council in February are the City Hall Remodeling and Expansion (estimated completion Spring 2020), Police Station Renovations (estimated completion Summer 2019) and the Tennis Center Clubhouse (estimated completion Summer 2019).

Avenir

Ken Tuma, Managing Principal, Urban Design Kilday Studios, reviewed the Conceptual Master Plan of the Avenir Site, before presenting the waivers sought in Site Plan #1 – which will consiste of 4 gated subdivisions. While a golf course has been mentioned before, Mr. Tuma went into slightly more detail on an extremely high-end ‘core golf course’, with 228 homes – similar to ‘Old Palm’. He also showed the placement of two Crystal Lagoons, one which will be incorporated into a subdivision, but the other which will be located in the Town Center, with a beach club, restaurants, a hotel and other items around it. Fifty-one percent of the property is dedicated to ecological restoration and open space, and over 2000 acres are restricted, under the auspices of the South Florida Water Management District. The preserve area, with nature trails, as well as all non-gated areas (subdivisions) will be open to and acessible to the public. View Mr Tuma’s presentation here.

Other items:

• Allan Owens, Finance Director described Ordinance 1, 2019, detailing the $39 million brought forward from 2018 projects
• City Manager Report – Among the topics discussed, Joe Corrao, Director of Public Services, described the transition from Pubic Auction of used city items, to selling such items online, via the GovDeals.com auction website. It operates similarly to Ebay and items can be purchased by anyone. Check it out!
• Presentations included:
  • RECOGNITION OF THE PALM BEACH GARDENS GATORS: 2018 POP WARNER FOOTBALL JUNIOR VARSITY DIVISION SUPER BOWL CHAMPIONS.
  •  WEISS SCHOOL UPDATE ON THE LAUNCH OF THE CUBE SATELLITE.
  •  HONDA CLASSIC COMMUNITY IMPACT PRESENTATION.
  •  VETERANS ADMINISTRATION PRESENTATION.
  •  USTA UNITED STATES TENNIS ASSOCIATION AWARD TO THE CITY OF PALM BEACH GARDENS TENNIS CENTER AS THE MEMBER ORGANIZATION OF THE YEAR AWARD.
  •  UPDATE ON CIP AND ONE CENT SALES TAX PROJECTS
• During Items of Public Interest and Board Committee Reports, Council Member Lane suggested that there be a Workshop in the near future on what he called Essential Services Housing strategy – which we assume means “Workforce Housing”.

All Resolutions and Ordinances passed 5:0.  There was no City Attorney Report.

More Development; City Coffers up $10+ Million; Actual Workforce Housing – ZIP!

The topic of Workforce Housing received the bulk of the discussion at the December 6th City Council Meeting, coupled with the addition of new development projects.

New Development and Workforce Housing:

Arcadia Gardens, on the Amara Shrine Center site on RCA Blvd. will be an Independent Living facility of 163 units. See the Palm Beach Post description here.   Resident Peter Banting expressed concern that RCA Blvd is a 2 lane road, and that there will be safety issues with the addition of the property. Staff acknowledged that the road is owned by the County, and when the project is further along they will be able to work with the county for improvements. Part of the developers’ proposal included over $500K to be provided to the City for workforce housing.

Alton submitted amendments to Parcel F – which previously was going to contain an 8+acre park, to instead build an additional 56 townhomes and a 4.49 acre community park, justifying that the modifications due to the proximity of the new North County District Park.

Avenir together with staff, presented their proposal to provide $10 million now in lieu of providing 250 townhomes priced as workforce housing sometime in the future.  The 250 units will still be built but priced at market.  The rationale provided was to give the City money now to enhance the Burns Rd Recreation Center with $5 million – which Rosa Schechter (of Avenir Holdings) described as the ‘Ying and Yang‘ of workforce housing;  

and use the other $5+ million to develop a strategy and solution some time in the next year or so, for providing a central core in the city. The $5.5 million (Avenir plus Arcadia Gardens contributons) would be the start of a fund to help implement a future solution. So actual ‘workforce housing’ remains elusive – not just in the Gardens, but in other cities who discuss the need, make plans but so far have failed to actually execute. See:  Avenir Can Provide $10 Million Instead of Including Workforce Housing for points made during the discussion.

Summarizing the other agenda items:

• Operation Sister City – next deployment of gifts for children took place on 12/10.  Sponsors were recognized
• Governor Rick Scott awarded Palm Beach Gardens Officers Robert Ayala and Rafael Guadalupe the Governor’s Medal of Heroism 
• Mayor’s Veterans Golf Tournament raised over $33K for the Veterans Administration this year
• The Consent Agenda and all Ordinances and Resolutions on the Agenda were passed 5:0 with minimal discussion except for Arcadia Gardens and Avenir.
• City Attorney Lohman gave a brief update on upcoming legal actions:
  • 12/13/18 – Mediation for Sears Attorney Fees
  • 01/15/19 – Sid Dinerstein vs PBG et al lawsuit from March election
  • 02/11/19 – Motion for Summary Judgement – Sid Dinerstein vs PBG et al, lawsuit from August election

The January City Council meeting will be held on January 10, 2019.

Out with the Old, In with the New

The Nov 1, 2018 City Council meeting had a fairly short agenda and was lightly attended. Save the date, December 6 at 6PM however as the December agenda is already long and will begin an hour earlier.

The meeting began with a revenue-sharing check presentation by Solid Waste Authority in the amount of $739K for several years worth of recycling by Gardens’ residents and businesses. The representatives also wanted the public to know about “Celebrate America Recycles Day With the SWA!” Open House on Saturday November 17 from 8am to noon. Here are more details about this opportunity to know what happens when you recycle.  Interesting for children and adults alike!

Former Mayor David Levy gave his quarterly report as the City’s representative to the Loxahatchee River Management Coordinating Council, of which he is Secretary.

The City Manager’s report included:

• An update by Police Chief Clint Shannon:
  • on the Canine Training Facility shared with with neighboring agencies
  • Officers assisting with security in our local schools
  • Assistance provided to Mariana FL/Panama City after Hurricane Michael for 7 days
• Deputy City Manager Steve Stepp described Operation Sister City – where Gardens’ Police, Fire-Rescue and Public Works sent to trailers of equipment and supplies to Bay County and the City of Calloway. Also described were the efforts to provide donations by City employees and the public. See Operation Sister City for more information on how you can help.

The Council approved Resolution 67, 2018 – approving the site plan for a 469 single-home Age-Restricted subdivision on a 195 acre site in Avenir. They also approved the sale of the Burns Road Property for $3.8 Million to Stor-All Acquisitions LLC. The proceeds from the sale will be earmarked for use in the City’s capital improvement projects

All other items on the agenda were approved 5:0 with little discussion.

City Attorney Lohman gave a brief update on the two Sears lawsuits. Sears-1 is pending and the City added outside council in negotiating on attorneys’ fees. Sears-2 – since Sears has filed Chapter 11 there is much disruptiong at the company and theypaln to dismiss the case without prejudice so that it can still be refiled in the future…

City Council Approves a New Residential Development

Much of the Council’s agenda for the evening consisted of 2nd reading and adoption of procedural rezoning ordinances and associated resolutions for areas annexed last year: Carlton Oaks, Osprey Isles, Star of David Cemetery and Northlake CLF. These all passed 5:0. Also passing without comment was the Carl’s Plaza voluntary annexation.

Council Member Lane pulled Resolution 66, 2018 from the Consent Agenda regarding the delegation of authority for City Manager Ferris and City Attorney Max Lohman to negotiate a settlement with Sears. See Sears: Palm Beach Gardens Pay Our $2.1 Million Legal Bill.   Lane wanted to ensure that the amount of such settlement would not be subject to a confidentiality agreement, given that it concerns potentially a large amount of taxpayer funds. He was assured that any settlement would be public.

The Council also passed on first reading, Ordinance 19, 2018, which staff recommended as new policy regarding memorials and monuments on city owned property. Natalie Crowley – director of Planning and Zoning, suggested that Lake Catherine Park, already a passive park, would be ideal for such memorials, and any such monuments would have to go through a rigorous process to be approved. All on Council were supportive of the proposal.

Most of the public in the audience were there for Ordinance 22, 2018 – 2nd reading and adoption of Bonnette Hunt Club PUD Site Plan approval. Concerned citizens from the adjoining Mirabella voiced privacy issues, as well as issues with security, flooding and traffic. Speaking were Wendy Roth, John Guastella, Doris Noble, Louis Katz, Mark Blaitz (sorry can’t decipher), and Marc Richards. After public comment, Council Member Lane, also a resident of Mirabella, voiced his concern with the 7 significant variances requested for such a small 24 home project. He suggested that 2nd reading and approval be delayed until the berm issues were resolved. Council Member Marciano voiced sensitivity to the issues having experienced a similar one with his first home in the Gardens, but attempted to reassure the residents that the Council wouldn’t permit anything that would hurt the homeowners. Council approved the new subdivision 4:1 with Lane voting No. For more details see the Palm Beach Post article: Gardens Council Approves Homes on Former Bonnett Hunt Club.

Also passing 5:0 were two Alton Town Center resolutions regarding outdoor displays outside the new Publix as well as their Master sign program.

New appointments and re-appointments were made for the Art in Public Places Advisory Board, the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board and the Planning, Zoning and Appeals Board.

Of public interest coming up:

• Gardens Greenmarket back at the City complex on Sunday – October 8, 2018
• Transit Oriented Design Project Update for Palm Beach Gardens – October 25, 2018 – 6-8pm City Hall
• Veterans’ Day celebrations in November

Hilltop Property Sale Resolution Cried Out for a Workshop

The September 20th City Council meeting was the second of the month, primarily due to the need for the final hearing on the Budget. Budget related items went quickly, all passing 5:0. Comment was made by resident Barb Grossman regarding the money spent on the Charter Referendum campaigns.   For more on the budget see “$2.5 Million Increase in 2019 Budget“.

Last on the listed agenda was Resolution 60, 2018 – Sale of the city-owned Hilltop Property.  The 6-acre property currently contains 3 Seacoast Utility wells and the property is adjacent to another Seacoast well field. Seacoast provides water to Palm Beach Gardens.  Everything about the item was handled in an unusual fashion.

• There was no staff presentation until Purchasing and Contracts Director Km! Ra did a brief review of the bidders.
• Mayor Marino referred to the packet that all the Council had. Obviously we in the public did not have such a packet unless it was what was submitted as part of the agenda. (Inquiring minds want to know.)
• Comment cards were handed in during the presentation, and all three bidders were allowed to speak – almost in a free form fashion when addressed.
• Speaking for Gardens Business Center One LLC was Steve Craig; speaking for Johan Kriek’s and Ira Saferstein’s Tennis Academy proposal were Johan Kriek and Wendy Link; speaking for Seacoast Utilities was Rim Bishop, Executive Director of Seacoast Utility.
• There was no expert testimony – all on Council deferred to the remarks made by the Seacoast’s Mr. Bishop. He made many what seemed to be ‘off-the-cuff guestimates’ that were used as facts with lifetime use of the wells ranging from 30-35 years to 50 years to 100 to over 100 years….
• No future advances in technology or usage were technically addressed.

For those interested – view council deliberation on Resolution 60, 2018 here.

The discussion was wide-ranging and would have lent itself to expert testimony, further input and preparation by the potential buyers before having the Council decide. In fact – this was the closest to a real workshop that this Council has had – however the right action, speaking as an observer, would have been to have held off and had further discussion prior to awarding the property to Seacoast Utility (of which the City is part owner).

After the peak of the discussion, Mayor Marino made a motion to offer the property to the highest bidder, the Tennis Academy and challenge City Manager Ferris to negotiate the best deal allowing for maximization of sites for future wells for Seacoast; if that didn’t work out then they would go to the next highest bidder (Gardens Business Center One) and negotiate the same way. Council Member Litt, citing her representation on the Water Resources Task Force had an issue with a public utility being beholden to a private property owner for future well usage. Council Member Woods was exploring private deals between the bidders that could get the Tennis Academy. Council Member Marciano didn’t want to challenge the science, deferring to the comments by Mr. Bishop and protecting the water supply. Council Member Lane also leaned to Seacoast and prioritizing the water supply. Lane made the motion to negotiate with Seacoast, Litt seconded it and it passed 5:0. Ferris clarified that he would be executing a letter of interest with Seacoast, the low bidder. Mayor Marino ended the discussion with the statement “Water Trumps All”.   See Sarah Peters article “Gardens Selling 6 acres to utility” in the Palm Beach Post for additional information.

This was not the end of the meeting however. Council Member Litt wanted to discuss creating a formal City Council Resolution on an issue that has come before the Palm Beach County Commission regarding the Bear’s Club property and change in designation, supporting County staff in their recommendation to not accept a payment for property. While all on the Council did agree with the concerns, the conclusion of the discussion was that each on the council should write to the County Commission individually rather than taking a formal position. City Manager Ferris did point out that this Council has waded into political issues before.

When is a tax increase not a tax increase?

A lot of ground was covered in Thursday’s (9/6) City Council meeting.

We’ll start with the Fiscal Year 2018/2019 Budget Hearing – the first hearing of two, the second of which is scheduled for 9/20/18 at 7pm. There was no public comment and the proposed budget and tax rate passed 5:0.

As usual, Finance Administrator Allan Owens presented a thorough, easy to understand presentation of the proposed budget. His presentation can be seen here. What was out of the ordinary, however was Mr. Owens’ exception to some headlines in the Palm Beach Post discussing the City’s budget as a tax increase.

He stated that the headlines were misleading and that they were confusing to the Budget Oversight Committee.

Equally perplexing is this line from the Budget Oversight Committee’s final report “The City has taken affirmative steps to avoid a tax increase for the FY 2019 Budget”.  When operational millage stays flat (as it has at 5.55 and in the proposed out years), and valuations rise – then taxes – the actual dollars taken in, and the actual costs to the tax-payers GO UP. The slight decrease in debt service millage has little influence on the taxes paid by the tax-payer. As former County Commissioner Jess Santemaria used to say ” It’s the dollars not the millage”. PBGWatch’s article entitled  $2.5 Million Tax Increase in 2019 Budget , as well as our agenda item note “(Note – this means that as property valuations increase, your property taxes will go up accordingly – at differing rates depending on whether or not you own a homesteaded property). ” are in full agreement with the Palm Beach Post’s headlines. We hope that the wording in the Budget Oversight Committee’s report is a typo and that it should read “……steps to avoid a tax rate increase’….

The Election Results were approved 5:0 and 3 of the Council chose to speak on the topic during Items of Resident Interest and Board and Committee Reports. Mayor Marino, Vice Mayor Woods and Council Member Marciano, all somewhat defensively, reiterated that it was right to place the charter questions on the ballot and letting the voters decide, even if it was the ‘unpopular’ thing to do. Marino stated that Matthew Lane also wanted to alter term limits to 2- 4 year terms. Yes – that was true during discussions on what, if anything, to place on the ballot. However Council Member Lane voted NO on placing each/any of the charter referendum questions on the ballot both in March and August. The other 4 council members voted YES on all. During Public Comment, Fred Scheibl noted that he’d never seen such uniformity of results, with almost every precinct in the city rejecting questions 1 and 3 by over 15 points, and suggested the Council never do this again. Sid Dinerstein also discussed his assessment of the Election results, and stated his objection to the “… city treasury being used as the Council’s campaign account”.

Two others made Public Comment: Gerald Richman – speaking for Sears regarding Dick’s Sporting Goods and continued issues with the Forbes Company (see Why There’s Still No Dick’s Store at the Gardens Mall ); Steen Ericksson, representing the Fire Chiefs Association of Palm Beach County inviting people to the 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony at Christ Fellowship Church in Boynton Beach at 7pm.

Allan Owens and the Finance Department were awarded the Government Finance Officers Association Distinguished Budget Award for the 21st Consecutive Year by Shannon Ramsey Chessman, Acting COO of the Palm Beach County Clerk and Comptroller’s Office. Mr. Owens thanked his team and specifically Mary Anderson-Pickle, Deputy Finance Administrator.

City Manager Ferris reported:

• The City’s Budget Department (Km! Ra) was awarded the Annual Achievement in Excellence Procurement Award
• Chief Frank Kitzerow of the Palm Beach County School District Police Department spoke on the outstanding support received from the City regarding the City’s supplying police for elementary school patrol and helping in the high schools as well.
• City Manager Ferris  also read many letters of Commendation and thank you letters from residents to the Police Department, Parks & Rec, Building Department, Tennis Center, Code Enforcement and the Fire/Rescue Open House.

Ordinance 22, 2018 – The Bonnette Hunt Club PUD Site Plan Approval discussion resulted in some heated disagreements between Mayor Marino and Council Member Lane. At issue was the very high density and the number of waivers being approved for this very small (6.78 acres) parcel. Also making public comment was John Guastella, President of the Mirabella HOA representing 492 homes – and that this was the first time he was seeing these plans in the entirety and wished the HOA would have had the opportunity to see it. He also expressed concerns about the landscaping on the berm, the two-story homes impact on Mirabella property values. First reading of the ordinance passed 4:1 with Lane voting No.

The Consent Agenda and all other resolutions and ordinances passed 5:0.

There was no City Attorney Report so no status on the two outstanding Elections lawsuits regarding the Appeal to the 4th District Court on the March Election or the status of the lawsuit regarding the August Special Election. See Gardens Election Lawsuit Continues.

Save the date – Thursday September 20th at 7pm for the Second City Council Meeting and Final Reading and Approval of the FY 2018/2019 Budget.

Police Life-Saving Action and 12% Salary Increase Bookends Council Meeting

The August 2nd Council Meeting began with an update by Sherri Pla (the City’s Head PGA Professional) on the Junior Ryder Cup Challenge Trip to Scotland. Also covered during Announcements and Presentations were the Florida Law Enforcement Traffic Safety Award (where the Gardens won first place in the category for departments with 101-200 officers) and American Heart Association’s Mission Life Gold Plus Award to Fire/Rescue for the 4th year in a row. Throughout the beginning of the meeting the exclamations of a young child could be heard. Thus Mayor Marino segued to an early City Manager Report.

Quick action by Officer Robert Ayala saved the life of young Lucia Graham while Officer Rafael Guadalupe called for Fire/Rescue and comforted her mother. See Gardens Cops who Saved Choking Baby…. for details and watch the segment of the Council Meeting recounting the event and honoring of these two officers here.

The last item on the Agenda was Resolution 45, 2018 approving and ratifying an agreement with the Police Benevolent Association granting an immediate 12% increase across the board and bringing the City to 2nd in salary only to Boca Raton among the local municipalities. This was presented to the Council as a ‘Fait Accompli’ and it was interesting that none on the Council even questioned the agreement nor addressed the implication on future labor negotiations. The only comments addressed impact on the budget, and then only as a done deal.  See details from the Palm Beach Post here.

All resolutions passed 5:0 including Adoption of 2018-2019 Fees and Charges, the Annual Community Development Block Grant Action Plan, and the first of many to come presentations before the Council on Avenir. City Attorney Lohman also gave an update on the Rustic Lakes Annexation lawsuit, where Rustic Lakes has 20 days to respond to the latest ruling against their suit.

There will be two Fiscal Year 2018-2019 Budget Hearings on September 6th and 20th.

Please vote on the three Charter Amendments on the ballot on August 28th!

Palm Beach Gardens Looking to the Future, and in the News

Optimally timed to coincide with his annual evaluation, City Manager Ferris had a comprehensive City Manager Report including an update on a subset of the $54.5 million in Capital Improvement Projects (covering key projects in the City’s budget as well as those funded by the Sales Tax Surtax), a set of news clips from WPTV (click here to watch them) covering a variety of subjects – baseball tournaments, electric cars for Fire/Rescue, free smoke alarms), and an update on the ability for those needing to call 911 to do so by texting when unable to make a phone call. There are definite limitatons to texting including no location provided. Please see this article for more on the ability.

Each of the Council, towards the end of the meeting, gave Mr. Ferris a glowing evaluation with the concensus being that they hoped he stayed as long as he wishes.

The Council also came to agreement on Resolution 26, 2018 – Firearm Legislation – after spending another 30 minutes discussing changes initiated by Council Member Litt to the current draft. They passed the resolution 5:0. Prior to their discussion, resident Paula Magnuson gave heartfelt and patriotic support for the Second Amendment. Mayor Marino once again demonstrated that some are indeed ‘more equal’ than others, by encouraging the members of Moms Demand Action to applaud the passage of the resolution while at the same time exclaiming that they should understand why she sent them emails telling them why they can’t applaud. (The rules, time and again, clearly seem to apply only to those with whom the Council disagrees.)

City Attorney Lohman gave an update on the Rustic Lakes legal challenge to the Annexation which occured in March, 2018. See Rural Rustic Lakes Just Annexed Sues...  Mr. Lohman explained various techicalities and missed deadlines by Rustic Lakes.  Council Member Litt inquired into the status of the appeal of Question 3 from the March 2018 referendum. Mr. Lohman said that he filed for an extension and the City must reply by August 22, after which Mr. Dinerstein has an opportunity to repond. He also expected that another lawsuit would be filed on an emergency basis right before the August 28th referendum.

Another item first brought up at last month’s Council Meeting was the Security Agreement with the School Board of Palm Beach County. Resolution 42, 2018, passed 5:0, allows the Mayor and City Clerk to execute an agreement for the City’s police to provide security at the Palm Beach Gardens elementary schools – where the police providing the security would be paid overtime and do so on their time off, complying with their maximum hours allowed. Council Member Lane recommended that, if feasible, all public schools within the City be covered in the same manner. Staff’s response is that it could be evaluated at a future time, and cost and man-power would definitely be an issue.

The tentative maximum millage rate for the 2018/2019 Fiscal Year Budget was set at flat operational millage of 5.55, and a decrease in the debt service millage for a total millage of 5.6003 which is down from the current millage of 5.6678. The rates can be lowered during the budget hearings but not raised. The first Public Hearing will be on September 6, 2018 at 7pm. Resolution 31, 2018 passed 5:0 with no discussion.

Nick Uhren, Executive Director of the Palm Beach Transportation Planning Agency, explained who the TPA is, it’s transition from Metropolitan Planning Agency (MPO) and the two related Resolutions 39, 2018 and Resolution 40, 2018 before the Council, which passed 5:0. Mayor Marino currently serves as TPA Board Vice-Chair; County Commissioner Valeche serves as Chairman. A subset of the municipalities in the Councy are participants on the board, and those cities are agreeing to pay per capita member dues to the agency starting in 2019 and into the future. In addition, the Council approved an interlocal agreement for administrative services for the TPA. For background on the TPA see this PB Post article on the decision to transition from under the County to an independent agency, Clerk Bock’s assessment of pros/cons of the move and a link to the TPA website). The TPA has in impact on all things transportation related and thus impacts everyone in the City.

Public Comment was made by resident Paula Magnuson, as President of her HOA, about a dumpster on an adjacent community which was not meeting code.

The Palm Beach Gardens Police Explorers were recognized for their first place finish in regional competition, and the Gardens Spirit Team presented a $500 check to the Florida Guardian Ad Litem Program.  Congratulations to both!  Electric Cars and the Fire/Rescue Mobile Training Facility were on display outside the building prior to the meeting.

Council Agonizes Over Gun Control for Almost 2 Hours

If one adds the time also spent on the topic at the May City Council Meeting, our Council has devoted almost 2.5 hours to Resolution 26, 2018 – a resolution that states their personal positions but has no legislative effect. All on the Council participated, with much of the discussion centering around proposed resolutions by Council Members Litt, Marciano and Mayor Marino. Much less passion and in-depth discussion has been devoted to policy topics within their direct purview – e.g. the City Charter.

(Note:  Council – Moms Demand Action do NOT represent the views of all residents in the City. Council Member Marciano – just because you have not heard from residents does NOT mean ‘everybody agrees’.)

Voices of reason during the debate over what should be included in Resolution 26, 2018 – which will be discussed yet again at the July 12 City Council Meeting, were City Manager Ferris and City Attorney Lohman. State Representative Roth also ventured to make some suggestions (and was met by derision by the Moms Demand Action attendees in the audience). Four members of Moms Demand Action spoke during public comment on the resolution. The Mayor allowed applause, giving the impression that the only time applause IS allowed is when the Council agrees – although she did say that allowing the applause was the exception to the rule. Clearly. Please watch discussion of Resolution 26, 2018 to see your Council at work.

Dr. Kim Delaney of the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council gave an overview report on the Palm Beach Gardens Tri-Rail Station Area Planning. Her presentation covered the South Florida Transit Oriented Design Grant Final Report and included demographic, residential and economic opportunities in the immediate vicinity of the long-planned station. Dr. Delaney’s presentation is worth viewing and can be seen here.

Veteran Colonel Howard C. “Scrappy” Johnson was honored by Proclamation, read by former Council Member Annie Delgado and Mayor Marino for his Service to our Country in WW II, the Korean War, Vietnam War, setting the world altitude record in the F-104A, his charity organization Joint Mission, Inc and numerous other accomplishments. See the Proclamation here.  Col. Johson then spoke and described how he received the nick-name “Scrappy”. It was a heart-warming ceremony.

Comments from the Public included:

• Gabe Ermine – candidate for County Judge Group 4 – describing his courtroom experience and letting all associate his name with a face.
• Matthew Kamula, Bob Gilbert, and Patricia Rodriquez-Piloto of Osprey Isles all spoke on the lack of a right turn lane into their subdivision. The right turn is exacerbated by school buses entering the community and stopping immediately thereafter as well as the high speed on Northlake.
• Robert Jaeger of the Montecito Subdivision (and HOA President) spoke about the speed limit on Northlake Blvd. and requesting that the speed be reduced from 55 to 45 for that section of Northlake.

Council Member Lane requested that the Purchase Award for Purchasing Card Services be pulled from Consent so that Purchasing Director Km! Ra would describe the award process. That item and the Consent Agenda passed 5:0.

City Manager Ferris had two items in his report:

• Police Chief Clint Shannon described the ongoing discussion with the Palm Beach County School Board on providing security for the four elementary schools in Palm Beach Gardens. The School Board cannot meet the staffing requirements passed by Florida in time for the upcoming school year, and the City desires to assist, has the knowledge of the schools, trains in those schools and it’s the City’s children attending those schools. Hopefully a win-win resolution will come from the discussions.
• Crystal Gibson of Code Enforcement, gave another update on recent projects helping residents upgrade their properties.

All Ordinances passed 5:0.

The Council Meeting was preceded by a heavily attended FDOT Workshop on BeeLine Highway – mostly by residents of the Steeplechase Community.  See Will Gardens Residents Get Wall to Shield Them from Beeline Traffic.

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