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.

2016 PBG Council Candidate Forum Synopsis

On February 25, PBG Watch, along with the Palm Beach County Tea Party, the Palm Beach Gardens Residents Coalition, the Republican Club of the Northern Palm Beaches, the Republican Club of the Palm Beaches, and the North County Democratic Club hosted a candidate forum for the City Council election. In Group 4, Vice Mayor David Levy and challenger Carl Woods shared their thoughts with us on a variety of prepared questions and some from the audience, and we heard a statement from Council Member-elect Maria Marino.

Moderated by 12 term Gardens Mayor Michael Martino, the candidates were asked a set of questions about current issues facing our city, some of which proved to offer a real choice between the candidates.

Present for the forum was Gardens Mayor Eric Jablin and Council Member Marcie Tinsley, along with former County Commissioner Karen Marcus and former Gardens Mayor Linda Monroe..

The meeting was kicked off by PBG Watch Co-founder Fred Scheibl, who introduced the leaders of the other sponsoring groups including Mel Grossman, President of Palm Beach County Tea Party, Kevin Easton, President of Palm Beach Gardens Resident’s Coalition, Marilyn Parmet, President of the Republican Club of the Northern Palm Beaches, Rob Shannon, Outreach Chairman for the Republican Club of the Palm Beaches and Iris Scheibl, co-founder of PBG Watch. Timekeeping duties were performed by Barbara Grossman of the Palm Beach County Tea Party.

Below you will find a summary of the event, with the questions that were asked, and a link to a video of that section of the forum.

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.

Martino: Avenir, a Project Whose Premise is Promise

Having reviewed all publicly available documentation proposals and more recently attending the Palm Beach Gardens Planning and Zoning meetings I find the Avenir development would and should be a welcome addition to the City of Palm Beach Gardens. As a member of the City Council of Palm Beach Gardens and Mayor at the time that these 4700 acres were annexed I am satisfied that Avenir, as presently proposed, more than ratifies my vote and expectations for their development.

Avenir is a French word that means “future” and that’s what this project’s proposals speak to, the future. It’s a proposed project that has matured and improved by listening to the public’s concerns and the City planning staff’s suggestions. It’s a proposed project that attempts to, and often does, offer solutions. In my mind, it’s a proposed project whose Premise is Promise.

Avenir’s premises to relieve and divert traffic on Northlake Boulevard by offering a new collector Road from Northlake Boulevard east to the Beeline Expressway; by becoming a destination hub for the western communities through the development of commercial, office, and corporate space that will enhance opportunities for jobs, for shopping, for professional and medical life necessities fostering the curtailment of some traffic trips east and west on Northlake Boulevard; by capturing within Avenir confines a portion of its own traffic are new and welcome promises that should be enthusiastically embraced.

Avenir’s premise to preserve the environment by permanently deeding over to the properly designated governmental entity nearly half of Avenir’s 4700 acres for environmental preservation creating an opportunity to connect approximately 100,000 acres of conservation lands from the east coast of Florida to Lake Okeechobee is, to my knowledge, without precedent. Its premise to set aside 100 acres for economic development; deeding 50 of those acres directly to the City; to enter into a public-private partnership to entice a suitable corporate tenant; to reduce residential densities to under 1 unit per acre; to donate 130 acres for public use are all significant and remarkable developer promises.

In my opinion, Avenir’s Premise for Promise will allow it to take its place among the elite communities of Palm Beach Gardens and Palm Beach County. The Gardens has been fortunate to have attracted developers who not only offered great product but where committed to make the City a better place for our existing, as well as, new residents. It is my intuition that Avenir Holdings’ owners and developers offer that same promise.

I admire Avenir Holdings courage to listen and its willingness to make changes based on what it hears. I respect its tenacity to succeed. The only hurdle left is for the City of Palm Beach Gardens and Avenir Holdings to take today’s Premise of Promise project proposals and make them tomorrow’s future realities.

Avenir Passes Key Milestone

The Planning, Zoning and Appeals Board (PZAB) voted 7:0 to recommend approval of the 3 Avenir items on the agenda.  Sarah Peters of the Palm Beach Post summarized the meeting here.

The Council chambers were quite full.  Many in the audience supporting the massive project sported Avenir ‘badges’. Most of those making public comment however were opposed to the project on traffic, density and environmental grounds; it was interesting also that most of those in opposition were NOT residents of Palm Beach Gardens. Sustainable Palm Beach County, Everglades Law Center, 1000 Friends of Florida, the NCNC and residents from the Acreage were among the groups represented.  In all we counted 17 folks speaking against approval as presented, 5 for and 1 raising concerns but not taking a position. The Economic Council of Palm Beach County provided their support via a letter, and the North Palm Beach County Chamber of Commerce also endorsed the project.  Additionally 23 comment cards were submitted into the record but cards were not read allowed so it is unclear what positions were held.

Also interesting to note in the history of the tract, were the 7500 residential units envisioned for the property during the 2003 Scripps/Mecca Farms proposal.   It was clear that staff had invested a huge amount of time working with the owner/developers and the Avenir project has evolved significantly over the two years that it has been active.   Major changes and concessions have been made even since the last public workshop, and the project achieved Traffic Concurrency approval from both the City of Palm Beach Gardens as well as Palm Beach County.

SAVE THE DATE, WEDNESDAY JANUARY 6 AT 7PM FOR A SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING SPECIFICALLY ON AVENIR

The Regular City Council Meeting will be held on Thursday, January 7th.

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.

Alton Projects Move Forward and Code Violation Fines Increase

The primary topic of the evening was development at the Alton site (Briger Tract): 3 Resolutions pertained to the site. Atlantico, a 353 unit luxury apartment complex garnered the most discussion, centered around potential parking issues. About 125 of the apartments will be one bedroom and will have a single parking space allotted to each – which meets code. Council Member Russo suggested that it might be inadequate since it’s unlikely that each of those apartment will have a single tenant, and couples would most likely have two vehicles.  United Technologies’ Intelligent Buildings Technology Complex was the other significant development project. Several aspects of the building itself will be a showcase of technologies offered by the corporation. All 3 resolutions passed 5:0.

Two opponents of the development, both residents of Lake Worth spoke against the project on environmental grounds; one about Alton in general, the other calling Unitied Technologies a ‘felon’. In both cases, Council Member Levy took issue with their statements and rebutted with facts as he knew them.

Ordinance 13, 2015 also passed 5:0 on first reading. The ordinance significantly increases the code enforcement fines that can be issued by the Special Magistrate, allowed by statute for municipalities exceeding 50,000 in population. Resident Kevin Easton commented that such fines are more punitive than helpful/beneficial and could be subjectively applied, and said that most residents want to comply with code. Council Member Levy disagreed saying that no everyone wants to be compliant. He cited as an example foreclosed properties where banks aren’t paying attention; he also said that the magistrate needs all the tools he can get.

During Matters of Public Interest, David Levy mentioned that one of the topics at the last League of Cities meeting was the upcoming Sales Tax surcharge proposals for the 2016 ballot. Many of the cities are eager to see an infrastructure sales tax passed because the municipalities are have maxed out the 10% millage rate allowed by statute and are looking for other sources of revenue. Palm Beach Gardens would net about $3.8 million/year from the tax which must be applied to infrastructure improvements. Yet, since the tax would have a sunset provision, the City wouldn’t decrease property tax rates. The Council decided to stay neutral and not take a position at this point.

During Public Comment – Bob Jaeger, resident and President of his HOA directly across from PGA National Park, spoke about excessive speed limits on Northlake Blvd in the area and fatalities that have occurred. He understood that Northlake is a county road, however the Council was sympathetic to the concern – which wasn’t new – and suggested that perhaps he get with the Chief Stepp to discuss enforcement.

Kevin Easton, resident, asked about project status on the Sunset Drive water project. The Council was visibly irritated and Mayor Jablin retorted that the project would have been much further along if not for actions by Mr. Easton. He asked that Kevin speak with the City Engineer and both left the chambers to meet.

All board appointments and re-appointments passed 5:0 as did the Consent Agenda. Council Member Tinsley spoke about All Aboard Florida at the end of the meeting.

« Previous Page — Next Page »