Campus Drive and Aquatic Center Improvements will Impact Residents While Underway
Since it is of immediate impact to residents – Campus Drive will be closing on July 23 – August 6 – in order to put in a roundabout, with future additions to include a new sidewalk on the eastern side of the street, reliever lane for the right turn onto PGA Blvd and a 12′. See City Manager Report section below. Additionally, the Aquatic Complex Renovation project will begin by demolishing the old main pool (built in 1982) and the complex project is projected to be complete by March 2022.
July 15The July City Council meeting began with a few presentations. Council Member Marciano was not present.
Presentations:
- Gary Sypek, Director, Planning at Palm Beach International Airport spoke on planned runway extension, tower and potential new entry road for the North Palm Beach County (General Aviation) Airport. Public comment/input will be sought in early fall. Environmental Assessments are now underway, and completion of the projects are still a couple of years away. See the website for updates and information. Mr. Sypek assured the audience that this airport remains a general aviation airport and will NOT have any commercial, scheduled passenger airlines.
- PBC Commissioner District 1 Maria Moreno is always interested in comments and anything her office can do, don’t hesitate to contact her.
- State Senator District 30 Bobby Powell gave a post-legislative session update. The spring session very different due to the pandemic and the inability to act with people face to face. Of immediate impact to the City via impacts on Home Rule, in his opinion were recently passed limitations on:
- code enforcement – people may be afraid to report their neighbor or friend because of fear of retaliation
- fuel retailers – city won’t be able to ban a gas station
- preemption of occupational licenses – prohibits local govts from requiring licenses for occupations not already there for state
- impact fees – provides a limitation on amount local govts can increase impact fees, retroactive to jan 1, 2021
- PBG request for $300K for storm water maintenance did not make it into the budget.
Council members and staff comments for requests from the legislature: Council Member Tinsley – Referencing the mobility law suit with the county – asked the Senator to look at strengthening language of statute 163 to allow municipalities for a solution to the issue. Mayor Litt spoke to building requirements as a result of Surfside. City Manager Ferris – appreciates Powells’ advocating for local government – ‘but never fear we’ll be back next year” for the storm water maintenance dollars..
- Cheryl Stewart – HR Administrator and Lauren Ferrara, SR HR Generalist spoke to the City’s Group Health Insurance Plan. Separating the pharmacy plan from the group health insurance plan allows city to negotiate a better agreement and gives the city 100% of pharmacy rebates. Pharmacy represents 25% of employee health care expense.
City Manager Report:
- David Reyes, Community Services Administrator and Todd Engle, City Engineer, gave an update on Campus Drive, Gardens Park, Burns Road Aquatic Center and the new Par-3 Golf Course/Club House/new entry from Avenir at Sandhill Crane.
- City Manager Ferris
- The City sent 16 personnel went to the Surfside site to assist between 7/5-7/10. It was very difficult and stressful but the personnel performed admirably. The City is no longer involved.
- Municipalities have been having discussion about building safety and inspections with heightened awareness. While there is no mandatory inspection program in PBC, officials have been communicating and coming up with ideas for solutions. There is no one size fits all solution we’ll need some standard guidance from the legislature with differences for coastal, near-coastal and far-inland structures. The city issued letters to property owners of 24 properties (4 stories or more) to send copies of inspections (structural/electrical identifying deficiencies).
- Mr Reyes and Candice Temple, Public Media Relations Manager, played a video developed in-house highlighting the hurricane readiness teams, with the title “We’re Storm Ready, Are You?”. The video will be put on the website and other social media in the next week or so.
Consent Agenda passed 4:0
Resolution 29, 2021 – The proposed max millage rate for fiscal year 2021/22 will remain flat at 5.55 and the first budget hearing will be on Sept 8. Allan Owens, Finance Administrator presented. Passed 4:0
Resolution 34, 2021 – Master Fee Schedule annual update – most fees stayed the same. Passed 4:0
Items for discussion:
Vice Mayor Reed – Transportation Planning Agency (TPA) update – Prosperity Road from Northlake to Donald ross will be repaved and a bike lane, not separated, will be put in. Council Member Tinsley reporting on last month’s TPA meeting (attending on behalf of Reed) commented on quiet zones and testing measures – construction underway
City Attorney Report – City Attorney Max Lohman said that the lawsuit between PBC and the city is still underway (re: mobility) and listed key actions happening in mid-August. Mayor Litt said that Boynton is moving ahead with their mobility plan as well.
Changes to Downtown and Avenir Master Plans, and Several Status Updates
The June City Council meeting began with a presentation of the “Every one goes home seal of excellence award” from the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation to Palm Beach Gardens Fire/Rescue. At every shift change the focus is on serving our customers, constituencies and then to go home safely.
Public Comment: Resident Ilean Zamlut spoke regarding the Alzheimers and Brain Awareness Month proclamation in the Consent Agenda.
City Manager Report:
-
CDBG Resident program status
Joann Skaria, Planning Manager, AICP – Gave updates on the CDBG (Community Development Block Grant) Cares Act grants and mortgage/rental assistance. The average grant was about $12k. She also gave updates on the CDBG resident occupied assistance program outlined in Resolution 63, 2020 and plans for Mary’s Circle and Dania Drive.
- James Ippolito, Deputy Chief of Operations, Fire Rescue gave an update on the brushfire at the Avenir Preserve. Fire Rescue was aided by PBC Fire Rescue/Florida division of forestry. Also PBSO provided aerial surveillance by helicopter. There was significant help from the internal fleet department for refueling and addressing vehicle issues. Also used a drone for first 15 minutes to ensure no homes threatened by the fire. But the drone had to go too near to the North County Airport so its use was limited.
- David Reyes, Palm Beach Gardens Community Services Administrator – gave a Hurricane Preparedness Update. The City is ready. He encouraged every resident to create their own emergency plan. There is a new hurricane guide on city website, and he suggested residents sign up for notifications.
- Stephen Stepp, Deputy City Manager gave an update on the request by resident Lisa Wade in the previous month, for assistance in providing a new multi-purpose field for Dwyer HS. Dwyer asked city to partner with them to create artifical turf multipurpose field which is estimated to cost $1.5 million. The group brainstormed: Dwyer is to receive $22 million from the penny sales tax….but none for field. He suggested that school district re-allocate funds by priority – but the principal said the funds were unable to be reallocated. Parents should meet with District 1 School Board Member Barbara McQuinn to ask for assistance with the unsafe field conditions. In the $1.3 billion that the school district what will receive from the tax, over $30 million is allocated for fields. He suggested that parents bring concerns to the oversight board for reallocation. PBG HS now wants the same from the City. All need to go through school district channels.
- City Manager Ferris –
- Employee health and wellness center – utilization from 90-94% for available appointments. It’s saving money and providing great health opportunities after the relocation of clinic in April. He recognized Sheryl Stewart, HR Administrator who manages the clinic.
- Bayhill Traffic Signal – the city responded to requests by the County to update the interlocal agreement. The County has not yet responded
- Temporary Outdoor Seating in Restaurants – city wants restaurants to remove their temporary signs which are starting to look shabby and needed to come down by June 30th when exemptions expire. Then the city will extend the temporary seating throught the summer until Sept 30, during which time they will review existing ordinances to see if the city can become more accommodating to permanent outdoor seating. See the latest city advisory here.
- The Palm Beach County Property Appraiser has come out with preliminary property valuations for Palm Beach Gardens (which are used to develop the FY 2021/2022 Budget). While the valuations for residential property were estimated to be 5% higher, 56% of the properties are homesteaded, resulting in an overall valuation increase of 3.21%. Commercial property valuations increased by 3%. The Council was not happy and wondered if it could be appealed. But valuations are preliminary at this point and will be readjusted, as is always done.
Consent Agenda passed 5:0
Ordinances and Resolutions:
- Ordinance 5, 2021 – Voluntary Annexation – passed 5:0 Second reading and approval
- Ordinances 6/7, 2021 – First Reading – Downtown Palm Beach Gardens Re-zoning – The ordinances were strictly for rezoning. Site plans will be brought before the Council, possibly some time this summer. See this PB Post article for possible plans. Passed 5:0.
-
Avenir Master Plan Amendments
Resolution 27, 2021 – Avenir – revision to the overall master plan: 1) changes to actual plan 2) changes to development standards 3) clean-up items. Moved various economic uses into town center, changed around some roads and ‘driveways’. Passed 5:0
- Resolution 28, 2021 – Westbound turn right turn lane at Northlake and Osprey Isles Requesting $75K for design, permitting- in order to get an estimate of total cost; will be brought back to council for final decision. Total cost probably around $480K. Public comment: Matthew Kamula , President of Osprey Isles HOA urging the council to vote for it! It’s taken 6 yrs to get to this point.
Items for discussion and resident interest:
- City Manager Evaluation – Council was unanimously happy with the City Manager. He’s in his position for 21st year and ready to go another 20.
- Mayor Litt – talked about the city water supply as she’s vice chair of PBC Water Resources task force. She gave an update on a recent workshop and future funding.
- Vice Mayor Reed thanked staff for beautiful job with the Memorial Day video and especially to Lauren Brooks and highlighting her work with Gold Star families.
- Council Member Woods spoke regarding the traffic signal. He suggested that he would rather keep City Attorney Lohman on a legal course to get the light put in. Lohman and Ferris both recommended that Ferris continue to work with PBC Administrator Verdenia Baker. The main objective is the to get the light. Ferris said ‘he feels their frustration’ and is trying to get it done diplomatically.
City Attorney Report: The city got served in the mobility law suit with the county.
Storm Clouds – both literal and figurative
There was a very heavy thunderstorm during the May City Council meeting which disrupted the meeting briefly so that a system could be rebooted. But the topic of a traffic signal at Northlake and Bay Hill Estates highlighted conflicts between Palm Beach Gardens and Palm Beach County.
Finance Administrator Allan Owens, and the Tammy Goldstrich of Marcum LLP kicked off with the first presentation on the audit of the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for 2020. The report can be found here..
Bayhill Traffic Signal update
- City Manager Ferris informed the Council about a community meeting with residents of Bayhill, Osprey Isles, Carleton Oaks, Ancient Tree, Avenir and Ibis regarding the progress on the desired traffic signal for the intersection, which has been worked on for three years now. Much of the meeting was taken by the presentation by Natalie Crowley, Director of Planning and Zoning and Todd Engle, City Engineer about the proposed signal, Council discussion, public comment and discussion by the City Attorney and City Manager. The City has had issues with Palm Beach County over several topics – but the jurisdiction and permitting for the signal have raised yet another ‘stormy’ conflict.
- Read Joel Engelhardt’s in-depth piece entitled “‘Abuse of Power:’ Gardens Ready to Sue County of Bay Hill Stoplight”.
- Public Comment regarding the traffic signal was made by Matthew Kamula, resident and HOA President of Osprey Isles (and accompanying residents), Victor Martin, HOA President Carlton Oaks, Gia Muirragui, Judy Ahrens, Douglas Grant.
- City Manager Ferris, as his report, started by asking Mayor Litt to comment on Monday’s meeting on the Bay Hill Traffic Signal.
- City Attorney Lohman added Resolution 31, 2021, which passed 5:0 – authorizing a law suit in Circuit Civil Court and additional steps to streamline moving forward with the traffic signal..
Public Comment:
- Andres Torrens regarding issues with the tree-planting program and a tree in memory of his nephew.
- Head football coach McKinley Rolle from Dwyer HS, a community school, requesting an athletic field since the one from the school is in poor condition
- Lisa Wade, resident, also asking that the Dwyer field be replaced – that the school district has told them is not in budget to be repaired and that they’d have to fundraise. She found out that both the fields in Jupiter and Wellington were in great shape and were paid for the respective cities. So she was asking PBG to do the same. Mayor Litt replied that Deputy City Manager Stepp would be contacting them and working with them to see what can be done.
- Douglas Grant from Balsam Street had concerns about day care businesses surrounding his residence and seeking the help of code enforcement. City Manager Ferris said that Deputy City Manager Stepp would step out and get additional information from him.
The Consent Agenda passed 5:0 with a few items pulled by the Mayor Litt and Vice Mayor Reed, and the following passed 5:0
Purchase Award – Furnish and Install Playground at Miracle League Field – Litt lauded the Parks and Rec department for the new playground, presented by Km! Ra, Purchasing and Contracts Director; Charlotte Presensky, Leisure Services gave credit to Todd Engle and David Reyes, Community Services Administrator.- Proclamation – Mental Health Awareness and Trauma Informed Care Month – Vice Mayor Reed was pleased to have mental health awareness focused on.
- Proclamation – Professional Municipal Clerks Week – Mayor Litt honored City Clerk Snyder with an award trophy from the Council.
Ordinances and Resolutions:
- Ordinance 4, 2021 – Annual Budget Amendment passed 5:0 on 2nd reading without any changes/addition discussion
- Ordinance 5, 2021 – Voluntary Annexation of one parcel on Bomar Drive– passed 5:0 after brief discussion with the owner
Ordinance 6, 2021 – Automated Express Car Wash facility – on empty lot on Northlake near Roan Lane – all on the Council were very supportive, passed 5:0 on 1st reading.
Under Items for Council Discussion – Council Member Marciano described progress on the beautification of the main Post Office – with assistance of staff and involvement of Representative Mast.
Congratulations to Mayor Litt and Vice Mayor Reed
At the April 2021 City Council Meeting, the results of the Special Election were certified, and newly-elected Council Member Marcie Tinsley was sworn-in. Council Member Marciano nominated Rachelle Litt as the new Mayor and Chelsea Reed as Vice-Mayor and both were confirmed by the Council. Former-Mayor Carl Woods was ill and not in attendance. Congratulations and best wishes to Mayor Litt and Vice Mayor Reed, and returning Council Member Tinsley.
There was no video of the meeting, and there were audio disruptions as well on the livestream. Here is a link to the complete audio with no gaps.
Comments from the Public:
- Former Mayor Joe Russo – He congratulated Mayor Litt, Vice-Mayor Reed, Council Member Tinsley, County Commissioner (former-Mayor) Marino and the entire council and said that Covid kept him from coming to meetings. He also thanked the City on behalf of the Honda Classic
- Agustin Sosa, VP of the Palm Beach State College Student Body Association – Gardens location, thanked the Council and City Staff for the positive working relationship on security/traffic issues.
City Manager Report:
- PBG Cares and Mortgage Assistance Program – status of the applications – submittals are coming in. To apply see here.
- Burns Rd Rec Center Vaccination Site – Just over 9000 doses so far in 12 days. Starting to open 4 days – M, T, TH and F – Moderna doses – administered by the the Healthcare District of Palm Beach County.
- Par 3 19-hole golf course status – received 7 proposals for design, Jack Niklaus design team chosen and in negotiations
- Mobility Fees dispute with Palm Beach County – City has received 3 letters of support for their position, (from North County Chamber, PGA Corridor and TPA) and against the County’s plan to place liens on private property owners. The item will be held on the April 20 Board of County Commissioners’ Agenda and Ferris recommends that Mayor Litt address the Commission and present the letters of support. He also suggested that he and City Attorney Lohman also attend.
- Granted an additional 90 extension to the outdoor seating exemptions. Now will allow through the end of June. See here for more information.
- Brightline RR Crossing closures: all are complete except for Kyoto Gardens Dr. which will be closed from April 21 to May 16.
- The American Recovery Act – The City expects $5.92 million from the recent federal legislation. While the ‘grants’ are expected to be given to the City in two block – the first of $2.96 million by 5/10/21 and the same amount 1 year later, the City is awaiting more detailed communications from the Secretary of the Treasury.
Consent Agenda: Passed 4:0
Ordinances and Resolutions:
- Ordinance 4, 2021 – Budget Amendment – Finance Administrator Allan Owens, presented a summary of the amendment, which is done every year to reconcile the prior year’s budget with the current one. His charts can be seen here. Passed 4:0
- Resolution 23, 2021 – AIPP for Alton Town Center and Resolution 24, – AIPP for Downtown Palm Beach Gardens. Both passed 4:0. Former Mayor Eric Jablin made public comment on the first item, saying that he had been chosen Chair of the AIPP. Joel Engelhardt published an in-depth piece on both sculpture project in his blog OnGardens.Org entitled Meet your new neighbors: Council welcomes Tekno and The Blooms.
Items for Council Actions/Discussion and Items of Interest:
- The Council reassigned primary and alternate members of various external Boards and Committees
- Mayor Litt said that she wanted to bring back Board and Committee Reports to the monthly agenda
- Mayor Litt said that she wanted to ‘share the truth’ about the status of the Covid-19 Pandemic and gave her perspectives on both the current statistics and the actions the public should still be taking. One of the key items was to get vaccinated. Council Member Marciano said that while most of his patients are getting the vaccine, he is encouraging those who are reluctant to do so as well.
There was no City Attorney Report.
March 2021 Election Results
The March 9 municipal election in Palm Beach Gardens was a clear win for former Mayor Marcie Tinsley with 70% of the vote over newcomer Rob Nanfro. Nanfro won one precinct – 6064 Rustic Lakes.
With the exception of the Shady Lakes / Bent Tree precinct where the margin was only 4 points, Tinsley’s landslide victory was overwhelming. (See Map below)
The overall turnout of 16% was a lot more than what a municipal election normally sees in an off year, particularly a special election to replace a council person who left office early. In 2019 for example, turnout was only 9.5% in the low key race for Group 4 in which Carl Woods beat challenger Howard Rosenkrantz with 68% of the vote. The increased turnout may have been driven by the overhang of Vote-by-Mail ballot subscriptions from 2020. Few went to the polls on election day as an amazing 85% of the Gardens voters voted by mail.
As is often the case, BallenIsles led the way in voter turnout among the larger precincts with 31%, followed by Frenchman’s with 26%. These neighborhoods delivered 74% and 78% for Tinsley respectively.
Municipal elections are non-partisan, meaning the candidates cannot campaign as a member of a political party. Palm Beach Gardens goes farther than any other city in the county to discourage partisan activity, and actually has an ordinance that prevents a candidate from accepting money or assistance from a political party. (Code of Ordinances, Chapter 26-21 Unfair Acts)
In this case both candidates are Republicans, but partisanship was a factor as campaign ads from Rob Nanfro were claiming that Tinsley only became a Republican to run in this race. That was a stretch since Ms. Tinsley has been registered as a Republican for over 5 years. It is not clear why he thought that would have been relevant.
North county races have become somewhat nasty in recent years and this was no exception. You may recall the contest last year for County Commission District 1 where PACs supporting Maria Marino dumped $1M in negative ads to trash former Commissioner Karen Marcus. It seems to have worked.
In this race, Tinsley mostly ran on her record as Mayor and Councilman while the challenger (who is relatively new to the area and has no record) went negative. Perhaps the most questionable claim was that Tinsley was bashing Governor DeSantis over the Covid-19 Response at a Council meeting. Anyone who actually watched the video of the subject meeting would conclude just the opposite.
In our opinion there was never a doubt who would prevail. Marcie Tinsley had a good record to run on, followed the rules for term limits by sitting out for 3 years, and is appreciated by many who followed her activities on the Council over the years.
| Group 2 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strong Tinsley | Weak Tinsley | Very Close | Weak Nanfro | Strong Nanfro |
| Click the precinct on the map for vote totals. | ||||
| Neighborhoods | Voters | Cast | Turnout | Tinsley | Nanfro | Tinsley % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1186 | Mirabella | 1637 | 242 | 14.8 | 173 | 69 | 71.5 |
| 1188 | Westwood Gardens | 1034 | 104 | 10.1 | 71 | 33 | 68.3 |
| 1189 | Old Palm – North | 113 | 20 | 17.7 | 13 | 7 | 65.0 |
| 1190 | The Isles, Paloma, San Michelle, Alton | 5115 | 654 | 12.8 | 458 | 196 | 70.0 |
| 1192 | Evergrene | 1571 | 240 | 15.3 | 195 | 45 | 81.3 |
| 1194 | Frenchmans | 2289 | 585 | 25.6 | 458 | 127 | 78.3 |
| 1222 | Avenir | 40 | 5 | 12.5 | 5 | 0 | 100.0 |
| 1228 | Osprey Isles, Carleton Oaks | 481 | 79 | 16.4 | 52 | 27 | 65.8 |
| 1238 | Mirasol | 1912 | 428 | 22.4 | 290 | 138 | 67.8 |
| 1240 | PGA National | 2660 | 453 | 17.0 | 338 | 115 | 74.6 |
| 1242 | PGA National | 2704 | 577 | 21.3 | 410 | 167 | 71.1 |
| 1244 | PGA National | 1695 | 324 | 19.1 | 241 | 83 | 74.4 |
| 1246 | Bent Tree, Garden Lks, Shady Lks, Gdns of Woodbury | 2593 | 372 | 14.3 | 192 | 180 | 51.6 |
| 1247 | Old Palm – South | 271 | 46 | 17.0 | 30 | 16 | 65.2 |
| 1248 | PGA-east. | 1591 | 297 | 18.7 | 186 | 111 | 62.6 |
| 1250 | Gardens Glen | 64 | 10 | 15.6 | 5 | 5 | 50.0 |
| 1252 | BallenIsles | 2374 | 739 | 31.1 | 547 | 192 | 74.0 |
| 1254 | Hunt Club | 471 | 70 | 14.9 | 52 | 18 | 74.3 |
| 1260 | Elm Avenue | 1361 | 205 | 15.1 | 142 | 63 | 69.3 |
| 1262 | RCA Center | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 50.0 |
| 1266 | Union Square, Randolph Way | 491 | 14 | 2.9 | 11 | 3 | 78.6 |
| 1268 | Golfers Drive, Lilac | 357 | 17 | 4.8 | 9 | 8 | 52.9 |
| 1270 | Lilac Park | 10 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 50.0 |
| 1272 | Holly Drive, Riverside | 2050 | 263 | 12.8 | 189 | 74 | 71.9 |
| 1274 | Gardenia Dr, Arbor Way | 1687 | 229 | 13.6 | 171 | 58 | 74.7 |
| 1280 | Lake Catherine | 434 | 77 | 17.7 | 46 | 31 | 59.7 |
| 1284 | Gardens Mall area | 2517 | 299 | 11.9 | 209 | 90 | 69.9 |
| 1288 | Oakway Circle | 40 | 8 | 20.0 | 5 | 3 | 62.5 |
| 1290 | The Oaks | 2290 | 337 | 14.7 | 240 | 97 | 71.2 |
| 1292 | Nature’s Way | 92 | 14 | 15.2 | 9 | 5 | 64.3 |
| 1296 | Prosperity Oaks, Marina Gardens | 831 | 70 | 8.4 | 54 | 16 | 77.1 |
| 1306 | US1 and PGA | 5 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 50.0 |
| 1310 | Ellison Wilson | 4 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 50.0 |
| 1324 | Oaks East, Sandelwood | 1376 | 136 | 9.9 | 94 | 42 | 69.1 |
| 1326 | Siena Oaks | 606 | 85 | 14.0 | 62 | 23 | 72.9 |
| 1340 | Landing Place | 18 | 6 | 33.3 | 3 | 3 | 50.0 |
| 1352 | Steeplechase, Montecito | 2347 | 267 | 11.4 | 166 | 101 | 62.2 |
| 1360 | Sunset | 994 | 205 | 20.6 | 120 | 85 | 58.5 |
| 1372 | Sandtree | 187 | 9 | 4.8 | 6 | 3 | 66.7 |
| 6062 | Bay Hill Estates | 945 | 164 | 17.4 | 99 | 65 | 60.4 |
| 6064 | Rustic Lakes | 133 | 19 | 14.3 | 7 | 12 | 36.8 |
Changing the Landscape of Burns Rd – Future Bike Track
The only Resolution on the March 4, 2021 City Council Meeting Agenda was Resolution 16, 2021 – A Resolution supporting an application to the Florida Department of Transportation through the Palm Beach Transportation Planning Agency (TPA) for the 2021 Transportation Alternatives (TA) Program for the construction of a separated two-way bicycle track on the south side of Burns Road – between Military Trail and Alt A1A. 
City Manager Ferris noted that generally grant requests go under the Consent Agenda – but this future project, if the grant is approved, dovetails so beautifully with the City’s Mobility plans. The Council was extremely supportive. This will be the first track of this kind in Palm Beach Gardens and would link into existing and future bike lanes. The Resolution was passed 4:0.
The Consent Agenda also passed 4:0.
Public Comment was made by Gardens’ resident Ramona Bean – thanking the Council and the City and Marcie Tinsley and County Commissioner Maria Marino for making the Burns Rd Covid-19 Vaccination Center happen. This segued well into City Manager Ferris’ Report about the Vaccination site. He described how seamlessly the project has been using City Police for traffic management, and Rec staff working with the paramedics doing the vaccinations. They’re proud to be working with the Health Department and County crew.
Presentations included:
- Casey Mitchell – Director of Golf – reported on the results of the 14th Annual Mayor’s Veterans Golf Classic – all funds go to the VA Resource Center, and over $55K was raised in 2020.
Andrew Lezza, Division Chief of Training and Professional Development, Fire/Rescue – showed an exciting video of new Fire/Rescue recruits going through training at the new fire tower. The class of new recruits was so large that it took two separate training sessions to complete. Existing personnel will also go through refresher training at the new facility using the City’s instructors. Watch the video here. - Noel Martinez, President & CEO of Palm Beach Chamber North gave a big thank you to the Council and City staff for pulling off the planning for Artigras in 6 weeks. He praised the service minded culture where find the staff always finds aa way to make things happen. The even was a great success with the big layout so could it could easily be spread out. Artists were happy and sold a lot. The sponsors were also very happy with new location and they hoped it would be available again next year.
- Joann Skaria, Planning Manager, AICP – gave a summary of the CDBG Cares Act Mortgage and Rent Assistance Program.
Details can be found on the City website here. The Palm Beach Post described the program here. Applications are available online or available at the City in paper form.
Honda Classic and Vaccine Request to Governor Bookend Meeting
The February City Council Meeting was a very short one.
Honda Classic
Ken Kennerly (Executive Director) and Andrew George (Tournament Director) presented plans for this year’s Honda Classic with different dates, capacity 20% of last year’s and details on how they will keep the public safe yet still make it a compelling event. See the website for information. Tickets will be by the day and once sold out, more will not be available.
Public Comment
- Rob Nanfro, resident – not mentioning that he was a candidate for City Council – highlighted his analysis of the City Budget and the cost of the Council itself, and suggested that their primary job appeared to be to monitor the actions of a single employee – the City Manager, and that there were no written annual evaluations of Mr. Ferris other than a full one in 2010 and a couple of self-evaluations in 2020 – so his conclusion was that his rating of the Council’s job on evaluating the City Manager was unsatisfactory.
- Marcie Tinsley – also candidate for City Council – had presented the Council by email, earlier in the week, a proposed resolution to encourage Governor DeSantis to add Palm Beach Gardens (Fire/Rescue) as a point of distribution for Covid 19 vaccines. She said that while the governor was doing a great job getting vaccine out through Publix, that many residents she spoke with were uncomfortable getting a vaccine with possible side effects in a Publix or even a pharmacy and felt more comfortable with it being given by trained paramedics. (Note at the time she began this effort PBC only had Publix as the primary outlet – since then the Governor has added several other locations to handle western communities, plus adding the Fairgrounds, Walmart, Sams Club, Winn Dixie as additional points of distribution). She planned on reaching out to the Governor DeSantis with her request as well.
Council Discussion
- Resolution 20, 2021*** – was the number assigned to the resolution Tinsley submitted and includes:
“SECTION 2. The City Council of the City of Palm Beach Gardens requests that Governor DeSantis direct a reliable supply of vaccines to the City in order to provide an inoculation pipeline running concurrently and parallel to the Publix distribution channel in accordance with the directives set forth in Executive Order 2020- 315 utilizing the City’s POD.
SECTION 3. The City Council further requests that, once the ” at risk” population has been inoculated, Governor DeSantis authorize the City to continue to inoculate other members of the public, as directed by future executive orders and pursuant to CDC guidelines.
SECTION 4. The City Clerk of the City of Palm Beach Gardens is hereby directed to forward a copy of this Resolution to Governor Ron DeSantis.”
-
- Mayor Woods said that this would help the Governor distribute the vaccine. Council Member Reed said people like EMTs giving the vaccine. Vice Mayor Litt echoed the comments on Gardens’ Fire/Rescue capabilities and pointed out that County Commissioner McKinley was able to get vaccines for Belle Glade by making noise about it. Woods piped in commenting to the PB Post Reporter – that she should do the same for the Gardens…Council Member Marciano praised Tinsley for taking action. He said that Council resolutions don’t always have an effect, and this one may not either – but it was well thought out and could help the Governor get vaccines out to the people by adding another point of distribution.
- The Resolution was passed 4:0.
- Vice Mayor Litt also made comments countering Mr. Nanfro’s earlier criticisms stating that the annual City Council public evaluation of Mr. Ferris is readily available online to view, that Palm Beach Gardens has been rated the number 1 place to live, has high satisfaction ratings and has award winning Fire/Rescue, Police, Parks and Rec, Purchasing and other departments.
All other items on the agenda, including Consent, Ordinances 1,2 and 3 2021 second reading, passed 4:0.
*** Comment – despite the good intentions of former-Mayor Tinsley and the Council in passing Resolution 20, 2021, and although it is ‘legal’ to do so – this was another case where ‘transparency be damned’. The Public was not allowed to see this resolution in advance nor to make public comment had they sought to. This is becoming a habit for this Council that prides itself on openness and transparency.
March 9th Election – Candidate Profiles
In March, there will be a Palm Beach Gardens City Council (Group 2) Municipal Election to fill the seat vacated by newly elected County Commissioner District 1, Maria Marino.
The election is considered a “special election”, and the winner will fill out the remainder of Maria’s term which ends in March of 2022.
The candidates are previous Council Member (and Mayor) Marcie Tinsley and newcomer Rob Nanfro.
Marcie Tinsley, a land planner and landscape designer is Vice President of Karl Corporation, a land management company. She was term-limited out in 2017, and is eligible to run again after sitting out a three year term.
Rob Nanfro, A CPA and Sr. Director of Taxation for ECN Capital in West Palm Beach is a newcomer to the Gardens, having moved here from New Jersey in 2019.
To help you make sense of who these candidates are and what they would do if they win, we asked each of them to describe themselves to our readers by answering 5 questions:
- Why do you want to be on the Council?
- What do you see as the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats facing Palm Beach Gardens now and in the near future?
- What involvement have you had in the issues that the council has faced over the past few years?
- What is your “vision” for the city?
- What else would you like the voters to know about you and your candidacy?
Further information and links to their websites can be found in our online voters’ guide, and a printed copy of these profiles can be had at the [PRINT] link to the right of the title (above).
Here are their responses:
| Group 2 | ||
|---|---|---|
 Rob Nanfro |
 Marcie Tinsley |
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| 1. Why do you want to be on the Council? | ||
| Rob Nanfro: My wife, Claudia, and I instantly fell in love with Palm Beach Gardens and I immediately became PBG Proud!. I believe – if you love where you live you should get involved. With the encouragement of a few long-time residents, I did my due diligence and decided, as a tax expert, that I could help PBG by serving on the City Council. I am running for Transparency, Fiscal Responsibility and will honor the current “Term Limits’ of 2 three-year terms. What made me run was the lack of transparency for just 4 issues over the last decade: 1. $14M Bond – At the 01/14/2021 City Council meeting, various reports and documents were brandished from 2013 through 2019 as transparency in government for the Resolution [Lucky #] 7, 2021. Why weren’t the materials, brandished from the dias, from 2013-2019 easily accessible on the website? The truth about the $14M Bond – it is dependent on recreational impact fees and “projected” revenues, not guaranteed revenues. Any shortfall will be footed by the taxpayers. 2. The “Sears Lawsuit” – The City Council became involved in a private corporate dispute when it passed an Ordinance that affected Sear’s ability to sublet its retail space at the Gardens Mall. Sears sued and the Appellate Court ruled the City Ordinance was unconstitutional and it awarded Sears $625,000 in legal fees to be paid by the City. Ultimately it was the taxpayers that paid because it was not covered by the city’s insurance policy. Not only was this a waste of time but costly to our residents. 3. The Stadium – Astros Leadership acknowledged that the City had been in talks with the City since 2012 for a potential spring training Facility in PBG. Even with the team’s general council stating in mid-November 2013 that the Astros were only focusing on the 117-acres site off Central Blvd. After the City Council approved $60K for a PR firm to work on the stadium project, my opponent stated, just three days later – “I would love to be able to tell you what my position is,” Tinsley said. “At this point, there is no proposal to base a decision on.” We all know an MLB team would not make such a statement unless some guarantees and a preliminary proposal were in place. 4. Term Limits – In 2014, the residents voted for term limits of 2 three-year terms but in 2017, the City Council put forward a deceptive measure trying to extend the term limit to 3 three-year terms. This strategy landed the City back in court which cost the taxpayers $100K to put the measure on the ballot with court-ordered mandatory education for the voters. These funds were on top of the monies already spent by the City to try and defend what the City Council wanted to extend the term limits the residents voted for in 2014. Originally my opponent stated the voters should decide “Term Limits” but once she was “termed-out”, she changed her tune. Her subjective view stated approval for ‘reasonable’ term limits and what is out there isn’t reasonable.” Her return to the political landscape after sitting out for one term might be legal, but in not in the “spirit’ of the term limits concept. This “spirit” is to have new people with fresh ideas and diverse expertise in leadership positions of our City for two 3-year terms. As a CPA and tax expert, I am the best choice to bring government transparency and fiscal responsibility to the City Council. |
Marcie Tinsley: Palm Beach Gardens has been my home for almost 20 years. I began public service by Volunteering at Allamanda Elementary School in 1989 while attending college. My husband and I have raised our three children in PBG, I have continued to serve my community by volunteering on boards and committees on a local and regional level for the last 20 years. My family and home are the biggest investment of my life and are located in our beautiful city. I supported term limits and have listened to the will of the voters. I took a break from politics and had an opportunity to watch our city grow from the sidelines. I was encouraged by friends, many residents and business owners to serve again. As an empty nester, I now have more time to dedicate my leadership skills and experience to our city. I have always been a consensus builder. In today’s challenging time, I can use my knowledge and history to protect our neighborhoods from over development while protecting our natural resources. I can help bridge the gap between the past and present and lead our city into the future. |
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| 2. What do you see as the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats facing Palm Beach Gardens now and in the near future? | ||
| Rob Nanfro: strength and a weakness are derived from the same dominant thinking. A Strength for a City Council is having consistency in leadership structure. The weakness creeps in when the leadership structure does not change and there is complacency with a lack of improvement relying on the status quo. Strengths – “Our Signature City” has many strengths. I believe that we can all agree that Our #1 strength is the reputation for being a best city to live in Florida, with great quality of life metrics and stellar public safety programs. BUT, the “Palm Beach Gardens Biggest Strength” came from you, the voters. In 2014, you passed a measure with 80% of the voters supporting “term limits” with City Council members serving 2 three-year terms and then they must step down. History has shown that “term limits” strengthen democratic institutions over time because the change in political hierarchy encourages a rising generation of leaders with fresh ideas and views to suggest policy changes that will strengthen a municipality. The election of the new City Council members does not allow city management nor council members to become stagnant and complacent which helps “Our Signature City” grow and encourages “Fiscal Responsibility” and “Government Transparency”. Weaknesses – I always look at a weakness as an opportunity to improve. In reviewing the current 2021 Adopted Budget, I noticed that the City Council’s budget is a staggering $545,129 for 5 members. This is an astonishing 40% higher than the 2019 Actual Budget of $388,572 during a pandemic. Why is it so high? The answer is that the City Council is paid a salary with health benefits, a pension, travel per diem, memberships/dues, professional service fees and contingency fees. This is a part time position and our City is budgeting over $109,000 for each person. I believe that this is too much and should be curtailed. Opportunities – Fiscal Responsibility, Government Transparency, Impact Tax & Helping local businesses.
Threats – The lack of Government Transparency, no resident workshops, and the planning with no oversight from the community are dodgy practices which lead to rapid growth, the misuse of impact fees, and a neglect of the infrastructure. I am sure if the City Council is scrutinized, there will be a finger-pointing blame game. I have three questions: 1. Why is there NO COLA (Cost of Living Increase) for the PBG Police Department when all other departments have it? |
Marcie Tinsley: Strengths: The strength of our city is its people, businesses, amenities, and government working together. It provides an opportunity to live, work, play in a safe and beautiful environment. Our community leaders and residents are able to voice their concerns. It is up to local government to listen and respond. Our city has award winning first responders that are second to none. Weakness/ Threats can blossom into opportunity: |
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| 3. What involvement have you had in the issues that the council has faced over the past few years? | ||
| Rob Nanfro: As a tax expert, I have been involved with various municipal councils regarding multi-million-dollar projects regarding footprints, job growth, and working with the various state/municipal councils to ensure that the entity I represented was being a good corporate neighbor. Most recently, I have been attending current and reviewing previous Palm Beach Gardens City Council meetings. While the City seems to be run efficiently, I believe fresh ideas and full transparency are needed at the Council level. During the last two council meetings, observing first in December and then participating in the January meeting, I left the last council meeting perplexed – how could the City Council vote on a Resolution [Lucky #7], a $14M Bond, and claim transparency when no document or study they referenced was available on the City Council website, for public review? |
Marcie Tinsley: As a public servant, volunteer and resident, I have been an active problem solver in our community for many years. I now have the unique perspective of being able to see things through the eyes of a resident, property owner, mom and government official. I have protected property owners by lowering taxes, protected neighborhoods from over development and also supported local business. I listened to residents and I fought for more transparency in government. This resulted in live streamed council meetings and a very informative city website. In addition to the examples above, serving on the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council, gave me the tools to solve many traffic problems. It also was instrumental in creating policy to keep developer impact dollars local to pay for roadway improvements in our city. More specifically, I used my land planning skills to improve the safety and traffic flow of 117th Court North. I witnessed parents driving up on the same sidewalk that students of both Timber Trace Elementary and Duncan Middle school were walking. Cars were backed up on Central Blvd causing mayhem each morning. I collaborated with the School Board, The City Public Works and Engineering Department and came up with a plan to solve the traffic, parking and access issues while vastly improving the safety of our young pedestrians. There are a myriad of examples to share that exemplify my passion in helping to improve local government and our community. |
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| 4. What is your “vision” for the city? | ||
| Rob Nanfro: A more transparent City Council that will create meaningful change that encompasses MacArthur’s vision and the opportunity to become a forward-thinking community. Innovation is the key to success. The City Council should invite participation from the residents by; having interactive council meetings, when necessary, to review project areas and the neighborhood(s) that will be affected, resident workshops and interactive council meetings that include social media and local cable stations, with the ability for residents, not attending in person, to be able to ask questions or make comments and be on the record. |
Marcie Tinsley: My near term vision and goal is to help our residents through the pandemic and help get our economy moving again. I also want to make sure our city grows in a thoughtful manner while keeping taxes low and protecting our natural resources. |
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| 5. What else would you like the voters to know about you and your candidacy? | ||
| Rob Nanfro: I have No Agenda I will Fight For Transparency I believe in Term Limits I will Fight To Close Loopholes |
Marcie Tinsley: It is not easy to get things done in a bureaucracy. I am a consensus builder and am proud of what I have accomplished. I have taken a step back and have a clear vision, I am willing to dedicate the time and use my knowledge, history and skills in leading our city into the future. I would love the opportunity to do more. |
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Artigras Returns to the Gardens and new Par 3 City Golf Course
Highlights from the January 14th City Council Meeting
- Artigras (Feb 13 and 14) will be held at the North County District Park. Noel Martinez, CEO and President of Palm Beach North Chamber of Commerce briefly described the economic impacts. See “Artigras Moving Back to Palm Beach Gardens“.
- Covid-19 Vaccinations – Fire Chief Bryer outlined the preparations made by the City for the Jan 15th administration of 200 doses of Covid-19 vaccines to City residents (over the age of 65). The appointments sold out in minutes. He credited the work of Cory Bessette (Division Chief of EMS) with outstanding efforts in staying on top of all things ‘covid-related’ in the Gardens. The City is prepared to administer 200 doses, 6 days a week if there were supply. (Editor’s note – I happened to be on the website when the vaccination appointments went live and was able to make an appointment and receive my first dose on Jan 15. The process was extremely well organized and smooth, the staff was engaging, Chief Bryer was very visible greeting those waiting for their vaccines. Unfortunately, the City has not received any additional doses so far). For the latest vaccine information from the City, see the City’s Covid-19 Vaccinations page here.
- Western Golf Course Expansion
- Casey Mitchell, Director of Golf, presented the plans for a new Par 3 Golf Course and Clubhouse adjacent to Sandhill Crane Golf Course on land deed to the City as part of the Avenir development approvals. See the Palm Beach Post article here.
- Resolution 7, 2021 and it’s companion Resolution 13, 2021 were “Authorizing the issuance of the City of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, Public Improvement Bond, Series 2021, in an amount not to exceed $14,000,000 to finance construction of an 18-hole par-3 golf course and related facilities.
- Financial details of the bond were presented by Allan Owens, Finance Administrator.
- There was significant discussion by City Manager Ferris regarding public ‘chatter’ and emails about the expansion. He appeared to be quite irritated with wrong information being circulated and wanted to ‘set the record straight’ outlining references to the intentions for the 115 acre parcel going back to 2013 and citing references to golf course expansion in various meetings with golf course residents, the study for the Sandhill Crane Golf Clubhouse improvements and other discussions over the years. The last reference he made, however, was 2016 – where the parcel was referenced to be used for ‘parks and rec‘.
- Resident Rob Nanfro, making Public Comment, said that none of this history was included in the Resolution whereas many similar resolutions have included previous actions by staff and Council. PBC Commissioner Maria Marino, speaking as a professional golfer was pleased by the references to her work on the Clubhouse study and was in full support of the Par 3 Course which would be an asset not a liability and augment services already provided, such as a good driving range and other amenities and a practice facility.
- Both Resolutions were passed with whole-hearted support and discussion by the Council 4:0.
- Resolution 14, 2021 – Prohibiting the use of polystyrene products on public property, directing City Administration to negotiate “No Polystyrene” provisions in applicable City contracts, and encouraging all residents and retail businesses within the City to reduce or eliminate the use of polystyrene products was passed 4:0. This was the resolution requested by Council after discussion in prior council meetings and the subject was most recently raised by Council Member Reed, and a couple of years previously by Vice Mayor Litt.
- Charlotte Presensky, Leisure Service Administrator – earned the National Recreation and Park Association “Certified Park and Recreation Executive” certification – which is the highest level a Parks and Recreation Professional can achieve, and only one of 250 such certified individuals in the Country. Congratulations to Ms. Presenky!
All other ordinances and the Consent Agenda passed 4:0.
Public Comment
- Commissioner Marino spoke briefly regarding Covid vaccinations, and the upcoming SR 7 Virtual Workshop on Thursday, Jan 28th.
- Rob Nanfro (candidate for City Council Group 2) introduced himself.
*** There were some last minute technical issues which prevented the secondary camera from recording the presentations from the meeting. Here are links to the Power-point Presentations made at the January 14th meeting:
- Ordinance 1 2021 Fire Pension Amendment 1st reading: https://documentcloud.adobe.com/link/track?uri=urn:aaid:scds:US:6e899979-d67f-43c0-95ca-2dcffe814e30
- Ordinance 2 2021 Police Pension Amendment 1st reading: https://documentcloud.adobe.com/link/track?uri=urn:aaid:scds:US:c25556d7-d28c-4451-a21e-2385dee740c0
- Resolution 7 Series 2021 Bond- Golf Expansion: https://documentcloud.adobe.com/link/track?uri=urn:aaid:scds:US:9ad4522b-3c62-47c4-b599-2a08bdc76e90
- Western Golf Course Expansion January 2021 Council Presentation: https://documentcloud.adobe.com/link/track?uri=urn:aaid:scds:US:93d0006c-2616-4637-a053-537728cd112b
Styrofoam Use on City Property Dominates Council Mtg
The December City Council meeting was relatively brief, at just over an hour in length. All agenda items passed 4:0 including:
- Budget amendment – 2nd reading and adoption
- Expanding alcohol sale hours to begin at 7am from the previous 8a (the subject of much discussion in two prior council meetings) – 2nd reading and adoption
- Amending Land Development Regulations to add laboratory, dental or medical use to office, professional and business use – driven by National Dentex, LLC plans to move into Seminole Shoppes (formerly Carl’s Plaza) – first reading
- Site Plan Approval for the Club House at the Regency (The Pearl) at Avenir residential community. For an update on Avenir in general – here’s a recent Palm Beach Post article.
Tony Bedala, Palm Beach Gardens Youth Athletic Association President updated the Council on progress in the last year and thanked both staff and the Council for their support. He in turn was honored by the Council and presented with a large photo of the City Park (which action was entirely off screen on the livestream of the meeting).
City Manager Ferris’s report included:
- Purchasing Department (and Director) Km! Ra was awarded both an excellence in procurement award in November, and the UPPCCA agency certification award for 7th year in a row in December.
- The City has filed for around $291K from the Municipal Cares Reimbursement Program (PBC) to reimburse municipalities for ppe/equipment/information covid19 related expenditures not in budget. See this WPTV piece on the program.
- The first 2021 City Council Meeting will be on Thursday, January 14.
Public Comment was made by Brendan Rodriguez, President of the Student Government Association for Palm Beach State College, Gardens Campus (2020-21) – thanking the Council and specifically Council Member Chelsea Reed for her involvement with their Panther Talk initiative in the creation of educational videos on Sustainability.
Sustainability dominated the last fifteen minutes of the hour long meeting. Council Member Reed asked that the City adopt a policy eliminating polystyrene or styrofoam products from city property (only). She had previous discussions with City Manager Ferris and City Attorney Max Lohman. The City website recently started a Sustainability web page as well. Vice Mayor Litt and Council Member Marciano were also in favor. Mayor Woods wanted staff input on impacts to the City and he didn’t want a ‘heavy hand’ on how the City serves drinks and take-out at their facilities. City Manager Ferris pointed out that the facilities don’t use styrofoam at all except at the golf course and senior center. He also explained that an ordinance is a law and needs enforcement and fines. After discussion, the Council will leave it to Ferris and Lohman to figure it out whether it should be a proclamation or resolution and they will bring back a proposal for the Council to consider.