By Michael Martino
Martino – City Council vs City Manager – Who Is In Charge?
If you haven’t taken an interest in the how our Palm Beach Gardens City government has been conducting its business as of late, perhaps, it’s time you should. As the City Charter states: “The form of government of the City of Palm Beach Gardens shall be that known as the Council-Manager form of government”. “Residents are served by five non-partisan elected officials who are the policy making body of the City. These elected officials –... [Read More...]
Martino: Avenir, will it deliver its commitments?
The Palm Beach Post recently highlighted the progress of home building at the Avenir development in Palm Beach Gardens. The Avenir development contains a total of 4700 acres. Approximately, half of those acres are to be developed into a mixed use concept of homes, commercial, office, and corporate space. The remaining acreage is dedicated to environmental preservation. The Post article’s salient points were the distinctiveness of the various Avenir... [Read More...]
Martino: Shame on the School Board
The Palm Beach County School Board approved new Mission, Vision, and Equity statements for The School District of Palm Beach County. I would strongly encourage all parents of K-12 grade level students enrolled in public and charter schools in Palm Beach Gardens and Palm Beach County to read these statements, carefully, to draw your own conclusions. It is too important, for you as a parent not to. Express your concerns to Barbara McQuinn, District... [Read More...]
Martino: Groundhog Day in the Gardens
After reviewing the Palm Beach Gardens January 14th agenda items, Resolution 7, 2021 and Resolution 13, 2021, I felt as if I was experiencing the movie Groundhog Day. Groundhog Day is a 1993 American fantasy comedy film. It centers on a weatherman that finds he is inexplicably living the same day over and over again while covering the annual Groundhog Day event in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. However, I am really in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, not... [Read More...]
Martino: “Gardens Outhouse” at Lake Catherine Park
MacArthur Boulevard in southeast Palm Beach Gardens is one of the most pleasant, peaceful, and attractively landscaped roads in the City. It is designed with traffic calming as one of its primary goals. The taming of vehicular movements is produced and enhanced by MacArthur Boulevard’s narrow lanes, selective on-street parking, signaled pedestrian cobbled and colored crosswalks, and its meandering median. MacArthur Boulevard’s beautifully landscaped... [Read More...]
Martino: Council – Reconsider Wrongs and Make it Right
PBG Municipal Complex… name change? Once again I find my opinion to be in conflict with a Palm Beach Gardens City Council decision. At the July 16th regular Council meeting the City Council passed with a 5 to 0 vote Resolution 49, 2020, renaming the City Municipal Complex. The new name is the Ronald M. Ferris Municipal Complex. Ronald M. Ferris is the current City Manager. This is at least the third instance in which a City Council has named a City... [Read More...]
Martino: Local Government At Its Best
Once again, the City Council of Palm Beach Gardens along with its Administration has embraced the mantle of Leadership when its residents and business community are most in need of it. At its May Council meeting, to combat the coronavirus contagion with a unified response of care, concern, and compassion, Mayor Carl Woods, Vice-Mayor Maria Marino, Council members Mark Marciano, Rachelle Litt, and Chelsea Reed, created the Palm Beach Gardens Economic... [Read More...]
Martino: Message to Small PBG Business Owners
If you are a small business owner that has been ordered by the government to shut your doors because of the Covid-19 virus pandemic, there is a glimmer of hope for you. The President and the United States Congress, your Federal government, wants you to remain in business with your employees intact. They realize that it is the small businesses around our country that help to provide fuel that drives the engines of our great American economy. Our Federal,... [Read More...]