City Establishes Food Services Stabilization Fund

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June 6, 2020

First up, while a last-minute addition to the agenda, was Resolution 45, 2020 – the creation of the Food Services Stabilization Fund under the City’s existing $1 million Economic Recovery Act, which was approved last month. This second ‘wave’ of grants, amounting to $450K is targeted specifically to mid-size restaurants with 3-75 employees, in business for at least 18 months, owned by residents, and operational as of June 1.  As before – the Palm Beach North Chamber of Commerce and the PGA Corridor, plus the City Manager and staff, were instrumental in defining the scope of the (up to) $15K grants.

The first wave of grants targeted smaller businesses; as of the meeting 54 applications were submitted, 21 were approved and approximately $404K has been paid out. There will not be a marketing campaign as was conducted for the first wave. Restaurants will be informed directly via the Chamber, PGA Corridor and the City of the new fund. Council Member Litt expressed concern about the accountability of the grant distribution if only the Chamber and PGA Corridor were spreading the word. City Manager Ferris assured the Council that all three organizations will use their lists and communications avenues to make sure restaurants are informed. Mayor Woods was concerned about the 18 month criteria and spoke on behalf of a specific restaurant that had been in business longer than a year but less than 18 months. Council Member Marciano expressed concern that there were other businesses not being covered by either program. Consensus in the discussion was that there would likely be a third ‘wave’ and a special City Council Mtg could be called to approve additional grants after the second wave grants had been issued, with other criteria. Here is a link to the Resolution  which passed 5:0

City Manager Report also included:

• A couple of videos capturing the City Staff and Council in the distribution of the $250 Publix Gift cards (of which 1124 have been distributed and the remaining 124 will be directed towards shut-ins who may not have been able to come in to apply); and the issuance of grants to small businesses.
• In light of the national focus on Police Departments, training and excessive force, Police Chief Shannon made a presentation on the City’s training and practices. He discussed the City’s certifications, 15 years of no non-compliances, multiple 1st line supervisors out in the streets all of the time, body-worn cameras, extensive review of any use of force, all officers are required to intervene with any other officer is using excessive or unnecessary force or doing anything outside policy. He also said that the City’s officers receive 10 times the amount of training that the state of FL requires and the policing policies stress the sanctity of life and the guardian mentality of the officers.

Ordinances and Resolutions:

• Council approved first reading of Ordinance 5 and 6 regarding the approval of a storage facility to take the place of the empty Crunch Fitness site. There was much discussion of the difficulty of access to the site but excellent visibility – both of which are necessary to make such a facility viable. At the same time, the proposed usage would reduce trips to the site on Northlake Blvd. While none on the Council were thrilled with yet another storage facility in the City, they and staff agreed that this was a good use of the difficult location.
• Resolution 35, 2020 – Avenir Pods 6,7 and 8 were approved 5:0 as well. The most unique aspect of the proposed gated community is the land bridges between the pods. Rather than roadway with culverts, each roadway going over the water has a park-like setting – where residents can view wide expanses of water and relax close to their homes.

Items for Council Action/Discussion and Items of Interest:

• Council Member Marciano informed the public that Vice Mayor Marino had submitted her resignation letter (‘resign to run’) effective October 2, 2020. Her last attendance on the Council would be October 1. City Attorney Lohman explained that the Council has the choice of appointing someone to fill the vacancy between Oct 2 and March 2021 when there would be a special election to fill the remainder of Marino’s term, or to leave it vacant until the special election. Marciano stressed that anyone who wants to run for the March election should probably start working on their campaign financing and efforts soon.
• Council Members Litt and Reed made statements expressly regarding racial and social justice, Council Member Marciano echoed their statements and said that the City leads by example and turns crises into the positive.
• Annual Evaluation of City Manager Ferris – all spoke effusively of Mr. Ferris’ leadership, respect by his staff, his results, and his actions so far this year with the pandemic, the Economic assistance to the community and the handling of the most recent social stresses.

City Attorney Report:   The Palm Beach County Tax Collector is suing the City over her ongoing refusal to dedicate a 26′ right of way in the new tax collector’s office.  City Attorney Lohman will be issuing a response shortly.

There will be a second City Council Meeting on June 25, 2020 – but the topic was not discussed, nor is the agenda available yet.