News in The Coastal Star: Lake Worth Beach and Lantana take leadership role in Central Palm Beach County.

Being municipal neighbors and coastal communities how vulnerable are the Town of Lantana and the City of Lake Worth Beach to weather events and any potential shifts in the climate?

What are the vulnerabilities of the beaches in Lake Worth Beach and Lantana? On a policy matter, for example, should LWB construct a new swimming pool at the beach or instead focus on fortifying the beach property and seawall protecting the Casino and Beach Complex?

On these questions and more what follows are two excerpts from a piece by journalist Mary Hladky datelined Dec. 31, 2019, published in The Coastal Star:


Boca Raton, Boynton Beach, Delray Beach, Highland Beach, Lake Worth Beach, Lantana [emphasis added], Ocean Ridge and the county have approved an agreement to conduct a climate change vulnerability assessment. The County Commission was the last to sign on, voting Dec. 17.

Once the municipalities and county have data on the threats they face, they will take up the task of making the region more resilient.

and. . .

The municipalities and county set a Jan. 15 deadline for consultants to submit proposals on how they would conduct the vulnerability assessment, and will select one in February to do the work.

The consultant’s tasks will be completed in two phases, with two tasks to be completed by June 30. The remaining tasks will be finished and a final report issued by March 31, 2021.

The consultant also will create a geographic information system-based interactive mapping tool that can be updated with new data and will allow users to zoom in on a specific neighborhood to see climate change impacts or zoom out to see regional impacts.

The assessment will evaluate the vulnerability of people, property, water and transportation infrastructures, critical facilities, the economy and natural resources.

The governments have budgeted $366,797 to do the work and will share its cost, supplemented by a $75,000 Florida Department of Environmental Protection grant to Boynton Beach.


To read the entire piece published in The Coastal Star by Mary Hladky click on this link.

As noted in the first excerpt above the consultant’s final report will be issued at the end of March, in just about eleven weeks.