What a surreal experience!Here we were reviewing and commenting on next year's budget - of which the CRA has been accused of spending "like a runaway train" - and six of the seven board positions are open due to the snafu in eliminating staggered terms years ago. So we are reviewing this budget and the priorities it represents knowing that some or most of us may not be on the CRA board during the next fiscal year. With the Commission interviewing the 29 applicants for the open positions on August 31st, it is entirely possible that the first act of the new board - at its first meeting - would be the adoption of the budget. How crazy is that? I made a point that, for the sake of communication and some possible form of continuity, we make an extra effort to inform the group of applicants that were turned away at the door on the day of their scheduled interviews of the possible three meetings the CRA may have in August. Suggestion was even made of a joint City Commission/CRA meeting during the month to review the budget - we had one like that last year. I see the likelihood of that being low.
To their credit, at least three applicants who do not sit on the board presently were in attendance on their own accord. No one from the City Commission was present - so much for concern over our budget and encouraging communication.
I thought we came up with some good ideas to trim another $500,000 from the proposed budget - which assumes that the Commission will not make a contribution to the CRA in that amount to make up for the fact that the CRA cannot capture the MSTU millage (County fire department tax) next year. One of the groups of items staff will be looking at is money approved but not spent by the city or grant recipients, another is scaling back the time frame on the 800 block N. Dixie parking lot and reducing the amount of money allocated to workshops and entrepreneur training.
We did get an update from Vince Burkhardt of Burkhardt Construction on the status of 10th Avenue North. Here are the highlights.
Work Completed:
- Underground utilities complete.
- Gutter and sidewalks 95% complete except for areas where utility poles remain, balance complete when poles removed, Comcast the only utility left on poles at this time, about a week to finish.
- Streetlights, except for two, are installed and working.
- Powerlines are off utility poles west of tracks, east of tracks in the next two weeks.
- Signal poles in.
- Third week of August planting live oaks.
- Uplighting for landscaping
- Installation of four medians
- Final asphalt
- Pavers at intersections
![Dr. W. H. Cotton’s ode: “Oh, My Lake Worth, Florida!” [circa 1920].](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yhHyCn84ZIQ/WezjlEL-0tI/AAAAAAAAPZ4/CzkhriK6zpEJJ3d9Je1495d49gIhnMlxACK4BGAYYCw/s1600/LakeWorthPioneers.JPG)
