Three ring circus?

If you follow the world of Lake Worth politics and official goings-on, last night was a triple-header.  The only problem was that the three events all overlapped. I started at the City Commission meeting which was the first reading of the noise ordinance.  Next door was the CRA meeting in the City Hall conference room.  I had to leave a little before 7 to attend the candidate debate hosted by the Parrot Cove neighborhood association at St. Andrews.  Sometimes I wonder if this is done intentionally - double and triple booking events.  I still think there should be a policy about the CRA and the City Commission not meeting at the same time - unless they are having one of their rare joint meetings.

At the special City Commission Meeting re Noise Ordinance

First, on the noise ordinance, it was obvious that the task force appointed to put the ordinance together did a commendable job.  They researched many other cities and how they handled noise issues.  They blended many different element into an ordinance for Lake Worth.  The existing code language is vague and subjective in determining what is "loud and raucous."  While I was there - and I left before public comment started, there was a lot of talk by the Commission on the enforceability of the ordinance and the possibility of misidentifiying the source of the noise if there is a complaint.  For example, if someone calls in a complaint from North M Street, the sheriff will go to that property.  If the noise is clearly audible, then they will go to the offending business and attempt to determine the source of the noise.  In the time in between, the type of music and volume may change. Likewise, noise reflecting off of the Lucerne may make the noise seem it is coming from someplace it isn't.  The ordinance carries a 90 window so that if you get four violations within a 90 day period, you could be facing criminal charges.  If you don't have another violation within 90 days, then your record is clear.

The 140 noise calls for downtown music complaints came from 10 different names.  This compares to a total of 900 some calls for noise complaints citywide.  The City Commission, especially Commissioner Mulvehill, made a big deal about this being a long standing issue and it was good that the city was finally doing something.  Staff pointed out that they had found a memo from 1983 regarding noise.  Difficulties in enforcement were pointed out but they said that it will be a learning process.  They plan to publish pamphlets to get the word out before it is enacted.  Still didn't get a good answer why they moved the date up for second reading.  They ended up passing it on first reading with some changes.

My major issue with the imposition of the ordinance is saddling law enforcement with yet another responsibility.  The sheriff said that everything they do is on a priority basis, so noise complaints probably, one hopes, would take a backseat to normal mayhem and misdeeds.  To me, the noise ordinance in Lake Worth is akin to rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic, but it looks like we can put the issue behind us - unless it proves impossible to enforce.

I made it to St. Andrews around 7 for the District #2 and #4 candidates' debate put on by Parrot Cove.  Upon walking up to the door, I was greeted by Laurel Decker, perennial supporter of the wrong candidates, who stated, "This is kind of outside your area, isn't it?"  Well, no Laurel, it's not.  It seems like they would like it just fine if no one comes to the debates - too much truth-telling going on.  This was the first debate that I attended this season and Parrot Cove makes it clear that anyone can come.  In fact, they have a neat "social" membership category that allows you to become a member of their neighborhood association if you pay dues - you just don't get voting rights if you don't live in the neighborhood.  When I have attended before, either as a candidate or audience member, the room was usually standing room only.  It was full, but not as crowded as I remember it from before.

Commissioner Suzanne Mulvehill was taking part in the aforementioned City Commission meeting.  She eventually came, but it was after the other three candidates had finished their five minute presentations and answered all of their questions.  In fact, when it was announced that "she was on her way" - it was then that most of the audience left en masse, so Commissioner Mulvehill played to an emptier house.  If someone was there during her part of the show, you can tell us about it by leaving a comment.

The candidates that were there drew numbers and Carla Blockson (District #2) went first.

Of them all, I thought Carla came off the most confident and sincere.  She explained that in her job, she is used to working with a large bureaucracy and making it understandable for the people she oversees.  She was clear that the City's priorities should be quality delivery of basic services, making sure that roads are paved and making sure the trash is picked up.  She said that the main misconception that her opponent is telling people about her is that she wants hi-rise buildings everywhere.  She flatly said that is wrong and that there are very few places left in Lake Worth for tall buildings.  If a proposal came in for one, it should be looked at in relation to where it is and evaluated on its own.  All three candidates said that they would not stop the beach renovation project or the Casino building rehabilitation if elected.

Next up was Chris McVoy (District #2).

Well, this may seem biased since I am not voting for him, but he came across as a know-it-all and kept waving the fact that he was a "scientist" and this made him able to talk to experts that others wouldn't otherwise talk to.  He said he knew a lot about water (he works for South Florida Water Management District) and electricity (he said he uses a soldering gun.)  He read from a paper because he is a scientist and likes to not miss anything.  You got the impression that if he were a Commissioner, things would be constantly over-analyzed and nothing would ever happen - which seems to be just fine for his supporters.  He continues to insist that he worked to keep the beach 100% public, even though his petition drive didn't result in any action by the Commission or the electorate.  And how can our beach property be 100% public when it has for-profit tenants operating out of a city-owned building?  Or does he somehow consider those tenants an extension of the city, like the Lake Worth CDC that uses a city building?  For a scientist, I would expect him to be a little more exact.  Even though the fact that he was on the Planning, Zoning and Historic Resource Preservation Board and it gets top billing on his campaign materials, we find out that he may have been to a total of six (6) meetings as he was only on the board for two months.

Next up was Lisa Maxwell (District #4)

Lisa came off as the candidate that had the most real world experience in dealing with municipal issues.  she has a no-nonsense approach and wants the city to get back to the basics - like enforcing codes that are on the books and adhering to zoning requirements.  She got one of the bigger applauses of the night when she compared the subsidized tenants at the beach to the retail tenants in our downtown that have to pay market rates.  She talked about how uncompetitive Lake Worth is when it comes to a decision to locate a business here due to having the highest commercial electric rates in the state.  She was concerned about the number of group homes that are moving into single family residential areas.  She said that she attended around 67 Planning and Zoning Board meetings since she was on the board for over three years.  After the Commission altered the attendance requirement that retroactively removed her from the Planning and Zoning Board, they stacked the board with political cronies of those in power.  Check out the previous post on the change to this policy.

And speaking of cronies, I made a special effort to talk with Annabeth Karson last night.  She had stationed herself near the door.  For those of you who haven't had the pleasure of meeting her, she is a major player in the Cara Jennings' camp, pulls many strings and is a teller of many tall tales.  On my way out, I leaned down (she was sitting) and said pointedly "How are you?"  She responded that if she thought I was sincere, she would answer the question.  I told her that I was sincere in wanting to know how she was and then I said that we could get a lot more done if we worked together and weren't at odds all the time.  I suggested we meet and talk.  She said essentially "nothing doing" and then said she might consider it if I didn't write the things I did about her.  I asked, "What things?"  She said she didn't want to go into to it right now.  I guess we won't be having lunch soon.  

This is the same person that in a Commission meeting complained how she couldn't find audio recordings of the Planning and Zoning Board meetings (this was prior to me running for office) and that in reading the minutes, it wasn't how SHE remembered things happening.  Her response was that she would just have to use three or four people at the doorsteps of voters, instead of a smaller number.  This was said at the podium and if you want, I can retrieve the link.