Friday, June 10, 2011

The latest from Lisa!

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Press Release: Lake Worth- July 3rd Pie Baking Contest


What Lisa Maxwell does for a living...

From the College Park Neighborhood Association...

Dear Neighbors,
Please be aware of the following Mayoral Candidate Forums coming up before the Special Election on June 28th.

The Neighborhood Association Presidents' Council Candidate Debate
Wednesday, June 15th at the Lake Worth Playhouse, 7 pm
The debate will be officiated by the League of Women Voters and Moderated by CBS Channel 12 News' John Bachman.All residents are invited to submit questions by visiting the NAPC website www.lwnapc.org

College Park and Eden Place Neighborhood Associations will hold a joint Mayoral Candidate Forum on Monday, June 20th at the First Congregational Church, 1415 North K St from 7:00 to 8:30pm. Neighbors in attendance will have the opportunity to submit written questions to the Candidates. A panel of two board members from each Association will review the questions to avoid duplication. Candidates will have the opportunity to make opening remarks for two minutes and will be allowed two minutes to respond to each question. Candidates will make 3 minute closing remarks.

The candidates are, (in alphabetical order)
javier del sol
Lisa Maxwell
Tom Ramiccio
Rachel Waterman

If and when other Candidate Forums are scheduled by other Neighborhood Associations, we will be send notice of those as soon as we are aware of them. For other events, scheduled by the individual candidates' campaigns, please contact the candidates for details.

Lake Worth's "Model Cities" according to the Marketing and Branding Task Force

Discuss...

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Lease cancelation could lead to nature center in Lake Worth

There is no objectivity left. Willie can concentrate on Riviera Beach now and Suzanne/Susan can write the articles on LW for the PBP. It simplifies things as it removes a step. It would also reduce emissions of all sorts...click title for link.

Near-broke Lauderdale Lakes pleads for county’s assistance - Broward - MiamiHerald.com

What sounds eerily familiar about this story? How's that cash portfolio looking now? Click title for link.

Sheriff's Office reaches deal with Lake Worth | worth, lake, sheriff - WPEC 12 West Palm Beach

Click title for link to story. This was on the 11 o'clock news last night - Mulvehill said that a "$30,000" study saved the city a million dollars and she thought that was a good ratio. Bradshaw then came on and said the study did nothing, that he was always ready to negotiate. I wish THAT video was available.

The real story revealed...

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

At City Commission meeting 6/7/11

Commissioner Golden asks to add an item that would move board appointments to after the date of the November election.  McVoy is not here and they are having trouble re-arranging the agenda so that he can be here for some of the items.  The agenda stays as is, except for the awarding of the plaque - Item G under presentations.  That was heard first.

 The Inspector General was allowed to go over the ten minute time limit.  The Marketing and Branding Task Force is giving presentation.  Role model cities are Austin, Delray Beach, Savanah, Key West and one that I missed.  They also looked at what makes Lake Worth different from other communities.  Their conclusion is that we are one of the most unique cities...period.  "Hip Retirees" were one of the target groups.  Focus on a one mile radius from city hall (see post "Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold.")  They point out the website as a weakness and points out the West Palm Beach website as a good example - Hollywood, FL was pointed out.  This is one of the short term goal. June 4th is the official city birthday, by the way.

Lynda Mahoney wants P&Z board to have "hand me down" I-Pads.  I do agree with her on involving the Planning Board in decisions that affect city property - in an advisory capacity.  Mulvehill wants to prioritize sign enforcement and getting rid of illegal signs - especially in this one mile area around city hall.  The city is a regular user of A-Frame signs - which is an illegal sign under our Zoning Code.  They are going to set up a joint City Commission/Planning Board meeting.

The "Voice in the Choice" meeting got its time in the sun.  Yeah!

Public comment:  Peter Timm called out the Commission about their back-peddling on the city police department idea - said that you are either for or against and you should pander to the public.  Lynn Anderson laid wreaths at the feet of Susan Stanton for jobs well done.

We had a visit by Betsy Ross tonight:
Panagioti Tsolkas talked about political apartheid  - meaning that people who have lived here a while, he believes, that don't have citizenship - they should be allowed to vote.

Chip Guthrie again brought up the requirement contained in the Charter for an internal auditor - which would report directly to the City Commission.  Golden didn't get what it was all about and both she and Mulvehill tried to hide behind the fact that the Charter also calls for a Police and Fire Chiefs - which technically the city doesn't have.  The City Attorney further diluted the requirement by saying it was o.k. to determine last year that they didn't have the money for one for one year.  But, if time went on and the position wasn't filled, then it should be taken out of the Charter.  Commissioner Maxwell noted that the Charter didn't contain the clause - if you don't have the money, you don't need to fill the position.

Click here for full "Voice in the Choice" meeting summary and PowerPoint presentation...

This is on the City Commission agenda for tonight under presentations.  I'd like to thank fellow meeting moderators Bob Lepa and Karri Casper for their help in putting together the meeting and the report - as well as others who promoted and help with the organization of the meeting.  Most importantly, I'd like to thank the public for their input.  This was the public meeting that should have been part of the Willdan study.

Because we made noise and were ever vigilant, it looks like we will have the services of the sheriff for two years - according to media accounts.  However, we all know that it is not over until the Commission votes on the amended contract - the LESA.  Stay tuned for further updates.

Please note that the PowerPoint presentation is not as inclusive as the full report due to the presentation's ten minute time constraint.

Click here for info on LW Fourth of July event in Bryant Park

Right deal on sheriff: Now, Lake Worth must deal with its fire-rescue contract

An opinion from the PBP on the PBSO bru-ha-ha. Good to remember how we got here, from the article:

"This is good news for the city, which has seen crime rates drop considerably since the sheriff's office took over in 2008. Despite that progress, City Manager Susan Stanton had pushed commissioners to consider booting the agency and reconstituting the Lake Worth Police Department. She said the sheriff's office's contract had become unaffordable. She even persuaded commissioners to pay a consultant $46,000 to study the costs of a new city department. "

And this gem: "Ms. Stanton and some city commissioners continue to grumble that the sheriff's contract is still too costly, but it is the city's most important investment. Losing the agency's management experience and manpower would have been a step backward for a city trying to move forward."

Click title for link.

Monday, June 6, 2011

Something the Branding Task Force should look at and adapt as needed?

Lisa Maxwell on Code Enforcement

June Events - Reef Rescue

June 17 & 18, 2011-SCUBA FESTIVAL
DIVE SHOW
Located at FAU Boca Raton
777 Glades Road
Boca Raton,FL33431
http://www.scubafestival.com/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
June 18-Annual Kayak-a-thon Fundraiser
The date is set for the 6th annual Kayak-a-thon fundraiser. Beginning at 7:30 AM on Saturday June 18, 2011, kayakers will paddle their way along a 7 mile course from the Riviera Beach Marina to Munyon and Peanut Islands then back to the marina.
Like a walk-a-thon, kayakers raise money by collecting donations or pledges for completing the predetermined course. It is similar in format to other physical activity based fundraising events such as marathons and cycling races, but this low intensity, non-competitive event is ideal for mobilizing broad-based community support.
If you do not have a kayak there are some kayaks available, but the supply is limited, so act fast.  http://www.kayakathon.com/
Click to watch video of last years event.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
June 25-Encore Dive, Dinner Party & Benefit for Reef Rescue
Last month Force-E filled two boats and had a party for over a hundred divers with dinner and a live band. This month will be bigger and better. Come out and dive for fun and a great cause. Dives are $75 and include dinner and the party. Party with dinner is $15. Please consider a donation to Reef Rescue. All proceeds from this event goes to Reef Rescue. Last Month Force-E raised $1700. With your tax free gifts we feel we can push that figure past $3000.
Boat and Dinner reservations call Riviera Force-EToll free 866-845-2333 or direct 561-845-2333 Boat space is limited.
Bring your own beverage if you want anything other than soft drinks.
Saturday, June 25, 2011 at 12:00pm
Lake Park Harbor Marina

Click to watch slideshow of the last event.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hope to see you at these events.
Palm Beach County Reef Rescue
Keep up to date at our Coral Reef Blog
PO Box 207 * Boynton Beach, FL 33425 *

Lake Worth residents could keep hens for eggs under proposed city ordinance

More riveting news from the pen of Mr. Howard. Funny that he chooses to point out this group's FaceBook presence but in none of the articles on PBSO does he mention our FaceBook groups. Ms. Stanton is clearly touting the party line - How is this sustainable if it will take a higher level of service from code enforcement in order to maintain the requirements of whatever regulations the city implements? Clearly, it is not the time to burden the city with additional sources of potential problems. And Ms. Cara Jennings, just because people are breaking the law now doesn't mean the law should be repealed. Should we allow boarding houses as a permitted use in single family zoning districts so that you can continue to have three or more unrelated people living there? Those people in the "Canew" all seem to be registered voters, by the way. Click title for link to article.