Memories...

If you wonder who "Gail S." is, and are reading the comments to various posts, click here.

Thanks for visiting Gail - you are always welcome!  XXOO

We are lucky to have such responsive local government...

Important links:

Inspector General's Request August 1st

Inspector General's Request August 3rd

Inspector General's Request August 4th - link appears to be  broken

Dee McNamara's Request from August 3rd

Dee NcNamara's Request August 4th

What remains of a Lake Worth building that WAS once eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places as of 8/5

Golden becomes first to qualify for November election in Lake Worth

Feh. Click title for link. By the way, I would say that she doesn't represent the district she lives in, therein lies the problem. Click title for link. Personally, I thought that she might not run since she and Andy Amoroso share about the same base of support. Andy has supported her in both her previous campaigns, along with other similar candidates.

Mark Twain

"A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes."

More Lake Worth items from the Propaganda Post:

Lake Worth beginning preparations for city's 100th birthday

Part of Lake Worth's 7th Avenue North to be repaved this summer

Utilities Customer Service - excerpts from City Manager Reports from 2009 and 2010

Has our feud and pull-out from FMPA contributed to the rudderless direction of this department?  Why has so much time been wasted in addressing this issue?  It's on the City Commission's agenda tonight - again.

On Channel 5 this morning...

They reported on the City Commission meeting tonight related to tenant selection for the "multi-million dollar renovation" of the historic building.  The work being done to the building was described as a "facelift."  Video accompanying the news report was from the beginning days of the project - when there was still a major portion of the building standing.  This is how the building looked on July 25th.

I've contacted Channel 5 and forwarded these pictures to them.

This is what the Propaganda Post says about the meeting tonight.  Notice the caption to the picture on the article page still says that a "shell" of a building remains.  This is the picture that appears on the "front page" of their website this morning:

Back to Channel 5, apparently they got my message and the second airing of the story referred to the project only as a "major renovation" - an improvement over the first.

Emily - track forecast as of 11 a.m. 8/3

FYI from last night's meeting...

During the City Manager's comments, she reported that the Inspector General has asked for all sorts of follow-up documentation and information related to the beach project including how certain firms and people were selected/hired.  She said that the city is providing the requested information by the end of this week.  Apparently someone in the Inspector General office thinks where there is smoke, there might be fire.

Bicycle Network Project

Lake Worth Utilities' billing could go to private contractor

Click title for link to PBP take on what happened at last night's Commission meeting. Here is an account by a friend that attended:

Just listened to the new mayor tonight on streaming feed at lakeworth.org, and she shot down the expense of extending the consultants we already paid 70K to the utilities to improve customer non service. Comm. Golden wanted to give them an additional $123,000.00 tonight without any argument.

They have till Thursday to come with some facts and figures, which is what the Commission asked them to do for tonight’s meeting. They didn’t have them.

This item was thoroughly discussed at the July 16th City Commission meeting by the way.

Harald Haas: Wireless data from every light bulb | Video on TED.com

Qualifying period for Lake Worth elections begins Tuesday

Oh goodie - another election! Who do you think will be running? Click title for link and feel free to comment.

Minority Rules: Scientists Discover Tipping Point for the Spread of Ideas | ScienceBlog.com

Explains a lot of things. They are now going to do a study where opinions tend to be polarized - situations like we find in Lake Worth and Washington, D.C. for example. Click title for link.

Composed by a loyal reader...

By the way, I am a life-long registered Democrat...

Courtesy of Tom McGow:

What the City is saying in its response...

relies on the interpretation of what can be considered "substantial improvements" to the Casino building.  This term is defined by state statute and can be found in their response.  But the key point is that the building official has determined that since there were existing code deficiencies (documented by previous building officials) in the building that correcting those deficiencies should not be counted as "substantial improvements."  If those "substantial improvements" do not amount to more than 50 percent of the value of the existing building, then the project does not have to meet current code requirements - including a more fortified foundation as called for under coastal construction guidelines.

The city had Anderson and Carr complete an appraisal of the building's value and it came out to $2.8 million.  This is how Morganti worked out the equation based upon the appraisal:

So, according to the city's position, the "substantial improvements" are less than 50 percent of the $6 million cost of the project.

The problem with this sophisticated dance around the code is that there is NO BUILDING there to rehabilitate.  There is thin air where the building used to be.  If you go there today, there are no code deficiencies since the site is DEFICIENT OF A BUILDING!  The code deficiencies were corrected through the demolition.  What is going to be built there would have to be according to code anyway.

This creative interpretation supports those on the dais that have run under the banner of "saving the building" and the city continues to NOT ADMIT that the building is GONE.

The city has also been on the other side of this argument many times and has gone to the mat to defend the code - making sure that people do not try to wiggle out of current code requirements.  It is easier to look the other way when you have to enforce code requirements on yourself.  The city should be setting the example of how to do things the right way - not trying to game the system.

However,

The misinformation persists.  According to the Channel 5 news this morning, the story is that the contractor found more structural problems in the building and this is going to be addressed by more interior walls.

WRONG!

The only change made was the decision to knock down the remaining two exterior walls that made up part of the northern half of the building.  The city administration is doing its best to perpetuate the myth that this is a rehabilitation project - still.

This is the picture that appears in the PBP article showing the "shell" of the building, according to the caption.  Actually, using the word "shell" gives the impression that complete walls remain.  This is the ONLY part of what you could call the above ground portion that remains. My prediction - the days that anything is left standing are numbered.