Question for critics of the City’s referendum last Tuesday: Why did you do nothing for over 2 years to help? If you had a better plan, why didn’t you share it?

The referendum passed overwhelmingly. Almost 70% of the voters in Lake Worth said “Yes” to bonds to fix our roads. That is called a mandate.

The answer to the 2nd question in the title above is easy. They never even tried to come up with a plan since August 2014 when they defeated the first bond vote. And therein lies the answer to the first question, “Why did you do nothing”? They did nothing because that would take leadership and making hard choices.

Leadership and making hard choices is not what critics like Commissioner Chris McVoy, PhD, like to do. But there’s something that people like McVoy don’t understand. Voters respect leaders. They may not agree with them but they respect them. After the bond vote failed in 2014 Mayor Pam Triolo, Vice Mayor Scott Maxwell, and Commissioner Andy Amoroso were all reelected by landslide victories.

Why? Voters don’t punish elected’s who try and fail. They punish the ones who don’t try at all. That’s why McVoy is going to lose big on March 14th, 2017. Do you remember this?

“Maybe we can get Commissioner McVoy to point out what he proposed.”

And. . .

“I want to hear his [McVoy’s] plan. I haven’t heard his plan.”

—Citizen/reporter Peggy Fisher questioned both Mrs. McGiveron and McVoy at a City Workshop. See this exchange for yourself in the short video (3rd one) at the end of this blog post.


And also take note: interrupting meetings because you don’t agree with something is improper. If you recall, it was Mrs. McGiveron, the leader of CAUT PAC, who shut down a City Workshop in July with this inappropriate outburst:Now to all the vocal critics of the City’s referendum last Tuesday to fix the roads and potholes. . . why did you sit on your hands for over 2 years?

One of those critics, McGiveron, instead of a offering a plan or a way forward to fix the streets and all the potholes was fortunate enough to get quoted by Kevin Thompson, the Post’s beat reporter:

“ ‘Where the Tropics Begin’ was the old Lake Worth motto,” she [McGiveron] said. “Sit down, shut up and open your wallets is our new motto.”

Pretty clever, huh? But there’s a problem: clever motto’s, shutting down City meetings, and not offering any realistic solutions won’t do anything to improve our City. Interestingly, following that outburst McGiveron accepted a challenge from Vice Mayor Scott Maxwell. She agreed to craft her own plan and present it at the July 19th City Commission meeting:

“I [Vice Mayor Maxwell] challenge you. You give me a ballot initiative and I will present it to the commission. That was your offer, Katie. Give it to me. I would love to see it.”

Did McGiveron complete the challenge with almost 2 weeks to do so? No. The citizen/reporter at the scene, Peggy Fisher, got it all on video. You can hear Maxwell for yourself at the 6:35 mark in this video:Here is what we learned at that Workshop in July:

• Since the “LW2020” bond failed in 2014 it will now cost $9 million more to fix the City’s roads
• At a minimum the City will need $40–50 million
• More delays will drive up future costs

Just being a critic isn’t enough. And just saying we need more meetings isn’t enough either. That’s what is lacking in the opposition to the City: any leadership whatsoever. Another video below from Peggy Fisher at the July Workshop and you can hear her say. . .

“Maybe we can get Commissioner McVoy to point out what he proposed.” And “I want to hear his [McVoy’s] plan. I haven’t heard his plan.”

Exactly. McVoy never even tried.

Read the Post’s TGIF section yesterday? Making plans to attend Delray’s Wine & Seafood Festival today? Don’t. It got cancelled this year.

The Delray Beach Wine & Seafood Festival was the editor’s #3 event pick this weekend in yesterday’s TGIF section. Just one problem. It got cancelled this year. To find that information in the Post you had to see the small correction on page A2 buried below the fold at the very bottom of the page.

If you’re “famished and parched” for some wine and seafood there are plenty of more restaurants in Delray. And there are a whole lot of restaurants here in Lake Worth too that serve excellent wine and seafood. Benny’s on the Beach comes to mind.

“. . . today’s TGIF lists the wrong date for the Delray Beach Wine & Seafood Festival”. Not true. No date has been set for the festival in 2017.

If you want to sign up for updates from the organizers of the “Delray Beach Wine and Seafood Festival” use this link.

Or. . . who knows. Maybe another festival will end up in John Prince Park. Just like Garlic Fest coming up on February 10th–12th next year.

Starting at 8:00 a.m. today: Community Yard Sale hosted by the Eden Place neighborhood

Amazing prizes too. See below for more details.

“First stop on the yard sale spree will be the First Congregational Church of Lake Worth located at 1415 North ‘K’ Street. There you'll be provided a map for the eleven homes participating. We’ll be raffling amazing prizes from our local favorites:

• CWS Bar + Kitchen
• Andy Amoroso’s Downtown shop & newsstand
• Carl Stoveland Photography
• Paws on the Avenue
• Aioli West Palm Beach
• Brick Oven Pizza
• Clary’s Corner Cafe and many more.

Complimentary doughnuts and coffee donated by our supporters, the First Congregational Church.”

Tomorrow at the Cultural Council: A new, affordable, one-of-a kind series of interactive arts experiences for families

On Saturday’s at the Cultural Council there’s a new program called “Family Saturday’s at the Cultural Council—Arts in My Backyard.” Every week of the program, an arts organization brings its offerings to life at the Council for families. 

This inter-generational series of workshops at the Cultural Council galleries and Education and Training Center is open to all ages. Families are invited to discover the arts together, working side by side as they connect, create memories and acquire new skills through visual art, dance, drama and music. Workshops are presented once per month and feature arts and cultural education organizations from throughout Palm Beach County. 

Here is information about tomorrow’s event, Community Drum Circle with the Center for Creative Education:

• Location: Cultural Council of Palm Beach County, 601 Lake Avenue in Downtown Lake Worth
• Time: 10:00–11:30
• For more information and to pre-register use this link.
• Admission: $5.00 per family

Just in case you missed this—The City Commission Workshop at the Casino complex: Vexing, long-standing problems

If you’ve already read this, Thank You for visiting and please scroll down. If not, this is the meeting that was cancelled due to Hurricane Matthew and rescheduled to last Thursday.

This event slipped under the radar in the lead-up to last Tuesday’s elections. The problems at the Lake Worth Casino are not going away. For where we stand at the present, and what to expect going forward, please continue reading:

The low attendance surprised everyone but many possible reasons why. Possibly many were distracted by the elections a few days later. One of the attendees quipped early on low, but loud enough I could hear, “Why bother they all said. Wes will be there and let us know what happened.” Everyone knew this was a Workshop as well. No votes would be taken and no decisions made. Those will come later in the City Commission chambers at a date to be determined.

But make no mistake: interest in this subject remains very high. Every time I write about the Casino my blog numbers go off the charts. What follows is a quite lengthy post. If you don’t have the time please check back later when you do.

Some of the assembled public in attendance.

This meeting, which took place on Thursday, November 3rd, originally was to be held a few weeks earlier but Hurricane Matthew had other plans. Even though the City had free parking and a shuttle bus (stemming from inherent parking/traffic problems in the site plan), still few people attended. The City chose the location ostensibly so the Commission and the public could see the problems firsthand, along with the prototype repairs that were done over the past two months.

This was a Workshop, no votes or decisions made.

The Sunshine Law made this meeting difficult as the Commission as a group couldn’t go out an see the issues together. They each had to inspect the areas individually to avoid talking to each other about matters which will come before them in the future. There was also the issue of lack of daylight since the meeting started at 6:00. The presentation by the architect, the contractor and their attorney, along with discussion by the Commission, took over two hours.

At the end of this discussion members of the Commission went out individually to look at the northeast area of the building’s deck/terrace to see evidence of what was discussed for their own eyes.

The City made sure this meeting was recorded and videoed. There were two other video cameras besides mine (use this link for my YouTube channel to watch; five videos total) and an entire sound console/mic system. A senior staff person told me this was to avoid the situation related to the Land Development Regulations (LDR) meeting a few year ago that was held at the golf course. Somehow, equipment and mics were there but staff discovered after the meeting there was no recording. Ooops.

This unfortunate mistake led to future squabbles regarding height limitations (what was decided at that meeting), which led to petitioners bringing the referendum on height to the ballot. After that long and sad drama the vote to limit heights even further in the Downtown was later declared “Null and Void” by the State Legislature. But I digress.

More of those in attendance. The road vests were a curiosity. Ends up they were employees of the construction company.

It is not out of the question the City could be in litigation related to these construction and design issues with the building, so it was very important to have a record going forward. 

Most of the meeting consisted reviewing the issues of water intrusion through the building, under the doors and the decking itself. There was discussion how the original vision of the building was that all doors were to be ADA-accessible to the deck area. That meant there could not be a high threshold between the interior and exterior of the building.

It was also envisioned that doors were likely to be open most of the time so that groups of people attending an event, or dining, could seamlessly go in and out without tripping over a threshold. Combine that design decision with the expectation that tables and chairs would be used on the terrace dictated the deck be level and not pitched away from the building. Both those decisions exacerbated the problem of rainwater coming into the building.

Much of the presentation went into great detail on the various layers of material that were employed as a “fix” to drain water away from the building and eliminate water penetration. There was a PowerPoint presentation along with a printed format that was handed out to the Commission and available for others as well.

According to the design and construction team the fixes performed well during test conditions. These were to simulate 75 mph sustained winds for a period of 15 minutes. Certain caveats were pointed out: in an actual hurricane event the City would need to place sandbags at the bottom of the doors to provide additional protection. The windows are impact-resistant: this means windows could break from projectiles. After a major storm event some windows might need to be replaced.

It was pointed out that any building built to code for this location would be subject to that kind of storm damage due to its exposure. Someone said the building was not built to be a “submarine”.

Phasing of the repairs would include all of the deck and terrace area (even the prototype area) and be phased in over time. Discussion ensued how best to segment the work given how the building is used during the year and during “season”. It was thought it might be wise to start with the northern half since there is no tenant for that “most excellent” restaurant space and would keep construction activity away from the Ballroom area the city rents out frequently.

The area around the Ballroom could be done during non-season when fewer tourists and visitors were here. There was also talk about timing of rain and dry season. It’s complicated.

All this will have to come back for approval by the City Commission at a future meeting as this was a Workshop. Expect to hear much of the same discussion then. The Commission seemed eager to address other issues related to the building but didn’t have time to fully discuss those. There were several cryptic throw-away lines and side-glances. Yes. There are other problems as well.

I left the meeting during the time individual Commission members went out to look at the work. It’s important to note the cost of the repairs will be borne by the architect and contractor, not the City. It was estimated that these fixes might be in the $300,000–400,000 range. A hefty sum.

“So here we are. Again.”, you’re saying to yourself. True and not true. This is progress. Not what we’re all expecting though. We all want this done and over with. No one more than myself. We’ll probably never get the building we were promised but something functional and less of a drain (pardon the pun) will be a big improvement: Getting the second floor restaurant space filled will be a big step in the right direction.

When the City Commission schedules their next meeting will let you know. And get there early. There won’t be too many seats left this time.

Special to the Post by Paige Ellenson and Kaitlyn Frame, “Heroes 5k run on Saturday [TOMORROW] to benefit education”

To participate in the race the details are below. NOTE: It’s your choice to either run or walk the course. This article appears in today’s (11/11) print edition, page B2, below the fold.

“The annual Heroes for Education 5k, hosted by the Education Foundation of Palm Beach County is scheduled for Saturday [tomorrow], Nov. 12, at 6 a.m. in Bryant Park located in Lake Worth.
     The Education Foundation of Palm Beach County, a local nonprofit, hosts the run to help students in Palm Beach public schools to advance their potential in learning, literacy and leadership.
     Sign-ups and packet pick-up begin the day of the race at 6 a.m. and the foundation says 100 percent of the proceeds will go to Palm Beach County public schools. Their goal is to raise $61,000 and they have currently raised $42,938.80.”

[and. . .]

     “Each participant will receive a ‘Heroes for Education’ t-shirt and medal upon signing up and can choose to either walk or run.
     ‘I’m excited to be able to support education and raise money for it,’ said Hollis Brady, a 7th grader at Emerald Cove Middle School in Wellington. ‘I love the course and it’s a beautiful park.’ ”

IF YOU GO:

• Race registration begins at 6:00 a.m. in Lake Worth’s Bryant Park
• Warm up starts at 7:00
• Race begins promptly at 7:30
• Call 561-434-7303 for more information

Today starting at 3:30 (Thursday 11/10): An invitation to discuss investment and development opportunities in the City of Lake Worth

Please note: If you cannot attend today there is another event on November 29th showcasing the City’s widely-praised, newly adopted Land Development Regulations also being held at the Lake Worth Casino. To reserve a seat for that event use this link. Both of these meetings are FREE and free parking is available as well.

For more information about today’s meeting contact Marc Schlags, Business Development Manager, at 561-493-2550 or mschlags@lakeworth.org

The Lake Worth CRA in partnership with Retail Strategies invites you to a discussion on opportunities in the little City of Lake Worth:

• When: Today from 3:30–5:30
• Where: Lake Worth Casino, 10 S. Ocean Blvd.
• Event and parking are free

Property owners, developers, commercial real estate agents, business owners or businesses looking to relocate or expand in Lake Worth are encouraged to attend.

No. I haven’t forgotten. Check back tomorrow and Thank You for supporting my blog.

The City Commission Workshop to address some of the long-standing problems at the Lake Worth Casino was last Thursday. I’ve gathered my notes and will have an update tomorrow. Now that the bond referendum is past us you can expect more in the near future about getting these issues resolved.

Be part of a community dialogue about public health in the City of Lake Worth

If you are interested in participating in the dialogue sessions (dinner and childcare will be provided) or know someone who might be interested, please contact Barbara Cheives at 561-351-6864 or barbara@convergeandassociates.com

Dear Lake Worth,

     As part of the community engagement process for our Healthier Together initiative, Palm Healthcare Foundation has partnered with Community Partners, Inc. to conduct Health Dialogue to Action Sessions (also known as study circles). The Community Dialogues are designed to create a comfortable environment for small group facilitated dialogue. Conversations will be led by neutral facilitators to insure that interactions are honest, non-confrontational and mutually enhancing. People are often afraid to broach topics for fear that they may say something wrong and potentially offend someone. There are very few opportunities for people to have “permission” to ask questions and share thoughts and feelings.
     The Lake Worth community will have an opportunity to provide that space. During the dialogues, different types of people will come together around public health issues in a space that fosters constructive, respectful conversation. Participants listen to each others concerns, build relationships, and generate ideas for action and ultimately implement those plans. Typically groups of 10–15 meet over a 4–6 week period and work on a tangible health related project. The Lake Worth sessions will likely take place in the evenings once a week from 6:00–8:00 (exact day and location yet to be determined).

“Trump wins or election is contested”

So here we are. On October 27th I took out a pen and paper and wrote down the words in the title. Got an envelope out, put the paper inside and sealed it.

I voted for Hillary Clinton. In fact, I never voted for a Republican to be President. Ever.

Any hope I had reporters would stop calling me about Mr. Trump are dashed now. A reporter from one of the most well-respected newspapers in the country drove down to Lake Worth and took me out to lunch. And this was after saying I couldn’t talk about my ten years working at Mar-a-Lago. But he came down anyway just because he wanted to know what it was like working for Mr. Trump.

I have a lot of great stories. Trust me. But I signed a stack of non-disclosure letters you would need a hand truck to move. I know this will be hard for many of you to believe, but in all the years I worked for Donald Trump I didn’t know if he was a Democrat or Republican. We didn’t talk national politics.

Anyone who has been around Mr. Trump for any period of time knows this: betting against him is not a good bet.

His rule for everyone was simple. Do the job and do it to his standards. Those standards were very, very high.

I would have preferred Hillary Clinton but her political instincts weren’t up to the challenge. She made the same mistake so many have made in the past. She miscalculated Mr. Trump. Her over-confidence was unsettling. She always looked like she had the Ten, Jack, Queen, King, and just got dealt the Ace.

Anyhow, congratulations President-elect Donald Trump. You fought hard and you won. A lot of people were surprised last night. But I wasn’t one of them.

Last night was a very good night for the little City of Lake Worth. A very good night. In football it’s called a “coaching victory”. . .

. . . but one commissioner, Chris McVoy, PhD, “dropped the ball”. He failed the City when the public needed him the most. The voters in Lake Worth must never forget that.

The bond referendum passed overwhelmingly yesterday, despite the efforts by McVoy to scuttle it. The County’s 1¢ sales tax increase also passed by a big margin. Now the City of Lake Worth can get on with fixing all the roads that have been neglected for far too long.

When the first results came in last night for Lake Worth’s bond referendum my first thoughts were, “Wow!”, “Wow”, and then “Wow”. This was a victory for leadership. City Manager Michael Bornstein, Mayor Pam Triolo, Vice Mayor Scott Maxwell, and commissioners Andy Amoroso and Ryan Maier all deserve credit.

Commissioner Chris McVoy, PhD, doesn’t ever deserve another vote here in the City of Lake Worth. Ever.

McVoy sat on his hands for over two years and never even tried to come up with a plan to fix our roads. But if he decides to run again The Palm Beach Post will endorse him just like they did in March 2015. The Post knew then what they know now: McVoy is not a leader and he’s not a problem-solver either. He’s just an opportunist. His only role is to be a thorn in the side of the majority.

The editors at the Post don’t want to look bad. But Lake Worth deserves better. 

That’s the reason the Post didn’t write an endorsement for the Lake Worth Bond referendum that passed overwhelmingly yesterday. Because if they did chime in they would have to acknowledge McVoy’s role, or lack of a role, in fixing our streets and potholes. So the Post decided to sit on the sidelines. Another high bar for leadership, huh?

It will take a few days or even longer for everything to shake out. But know this, McVoy put this City and the public through a lot of unnecessary angst and worry. On purpose he pitted one group against another for no reason except to forward his own political objectives. This was American politics at its worst.

The editors at the Post should have called him out. They should have asked him why he did nothing for two years and then criticized the one’s who did all the hard work. Our mayor deserved better and do did everyone else on the dais. How many sleepless nights did Mayor Triolo have? The city manager?

We needed ideas from Commissioner McVoy. He’s proud of his PhD but that diploma hanging on the wall did nothing for us. He could have attended seminars or visited other cities with similar problems and see how they solved the problem of too many potholes and deteriorating streets. That’s what scientists do.

But McVoy would rather dither in the Everglades, carrying test tubes of muck and slime, posing for the cameras with that thoughtful look of his. If McVoy decides to run again the public should get outraged. Insulted. And they need to get angry at the editor at the Post too. The editor should be asking McVoy the tough questions but that’s not going to happen.

That’s too bad. Lake Worth deserves better.

Did you hear the news about $35,550 in REAP grants for the little City of Lake Worth?

This was front page news last month in The Lake Worth Herald, news you may have missed about grants from the Palm Beach County Office of Community Revitalization (REAP): 

     “Several Lake Worth Neighborhood Associations and non-profit organizations were delighted this week to receive final approval from the Palm Beach County Board of Commissioners for neighborhood improvement grants they applied for earlier this year. 
     In all, a total of $35,550 was granted by the County for projects including Neighborhood Street Banners, Neighborhood Crime Watch programs, Neighborhood Park and Greenway improvements, Little Free Libraries and a new Homework Zone at the Lake Worth Library.”
 

Support newspapers like our City’s Herald, a newspaper reporting community news that would otherwise go unreported in the media.

Tammy Pansa got edited out of the Post print edition. Why? Who knows. And the whole story about Mother Earth Sanctuary Café.

Did you miss this blog post from yesterday? If you did read this already Thank You for visiting and please scroll down.

Below is a quote by Tammy Pansa that was cut out of the story about Havana Hideout on Lake Ave. closing its doors (by the way, news that shouldn’t surprise anyone):

[Tammy] Pansa noted, however, that service had slipped a bit. “(There was) slightly less upkeep,” she said. “I always wondered how they paid the bills when you had to work so hard to get someone to take your drink order.”

Well, turns out they weren’t paying the utility bill; a big reason why they’re closing. Also not mentioned in the article by Kevin Thompson* are other, newer venues in the Downtown like C.W.S. Bar + Kitchen that are gaining in popularity because of new ideas and also because of how engaged they are with the surrounding community as well.

Also, the ‘news’ about Mother Earth Sanctuary Café is anything but news. Here is a Facebook post from October 25th, 2 weeks ago:

     I have learned that it is important to let go when it is time to let go. Mother Earth is closing not because we have failed in any way... we are closing as a result of our success. A success that outgrew the licensing and zoning of our space. I am so proud of what we have done in our community, proud of the people who have been touched, inspired, nurtured, fed, encouraged and loved.

[and. . .]

I’ll be honest, I’m looking forward to having a break from running a cafe. So, no, I am not looking for another place for the cafe. The focus is on the product line now.

The Mother Earth Café “Farewell Celebration Party” is on Sunday, November 20th from 5:00–9:00.

*Received an interesting observation from a blog reader: This is the very first article from Post reporter Kevin Thompson about the restaurant/business community in the Downtown that didn't have any reference to the Taco Lady. But if I hear anything about the Taco Lady will let you know.

Two very important questions you have to ask yourself today vis-à-vis Lake Worth’s bond referendum

#1: Vote “Yes” or vote “No”.
#2: The bond vote to fix our roads in August 2014 failed by 25 votes. The critics who won back then had well over two years to come up with their own plan. But instead they did nothing. Ask yourself this, “Why not?”

This blog post and those following will remain as they are until the polls close tonight. If the bond passes we move forward. If not, we don’t.

How long can we continue having the City find ways to fix our roads and the critics just say, “No”? Leadership is not saying, “No”. Leadership is responding with a better idea. And that hasn’t happened.

Have nothing else further to say except I’m voting “Yes” and hope you do too.

A list of all polling locations in the City of Lake Worth is below. “Hmmm. There are 16 precincts but only 12 polling locations. Why is that?” See why below.

Important to remember today: Lake Worth’s important ballot question is on the very last page all by itself. Turn the page over and look for it at the top of the last page.


So. . . why 16 precincts and only 12 polling locations? Three polling locations are where multiple precincts vote. For example, precincts 3034 and 3040 both vote at the Scottish Rite Temple. All the information below can be found on the Supervisor of Elections website. Unsure where you vote? Use this link.

Below is an analysis done of the “LW2020” bond vote in August 2014 that lost by just 25 votes. The numbers in blue are the vote totals (top number “For bonds” and bottom number “Against”). Besides the voter turnout being dismal, many voters in precincts with the worst roads didn’t bother to vote: ergo why your roads and potholes are not being fixed or repaired.

Click on image to enlarge:

Note the large number of votes “Against Bonds” in 2014 from a very small area in the southwestern part of the City, west of I-95 (202 votes from precinct 3078). Had just 26 more voters east of I-95 voted “For Bonds”, many of our streets and potholes would be fixed already.

For the City of Lake Worth to finally get on with fixing our roads we’ll need a very good turnout today and a lot more “Yes” votes. Here are the precincts and the polling locations (precinct numbers highlighted):

3034 & 3040 Scottish Rite Masonic Center. 2000 North ‘D’ Street. The lodge is located on the southeast corner of North D St. and 22nd Ave. North (Worthmore Drive). Parking is accessed from the east side of North D St.

3036 Sunlight Community Church (formerly the Christian Reform Church). 1325 North ‘A’ Street. The church is located on the west side of North A St. between 14th Ave. North and Crestwood Blvd. Parking can be accessed from either 14th Ave. North or Crestwood Blvd.

3042 1st Congregational Church. 1415 North ‘K’ Street. The church is on the east side of North K Street between 13th Ave. North and 16th Ave. North. Parking is at the north end of the church.

3052, 3058 & 3060 Our Savior Lutheran Church. 1615 Lake Ave. The church is located on the south side of Lake Ave. between South A and South B streets. Parking is accessed from the east side of South A St.

3062 Lake Worth Towers. 1500 Lucerne Ave. Lake Worth Towers is located of the north side of Lucerne Ave., approximately ½ mile west of Dixie Hwy and 2 blocks east of North A Street.

3064 1st Congregational Church. 1415 North ‘K’ Street. The church is on the east side of North K Street between 13th Ave. North and 16th Ave. North. Parking is at the north end of the church.

3066 & 7164 Church by the Glades. 127 South ‘M’ Street. The church is located on the northwest corner of 2nd Ave. South and South M Street. Voting is in the Fellowship Hall.

3068 St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church. 100 North Palmway. The church is Downtown on the northeast corner of Lucerne Ave. and North Palmway.

3076 Our Savior Lutheran Church. 1615 Lake Ave. The church is located on the south side of Lake Ave. between South A and South B streets. Parking is accessed from the east side of South A St.

3078 Lakeside United Methodist Church. 1801 12th Ave. South. The church is located on the south side of 12th Ave. South, between Lake Osborne Drive and the I-95 overpass.

7160 St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church. 928 South ‘E’ Street. The church is located on the east side of South E St. between 9th and 10th Avenue South. Use the south parking lot. The ramp leads to the Fellowship Hall.

7162 Osborne Community Center. 1699 Wingfield Street. The Osborne Community Center is located on the west side of Wingfield St., just under ½ mile south of 12th Ave. South, or just south of the Lake Worth Municipal Gym.

Remember! If you end up at the wrong polling location do not leave until you get directions to the correct location where you vote.

Help needed: Gift wrappers for the annual Christmas Giveaway by PBSO in the City of Lake Worth

“In preparation for our annual Lake Worth Christmas Gift Giveaway we will be wrapping approximately 400 toys for children on December 8th, 9th, and 10th from 9:00–5:00 at PBSO District 14 headquarters.

If you are interested in participating we could use the help. Please e-mail Benito Gaspar at gasparb@pbso.org with the date and hours you are available.

Everyone is also welcome to attend the Gift Giveaway on December 17th from 9:00–3:00. Sadly, many of these children would not receive any gifts for the holidays without this event."

PBSO District 14 is located at 120 North G Street. The main phone number is 561-586-1611.

Sobering. The election results from the August 2014 “LW2020” bond referendum to fix the roads and potholes.

Below is a quick analysis that was done of the election results back on August 26th, 2014. If you recall, that bond vote to fix our roads and potholes lost by just 25 votes and that’s significant. Why? Continue reading.

What I would like you to focus on is the southern part of Lake Worth, precincts 7160, 7162, and 3078. What happened on each side of I-95 is startling in comparison, especially knowing the terrible condition of the roads east of I-95 in District 1. Road conditions that have only gotten worse since August 2014 and will continue to deteriorate.

Click on image to enlarge:

Note the dismal voter turnout east of I-95 and south of 6th Ave. South (the red “2” on the map). The first number is votes "FOR" the 2014 LW2020 bond.

Just by accident found this map and was shocked again just like I was when seeing these numbers for the first time over 2 years ago. Not so much by the dismal turnout City-wide but specifically by the low voter turnout east of I-95 and south of 6th Ave. South. Note the totals when compared with precinct 3078 which is west of I-95:

• 3078: Votes AGAINST the bond in 2014, 202
• 7160: Votes FOR the bond, 92
• 7162: Votes FOR, 81

The difference? Twenty-nine (29) more votes AGAINST the bond from west of I-95 in precinct 3078. Remember, the 2014 bond vote lost by just 25 votes. Twenty-five.

Anecdotally back then heard reports of voters being turned away at the polls in precincts 7160 and 7162 for various reasons. Many were also directed to the wrong polling location which caused quite a bit of frustration. Some ended up returning to their original precinct to vote, the correct one to begin with. Of course, that’s the voters who bothered to go through all the trouble.

Here are the polling locations for precincts 7160 and 7162 next Tuesday, open 7:00 am–7:00 pm, from the Supervisor of Elections website:

7160: St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church, 928 South ‘E’ Street. The church is located on the east side of South ‘E’ Street between 9th and 10th Ave. South. For voting use the south parking lot. Look for the ramp that leads to the Fellowship Hall.
7162: Osborne Community Center, 1699 Wingfield Street. The Osborne Community Center is located on the west side of Wingfield Street, just under ½ mile south of 12th Ave. South, or just south of the Lake Worth Municipal Gym. The polling entrance is on the south side of 12th Ave. South just west of the railroad tracks.

Now for the 151 voters in precincts 7160 and 7162 who voted against the bond back in 2014. Since then the critics of that bond who may have convinced you to vote “No” never bothered to come up with their own plan since. They’ve had over 2 years to come up with one.

Something to think about tomorrow.

Today is the final presentation by City Manager Michael Bornstein on tomorrow’s bond referendum

Neighborhood meetings are open to everyone from every neighborhood. This is an open invitation from Tropical Ridge:

“Greetings friends and neighbors of Tropical Ridge Neighborhood Association (TRNA),

TRNA will be holding our monthly meeting today, 7:00 at the Lake Worth Towers located at 1500 Lucerne Avenue.

Tomorrow are the Nov. 8th elections and we are very happy to announce our special guest speaker is City Manager Michael Bornstein. He will explain and answer questions about the General Election Ballot Question for bonds to fund road improvement projects in Lake Worth.

Hope to see a good crowd.”

The editor at the Palm Beach Post wrote: "Approve much-needed road repair bond in Lake Worth"

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Following what the editor wrote in 2014 (see below) there's not much else left to say. It was so on-point the editor has nothing further to write on this topic and let stand these observations from 2 years ago. However. . . it would be interesting to know what the editor thinks about those critics who had all this time to create their own plan, but instead sat on their hands and did nothing ever since they won in August of 2014, by just 25 votes:

But it really didn't matter what the Post editor wrote. In the weeks and months preceding, their very own beat reporter "on the ground" had confused and misinformed so many people the PR damage had already been done by then.

Below are excerpts from the Post editorial on August 11th, 2014. The editorial that didn't matter. This was 15 days prior to the vote on the LW2020 bond vote which ended up failing by just 25 votes. Here are excerpts from that editorial:

     Residents will vote on the matter Aug. 26 [2014], and it’s hard to overstate the stakes for the city, which badly needs to invest in fixing its crumbling infrastructure. To pull Lake Worth from its underperforming past, The Post recommends a vote For Bonds. [emphasis added]    
     Despite the popularity of its downtown strip and public beach, Lake Worth struggles to support basic city services. This city of 36,000 has the second-highest poverty rate in Palm Beach County, and many roads and sidewalks are crumbling and collapsing throughout it. Some of the city’s poorest neighborhoods have been so neglected that streets there have never been paved. 

[and. . .]

     Its current road repair projects amount to little more than covering the potholes that emerge daily through the city. In short, it has no way to pay for the massive repairs it has neglected doing for decades. 

[and. . .]

     [T]he city needs to fix itself, and the cost of doing so will only grow if repairs are further delayed. The price tag for bringing Lake Worth into the 21st century is staggering, but this is a testament to just how long previous commissions have ignored the city’s basic needs. No one should expect road and sidewalk repairs alone to usher in a renaissance, but it is difficult to imagine one happening without them. 

[and. . .]

     In a way, it’s a microcosm of a city that possesses so many attractive assets — a charming downtown, a public beach, waterfront parks, historic neighborhoods brimming with Old Florida charm — and yet has failed to improve its residents’ lives by fumbling or ignoring the hard decisions. This vote is a chance for the city to turn that disappointing history on its head.

Couldn't have said it any better myself, especially these words that sum up the entire problem:

". . . this is a testament to just how long previous commissions have ignored the city’s basic needs."

Here's one of those former City administrations. Recognize anyone? All that money used up for the Casino—legal fees, a $1.6 million settlement, Greenwashing, and construction mistakes—how many potholes would that money have fixed?