Summary Paper - Lake Worth Station Area "Charrette"

You might remember many posts about the Transit Oriented Development charrette that was held in Lake Worth as part of the Rail-Volution Conference. A team of experts attending this national conference made their way to Lake Worth and focused on the area around our existing Tri-Rail station. The final report has been issued now. I have posted it on a companion website that you can reach by clicking here. Like this blog, you can click on the images and make them larger for easier reading. Since these are jpeg files, you might have to click on them once more when they appear in the new window. I also have a copy of the "Summary Paper" in pdf format, which would be easy to save on your own hard drive and likely be easier to read. If you would like your own copy, I can e-mail one to you. Just let me know through an e-mail to wesblackman@gmail.com.

As I have said before, we were very fortunate to have a group of highly talented and trained professionals in the field of mass transit visit and study a portion of our City. This work ties in nicely with the Master Plan that is in the final stages of completion. It is also consistent with our City's focus on smart growth and green building techniques.

Leadership?

I think we can all agree that one sign of leadership in an elected official is the willingness and ability to make the tough decisions. Tough decisions are usually those that have major implications, are usually controversial and, once made, may not show immediate positive results. Regardless of the decision made, you run the risk of alienating the very people that elected you to that office. However, the test of whether or not that was a good decision may ultimately prove itself over time and create a larger community benefit that shows the worthiness of that decision. And there is always another major decision coming down the pike.

With our system of elections every two years, working for the greater good for the long term can be difficult to achieve. Thus, our elected decision-makers in Lake Worth are looking at how their decisions will play within a relatively short two year (at the maximum) time horizon. Remember, we have a chance to change that January 29th. Besides that, if your ultimate goal is running for another, higher elected position - say the state legislature - then the stakes are higher. Serving the community who elected you to your current position may not be your own first political priority.

In order to keep elected and appointed government officials from ducking their responsibility in the making of decisions, the following provisions were made part of the Florida Statutes:




Let's examine some of the highlighted sections of the above. F.S. 268.012 states that if you are a member of a municipal commission and present at a meeting - you must vote on matters before the governing body and not abstain from voting. The only time that this is allowed is when "there is, or appears to be, a possible conflict of interest" as defined further in the State Statutes.

Now comes our own Mayor Clemens. He has raised the issue that his employment with Morgan Stanley precludes him from voting on Florida Municipal Power Agency (FMPA) issues in relation to Lake Worth because his employer invests in municipal and utility related securities. Certain others have raised this issue in the community as a rallying cry that corruption is rampant within the City (which it may be, but this is not an example of that in my opinion). So, Mayor Clemens, at this most recent December 18th meeting, said that, even though every attorney that he has talked to has told him that since his job does not involve the original underwriting or placement of such securities and that he is essentially a wealth management consultant for certain individuals that there is no conflict of interest, he still plans on not voting on issues related to FMPA.

However, at that meeting, he did vote in favor of bringing in a consultant to help advise the City Commission on decisions related to the City's electric utility. (Which the City Commission should have done long ago anyway).

Mayor Clemens - on this matter it is not a "pick and choose" proposition whether you vote or not.

Let's look at the provision under F.S. 112.313 which states that no officer of an agency (City) have or hold any employment that will create a "continuing or frequently occurring conflict between his or her private interests and the performance of his or her public duties or that would impede the full and faithful discharge of his or her duties." So Mayor Clemens, your real choice, instead of the one related to voting or not voting on FMPA issues, might be more of an issue whether or not you keep your current employment situation or position of Mayor of Lake Worth. That is if you continue to believe that somehow there is an appearance of conflict here. You cannot have it both ways.

Now, one might say that if it was a minor matter, let it pass. However, we are dealing with our electric utility which makes up at least half of our municipal budget (utilities make up about 2/3 of our budget, but also includes water and sewer charges). Our titular leader should not be able to select which items he votes on when there is no conflict of interest! Pandering to the public that rightly is skeptical of things governmental is not the way a leader should act. Education of the public as to the legal framework in which elected officials operate is the proper role of a leader. Making important, sometimes difficult decisions, is another mark of a leader.

Time to Catch Up

I haven't had a lot of extra time to post here for a while, but that is changing now as the week winds down. You might have noticed a little "widget" on the right hand side of the page. It's a cool gizmo that does a couple of things.

One is that it shows the world in "real time" - that is it shows which areas of the earth are experiencing day and night. At night, the white areas are reflected light from urban areas around the globe. This is important since you might gain the perception here in Lake Worth that we are somehow the only urbanized area on the planet and a dense one at that! Just a little reminder that we do share this globe with 6.6 billion other human beings.

Another thing that it does is that it shows where you happen to be when you log on to the site. For example, if you happened to be on vacation in Madagascar, and were lucky enough to find an Internet connection, a little red beacon would show off the southeast coast of Africa. When you left the site, a little yellow dot would remain showing that someone visited from that area. That dot is left for others to see as they visit the site.

Regarding the yellow dots, those are where the "hits" to this blog have come from since plugging in this widget last Friday. The size of the dot reflects the number of hits from that area of the planet. There are a lot of different ways that Internet access is routed so there is some "rounding error" as to the exact location of the computer being used to access this site and where it is recorded, but it still gives a general overview and indication of where traffic is coming from.

Finally, by clicking on the widget itself, you can bring up a larger, zoomed in picture of the world map. Make sure you disable your pop-up blocker for this site if you want to try this. There you can "mouse over" the various yellow dots and see the name of the area from where people have accessed the site. You can also click to see a list of current visitors and another for historical visitors - at least their locations.

Hope you have fun with this and it always is good to remind ourselves of the larger world around us.

Future post forecast: Eco-density, the Mayor removing himself from voting on FMPA matters, Commissioner Golden's "canned" presentation at this week's City Commission meeting and an update on Hammon Park. And, if there is a time when you are hungering for material on Lake Worth, remember that there are over 450 posts on this site dating back to May of 2006. You can use the search function - a popular one happens to be "sunset" - I wonder why? (not really). You can also peruse the posts by category or review posts by month. I am planning on doing something "BIG" to celebrate the 500th post on here - if you have any ideas, let me know.

Again, thanks for visiting and Happy Holidays!!

Fun with Puppets!

Inspired by last night's Commission meeting.

B.C.

Tips for a Happy and Safe Holiday

During the year-end Holidays, people are busy, excited and sometimes careless. By making this holiday season safer, it will also be more enjoyable.

Be cautious about locking doors and windows when you leave your house, apartment or condo, even if you are leaving for a few minutes. It only takes a few minutes to become the victim of a burglary or theft.

We all like to leave our curtains open to display our beautiful tree sparkling in our front window. That’s fine, but please don’t put your gift-wrapped packages under the tree until Christmas Eve. A thief walking your neighborhood can look in and make a mental note of all of the gifts, and come back when your house is not occupied, which brings up another point. Always make your house look occupied when leaving. Put lights on times and leave a radio or television on.

On Christmas day, don’t leave the boxes from your new gifts on the curb for trash pickup. Cut them up and place them inside or your garbage pail or recycle bin. Don’t advertise your new TV’s, VCR’s, or computers in the house.

If possible, shop before dark and try to coordinate shopping trips with a friend. Never park in an unlit lot or area, no matter how convenient it is. Lock your packages and gifts in your vehicle’s trunk. Never leave them on the back seat where they can be viewed by passerby. Try to avoid leaving the store with an Arm-Load of gifts, placing them in the trunk and then going back into the store. Someone in the parking lot could be watching! They now know that there are gifts in the trunk and could attempt to break in while you are back inside the store. If you must go back in, place the packages inside the trunk, get into your car and drive off, and then park again on the other side of the mall.

Avoid carrying large amounts of cash. Pay for purchases with a check, credit card, or debit card when possible. Don’t carry more checks or credit cards then are actually needed.

“To discourage purse-snatchers, do not over-burden yourself with packages”. Use handbags that have a zipper and locking flap, and carry them securely with the flap close to your body. Carry wallets inside your coat or side trouser pocket; never carry them in your back pants pocket unless you have a button or some way to secure that pocket. Place a rubber band around your wallet or money clip so that you can feel it if a pickpocket attempts to remove it.

While checking out at store registers, shield your credit card from people around you. Someone might attempt to get your credit card number. Save your credit card receipts to compare with your billing statements. Carry your credit cards in a separate zippered compartment in your purse, not just as holiday time, but all the time.

Be cautious when using an ATM. At a drive-up ATM, keep all the windows closed, except the one you are using, and all the vehicles doors locked. If you drive to the ATM and then exit your vehicle to use the ATM lock all of your doors and keep your keys handy so that you can re-enter your vehicle quickly. Al alert for anything suspicious, especially two or more people in a nearby vehicle, particularly if no one else is at the ATM, or someone appears to be hanging around the area. Never approach an ATM if the lights at the site are not working. If you are using an ATM after dark, take a friend along. Have the friend sit in the car with the vehicle running and park it as close to the ATM as possible in a well lighted area. Try not to use an ATM if there are large bushes or obstructions that someone could possibly hide behind.

When having friends and family over for the holidays, make sure to have non-alcoholic beverages on hand for the designated drivers. We all want to be the perfect hosts. When we see a guest with a half-empty glass, we immediately want to replenish the drink. Don’t push drinks. People don’t need to drink in order to have a good time. Some guests may not wish to appear rude, and will accept drinks they don’t want. Don’t let guests mix their own drinks. Have one person serving the drinks and have that person try to keep track of the size and number of drinks that guests consume. Stop serving alcohol 90 minutes before the party ends. Serve a great dessert with coffee. Remember, coffee won’t sober up your friends, but time will. As your party breaks up and guests are leaving, encourage them to wear their seat belts and be alert for impaired drivers.

Let’s work together for a safe and happy holiday season.

Joel Morganstern

Lake Worth Police Department

Crime Prevention Specialist (COP Coordinator)

Some "Great" Moments...

E-Mail from City of Lake Worth - Temporary Closing of Library

The Lake Worth Public Library will be closed Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, December 18th, 19th, and 20th for the installation of a new air handler inside the library. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Please return all books and materials in the drops on the library's front porch.

Thank you,

Vickie Joslin
Librarian III
Lake Worth Public Library
15 North M St.

Sad News...

This was an e-mail sent around the City today about the condition of "Martin the Mailman". Anyone who has attended a City meeting would probably recognize him. He is a fixture here and his route happens to be in the downtown area.

Let's all wish him a quick recovery from a serious affliction.

Hello to the Lake Worth Community,

You may not be aware that our dear “Martin the Mailman” has been in the ICU at JFK Medical Center since last Friday. He experienced a severe stroke on Thursday and is still unconscious. We do not know whether he can hear us. Hopefully over the next few days this will be determined.

Get well cards would be wonderful, as visitors can read the cards to him. If he can hear and comprehend, I'm sure he will be encouraged by everyone's love.

You can send cards to:

John Martin Saarnio

MSICU Room 2018

JFK Medical Center

5301 South Congress Blvd.

Atlantis, FL 33462

JFK information: (561) 548-3710

Martin's girlfriend and Lake Worth brother have been visiting. His other brother is arriving from the midwest this weekend.

Please pass this on to anybody who knows him.

I'm sure that Martin would appreciate our prayers.

Annabeth

This, that and the other thing...

Thought you might be interested to see where people have been visiting from over the past 30 days. This is from my Google tracking software. The other one is tracking about the same and the pace is still about what it has been - up since the summer months. I expect as we head passed the holidays into the new year, the volume will increase. Thank you all for coming here. Regardless of the reason for your visit, I hope you find this site informative - and if you are entertained a little too, that's o.k.

Given the holidays, we are suspending the "Truth Matters" show until after the new year. Greg Vannier and I will gear up again in 2008 to review what has been going on in Lake Worth from time to time - probably will keep the show on Tuesday nights. If you have a suggestion, or if that just doesn't work for you, please contact me at wesblackman@gmail.com. You can also catch the archived shows on the Lake Worth Talk.com homepage link.

I'd like to share a story with you. Normally, I wouldn't do so, but this scene has been repeated in many different places, on many different topics in my travels around our city. There are also others here that do a lot of work behind-the-scenes and not-so-behind-the-scenes that experience the same thing. We talk about the similar situation in which we find ourselves. Last week, while at the Democratic Club gala, I happened to sit next to people who were ardent supporters of my opponent and eventual winner (by a slim margin) of the District #3 Commission race.

Now, let me say that I am glad that we could all be in one room, as local Democrats, coming together to celebrate a milestone in the history of the club. And, I hope that we will be able to unite forces this coming November 2008 and make sure that the Democrats return to the Oval Office and make a good showing in Congress.

But, I thought it fascinating that the same people that were so "for" my opponent were feverishly asking me about about how I was coming on the cleaning up of North Dixie Hwy. - they had heard that I had some involvement. It was one of my campaign platforms and it is in desperate need, but not something that I have focused on recently. To my knowledge, nothing much is happening in that area except the construction of a new catering/take-out building and another derelict gas station that has finally been re-done - both which were approved while I was on the Planning Board.

One, who reads this blog, asked me why my friend just can't write a check to the City and buy the building at 431 N. L. Street. Well, let's see. First of all it isn't on the City's surplus property list (something that is reviewed by the Planning Board and approved by the City Commission). Second of all, we have something that requires a referendum to sell City property that might get in the way of this and other hurdles. This is an important structure that has been "saved", but only temporarily. How long does a structure last that is unprotected from the elements in our South Florida environment? Is our Commissioner, whose district the historic property is in, doing anything about it? The answer is "no".

Then I was asked, "How are things going on the Planning Board?" - I was polite in my answer and gave them an update on the Comprehensive Plan changes and how the land development regulations should be coming out early next year. We talked about how Treasure Coast's Kim Delaney came down to Lake Worth and helped put in some goals, objective and policies in place to make sure that we rank high in the need for a transit station once things get rolling. And then I talked about how we were able to get the Rail-volution conference here for a charette and set some good direction about the area around the Tri-Rail station.

NEWSFLASH: I resigned from the Planning Board last December prior to the election and do not hold any position on any board in the City of Lake Worth.

Then we talked about freight traffic on the FEC and how nice it would be to get trains to stop blowing their horns. I said that there is a way to do it, it is complicated and the likely body to get that started would be the CRA, as they were successful in West Palm Beach, in doing so. (Train horn is sounding in the distance as I write this.)

And then I thought, these are the same people that campaigned against me, supported and voted for the current District #3 Commissioner and the same ones who said that I wasn't "diverse enough" to be put on a soon-to-be-sunseted board after the election. And at the same time they read my blog and there seems to be an expectation that I still am "up to speed" on what is going on. And then I wonder, what has our current District #3 Commissioner accomplished in comparison and wonder how much different things might have been had 90 more people "checked Wes" on March 27th?

March 27th has come and gone. In many ways, I continue as I would have had things been different on that night - I am doing all that I can to make the City a better place to live and put us in better strategic position in relation to other Palm Beach County municipalities. Handicapped as we all are that are not in an appointed or elected or official position within the City.

So, when you think that all is lost in Lake Worth and the hole keeps getting deeper and deeper, that the Commission seems completely detached from reality and you can't reach our costly City Manager by phone or e-mail, that negativity reigns during public meetings - rest assured that there are many good people working on the sidelines trying to make this place better - just as the two are that I was talking to last Tuesday night. All is not lost - but we might do well to ask ourselves how we elect our leaders and how that contributes to our current state of affairs.

That is the point that needs to be made on January 29th. More later on that topic.

Moving Video

So many themes run through this video - patriotism, sacrifice, societal change, history, suffering, perseverance, celebration, nostalgia, family, saying good-bye, moving on and never giving up. But, more than anything, it speaks of community. I hesitated posting it here, but there are lessons to be learned from it that we could apply to our experience here, in Lake Worth.

I hope that you get as much out of it as I did.

Lake Worth Democratic Club - 35th Anniversary Gala

I attended this event last Tuesday at the Golf Course Clubhouse. While there, I was able to take some pictures of the event, but my flash wasn't doing what it was supposed to do - FLASH! As a result, I didn't get any really good shots of the presenters or elected officials as they were addressing the crowd in attendance. The timing competed with the Lake Worth City Commission, but many familiar commission meeting attendee faces could be seen.

Harvey Millstein led off the evening and was followed by Dave Aronberg, Shelly Vana and Mary Brandenburg who all made appearances before the group. Ric Bradshaw, who could not attend due to the ceremonies surrounding the deaths of two sheriff deputies, Bill Graham and Rodney Romano were recognized as "native sons" of Lake Worth - all of whom have gone on to serve their community in numerous capacities and continue to do so.

It really served as a good kick-off for the 2008 election year and all the possibilities in store for the future of our Nation.

Good job Lake Worth Dems! You can check out the club's website by clicking here.

Mars and Venus Align

College Park Holiday Home Tour 12/8

Upcoming Commission Meeting - 12/04/07

There are some interesting items coming up on next Tuesday City Commission agenda. I will be attending the Lake Worth Democratic Club Holiday Gala at the Lake Worth Golf Course and the time conflict will prevent me from attending. If you happen to go, there are some issues to keep in mind. I put clouds around the items in the agenda that I have singled out for special mention.

The first one is a presentation from Sun Recycling on their activity at the land fill. This is an issue where the company had asked for permission to stage some debris there after hurricanes and the like. It was thought to be only on an emergency basis, but apparently more activity has been going on there. I am sure the Commission will have many questions, or at least they should.

Another item is one that appears on the consent agenda. This one would almost double the deposit required to open an account and begin utility service. The back-up material says that an adjustment hasn't been made in 21 years. Late fees would also increase and be based upon 1.5% of the outstanding balance. It is a pretty exhaustive series of changes and I don't think it should be on the consent agenda. What is disappointing is that if the item is not pulled, then public comment is not possible and then the Commission goes ahead - making an important decision(s) without the benefit of the public. This has to be changed!


I am sure one item that will get a lot of undeserved attention will be the amendment to the Development Agreement with Greater Bay Group, LLC to accommodate changes in the scheduling and work program for the pool refurbishment. I might have time to do more analysis on the item and make a separate post prior to the meeting, but from what I have seen the changes are fairly perfunctory.

Also, in the nothing new category, for the third time the density allowed by the Gateway Zoning District will be up before the Commission. The Planning Board has recommended no less than three times that the maximum density be 30 units to an acre and the Community Redevelopment Agency concurs with that recommendation. The entire zoning district is designed to discourage the use of cars and be pedestrian /transit friendly. It is what the Mayor of Vancouver, B.C. terms "eco-density". Instead of the density of the zoning district being in question, it has ended up being a density issue on the Commission - if you know what I mean. This change will allow up to 30 units an acre for affordable housing and provide more of an economic stimulus for the redevelopment of the corridor. Or, we can choose the status quo and think we are doing the world a big favor - which we wouldn't be.

And, finally and coincidently, there is another item on the agenda that relates to parking and allowable redevelopment in the downtown area. That is the change of the parking space fee to those who are not providing parking on their property (a good thing) to one half of what the City is charging now. I was on the committee that is described in the letter as working on the issue back in 2004 (seems longer ago than that). Then Commissioner Egly is the one that put forward the motion to increase the fee $5,000 per space higher than the Committee, or the CRA or the Planning Board's recommendation. It has been pegged at $15,000 per space since then. If anyone wants to move into a vacant storefront, they can do so without paying the fee, as long as their required parking is not 10% higher than what was there before. If it is higher, they need to pay the $15,000 per space they are not providing.

There are a couple of concerns here that merit discussion. The City does need to create a sizable parking fund for future parking facilities in the downtown. The thought is that the current $15,000 fee is a disincentive for anyone wanting to intensify the existing uses downtown. There have already been some businesses (Rotelli's, for example) that have paid the full fee. Is it fair to them now that they are in to lower the fee? Do they deserve a rebate? By decreasing the fee, we are making it easier to intensify existing uses in the downtown - is that something we want to do? We need to discuss this. I personally worry that the former Lake Theater (most recently the contemporary art museum) would be vulnerable to conversion to a nightclub, or similar use. Is the current fee an obstacle to that? If so, we should probably continue it or have two categories of fees - one that would encourage businesses we do want in the downtown and one for businesses we want to discourage.

I happened to be downtown last night around 8:30 p.m. and had to drive around a lot to find a space (about 15 minutes). There was the valet parking stand on South J Street - I understand they are using public spaces. Didn't they work out an arrangement with the First Baptist Church for parking? I will put together an e-mail to the Mayor and Commissioners about my concerns since I can't attend.

The back-up on the parking item appears below. Remember to click the image for more detail.

Some Holiday Cheer...

Singer is Don Mclean - famous for "American Pie".