Dalai Lama

When we develop patience, we find that we develop a reserve of calm and tranquility. We tend to be less antagonistic and more pleasant to associate with. This creates a positive atmosphere around us and it is easy for others to relate to us. Better grounded emotionally through patience, we become stronger mentally and spiritually, and tend to be healthier physically.

Response from City re: 902 North C Street - came in at 2:40 p.m. today

Mr. Blackman, 

Thank you for the info on 902 N C Street.   Public Services was notified today to address securing the building and the appearance of the property.  This single-family home was placed on the City’s surplus list earlier this year.  Both the Planning & Zoning Board and City Commission decided not to deem the property “suitable for use as affordable housing”.  At the July 6, 2010 City Commission meeting, the Commission chose to convey the property to the CRA.  The property was one of 4 properties conveyed to the CRA, that night.  Resolution 16-2010 approved the conveyance.  The CRA explained they would use the property for their Cultural Renaissance program.  So far this year, 7 properties have been approved for conveyance from the City to the CRA.

Please let me know if anything else is needed regarding this property.

Wayne R. Bergman, MCP, LEED-AP

Community Development Director

City of Lake Worth

IMPORTANT: New Business Item 11B - Violation of City Ordinance as it relates to Appointments to City Boards

On the City Commission agenda Tuesday, July 20th, there is a very important item placed by Commissioner Maxwell regarding the recent appointment process to City advisory boards.  Click title for link to entire agenda and back-up material.  The following is from the transmittal memo from Agenda Item 11B under "New Business:"


Recently I received an extensive e-mail from Mr. Ryan Anderson alleging one or more
violations of City ordinances related to the recent Commission selection of citizen volunteers
to serve on the various advisory boards.


As indicated below, Mr. Anderson states he recently had a conversation with the City
Manager requesting that an agenda item be placed on the next Commission agenda regarding
the recent City Board appointments. Mr. Anderson, along with other members of the public,
believes that several obvious violations of City ordinances occurred during these proceedings
and that they should be publicly discussed.


Mr. Anderson is aware that as a member of the public he cannot require the City Manager
make additions or deletions to the Commission's meeting agenda, as indicated in the body of
Mr. Anderson’s e-mail:


“What I was requesting of Ms. Stanton is that she be cognizant of the blatant violations that
occurred and the public's current perception of this process. Then, with her authority to add
agenda items, add one to the next discussion and efficiently manage the public's perception of
the board appointment process. In an attempt to make myself clear, below I have included a
snippet from the City ordinance that defines that board applications must be submitted ten
days before interviewing, that each applicant must be interviewed, that the Commission must
rank each applicant and that board members must be selected by the Commission at the same
meeting as the interview. These are four items that stand out to me as they did not take place
for each Board appointment as mandated.


Sec. 2-12. Terms of office and selection of members of city boards.


(a) The term of office of each person who serves on any city board, commission, authority,
council, agency or panel who is appointed by the city commission shall end on July 31 of the
year in which such member’s term expires.


(b) Beginning in April of each year, the city shall provide to the public notice of vacancies of
board members whose terms expire during the year, so that residents may apply for the vacant
positions. Applications for boards may be filed at any time up to ten (10) days before the
interview meeting with the city commission.


(c) In June of each year, the city commission shall conduct an interview meeting with
prospective applicants to city boards and shall select the board members at the meeting, based
upon the commission members ranking of the applicants. In the event that vacancies to city
boards occur at other times of the year, the city commission may determine to hold interview
meetings with applicants at other times of the year and select replacement members in
accordance with the procedures contained in this section.


(d) Upon the adoption of this section, for members of city boards whose terms end in a month
other than July, the terms shall be extended until the following July, as provided in paragraph
(a).(Ord. No. 2002-20, 1, 7-16-02)


Please consider my request to bring this issue to the forefront of discussion at the upcoming
Commission meeting by making it an official agenda item. Thank you for your service and all
that you do for our City.”


At the request of Mr. Anderson, I requested the City Manager place this matter before the
Commission at the July 20th meeting and allow 10 minutes for a presentation from Mr.
Anderson or a designee so that the Commission might have a better understanding of the
allegations so as to better form a decision of action to take to address the allegations.

PLEASE COME AND SHOW COMMISSIONER MAXWELL AND MR. ANDERSON,  YOUR SUPPORT AT TUESDAY NIGHT'S MEETING.  IF YOU WISH, SUBMIT A CARD TO VOICE YOUR OWN OPINION AFTER THE PRESENTATION.


THIS AMOUNTS TO CORRUPTION OF PROCESS PERPETRATED BY CERTAIN OF OUR CITY COMMISSIONERS - IF WE, THE RESIDENTS OF LAKE WORTH, DON'T MAKE AN ISSUE OF THIS, IT WILL KEEP THE "BUSINESS AS USUAL" ATTITUDE ALIVE AND WELL - THIS CANNOT CONTINUE TO HAPPEN!

Dixie Highway - What it meant to Lake Worth and what it could mean to its future.

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know that I periodically mention the sorry state of Dixie Highway through Lake Worth.  I even have a slide show that I post which shows the large amount of vacant and under-utilized property along its entire length. I also put together a YouTube video that shows what some of the properties along the road looked like during an earlier time, among other locations in Lake Worth.

It's that earlier period and the formation of the city that I would like to focus on now.  Lake Worth owes its beginnings to Flagler's East Coast Railway and, soon afterward, Dixie Highway, which became designated US 1 soon after World War II.  When the city of Lake Worth was formed, I guess we are settling on 1913 as the year, what we know as Dixie Highway was little more than a dirt road that ran north and south. Pavement came in the later, around 1920, which coincided with the increase of northern tourist traffic.

The enterprising people of Lake Worth at the time attempted to make the most of it.  They saw to it that we had  an attractive Casino building on the ocean, drawing tourist traffic through our downtown and dropping dollars along the way.  The same can be said for the many mom-and-pop motels that sprang up along Dixie Highway itself - all ways of fishing for wealth from the traveling public.  This sustained the city economically while US 1 was the ONLY route north and south, before the Turnpike and then before I-95.

During the same time, the automobile industry was producing vehicles that allowed individual travel and freedom that had never before been experienced.  It was also helping to produce a middle-class with leisure time to do other things than provide for one's own sustenance - it could afford to take time to travel.  But, from a national point of view, travel wouldn't have been possible if not for roads for this new invention called the automobile to ride on.  Leaders of the automobile industry became instrumental in the promotion of road building and special routes to take people from one location to another in the cars that they manufactured.

Two of the most notable efforts were our own Dixie Highway - a north/south route or combination of routes that we designed to allow travel primarily from the cold northern states to southern states.  Florida was a specific destination of all the southern states due to its subtropical climate which was unique in the North American continent.  The other effort was an east/west route call the Lincoln Highway - which started in New York City and went all the way to San Francisco.  This route eventually became either US 30 or US 40, or other state roads, after World War II.

It's the Lincoln Highway that I would like to focus on now, even though it has little to do with what happened in the development of Lake Worth, but it may have a role in what happens in the future.  Last weekend I happened to stumble upon a program on the local PBS station about the Lincoln Highway.  It dealt with its history and the Lincoln Highway Association, a group of people interested in preservation of that history, the experiences along the road and the people associated with it.  If you haven't already seen the program, I would urge you to or, through one of the links provided above, you can purchase a DVD of the program.

I am sure that most of you have heard about Route 66, made famous a number of ways through our pop culture, including a song.  Well, this is celebration of the "car culture" with which this country has a fascination.  The link above about the Lincoln Highway Association is supported by a number of enthusiasts that either love the notion of the open road, the roadside architecture, the history of transportation, the development of our nation during the 20th Century - all of the above, or just a nostalgia for the past because they remember their families using these roads back in the day.

The point here is that there is a market and there is enough raw historic material here in Lake Worth and the south part of West Palm Beach to take advantage of this.  If you check out the Internet, there isn't too much hype around Dixie Highway or US 1 and it really doesn't have a group that is rallying around it.  There are few, one in Georgia, some other locations, but none in Florida.

The fact is that Lake Worth owes its very existence to this road, Dixie Highway - it was literally built around it.  When I-95 opened up, it was like the city's blood supply was shut off.  We really haven't been able to adjust adequately to the new reality since.  Instead of running away from it, we need to run toward it.  This is something that I tired to push, amongst many other things with an overwhelmed staff and distracted elected officials.  I was hoping that the Master Planning process would bring forth this notion, but the whole process turn a wrong turn at Albuquerque.

There are many different ways we could bring this about and most of it would be by emphasizing what we are already doing or promoting things that we aren't.  It's not about re-directing traffic from I-95 to Lake Worth - it's about creating an attraction around its history that would attract more interest economically in the city.  Following this "road" would be a way of being the "last place" position we currently have among Palm Beach County cities.

Branding anyone?

Copy of E-mail Request to City for Information related to City-owned Property at 902 North C. Street:

I'll let you know if and when I receive a response.

New in Town: The beachier feel of downtown Lake Worth

Click title for positive mention in article re downtown Lake Worth.

Commissioner Cara Jennings' Neighborhood

Her house at 822 N. C. Street:

From the Property Appraiser's Office:

City-owned property less than one block away at 902 N. C. Street

From Property Appraiser's office:

How the City of Dayton, Ohio educates people on how to buy city property:

Want to acquire a vacant lot? Check out "Lot Links 101" - July 15 at 6:00 p.m.
The City of Dayton will conduct a brief meeting on July 15 to educate the community on the facts, requirements and process for acquiring vacant and tax delinquent property in Dayton. Citizens interested in learning how to acquire properties through the City of Dayton’s “Lot Links” program should attend the 30-minute “Lot Links 101” briefing on Thursday, July 15 at 6:00 p.m. in the Dayton Convention Center, 22 East Fifth Street, Room 306.

Participants are encouraged to remain after the meeting to attend the HUD Consolidated Plan Town Hall meeting. The Town Hall begins at 7:00 p.m. and is sponsored by the Cities of Dayton and Kettering.
For the flier, click here.

Cities: Maywood council can't duck the blame or shame - latimes.com

Click title for link to LA Times Editorial. An excerpt:

"The Maywood City Council needs to accept a painful truth of American politics: Once you get elected, all the problems that came before you become your problems. You own them and all their stink.

You can't spend three years blaming your predecessors and then throw up your hands as the city collapses around you. But that's precisely what the council majority in Maywood has done."

ATTENTION COLLEGE PARK RESIDENTS

There has been a rash of incidences where cars have been stripped of their tires and rims. The sheriff has confirmed that it's happening in College Park from Dixie to the Intra-Coastal Waterway. Just this week, two cars were left on Coca-Cola crates with no tires or wheels. Also, at another property two tire stems have been cut, causing nearly $1000 in damage.

Late last night, neighbors were in their back yard and heard someone talking over the fence. They immediately ran over to the old Patio parking lot. Three young white males spotted the College Park residents and ran to a newer model, silver, S-type Jaguar with chrome rims and sped off.

The sheriff's office is on the detail, but keep your eyes and ears open and call the Sheriff's office if you see this car cruising around College Park, or any other suspicious vehicles/people for that matter.

Commissioner Mulvehill's Campaign Treasurer's Report - Q2

Click here for City website.  For others, go to City Residents, Elections, Treasurer Reports, 2010 Candidates.  It would be easier if they had a link directly for 2010 Candidates.

The Casino building tenants are weighing in already.

MinnPost - Cityscape: Recession recovery: Urbanist Richard Florida says it will mean huge changes in how we live

Click title to quick over of a new book by Richard Florida on his forecast of future urban life.  I just ordered it from Amazon and it is resting in my Kindle, which I will read during my summer travels.  What I think it will talk about is the need to pare down on transportation and housing costs - we will do this by reducing commuting distances, encouraging redevelopment of urban areas along railways and other mass transit corridors.  Where have we heard this before?  I think right here.

Announcement from City: Diabetes Healthfair

Diabetes Health Fair July 17, 2010
Diabetes March: 6:00AM 
Health Fair: 9:00 AM
Cultural Plaza: 414 Lake Ave, Lake Worth
Health Clinics Free T-shirts & Refreshments
Free Physicals Diabetes testing 21 Doctors 42 Nurses
Learn how to cook with Diabetes.