Government corruption: Ethics, inspector investigations shifted away from government - South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com

Op-ed piece on Ethics Commission and Inspector General. Click title for link.

#1 Worst Fear re Beach:

We go ahead with this phase and approve the next, including the demolition of the casino building.  Then, the City Commission declares that we don't have money to finish the project.  The remains then sit there for 5 to 10 years.

World's Greatest Fairy Tales: The Emperor's New Clothes

Click here for copy of City of Lake Worth's Addendum to County Ethics Commission Ordinance:

I read it that both Commissioner McVoy and Commissioner Mulvehill, perhaps Commissioner Golden, should have disclosed contributions from casino building tenants before discussing the agreement with the leasing agent.  What do you think?

Palm Beach County - From the desk of Commissioner Steven L. Abrams

"As your county commissioner, economic growth and stimulus will continue to be an important focus for 2011. 

It has been reported that in the past six months, numerous industries experienced job growth in the County: private education and health services category (+ 2,400 jobs); retail trade (+2,200); leisure and hospitality (+2,100); and professional & business services (+1,600).  Additional reports have indicated that the average weekly wages in Palm Beach County have risen by 2.5% from the second quarter of 2009 to the second quarter of 2010. 

But until full economic prosperity returns to Palm Beach County, we will continue our efforts to create job opportunities.  This means pursuing a strategy to leverage both private and public resources.

The county has and will continue to provide incentives and assistance to existing local businesses in their efforts to expand, grow and create new jobs.  Some of these incentives include low interest loans and local matching funds in conjunction with state grants. 

Over the past year, we used matching incentive funds to retain and create jobs for companies large and small, including Office Depot, UTC Fire and Security, and National Healing Corp., to name a few.  The City of Boca Raton has provided matching dollars as well.  While I am pleased to say that these companies are based in my district, their workforces draw from all over Palm Beach County.

Once we land a company, or a company decides to expand, the County Commission has adopted “fast-track” permitting to ensure that companies creating 30 or more jobs get up and running quickly.  Many of the cities in my district have also adopted this model so companies can cut through the red tape.

I have supported major economic development projects throughout the county, such as the Inland Port in the Glades area and the Wellington Medical District.  Even in a dreary residential market, south county will be the location of the first new planned condominium in the county since the recession began--The Palm Beach Post says it may be the first new condo in the entire southeast United States.

We will also continue to leverage public dollars for local infrastructure projects that meet community needs.  Some examples include hiring local companies to add guardrails to roads next to canals and resurface the dangerous patches on I-95. 

In the end, the best job creation plan is to hold the line on taxes and reduce government spending.  Higher taxes prolong a sluggish economy, and putting more money in people’s pockets will help us to get us out of it.  As your County Commissioner, I remain committed to leaving no stone unturned to restore economic growth to our county so we can all truly have a happy, prosperous new year. 

Please contact me if I can be of assistance or if you have any comments and/or suggestions.  I can be contacted at sabrams@pbcgov.org or at my office at 561-355-2204 (West Palm Beach) or 561-276-1220 (Delray Beach). 

Also, please visit my Web site athttp://www.pbcgov.com/countycommissioners/district4/ for updates and links to county divisions and other governmental agencies."

UF survey finds real estate market more optimistic

From the article:

"Timothy Becker, director of the school's Bergstrom Center for Real Estate Studies, attributes the sunny outlook to defeat of the Hometown Democracy Amendment and the election of Republican Gov. Rick Scott in November.

The citizen initiative would have required voter approval for changes in development plans."

Click title for link.

List of EGREGIOUS things related to the Lake Worth Beach

• Then citizen Christopher McVoy leads signature gathering effort to repeal three ordinances, getting 2,500 signatures and then being sued by the city for interference, upon which the current beach rehabilitation was approved and does not acknowledge this glaring fact.  Hometown Democracy, who heard of it?
• Commissioner Suzanne Mulvehill trumpets her "greatest accomplishment" as saving the casino building from demolition yet the plan they approved demolishes at least 80 percent of the building. No one acknowledges this from the dais other than one Commissioner.
• No cost/benefit analysis performed about rehab of existing building seaward of the Coastal Construction Control Line (CCCL) versus building a new building further west - outside of the CCCL. Building west would be less complex and therefore less costly.
• Former Commissioner Cara Jennings prepares an elaborate presentation about "managed retreat" from the coastline, but is mute on re-building the existing building in its seaward CCCL position.
• All of the above received ample contributions from the casino building tenants - McVoy and Mulvehill think keeping rents low for the existing tenants is the main goal for leasing the building - not charging market rent.  Go figure.
• Rehabilitation of the building is being funded by the city's "cash portfolio", with no guarantee of end financing.  This is the same city that is facing a projected budget deficit of almost $5 million. Amount of financing need from the "cash portfolio" equals $6 million.  The city claims a financial emergency and is in a fist fight with all their bargaining units.
• City faces an unfunded multi-million dollar contingent liability in the form of a lawsuit levied by the city's partner on a previous beach plan.  Unknown amounts of money are being spent defending the city's position.
• If the Comprehensive Plan is found "not in compliance" - the judge sides with the petitioners in their challenge to the finding - then the land use designation and future land use map that identify the "Beach and Casino" future land use designation disappear.
• Many of the LEED certification items rely on expensive studies by engineers, special materials and reliance on tenant behavior - which do not guarantee LEED certification, which can come up to two years after the C.O.  Not being certified would violate F.S. 255.2575 Energy-efficient and sustainable buildings (2) as follows:  All county, municipal, school district, water management district, state university, community college, and Florida state court buildings shall be constructed to meet the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system, the Green Building Initiative’s Green Globes rating system, the Florida Green Building Coalition standards, or a nationally recognized, high-performance green building rating system as approved by the Department of Management Services. This section shall apply to all county, municipal, school district, water management district, state university, community college, and Florida state court buildings the architectural plans of which are commenced after July 1, 2008.
• Beach plan approved in dark of night before a sparse gathering of residents without a special meeting.  This for a property that has a bloody 30 + year history of public contention.
• Can you think of others?  Please add until we exhaust the list.

Lake Worth meeting goes to dogs: city allows dogs in parks, passes puppy mill prevention

If only the city had a selection of retail stores and a functional economy, this measure might actually mean something. Click title for link to PBP article.

Lake Worth could begin layoffs, cutting employee hours in March to stem red ink

"Our problem in Lake Worth is we spend money we don't have and demand services we can't afford," Stanton said in an e-mail. "We are slowly losing the ability to say it does not matter what it costs...be it recreation, beach development or police protection."
Click title for link to PBP article.

Scott Proposes Streamlining State Government

Article on News 4 Jacksonville's website - Department of Community Affairs to be under control of Department of Environmental Protection according to Governor Scott's restructuring proposal - other changes discussed.  Click title for link.

Click here for Beach Casino Building PowerPoint Presentation for 2/01 City Commission Meeting

Notice that the demolition plans are not included in the PowerPoint.

The "Mission Impossible" theme makes more sense now...

As previously predicted on these pages: WE ARE NOT SAVING THE CASINO BUILDING!

First Floor DEMOLITION Plan

Second Floor DEMOLITION Plan

Click on images above for greater detail.  If you look closely, you will notice that the ONLY part of the existing building that will remain are the areas in black.  All the other areas will be demolished and part of new construction.  I estimate that 25 to 30% of the existing walls, less than 20% of the exterior walls, will remain.  The entire second floor is being demolished.

WE ARE NOT SAVING THE CASINO BUILDING - This is another fraud perpetrated by those that did not appreciate the poor condition of the building documented in eight different structural reports and that chose to re-build a building seaward of the coastal construction line.  This is NOT historic preservation - period.  Instead of having the flexibility of putting the building where it fits best, we are left with the existing location as the only alternative.

After the demolition is finished, the building will look like a rectangular version of this:

Which is appropriate for the full moon rituals taking place at the beach.

City Commission Meeting Agenda 02 01 11

Click here for link to full agenda and back-up from city's website.  If that takes too long to download - it took about 45 minutes for me to download the nearly 500 megabit file on a cable modem - you can try clicking here.  The second link is to my own Google storage account which might be faster, maybe or maybe not.

Add Delete for 02/01

I am reviewing the beach related items now and will have an update soon.

Fewer people moving to Florida, census estimates show - South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com

Click title for link to Sun Sentinel article. One of the key sections:

The Great Recession and housing bust prompted Florida promoters to realize they could no longer rely on climate and low taxes to foster growth. And they decided that Florida's economic triad — agriculture, construction and tourism — is not enough to employ all those who want to come to the state.

"The Florida you knew three years ago is gone, and it's not coming back," said Bob Swindell, CEO of the GreaterFort Lauderdale Alliance, which tries to draw businesses to the region. "Our challenge is to create high-skilled jobs to accommodate people who want to move to Florida."

The strategy means going beyond "a retirement mentality of people coming to Florida for the quality of life," he said. "You also need employment opportunities."