Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Click here for live link to City Commission meeting (5/03)
A small lizard is to blame for the outage this morning more than the bus incident.
Vice-Mayor Mulvehill is running the meeting.
The Commission is not accepting the Police Pension agreement from the IBEW. Commissioner Golden made a motion to declare an impasse. Maxwell seconded it for discussion. Motion passes 4-0.
Resignation of Mayor being discussed now. The City Attorney is speaking - resignation is as of 4 o'clock today. The vacancy is to be declared by the Commission tonight. Special election to be declared within 6 months. Golden wants him to wait six days, doesn't like the short notice. Clerk needs to contact Supervisor of Elections office regarding the last day to register for the election. I guess she would rather appoint than elect. McVoy says that the Mayor made a very strong commitment to serve out his term. He believes that he was sincere but he made a commitment. So he finds it very odd that he announces his resignation prior to the deadline that would require a special election. He also wants to appoint a successor. Maxwell - says that it would be difficult to understand what his motives are. He says that the Charter is clear and he makes a motion for a special in no less than 60 days. Motion dies for lack of a second. McVoy makes a motion to not accept the resignation and delay the resignation forever how long it takes to prevent a special election. City Attorney Humphreys says that that it is done - can't be undone and it is "problematic." Golden says that she doesn't know that if it's possible to have a special election - it's the July 4th weekend. She says that we need to put some sort of realistic date and what the date would be. It would depend on a date from the Supervisor of Elections.
Maxwell - it would be July 2nd. He says that the Charter is what the Charter is. He'd like to know why, but he is responsible to what the City Charter says. The City Clerk says she will contact the Supervisor of Elections tomorrow morning. The City Attorney says that the Commission should declare a vacancy in the Mayor's seat and direct the City Clerk to investigate the logistics with the Supervisor of Elections related to the timing of the special election. Maxwell made the motion and Golden seconded it. The cost of the election would be between $20,000 and $25,000 for a special election. Mulvehill is disappointed and says that he could have waited and not have cost the city the money.
Public comment is pretty caustic. It seems that there are those that didn't want a special election and wanted to appoint a Mayor by the Commission. I think some people are protesting too much. Many are blaming Varela for being political. Mulvehill is concerned about the about of money spent for four months - she says they are being fiscally responsible. This is the light of the library discussion that came before. Since there are still five on the Commission - the Mayor's seat not being vacant - they are taking a recess since someone "left the room" - they still have a quorum, but the mathematics may be problematic if someone isn't there for a vote. Break.
Golden made a motion and McVoy seconded to waive the rules re Rule 7 - to reconsider the money set aside to do the work to make 2nd Ave. N. two way. The City Manager says she couldn't get it on the agenda - people do not recall the discussion about this. Someone from Lake Worth Towers says that its good to have a two way street - talks about the short term memory problem. People are coming from all directions. This is under public comment. Betty Resche presents a petition with 85 signatures saying that it should be two ways - she thinks the rules are rules and the City Commission is creating history. The resolution is still good saying it is a two way street. They are citing the fact that the motion should have been reconsidered at the next meeting - none did.
After much discussion, Golden says they have already ruled on rule 7 since they've discussed it. Maxwell called the motion - Clerk is repeating it. City Attorney says there is no more discussion - they need an immediate decision. City Attorney is double-checking Roberts Rules. The call of the question, must be seconded to cease discussion. There is no second. Motion dies for lack of second. Golden says they have already have the discussion on the rule and on the two-way issue. Golden makes a motion to waive rule 7 - already has been made and seconded. And then she calls for a vote...she calls the question. This is getting ridiculous. McVoy seconded it. All ayes - now they vote to waive the rule. Motion carries 3-1 - they waived the rules.
Maxwell makes a motion to receive and file item 11-D. McVoy says that we've talked enough and he moves that the two-way be made. Golden is blabbering. She is for a two-way street after a lot of gibberish.
Vice-Mayor Mulvehill is running the meeting.
The Commission is not accepting the Police Pension agreement from the IBEW. Commissioner Golden made a motion to declare an impasse. Maxwell seconded it for discussion. Motion passes 4-0.
Resignation of Mayor being discussed now. The City Attorney is speaking - resignation is as of 4 o'clock today. The vacancy is to be declared by the Commission tonight. Special election to be declared within 6 months. Golden wants him to wait six days, doesn't like the short notice. Clerk needs to contact Supervisor of Elections office regarding the last day to register for the election. I guess she would rather appoint than elect. McVoy says that the Mayor made a very strong commitment to serve out his term. He believes that he was sincere but he made a commitment. So he finds it very odd that he announces his resignation prior to the deadline that would require a special election. He also wants to appoint a successor. Maxwell - says that it would be difficult to understand what his motives are. He says that the Charter is clear and he makes a motion for a special in no less than 60 days. Motion dies for lack of a second. McVoy makes a motion to not accept the resignation and delay the resignation forever how long it takes to prevent a special election. City Attorney Humphreys says that that it is done - can't be undone and it is "problematic." Golden says that she doesn't know that if it's possible to have a special election - it's the July 4th weekend. She says that we need to put some sort of realistic date and what the date would be. It would depend on a date from the Supervisor of Elections.
Maxwell - it would be July 2nd. He says that the Charter is what the Charter is. He'd like to know why, but he is responsible to what the City Charter says. The City Clerk says she will contact the Supervisor of Elections tomorrow morning. The City Attorney says that the Commission should declare a vacancy in the Mayor's seat and direct the City Clerk to investigate the logistics with the Supervisor of Elections related to the timing of the special election. Maxwell made the motion and Golden seconded it. The cost of the election would be between $20,000 and $25,000 for a special election. Mulvehill is disappointed and says that he could have waited and not have cost the city the money.
Public comment is pretty caustic. It seems that there are those that didn't want a special election and wanted to appoint a Mayor by the Commission. I think some people are protesting too much. Many are blaming Varela for being political. Mulvehill is concerned about the about of money spent for four months - she says they are being fiscally responsible. This is the light of the library discussion that came before. Since there are still five on the Commission - the Mayor's seat not being vacant - they are taking a recess since someone "left the room" - they still have a quorum, but the mathematics may be problematic if someone isn't there for a vote. Break.
Golden made a motion and McVoy seconded to waive the rules re Rule 7 - to reconsider the money set aside to do the work to make 2nd Ave. N. two way. The City Manager says she couldn't get it on the agenda - people do not recall the discussion about this. Someone from Lake Worth Towers says that its good to have a two way street - talks about the short term memory problem. People are coming from all directions. This is under public comment. Betty Resche presents a petition with 85 signatures saying that it should be two ways - she thinks the rules are rules and the City Commission is creating history. The resolution is still good saying it is a two way street. They are citing the fact that the motion should have been reconsidered at the next meeting - none did.
After much discussion, Golden says they have already ruled on rule 7 since they've discussed it. Maxwell called the motion - Clerk is repeating it. City Attorney says there is no more discussion - they need an immediate decision. City Attorney is double-checking Roberts Rules. The call of the question, must be seconded to cease discussion. There is no second. Motion dies for lack of second. Golden says they have already have the discussion on the rule and on the two-way issue. Golden makes a motion to waive rule 7 - already has been made and seconded. And then she calls for a vote...she calls the question. This is getting ridiculous. McVoy seconded it. All ayes - now they vote to waive the rule. Motion carries 3-1 - they waived the rules.
Maxwell makes a motion to receive and file item 11-D. McVoy says that we've talked enough and he moves that the two-way be made. Golden is blabbering. She is for a two-way street after a lot of gibberish.
Another thing you may hear first here...
John G's signed a lease today to relocate to Manalapan's Plaza del Mar - across from the Ritz Carlton. I have it on good authority that they do not plan to come back to the Casino building once the project is finished. I am sure this will come as a shock to certain members of the City Commission.
Never mind that relocation wouldn't have been necessary with a different location for the new building, demolishing the existing building after any existing tenants moved to the new building. Oh well...
Have I mentioned that we are essentially demolishing the building?
Never mind that relocation wouldn't have been necessary with a different location for the new building, demolishing the existing building after any existing tenants moved to the new building. Oh well...
Have I mentioned that we are essentially demolishing the building?
Copy of the Governor's Executive Order re Cara Jennings' Ethics Reprimand:
This is something I guarantee that you will see no where else. It also will not likely be used in Cara Jennings' campaign materials should she choose to run for office again.
Pass last anti-corruption piece
Click title for link to the PBP opinion piece on the ethics code being discussed today by the Palm Beach County Commission. It should be approved without the delay of implementing it in October - which is the beginning of the fiscal year for municipalities. We will see what happens.
And if you want any further evidence that print media is going the way of the dinosaur, look at today's front page headline in the PBP - "We Got Him!" News broke on the Bin Laden story Sunday night. It is now Tuesday morning and if you didn't know what happened by now, you are officially living under a rock.
And if you want any further evidence that print media is going the way of the dinosaur, look at today's front page headline in the PBP - "We Got Him!" News broke on the Bin Laden story Sunday night. It is now Tuesday morning and if you didn't know what happened by now, you are officially living under a rock.
No Power in the Northern Part of the City this Morning.
I am posting this from my smart phone. It's around 8 a.m. and the electricity has been out about an hour now. This allowed me some additional time to contemplate things this morning. These rumminations led me to think about social media outlets and how they could help in situations such as these. Imagine that the city of Lake Worth had a FaceBook page or a Twitter account. It could announce outages, areas affected and likely restoration times. We would learn whether it was a palm frond or a small animal sooner.
I know, you may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one...
I know, you may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one...
Monday, May 2, 2011
During my bike ride today...
I passed by no fewer than five properties that had lawn sprinklers on during the midday hour - which, even if we weren't under the most strict water conservation regulations, would be bad practice due to evaporation anyway. To the person who posted under the "Chickens are Back" thread today, if we can't enforce water restrictions designed and implemented to ensure our long-term water supply, then how can we regulate "upright citizens" with reasonable regulations making sure their chickens are safe, clean and do not bother others nearby?
Sunday, May 1, 2011
London's Cycle Hire Program
Transport for London and London's Mayor have put together this Bicycle Hire program. The Mayor initiated the idea to encourage fitness and also provide a green transit alternative through London. London will also be hosting large crowds for the 2012 Olympics where these might come in handy. There are kiosks located throughout the city - about 300 to 400 meters apart (roughly 2/10 mile) - they are all self-service as demonstrated by the video. Click title for more information.
Maybe Lake Worth would not be large enough for the economies of scale for such a program, but a county-wide program could be possible. This is worth exploring. There have been other attempts, Key West and Portland, Oregon come to mind, where a borrow-a-cycle program - based upon the goodwill of the public - have been tried. A fleet of bikes - many times coming from confiscated or unclaimed bikes collected by law enforcement - are turned over for this sort of program. The bikes are painted distinctive colors so they are quickly identifiable as being part of the program. These are left around town wherever they happened to have been used last and available for another person to use it for the next trip. However, I understand that bikes seem to disappear and need to be replaced often. There are also liability and maintenance issues with this sort of free program.
Both programs might cut into revenue from existing bike shops - but for the standardized "hire" program, local bike shops could have the opportunity to bid for service contracts.
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