A reminder that the Voice in the Choice meeting offered two minutes for City Commissioner, Administration comments...

Anyone up for doing Lake Worth in toothpicks?

Hello Suzanne? Hello Susan?

E-mail correspondence between me, Commissioner of District #4 / Vice-Mayor Mulevhill and Susan Stanton with a follow-up to all of our elected officials regarding public comment at Wednesday's (5/18) meeting.

I will let you know if anyone eeks out a response.

Laudations in Lansing

I was born and grew up in the Lansing, Michigan area. I remember this power plant on the Grand River, just northeast of the downtown. Nice to see an award-winning adaptive re-use of this building. There is another building south of this, the water plant, that is equally impressive. I'll see what I can find out about it. Click title for link to PreservationNation magazine.

Something to make clear about the Voice in the Choice meeting held Saturday...

Everyone was welcome to this meeting to share their opinion - regardless of which position they held on whether the Sheriff should stay or go.  One of the main weaknesses in the Willdan report was the lack of a community meeting on the topic.  The meeting was one way to address this oversight, which many think was purposefully avoided.

One person, Laurel Decker - who is a member of the Finance Advisory Board (FAB) - attended and was part of the group that was addressing the weaknesses of the report.  She stood up after that group's presentation and insisted that her comment wasn't included.  The moderators assured her that it would be included in the report that is given to the City Commission.  After the meeting, she came up front and wrote the following on the group's sheet of paper where their comments were listed.

So, beyond specifically including her comment in the report, I wanted to be sure to point out what her comment was here.

Laurel Decker

This week in history, May 20, 1913, Henry Morrison Flagler died.

Click title for link to original obituary article.  Flagler, the financial genius behind Standard Oil, used his retirement years to extend his Florida East Coast railroad southward, eventually reaching Key West - that was achieved a year after his death.

From the Voice in the Choice Community Meeting - Topic: Impact of City Administration-controlled Police Force group

If Police Chief is hired by City Manager, who would hire the officers?

Chief could be swayed to do or not do things to keep his / her job.

Part Time Commissioners depend upon staff for information.

Cronyism

City will own liability and cost of all functions.. (workman’s comp, insurance, pension etc)

Code enforcement is needed to maintain values, but it is non existant.. How will we pay for the force?

Administration could allow marginalized people not wanted in other cities to gather here.. (drunks, addicts, pedophiles)

If commissioners allow halfway houses, what are odds they will encourage police to aggressively patrol.

Will politics win over public safety?

Resources are not able to match PBSO (Community outreach centers)

Sheriff is able to travel through several towns to chase criminals, municipal cannot.

Will entire force be rookies?

From the Voice in the Choice Community Meeting - Topic: Creative Ways to Finance the Sheriff’s Department Group

Special assessment on all structures to make up the shortfall

Surcharge on utility bill

Have City prioritize expenses with input from public (vote) to close the $2.5 Million shortfall

Increase title search fees to generate $400K

Actually collect fines from code enforcement, hold banks accountable and have them pay fines

Increase millage, better negotiations or a loan?

Click here for link to Willdan Report (recommending establishing new Lake Worth Police Department)

Some people have had trouble with accessing the report from the City's website.  This link is independent from the City's website and should always work.

Let your Opinion be Known to the City Administration, City Commission and General Public about whether PBSO should stay or go:

Note:  Hyper-links not active - right click, choose "Save image as..." for reference.

Note on the Ideas from the Voice in the Choice Community Meeting:

Think of these excerpts as a "sneak peak" at parts of the full report that will be presented to the City Commission.  I will provide a link to the report, and it will be available on the FaceBook group as well, when we have finished compiling the results.

From the Voice in the Choice Community Meeting - Topic: Weaknesses and Misinformation in the Willdan Report Group

• The report makes the statement that most people live in owner-occupied homes in the City of Lake Worth. The opposite is true.
• Page 47 – The report states that the decision has been made to move forward with a new Lake Worth Police Department.
• Page 51 – The report lists key decision points as reasons to see alternatives to PBSO – without any public input either.
• Willdan, the group that prepared the report, will charge the city an additional $250,000 to implement the transition – vested interest in going through with their recommendation.
• There is an over-reliance in volunteers being part of an active police force.
• The time frame for transition seems unrealistic.
• Many of the numbers are “stale” due to new State law pertaining to pensions.
• No contingency is offered in case there are cost over-runs during the transition.
• No source of funding for the transition is identified.
• The report reveals confidential narcotics information.
• The level of employee benefits appears to be excessively low.
• Assuming that cars that we transferred to the Sheriff three years ago are available and have reasonable service life left is suspect.
• Page 9 – PBSO would not provide a line item or “rolled up” cost of service to consultants.

From the Voice in the Choice Community Meeting - Topic: Financial, Real Estate and Local Business Impact Group:

• The City needs to do all that it can to maintain or improve property values – public safety is the most important factor to do that, not something to take a risk with.
• Possible revenue sources to support robust police service (PBSO). In the short term, raise millage rate. Long term would be to pass a special assessment of all property for fire and police services.
• There is no confidence that the City administration is up to doing the job.
• Promoting business is the key to future investment. Value equals safety for residents, businesses, guests (consumers and tourists)
• Perception of being a safe place to live is a key psychological factor in whether someone wants to live or do business in Lake Worth.
• Power of the vote for future City Commission/Mayoral candidates that acknowledge the importance of public safety. The City Commission hires the City Manager who runs the rest of the city. With one goes the other.
• The report did not identify what else could be cut from the budget. There was no public input. It did not look at the effects of the switch, only monetary benefits. PBSO and a Lake Worth Police Department would not be the same quality, resources, numbers and equipment.
• We need stability in our business environment to attract new investment. Current businesses may leave – need a retention effort, through the Chamber? An exodus of businesses or residents, caused by the perception that Lake Worth is an unsafe place, brings in blight and crime. This makes things worse, not better.
• Tourism should be important to the City. There are already tourist based businesses here, but there could be more. Being seen as an “unsafe location” hurts existing tourism-based businesses and prevents new ones from coming in. Tourists need to know that it is safe to walk around the streets.
• The City needs to access Tourist Development Council dollars, market the City as a tourist destination nationally and internationally. Get the Convention and Visitors Bureau involved. Amenities like a water taxi would help.
• PBSO is essential to the revitalization of the beach and the downtown walking area – people need to feel safe!
• Timing of this issue is suspicious – it is a diversion and the timing before the elections, the mayor leaving is telling. Does not help promote the image of stability or help with attracting grant monies.
• Neighborhood associations should be hubs where residents can go and learn what is real information and what is misinformation. City Hall has to do a better job with communications.

Letter from Chafin Musicenter, inc. to City Commission regarding possible change in police services:

From the Voice in the Choice Community Meeting - Topic: Stories of former Lake Worth Police Dept.

Please Note: The stories here are not meant to be a criticism of the former LWPD. 

*From a resident on South Lakeside:

When my daughter was 4 years old,  (she is 16 now),  someone tried to take her, pulling her over our fence in the backyard. After calling the police it took over 45 minutes for the police to even show up. They never caught the person.

 

I live near the area where the child was kidnapped, raped and stuffed in a dumpster. She had been taken near Federal Hwy. The LWPD did not have the manpower or the resources to mount a search, they had to call in Officers from Boca Raton to help. That is how they found her, otherwise they may not have found her in time. 

 

I was not originally for going with the PBSO. But now seeing how they have made such an impact and a difference I would never, ever even think of going back.

 

*A resident since 1994 from the south end on Pine Street:

It would take me 2 hours to tell all of my LW police stories.

Waking up in the morning to find dead bodies lying in the alleyway and found on the cemetery grounds, this happened numerous times.

An execution style murder in the cemetery.

14 different gangs hanging out in front of my home night after night.  One of which were members of the Top 6.

18 rounds of gun fire popped off in front of my home.

Mad car races and gang activity on my street.

My 12 year old son found a gun near our back yard. 

My ten year old son has grown up hearing gun shots every night and started calling the police on his own.

My neighbors and I feared retaliation.

Since the PBSO came people actually jog and walk in my neighborhood and walk their dogs. My car was broken into regularly, but since the PBSO came it has not happended once.

To me the difference since the PBSO came to Lake Worth is like night and day!

 

* Three residents all from North R Street:

A neighbor of theirs was selling prescription drugs out of her home. People coming and going at all hours. This went on for years. The police would be called and by the time they arrived everyone would be gone. The police told us to call them if we saw anything. We did over and over again and again.

Since the Sheriff came to Lake Worth that neighbor has gone.

There were numerous "drug houses" in our area, but since the PBSO, that activity has stopped in our neighborhood.

My son also lives in the neighborhood and he had been broken into many times. Since PBSO came he has not.

 

* From a resident on Dartmouth Drive:

I wanted to be in this group so that I could say that a very close friend of mine was in the LWPD. He has told me that while on duty with the LWPD his life was threatened every single night and that he was always in fear of his life. But since becoming a part of the PBSO he feels safer and feels more confident. The moral of the officers serving Lake Worth now that they are with the PBSO is higher and better than it ever was before.  

I just wanted to get this message across.

 

*A Resident:

He had been burglarized and had been an eye witness to the crime. The officers on duty did not take fingerprints even though he asked them to. The officer on duty did not have the right equipment nor the knowledge of how to do so. No one else was called in. Because of lack of evidence the guy got off.

 

* Resident in the downtown area.

When we had our own police dept. many of them were in the reserve  in the military and called to serve in Iraq. The remaining officers had to pick up double shifts etc and were paid overtime. has anyone taken that cost into consideration? Also at that time two of the officers had been injured and were off duty so there were only 2-3 officers on duty on any given night for the entire city.

 

* Resident from Tropical Ridge Neighborhood.

The training period for LW police is only about 2 weeks before they are sent out to duty. Before the PBSO the officers did not get the appropriate training.

 

*Resident from Detroit Street area.

The boundary issue has always affected my home. We live on the boundary of Lake Worth and the county. If we called LWPD they would tell us they can't come out as its not our area. 

Since the PBSO we don't have that problem. It is their area!

 

* A Resident since 1973:

Our son was held up at gunpoint in his apartment in the downtown area (on Lucerne Ave) .

The LWPD had been called while the hold up was still going on. The armed man actually walked our son down to the ATM machine and had him withdraw cash from the ATM. But by the time they arrived the armed man had fled. He was not caught.

 

Points that were unanimous from the group:

*Response time from the days of the LWPD to now with the PBSO is beyond incredible. The PBSO's response time is great!

*Less crime in my neighborhood.

*Better service than before.

*Moral of the deputies is better with the PBSO than it was with the LWPD

*Tendency to catch the criminal and keep them behind bars.

*Less vagrants, panhandlers and homeless.

*We cannot go back to what we had before.