Stay tuned. City of Lake Worth administration and staff continues to prepare for impacts from Hurricane Irma.

Follow City of Lake Worth on Twitter: @LakeWorthpbc
  
Click on image (Tweet) to enlarge.

Stay tuned for more information from the City today. Oh, and by the way, the bond referendum in 2014 to fix all our roads and potholes failed by just 25 votes. Use this link to learn why:

“NO NEW TAXES!”
?????

But then later, in 2016, the voters in the City of
Lake Worth got a second chance.

“Tired about the condition of your
neighborhood roads?”

Rick Christie, the editor at The Palm Beach Post, wrote in Nov. 2016, “Lake Worth is poised for
some major upgrades following residents’
approval — by a whopping 69 percent . . .”.

Goodwill Outlet Center grand opening on Friday, September 15th.

The new Goodwill Lake Worth Outlet Center will be located at 701 Boutwell Rd., suite B1, in the City’s Park of Commerce. Call 561-848-7200 (ext. 3248) for more information.

Press release.

Get a first look at the new Gulfstream Goodwill Industries Lake Worth Outlet Center* on Friday, Sept. 15th. Beginning at 8:00 a.m. the Central Palm Beach County Chamber of Commerce will be facilitating a ribbon cutting ceremony. Guests may stop in to enjoy light refreshments while they shop. The new, more convenient and expanded Lake Worth Outlet Center includes:

• More than 1,000 additional square feet of shopping space (compared to West Palm Beach Outlet Center).
• Deeply discounted merchandise.
• Constantly refreshed merchandise, including furniture, toys, appliances, household goods, clothing and accessories.
• New inventory received hourly.

*The West Palm Beach Outlet Center at 1885 Old Okeechobee Rd. in West Palm Beach closes Sept. 14th and the Lake Worth Outlet Center opens Sept. 15th.

Preparing for likely impacts from Hurricane Irma, press release from the City of Lake Worth.

For more information contact Mr. Ben Kerr, the City’s Communications Specialist, at 561-586-1631; email: BKerr@lakeworth.org

Press release:

The City of Lake Worth would like to remind all residents that no change has been made to the refuse schedule for this week, no amnesty is in place. It is of utmost importance that residents do not put out items on the wrong day or put out too much yard waste on their yard waste day. Fines will be assessed for debris out on wrong day and over the 4 cubic yards (allowed amount per house).
     The City’s preparations for Irma are extensive and failure to follow the correct refuse schedule endangers staff and other residents. It is also advised that all yard work is limited to what is necessary, refrain from cutting down whole trees or doing major yard or construction projects until after the storm passes.
     For the refuse schedule for Zones 1–4 use this link to download maps and more information.
     Any questions? Please call the Refuse Division at 561-533-7344, Public Services at 561-586-1720 or 561-586-1736.
     At this time the City of Lake Worth will continue to monitor and follow the guidance of Palm Beach County and residents are encouraged to do the same.
     For City storm updates residents should follow Twitter:

• @LakeWorthPBC 
• @LakeWorthCasino 

Also subscribe to the City email updates which will be utilized extensively before, during and after the storm to provide information. Click on the link below to subscribe to City newsletters:

https://www.lakeworth.org/newsletter-subscribe/

Are you tired of hearing about medical marijuana and about that charter school on Dixie Hwy. in Lake Worth too?

UPDATE: The Planning & Zoning Board meeting tonight (discussed below) has been cancelled and will be rescheduled to a later date.

Are you tired of seeing another editorial, press reports and on TV too — over and over again — about all that faux outrage and nonsensical silliness?

Have you heard about what’s happening at Lake Worth’s
Planning & Zoning (P&Z) Board?

Well, guess what? You’re in luck because neither marijuana or charter schools are on the P&Z Board agenda. It’s back to serious business again in our little City.

Below are just two items up for consideration at this meeting:

PZB Project# 17-00500007: A request for a Conditional Use permit to allow for outdoor storage of boats, recreational vehicles and trailers, etc. The subject site is located at 2003 7th Avenue North PCN 38-43-44-20-01-060-0020 in the Industrial Park of Commerce (IPOC) zoning district pursuant to Sections 23.2-29 of the Land Development Regulations.

and. . .

Item H1 (New Business) on the agenda: Consideration of a request for Major Site Plan Approval for a 85 unit multi-family complex on a +/- 183,453 square foot site located in the Low Density Multi-family (MF20) Zoning District, with a Future Land Use Map designation of Medium Density residential (MDR) . . . Banyan Court will consist of 85-units of affordable, transportation-oriented, rental housing in four separate three-story, concrete, garden-style walk-up apartment buildings.

To watch this P&Z Board meeting Live Streaming go to the City’s website at 6:00:

www.lakeworth.org . . . and then scroll down to the bottom of the page for the “Live Broadcast Channel”.

To watch archived City meetings use this link. Hope you found this information helpful.

Following Hurricane Andrew. . .

 . . . Florida created a price gouging law. Here is
the State Hotline Number if anyone experiences
price gouging:

1-866-9NO-SCAM

(1-866-966-7226)

Did you read this month’s “Worth Noting” newsletter published by the little City of Lake Worth?

There’s news about the Grand Opening of CREATe-LAB at the Lake Worth Public Library (see below).

To read the entire September issue of
“Worth Noting” use this link.

“Don’t miss the Grand Opening of the new
Lake Worth Library CREATe-LAB
on September 23rd.”

“CREATe-LAB is the Library’s newly renovated space where students can come and use tools they need for information and to study.
     You are invited to come and see what the LAB contains, with special thanks to the Friends of the Lake Worth Library’s Resident Education to Action Program (REAP) grant.”

The Lake Worth Public Library is located at 15 North ‘M’ St. in Downtown Lake Worth (just west of the City Hall Annex and Cultural Plaza). For more information contact Vickie Joslin, MLS, the Library Services Supervisor at 561-533-7354. Library hours are:

• Tuesday and Wednesday, 10:00–7:00.
• Thursday, 10:00–6:00.
• Friday and Saturday, 10:00–5:00.
• Closed Sunday and Monday.

Big news from the South Florida Water Management District: “Everglades Agricultural Area Reservoir Project”.

“A Timeline Toward More Water Storage
South of Lake Okeechobee”

To read the entire “Project Overview”
use this link.

• May 9, 2017 — Completed.
• July 1, 2017 — Completed.
• July 31, 2017 — Completed.
• August 31, 2017 — Pending.
• January 9, 2018 — Status Report to Legislature.
• October 1, 2018 — Submit Post-Authorization Change Report (PACR) to Congress.

December 31, 2019 — Congress must approve the PACR, thereby authorizing the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) Reservoir Project to be cost-shared 50/50 between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the South Florida Water Management District. Otherwise, SFWMD must request the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to initiate the project implementation report for the EAA Reservoir Project.

Now to another topic:

The Herbert Hoover Dike.

Hopefully by New Years Day in 2020 there will be very good news from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Congress. The work to strengthen and fortify the Herbert Hoover Dike surrounding Lake Okeechobee will be well on its way to completion.

And if you think your voice doesn’t count? Think again.

To learn more about the Herbert Hoover Dike use this link. For the nightmare scenario in South Florida — not for the faint of heart — use this link to read “The Day the Dike Breaks” by reporter
Dan Reynolds.

Tropical Triathlon in City of Lake Worth coming up on Saturday, September 17th.

Use this link for the event details and to register for the race. And there’s a bonus video below!

Here is the course map.
Click on image to enlarge:

“Presented by Friends of Lake Worth High School.”

Below is a video from two years ago, Yours Truly volunteering at the race, giving instructions to the race participants to “Turn Right!” onto Lake Ave.

At the 1:15 mark is when an old man on a old bike, completely oblivious to what was going on, meanders onto the race course not paying any attention to all the volunteers and deputies yelling at him, “Don’t cross the road!”

Thankfully no one got hurt and the race wasn’t affected.

Interested in volunteering for the race this year? Contact Nadine Burns at 561-358-8501 or email: nadineburnslw@yahoo.com

Enjoy the video, especially what happens
at the 1:15 mark.

Village of Palm Springs: Land development, population growth, housing, and canals.

There was a very interesting item in The Lake Worth Herald recently about our neighboring Village of Palm Springs (see below). Like the City of Lake Worth and the Town of Lake Clarke Shores there is a big change afoot: looking at our canals and waterways in a whole new way.

The future of our canal and waterway networks will no longer be just for excess water drainage into the Intracoastal. The future is making these waterways — and the land along these canals — open for economic development, recreation, transportation, ecotourism, and a multitude of other public uses.

Whereas for decades the public paid little heed to the Lake Worth Drainage District system of canals (except during storm events or when the bill arrived), and the public hardly noticed the Keller Canal north of Lake Osborne, and how this all fits in with C-51 Canal operated by the South Florida Water Management District. . . well, that’s not going to be the case for very much longer.

At the same time there is another major transformation happening near and along the coast in Central Palm Beach County (CPBC) and it’s undeniable: western sprawl in the County is winding down. Now many developers are getting creative and looking at places like Lake Worth, West Palm Beach, Greenacres and other areas in CPBC for vacant and under-utilized land.

For example, have you ever heard of Canal 8 Road in Palm Springs? In The Lake Worth Herald recently was this:

PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE

Notice is hereby given that public hearings
will be held on:

• Tuesday, September 12, 2017 at 6:30 p.m. by Land Development Board
• Thursday, October 12, 2017 at 6:30 p.m. by the Village Council

In the Village Hall Council Chambers at 226 Cypress Lane, Palm Springs to consider:

Site Plan

An application submitted by Raul C. Perez, agent for the owner, Valmel Investments, LLC. (“Applicant”), for a Site Plan (SPR 17-06) for construction of thirty-two (32) 2-story fee-simple townhomes, to be located on 3.20 acres vacant lot at 4234 Canal 8 Road.

All persons interested in these matters may appear at the times and place aforesaid and be heard. Prior to the meeting, the application may be reviewed at the Village Clerk’s Office.

Now imagine this.

The future residents of Canal 8 Road in Palm Springs get in their boat one day and go east to the Keller (E-4) Canal, then head north toward the C-51 Canal, and shortly thereafter head east once again to the boat lift at Spillway Park in the City of Lake Worth.

After bypassing the S-155 Spillway structure (being careful and watch for manatees!), head out into the Intracoastal and then over to the boat dock at Old Bridge Park in Lake Worth. Dock the boat and stroll over to Benny’s on the Beach for lunch.

Imagine that.

That’s why there’s so much interest in the Blueway Trail project. It’s not a “Lake Worth” or a “Lake Clarke Shores” project. It’s a regional project that benefits all of coastal Central Palm Beach County.

Whilst on the subject of Palm Springs, Village Manager Richard Reade gave a spectacular presentation to the Lake Worth City Commission last June on behalf of the Florida City & County Management Assoc., and last March at the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council meeting, Reade addressed the issue of enclaves and annexations:

Mr. Reade indicated because his community is built-out and there has been a large population growth they do a lot of infill redevelopment and annexation. He stated there are a number of ways to annex property that are allowed by statute, but in areas that are more developed the involuntary annexation process is a key economic development tool.

Attention all artists: Poster design contest for “Annual L-Dub Film Festival”.

Note: Artwork submission deadline is Friday, September 8th.

See below for poster requirements and contact information. This year’s festival is September 22nd–24th. Information from press release:

Each year, our L-Dub Film Festival features a variety of film genres from music videos, shorts and documentaries to full length features. Our mission is to celebrate the art of filmmaking, provide industry collaboration opportunities for emerging filmmakers and outlets for filmmakers to present their work and gain recognition from their peers, the public and industry professionals.

[“Hmmm. What does ‘L-Dub’ (or ‘LDub’) mean?”
See explanation below.]

The Lake Worth Playhouse is located at 713 Lake Ave. in Downtown Lake Worth. The Stonzek Theatre
is next door.

Artwork must be submitted by Sept. 8th.
Contact Nicole Laing for more information: nicole@lakeworthplayhouse.org

We are seeking a poster that is graphically attractive, original and unique to the artist. The artwork should be at least 24″ × 36″ in dimension at 300dpi. The poster will be displayed in the Stonzek Theatre, used in marketing and advertising, posted on social media, our website and included on the event program.
     The only requirement, besides the dimensions, is that it needs to be printable as a poster. A low res jpeg can be emailed as the submission and if chosen, you will be required to send high resolution, editable artwork.
     The winner will be announced at this year’s L-Dub Film Festival and will have their work be the official new look for the festival next year. 

EXPLAINED: L-Dub, or LDub [Br. var. 199-], is hipster slang for “Lake Worth”, the actual City of Lake Worth. 

The ‘L’ is short for “Lake” and ‘Dub’ is short for “double-‘u’ ” as in the letter “W”, hence the term LDub. Used in a sentence:

“Welcome to LDub dude! Have you been to World Thrift yet?”.

Use this link for a more in-depth discussion of this topic.

UPDATE: “Project title, RFQ 17-305”. The meeting last Wednesday at Lake Worth City Hall.

What follows is a blog post from yesterday (for those of you who missed this latest news) and there’s further information below for those of you following these latest “developments” (pardon the pun).

The Lake Worth Beach, Casino, and pool: Happier days.

Remember when the pool had water in it?

Yes. The City of Lake Worth is considering a project at the Beach. However, if any project does proceed,
it will be many months if not years away
from actually happening.

First, it may be confusing for the public to learn an RFQ (“Request For Qualifications”) — encouraging developers to come forth with ideas how to fix all the problems at the Lake Worth Beach — when the City just recently reached a ‘settlement’ with Morganti and REG Architects on August 1st (exactly a month ago), to try and fix water leaking from the 2nd floor of the Casino structure, a problem discovered over 4 years ago.

Let’s just say for now, it’s rather complicated. For example, see the blog post following or use this link for an article in The Coastal Star,

“At issue is whether building should continue east of Coastal Construction Line”.

But one can understand why there may be confusion and some “head scratching” going on. By the way, the construction company Morganti, is not one of the respondents to “RFQ 17-305”:

City staff’s Evaluation Committee meeting last Wednesday on the topic. . .

“Lake Worth Beach Complex Conceptual Plans Design, Cost Estimates, Construction Design and Construction Phase Services”.

Whilst on my way to this meeting I received a call informing me the meeting was already over. The meeting began at 1:00 and only lasted 10 minutes. Per Asst. City Manager Juan Ruiz there will be another meeting next Friday by the Evaluation Committee beginning at 9:45.

There are some already overreacting about this matter on Facebook and elsewhere. Why? Because they didn’t do their homework ahead of time. The facts, as Mark Twain famously noted, always need more time to catch up with the rumors, open-ended questions, and uninformed speculation.

Is the money for future construction, maybe even
a new pool, coming from proceeds of the
County’s ¢1 sales tax increase?

To even suggest that is absurd. The City Commission seems in no mood to spend all the ¢1 sales tax at once but would rather fund multiple community projects like annual bill for FEC track grade crossings, license plate readers, and public safety improvements (e.g., demolition of condemned pier at Spillway Park).

There is also the City’s Neighborhood Road Program to consider. It would look downright irresponsible for the City to consider shifting money from the County ¢1 tax proceeds to the Beach only to discover more of our streets have since fallen in the Pavement Condition Index and are in need of repair.

And. . . why would anyone try and speculate how to pay for a project when there is no project? The meeting last Wednesday was only to see if the companies responding to the RFQ were QUALIFIED to be part of a future project. The meeting next Friday will be a broad view going forward with few specifics, mostly about ideas, concepts, and possible designs. And. . .

THERE IS NO ONE TRYING TO
“STEAL OUR BEACH!”

These meetings are open to the public, the City of Lake Worth will have an attorney present, and the rules will be followed to protect the public interest. What’s the timeline? Time will tell. In other words there are many known unknowns and many unknown unknowns as well. This is simply a process that needs to play out. It may go somewhere. It may go nowhere at all.

If anything does comes of this RFQ, one thing is for certain: this will be a City project and not a public-private partnership of any sort. There were only two responses to this RFQ and the respondents are:

• CPZ Architects, Inc., 4316 W. Broward Blvd., Plantation, FL.
• Kimley-Horn, 1615 S. Congress Ave., Suite 201, Delray Beach, FL.

Disappointing only getting two respondents. It’s very possible another RFQ will be needed for more respondents to come forward and provide a wider range of ideas on how to proceed and fix all the problems at the Casino and Beach property.

Here is the information provided by the City last week noticing this public meeting:

Notice is hereby given [on 8/22] that the staff will be meeting in regard to the following item:

Project Title: RFQ 17-305.

• Subject: Evaluation Committee Meeting.
• Purpose: Determination of qualifications of RFQ responses.
• Location: City of Lake Worth City Hall Conference Room.

Should any interested party seek to appeal any decision made by the Negotiation Committee with respect to the matter(s) considered at this meeting or hearing, such person will need to insure that a verbatim record of the proceedings is made, which record includes the testimony and evidence upon which the appeal is to be based.

Stay tuned for the agenda, the meeting at City Hall next Friday, September 8th, at 9:45.

Excerpt #3 below: Post reporter Scott McCabe about our Lake Worth High School: “Project Lake Worth turns diversity into strength”.

Check back for Excerpt
#4 tomorrow.

To read Excerpt #1 in its entirety use this link:

“For what had begun six years earlier as a search for a way to save the high school had flowered into a movement to save the city itself — Project Lake Worth.”

Excerpt #2:

“Despite the rumors of Project Lake Worth’s imminent demise, Joe Egly, its former president, vows to keep it alive — no matter what it takes.”

A pull quote about Project Lake Worth
in Excerpt #3 below: 

“Project Lake Worth brought people together who would otherwise have never met and made things happen,”
Kathy La Croix said.*

Read more below about Project Lake Worth from Post staff writer Scott McCabe, datelined:

Sunday, February 14th, 1999.

Click on newspaper clipping from 18 years ago:

 From the timeline. 1992: “Project Lake Worth member Jody Gleason elected to school board.” 1996: “Model block program begins.”

Excerpt #3:

     Cantley [principal David Cantley] warned the district that without help, the school would have to close. He turned his office into the headquarters for a handful of citizens bent on saving the school, and the district provided $30,000 seed money.
     “We realized the problem was far broader,” said parent Jody Gleason, now a school board member. “To fix Lake Worth High, we needed to change the community and make diversity a strength.”
     The circle of volunteers grew. They broke into committees for education, business, housing, recreation, beautification and safety.
     The goals were so encompassing that, at first, the IRS wouldn’t approve the group as a tax-exempt nonprofit, said Joe Cappella, a Lantana Realtor and founding member of the group. “They couldn’t comprehend what we were doing.”
     As they taught themselves how to make “the system” work, they also tutored immigrants in English, their rights and responsibilities.
     High school teachers Carl Romano and Gerry Crocilla organized students to collect donated materials and fix run-down homes.
     “Project Lake Worth brought people together who would otherwise have never met and made things happen,” Kathy La Croix said.

Check back tomorrow for another excerpt about Lake Worth High School and Project Lake Worth.

Is it time for Project Lake Worth II?

*Kathy La Croix was executive director of Project Lake Worth in 1998; hired in 1993 for project.

City’s new favorite word: “vibrancy” (used in a press release, news article, and examples in daily usage).

More vibrancy is coming to the area surrounding
our Lake Worth Arts Center, now called
“Hatch 1121”, in the Downtown.

Is there any vibrancy at the Gulfstream Hotel?
Find out below.

Our old favorite word, “charming”, has been mothballed after being replaced by “dynamic” and “unique”. Here’s our new favorite word:

vibrancy; the definition:

“pulsating with vigor and energy”; “vigorous; energetic; vital”; “exciting; stimulating; lively”.

The word “vibrancy” used in a press release:

“Designed to attract arts related businesses and amenities, the new commercial building [West Village Art Lofts] as well as street level artist work space will add to the vibrancy of the West Village commercial area through small business development.”
—Press release last June, “Neighborhood Renaissance Receives $500,000 Project Reinvest Grant for West Village Art Lofts in Lake Worth”.

The word “vibrancy” used in a news article:

“We’re bringing back that vibrancy to the hotel, which in turn brings back vibrancy to the downtown district,” said Michael [Steven Michael, principal of developer Hudson Holdings].
—Quote from article in the Sun Sentinel datelined April 14th, almost 5 months ago.

Has any vibrancy returned to the Gulfstream Hotel? No. There is no vibrancy to report.

Hudson Holdings bought the Gulfstream Hotel in
May 2014. This is how it looks now:

But the Gulfstream Hotel’s Facebook page is showing some vibrancy once again!

Excellent advice from the Post’s reporter in Wellington for residents and business owners here in Lake Worth.

Remember the ban on packaged alcohol sales after 10:00 p.m. in Lake Worth and how twisted all those convenience store owners got? They marched down to City Hall and got the attention of Lake Worth’s beat reporter for the Post to plead their case BUT IT WAS TOO LATE.

The ordinance had already been before the City Commission for two (2) public meetings and the ordinance PASSED UNANIMOUSLY both times in early 2016.

Later on the convenience store owners learned all about this. They thought getting a Post reporter involved would help. It didn’t. It was too late.

Am happy to report this ordinance is working out wonderfully. PBSO Cpt. Baer says crime is down as a result and many neighborhoods are experiencing much less disruption and disturbances. Several times at City Commission meetings Vice Mayor Scott Maxwell remarked on how well this ordinance is controlling problems in neighborhoods near where these establishments once sold alcohol late at night and into the morning hours.

Now for the great advice from Wellington reporter Matt Morgan

Morgan penned this item last year about an issue in Wellington that was no longer an issue when people first got upset about it. That problematic “sidewalk” in Wellington was no longer a problem. The problem is some people weren’t paying attention. Below are excerpts from Morgan’s commentary: 

“. . . a couple weeks later, people started showing up to meetings saying they didn’t want it [the sidewalk]. I got calls from locals asking my help to stop the project.
     It was too late.
     The time for telling the council they didn’t want the sidewalk was long over. It’s a lesson on why it’s important to pay attention to what is happening in your town.” [emphasis added]

[and. . .]

     “Make your own decision whether you want it, and tell your elected officials. They represent you and want to hear what you have to say.
     Think this will be a great way to build on a vacant property, raising the home values of the surrounding neighborhoods? Tell them that.”

[and. . .]

     “If you show up a month after the project is approved and tell the council that you don’t want it, you waited too long.”

“Reefer Madness”