FYI: If you haven’t heard, the Cultural Council of Palm Beach County has a new president and CEO: Dave Lawrence. For a recent Q&A with Mr. Lawrence click on this link.
Now to the Lake Theater. . .
Click on image to enlarge:
The Cultural Council building. How it looked circa 1971.
How the building looked prior to mural installation:
Photo courtesy of the Jim Stafford collection.
Here’s another image soon after the
building was constructed:
It turns out the architect was Roy Benjamin and almost all he did was movie theaters in Florida and Georgia in late 1930s through the 1950s. Below is one of his designs in Pahokee called the Prince Theater. You can see striking similarities to the structure in downtown Lake Worth.
The Whispering Palms Neighborhood Assoc. is having their public meeting at the Norman J. Wimbley Gym located at 1515 Wingfield St. Meeting begins at 6:30.
The special guest speaker will be:
Jamie Brown, the City of Lake Worth’s Dir. of Public Services.
Also on the agenda is an update on the “Saturday Cleanup” last week at New Hope Baptist Church. All meetings of the Neighborhood Assoc. Presidents’ Council (NAPC) are open to the public.
“Whether it’s a single stack of papers or boxes of documents, just place them into one of our secure shred bins and they will be safely destroyed by Iron Mountain, one of the industry leaders in information protection.”
See more visions below from the City of Lake Worth’s all-day “Visioning Work Session” held at City Hall two months ago.
On the topic of branding, marketing, and social media our neighboring municipalities are coming up with some very clever ways to promote themselves. Take for example the City of Greenacres andtheir photo contest last month. Greenacres announced the winners of the contest on their official Facebook page. Greenacres is on Twitter too.
The City of Lake Worth uses Twitter as well; but this City doesn’t have an official Facebook page.
Here is a vision from last month at the City Commission:
Message below from Monroe County — which includes the Florida Keys — about when and not when to report a Coyote sighting to the Sheriff. Click on image to enlarge:
Yes. Coyotes are here in South Florida. And they are here to stay. Coyotes hunt cats. And little horses too. And they are fond of chickens as well.
UPDATE: For those of you interested in coyotes and concerned about feral and roaming cats, pet goats and pigs, and other small critters there is news below from The Washington Post you may find very interesting and informative. And as we are well into another Hurricane Season read more below about what happened prior to Hurricane Irma last year in one city in particular: the coastal City of Lake Worth.
How many of those cats were “dropped off ” by those fleeing evacuation zones on ‘The Island’ not knowing when they would be allowed back into their condo, apartment, or home?
From the editor at The Palm Beach Post:
“Communities with TNVR programs tend to develop even bigger cat-dumping problems than before the effort began. . .”
Is it time for the City of Lake Worth, and other cities as well, to take another long look at Trap, Neuter, Vaccinate, and Release (TNVR)?
Has Lake Worth, because of its efforts promoting TNVR, become one of the County’s destinations for “cat-dumping” of unwanted or unhealthy cats? From the City’s website:
Peggy Adams Animal Rescue League is currently offering free surgery for domestic and community cats [emphasis added] in the 33460 zip code.
Read more about this topic below, including news from Palm Beach Post reporter Bill DiPaolo who has since retired.Surprisingly, Mother Nature may have its own answer to the problem of roaming and feral cats: coyotes. Did you know coyotes are established in every state in the United States? Below is an excerpt from this recent article in The Washington Postby journalist Darryl Fears titled, “Here’s why there are so many coyotes and why they are spreading so fast”:
Stanley D. Gehrt, an Ohio State University professor and wildlife ecologist who runs the Urban Coyote Research Project, which studies coyotes in the Chicago area, said in a recent interview that coyotes “are extremely flexible and adaptable to different kinds of environments … they’re generalists for sure, so generalists tend to do pretty well in cities, but they also benefit once they move into cities. “Their primary source of mortality in rural areas is now removed, and that was people. You might wonder: How can that be removed? That’s because you don’t have hunting and trapping occurring in the cities. The cities actually act as a kind of refuge for coyotes once they get established.”
Please continue reading about cats, TNVR, coyotes and news about two little goats called Buttercup and Candy.
This blog post examines several issues, several of which our City has had to deal with for a very long time. For example, several months prior to Hurricane Irma in September 2017 another animal was attracting attention from the press and news media which prompted these questions asked on this blog, “How long before coyotes begin roaming and hunting in our little City of Lake Worth? Or are coyotes already here?”
And why having coyotes in our parks at night and roaming the City’s alley network is not such a bad thing after all.
How do coyotes factor into controlling the feral cat population? Can coyotes, as stated below, “help restore biodiversity, enrich parks, and counteract decades of environmental damage”? Do TNVR programsfor cats even work to control the population or does it make the problem worse, e.g., the continuing devastation of indigenous bird populations? Cats hunt birds and coyotes hunt cats.
“While TNVR theoretically should cut down feral cat populations, several studies have shown that they rarely do.” —Editor, Palm Beach Post (see editorial below).
And have you ever heard of the book published and titled, “Coyote Settles the South”? Learn about all these topics and much more later in this blog post.
Without further ado. . .
Warning! Never feed coyotes: These animals have a tremendous fear of humans. When people feed coyotes the animals lose that fear. That is not good for anyone. Especially those with small pets.
Are coyotes roaming the streets and alleys of Lake Worth now? Maybe. But unless one has a motion-activated camera during nighttime you would never know. Coyotes are one of the most stealthy animals around and very careful to avoid the notice of humans. They rest during the day, hunt at night, and coyotes are especially fond of one animal in particular: cats.
Reports began coming in 2015 of coyotes near Greenacres. Is that a bad thing? The reports were of coyotes hunting feral cats which are a big problem in Palm Beach County, especially so in Lake Worth. Another excerpt from the editor at the Post:
“Communities with TNVR programs tend to develop even bigger cat-dumping
problems than before the effort began, because people feel emboldened to
just release their unwanted animals. And the reality is, animal control
programs rarely have the resources to actually trap, sterilize and
release the thousands of animals that are out there.”
Last year Post reporter Bill DiPaolo wrote this article titled, “Coyotes blamed for killing two pet goats in Jupiter Farms”; an excerpt:
“Two-year-old Buttercup and 3-month-old Candy, both female Nigerian dwarf goats, were killed between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m. while they were in an outdoor area surrounded by a 4-foot-tall wooden fence. The goats — Buttercup weighed 50 pounds and Candy about half as much — were taken to a nearby veterinarian. The vet confirmed the bites on the neck and head were from coyotes, said ■■■■ ■■■■■, a lifelong resident of the rural, unincorporated area west of Florida’s Turnpike.”
In the comment section of DiPaolo’s article is this comment:
“Give credit where credit due. I credit the Coyotes for eliminating the feral cats from our community. Back in the day, I would see feral cats everywhere, every day. Then the Coyotes showed up and it has been months sense we last saw a feral cat. Hats off to the Coyotes for doing their part in keeping the balance of nature alive and well.”
The County has essentially conceded that TNVR is the plan until an idea that actually works comes along. Coyotes may be the answer.
That [TNVR] sounds like the perfect solution, except that it’s not really.
Even well-fed cats retain their hunting instinct, and continue to kill
significant numbers of wild birds and animals. One study found an
outdoor domestic cat is capable of killing 60 birds and 1,600 small
mammals in an 18-month period. There are so many species of animals that are vulnerable
to predation by house cats: ground foraging brown thrashers, oven
birds, palm warblers and water thrushes; tiny tree frogs and green
anolis; marsh rabbits and Florida mice. While TNVR theoretically should cut down feral cat populations, several studies have shown that they rarely do.
Anyhow, back to the coyote:
Watch this news report from CBS2’s Weijia Jiang from Long Island City, NY:
This article in Slate raises some interesting points. First, you can hardly call coyotes a nuisance because they have a tremendous fear of humans and are virtually impossible to find. The video above is a rare one of a coyote roaming (hunting?) within a city’s borders. And you could argue that coyotes are good for public health and the environment. Here is an excerpt from the article:
Gehrt [Stanley Gehrt, head of the Cook County Coyote Project] and his team have just completed a large-scale feral cats study, which found that coyotes are repelling them from natural areas within the city. “That has a positive impact on native fauna,” Gehrt says—cats kill a lot of birds. [emphasis added] Recently, researchers at the Illinois Natural History Survey have also been considering white-tailed deer, which are responsible for a remarkable number of automobile accidents; findings suggest that coyotes are making a dent in their population through fawn predation. Out of 15 fawns collared this season, Gehrt says 11 have already been taken by coyotes. All of this would seem to be good news for the New York metropolitan area, which could certainly use a better form of rodent control than dangerous poisons. Even a fraction of the effects seen in Chicago could help restore biodiversity, enrich parks, and counteract decades of environmental damage.
A “Pinned Post” is one kept at or near the top of the blog. In this case for the rest of the day (video is below, at end of this blog post).
Note that following this blog post is news about the premiere screening of WPBT’s “On The Town in the Palm Beaches” tomorrow night at the Cultural Council featuring the City of Lake Worth and there is another blog post as well about the exciting Fall/Winter event schedule coming up in this City.
To the City Commission meeting last night. . .
Throughout the day will add more information if necessary. Note that the next regularly scheduled Commission meeting will be held on Oct. 16th.
Last night were the Final Budget hearings, the resolutions which lasted all of seven minutes, followed by a proclamation for Lee Antieau’s 100th birthday, then “Commission Liaison Reports and Comments” (the longest portion of the agenda, about twenty minutes) and then Public Comment at the 46 minute mark. At public comment is the traditional time for a person to announce his or her candidacy for a seat on the City Commission. So the curtain closes once again for the person(s) thinking of running against Commissioner Herman C. Robinson in District 4 until the next Commission meeting in three weeks.
Cathy Turk announced her candidacy four (4) months ago to run against Commissioner Omari Hardy in District 2. So far it’s nothing but hemming and hawing when it comes to anyone up to challenging Commissioner Robinson.
But anyhow. . .
The Consent Agenda passed unanimously last night and shortly thereafter the meeting ended. About forty-five minutes after it started. All conducted in a brisk, orderly and professional manner by all of our elected officials, management and staff.
Watch the video at your pleasure today and recommend watching the entire “Liaison Reports and Comments” section — which begins at the 19:40 mark — which includes the details of Mayor Pam Triolo’s trip to the White House last week.
Now that Brightline is running their passenger train service, proving the critics and their wildly dire predictions wrong, it’s time to revisit once again the incredible work by former Post reporter Mr. Chris Persaud and his connection to our little City of Lake Worth.
Upon leaving the Post in early 2015 with his reporting awards in hand, Persaud went on to have published a journalistic tour de force, an outstanding piece last year about Brightline (see below). That piece simply and methodically broke through all the noise, the clutter and the babbling in places like the Treasure Coast and those pockets of resistance still remaining in Palm Beach County. Truly a journalist ahead of his time.
After that article was released you could sense a sea change in the public mood. And the press and news media, from coast to coast in this nation, took notice as well.
However, it was Persaud’s work as the beat reporter covering the City of Lake Worth for The Palm Beach Post that brought him into the spotlight and for that he’s now remembered as one of the greats in South Florida journalism. He’s remembered as being remarkably fair to everyone and took no sides.
Below are just two of the awards Mr. Chris Persaud received during his stint at the Post, awards from the esteemed Society of Professional Journalism.
Persaud’s effort last year was a spectacular piece published in Next City titled, “Florida NIMBYs Can’t Stop America’s First Private High-Speed Rail” about Brightline; click on this link to read the article.
For Persaud’s reporting here in the City of Lake Worth he received several well-deserved awards for his news reporting and, of course, that gained him recognition and wide acclaim; then shortly later he went on to other things. Although Persaud had some issues early on with his reporting he later performed outstanding collaborative work, especially election reporting.
Watch Persaud in action back in September 2014 grilling the Lake Worth City Attorney prior to that year’s bond vote to fix our City roads and potholes:
[Sadly, due to concerns about sea level rise back in 2014 that bond vote ended up failing by just 25 votes. But later in November 2016 the Neighborhood Road Bond passed by a “whopping” 69%.]
For all Persaud’s diligence and attention to detail, he was honored and will be forever among the greats in journalism. Without further ado. . .
Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10:00 a.m.–1:00 at Osborne Community Center, 1699 Wingfield St.
Click on image to enlarge, from City of Lake Worth’s Leisure Services Dept.
FYI: Looking for information about Rec2Go? Youth football, soccer and chearleading? 7 vs. 7 adult soccer or possibly pondering picking up that peppy pastime of pickleball? For all that and much more what’s what, including a “Recreation Survey” by the City click on this link.
Take donations (see examples below) directly to the school.
Clearly mark the intended purpose of your donation. Give that information to the person at the front desk. The school is located at 1700 Barton Rd. Here is the school website and Barton is on Facebook too.
Save The Date! On October 5th at Evening on Lake Avenue bring donations to the “Community Schools Outreach” from 6:00–10:00.
Briefly, here are three ways to help Barton Elementary:
Food for the Barton Pantry: Items needed are canned, bagged, or boxed grains, meats, fruits, vegetables.
Trinkets: Good behavior earns students “Barton Dollars”: These ‘dollars’ are then spent in the school store; needed
items are Ring Pops, markers, watercolor kits, Play-Doh, stickers, hair ribbons, coloring books, stamp sets, etc.
Funds for Barton Safety Patrol: With good grades and behavior students can join the Safety Patrol in their last year.
Patrols are assigned duties that help teachers and administration and each year Safety Patrols from across the State of Florida travel by train to Washington, D.C. to spend a few days
exploring and learning. . .
FYI: Tonight is the night. Marking the end of another Budget Season. Following the Roll Call at 6:00 at the start of the meeting will be a choice for one of the electeds on the City Commission: A prayer or a moment of silence.
Considering the significance of this public meeting the choice may be harder than you think. After reading about the millage rate in the blog post below scroll back up and click on this link to learn more about the choice of prayer or silence and how to download tomorrow’s agenda as well.
Question: FY2019 and beyond. Should the City of Lake Worth make lowering the millage rate a top priority?
Lowering the millage rate in the years ahead to keep up with the competition? One of our competitors is the Village of Palm Springs and that is explained at the end of this blog post, a news report in The Lake Worth Herald.
The idea of lowering the millage rate was first brought up by Commissioner Scott Maxwell in August 2017 starting with a 0.25 mil reduction. However, commissioners Andy Amoroso (now the Vice Mayor), Herman C. Robinson and Omari Hardy — after
considering the proposal in further discussion — all became resolute. With so many budgetary
unknown unknowns and known knowns thought this year or next year may be the time to discuss the possibility of lowering
the millage rate.
And then along came Hurricane Irma in September 2017.
What is the reasoning for lowering the millage rate? It would send a strong message that this City is on strong budgetary ground.
Some of you may find the news from the Village of Palm Springs a bit of a shock. As reported in The Lake Worth Herald, our neighboring village to the west has lowered its operating millage rate for six (6) consecutive years. The last time the City of Lake Worth lowered its millage rate was way back in 2007, according to Commissioner Maxwell.
The proposal by Maxwell might have gotten more momentum last year but the mayor was absent for this meeting and Commissioner Herman C. Robinson was adamant that it was “not the right time” to lower the rate and then along came Irma and Maxwell’s proposal to lower the millage rate was tabled.
And this year the general mood on the Commission is to be prepared for another “rainy day” on the horizon vis-à-vis hardening the Lake Worth Electric Utility. And also this year the topic of increasing compensation for City employees and staff is a very big one. And, of course, there are all those issues (or ‘schemes’) at the Lake Worth Beach and Casino Complex as well.
But what about next year? Follow in the footsteps of Palm Springs?
The Village of Palm Springs is a wonderful neighbor. Every city in Florida would be proud to have such a great neighbor as Palm Springs. They are a neighbor; but they are also a competitor for new businesses and new residents. The millage rate matters.
Remember, per Commissioner Maxwell there
hasn’t been a lowering of the millage rate in 10 years here in this City. Lowering the rate would send a strong signal to Realtors, investors, and those
considering relocating to Central Palm Beach County in the future.
If this topic does come up expect a lot of lively debate. Hopefully the healthy and informative type.
Now to the news about the Village of Palm Springs as reported in The Lake Worth Herald. . .
This front page news was headlined,
Palm Springs Property Tax Rate
Lowered for 6th Year in a Row!
Residents of the Village
of Palm Springs will once
again see a reduction in
the operating millage
rate. For the sixth consecutive
year, the Village
Council has voted unanimously
to set the preliminary
property tax rate to
3.5 mils. The rate has
been reduced each of the
last five years, dropping
from 3.9 to this year’s
proposed rate of 3.5.
and. . .
The taxable valuation
for the Village’s general
obligation debt is
$1,223,909,135 requiring
a proposed millage rate
of .3777. The combined
proposed millage rates
for FY2019 is 3.8777 or
.1785 mils below the FY2018 rate. Village Council will be
presented the final rate
during the September
Council meeting. The
proposed rate may be
lowered by council but it
cannot be increased. [emphasis added]
So. In conclusion, do you think this City “needs to send a message” and get the attention of the business and real estate community?
If this topic does come up you can contact your elected representatives and tell them what you think. And whilst you are communicating with your elected leadership you can ask, instead of complaining like too many other people do, ask this question instead:
Helen Greene, docent of the Lake Worth Historical Museum, penned the front page news (see excerpt below) about the American Planning Assoc. tours of this City of Lake Worth.
FYI: The newly renovated Lake Worth Historical Museum is located on the second floor of the City Hall Annex located at 414 Lake Ave. (in the Cultural Plaza) and is open Wednesday and Friday from 1:00–4:00. Tours are also provided by appointment. Call 561-533-7354.
Opening seven paragraphs of the news:
On September 11–14,
The American Planning
Association (APA) held
its State Conference. The
Treasurer Coast section,
including Palm Beach, Martin
and St. Lucie counties of the APA served as the
2018 Conference host. They
selected West Palm Beach
as the host venue. Three members of the
Lake Worth community played an active role in the
conference. Wes Blackman,
AICP, 35 year member,
Principal Planner for the
CWB Associates, William
Waters, AICP, Director of
Community Sustainability
for the City of Lake Worth
and resident Friederike
Mittner, AICP, Historic
Planner for West Palm
Beach. Each conducted
state APA approved “mobile
workshops.” Blackman, owner of
CWB Associates and current
president of the Cottages
of Lake Worth did
a bus/walking tour. It was
called “Manhattan to Mayberry.” Beginning at the
West Palm Beach Convention
Center, it featured an
historic walk down Lake
Avenue and a visit to the
newly restored Historical
Museum of the City of
Lake Worth. The Museum
is housed in the City Hall
Annex, one of two buildings
on the National Register of
Historic Places. Blackman,
as President, gave his tour
an up close visit to the
uniqueness of the Cottages
of Lake Worth. Each member on the
Blackman Tour received a
copy of the table book called
Cottages of Lake Worth
as part of their registration
fee. They also earned
credits to certification in the APA. William Waters and others
of his team conducted a
tour of Lake Avenue. Their
group explored “Memorable
Places: What are
the Urban Attributes that
define them?” Included
in their tour were the
historic buildings and the
importance of “Art in Public
Places.” Frederike Mittner, long
time Lake Worth resident
and Past Chair of the Historic
Resources Review
Board of PBC, conducted
a bus tour of Historic West
Palm Beach neighborhoods. Founded in 1978, The
American Planning Association
(APA) is the “largest
membership organization
of professional planners
and planning resources.”
The State Conference,
held in each state, provides
the urban planners the
opportunity to exchange
new ideas, solutions to
problems, ways to improve,
through education, the
communities in which they
live and work.
At a later date will post the Herald article in its entirety. In the meantime consider becoming a subscriber to The Lake Worth Herald or pick up the print edition at the City’s newsstand called Studio 205 located at 205 N. Federal Hwy.
Below is a collection of photographs and more information from the APA Cottages tour held on Wed., September 19th from the greeting by Mayor Pam Triolo at 501 Lake Ave. (City’s Recreation Division), a short presentation about the historic Cottages of Lake Worth, then some time at the City Hall Annex and the Lake Worth Historical Museum upstairs, followed by a walk west to the renovated structure now called the Book Cellar bookstore and then south to tour some of the original cottages built on 25- and 50-foot wide lots prior to WWII laid out in a traditional grid pattern.
The annual conference of Florida’s APA held several “Mobile Tours” around Palm Beach County. The Cottages of Lake
Worth tour was one and there were several others including a tour of art and the murals in Downtown Lake Worth by William Waters, AICP, the Dir. of Community Sustainability in the City.
Tour attendees were planning professionals statewide including, e.g., the cities of Lynn Haven, Lakeland, Vero Beach, Delray Beach, Miami Beach, Royal Palm Beach, the Village of Key Biscayne, a private consultant, and a land use firm from Indian River County.
The City liaison for the Cottages of Lake Worth tour was Lauren Bennett from the Recreation Dept. and the Florida APA did the rest: providing the transportation and logistics, including items like the name tags.
Tour attendees learned about all the public land on the water (municipal golf course and Bryant Park on the Intracoastal), and the public Beach
property along the Atlantic Ocean. They also learned that West Palm Beach DOES NOT have a beach.
Mayor Pam Triolo welcomed the APA tour to Downtown Lake Worth (click on all images to enlarge):
The view inside 501 Lake Ave. across from the Cultural Plaza, the City Hall Annex building and Historical Museum.
Mayor Triolo talked about her time in office (first elected in 2011 and re-elected three times) how the City has changed and her focus on improving the basic infrastructure that had been neglected for so long. She talked about the Neighborhood Road Bond and the resulting street improvements and attendees asked questions such as how those improvements were progressing. I told them they would see much of that activity on our walk through the area south of the Downtown.
Another view inside the City’s Recreation Dept.:
Mayor Triolo (left) addressing the APA tour.
Then a short presentation followed about the history and architecture of The Cottages of Lake Worth.
Across the street from the Recreation Dept., a view of the Cultural Plaza.
Reminded the tour this City of Lake Worth was nearing 40,000 in municipal
population and is a little part of a metropolitan area of 6
million plus. This City stands out vastly different than other coastal downtown areas in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties.
After the mayor’s talk I showed them a brief PowerPoint
presentation concentrating on the area south of the Downtown with the most 25′ wide residential lots. Also reviewed the City’s historic preservation program, how long it has been in place and
what was coming in the future. Erin Fitzhugh, a former Lake Worth Historic Resource Preservation Board (HRPB) member, joined
the group at the beginning and was helpful filling in the blanks.
Resident Tammy Pansa also joined the tour after we arrived at 501 Lake
Avenue.
A postcard. . .
Last May at the Lake Worth Historic Preservation Awards Ceremony Janice Snearer, Taylor Jones, Dean Sherwin, Roger Hendrix, Teresa Miller and the many others who contributed to promoting The Cottages of Lake Worth were honored.
A group photo:
At the Cultural Plaza the tour stopped for a photo in front of the mural on the
west wall of the City Hall Annex. Then it was on to the City’s
Historical Museum on the 2nd floor.
Inside the City’s Historical Museum:
To learn more about this museum which just reopened after exhibits and displays were renovated and upgraded click on this link. Then it was on to something very exciting, The Book Cellar. . .
Everyone marveled at the Martin Luther King, Jr. mural on the back of the Palm Beach County Cultural Council structure. We then walked further west on Lake Ave. talking about City planning issues
and stopped in The Book Cellar for some cooling down and
refreshments.
From The Book Cellar we toured the neighborhoods south of Downtown examining cottages that appear in the Cottages of Lake Worth book (all tour participants received the paperback book as part of their
registration).
Despite the heat of the afternoon our guests were very interested in The Cottages, taking pictures of homes and streetscapes. They were shown a renovated structure on 2nd Ave. South and saw examples of recent
infill development, construction and renovations and also signs of someone going through the process
to build a new residence on a 25′ lot on South L St.
A view of the walking tour:
Overheard people telling others they liked our City “vibe”. One guest from Miami said he is getting tired of living there and would seriously consider a three bedroom
cottage in the City of Lake Worth.
Hope you enjoyed this blog post about the Florida APA tour of the City of Lake Worth!
During this tour I made certain to remind everyone they were only
seeing a small part of one of City’s six Historic Districts. Each district and each cottage has a character, style and size and all are uniquely different than cookie-cutter areas further west outside the City.
Public Notice (see below) published in The Lake Worth Herald and Coastal Observer:
Support Your LOCAL Small Town Newspapers.
For latest front page news headlines in the Herald and Observerclick on this link. Have LOCAL news, ask about advertising rates, or have other questions? Call the editor at 561-585-9387 or send email: Editor@lwherald.com
Without further ado, an excerpt from the published Public Notice:
On Monday, September 24 [TONIGHT], 2018 at 7:00 p.m. at the Lantana Town Council Chambers
located at 500 Greynolds Circle, Lantana, Florida, continuing from time to time and
place to place as may be necessary, the Town Council will hold a Public Hearing to
consider the following applications:
CASE # SE18-0003 Request from Lantana Development, LLC, to modify
the previously approved Special Exception (SE17-0002, SE16-0004 and
SE15-0002) for the Planned Mixed Use Development known as Water Tower
Commons located at 1199 W. Lantana Road
Request by applicant, Lantana Development, LLC, to modify the previously approved
Special Exception Approval for the mixed use planned development known as Water
Tower Commons located at 1199 W. Lantana Road.
The applicant proposes the following modifications: (a) request for parking reduction
relative to Section 23-131(c)(7) and Schedule 23-131(c)(7) in order to reduce the
required parking ratio from 2.5 parking spaces to 2.15 parking spaces; (b) request
to amend the master signage program for the commercial phase in order to allow
three (3) additional monument signs for the east residential pod; and (c) request to
install along N. 8th Street a perimeter fence in lieu of a masonry wall as required
by Section 23-81 (j)(6).
Related documents are available for inspection and copying in Town Hall during
normal business hours Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. All
interested parties are invited to come and be heard at the public hearing.
The 10th anniversary was on August 26th. Was it a reason to celebrate? No. The work continues.
And that work cannot be done without volunteers. Today would be a good day to find out more about how to become a volunteer for PBSO. The details are below.
One of the more common complaints about PBSO is the bellyaching about their helicopters circling at night over a neighborhood, especially at night. Hearing people complain about the noise is annoying in itself. Long-time residents of this City don’t complain because they have to keep in mind there are many new residents that have no knowledge of things that preceded them.
Ten years ago this City of Lake Worth was a much different place. In many neighborhoods the gangs were firmly in control. Murder rate was sky high. Downtown was a place to avoid. Poor areas west of Dixie were particularly hard hit. On Friday when the sun went down the mayhem didn’t stop until Sunday when the sun came up. Friday was when the migrant workers and the undocumented got paid. In cash.
Gangs would descend on the Guatemalan neighborhoods and rob them all weekend. They and other communities with many undocumented persons did not resist for the most part. The ones that did were shot. The LWPD was overwhelmed.
PBSO was tasked with cleaning up this mess. And one of the tools in the toolbox for PBSO was their volunteer program that continues to this day. Maybe today would be a good day to learn more.
“Volunteering not only fosters a great feeling of accomplishment but helps your community become a safer place.”
Or you can visit the Volunteer Services Unit at 2601 S. Military Trail, Ste. 29 in West Palm Beach. Open Monday–Friday from 9:00 a.m.–noon, 1:00 p.m.–4:00.
A program having an extraordinary and positive effect is the Lake Worth Advocates Group sponsored by the Lake Worth Neighborhood Assoc. Presidents’ Council (NAPC). Volunteers are notified the night prior to attend 1st Appearance hearings for offenders. The Lake Worth Advocates have:
[P]roven to be a very effective tool for businesses and residents to fight and reduce the blight of street walkers in our neighborhoods.
Contact the Advocates by email: NAPCinfo@gmail.com
Citizen Observer Patrol (COP)*
Also inquire about the Citizen Observer Patrol unit at PBSO. This program is “comprised of individual COP units from neighborhoods much like your own. Volunteers wear distinctive uniforms and drive specially marked vehicles; each COP vehicle is equipped with a radio and police scanner.”
Other COP volunteer opportunities are:
Media Unit.
Administrative.
Traffic Monitoring.
Parking Enforcement Specialist.
Volunteer Emergency Response Team (VERT).
Honor Guard.
Airport Unit.
Mounted Unit.
Marine Unit.
Bike Patrol.
*COP = Community Oriented Policing: This program is “the component of the U.S. Department of Justice responsible for advancing the practice of community policing by the nation’s state, local, territorial, and tribal law enforcement agencies through information and grant resources.”
Below is a reminder about public safety, trains and FEC train tracks: “See Tracks? THINK TRAIN!”
The Palm Beach Post gave the wrong location for this tragic incident: a person was struck and killed by a train on the Florida East Coast (FEC) railroad tracks. The Post reported this incident happened in the Town of Lantana. That information is wrong.
An unidentified person was struck by a train Friday night on the Florida East Coast tracks in Lake Worth.
The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the fatality, which took place about 10:15 p.m. on the railroad tracks along South Dixie Highway near Washington Avenue, according to Palm Beach County Fire Rescue.
and. . .
Railroad officials repeatedly advise the public that walking along or across the tracks anywhere other than designated crossings is trespassing and against the law.
NBC5 (WPTV) also reported this incident occurred in the City of Lake Worth. According to the Post the Lantana PD, “[H]ave not publicly identified the person.” PBSO provides law enforcement to the City of Lake Worth so possibly this area in southern Lake Worth and northern Lantana has a multi-layer law enforcement presence.
And please note: The City of Lake Worth and the towns of Lantana and Hypoluxo have Quiet Zones. However, train engineers have complete authority to sound the horn at any time.
Please share this very important news (see below) as reported in The Lake Worth Herald.
The Towns of Lantana
and Hypoluxo enacted Quiet Zones. A Quiet
Zone is a designation that allows
train operators to pass
through crossings without
sounding their horns along
the Florida East Coast
Railway tracks. However, if
there is an emergency situation,
the train engineer has
complete authority to sound
the horn.
The public should be
vigilant near the tracks. If
you see tracks look both
ways for a train. Never cross
the tracks when the lights
are on nor when the arms
are coming down or in the
down position.
If you do happen to hear a train horn that is because the train engineer has an emergency situation or to warn workers on the tracks. It is of utmost importance that everyone stay alert and obey the barriers, warnings, and signals of an approaching train. Trains can approach crossings from both directions within moments!
Wait until the red lights stop flashing and the cross arms go up. It is illegal and highly dangerous to trespass on rail tracks. Train speed and distance is deceptive and without the horn a train is extremely quiet which can lead to tragic and deadly incidents when anyone tries to “beat the train” on foot or in a vehicle. Brightline trains can reach speeds up to 79 mph (127 kph).
Getting this information out to our non-English speaking communities is especially important (Spanish and Creole).
The message always is: “See Tracks? THINK TRAIN!”
For further information about Railroad Safety in English, Spanish and Creole click on this link.
Spanish: “¿Ves rieles? ¡PIENSA TREN!”
Below is a very important press release from the City of Lake Worth.
The background on City of Lake Worth’s JAG is below; very good news if Code Enforcement is an important topic for you and your neighborhood.
A public meeting was held at Lake Worth City Hall on August 13th to address funding available from JAG. Based on public input there was a recommendation (see below);the review period ends tomorrow (Mon., Sept. 24th).
The proposal is for additional training and certifications for officers in the City of Lake Worth’s Code Enforcement Dept. For Community Code Compliance click on this link.
For additional information contact Jerry Kelly, Grants Analyst for City of Lake Worth.
The details, as published in The Lake Worth Herald, news datelined August 23rd:
The City of Lake Worth intends to submit an
application to the U.S. Department of Justice, Office
of Justice Programs. Bureau of Justice Assistance
for $34,731 in funds made available under the Fiscal
Year 2018 Justice Assistance Grant Program. Based
on input from a public meeting held on August
13, 2018 and staff recommendation, FY 2018 JAG
funding will be utilized for the provision of training
and certification for the city’s code compliance officers
through a comprehensive professional development
training program conducted by the Florida Association
of Code Enforcement (F.A.C.E.).* Upon the successful
completion of the training and certification, the
City’s code compliance officers will have a better
understanding of their responsibilities and duties
and be better able to interact with members of the
community in a professional manner.
The City Commission authorized the submission
of this application at its Regular Meeting of August
21, 2018. The proposed application is currently
available for review and comment by the public at
the City Manager’s Office, First Floor, City Hall, 7
North Dixie Highway, Lake Worth, FL 33460 during
regular business hours. Public review and comment
of the grant application will be made available through
September 24, 2018.
*The mission of the Florida Association of Code Enforcement is to promote and advance the practice of code enforcement through education and certification; to further the interests of the profession through advocacy; and to promote networking, fellowship, and understanding among our members.
![Dr. W. H. Cotton’s ode: “Oh, My Lake Worth, Florida!” [circa 1920].](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUL75cv6zJQFjX15ojOIIz9AjnbqH4asHJTYSDhnGnYr7rJZRha1NcNTirj2xPcId158vkz5Hw-wXgOfrlztj8Zr8jLFFCfuEN6PyV44ZlpMRmJ68xbtFL9vzxNiG7xDs_HJvm/s1600/LakeWorthPioneers.JPG)
