"Light up Lake Worth project underway", news segment by NBC5/WPTV's Michelle Quesada

Stay focused Lake Worth! Don't be distracted by reports of light "spilling" into yards and the suggestion by Commissioner Chris McVoy the City's new lights can make you sick. Do you remember why the matter of street lighting was so important in the first place? Remember the news segment below about this subject? Stay focused on the goal.

Below are two excerpts from the text of the news segment:

     "New technology moving into Lake Worth neighborhoods is expected to shine a light on problem areas while saving the city money.
     The city is replacing 4,000 old light fixtures with new LED lights. The effort is supposed to save 250,000 dollars in energy costs. It will also aim to increase security and detect crime. The city says the new lights will brighten up images recorded on surveillance cameras to help make out criminal activity."

[and. . .]

    "In the Lake Osbourne neighborhood, John Hand says it's definitely making people feel safer outdoors.
     'They’ve always had lights here, but now I noticed they are a little brighter,' said Hand. 'I take walks around the lake and around the neighborhood and it's really nice having better lighting.'
     Thirteen percent of the light fixtures have been replaced. The city aims to have all of them replaced in then ext 75 days."

Here is the video of the news segment:

From The Lake Worth Herald: A very good summation how we got to this point vis-à-vis the City's Casino

Below is part of this week's (6/9) Lake Worth Herald feature article on the faulty construction at the Casino structure. This is a concise timeline of events starting in 2010:

     In June 2010, the City entered a professional services agreement with REG Architects, Inc. to design the new Casino Building. In November 2010 (and as amended in June 2011), the City entered into a construction agreement with The Morganti Group, Inc. to construct the new Casino Building.
     Morganti secured a Public Construction Bond for its work with The Insurance Company of the State of Pennsylvania (Surety). During construction, the City notified REG and Morganti of various issues occurring at the Casino Building including, but not limited to, water intrusion through and/or around the doors on the second story (east elevation); water pooling on the second story deck; and, rusting surfaces.
     While some efforts were made to correct these issues, the City continued to experience the same and additional issues at the Casino. In 2013, after both REG and Morganti applied for final payment (which was withheld). The City retained construction attorney Michael Kennedy of Ciklin, Lubitz, Martens & O’Connell, P.A., to assist in resolving the issues.

The excerpt above gives you a good idea how long the City has been trying to resolve these problems. What's not been addressed in any significant way is the lost revenue having the second floor of the structure being vacant all this time. And then there's this problem on the first floor:

From Jeff Speck: "A Wonderfully Clear Explanation of How Road Diets Work"

The information below comes from CityLab, use this link to read the entire article; this is the opening paragraph:

A road diet is a great way for cities to reclaim some of the excess street space they’ve dedicated to cars—generally preserving traffic flows while improving safety and expanding mobility to other modes. [emphasis added] But just as food dieters have Atkins, South Beach, vegan, and any number of options, road diets come in many flavors, too. Urban planner and Walkable City author Jeff Speck, in collaboration with graphic artist Spencer Boomhower, takes us on a tour of four types of street diets in a deliciously clear new video series. Here’s a taste:

A Look Back: "Model of the Casino Building" and do you remember John G's at the BEACH?

[The blog post below is from June 2011 before the previous Casino (the home of John G's) was demolished to make way for the new one, which, by the way, leaks water just like the old structure did.] 

Before the debate I stepped into a "Studio" on J Street. That's where a local artist set up shop while the Casino Building is being demolished and built. A model was put together of the old building, complete with tenant signs, showing how long they were there. She used a picture and applied it to a form. A nice piece of Lake Worth folk art.

For another "Look Back" about the previous Casino building prior to being demolished enjoy the following video: This image is of the Casino building after it was "saved":

The prior Casino structure was 94% demolished. It was never 'saved'.

Introducing Lake Worth Water. . . From the City of Lake Worth's newsletter, Worth Noting

To see list of all City's newsletters use this link.

The newsletter is free and delivered to your email inbox. To sign up use this link. Below are two excerpts from the this news from the City:

     "Lake Worth has embarked on an ambitious Capital Improvements Project that will replace many of the water pipes which were installed in Lake Worth 50-60 years ago. The project, described in a previous edition of Worth Noting, will span six years. Replacing the severely corroded water pipes will provide better water pressure to customers and require little maintenance by city workers.
     Leading the charge for these needed City improvements is Brian Shields, P.E. Brian is the newest addition to City staff as the Water Utilities Director. He began his career as a consulting engineer in New York City. He eventually moved to Florida and became the Utilities Director for the City of Lauderhill. From there, he spent ten years as the Deputy Water Utilities Director for Palm Beach County.
     Brian is excited to be working for a smaller community where he feels that he can 'look forward to making a difference by helping improve the quality of life for the citizens with improved infrastructure.' "

[and. . .]

     "Julie Parham, P.E. has also joined the Water Utilities team at this critical juncture. Both Julie and Brian say they are enjoying working on the watermain replacement project because of the significance it carries for residents in Lake Worth. 'I really enjoy being involved in some of the large projects the City has underway,' said Julie."

What might surprise you about all those "COEXIST" bumper stickers

Image from Wikipedia.

From Vox is this news about all those bumper stickers on signifying "Coexist" vehicles you see in various colors, diagrams, and styles:

     "In the past 10 years, a new image joined the bumper sticker pantheon, right next to gratuitous honor student boasts and outdated political endorsements: Coexist.
     A smorgasbord of religious and political signifiers, with a few seemingly random symbols thrown in for good measure, it's become its own symbol of a banal, graphically incoherent 21st-century hippie. [emphasis added]
     But the Coexist logo wasn't always just a trip to the semiotic bargain bin. At one time, it was vested with powerful design and real meaning. It's also the center of a long battle over who owns it and what it really means."

Road closure begins today in the little City of Lake Worth: Press Release

ALL ABOARD FLORIDA TO TEMPORARILY CLOSE GRADE CROSSING IN LAKE WORTH

Crews working for All Aboard Florida will temporarily close the following intersection to perform construction improvements necessary for the introduction of the Brightline passenger rail service:

Lake Avenue and the Florida East Coast Railway
Friday, June 10th, 7:00 a.m.–Tuesday, June 14th, 6:00 p.m.
 
For more information on future road closures and map of traffic detours in the area, please use this link.

All Aboard Florida is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Florida East Coast Industries, one of Florida’s oldest and largest full-service commercial real estate, transportation, and infrastructure companies, and the corporate parent company of Brightline and MiamiCentral.

Panel discussion at "2016 Planning Challenges" seminar on June 7th in West Palm Beach

This is a very interesting panel discussion, a private-sector view of "The Dynamics of Density in the New Millennium", led by George Gentile, PLA, FASLA, Senior Partner, Gentile Glass Holloway O'Mahoney & Associates. Here is the panel that speaks:

• At the 10:00 mark watch Ken Tuma, Managing Principal, Urban Design Kilday Studios
• At 13:45 mark is Harvey Oyer, III, Esq., Partner, Shutts & Bowen
• At 19:00 mark is Ken Palumbo, Director of Land Acquisitions, Pulte Homes

This presentation was part of a seminar put on by the Palm Beach County Planning Congress. The event was also sponsored by the City of West Palm Beach, the West Palm Beach Downtown Development Authority and the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council.

News in The Real Deal: "A $70 million renovation of Lake Worth’s historic Gulfstream Hotel"

This news is in The Real Deal by Dan Weil. The reporter refers to the Gulfstream Hotel as "crumbling". That is not the case at all. The structure does need a renovation and you can read about my tour of the building by looking in the right-hand column for "My tour of the Gulf Stream Hotel". Also in the article the reporter refers to the city of "Green Acres". The city, of course, is named Greenacres.

Below are excerpts from the article on "Notable projects" in Palm Beach County:

A $70 million renovation of Lake Worth’s historic Gulfstream Hotel by Delray Beach-based developer Hudson Holdings. It plans to restore the crumbling, six-story hotel, built in 1925, shrinking its room count to 87 from 106. And the developer intends to wipe away two nearby buildings so it can erect a five-story, 87-room annex to the hotel instead. Both buildings will carry Hilton’s upscale Curio Collection brand.

[and. . .]

     “We started working three years ago in Boynton Beach and Lake Worth, and there’s a lot of value, especially in Lake Worth,” Steve Michael, co-founder of Delray Beach-based Hudson Holdings, told TRD. The city will benefit further if talk of the Atlanta Braves building a new spring training stadium in Lake Worth’s John Prince Park turns into reality, he pointed out.

[and. . .]

     But these middle cities [in Palm Beach County] won’t suddenly come to dominate the county, he [Neil Merin, chairman of West Palm Beach-based NAI Merin Hunter Codman] said. “I don’t see this redevelopment having a gigantic impact, because the numbers aren’t that great,” Merin said. “We’re talking hundreds and thousands of units, not tens of thousands. It’s niche projects.”

For more about the City of Lake Worth and business/development opportunities watch this video of William Waters, the City's Director of Community Sustainability talk about how much work has been done to streamline the process.

Tenant at Lake Worth Casino during a rain shower yesterday (June 8th)

At the end of this blog post is video from the June 7th City Commission meeting discussing the construction problems, The Lake Worth Herald has a feature story out on this today, and a question. . . adding up all the lawsuits, legal fees, payouts, City money to deal with this mess, how many potholes would that have fixed? The blog post from June 8th follows:

Whilst the talk is about the color of replacement tiles on the second floor this is what's happening on the first floor: The sound that you hear is a wet/dry vac being used to suck rain water from on top of the suspended ceiling tiles. The water is coming from the second floor of the building during a typical south Florida rain event. It had been raining about 15 minutes before this scene unfolded.

Want to learn more? Use this link. The videos from the June 7th City Commission meeting will be available shortly discussing the faulty construction of the Casino. Powerful words from City Attorney Torcivia, City Manager Bornstein, Mayor Triolo, and Vice Mayor Maxwell. The City Commission, staff, and citizens have had enough.

UPDATE: Below is video from last Tuesday's City Commission meeting. This was recorded off a TV screen so the quality is poor but the audio is good. Later will highlight certain minute marks to pay special attention to:

Correction in The Palm Beach Post today (June 9th)

Note link in correction to see all the "Best of the Class of 2016". When typing in the web address don't use the hyphen after "palm".

PBSO's Crime Prevention Tips: Residential burglary prevention

"Call our Crime Prevention Practitioners to schedule a crime prevention presentation for your group and/or association, or for additional information regarding crime prevention matters call 561-688-3970 or CrimePrevention@PBSO.org". Click on images to enlarge:

Raphael Clemente at "2016 Planning Challenges" meeting at West Palm Beach Commission chambers on June 7th

Over the next week will feature different speakers at this event. Below is Raphael Clemente's introduction that begins at the 6:00 mark and he begins his presentation at the 7:30 mark. To see all of the videos from this conference go to my YouTube channel using this link.

Kim DeLaney, PhD, Director of Strategic Development and Policy at the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council moderated the panel discussion. Raphael Clemente, AICP, Executive Director of the West Palm Beach Downtown Development Authority and Patrick Rutter, Executive Director of Planning, Zoning and Building, Palm Beach County participate in the discussion. This presentation was part of a seminar put on by the Palm Beach County Planning Congress. The event was also sponsored by the City of West Palm Beach, the West Palm Beach Downtown Development Authority and Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council.

Did you miss this about the new mayor of Boynton Beach?

Below are two excerpts from this article by Jane Smith in The Coastal Star about Boynton Beach Mayor Steven B. Grant and would strongly recommend reading the entire article later if you don't have time now. Hands down the most informative article to date about the new mayor.

Up to this point the press coverage spin has mostly focused on petty matters which shouldn't surprise anyone but also not fair to the public who wants to learn more about this new face in County politics:

     Steven Grant just can’t stop smiling.
     “Mayor Taylor had raised more than $40,000 for his re-election campaign, had the backing of the police and fire unions, while I raised (less than $3,000) and had the backing of the people,” Grant said. He was able to force the mayor’s race into a runoff.
      At 33, Grant is probably the youngest mayor in the history of Boynton Beach. Harvey E. Oyer Jr. was turning 34 when he was elected in 1960, says his daughter Susan, who helped Grant in his runoff race against incumbent Jerry Taylor, 80.
      Since winning the March 29 runoff with 57 percent of the votes, Grant has embraced his mayoral role. He attends events, ceremonies, government meetings, residents forums and individual sessions with city staff and various developers. [emphasis added]

[and. . .]

     Kristine de Haseth, the Florida Coalition for Preservation executive director who helped to form the Boynton Coalition for Responsible Development, also sees the change as a positive step for Boynton Beach.
     “Out with the old, in with the new,” she said. “We want to get beyond pushing the pause button, then hitting rewind and repeating.”

On the subject of politics and getting "beyond pushing the pause button, the hitting rewind and repeating" look in the right-hand column for "March 14th, 2017, is election day in Lake Worth".

"Zika: Lois Frankel urges House to approve more money to fight ‘looming health threat’ "

Below is recent news at the Post On Politics blog about a news conference by U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel who was joined by Palm Beach County mosquito control supervisor Gary Goode and Michael Farzan of The Scripps Research Institute:

     U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel, D-West Palm Beach, today [June 6th] urged the Republican-controlled House to approve more money to combat the mosquito-borne Zika virus and urged citizens to do their part to control mosquitoes.
     “It is a looming health threat,” said Frankel, conducting a news conference in a friend’s lush back yard. “Our delegation here in Florida, both senators as well as the president of the United States, have recognized it and there’s going to be a push again next week when we go back to Congress to get more funding.”

Look in the right-hand column for this image, "USA.gov—Best source for Zika virus information".