March 12, 2021
from the desk of
Vice Mayor Robert S. Weinroth
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Palm Beach County Commission District 4 |
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Vice Mayor Weinroth is available to visit or zoom with your homeowner's association or community group to share updates on county issues. Please email us at rweinroth@pbcgov.org if you are interested. |
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COVID-19 vaccination updates |
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Governor expands vaccine eligibility
Governor Ron DeSantis recently expanded the groups eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in Florida. Eligible residents now include:
- Long-term care facility residents and staff;
- Persons 65 years of age and older;
- Health care personnel with direct patient contact;
- K-12 school employees and child care workers (any age);
- Sworn law enforcement officers 50 years of age and older;
- Firefighters 50 years of age and older; and
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Persons deemed extremely vulnerable to COVID-19 as determined by a physician who provides an attestation that the patient meets the defined eligibility criteria outlined in the Department of Health form.
- Persons 60 years and older (effective 3/15/2021)
Vaccine locations in Palm Beach County and surrounding area
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Publix's portal for scheduling appointments is open Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 7 a.m.
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CVS pharmacies: Currently, the only location in Palm Beach County is in Belle Glade. Visit their website to book an appointment and/or other locations.
All individuals who submitted an appointment request to HCD prior to March 1 but were not contacted for an appointment can submit a new appointment request and check “Yes” in the box indicating they were on the waitlist. HCD will verify and prioritize accordingly.
The following three vaccination sites are being operated by the HCD. These sites require appointments (see links above). No walk-ins permitted.
- South Florida Fairgrounds in West Palm Beach
- Burns Road Community Center in Palm Beach Gardens
- South County Civic Center in Delray Beach
(TTY number for hearing impaired: 833-476-1532)
For more information on COVID-19 including testing sites, click here.
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The West Palm Beach VA Medical Center is now offering vaccines for all eligible veterans of all ages who receive care at the VA. The vaccine is offered by appointment and on a walk-in basis at Building 14 on the main campus in West Palm Beach from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday - Friday. For more information, call 561-422-5200. |
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After weeks of negotiation, the American Rescue Plan (ARP) which provides $1.9 trillion of additional relief in response to the pandemic, received its final approval by President Biden.
After preliminary analysis by county staff, it is anticipated the county will receive approximately $290 million. Local allocations will include small businesses, nonprofits, and other industries negatively impacted by the pandemic.
Additionally, assistance will be provided for food relief, testing, vaccinations, broadband infrastructure and other related areas negatively impacted by the pandemic.
Preliminary analysis also indicates ARP funds will be used to address revenue-related government services such as water and sewer.
Moreover, ARP will provide larger cities with direct allocations.
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Emergency rental/utility assistance
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The Palm Beach County Community Services Department (CSD) has its online portal open for Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA).
Eligible Palm Beach County residents must be a renter household in which at least one or more individuals meets all of the following criteria:
- qualifies for unemployment or experienced a reduction of household income;
- incurred significant costs, or experienced other financial hardships due to COVID-19;
- demonstrates a risk of homelessness or housing instability; and
- has a household income at or below 80% of the area median.
All applicants must present the following documentation in order to apply for services:
- evidence of COVID-19 direct or indirect impact
- evidence of risk of homelessness or housing instability
- evidence of income eligibility
- valid government issued ID
Rental assistance may be paid up to three months in advance and income and crisis must be recertified for each three- month period. For rental assistance, landlords must be registered as vendors with Palm Beach County.
Utility assistance is for electric, water and gas for eligible rental households only.
Applications will be through the County online portal. Applicants must submit the correct information along with all required documentation to expedite approval. Applications will be prioritized for clients who are below 30% /50% AMI, facing evictions and currently unemployed for more than 90 days.
For more information, contact CSD’s Contact Center at (561) 355-4792.
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Bike and pedestrian safety initiative |
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Alarmed by an increase in bicycle and pedestrian fatalities on Palm Beach County roads, I am calling for stronger safety initiatives.
There’s a lot that needs to be done to make our roads safer for our community. Our county has committed to "Vision Zero" which strives to eliminate the deaths on our roadways.
Pedestrian fatalities also rose last year, with 41 deaths compared to 40 in 2019.
As co-chair to the Palm Beach Transportation Planning Agency Governing Board, I will be making bike and pedestrian safety a priority. Our residents should not be taking their lives in their hands when they venture out on foot or by bicycle.
March is Florida Bicycle Month! Palm Beach County Parks and Recreation offer a wide array of bike paths at parks countywide. For more information, visit the website.
Biking in our parks is a great way to see some of the spectacular park settings while enjoying the outdoors.
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Joint mission to secure local waters |
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Representing over 22 miles of coastline, I am pleased to report the county has obtained a grant to assist in securing the international water borders countywide.
A Homeland Security Grant of $352,000 will be used to enhance the U.S. Border Patrol’s (USBP) mission to secure the coastline. Specifically, the grant funds will pay for overtime to reinforce our presence within local communities along the coast to implement highway interdiction and crime suppression operations to intercept those who have illegally crossed our borders.
The waters off our shoreline are notorious for illegal activities, and these patrols are effective and necessary.
The grant will aid the USBP’s ability to work with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office and other law local enforcement agencies in this joint mission in securing the county’s borders.
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Local tourism market hit hard |
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The county's third largest industry, tourism, has been hard hit by the pandemic. Recent reports show bed-tax collections driven by the number of people staying in hotels and the amount hotels charge fell 20%. In 2019, bed-tax collections went from a record high of $54 million to $43 million in 2020.
Tourism officials are estimating $28 million in bed-tax collections in 2021. They are also predicting that bed taxes and visitation levels won't return to re-pandemic levels until 2022 or 2023.
Bed-tax dollars are used for tourism-related projects from beach renourishment to marketing strategies such as television and print ads.
While traditional hotel sales were down, the pandemic drew out a trend that could be the future of the county's tourism. Nonhotel sales, like home and condo rentals, grew by 8%.
Tourism's overall economic impact in Palm Beach County is estimated to be under $6 billion, more than $1.6 billion less than 2019.
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CareerSource Palm Beach County has announced they have over 1,000 area jobs available and over 100 in the South County area.
For information on job fairs, classes and job search assistance, visit www.careersourcepbc.com or call 561-340-1060.
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Call or email us if you have any questions or need assistance
561-355-2204
rweinroth@pbcgov.org
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