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Congratulations to all area candidates who were elected on Tuesday, November 5th. Special congratulations to Commissioners Joel Flores and Bobby Powell, who were elected to the Board of County Commissioners, and to Maria Sachs, who was re-elected. All were sworn in today and will serve alongside Gregg and newly appointed Mayor Maria Marino and Vice Mayor Sarah Baxter.
We may differ in our opinions about the election outcomes, but one thing is beyond debate: the election process was fair and votes were counted accurately. As a canvassing board member, Gregg spent countless hours with the election supervisor overseeing the smooth operations of the election process.
The election of Donald Trump as president of the United States will impact our area in several ways. The sheriff’s office and local police departments will be called upon to provide additional security for the president and high-ranking visitors who undoubtedly will visit our county. Air travel will be subject to flight restrictions to protect the airspace over Mar-a-Lago when Trump is present. This means planes will take alternative routes to and from Palm Beach International Airport, which will affect many different neighborhoods. Traffic, too, is expected to be impacted in the form of temporary closures when the president travels through town. Additionally, the closure of South Ocean Blvd/A1A near Mar-a-Lago is expected to be closed frequently. Drivers need to know beforehand if A1A is closed or not. Following Gregg’s direction to staff, the county engineer purchased and deployed electronic message boards to let drivers know whether A1A near Mar-a-Lago is open or closed, so people can plan accordingly and avoid getting stuck.
To inform residents about all the county does for them, we’ve been holding community services fairs in several of our larger gated communities. Check out the “Commish in the Community” section to see a few of the communities we’ve visited.
Despite the intermittent rain, LagoonFest was a blast. There were wildlife presentations, guided tours of the Lake Worth Lagoon, and fun stuff to do for kids. Together with the Green Market it made for a busy and lively downtown experience. Thanks to Palm Beach County's Environmental Resources Management staff for organizing this special event to celebrate our precious Lagoon.
In a previous newsletter we told you about seagrass in the Lagoon coming back strong. Here’s another exciting project that will further enhance the water quality in the estuary: Tom Twyford, Executive Director of the Palm Beach County Fishing Foundation, and Robin Hamm, who oversees sustainability initiatives at The Breakers Palm Beach, visited our office to tell us about their plans to recycle oyster shells. The Breakers serves around 300,000 oysters annually, and oyster shells are normally discarded as waste and end up in our landfill. Tom and Robin want to change that. They plan to collect the shells and “cure” them for a period to ensure they are clean and can be reintroduced into the agoon, where they attract oyster larvae and grow reefs. Oysters are natural water filters that improve the water quality by removing nutrients and pollutants from the water. Tom and Robin are working on securing a site to store the oysters, and we are standing by to support them in any way we can to make sure their vision becomes reality.
A private business, a nonprofit, and local government working together to improve the environment—now that’s something to be thankful for.
Happy Turkey Day - and thanks for being a reader!
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