NEWS UPDATE FROM TOWN HALL
OCTOBER 28, 2021
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ELECTION QUALIFYING INFORMATION |
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Town of Palm Beach Shores
CANDIDATE QUALIFYING INFORMATION
Qualifying Period is: No Earlier than Noon on
November 2, 2021, and no later than Noon on
November 19, 2021.
Candidate Requirements:
All Candidates must be a qualified elector in the Town of Palm Beach Shores and shall qualify for office by:
Being endorsed by a petition signed by at least Fifteen (15) registered electors of the Town of Palm Beach Shores; and Filing originals of the following documents:
- Written Letter of Intent: Stating name of Candidate, Filed for Office, Age of Candidate, Length of Residence.
- Appointment of Campaign Treasurer (DS-DE 9 Rev. 10/10)
- Statement of Candidate (Form DS-DE 84, Rev 05/11)
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Oath of Candidate (Form DS-DE 302NP, Rev 11/17)
- 2020 Form 1-Statement of Financial Interests
Important: Late Submittals, Copies, or Facsimiles of the Above Referenced Documents Cannot be Accepted, Even if you have Started your Campaign!
For Complete information on how to qualify, contact Jude Goudreau Deputy Town Clerk at 561-844-3457.
In order to be able to sign a petition for a candidate, the individual must be a registered voter of the Town of Palm Beach Shores before signing the petition. All signatures will be verified by the County Supervisor of Elections to ensure that signatories are registered voters of the Town. For further information regarding voter registration or registration status, please contact the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Office at (561) 656-6200 or visit their website: http://www.pbcelections.org.
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Welcome back to our northern residents. We all are looking forward to the new Season.
October has always been my favorite month of the year! Up north, the leaves are changing, the nights are crisp, and the days warm. In sunny Florida, the weather also begins to change – ever so slightly-less humidity, cooler nights. And, although leaves don’t change colors, the car carries bringing the transportation of our winter residents, tell us the Season is changing. While all this is great, I think the main reason October is my favorite is that on a crisp, rainy October evening in 1959, I met Hazel, my first wife. We were together for just under 50 years, and it was her that gave structure and direction to my life. And, of course, the month ends with the fun and pageantry of Halloween. I am always sorry to see October come to an end. But, the sorrow passes quickly as the holiday season is just around the corner.
Speaking of Halloween, the Mayor’s Youth Council is sponsoring the second annual Truck or Treat Halloween event on Friday, October 29th. The fun begins at 5:30 PM in the Town Hall parking lot. Thanks to the Sheriff Department, some treats are, provided. Decorate your trunks, load them with treats, put on your costumes, bring your kids or just yourself, and join the fun.
October was a slow month in terms of Town business. The 2022 budget was formally adopted in September, and the fiscal year 2020/21 ended on September 30th. While we don’t yet have the final numbers, but all indicators are that it was a favorable year. We will provide a complete wrap-up in the November Newsletter.
Among the topics discussed at the October Commission Workshop covered were:
The Holiday Events Schedule:
1. The Chanukah Menorah lighting of the first candle will be on Sunday, November 28th at sundown. More details will be made available as the event approaches
2. The Christmas Tree light will be on December 3rd at 5:30. The tree will return to traditional between Townhall and the fire Station. Again we will provide more detail as the event approaches.
The Blood Mobile: (There is a critical shortage of Blood supply in the County.) Details on when and where will be forthcoming, after arrangements have been made.
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Discussion of how to stimulate redevelopment of District B: (It was agreed that revisiting three-story buildings in the district is a non-starter.) As a first step, we are gathering facts and Ideas. Please pass them on to the P&Z Chairperson, Jerry Cohn, if you have thoughts on the topic. One or more Town Workshops will probably be held during the 2022 season to obtain public input on this topic
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The use of the Townhall Commission meeting chamber by the Town Civic Groups. The unanimous Commission opinion was that these meetings should be held at the Community Center, with the exception of Civic Group Board Meetings, which should continue to be held in the Chamber,
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A discussion of groundwater discharge into our streets in conjunction with swimming pool contractions: In the low laying 300 blocks, when a new swimming pool is built, a discharge of ground water is required during the period between construction of the form and filling the form with concrete. After a thorough review by the town engineer, it was confirmed that there is no other viable alternative to this practice and that the practice does not violate South Florida Water Management regulations.
The October Commission meeting agenda was usually light. Two ordinances were passed on the second reading. One was a housekeeping ordinance dealing with election dates and timing. The other dealt with regulation of Micro-Mobility Devices. These are the small electric scooter that has become ubiquitous in large cities and tourist location. The Ordinance requires that such device can only park in the Town Hall and beach parking lot bicycle racks in our Town. Vehicles left anywhere else can be impounded. Also, the Ordinance sells out that such devices can only be used on Town streets.
The other two items were:
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Approval for the Cross Community Church to resume Sunday services beginning on November 21st: The Church will now be responsible for setting up for their service and cleaning up afterward. They will also clean the carpets professionally twice a year. A Town resident will be the event sponsor. Services can be preempted with a 60-day notice should the new service provider require the use of the building. (It is anticipated that this will NOT happen frequently.)
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Discussion and vote on a new tree trimming proposals: Only one service provider bid timely on in repose to our request for new tree trimming contracts. Their price was $97,777. Our budget for this service is $85,000. At staff recommendation, the Commission rejected the bid. Mapping out a path forward will be the lead discussion item in the November workshop.
To wrap up my report, I will give a brief report on several Town Public Works Projects:
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All Comcast installation work is now completed. They are in the process of removing their overhead wires. If all goes well, this process should take another two to three weeks
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AT&T has begun work in the south half of Town. However, they have paused work to address serval design issues caused by the placement of transformers and service boxes immediately next to or on top of one another. As a result, some houses have three large service boxes in their front yards. In some cases, the boxes are jammed in a small space. There are more than a few locations where AT&T does not have enough room to install the size box called out in the plans. Their project engineer is currently working to resolve these problems. In the interim, work in the field has been halted. There are also several locations where the plans did not call out conduit service runs to the buildings or conduits runs that are too small were installed. As a result, we may need to run a few conduit lines. We will keep you posted. AT&T conversions to the new service in the north half of Town are continuing.
The Townhall sewer line: a 65+-year-old cast-iron pipe is being relined, and some connections are being replaced; the street light poles and Inlet lights are being repainted; the Community Center downstairs floor will be repainted, and additional drainage swales will be placed at the Lake Drive intersections of Edwards and Claremont Lanes.
The water main replacement project has been delayed pending sorting out the cost and related contract changes for several additions to the original contract.
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TOWN ADMINISTRATOR - WENDY WELLS
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We are going to have some changes in Town Hall soon. Our Town Clerk Evyonne Browning announced her retirement at the October Commission Workshop. Her last day here will be on January 12, 2022. We will miss her, especially her bright smile lighting up Town Hall. We wish her all the best in her retirement! (Some of us are a little jealous!) Over the next couple of months, she will work closely with our Deputy Town Clerk Jude Goudreau as Jude transitions into the role of Town Clerk. We expect this cross training will optimize the transfer of information. Our Code Enforcement Officer Orlando Rodriguez will also be changing his duties. He will continue his code enforcement responsibilities, but forego his time spent on grant writing. Orlando will add the responsibility of processing the building permits. Jude will train him on the building permit process and will remain involved in the building department overseeing the DRC and P&Z meetings as Town Clerk. Our Office Manager Sandi Lue will remain in her current role. There may be other shifts in smaller duties among staff as we make this transition, aiming to keep the work load appropriate for each position. |
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TREVOR STEEDMAN - FIRE CHIEF
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The PBC Emergency Operations Center is maintaining COVID-19 operations at Activation Level III (Enhanced Monitoring). The Local State of Emergency Declaration was rescinded due to the drop in COVID-19 cases and decreased burden on the county-wide hospital system. PBC hospitals are no longer required to report daily COVID-19 statistics. The Daily Lab Positivity rate remains below 5% (4.2% as of Thursday, October 28). County Emergency Management will continue communication with Local / Municipal Emergency Management representatives as conditions change. General COVID-19 information and more resources are available by visiting https://discover.pbcgov.org/coronavirus/Pages/Updates.aspx
County Testing Sites:
Our closest testing site is in Palm Beach Gardens at the Gardens Branch of the PBC Libraries - 11303 Campus Drive, off PGA Blvd. This site offers drive-through testing (PCR “Nasal Swab” and Rapid Test). The testing is free, however, where available insurance or Medicare / Medicaid programs will be billed to help offset the cost of testing. Hours of operation are 9 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Monoclonal Antibody Therapy Treatment:
The State has established a monoclonal antibody therapy treatment site at the Westgate Park and Recreation Center in West Palm Beach. This site has the capacity to serve 300 patients per day and will be open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The site is located at:
Westgate Park and Recreation Center - 3691 Oswego Ave. - West Palm Beach, Florida 33409. The monoclonal antibody treatments are available to individuals 12 years of age and older who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 or who have been exposed to someone with COVID-19 and are at high risk for severe illness and hospitalization. The monoclonal antibody treatments are available at no cost to eligible individuals. The antibodies help the immune system recognize and respond effectively to the virus. According to the treatment guidelines, they should be administered as soon as possible after diagnosis.
The Palm Beach Shores Office of Emergency Management will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates as they are received.
The Florida Department of Health has established a dedicated COVID-19 call center (866) 779-6121 for the public to call 24 hours a day. In addition, the public can email COVID19@flhealth.gov for more information.
Community Risk Reduction:
· Pre-Incident Planning
Part of the Fire Department’s operational readiness strategy is Pre-Incident Planning or, as we call them internally, “Pre-Plans.” This process is performed continually to update critical response information on each of our Target Hazards (Commercial buildings, Marinas, Hi-Rise structures, multi-family dwellings, etc.) at least annually. To that end, it is typical to see our fire engine(s) parked outside of these types of facilities and occupancies while the pre-planning is being conducted by the Fire/Rescue crew. We occasionally receive questions/concerns/curiosity from the public and passers-by when a fire truck is outside of a building or facility. During these site visits, the emergency lights on the fire engine are not activated – Indicating that the FD is not operating in an Emergency Mode. Hopefully, this recognition of emergency versus non-emergency operations will alleviate any undue concerns when the FD is positioned outside of a building. These site visits are done with the permission of the property owner/manager and are not to be confused with annual life safety inspections that are performed through the PBC Fire Marshall’s Office. Pre-Incident Planning also enhances the FD’s familiarity with the systems, services, management staff and special considerations at these locations. The information collected is placed in our on-board computer in the fire engine and in a 3-ring binder hard copy version. (This redundancy may seem a bit old school, but I’ve never had a binder fail to boot up at 3 a.m.). This vital data is immediately available to the responding fire crew so that they may address emergencies in the most proficient and expedient manner. Another facet of the pre-plan is aerial mapping. This gives emergency responders a birds-eye view of the building/site, which is paired with overlays for access points, utility shut-offs, rescue areas, standpipe connections, hydrants, etc. Occasionally, small drones are briefly utilized to capture this overhead view with advanced knowledge of the building’s owner/manager.
Community Emergency Supply Cache Program
o FEMA advises communities and individuals to be prepared to self-sustain for 72 Hours as it takes them time to mobilize emergency resources and assistance. ”The first 72 is on you” is FEMA’s slogan reminder to make these important considerations and preparations. Our Community, Emergency Supply Cache Program, is dedicated to bridging this anticipated three-day gap with a basic supply of drinking water and non-perishable food. Town departments have assessed and updated their essential hurricane supplies, equipment, and response plans.
Hurricane / Disaster Preparedness – The 2021 Atlantic Hurricane Season is drawing to a close but is definitely not over. Fortunately, to date, the tropical weather has stayed well offshore. Hopefully, this trend will continue. Nevertheless, we remain ready:
o For your hurricane planning purposes, it is important to know that the County announced that PBC shelters will still operate at ½ capacity, citing COVID-19 prevention concerns. Also, some pet-friendly shelters require pre-registration. Helpful hurricane preparation links are listed below:
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As always, preparation and self-sufficiency are the best tools in your hurricane planning toolbox. Here are of few of the key items to remember ahead of the storm:
- One gallon of water per person per day for at least 5 days, for drinking and sanitation
- Make sure prescription medications have been refilled if necessary.
- Trim trees and Secure loose objects around the house
- Re-stock personal care and cleaning items.
As always, please reach out with questions or if we can be of any assistance. tsteedman@pbsfire.org or (561) 296-3380
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STEVE LANGEVIN - SGT. - DISTRICT #20 |
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As the weather gets cooler in places up north, folks are returning to beautiful Palm Beach Shores. If you have signed up for the Sheriffs' closed-house program, please let us know that you are back in town to remove you from the system. If you leave again for the holidays also, please let us know.
As a reminder, our Law Enforcement assistant Mary Boeckler is in the office Monday to Friday, 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM.
We welcome Deputy Sanchez back to active duty as he returns from his injury while affecting an arrest.
We also welcome our newest Sheriff's deputy to our town, Deputy Brain Randall. Deputy Randall comes to us with a wealth of experience and is on the night shift. Brain is also bicycle certified, so you should see him in town.
The theft of a large boat occurred at a location near the entrance to town. We utilized the town's CCTV camera system and great work by PBSO personnel and the Sheriff's task force at locating the boat in Key West.
A suspect was identified by Sheriff's personnel who contacted the Bahamian authorities and was arrested on charges of illegal entry into their county and possession of the stolen property. The suspect pleaded guilty and will spend the next two and a half years in the Bahamian jail system. He will be extradited to the United States at a later time by the US Marshalls.
The Sheriff's office was pleased to be invited to the yearly Halloween event, and we will be there and hope to see you. Sheriff Bradshaw sent over a bunch of candy bags for the kids.
We have received many complaints of motor scooters on the Parkway; therefore, we will be out educating and enforcing the rules and regulations that the town has in the weeks to come. We also ask that bicyclists look out for the pedestrians as they also enjoy the town's beautiful parkways.
As always, thanks to all of you for your support
Sgt. Steve Langevin
Commander District 20, Town of Palm Beach Shores.
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Environmental Committee meeting on Friday Nov 19th at 9 am at Town Hall meeting room.
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- Holiday Tree Trimming, Wednesday, December 1st, 10:00 a.m.
- Holiday Tree Lighting, Friday, December 3rd, 5:30 p.m. - 7:00 p.m., Town Hall Park
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POA Holiday Dinner Party, Monday, December 13th, 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m., Sailfish Marina
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COST: $20
LOCATION: FIRE DEPT. ANNEX
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PALM BEACH SHORES FIRE DEPT.
MORALE T-SHIRT Sale
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THE PROCEEDS WILL GO TOWARDS......
the purchasing of uniforms, fire gear, and equipment for the volunteers. Also for the dinners at the Volunteer Association meetings, the holiday dinner, and also anything needed in the living space of the annex.
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