There are fewer cars on the streets. Almost every evening, dark clouds well up in the western sky, and before long, the lightning and rain begin. If you enjoy thunderstorms, it is a great show to watch. If you have a swimming pool, it means going through twice as much chlorine or salt. These signs tell us that “The Season” has for sure ended. For those who have lived or spent time in South Asian Sub Continent (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka), it is exactly like the Monsoon Season! To some, myself included, this is the best part of the year in South Florida.

Sharing a little personal nostalgia; On these stormy days, I am often reminded of one Monsoon Day in Karachi, Pakistan. It started to rain a little earlier than normal, around 11:00 am. It was a nice gentle, steady rain, maybe an inch of rain per hour. Then about 2:30 pm. The sky opened up. It was like buckets of water being poured, except it didn’t stop for five hours. Over 13 inches of water had fallen at the end of the rain. The desert was flooded by more than two feet of water as far as one could see. It was an amazing event, but the aftermath was most unpleasant. We all lived for ten days without electricity in the 95+ degree heat. And, as a side note, one Consulate member decided he would walk home in the knee-deep water. He stepped off a curb into a sewer manhole on which the lid had blown off.  He saved himself by hooking his briefcase over the lip of the manhole. His entire body and head were underwater. The guy had to get a Penicillin shot every day for two weeks! He came to a whisker from drowning in a Karachi sewer!! Enough nostalgia AND ON TO Town business.

Turning to Town Business, the following is a rundown of the June Commission meeting and the various ongoing projects.

• The Town Auditor presented his report on the fiscal year 2022. The Town received a completely clean Audit. This means there are no errors or procedural missteps in our accounting process. The only bad news was the timing of receiving the Audit Report. By law, it had to be sent to Tallahassee by June 30th. Commissioner Tyler admonished the Auditor to get the report to us earlier next year. 
•  The Agreement with Oceanside Services was retroactively approved for this fiscal year and approved for Fiscal Year 23/24.
• Ordinance O-2-23 was approved on Second Reading by 4 to 1. Commissioner McCranels cast the dissenting vote. This ordinance restricts the placement of artificial turf forward of the front building line. It also establishes certain design guidelines for the installation of artificial turf.
• Ordinance O-3-23 was approved on first reading by a vote of 5-0. This ordinance adjusts the Town 2024 election date to coincide with the State 2024 Presidential Primary Election. The new Town Election date will be March 19th, 2024.
• At Commissioner Tyler’s request, purchase of a new beach lifeguard/turtle vehicle was discussed. It was agreed to include funds for a new vehicle in the 2023/24 budget, one year earlier than previously planned. The salt air and saltwater have taken their toll on the current vehicle, and keeping it in service will cost almost as much as a new one. 
• The Commission decided that the Town should hire a Town Administrator/Manager in the next budget year.  A job description is being written, and the search for a qualified candidate will begin in a month or so.

The following is a rundown of various Town projects.

• New EMS (Ambulance) Contract: Riviera Beach has increased the cost of its EMS service significantly, if not dramatically. The Town’s current contract with Riviera Beach ends on June 30th. We have worked since early March to arrive at a reasonable agreement as the basis for a new contract. As of the Commission meeting, we still had not resolved the financial issues. The day following the Commission meeting, we met again with Riviera Beach and appeared to have bridged our differences. We will receive a new draft contract early after the July 4^th holiday. In the interim, Riviera Beach will continue to provide EMS service to the Town.
• A 5-0 vote approved a formal engagement letter with the law firm handling the DISH lawsuit. This authorizes the Mayor to approve related attorney fees.  
• The water main replacement project is in the health testing phase. The line has been flushed with chlorine, and for the past five days, fresh water has been flowing from the tested ports installed around Town. (There are 19 of them.) The contractor will know the results of the test late today (Friday, June 30th). Assuming the test results are good,  the contractor will connect all the service lines on the south side of Inlet and the West side of Lake Drive. After this is completed, the east/west service line connections will begin. During this phase, there will be a short disruption of water service to the houses whose line is being connected. The first east/west line in Town to be connected is the line between Beach Road and Sandal Lane.  This means that the houses on the south side of Beach and the north side of Sandal will have their water service impacted. Notices will be sent out prior to the disruption. This process will continue south on Lake Drive to Inlet Way. Alan Welch is on vacation the week of July 4th: so if you have questions, call me (Alan Fiers).
• The Road Paving Project engineering work is completed. We are now in the process of getting bids. Once we have the bids, we will know exactly what streets we can pave and remain within the budgeted funds. We will keep you all posted as the process unfolds.
• The Community Center Project is going more slowly than we would like.  All the new equipment has been ordered. However, our Building Official requires that we use a licensed contractor to do all the work. We had planned to have our Public Works team do all the demolition. We are now in the process of selecting a contractor. However, we will lose several weeks of work time because of this requirement. The likely completion is now mid to late October.
• Unfortunately, the Governor vetoed our request for State funding. So, the project will not move forward this year. A number of folks in North Palm Beach County are very upset by this turn of events. They want to give it another try next year. The current goal is to determine why the Governor vetoed this project. Once this is determined, the team working on the project will determine if it is worthwhile to give it another try.

Happy 4^th of July!!

OFFICE OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT:

COMMUNITY RISK REDUCTION:

The 2023 Atlantic Hurricane season is here. The season runs from June 1 through November 30, 2023. Forecasters are predicting between 11 and 15 named storms this year with up to half reaching hurricane strength. We’ve already had some tropical activity to our south within the past few weeks. Don’t delay – it’s time to complete the hurricane preparation checklist. A helpful guide can be viewed at https://discover.pbcgov.org/publicsafety/PDF/Hurricane-Guide.pdf

FIRE DEPARTMENT: 

Training:

The PBSFD is currently in their annual training cycle for water rescue. This training includes shore-based water rescue techniques, flood / swift water rescue, ocean rescue, and sand tunnel collapse rescue. Our Medical Director, Dr. Keehn, provided continuing education on EMS management of drowning / near drowning and SCUBA diving incidents. We are fortunate to also have some certified Ocean Rescue Lifeguards amongst our volunteer firefighter cadre in addition to the Town’s Lifeguard staff.  

All Creatures Great and Small:

Our calls for service cover a wide variety of people, places, and things. Yes, there is the rare but popular legend of Firefighters responding to the cat-stuck-in-a-tree (Cats are adept climbers and do come down when they are hungry… One of my old Captains, who was not at all PC, would say “Have you ever seen a cat skeleton in a tree?!?!) 

Nevertheless, the PBSFD members were recently called to assist some of our furry friends who were in a bit of a different predicament:

All the four-legged creatures were fine and spent some time with the crew following the event.

Beach Wheelchair: The Beach Wheelchair is a wonderful mobility asset that helps more people enjoy our beautiful beach. Please see the Lifeguard to sign out the beach wheelchair during guarded beach hours (10 am – 5 pm.)

As always, please reach out with questions or if we can be of any assistance. tsteedman@pbsfire.org or (561) 296-3380  

The Town of Palm Beach Shores Building Department is excited to announce the launch of our newest version of the MyGovernmentOnline (MGO) customer portal platform....READ MORE

READ MORE PBS WEBSITE - APPLY ONLINE MGO'S WEBSITE

The 4^Th of July is just upon us, and I sent out an email with the PBSO flyer regarding the law on fireworks. If you signed up for CodeRed, check your inbox. Please remember the effects the noise has on our animals, and please ensure your animals are secure for the night.

We appreciate your understanding during the process of Mary's replacement at the front desk. An injured deputy is answering the local phone and front door. He will return to full duty soon, and the front desk will have rotating people from District 3 and other regions from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM Monday through Friday.

On that note: The old non-emergency phone is still operational 24/7, 365 days a year. The numbers 561-844-3456 and 561-688-3400 are also non-emergency and will get you right to Sheriff's Dispatch Center and, of course, 911. The inside office number that some use, 561-844-9269, is to speak with me or Mary's desk but is only operated Monday to Friday, 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM, and cannot be used to have a deputy dispatched to your home or about town.

We increased our traffic efforts, especially on Lake Drive. This past week we made (36) Thirty-six traffic stops and issued (35) Thirty-five warnings, (3) three citations, and (1) one criminal citation. Hopefully, this helps, but as I am in my 30^th year here, I have not found that to be altogether true!

We are here when you need us, and thank you for all your help.

Sergeant Steve Langevin

Commander District 20 Town of Palm Beach Shores

TOWN HALL MEETINGS - 2023

(Visit our Town of Palm Beach Shores Website and connect to our virtual meetings.

DEVELOPMENT REVIEW COMMITTEE MEETING

July 5, 2023 @ 2 P.M.



COMMISSION WORKSHOP/BOARD MEETING

July 10, 2023 @ 7:00 P.M.

July 24, 2023 @ 7:00 P.M.

PLANNING AND ZONING MEETING

July 26, 2023 @ 6:30 P.M.

2023-2024

Beach Parking Passes are available for purchase in Town Hall.

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The Bookmobile is Available!

Obtain a Library Card with proof of local address and check out library materials

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