At the May 15, 2018, Board of County Commissioners meeting, the board took the following action:
 
Workforce Housing – approved a series of amendments to the Workforce Housing Program Down Payment Assistance Strategy, now known as the Workforce Housing Program Financial Assistance Strategy. Amendments include a maximum asset limit of $200,000 for all eligible WHP participants; buyer occupancy requirements; a first mortgage loan option for eligible buyers; and purchase/sale of eligible workforce housing units by the county. This will enable the county to purchase such units, under extenuating circumstances, rather than allowing them to be converted to market rate.
 
Roads – approved a revised alignment for the extension of Congress Avenue from Northlake Blvd. to Park Lane, contingent upon Hilltop Residential Ltd. (HRL) conveying all right of way necessary, free and clear of any encumbrances, within eight months. Alternative Alignment 1A is needed to establish right of way for a three-lane roadway. No other privately owned properties will be impacted, but some impacts are expected on property owned by the city of Palm Beach Gardens. The alternative alignment has been coordinated with the city.
 
Land swap – directed staff to draft an agenda item regarding the proposed swap of 15 acres of preserved land at the Bear’s Club in Jupiter for 20 acres of undeveloped property elsewhere within the development. Staff was asked to include an environmental assessment of the sites.
 
Legislative Affairs – received the final legislative report reviewing locally sponsored bills and BCC priorities and appropriation requests lobbied during the 2018 Florida Legislative Session in Tallahassee.
 
Legislature – presented a certificate of appreciation to state Rep. Joseph Abruzzo for his efforts and support of Palm Beach County issues and funding requests. Rep. Abruzzo has announced he will not seek re-election to his District 81 seat. In addition to serving nearly six years in the Florida House, he served four years in the Florida Senate.
 
Internal Audit – approved a series of revisions to the Internal Audit Committee Charter Ordinance pertaining to attendance, ethics, obsolete language, term limits for the committee chair, and clarification of the duties and responsibilities of the alternate member.
 
Opioids – adopted an ordinance allowing for opioid cost recovery and declaring the effects of opioid abuse on the county a public nuisance. The large-scale sale, distribution, and prescription of opioids has created a public health and safety hazard requiring the county to incur great expense in combating this widespread epidemic.
 
Palm Tran – continued to the June 19 BCC meeting at 9:30 a.m. a public hearing on the filing of a grant application with the Federal Transit Administration in the amount of $16.158 million.
 
Retirement – recognized and thanked Deputy County Administrator Jon Van Arnam, who is retiring at the end of the month after 30 years of service with Palm Beach County.
 
Administration – announced the promotion of Planning, Zoning & Building Director Patrick Rutter to Assistant County Administrator. Departments and offices he will oversee include Community Revitalization, Engineering & Public Works, Environmental Resources Management, Planning, Zoning & Building, and Resilience.