At the November 5, 2019, Board of County Commissioners meeting, the board took the following action:
 
Peer specialists – approved three full-time equivalent, grant-funded peer specialist positions for the Division of Human and Veteran Services in the amount of $149,007 annually. Homelessness issues continue to increase in John Prince and Phil Foster parks. Additional trained peer specialists are needed to assist homeless individuals with sheltering, diversion, family reunification and other needs. The grant-funded positions will be for the length of the grant and will be eliminated if funding is discontinued. No county funds are required.
 
Jerome Golden Center – approved a budget transfer of $130,000 from general fund-contingency reserves to the Division of Human and Veteran Services (DHVS) for emergency housing services provided to clients of the Jerome Golden Center for Behavioral Health, Inc. who face possible loss of stable housing.
 
Henrietta Townhomes – approved a HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) funding award of up to $500,000 to New Urban Community Development Corporation, Inc. (NUCDC) for the Henrietta Townhomes project and directed staff to negotiate the HOME funding agreement. For several years, the 11-unit low-income rental complex in West Palm Beach has experienced a deficit in its operating budget for which NUCDC has had to secure subsidy from external sources. The property is at risk of foreclosure and loss from the county’s affordable housing stock. The HOME award of $500,000 will be structured with terms the project can support. These are federal grant funds that require a local match provided by the State Housing Initiatives Partnership (SHIP) program.
 
Supervisor of Elections – authorized the county administrator or designee to execute Amendment No. 1 to the contract with All-Site Construction Inc. in an amount not to exceed $400,000 for the Supervisor of Elections (SOE) interior renovations project. Funding for this project is from the Public Building Improvement Fund.
 
Facilities – approved the addition of an assistant director and a contracts manager position to the Facilities Development & Operations (FDO)/Capital Improvements Division. Two new positions are required mid-year to address operational challenges. Impact in FY20 is $103,124.
 
Veterans – directed staff to look into developing a program similar to Miami-Dade’s Patriot Passport program which provides fare-free transit services for generally or honorably discharged military veterans who meet certain low-income thresholds.
 
Environmental lands – directed the county attorney and administrative staff to research options for funding the maintenance of environmentally sensitive lands on an ongoing basis, rather than having to reappropriate funding each year through the political process.
 
Legal - held a private attorney-client session in the case of National Prescription Opiate Litigation.