​At the January 7, 2020, Board of County Commissioners meeting, the board took the following action:

Legal Aid Society – approved a contract in the amount of $423,300 with the Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County, Inc. for the three-year period January 7, 2020, through December 31, 2022, for the Wage Dispute Project, contingent upon an annual budgetary appropriation by the BCC for the term of the contract. The board is to receive an annual performance update on the program.

Homelessness – adopted the Community’s Plan to End the Cycle of Homelessness for individuals and families throughout Palm Beach County. When the Ten-Year Plan to End Homelessness ended in September 2018, the Homeless and Housing Alliance had achieved 57 of the 63 action steps outlined in the plan. Staff engaged the consulting services of the Center for Supportive Housing and other community stakeholders to develop Leading the Way Home, which is comprised of six key focus areas to be addressed on a communitywide basis. Staff was also directed to research converting a county-owned facility in Belle Glade formerly occupied by the Jerome Golden Center into a west-area homeless resource center.

Project Doctor – conceptually approved a cash grant of $22,500 over six years for Project Doctor. The company is considering relocating its national headquarters to Palm Beach County. The project will invest $1.53 million to lease, renovate and equip a 23,000-square-foot facility and create 75 new jobs over a three-year period at an annualized average wage of $60,657 and an annualized median wage of $50,000. The estimated five-year local economic impact is $42.9 million.

Riverbend Park – directed staff to initiate the process to reallocate $5 million in infrastructure surtax funding from the North County District Park in Palm Beach Gardens to the Riverbend Park Interpretive Center in Jupiter. The reallocation will be presented to the Infrastructure Surtax Citizen Oversight Committee prior to formal consideration by the board.

Goodwill – approved a three-year contract for financial assistance with Gulfstream Goodwill Industries, Inc. for the period October 1, 2019, through September 30, 2022, in an amount totaling $258,288 ($86,096 per year) to provide audiology and interpreting services to Palm Beach County clients over age 60 who have a certified hearing loss.

Glades Initiative – approved a three-year contract for financial assistance with the Glades Initiative, Inc. for the period October 1, 2019, through September 30, 2022, in an amount totaling $426,159 ($142,053 per year) for the provision of financial literacy training and access to care services.

State Road 7 – discussed presenting a united position in support of the proposed extension of State Road 7 at the February 20 meeting of the Palm Beach Transportation Planning Agency (TPA) and reaffirmed BCC support for inclusion of the project in the TPA’s long range plan. The proposed extension was unexpectedly removed from the TPA’s long range plan at its last meeting. The board also directed staff to prepare a resolution requesting changes to the TPA’s procedures related to plan amendments and adoption.

Health Department – sitting as the Environmental Control Board, commissioners reappointed Trevor Rosecrans and Douglas MacLaughlin to three-year terms on the Environmental Control Hearing Board, and appointed Renzo Mosca, E.I. to a three-year term on the Environmental Appeals Board.