At the November 17, 2020, Board of County Commissioners meeting, the board took the following action:
In memoriam – observed a moment of silence in honor of former Commissioner Ken Adams, who passed away on November 10 at age 90. Mr. Adams served on the BCC from 1984-1988.
Vietnam Veterans – Constitutional Tax Collector Anne Gannon presented Commissioner Hal R. Valeche with a commemorative Vietnam Veteran lapel pin for his service during the Vietnam War. Commissioner Valeche was a Naval fighter pilot who flew 85 combat missions.
Reorganization – acknowledged and thanked outgoing commissioners Hal R. Valeche and Mary Lou Berger. Following administration of the oath of office, newly elected commissioners Maria G. Marino (District 1) and Maria Sachs (District 5) and returning commissioners Dave Kerner (District 3) and Mack Bernard (District 7) took their seats on the dais. Board members then reelected Commissioner Kerner to serve as Palm Beach County mayor and Commissioner Robert S. Weinroth vice mayor. The board also recognized and thanked Clerk & Comptroller Sharon R. Bock who is retiring.
Solid Waste Authority – sitting as the Solid Waste Authority Governing Board, reelected Vice Mayor Weinroth as chair and Commissioner Gregg Weiss vice chair of the SWA and named Commissioner Maria Sachs secretary. The board awarded a 2021 Blighted and Distressed Property Cleanup grant in the amount of $120,465 to the city of Belle Glade for demolition of abandoned portable classrooms at the old Gove Elementary School.
COVID-19 – received a
report from Dr. Alina Alonso, director of the Florida Department of Health-Palm Beach County and Bill Johnson, director of Palm Beach County Emergency Management, on local COVID-19 mitigation efforts. Statewide as of Monday, a total of 889,864 cases were reported, with 877,340 positive residents, 52,019 resident hospitalizations and 17,559 resident deaths. The state's daily positivity rate stands at 7.92%. Palm Beach County reports a total of 58,754 confirmed cases (358 new), 4,355 hospitalizations (11 new) and 1,677 fatalities (5 new). The county's daily lab positivity rate is 7.55%. About half of all new cases in the county are in the 15 to 44 age group.
Land development – adopted a resolution amending the fee schedule for the Land Development Division (LDD) to provide funding for its various functions and services and to offset actual review costs, as well as establish new fees to cover new services and services previously provided at no cost, such as ancillary reviews provided by other agencies on behalf of the LDD.
Climate change – amended the county's 2020 federal agenda to include the Southeast Florida Regional Climate Change Compact's 2021 federal legislative program.
Fire Rescue – approved on preliminary reading and to advertise for public hearing on December 15 amendments to the updated Florida Fire Prevention Code which is based on updated Florida editions of the National Fire Protection Association's Fire Code and Life Safety Code.
Palm Tran – approved the labor management agreement between Palm Tran, Inc. and the BCC as joint employer, and the Service Employees International Union, Florida Public Services Union, CTW, CLC (SEIU) representing 40 regular full-time, non-professional, supervisory employees of Palm Tran for the three-year period of October 1, 2020 through September 30, 2023; and a letter of understanding granting COVID-19 related compensatory time for time worked between April 1 and May 18, 2020.
MLPT Healthcare – conceptually approved an economic development incentive of $22,500 for MLPT Healthcare, LLC, previously referred to as Project Doctor. MLPT Healthcare provides staffing for hospitals, clinics, and medical practices nationwide. The company is required to make a minimum capital investment of $1.53 million to lease, renovate, and equip a 23,0000-square-foot facility and create 75 new jobs over a three-year period at an annualized average wage of $60,657, excluding benefits. The five-year economic impact is estimated at $42.9 million.
Caron of Florida – amended a resolution authorizing the issuance of up to $52.8 million in revenue bonds for Caron of Florida, Inc. to reflect a change from the use of a trust indenture to a loan and security agreement. No county funds, nor its taxing power, faith or credit shall be pledged to pay the principal, premium, if any, or interest on the bonds.
Levatas – approved a cash grant of $35,000 over seven years to Levatas, LLC, previously referred to as Project Captain Jack. The company is required to make a minimum capital investment of $1.25 million to lease, renovate, and equip a 15,000-square-foot facility, create 50 new jobs over a four-year period with an annualized average wage of $105,490 excluding benefits, and maintain 57 existing jobs for three years. The estimated five-year economic impact is $42.5 million.
HOME – approved three HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME) Community Housing Development Organizations (CHDO) awards: 1) $715,000 to Habitat Housing Solutions, Inc., in partnership with Habitat for Humanity of Palm Beach, Inc. to construct four single-family homes and one duplex in Pahokee, Belle Glade and South Bay; 2) $101,500 to Community Land Trust of Palm Beach County, Inc. to construct a single-family home in Lake Worth; and 3) $494,786 to Riviera Beach Community Development Corporation to construct Villa at Solana, a 28 townhome-style for-sale project in Riviera Beach.
State Road 7 – adopted a resolution authorizing the conveyance by county deed of the county's interests in segments of State Road 7 between Okeechobee Boulevard and Northlake Boulevard to the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) and approved a county deed to FDOT to convey and assign all of the county's interests in the property.
Roads – approved on first reading and to advertise for public hearing on December 15 amendments to the Five-Year Road Program. This is the annual update, which is required to be considered each year by the Five-Year Road Program Ordinance.
Building codes – approved on first reading and to advertise for public hearing on December 15 an ordinance adopting an updated Chapter 1 "Administration" of the Florida Building Code 7th Edition applicable to the unincorporated areas of the county and in municipalities having an interlocal agreement for the provision of county plan review and inspection services. The proposed ordinance allows for the construction of tiny houses and repeals and readopts irrigation system regulations to help conserve water and protect the public water supply.
CARES Act – authorized administrative budget transfers within the CARES Act Relief Fund to properly account for expenses within the approved fiscal categories. In April, the county received $261 million in federal CARES Act funding for coronavirus response. The monies must be used by December 30. This will enable the county to expend all remaining CARES dollars including appropriations to Palm Beach County municipalities and the School District of Palm Beach County.
Animal Care & Control – approved consultant services authorization to the contract with PGAL, Inc. in the amount of $654,257 to provide professional design services for the Animal Care and Control renewal/repair/replacement project. The design includes renovations to the three existing kennels and the existing main building, a new two-story addition for intake staff and administration, a new larger high bay sally port, one new indoor/outdoor air-conditioned kennel, and a new air-conditioned dog isolation building. This project is funded from the infrastructure sales tax fund.
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