Stet NewsHappy Tuesday, Stetters! This week for you: homes for the homeless, gopher tortoise hide-n-seek, ball teams sue over construction defects and meet your candidates at the Election Expo.
🏠 Mayor thinks small
Less than two weeks before a state law goes into effect that will prohibit homeless people from sleeping in public places, Palm Beach County Mayor Maria Sachs is thinking small.
Shunning the prospect of large homeless encampments or the construction of massive shelters to get the county’s estimated 2,100 homeless people off the streets, Sachs instead is turning to an option popularized by HGTV: tiny houses.
What they’re saying: “I want to see the development of mini-cottage communities — tiny houses,” Sachs said. “And once they step out of their houses, they would be surrounded by support services. We’re going to do it in the most compassionate way. We’re going to be a showcase for the state.”
Why it’s important: When Florida’s Unauthorized Public Camping and Public Sleeping Act takes effect Oct. 1, police can arrest homeless people for sleeping in public. In January, cities and counties can face lawsuits under the law.
Other options:
- Convert a hotel into a shelter. County officials are pursuing the purchase of a 114-bed former La Quinta Inn by Wyndham on Okeechobee Boulevard near Florida’s Turnpike.
- Safe Parking: Let people sleep in their cars in vacant, secured parking lots.
What’s next? Sachs’ proposal is to be discussed at 9:30 this morning at a County Commission workshop.
Click here for the rest of Jane Musgrave’s story.
— Jane Musgrave
🐢 Following the rules
Palm Beach Gardens found no gopher tortoises in a regional park site in March before clearing a wooded area in August.
Yes, but. The city’s site inspection came too early under state rules, a fact acknowledged last week by City Manager Ron Ferris.
Why it’s important: The city says it followed all applicable rules and harmed no gopher tortoises in bulldozing the site to build an indoor recreational facility, but neighbors say they have spotted tortoises on the 15-acre site.
What they’re saying: “If site construction does not commence within 90 days from the date of the most recent gopher tortoise survey,” FWC rules say, “a new gopher tortoise burrow survey must be completed to ensure gopher tortoises have not moved in.”
Ferris said he ordered staff to delay construction in June, within the 90-day period, to notify nearby homeowner associations.
“So you can blame me, which you already have, for that delay in the permit,” Ferris said at a recent City Council meeting in response to criticism from a resident.
Alerted by a concerned neighbor, an officer of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission visited the site in August and cleared the city to continue construction.
For the rest of the story from Joel Engelhardt, click here.
— Joel Engelhardt
⚖️ Teams sue over construction issues
Just seven years after the opening of the spring-training baseball stadium in West Palm Beach, the Houston Astros and Washington Nationals claim the $150 million complex has been “beset by a host of issues stemming from construction and design defects.”
Why it’s important: Public money helped build the facility and it drew nearly 100,000 fans to games in February and March. While the lawsuit described tripping hazards and other potential dangers, it didn’t mention any actual instances of those alleged defects causing injuries to fans or players.
Among the “latent” defects cited in a 25-page complaint filed in Palm Beach County Circuit Court against Hunt Construction Group and HKS Architects:
- Cracking concrete in the stadium seating bowl, dugout roofs and Astros tunnel leading from the clubhouse to the dugout; and uneven concrete surfaces on the concession level.
- Water leaks, drainage problems and erosion issues, which have caused damage to, among other areas, the locker rooms and team offices in both the Astros and Nationals buildings.
- Excessive corrosion throughout the complex, including the metal poles supporting the back stops and safety netting at the 12 baseball fields and game fields, the frame of the wheelchair lifts and fasteners on decorative art panels above the pedestrian walkway to the stadium main entrance.
What they’re saying: “These defects undermine HW’s (the Astros’ and Nationals’) ability to use the complex for its intended purpose and will require substantial and costly work to repair,’’ the lawsuit says.
Hunt and HKS denied the allegations in separate court filings.
For the whole story at ByJoeCapozzi.com, click here.
Read more: Teams settle dispute with Palm Beach County over 2020 rent payments
— Joe Capozzi
🍊 The Juice
🏢 Riviera Beach Mayor Ronnie Felder suspended City Manager Jonathan Evans for 10 days last week without consulting the City Council. The council asked Police Chief Michael Coleman to fill in but he declined to give up his chief’s position for the 10-day appointment. (WPTV and The Palm Beach Post $$$)
On the 10th anniversary of the Ice Bucket Challenge to defeat ALS, the widower of author and former Palm Beach Post reporter Susan Spencer-Wendel tells the story of Susan’s confrontation and ultimate embrace of her diagnosis with the terminal disease. (The Palm Beach Post $$$)
Former Lake Worth Beach Commissioner Gary Brian “Bo” Allen died Sept. 7. He was 67. He and his wife, Erin, opened the city’s first bed and breakfast, The Mango Inn. (Arrangements)
⚖️ A Florida judge has ruled in a lawsuit brought by The Washington Post that Gov. Ron DeSantis can’t hide the cost of his travel from the public but travel security plans are off limits. (Tallahassee Democrat)
🍔 Fort Lauderdale-based BurgerFi is closing nearly two dozen stores nationwide, including three restaurants in Palm Beach County — BurgerFi eateries at 7959 W. Atlantic Ave. and 6230 W. Indiantown Road, and an Anthony Coal Fired Pizza at 1900 Okeechobee Blvd. (South Florida Business Journal $$$)
📖 The Read Together 2024 book, announced last week, is “Remarkably Bright Creatures!” The Read Together finale will be 6 pm Monday, Nov. 18, at the Duncan Theatre at Palm Beach State College, Lake Worth campus, with the author, Shelby Van Pelt. (The Literacy Coalition of Palm Beach County)
🇺🇸 561NSIDER
Dozens of candidates in the Nov. 5 election are expected Monday at the 2024 Election Expo.
Why it matters: It’s a rare chance to walk up and kick the tires of incumbents and their challengers. There won’t be speeches. Instead, voters can meet one-on-one with candidates.
- Thirty-nine candidates have RSVP’d, said Kathi Gundlach, president of the League of Women Voters of Palm Beach County, which is co-hosting the expo.
- Candidates for sheriff, school board and the state Legislature are expected.
- Representatives will be there to discuss countywide and statewide ballot questions.
What else to expect: Games, prizes, ice cream, popcorn, coffee. The league encourages voters to bring the family.
- The supervisor of elections office plans to bring two voting machines to check out.
- An opportunity to register to vote before the Oct. 7 deadline.
- A chance to pick up the league’s free 2024 voter guide.
What they’re saying: “We had talked about a forum. We talked about a debate,” Gundlach said. “This way people can meet the people running in their district.”
This is the first election expo hosted by the league.
- Palm Beach State College and Leadership Palm Beach County are co-hosting.
If you go: 5:30 to 7:30 pm Monday at the Palm Beach State College Gymnasium, 4200 S. Congress Ave., Lake Worth.
- The event is free. Register here.
Other chances to see candidates:
- The Urban League is hosting a candidate forum for multiple races at 6:30 pm Wednesday at the Duncan Theatre at Palm Beach State College.
- The North County Neighborhood Coalition, NCNC, is hosting a forum at 4 pm Tuesday, Oct. 29, at Mirasol.
— Carolyn DiPaolo
