Happy Father's Day to all of our Boca Raton Dads! Tag the Father in your life or Boca Raton photos with the hashtag #LoveBocaRaton so we can find and feature them.

(This month's featured Instagrammers are listed at the bottom of this newsletter. ⬇️)

Palm Beach County has been experiencing an extremely dry period for the past three to four months. To put things into perspective - the normal monthly precipitation for May in Palm Beach County is 4.91 inches. This year, the County only had 0.61 inches (9th driest on record). Because of this, the Utility Services Department has seen a consistent increase of 25-35% in water usage. The major reason for this increase is irrigation which makes up about 70% of household usage.

As we continue to navigate this dry period together, we ask residents to be mindful of their usage and help in our conservation efforts. Learn more from Utility Services Director, Chris Helfrich or visit myboca.us/UtilityServices.

May was Building Safety Month, an international campaign that takes place in May to raise awareness about building safety and to recognize Building Departments like our very own.

The City's Building Department processed 11,084 permits last year -- the highest number of permits processed since 2006. 9,000 of those permits were processed during the COVID-19 pandemic, with electronic permit submission taking the place of in-person submissions. While keeping staff and the public safe, the Building Department completed 86,992 inspections in 2020. Thank you to the many hardworking staff members that kept our City running through the pandemic.

Join us in congratulating Mayor Scott Singer and Deputy City Manager George Brown for being recognized by the Florida League of Cities (FLC) as 2021 Home Rule Heroes. The award is presented to local officials who worked tirelessly during the 2021 Legislative Session to promote local voices making local choices, protecting the Home Rule powers of Florida's municipalities and advancing the League's legislative agenda. For more information about Home Rule, visit Building Stronger Cities.

Did you know that 49 of the Boca Raton sanitation trucks (primarily heavy-duty solid waste collection equipment) currently have a 360-degree camera installed? The system helps with the safety of employees, driver accountability and service training. It also helps maximize the efficient and effective use of equipment, and ensure the consistency of the quality of service. Learn more in this brief video.

Driving around our City, you may notice that there's more happening than ever. With projects such as park renovations, infrastructure upgrades and traffic improvements, the City works hard to enhance our community every day. Thank you for your patience while we complete these projects.

For additional projects, visit the City's projects page.

Beginning June 1, Gumbo Limbo Nature Center is offering weekly guided tours for families and individuals, touring the Butterfly Garden, Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Facility, outdoor aquariums and more. You can register in advance through Webtrac. Learn more about guided tours on the Gumbo Limbo website.

The Boca Raton Public Library invites readers of all ages to participate in this year's Summer Reading theme, "Tails and Tales." Prizes are available for different age groups: preschoolers, elementary school, 'tweens and teens, and adults, and everyone who signs up for Summer Reading receives a "Tails and Tales" tote.

Sign up begins June 1. Learn more on the Summer Reading webpage.

Teens can earn community service hours virtually through the library's new Teen Summer Service Program from June 1 - August 31. Teens seeking community service hours can assist with teen book clubs, create book recommendation videos and more. Contact Morgan, Teen Librarian, for details at mmessenh@myboca.us.

June 7 - CRA Regular Meeting / City Council Workshop

June 8 - City Council Regular Meeting

City Council meetings will resume to in-person meetings starting this month. Residents can attend and participate in meetings at 6500 North Congress Avenue, Boca Raton, FL 33487. While virtual participation is no longer available, you can watch the meetings:

Be prepared and stay safe, Boca Raton. For more information on how to prepare and develop a hurricane plan, watch the Mayor's hurricane message, access the City's Hurricane Guide, view the Official Hurricane Message from the City and visit Be Prepared Boca.

NOW is the time to get ahead and plan to trim your trees and clean out your garages, carports and storage areas throughout the month of June. It is crucial that we prepare now and clean out our homes and properties, so we don’t overwhelm our sanitation systems.

Visit Sanitation Services for more information about acceptable bulk and vegetation  items and unaccepted materials. Also, learn more about tree maintenance and  bulk/vegetation pick-up.

With the possibility of flooding from a hurricane, it's important to know your flood zone and insure your property now. Floodplain management activities implemented by the City of Boca Raton may qualify residents in high hazard flood zones for a discount of up to 15% on their flood insurance premium.

*Note: In 2019, FEMA proposed new PRELIMINARY coastal flood maps. These maps are still under review and may eventually replace the current flood maps which are based on 30-plus-year-old studies. While FEMA has emphasized that these are only PRELIMINARY maps, the City wants to provide residents and business owners with all available information regarding flood risk.

For more information, please contact the Zoning Office at 561-393-7790, visit the Flood Management page on the City's website, or view the Flood Management Brochure.

Learn more on the City's Vaccine webpage.

Last week, the Coastal Resilience Partnership (CRP), of which Boca Raton is a member, was featured in the guidebook Adaptation for All: How to Build Flood Resilience for Communities of Every Size. The guidebook and the case study of the CRP were featured in a Water Solutions webinar, a lead-up event to Amsterdam International Water Week. Hear Sustainability Manager Lindsey Roland Nieratka discuss the project starting.

Boca Raton Fire Chief Tom Wood, Deputy Mayor Andrea Levine O'Rourke, and Council Members Monica Mayotte and Yvette Drucker, attended a ceremony unveiling of a Boca Raton Army Airfield (BRAAF) Historical Marker to honor nine U.S. Army Air Corps personnel who lost their lives in a bomber crash during World War II. The May 12, 1944 crash happened at what is now the intersection of North University Drive and FAU Boulevard on FAU's Boca Raton campus.

The BRAAF Historical Marker is the fifth one inside our City limits. Learn more about the marker on the FAU website.

🏳️‍🌈 Celebrating with Pride 🏳️‍🌈

Happy Pride Month to our LGBTQ community! (Pride Month is celebrated annually in June)

Listen to the City of Boca Raton's curated Pride Month playlist on Spotify -- the perfect soundtrack to your Pride Month celebrations. Just search for "City of Boca Raton" and you'll find our Pride Month playlist (or click the link above).

🏳️‍🌈 Pride Month at Boca Library 🏳️‍🌈

The Boca Library has book recommendations and various Pride displays in celebration of Pride Month. From flag representation to the top reads for Pride Month, show your pride at the Boca Library.

There will also be a Pride Storytime with the book, Introducing Teddy: A Gentle Story About Gender and Friendship this week on the Library's Facebook page.

Happy Father's Day to all the dads in our community! Special thanks to these featured Instagrammers! If you’re not already, be sure to follow the City on Instagram, and remember to tag your photos #LoveBocaRaton so we can find and feature them.