Today is a Super Spooky day: Halloween Eve. The witches goblins, ghosts, and maybe even a werewolf or two are restless, waiting for their night to prowl. Moreover, it is the night of the Blue Moon (the second full moon in October). This concurrence of events doubles the spookiness of the day, especially the midnight hour. So, keep your rabbit’s foot, salt, and raw garlic handy to ward off the spirits
The Undergrounding Project
The FPL portion is all but complete. The Junction box remediation is finished. We are still in the process of replacing four older electric meters which cannot be converted to the new service. (The meter replacement is the responsibility of property owners. If you haven’t been notified by Alan Welch, don’t worry about this.) The overhead FPL wires and transformers have been removed from the poles on Lake, the Inlet Pathway, Atlantic, and Ocean. The FPL contractor will begin behind the houses as soon as they return from the Hurricane Zeta mobilization. Removal of the remaining wires and topping of the poles should take another four or five weeks. The conversion to automatic feeder liner switching is still in the planning stage, but it is moving forward.
Comcast will begin next week to convert customers on Beach, Bamboo, Sandal, and Blossom to the new underground service. Once this is done, they will return to completing the remedial conduit installation on Ocean Drive and then complete their network on the south end of Town. Once this is done they will convert their remaining customers on Cascade and south.
AT&T is at work in the north half of Town identifying and measuring the conduit runs (This is called roding). This phase confirms that there are no obstructions in the conduit and gives them exact measurements. They are near completion of this phase and report finding NO problems. They are also running a conduit down Edwards, which is part of their network backbone structure. This is being done at their cost.
COVID -19
As I am sure you are aware, the world, the USA, and Florida are experiencing a resurgence of the COVID-19 Virus. In Palm Beach County the test positivity rate which had declined to well under 5% has surged to over 8%. On Thursday it was back to 5.2%. While still better than our rates in April and May, this surge is a warning sign telling us not to become complacent. More troublesome, Riviera Beach, West Palm Beach, and Mangonia Park are considered “hot spots.” However, as far as we are aware, the Town remains COVID-19 free. So, trouble is on our doorsteps, so to speak. On Thursday we met with leaders of our Civic Groups, POA, Seasiders, and Fire Auxiliary to discuss Town precautions. It was agreed that we should maintain our current level of precautions. Specifically: require wearing of masks in all public places, maintain social distancing in all encounters, limit the number of participants in meetings; ask for resident cooperation - if you feel you may have been exposed or are exhibiting ANY Covid symptoms, please stay home and away from crowds. Specific restrictions are as follows:
- Town Hall Office: only one customer in the vestibule at a time. Others wait outside and maintain social distancing
- Town Hall Meeting Chamber: no more than ten meeting participants. One or two residents at a time will be allowed in the chamber to make presentations.
- Lower Deck of the Community Center: Masks and social distancing required, a maximum of fifty (50) attendees, sanitizing after each use.
- Upper Deck: Same requirements, plus precautions to sanitize the elevator after each trip up or down. Please use the stairs, if possible.
During Town Hall working hours the Town Public Works will handle set up for the various events. Civic group organizations will be instructed concerning post-meeting sanitization requirements and the Fire Department will finalize the process with their mist spray sanitizer.
We will follow this protocol unless there is a change in the Town COVID-19 status.
October Commission Meeting
The Auditor selection committee recommended the selection of our current Town Auditor, Nowlen Holt, and Minnor. They were found the most qualified of the four competing firms and had the lowest price.
The ordinance increasing building height in District C by four (4) feet, from 42 to 46 feet when street-level parking is used in place of depressed parking, was adopted on second reading by a 4-0 vote. Commissioner Mills was absent. During the discussion, it was agreed that to eliminate possible future confusion the definition of the terms “floors and stories” should be clearly defined as living floors or Stories, and consideration should be given to including the increased height for building with depressed parking. These two points will be discussed at the November workshop. As always your views are welcome and sought.
An update was given on the possible replacement of the Town water main on Lake Drive and Inlet Way. The 6-inch line is 70 years old. The proposed new line would be a 12-inch main. Project drawings and bid specifications are completed and the project is ready to go to bid. Once a contractor is selected, final approval must be given by the Riviera Beach Council and work would begin thereafter. If everything unfolds as planned, construction work could begin by late spring of 2021. If this project goes forward, the Town will then regrade and repave Lake and Inlet Way and in doing so address certain current stormwater drainage issues. We will keep you posted as events unfold.
Ordinances regulating the placement and duration of use for storages POD was discussed as was an Ordinate to bring Town signage regulation into current federal legal compliance. In the process signage for advertising Garage Sales will be updated and amended. Also, the request to authorize parking of golf carts on the Inlet concrete pad (known also as the helicopter pad) was discussed. This discussion will continue at the November workshop. Our goal is to find a consensus on this issue.
Finally, as the fiscal year-end number is not yet finalized, there was a very limited financial report. A full fiscal year financial report will be forthcoming at the November Commission meeting.
As always, if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to call Town Administrator Wells, or me.
