Email: ddavis@juno-beach.fl.us or DianaDavisJunoBeach@gmail.com

Celestial Way Stormwater Plan: Drainage improvements on the east side of Pelican Lake on Celestial Way were approved to begin by July 1, with CK Contractors & Development to complete the not to exceed $278,000, contract. These improvements have been sought after for years. The Resilient Florida grant funding is paying for one half of the costs and $162,000 is from the One Cent Surtax. The project is expected to be completed within 90-days. Thank you to Staff! Click here or on title to see engineering plans.

Town Hall Bathroom Renovation: The contractor was selected and the work awarded to upgrade the Town Hall bathrooms at a cost of $43,000. Note: It was a no vote for me to these proposed modifications.

Grant Program Funding for Safe Streets for All: FAILED. I voted yes to applying for a grant of $100,000 from State and Federal funds to produce a Safe Streets for All - Action Plan to protect against traffic fatalities and serious injuries on Juno Beach roadways. The Town's investment is $20,000 to receive the Action Plan with ideas on mitigation or improvements for Juno Beach traffic safety issues.Please contact Mayor Peggy Wheeler, Marianne Hosta, and Jacob Rosengarten to ask them to reconsider their "No Vote on Safety" at the May 8th Town Council meeting. Thank you, DD Halpern for joining me on voting for public roadway safety. The Safe Streets for All - Action Plan would allow the Town to apply for implementation grants from State and Federal funding sources to execute the safety improvement initiatives suggested by the Action Plan report. The Action Plan is expected to include plans to build & improve pedestrian cross walks and to build & improve bicycle paths.

Grant Program Funding for a Historical Survey of our Town: PASSED.  The survey will identify unique characteristics of our Town. It will help with creating a list of architectural styles and a checklist of what features make up those styles. It will allow the Town to set up a local preservation program, where those who opt-into the program can receive some incentives for volunteering to preserve their homes or buildings for those historical characteristics that make our Town unique. The Town's investment is $25,000 for the grant program survey. Bravo!

Congratulations to the new Planning and Zoning Board members!  James Ehret, James Ferguson, John Gonzales, Carol Rudolph, Laure Shearer, and Michael Stern.  Thank you for your service.

Congratulations to the new Audit Committee members! Anita Bloom, Anthony Pace, Andrew Spilos, William Viggiano, and Nancy Wolf, who were selected at the April 1st Town Council meeting. Thank you.

Police Foundation donations are accepted again by our Town, after they were paused at the April 1st Town Council meeting awaiting action by the Police Foundation Board. A statement was made and a policy letter (click here to see letter) was handed out by the Police Foundation President and Vice President, who also answered Council's questions regarding written published negative attacks against residents in Town. There was agreement that during this budget cycle, the Town Council will act to make sure that our Police Department is adequately funded. While the generosity of the Police Foundation is appreciated, we do not want our Police Department dependent on donations, as it needs to be Town funded at a level to meet its safety needs. There was also a request that the Police Foundation create a communications policy so that actions of its board members do not reflect negatively on the Town of Juno Beach.  

Police Department Volunteers' Key Cards There was an analysis of the access needs of the volunteers. It was determined that the keys would allow access during business hours to the Police Department corridor, garage, and restrooms. No key access would be allowed to Town Hall. The policy would be continued to not allow access to computers, evidence, armory, or any sensitive Police Department files. The Police Department Volunteers were recognized and applauded for the valuable services they provide to our Town.

Affordable Workforce Housing - State mandated Live Local housing projects: PASSED. Ordinance 782 created safeguards for Juno Beach against these administratively approved mixed-use projects that are allowed to be up to 12-stories tall in our Commercial Zoned areas. The P&Z Board worked on this initiative since June-July of 2023.

Construction Site Standards: PASSED. Ordinance 783 created new requirements for construction sites, such as no more than four days use of a gas powered generator, required screening for port-a-johns, and parking plans for vehicles servicing the site, among other requirements.

Modification of Procedures to Select Planning and Zoning Boardmembers: PASSED. Ordinance 784 created new procedures requiring applications and voting by the whole Town Council rather than each Council person selecting their own P&Z Board member.

Initiative to allow Planning & Zoning members and the Audit Committee members to set their own agenda items - FAILED. The current practice is for Town Council and Town Staff set agendas. Thank you, Jacob Rosengarten for putting this on the agenda to allow volunteer boards to set their own agendas with restrictions. Please note how long it took to pass a new ordinance regarding the "live local workforce housing" after the Planning and Zoning Board requested this action June-July 2023.

Your input and opinions: Public engagement is a vital part of the work that Town Council does for our Town. Your comments and thoughts are welcome.

All the Best to you,

Diana Davis

phone: 561-267-7772 official email: ddavis@juno-beach.fl.us

From left to right, Marianne Hosta Vice-Mayor Pro Tem, Diana Davis (me) Council person, Peggy Wheeler Mayor, Jacob Rosengarten Council person,and DD Halpern Vice-Mayor.

Save the Dates: The new Planning and Zoning Board meets on May 6th. Our next Town Council meeting is on May 8th, paid parking and resident parking will be on the agenda.

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Click here to see the You Tube video of the April 24th Town Council meeting. Click here for the agenda & backup materials for the April 24th Town Council meeting.