City Manager's Report for Week Ending January 13, 2012

CITY MANAGER'S REPORT #133

FOR

WEEK ENDING JANUARY 13, 2012

From the Office of the Acting City Manager

Greetings!

This weekend is the Martin Luther Holiday and I encourage all to enjoy the long weekend, the beautiful weather, and the local events. There is the MLK day Celebration, the Color of Hope Bike Ride and Haiti Walkathon. All these events help remind us that we live in a very vibrant, diverse community. (see Informational Press Advisories)

This past Wednesday I reported that Lake Worth Utilities Director, Rebecca Mattey will be leaving the City on May 25th. Ms Mattey has been with the City since October 20, 2008 and has worked tirelessly for the City throughout her time here overseeing the Electric, Water, Local and Regional Sewer services. Becky will be completing a number of critical projects before May 25th including moving the RFP of power supply to the next level, completing the Budget for 2013, Capital Improvement Programs for 2013-2018, and reviewing and updating the Long Term plans for all the utilities. I would like to personally extend my thanks for her incredible service to the City and wish her the very best in her future endeavors.

As mentioned in a prior City Manager Report, the OMB Manager, Edwin Fry, will be leaving us today to take up employment as the Assistant Finance Director in Port St Lucie. Ed has been with us for over a year and has guided the City through many challenging management, budget, public safety, purchasing and grants issues. His quiet style of management will be missed. Good Luck, Ed.

Steve

Casino Update

- CONSTRUCTION PHOTO UPDATE

The Morganti Group have provided us with some amazing photos of the Casino Construction this week. The building is already developing its character and the supports for the roof are truly impressive. (see photos)

- LIGHTING FIXTURE DEMONSTRATION

Staff from the City of Lake Worth, Palm Beach County Environmental Resource Management Department, Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, Morganti Group, Kimley Horn and Associates, members of the City Commission and some interested community members visited the beach the evening of January 5th to observe the testing of new light fixture for the turtle friendly beach lighting. (see photos of the demonstration)

Commnunity Sustainability Highlights

The Historic Resources Preservation Board met this week and elected new officers. Manny Occhiogrosso will be the Chair again and Wes Blackman will be the Vice Chair. At the same meeting the Board approved three (3) requests for Certificates of Appropriateness for changes to residential structures.

The Community Code Compliance Division has extended an offer to a highly experience applicant to be the City's Senior Code Compliance Officer. The individual will manage the City's new Chronic Nuisance Abatement Program and be responsible for ensuring the success of the City's amended Use and Occupancy Program. We anticipate his arrival in the next week or so.

The first three Certificates of Occupancy for newly constructed residents for the NSP2 Program were issued this week. The addresses are 427 N H St, 305 N H ST, and 324 S F ST. The Building Division also conducted 180 inspections during the week and requests for new building permits are far higher than expected.

Revised letters for the Use and Occupancy Program will be mailed throughout the community in the next week. One letter will be sent to property owners of commercial and business properties. A separate letter will be sent to property owners or residential properties that are not homesteaded and/or have multiple units on the same property. The letters have the application on the reverse side with a box to be checked if the property owner feels that the program does not apply to their property. The fee schedule also is outlined, which have been reduced compared to the fees charged under the program in previous years.

See full departmental report

Office of Management and Budget Update

A public meeting has been scheduled for 6:00 p.m. on January 25, 2012, at the Shuffleboard Court Building to discuss improvements to be made to the remainder of the site with an allocation of $62,000 in Community Development Block Grant funds from Palm Beach County Housing and Community Development. It is anticipated that with public input consensus can be reached to develop the scope of work for this project.

An Invitation for Bids has been issued for construction of Boat Ramp Improvements at Bryant Park. These improvements include replacement of the entire existing fixed boat ramp with an aluminum frame floating dock system, asphalt overlay of the parking lot and installation of new concrete wheel stop and re-striping of the pavement, new signage and reconstruction of the bathrooms in compliance with American with Disabilities Act requirements. A pre-bid meeting, which included a site visit, was held on January 5, 2012. Fourteen (14) prospective bidders were in attendance. The deadline for submission of bids is January 27, 2012at 2:00 pm. The Notice of Intent to Award will be issued on January 30, 2012, and the Construction Agreement will be presented to the City Commission for consideration and approval at its regular meeting of February 7, 2012. If approved, the Construction Contract will provide eighteen weeks for construction to be completed.

See full OMB Grants Update Report

Community Code Manager Praised by Resident

I received an email this week from Mr Mark Parrilla praising the excellent service and outstanding job done by Ms Raquel Diaz, the City's Code Compliance Manager. Even though Ms Diaz is a new employee this past year, she is acknowledged for her excellence as a community leader who takes the responsibility of collaborating consistently with the Code department very seriously. Mr Parrilla notes that Ms Diaz has "gone above and beyond what I have ever experienced". Well done Raquel. See full text of body of email

Utilities Line Department Praised

Utilities Director Mattey received the following letter of thanks from 'The Coles" who experienced excellent service this week from Lineman Ed Wamsley and Davie Tree . Well done for your continued great service.

"My name is Michael Cole and have resided at North J Terrrace & 16th Ave North for over 20 years. Today when I arrived home from work, I met the nicest gentleman. His name is Ed and he works for the city line department. He and a crew from the Davey Tree service were clearing the alley. I have to say that it is the nicest I have ever seen it! Not to mention they all were very polite and friendly. Please keep them! Keep up the great work and the city will return to a good place to live once again.

The Coles"

Recreation Programs

A full color flyer has been prepared this week for recreation and the following recreation programs are highlighted:

Daddy/Daughter and Mother/Son Dance
Free Youth League Soccer Clinics
High note for Adult Flag Football League Victory (see photo)

see color flyer for full details

Beach Update

From January 4 to 10, 2012 lifeguards saw 10,050 beach patrons enjoying calm seas and lots of good swimming. Southeast winds pushing in some man-o-war bout only seven stings were reported.

On January 10, 2012 sewer department replaced a water line that had broken under the boardwalk. The showers on the north side of the pier are working now. (See photo)

Reminder - bon-fire Friday January 13th from 6:30 to 10:30pm.

PUBIC SERVICES - Parking Division Update

BEACH AND BENNY'S OPEN DURING CONSTRUCTION

The City's Parking Division has erected signs letting residents and visitors know that our Beach and Benny's are open during the period of Casino Building construction.

The City of Lake Worth Municipal Beach opens at 7:00 a.m. and closes at Midnight, seven days a week until February 2012. The Beach is a great area to enjoy a day at our breathtaking shore, or stroll along the Lockhart Pier to enjoy bird watching, or do some Florida fishing.

When it's time for food and refreshments, Benny's on the Beach is a great place to stop and enjoy American/Greek Cuisine. Breakfast, brunch and lunch are served either inside or outside with additional seating on the 2^nd level. Benny's on the Beach is open between 7:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., however, will stay open until 9:00 p.m. for evening events such as Bonfires.

PARKING FEES AT BEACH PARKING LOT

Pay Stations accept credit cards and coins. Please note, if using credit cards there is a two (2) hour minimum at a rate of $4.00. If using coins, pay stations will accept; .05¢.10¢ .25¢ coins only. New signs will be installed in the next week to more clearly explain how to operate the meters. (See Photos of the Beach and Benny's from the Car Park

REMINDER: No alcohol, No pets of any size and No glass containers are allowed in the beach area.

Parking Division also did restriping of faded parking spaces for Palm Beach County Sherriff's Building located at "G" Street. (See Photos)

Golf Updates

I am pleased to announce the arrival of the new PGA Golf Professional Dustin McCabe. Dustin has a Marketing degree, has been a PGA member since 2002 and has worked at some of the top resorts and clubs in the southeast. The experience Dustin brings to the facility has quickly become evident as starters and rangers are now being seen on the golf course, the shop has new apparel and merchandise arriving daily, and the Lagoon Restaurant now has a full menu being served daily. ..........WELCOME ABOARD!..........

Mr McCabe has prepared a newsletter announcement this week on such items as the new volunteer program, social media and the golf course, as well as current course improvements. See newsletter

FOOD DRIVE AND UTILITIES UPDATE

The 2011 Utilities Food Drive is continuing. We are collecting canned goods and staples to support the CROS Ministries Food Pantry of Lake Worth. Collection is ongoing through January 16, 2012.

On January 5, 2012, the Utility Department received a letter of thanks from CROS Ministries for the food collected to date. It is attached. Thanks to all the employees for making a difference

(see letter)

Conservation Management

The Conservation Management Division provides energy audits to all customers upon request. In addition to this personal service, staff members make themselves available to customers with high bill complaints, those who need assistance managing water and electric usage patterns, and to large commercial accounts to provide key account services. The weekly workload measures are reported in the table linked below.

System Operations

There were no major disturbances on the system for the week of 12/12/11 - 12/18/11. The peak load on the system occurred on Monday 12/12/11 @ 18:47 @ 58.5 MWs.

Power Plant

The GT-2 Gas Turbine Project is currently underway. Crews are painting, cleaning, refurbishing and performing other preventive maintenance on the unit.

Weekly flow data and monthly water production for the Water treatment Plant: weekly workload measures for the Water and Sewer field crews, and payment statistics for the Customer Service office , call all be found in the attached Data Sheet. see all Utilities data