Island News of the Week:
Important Meeting 6/11/2014: CRA Board of Commissioners Meeting (the proposed 7-11 on the corner of Broadway/Blue Heron..will be on the agenda of this meeting - click here for the original site plan that the P&Z committee voted against | pdf format)
Singer Island Beach Cameras (we have a link on the SICA website) - David C from Sugar Sands suggested that we highlight this link, so here it is! ...This is a great little tool to view the beach and inlet conditions on our wonderful island.
Beachfront site on Singer Island sold at $5M discount - South FL Biz journal - A beachfront site on Singer Island was sold at a discount of $4.9 million, or 32 percent, from its last price six years ago. Many oceanfront properties in South Florida are seeing great appreciation in value but that wasn't the case for the 2.8-acre parcel at 3730 N. Ocean Dr., which is sandwiched between the Resort and the Hilton.
Group wants Scott to stop inlet expansion, while Port seeks support- Palm Beach Daily News - Both sides of the Lake Worth Inlet expansion project sent letters this week advocating their positions and trying to gain headway with the contentious ...
Judie Gibson: Good Samaritan talks about rescuing swimmers - WPTV - At Ocean Reef Park in Riviera Beach several young cousins were playing together in the water Sunday evening when they encountered trouble...Thank you Judie! ...Please watch out for those rip tides neighbors!
Palm Beach may go to court to challenge Lake Worth Inlet dredging - Sun-Sentinel (blog) - The prospect of increased vessel traffic at the Riviera Beach-based port is raising concerns across the Intracoastal Waterway in nearby Palm Beach.
John D. MacArthur State Park "Explorations Blog" - (don't miss the video of our island!) ...and some really neat things to explore through this link. This Summer John D. MacArthur Beach State Park is participating in its' second Citizen Science Program. Citizen Science is a term describing the process of participatory scientific research which involves the public, professional scientists, the collection of meaningful data and education. Citizen Science connects people to hands-on, memorable experiences in nature, engages people interested in making a productive contribution, increases understanding of scientific process, expands the capacity of scientists to address many research questions and data needs and strengthens attitudes towards the natural environment.
"Since last year's Citizen Science Program was so successful, we decided to increase the number of nests that will be excavated from 10 to 50 over the next several months," says Scott Duncan, Park Ranger. "All data that is collected will be sent to FWC to compare our productivity to other beaches in the area," he adds.MacArthur Beach State Park is currently looking for more Citizen Scientists. There will be a training on June 14th at 9am at the Park. If interested or for more information contact Ranger Scott at scott.duncan@dep.state.fl.us.
Ocean Mall - Please stay tuned for more information on this issue as we get it...
CommUNITY Voice/Feedback from the May 23rd eNews:
Ocean Mall Area
(unedited input sent in over the past week)
From Marianne Wiegand: Below is a copy of the email I sent to Ms. Ruth Jones, Ms. Dawn Pardo and Mayor Thomas Masters:
Ms. Jones, it disturbs me greatly to see the recent decline in the Ocean Mall. Not knowing where we stand with the lease of the Mall, I can only suggest that the responsibility for keeping up its appearance and working on securing tenants falls squarely on the City. My suggestions...........
1. charge very reasonable rent; it isn't logical to charge high rents for an area that is struggling attracting tenants
2. the empty store front windows look terrible to people driving/walking by; looking through dirty windows to see all kinds of "storage" inside is a real turnoff; the City let this Mall go for years - surely we learned from that mistake and will not let it happen again
3. the dumpster areas are a disgrace; the enclosures are almost always left open, never latched, the trash is piled well above the enclosures, trash piles up on the concrete and they all need fresh paint; their appearance when walking/driving by to enter a restaurant can only be described as disgusting
4. power-washing sidewalks should be done on a regular basis as well as a fresh coat of paint on the outside walls
5. the landscaping seems to be taken care of in most areas but not always
The suggestions I've read for potential tenants from the residents all seem very reasonable, i.e., high end coffee shop like Starbucks, a pharmacy, hair salon, affordable ice cream shop, gift shop with good quality items - not knick knacks - something for children like a "Cool Beans", good quality sports apparel, arts and crafts stores, art gallery for local artists, etc. But once again, we need to offer more reasonable rents.
I hope the City can turn this slippery slope around.
Thank you,
Marianne Wiegand
