Our Beach - And the $5 million dollars

December at our beach

We have a meeting at 7pm tonight wherein the Commission will be voting on the Site Plan for our beach renovation. This, as you all know, has to do with the $5 million Bond money that was allocated to Lake Worth for our beach restoration in 2004 after the County-wide Bond referendum was passed. We are finally going to use our portion of the bond money after paying on it for the last five years.

Never did we envision that $5 million dollars would be spent on re-designing a parking lot. This was supposed to improve the beach ensuring that beach access would not be hindered. The County specifically said it wanted MORE if not the same amount of beach access, not less. We thought it meant improving the walkways/boardwalks, the bathroom facilities, the outside showers and perhaps re-sealing the parking lots and re-striping. Little did we know that everyone would go "nuts" about green--more trees, more bushes, a playground, more of everything but convenient beach access for people who go to the beach...a novel idea.

Rene Varela brought Michael Singer Artist to the table who designed a "vision" for our beach and Commissioner Jennings went giddy. You see the Singer plan talked about a paved bike path with bicycle racks; it talked about solar film on the roofs and rain cisterns; it talked about playgrounds; it talked about wind turbines. Yes, windmills. It never talked about beach access. In fact, the plan eliminated convenient upper level parking to the tune of 164 parking spaces --PLUS, it eliminated our unlimited decal parking, something that will be discussed tonight. We will get to have 50 spaces at the north end of the parking lot and have to walk up the dune, unless, of course, you are one of the lucky 12 that get to park a little further east. And no longer will you be able to drive by and look at the ocean. It ended all of that.

This is about the biggest WASTE OF 5 MILLION DOLLARS I have ever seen. I consider it total irresponsibility by the Commission and Palm Beach County. Also, the PAC did not pursue the initiative on the zoning and get it on the ballot. This is what happens when those on the Dais have all the power. The people lose a little something. And we get some disingenuous rhetoric that "this is what the people wanted." What people, Commissioner? What people, Mayor?

This time, a whole lot of taxpayers lost $5 million on re-designing asphalt. And now when we drive up to our beach we will all have lost what made our beach unique, the gorgeous and breathtaking view that has always been there since 1922.