Commissioner Suzanne Mulvehill gives presentation

Comment Up

It really is about time to finally get a presentation when you consider all of the travel to conventions, seminars, etc. that some commissioners make throughout the year who never ever give a presentation to the taxpayers who pay the tab. We are interested in how these "free lunches" benefit the city. We want to know that our commissioners are actually learning something, not just rubbing elbows with political cronies.

Pioneering clean energy projects, an aggressive carbon-reduction strategy and North America’s greenest building have helped the UBC to garner Canada’s first gold rating in a new international program that assesses sustainability achievements in higher education.

The 8th International Conference on Environmental, Cultural, Economic and Social Sustainability held in Vancouver on January 10-12, 2012 was attended by Commissioner Mulvehill who gave a presentation Tuesday night at City Hall. While she attended the conference, she promoted our city by giving a presentation of her own on Lake Worth and what we are doing for sustainability.

One of the themes at the conference was that of community resiliency in building environmental, economic, cultural and social sustainability which are all the components of sustainability. She said that it is important to note that resiliency is something that can be cultivated and constructed in communities.

Key Resiliency Factors for Communities in Transition were developed following the fall of the lumber industry in small towns in British Columbia and some cities transitioned to a new economic model more successfully than others. It struck her how this applies to Lake Worth. Our community underwent a significant transition as a result of the recession.

Commissioner Mulvehill says, "Build on our natural resources – and I don’t mean the way other communities build on their natural resources – like with condos. As an example, the four corners of our bridge – are all natural areas. That’s unique in Palm Beach County and probably unique to many places in Florida, a distinct advantage that we have. Another plus is the diversity in population.

I have heard people say, Lake Worthless or that’s Lake Worth for you or we are a drinking town with a beach problem. Statements like those negatively influence people’s perception of us and we are allowing that to become our brand by default.

We are a great town with a bright future. The concept of community confidence is also quite relevant for us, and I think the notion of 'coping rather than being proactive' as a result of low community confidence is key for us. And I’m not pointing this out to make us feel bad about ourselves, but rather because I believe we have begun to reverse this lack of confidence by being proactive in some areas of governance.

We’ve adapted the '8 pillars' approach used by HB Lanarc for sustainable planning and applied this with a healing cities lens. Within each of these, considerations are made to the different facets of health: body, mind and spirit.

• Complete Communities (Land use, density, site layout)

• Conscious Mobility (Environmentally-friendly and community oriented transportation systems)

• Restorative Architecture (Green buildings)

• Thriving Landscapes (Multi-tasked open space)

• Integrated Infrastructure (such as greywater reuse)

• Nourishing Food Systems (from production to consumption to the return of resources to the cycle)

• Supportive Society (Community facilities and programs, social systems and governance)

• Healthy Prosperity (Economic development)"