Last Night's Commission Meeting

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decay and neglect--our legacy after 100 years?
NO--it is a broken pump

Green algae will usually rear its ugly head immediately following a hazy condition in the water from a lack of proper filtration and/or sanitation and in Lake Worth's case, a pump broke causing all the green, slimy stuff. Now the city is scurrying around hunting up the money to buy a new pump, I think.

The main item on the agenda was the approval of the 3 story, 216 rental units on Boutwell and Lake Worth Roads. I can agree with Commissioner Szerdi that it is a good location for them--west of town and not a NIMBY situation, although the traffic congestion will be tremendous in spite of the contractor's traffic projections. I disagree that competition will indirectly force rental home owners to improve their properties. Slums are slums and slum landowners don't change.

Yesterday the developer/contractor gave me renter estimated target incomes of between $60 and $80 thousand a year but the back-up says the targets are $36 to $48 thousand a year. This is affordable housing even if Scott Maxwell says it isn't. He doesn't want to understand the lack of distinction of affordable and workforce housing.

All Realtors are giddy with anticipation (usually you get a 10% commission on rentals), particularly the real estate agent who sits in the front row. She was even allowed to make personal attacks and mock me when she spoke at the lectern. Civility is subjective with this commission and discarded when she speaks. She had announced earlier that she will not be reapplying to the Historical Planning board; her term ends this month. Perhaps we won't have to see any more Venus Cafes pulling a fast one (she recommended that they be allowed to have a COP license and once they got it, closed their doors and the place has gone to blight on Lake Avenue) or we might be less likely to see a monstrous home being approved on N. Lakeside Drive being built right next door to a small cottage. She finally sat down and called me "evil" again, one of her favorites. One thing that is not confusing for her is her lack of politeness...she thinks she is still attacking me on my blog anonymously.

My only point, which the Mayor chose to miss as well as our favorite Realtor, is approving seven buildings without knowing or caring what any other completed project from this contractor/developer looks like today. Many times affordable rental projects attract the undesirable or they go to seed. I asked if they did any D&D or had seen any other developments by this contractor..no one answered the questions.  If you are building a home, before contracting with a builder, you usually visit other houses to visually inspect his work...normal operational procedure.

As you only are given 2 minutes to make a point, my comparison of this project to Greater Bay was not an apples to apples comparison but it was only to point out the lack of due diligence on GB and how it negatively impacted our community. In fact, the vice mayor was highly annoyed that anyone with a different opinion could have the nerve to even raise a question. He threatened to walk out of the meeting if anyone else on the dais had anything "negative" to say about it. He did not want to hear Commissioner McVoy or any point he had to make and was shockingly discourteous. He then called the question to stop the debate. The bully dais continues and their friends are allowed to be obnoxiously rude at the lectern..

These buildings, once built, are here to stay. We will have to live with them for at least 40-50 years. No one can say that this project will be a positive effect in our western neighborhood. The commission is flooding the city with affordable housing and more rentals when their goal has always been more home ownership believing that is the only way to raise the city from the slum and blight.

Everything is expendable when you have such a strong desire to develop the Park of Commerce at any cost (Maxwell's catalyst) and fulfill campaign promises--or you are looking at a tax base of an estimated $145,000 a year that will be totally diminished by the cost of services.