Last night under Public Hearings was the second hearing for Ordinance 2016-06 to provide new regulations for public property. Public property is all property owned by the City of Lake Worth. The Ordinance was to amend regulations regarding City parks to extend those regulations to “public property.”
“Public property” includes, but is not limited, to the Downtown Cultural Plaza, City Hall complex, shuffleboard court complex and water/electric utilities and public service complex. This Resolution prohibits persons from being in or on “public property” after the posted closing hours.
After much discussion which went over one-half hour and should automatically have gone to a workshop per the chamber rules set by this majority a few years back, the vote ended up 3/2 with McVoy and Maier dissenting. Commissioner Maier and McVoy wanted the entire ordinance to go to a workshop.
Months ago commissioner Amoroso had reminded us that the homeless are people too and have rights. He failed to agree with that last night stating that they were urinating and defecating and generally a big problem in our downtown. Commissioner Amoroso is a downtown merchant. The idea of bringing in port-o-lets fell on deaf ears as some believed it would attract more homeless from all over the country to land in Lake Worth. The trio didn't want to pursue or learn of other options to deal with this serious problem. They wanted to pass an Ordinance and make life even more miserable and hard for these people.
Scott Maxwell drilled the City Attorney to get it on the record that this Ordinance had nothing to do with getting rid of the Homeless. An ACLU lawyer was sitting in the backrow. Everyone with half a brain knew that it had everything to do with ridding the city of the homeless population that will now just move into the residential neighborhoods and sleep behind Maxwell's bushes. But even Glen Torcivia, city attorney, skirted the question regarding the intent of this Ordinance when he said, "Intent to discriminate against the Homeless is not clear because people on the dais as well as the public commented to both sides." I got the distinct impression that the incumbents all had been coached to not even utter the word "homeless" knowing about a civil rights law suit could occur as they voted to make life more difficult for the Homeless population and certainly discriminating against them.
Later, under New business, there was Resolution 06-2016 to establish opening and closing hours for public property. This Resolution went hand in hand with the above Ordinance because without established hours, the Ordinance "had no teeth" per the city attorney. The Mayor Pam Triolo, not looking to get into this argument, left the room for the discussion. It had been said that she had met with the Homeless Coalition of Palm Beach County and even Common Ground Church a month or so before on the homeless problem in order to work on a solution. The Coalition was having an event in Lake Worth in just three days. She voted for the Ordinance saying it was for safety reasons but would not vote on the opening/closing public property hours. In this way, she was appeasing both sides of this political debate.
The resolution ended up as 2/2 vote and therefore died. Not sure how it ended up as a Motion because I never heard a "second." So, essentially the Ordinance passed but with no opening or closing hours for public property, we are right back where we started. The Homeless, for now, can still sleep and hang out on our public property.
As one person who was listening at home said before the resolution failed, "So now it's illegal to walk across the Cultural Plaza after having dinner at TooJays! These guys are idiots. What a stupid, stupid law. Oh, and you're all breaking the law walking around City Hall after the meeting tonight. Because the sun has set and it is illegal to set foot on that property after the sun has set!"
You can bet that this entire discussion will come back before the commission.
17 comments:
Federal law says they have rights. BUT, something has to be done about this growing problem in our city.
So let me understand your position here. You complain that the commission is doing nothing to control the homeless population that is exploding in our city. People are seeing homeless man expose themselves to pee in front of them in Cultural Plaza, people are afraid to take their kids to the park and you think this ordinance is a bad idea. OK, what do you think the commission should do? How do we stop homeless people from pissing in Cultural Plaza? What's your solution and how do we pay for it?
We have a tremendous homeless population here and it must be solved, no question. As mentioned last night, PBSO needs to actually see them urinate in public, etc. before they can be arrested. Because Amoroso or some downtown merchant says this has happened in their view and Andy has a video to prove it, doesn't make it legally enforceable to arrest. I don't understand this but I'm not in law enforcement or the legal profession. Everything must be done legally. You don't want to mess with civil rights laws, do you John?
Workshop it. Confer with the county, etc. and get some ideas before you take an action that could really get us in trouble that we can't afford.
So Lynn you think the City should take it's time and think it's way out of his problem with the help of others. What have McVoy and Maier done to accomplish any of that? Have they reached out to others and set up meetings with these folks; have they come up with a plan that helps us now? Why is this not a problem in Palm Beach. How do they handle folks peeing in their plazas?
Please let's stop calling these people HOMELESS. I have been homeless along with my children it is an insult to all who have had that circumstance occur in their lives. The reality of is they and loitering and destroying property that is meant for all to use. I believe that Martin Luther King Jr.'s name is commemorated in the cultural plaza along with many others who throughout history gave of themselves even their lives for EQUALITY. Well guess what equal access means just that and the taking over of public venues by persons who care to do nothing about their situation is disruptin my and others equal use and access to the same locations. I think I will contact the ACLU on our behalf.
I'm glad the City is doing something. I've been disappointed in all five of them and the CM for their inaction on the problem. I had a long talk with McVoy about the cultural plaza and I thought he was in favor of closing the plaza at night to help address what has become a safety and hygiene issue so I am especially disappointed to hear he voted against the ordinance.
I agree that this is not a problem that we can solve, but that does not mean that we should cede our public property to these folks. In my mind, most of them are not homeless in the traditional sense, they are druggies that flunked out of the sober homes. They do not want to work, they want to hang out and drink and drug. These are folks who don't want help and as such they should be kicked out of our public spaces. I am all for helping folks that truly need it, but these are not them. As such, enforcement is the way to go, these folks need to move on to some other welcoming town or city, I'm tired of being afraid to walk downtown or go to the library.
As for PBSO I'm tired of hearing that if they don't witness the problem nothing they can do while they also won't get out of their cars at the plaza. They are willfully ignoring this problem and they need to be called to the carpet on it.
INSTALL A PORTABLE TOILET IN THE CULTURAL PLAZA.
It is logical since we have so many events there that we provide a restroom, useable by both attendees and the homeless. The ordinance passed by Triolo, Maxwell, and Amoroso last night is ill considered and unenforceable.
This will be a minor expense and can help alleviate a problem that at the moment is out of control.
There is a port a pot at the plaza and that has not solved any of the problems.
I wish the City had pushed PBSO to do its job and enforce our laws before taking this step. But, this new ordinance should mean PBSO can no longer throw up their hands and say we didn't witness it (b/c we refuse to patrol or get out of our cars) so I'm in favor of it.
These people are not innocent, they are addicts without soul. They don't want help only their next fix.
Have you noticed the video camera trailer parked in the plaza? Yep, sure seems to be working on getting the cockroaches out of the plaza 'cause they don't want to be videotaped conducting their drug deals.
We still have crazy drugged up people down there, saw a woman on flacka (sp) touching herself and twerking/jerking gyrating provocatively, hassle/panhandle sort of, 4 elderly people who were appalled and backed away from her, scared like, then scurried over it Too Jays. Those seats along the window get a real floor show of shit with every dining experience. Just hope their customers keep coming back despite all the slithering druggies hitting people up for money and cigarettes. I'll be coming back to Too Jays cause I like their sandwiches and cookies, just saying. I made the call to mom-emergency PBSO when I witnessed the flacka woman and within 5 minutes 1 cop showed up, then a second, then a third, and finally a fourth. They set up a 4 point perimeter around her to access her situation and contain her... And must have determined (like the rest of us) that she was out of her head, a danger to herself and others, and Baker Acted her and carted her off. Yeah! PBSO keep up the good riddance.
There are places I've stopped patronizing, not out of fear out of disgust. I won't spend my money to sit near flakka freaks and stinking degenerates.
I had a co-worker describe something similar when he went to pick up dinner at Too Jay's, he said he would not be back (lives in the south end of WPB). I don't understand our business community, if I had a business down there I would be up in arms and organizing with my fellow business owners.
I know that I've stopped going downtown unless my husband is with me, that means at least two outings a week for me, I'm sure others have similarly cut back their downtown trips and of course snow birds and tourists would run screaming in the other direction. this isn't good for business and all residents should want our business community to do well.
This is not a job for police. This is a task for citizenry. Mace, spotlights, food and drink spiked with emetics and laxatives, harassment, peaceful occupation, video cameras, stealing the chairs and belongings from the bushes and plaza, dead fish, dogshit, and or bags of fake drugs can all be used to combat this invasion of bridge dwellers. The only right they have is a right to leave Lake Worth. We will drive them out with or without the police/city. No one can stop us. Join us now.
Comet scouring powder in little dime bags is good. Just scatter them about.
Thanks, Dylan.
We don't need vigilantes going after poor people down on their luck. The police need to arrest drug dealers, prostitutes, etc. You can't take the law into your own hands...talk about the wild, wild West.
To Anonymous at 11:25 I say "DITTO"; to Glenn I say "AND YOU CAN CLEAN IT"; and to Lynn, I say "You must be having a bipolar moment". Everybody knows the homeless are not innocent victims. Wait until one of them comes after you with a machete. They should be institutionalized like they used to be. The TB Hospital would have been the perfect place for them, but they tore it down to build ugly houses. Whether you like it or not, the homeless are a reflection of the people who live in this town. We have them because we put up with them, end of story!
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