Thursday, July 27, 2017

Lake Worth Workshop on One Penny Sales Tax Usage


Per the meeting Tuesday night, the City of Lake Worth will use their estimated $2.2 million a year for the 10 years sales tax according to the ballot language that was passed by the voters. The language encompasses many things in its "infrastructure" description: district owned school buildings, equipment; technology and security; purchase school buses, public safety vehicles and equipment; and equip,construct and repair roads, streetlights, sidewalks, parks, drainage, shoreline and wastewater infrastructure, recreational and governmental facilities.

The top priorities seemed to be roads, downtown parking garage and the beach complex. A few commissioners mentioned a parking garage at our beach. Andy Amoroso has wanted a downtown parking garage for years and the public was there to support his desire with all speaking out in favor. The Vice Mayor still did not want us to forget Boutwell Road (the Park of Commerce) as well as economic development but said to use the money on as many roads as possible and prioritize those roads that did not make the cut on the bond. Omari Hardi and the Mayor agreed.

In May, there was a workshop on our pool and Kimley Horn Engineers said that the pool,  including locker room, restrooms and pump house would be $509,100 to complete. Let's get the pool repaired now and then use the rest on the roads.

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yes, yes, yes, yes. Repair the pool and get it opened now. Listen Herman.

Anonymous said...

Herman, close down the money pit and represent your tax payers. Things are different now. The pool doesn't need to be on the beach. There is a County water park at John Prince Park a mile from our beach. That same square footage can bring in Million$ of dollars to help with our budget instead of costing us a third of a million dollars a year for a relatively few people who use it.

Back when the pool was used by many people, most home owners didn't have pools in their back yard. Competing water parks like Lake Lytal and John Prince didn't exist.

What should ocean front square footage go for? Many communities up and down the coast USED TO have pools on A1A. Why did they get rid of them? Are they worse off without them?

Herman, do the right thing for the people who entrust you to spend their money wisely.

Anonymous said...

If it's always about the money with you, then the right approach would be to repair the pool. If you want to cement something, build the garage at the lower level at the south end of the parking area. Leave our pool the hell alone and just fix something you have allowed to literally get run down. The pool belongs where it is. People shouldn't have to go elsewhere or out of town for an Olympic pool. Why did communities get rid of ocean front pools? It was developers, the very same people ruining our county and state with condos and highrises. There is much more to running a city for the people than always concentrating on tax revenue. No 5 people should decide what happens to closing down our pool and what to replace it with. Take care of what you already have. You're poor at that, very poor and all you seem to do is listen to your own mind or a few constituents.

John Michael said...

The magnificent olympic pool is a natural element that enhances the beach experience and ambience.

A garage in that area would detract from the natural beauty of the beach and casino.

Fix the pool and save the rest of the penny tax to fix our infrastructure and add trees to our major streets.

Thank you for your attention and consideration.

Anonymous said...

Close the pool and let the CRA build one in their district, closer to the low-income families that need it and cant afford their own.

Anonymous said...

Not sure why this is so hard to figure out! Just like parks and ball fields and the golf course our great Olympic size pool benefits the entire community . We want it opened where it is with fully functional hours and fully staffed experienced people running it . The city now has the means to fix the pool for a half $1 million which is Money they have not put into it for years and let it fall into disrepair . It makes our whole town look like crap the way it is! It needs to be the GEM of the beach for our town ! It should be an attraction for people to move here I have spoken to many people that are residence and that is the reason why they moved here !! There are many times when we cannot use the ocean due to sharks jellyfish riptides etc. ! We have a one and only exclusive Olympic sized beach pool ! No other town has that ! It should be a selling point in marketing tool for our town ! I would like to see a true aquatics manager in charge of the whole pool facility . In experienced aquatics manager would be able to develop many many programs to bring in money in addition to the swim teams we have had there in the various other groups that use the pool ! It is a travesty to me and our town that there has been no action taken to repair the pool and this definitely runs parallel To the non action to fix the second floor of the casino where the town is losing hundreds of thousands of dollars in income ! This needs to be decided by the residence of this town and not the five people who are in charge who have very limited knowledge on the pool and it's operations

Anonymous said...

1.35 do you really think the 5 are in charge.their limited knowledge just makes them puppets for one person

Anonymous said...

Fuc$ the "lower income" areas of Lake Worth. They already have the Wimbley gym for crap sake! Lake Worth beach is a destination. The only reason people go to the "lower income " areas is to buy drugs,overdose or get shot. Amen to Lynn. Fix our pool and put the rest to the roads.

Anonymous said...

The non-action to fix the second floor was due to poor design. Not applicable with the pool. The pool has outlived its usefulness. The pool itself is not a destination. The beach is the destination.

So not being so hard to figure out is weighing out the pros and cons of having, fixing, enhancing and maintaining our fresh water pool at its current location.

Pros: It has always been there.
Several People use it.
Some swim teams use it for practice.
It is located across from the beach and ocean and can be used if the weather or ocean conditions are poor.
People want it there.

Cons: $500,000 just to repair it to make it usable.
Loss of around $300,00 per year over what it takes in.
Adds no significant architectural value to the beach property.
Pool is hidden from the traffic and ocean.
Very limited number of people use it.
Costs money to park your car to use it.
Being located at the beach makes it harder for walkers or bicyclers to use it.
Cannot compete with more modern facilities nearby.
Sits on the most valuable real estate Lake Worth owns, and it loses money!
$4 million to replace it with another underutilized complex.

If I were an elected official or the CEO of this town, I would surmise the cons outweigh the pros and would have to make decisions based on these facts.

Please enhance the list above if you can think of other pros or cons I missed.

Lynn Anderson said...

@8:49.
It's all your opinion and i disagree with plenty of it. But to tell you the truth, I'm not going to knock myself out defending something that has no chance of survival with the people presently in power. Sad. Disgusting. And to be even more blunt, it's reprehensible.

Anonymous said...

I've only talked to one of the commissioners and found he is looking at it pretty much as stated above. Whether the rest feel the same way, I have no idea. Hope they do and we can change the landscape up there for the better, both physically and fiscally.

Anonymous said...

There's nothing wrong with the landscape up there and if they have a fiscal problem, it is the city's fault.

Anonymous said...

It is the Administrations hope that the Pool repairing fails, the City Manager and others on the Commission would love to get rid of the
Beach Pool and really do not know how to advertise for more people to use it. They have no Idea and Don't Care. From the very beginning
its, "lets get rid of every thing that cost us any money, parks and recreation never bring money in, ball parks and other parks. The pool
has been opened only at certain times, which makes is very difficult for people. It should be opened for all day long, this way more people can use it. Should have Red Cross Lessons for young children and
Pool recreation games certain days as pool volley ball and other water activities.

Anonymous said...

PROS: 1)SERVES THE COMMUNITY AS A WHOLE 2) POTENTIAL TO MAKE MONEY IF AN EXPERIENCED AQUATIC MANAGER COULD BE HIRED WITH SUPPORT PERSONELL. 3) WITH PROPER PLANNING AND INPUT FROM THE ARTISTIC SIDE OF TOWN-COULD BE THE FULCRUM POINT OF OUR TOWN AND BEACH. 4) WOULD ONLY COST A HALF A MILLION TO FIX -MUCH LESS THEN TRYING TO REPLACE IT. 5) BEACHSIDE IS AN EXCELLANT LOCATION! 6) SELLING POINT FOR FUTURE RESIDENTS WHO DONT WANT TO BUILD AND MAINTAIN THEIR OWN POOL. 7)ENHANCES OUR WATERFRONT CONS: ONLY THE CLUELESS WHO DONT REALIZE THE POTENTIAL. IN ADDITION, I WOULD LIKE TO SAY IF OUR POOL WAS KEPT UP-IT WOULD LOOK LIKE LAKE LYTAL POOL-WHICH LOOKS GREAT AND IS BUZZING WITH ACITIVITY AS IT BEING RUN RIGHT AND MAINTAINED AND GUESS WHAT--BOTH OF THESE POOLS WERE BUILT BY THE SAME COMPANY AT THE SAME TIME --A DRAMATIC DIFFERENCE WHEN YOU COMPARE LAKE LYTAL TO WHAT OUR POOL COULD BE!! ALSO THE NON ACTION ON THE SECOND FLOOR HAS NOT BEEN RESOLVED IN 5 YEARS-I SAY FIRE EVERY ONE OF THE POLITICIANS RUNNING THIS TOWN FOR CAUSING US TO LOSE MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN INCOME--WHICH BY THE WAY COULD HAVE PAID OFF THE CASINO AND THE POOL COSTS-DOESNT TAKE A ROCKET SCIENTIST TO FIGURE THAT OUT. QUIT BLAMING THE PAST AND MOVE THE HELL ON! IF I WERE AN ELECTED OFFICIAL IN THIS TOWN, I WOULD CONCENTRATE ON OUR ASSETS AND MAKE THEM SHINE-THE POOL AND BEACHFRONT BEING THE BIGGEST ASSETS WE HAVE. LOOK AT THE BEACH AND CASINO-NOTHING IS BEING MAINTAINED-IT LOOKS LIKE HELL-THERE IS NO PRIDE OF OWNERSHIP HERE AS FAR THE CITY ITSELF GOES. NOT EVERYTHING IN THIS TOWN MAKES MONEY---HOW ABOUT ALL THE MONEY WE ARE LOSING BY PUTTING IT INTO THE INDUSRIAL PARK--WHAT A JOKE THAT IS. THE TIME IS NOW THAT WE HAVE THE EXTRA 1 CENT SALES TAX MONEY TO USE. AND BTW--THIS PROPERTY IS NOT FOR SALE-IT IS FOR THE FRIGGING USE AND BENEFIT OF THE CITIZENS OF THIS TOWN-NOT FOR TE POLS TO TRY AND SELL OR TRY AND FIGURE WHAT THEY CAN DO WITH IT OR SCREW IT UP. FIX THE POOL! OPEN THE DAM POOL!

Anonymous said...

1) I am part of the community as a whole; it does not serve me.
2) It in no way can make money even if you hire Trump. The most it could ever expect to do is lose less than it does now. It won't, can't even break even.
3) "With proper planning" Where do we begin?
4) If you think $500K is an "only" why don'e you put it up? That's $12.50 per person, man, woman and child in Lake Worth just to get it open again knowing it loses money from that point on.
5) Beachside MIGHT be a good location for a salt water pool, which is what it started out as. You can put a fresh water pool anywhere IF we need one.
6) Why wouldn't anyone want to build and maintain their own pool? Maybe the cost and lack of use.
7)You are delusional. Shows by all caps.

Go ahead and fire all the politicians. A couple were just hired. Elections are held to hire those who can make tough decisions. This might just be one of those. Sometimes you have to do the right thing and not the easy thing.

It would lose less money and be an asset for the city if it were located at Sunset Ridge Park or in Tropical Ridge or Royal Poinciana. More people would have access and the footprint at the beach could be used to MAKE money for us. Treat our Beach like the asset it is. Promote beach side businesses. Give residents back their preferred parking. More picnic pavilions. Maybe a splash park for kiddies.

Anonymous said...

to 2:26-- CUTTING DOWN A PERSON WHO TYPES IN CAPS IS AN OBVIOUS SIGN, YOU ARE OUT OF AMMO TO MAKE YOUR STAND. IN REFERENCE TO ABOVE-THE COMMUNITY DOES SERVE ME AS WELL AS EACH OTHER-SO DONT TRY AND RUIN OUR POOL WITH YOUR SELFISHNESS OF SERVING ONLY YOURSELF AND FINANCIAL ABSURD FINANCIAL GOALS OF THE COMMUNITY AS A WHOLE-THAT YOU AND SOME OUTSIDE CONSULTANTS HAVE FIGURED ON. PUT THE POOL ISSUE OUT TO VOTE ON THE BALLET THEN! IT CAN MAKE MONEY-JUST NOT ENOUGH TO COVER ITS FULL COSTS--BTW-THE OLYMPIC POOL IN WELLINGTON COVERS 80% OF ITS COST-THIS WITH BEING OPEN ALL HOURS-FULLY STAFFED AND WITH AN EXPERIENCED AQUATICS INSTRUCTOR. IF YOU DONT KNOW HOW TO PROPERLY PLAN-THEN KEEP YOR FRIGGIN HANDS OFF-YOU HAVE JUST PROVEN YOUR INEPTNESS BY THE STATMENT -WHERE DO WE BEGIN. 500K WOULD BE ABOUT .025 OF OUR ENTIRE BUDGET FOR THIS TOWN-BUT WE ALL READY HAVE THE SALES TAX MONEY TO USE. SO OPERATING COST WOULD BE ABOUT .015 PER CENT OF THIS TOWN BUDGET WHICH WOULD BE A LOSS ACCORDING TO YOUR INEPT MANAGING OF THE POOL. IF IT WAS EVEN 50% COMPARABLE TO WELLINGTON-WE WOULD LOSE ABOUT 150K ACCORDING TO YOUR NUMBERS--THAT WOULD BE ABOUT .0075 PERCENT OF OUR BUDGET AS A YEARLY LOSS TO OPEN AND OPERATE OUR MAGNIFICENT BEACHFRONT, ONE OF A KIND POOL. YES I ACTUALLY WOULD LIKE TO SEE IF IT CAN BE TURNED BACK INTO AN OCEAN SUPPLIED POOL. HERES ONE MORE-MY FIN TAXES GO TO PAY FOR THAT POOL AND I LIKE IT THAT WAY. PLEASE PUT UP SOME NUMBERS SHOWING HOW MUCH THE CITY HAS PUT INTO ALL IT AMENITIES-LISTED OUT AND WHAT THE RETURN IS ON EACH OF THEM. AND ALSO INCLUDE THE FAMOUS INDUSTRIAL PARK PLEASE. AND THE TOWN HALL INCLUDING ALL YOUR NEW FAT SALARIES. THIS POOL WHEN OPEN AND OPERATING AT FULL ACCESSIBILITY WAS SERVICNG THOUSANDS IN OUR COMMUNITY. SUMMER CAMPS-SEVERAL THOUSANDS PER WEEK. SWIM TEAMS-ALMOST A THOUSAND A WEEK. WATER CLASS,LAP SWIMMERS,BAY SWIM LESSON-100'S PER WEEK. SO PLEASE DONT TELL ME NO ONE WANTS TO USE THE POOL-BECAUSE YOU HAVE SHUT IT DOWN AFTER LIMITING THE HOURS,STAFF, AND NOT PUT ANY FIN $ INTO OVER THE PAST 5 YEARS. YOU ARE FOS!