Happy birthday

Happy birthday to Laurence, my good friend. May your day be joyful.

The Great Divide on North Lakeside Drive

For Trump! Against Trump! Lake Worth street reflects national split

Read Kevin D. Thompson's article... about the Trump signs on North Lakeside Drive.

Dee McNamara was asked how long her signs will be up. “Until hell freezes over,” she says, laughing. “Is that long enough?”

Thanksgiving at Mar-A-Lago

Our friends, Dee and Laurence McNamara, attended the luncheon at Mar-A-Lago yesterday.

Steinhardt on the Consent Agenda

Well, this time the city actually outdid itself with 22 items on the Consent Agenda...4 short of a complete alphabet.

July 18 Agenda

One of the more interesting items on the Consent Agenda is the approval of the naming rights on the property known as the "Steinhardt property." No discussion on this--just pushing items forward in this "transparent" city environment.

A little background:
Originally leased to Marshall, owner of the Gulfstream Hotel back then, who flipped the lease to Milton Steinhardt--submerged land was leased from the City of Lake Worth in 1967 on a 99 year lease. He wanted to develop five, 10 story condos on three man-made islands at the southeast end of the Intracoastal Waterway bridge across from the Lake Worth beach. He also sought federal permits to build a boat marina at the site. The City applied for the permits on his behalf in order to bring some sort of clout to his requests and to possibly speed it along.

He was paying $6,000 a year to the City of Lake Worth and after Save the Waterfront and Town, chaired by Laurence McNamara along with other members, one of whom was the late Peter Timm,  went out on a petition in 2005, Steinhardt's dream was soon ended in spite of elected officials such as the then mayor, Rodney Romano, trying to keep it off the ballot. Eventually, the PAC got it on a March ballot and won at the ballot box on a Public Land/Public Vote Charter Amendment with 60% of the vote.

Betty Resch, former City of Lake Worth attorney represented the Steinhardts and came before the City Commission some years ago and asked for an extension of the Lease. On first vote, Romano, McKinnon and Burns voted FOR the extension. At the next regularly scheduled meeting, McKinnon brought it back on the Agenda and switched his vote to "no." Steinhardt lost again on a 3/2 vote.

The heirs eventually terminated the lease with the city and the city accepted (they owed a bunch of money to the City of Lake Worth) after their dream of development was shattered.

Read my blog of January 6, 2014. They don't deserve their name on this property as they never owned it.

Hawaiian Surfers

Laurence McNamara's grandson, Makai McNamara of the North Shore Surf Shop team is following in his father Liam's and uncle Garrett's footsteps. He is 21 and the 2nd generation of professional McNamara surfers. Garrett broke the world record in 2011 for largest wave ever surfed at Nazaré, Portugal

Rider Makai McNamara lines up a deep barrel at Sunset. He just scored a 10 at Big Pipe. The Banzai Pipeline, or simply "Pipeline" or "Pipe," is a surf reef break located in Hawaii, off Ehukai Beach Park in Pupukea on O'ahu's North Shore

PBPost Editorial slaps down Scott Maxwell

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The Editorial in today's Palm Beach Post was supporting the Commission's vote to give the architect and general contractor three more months to fix the problems at our casino building.  And they agree with me. Essentially, they slapped down Vice Mayor Scott Maxwell for his desire to file an immediate lawsuit and for saying that "retailers are getting rained on because of the leaks."

The one error that was stated was that the construction estimate soared to $8 million because the contractor found more damage than expected.

The facts of that matter are:  We spent $6 million on the building and we spent an additional $2 million on infrastructure at the entire beach property of 19 acres. Scott Maxwell is always insisting that we pay for infrastructure for developers but takes an exception when we own our property?  This infrastructure cost was already set aside in our budget for this beach renovation. And we don't know for sure that the architect cut corners in the design to meet the $6 million contract.

Read about it...

Make America Great Again

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Laurence McNamara at the Lake Worth Alumni Foundation Hat's On Luncheon wearing patriotic colors with a patriotic message.

Lake Worth Potholes

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Click here... to see the latest Palm Beach Post video on Lake Worth potholes.

The article mentions a few of our residents and what they have experienced with potholes.

Dishonoring the Charter Amendment

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The difference in our elected officials making an Ordinance allowing Hudson Holdings to get what they want at their Gulfstream property and making a Charter change is significant. And the bully commission that wants its way on heights in our downtown knows it.

An Ordinance is a majority vote of the commission that can be easily changed at any time.  A Charter change, however, requires a petition signed by 10 percent of the registered electors that needs to be certified and then placed on the ballot so that all the registered voters have a chance to weigh in--not just three people.  Both an Ordinance and a Charter change are political but a Charter change is supreme.

But for some reason, the vote of the people was spit upon in Lake Worth by Maxwell, Triolo and Amoroso. They believe that they know better than the voters and they believe they have squashed our vote.

Laurence McNamara stated in a comment card that Florida Statutes 166.031 authorized citizens of any municipality to amend their charter in the exact way citizens did so to limit development in the downtown area encompassing the Gulfstream property to 45 feet. Citizens were disenfranchised by a questionable opinion offered to the sitting Commission by the Assistant City Attorney based on post facto legislation, which was used to ignore the citizens charter amendment and refused to place the amendment into the Charter.

Post facto legislation was illegal in criminal cases and was becoming indefensible in civil cases with great regularity. To avoid exposing citizens to another lawsuit, it would be prudent for [the Commission] to reject this rezoning application and require the purported developer to work within the existing zoning regulations and the 45 foot limits of the charter amendment.

A City Charter is the Constitution of a municipality and its highest law. Ignoring it would put the developer and the City at risk of any construction in violation of its limits.

Citizen speaks out against upzoning Gulfstream Hotel property

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Comments to the Lake Worth City Commission from Laurence McNamara regarding their rezoning of the Gulfstream hotel parcels:

In 2001, the 4th District Court of Appeals (our district) required a developer to demolish 2 story condos in Martin County that had been constructed adjacent to a single family home, finding the development to have been in violation of the County’s Comprehensive Plan. The developer continued construction although the Pinecrest Lakes Inc. v. Shidel suit was pending and sold the condos which were then occupied. The lower court dismissed Ms. Shidel’s case but the Appellate Court ruled for her and against the developer.

The zoning change you are considering tonight is in violation of the Charter Amendment passed by the Lake Worth citizens in a significant majority yet ignored by this Commission and its legal counsel. A City Charter is an even higher authority than a Comprehensive Plan.

It will be more prudent for you to reject this zoning change and require the developer to respect the 45’ height limit called for by the voters. 13 months ago he promised to have the restoration done within 14 months.

Protect our City and its citizens against yet another developer whose actions do not match his words.

Honor the Intent of Lake Worth Voters

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August 5, 2015

Point of view: Honor the Intent of the Lake Worth Voters

Palm Beach Post

In the late 1990’s a hotel was proposed for our Lake Worth Beach property by an out of town developer. Soon after, another developer from Miami wined and dined citizens, lobbying them for their support of his proposal, a complex of townhouses spread over much of the property.

The public distaste for these and other similar proposals led to the Commission placing a Charter Amendment on the 2004 ballot, protecting the beach from sale or lease except for a lease of less than 20 years.

This Amendment passed by a landslide 9-1 margin. In spite of this history the present City Manager, Michael Bornstein, and City Commission majority of Mayor Pam Triolo, Vice-Mayor Scott Maxwell, and Commissioner Andy Amoroso act as if they are unaware of the strong feeling of Lake Worth citizens that they want to keep their public beach as it exists.

What has been created is the result of years of well attended charettes and public meetings and long hours spent by representative Commissions and citizens poring over various architectural proposals, and a painstaking selection process of both architect and builder to build what is there now.

The people and their elected officials decided that they wanted the size of the Casino as it stands and they wanted to keep abundant green space and the magnificent public pool.

Assistant City Attorney, Christy L Goddeau has said she might be able to find a way around the 2004 Amendment, subverting the expressed will of the citizen-owners of the beach.

This Commission must reject any proposal that seeks to build more than what exists now, and honor the legislative intent of the 2004 Charter Amendment by rejecting any lease that gives away long term control of our Public Beach and Park.

Laurence McNamara
Lake Worth, Fl.

Landon McNamara - Jam With You

Landon McNamara, 16 year old grandson of Laurence and Dee McNamara of Lake Worth, Florida and pro-surfer from the North Shore! An original song and collaboration with the Late Ones... All I wanna do is Jam With You.

The Road Ahead in Lake Worth--Bond Unnecessary

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Letters to the Editor

Palm Beach Post
January 25, 2015

OPINION--POINT OF VIEW

Lake Worth must tackle road repair

The Lake Worth City Commission is holding a meeting, Financing Infrastructure — the Road Ahead, on Tuesday.

Increased property valuations have already added substantially to this year’s tax bills. Although a smaller bond issue may be the easy way out for city officials, I suggest that avoiding another tax increase on citizens will lead to the continued growth and long-term sustainability of our city.
PBPost photo
We have $17 million in reserve to pay for water- and sewer-line restoration. Our tax rate is already among the highest in Palm Beach County, and our increase in valuations will provide more revenue for infrastructure needs.

Living within our budget, rather than burdening us citizens, might be a novel concept for commissioners — who envision large projects, for example, park of commerce roads and infrastructure at our expense. But these projects would be better left as a point of negotiation between the private property owners and the companies that buy their parcels to establish a business.

The Community Redevelopment Agency’s boundaries divert large percentages of taxes away from infrastructure needs. The size of this district is a luxury that we can no longer afford. To increase our general fund, shrinking the downtown CRA district can give our city back significant revenue to use for road repair.

Taking back only the Gulfstream Hotel and the Lucenté townhomes would add $200,000 to the city’s general fund. In future years, more parcels could be returned to benefit the general fund. Earmarking these funds for infrastructure improvements would allow us to live within our means while still allowing the CRA to have enough collateral to satisfy its creditors until the loan is paid off.

Our country’s infrastructure, and virtually all roads — municipal, state and federal — need repair, particularly after the economic downturn when they were mostly neglected. Road deterioration is perennial and universal and is the rule rather than the exception.

In 2011, our road budget was cut in half from the historical $1 million. With additional funds now available, our city could increase the annual amount allotted for roads.

Constant and gradual attention to road repair would allow the City Commission to improve our environment, and without making our recovering city unattractive because of excessive taxation.

LAURENCE McNAMARA
LAKE WORTH

McNamara on Channel 12 tonight

CBS local Channel 12 News's interview with Laurence McNamara tonight regarding his world famous surfer son, Garrett McNamara. Tune in at 11pm for sure and it might be on their 7pm news as well.

Laurence McNamara on TV tonight

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Laurence McNamara was interviewed this evening by Channel 25, ABC TV, regarding his son, Garrett McNamara, who just broke the world record for highest wave ever surfed. Look for the interview to appear tonight on the 11 o'clock news.

Surfing at the Cortes Bank

While most of us were busy doing last minute Christmas shopping, the 2nd son of the 2nd son of the 2nd son (Lake Worth's Laurence McNamara's description of his grandson) was riding a wave at the Cortes Bank, which continues to be one of big-wave surfing's most illusive, volatile, and dangerous venues located 100 miles off the San Diego, California coast. Landon, nephew of world famous surfer, Garrett McNamara, and son of famous surfer Liam McNamara, is believed to be the youngest surfer to paddle into the wave and surf it.

Go to Frame 15 and see the ride.

Herschel the Cockatoo and other interesting people

Herschel was a big hit tonight at the McNamara's.

Laurence and Dee put on one of their famous Teas today... 

some of the guests.

The Greater Bay Settlement and who to Blame

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Dear Mayor and Commissioners:

I had the opportunity to observe much of Attorney Joslyn's performance at the meeting during which he recommended the City pay $1.6M to settle Greater Bay v. The City of Lake Worth. He blamed his diffidence in going to trial on local bloggers, activists, and former Commissioners, but neglected to include his own firm's action and lack of action as the first and main cause of the problem.

Boose, Casey, Ciklin, et al sent two attorneys to be present at the 2 days of contract negotiations between the City and Greater Bay, presumably to protect Lake Worth's interest. Apparently neither of these contract and real estate professionals, nor any other members of their firm did any background check of Mr. Peter Willard before drafting up a three part contract, giving him control of what was to happen at the Beach for well over 40 years.

Had they done even the most cursory investigation of Mr. Willard's record, red flags would have been raised which likely would have stopped the partnership. Instead, a three part contract was drafted, the 40+ year term of which violated the City Charter and put the City in jeopardy.

The Construction phase of the contract set no time limit on Greater Bay's finishing the project. This was so egregious that Mr. Willard himself laughed up his sleeve at its inadequacy in protecting the City.

Casey, Ciklin then unsuccessfully attempted to defend the 3 leases, which were in violation of the City Charter, and  were in the aggregate, indefensible. Judge Fine heard their Motion to Dismiss and said,  "Your motion is alluring, but I'm going to deny it."

In total, the contract has resulted in a loss of almost $3M for the City of Lake Worth and its taxpayers, a loss that could have been avoided had Boose, Casey, Ciklin etal investigated Mr. Peter Willard's background and had they drafted contracts that were legally sufficient, given the parameters of our City Charter.

Perhaps this firm has done some work beneficial to the City in the past, but I suggest that it may be time for the City to seek alternate representation, should the need for outside counsel present itself in the future.

Sincerely,

Laurence McNamara

Chairman, Citizens Come First

Selling Lake Worth Utilities to FPL

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Letter to the Editor
Palm Beach Post
July 27, 2012

Lake Worth would lose with utility sale to FPL

Your editorial extolling the merits of a sale of Lake Worth Utilities to Florida Power & Light (“Oddly passive about FPL”) missed some important points.

The Public Service Commission will not allow the cost of this acquisition to be spread over FPL’s customer base; it must be recovered solely from Lake Worth ratepayers. Should the sale price be, say, $100 million for the 87 megawatts of capacity of our generators and the 6 square miles of our recently upgraded distribution system, Lake Worth customers would have to pay $10 million per year above FPL’s prevailing rate for 10 years for the corporation to recover its investment. In addition, any franchise fees and taxes paid will be charged back to us.

The city adds $9 million from utility rates to our general fund in lieu of taxes. Should the sale occur, our taxes will be permanently raised to cover this lost revenue, and our present valuable asset will no longer be ours.

We are 18 months from an exit from the company responsible for our high rates. When we select a new power provider, we can expect a 25 percent rate reduction for energy we have to purchase and a further reduction by production of our own electricity at our plant, since natural gas is near its 10-year low. Please keep the Trojan horse at the gates as a supplier rather than the beneficiary of an ill-advised sale.

LAURENCE MCNAMARA
Lake Worth

Note:  The Public Service Commission was called to verify the above statements on who would be responsible to pay back FPL on the sales price. If FPL would want to distribute the cost of buying this Utility to all of its customers, they would have to appear before the PSC.

Lake Worth mustn’t lose small-town feel

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Palm Beach Post
June 27, 2012
By: Laurence McNamara

Lake Worth mustn’t lose small-town feel

The editorial regarding height limits in Lake Worth creates some misconceptions. It refers to our Downtown Historic District as the “entertainment district,” which it is, but this characterization ignores the architectural character, quality and low profile of the buildings which together make up our city’s second-most important and attractive asset to both tourists and potential homebuyers.

The consensus reached by residents and officials over the past seven years has been to protect our small-town feel. But the commission changed this goal. Commissioner Suzanne Mulvehill’s charter amendment petition is a reaction to this misrepresentation of the people’s will by the commission.

Increasing height to attract development in the downtown area will place a burden on the general fund since this entire area is a community redevelopment district and all increases in tax revenue go to the CRA, not the city. Taxpayers will pick up the tab for services and concurrency required for development which does not reflect their vision.

Our civic leaders will do well to focus on creating infrastructure in the Park of Commerce to allow industrial and commercial development to occur there.

LAURENCE McNAMARA

Lake Worth

Admin Note: Your right to vote on this issue was refused by the "visionary" commission. All those who want to get involved in your right to petition under the Constitution of the United States and help get this issue on the ballot, please contact this blogger or anyone in the Respectful Planning PAC.