Summer has finally arrived in the land of endless summer! Two years ago this month I made the life-changing decision to run for the Palm Beach Board of County Commissioners.

Part of my desire to run for this office was to bring awareness to the BCC. I am regularly asked some form of the same question I had before 2020…”What does a county commissioner do?”

My hope in sending you this newsletter is to give you a snapshot of our month. It’s a chance to highlight not only my activities in District 4 but everything happening throughout Palm Beach County.

We can’t cover it all, I doubt you would read it even if your email would accept such a large file, but we do our best to give you the highlights.

I am happy I chose the county commission as my first foray into politics. It is large enough to make a real impact on the community in which I live but also keeps me close to home and the constituents we serve. It’s a good form of government, there are seven of us and we have lengthy but fruitful discussions when necessary.

I am glad to be a part of Team PBC and look forward to the future. We welcome your feedback.

I routinely get kudos on this newsletter when I am out in the community. It makes me so happy. All thanks go to Caitlin Joyce for her hard work on this every month.

Also, a big thank you to both Christian Wright who manages my crazy schedule and Joe Dellosa who documents my activity for social media.

Of course, this is on top of all their hard work for the residents of District 4. They serve us well!

The Boynton Beach annexation study is in the early stages. County and city staff have met to discuss the process, with a focus on areas where the city already provides water or has existing annexation agreements.

To keep residents informed, the city plans to launch a website with project details and maps in July. Public meetings will likely be held after the feasibility study is complete, which could take up to a year.

To date, a formal annexation request has not been filed with the county.

Great news! The Palmetto Park Rd. Bridge is nearly finished and all lanes of traffic are open!

Following successful inspections by the Florida Department of Transportation and Palm Beach County staff, the contractor is putting the final touches on the project. They're tackling minor punch list items before final approval and closure.

Temporary lane markings are in place, with permanent striping scheduled for a future date. Staff is coordinating the scheduling details.

In a move driven by the Board of County Commissioners' commitment to making housing more accessible, Palm Beach County has launched a new resident-focused Housing Dashboard.

This user-friendly tool empowers residents to easily find and connect with available workforce or affordable housing options.

It includes data on units built since 2006, newly approved ones, and housing trends. It also connects residents to county housing programs.

The Board is committed to ongoing support – they're working to assign staff specifically to oversee these workforce/affordable units. 

Palm Beach County requested state funding for several projects and programs in our community and secured nearly $6 million for the following:

West Palm Beach Downtown Signalization- $2.75 million for the first phase of signalization enhancements on Okeechobee Blvd. to address immediate congestion issues, improve traffic flow within downtown and explore advancements in traffic management capabilities, including transit signal priorities.

Central Palm Beach County Historic Infrastructure- $1 million to help reduce storm water runoff and pollutant loading into local water systems by enhancing existing roadway infrastructure in the central historic region of Palm Beah County.

Lake Worth Lagoon- $270,500 to restore seagrasses, mangroves, and oysters to improve and support the health of the water body.

Peanut Island Historic Restoration- $1 million for revitalizing Peanut Island's legacy of eco-tourism by renovating the now vacant historic Coast Guard facilities and JFK fallout bunker on the island.

Restore Re-Entry Program- $500,000 to assist with facilitating the reintegration of re-entry participants in Palm Beach County by connecting them with services designed to reduce recidivism.

Other funding for our area includes:

The Center for Arts & Innovation- $1 million for design phase II of the 100,000 sq. ft. center, featuring a main theater, intimate spaces, and an amphitheater.

Additionally, many community organizations, education institutions, nonprofits, and municipalities in Palm Beach County received state funding for local projects and programs. 

Some funded projects in my South County District include North and Central Boca Raton Shore Protection, HabCenter Boca Raton Mental Health and STEM program, Highland Beach Lift Station Rehabilitation and Hurricane Hardening at the Arc of South Palm Beach County.

Attended Florida Atlantic University's InTech ribbon cutting. This FPL-partnered center, fosters future engineers with cutting-edge tech to protect our power grid. With hurricane season approaching, this is a great addition to Palm Beach County.

Cheers to Boca Raton Marriott at Boca Center! They celebrated "Best in Food & Beverage" and "Best Marriott Hotels" with a sizzling "Sip, Savor & Smoke" event. This year's Brazilian theme transported us straight to a Rio resort!

Thank you to the Delray Beach Police Department for having me at this year's Employee Awards Banquet!

The occasion honors the city's police officers and department employees who have demonstrated exceptional achievement and a genuine commitment to their profession, agency and the public they serve.

Our office has received several calls about street light outages. To streamline the reporting process, please use the tools provided by Florida Power & Light Company (FPL).

FPL offers convenient ways to report and track outages. Download the FPL app from the App Store or Google Play, or text "App" to MyFPL (69375) for easy access. You can also visit FPL.com to report an outage or check its status.

Thank you for helping us keep our community well-lit!

Starting July 1st, Tri-Rail is launching a new express train that will cut travel from West Palm Beach to Miami by 30 minutes. It will operate only on weekdays, providing a faster and more convenient option for commuters.

The express train will leave West Palm Beach at 6:30 a.m. with stops in Boca Raton, FLL Airport and Hialeah, arriving in Miami Central by 8:05 a.m. Return service will depart Miami at 5:35 p.m. and reach West Palm at 7:05 p.m.

Tri-Rail will maintain its current schedule of non-express trains on both weekdays and weekends.

This summer, Palm Beach County Animal Care & Control is sponsoring a foster program where middle and high schoolers can earn 150 community service hours by fostering an adult dog for 30 days.

They'll provide everything you need, and you can earn an extra 150 hours by helping your foster pup find their forever home!

For more information, call 561-233-1281 or email ACC-Foster@pbc.gov.

The Palm Beach County Food Bank, a dedicated local nonprofit, tackles hunger with a powerful combo, collaboration and diverse programs.

They partner with nearly 200 agencies, offering food, resources, and support through initiatives like Pop-Up Farmer's Markets and Childhood Hunger programs.

Founded in 2009, they've grown from a local effort to a county-wide leader, proving that together, we can nourish our neighbors and build a stronger community.

I recently had the pleasure of attending the Food Bank's bread-breaking ceremony for their long-awaited Community Kitchen Expansion Project.

Beyond its impressive capacity to provide 10,000 additional hot, nutritious meals each day, the new state-of-the-art facility offers even more.

It will empower the community through culinary classes and provide a platform for small businesses to utilize the kitchen's resources.

Did you know property taxes can rise even with stable home values?

Florida limits how much your property taxes can increase each year. This is a good thing, especially when home prices are rising quickly.

But here's a twist, even if your home's value stays the same, your property taxes might still go up a little bit.

The limit is based on a different value than your home's selling price. This "assessed value" can keep increasing slightly each year until it catches up to your home's market value.

So, in a cooling market, your taxes might inch up a bit even if your home isn't worth more.

There are two caps to remember:

Homestead properties are primary residences with a special exemption. Their assessed value can only go up by 3% each year, or the change in inflation (whichever is lower).

Non-homestead properties includes vacation homes, rental properties, and commercial buildings. Their assessed value is capped at a higher rate of 10% each year.

Property tax caps are helpful, but they can also lead to small tax increases even when home values aren't rising.

This is because the assessed value, which determines your taxes, can still go up slightly each year until it catches up to the market value.

We had some brilliant minds tackling our May trivia question: "Can you name the popular alligator farm located on Palm Beach in the 1900s"

A big round of applause for James Wood, Matthew Hughes, and Judy Giller who all guessed the correct answer: Alligator Joe's!

We welcome your feedback on our District 4 newsletter. Please let us know if you found this information helpful and what else you would like to know.