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HomeMy Public PortalAbout05/17/1973 * Special MeetingSPECIAL COMMISSION MEETING MAY 17, 1973 PRESENT: WILLIAM F. KOCH, JR., Mayor GEORGE W. WALKER Vice -Mayor HENRY N. WHITNEY Commissioner JOHN K. WHITTEMORE Commissioner Also attending: R. D. Worthing 11 This Special Commission Meeting was called to order by Mayor Koch. 2. RESOLUTION No. 7 -73, was submitted for Commission considera- tion. Copy thereof is filed with the original "Minutes" of this Meeting. CAPTION of said Resolution No. 7 -73 follows: A RESOLUTION OF THE TOWN COMMISSION FOR THE TOWN OF GULF STREAM, FLORIDA RELATING TO THE STATE COMPREHENSIVE PLANNING ACT OF 1972, ITS COMPANION LEGISLATION, AND REGIONAL GOVERNMENT. There followed a brief explanation of the Resolution's con- tents, as read, which relate to State of Florida legislation in 1972, pertaining to establishment of particular geograph- ical boundaries within the State of Florida (ostensively for the purpose of state agency planning) and, secondly, the cre- ation of the Division of State Planning to coordinate all these regions, all of which tend to indicate the State's in- tent to usurp the rights, freedoms and present powers of the various Municipalities and Counties governing agencies. The Commission, on motion of Mr. Walker, seconded by Mr. Whitney unanimously approved PASSAGE and ADOPTION of said Resolution No. 7 -73 on this first and final reading thereof. 3. The VACANCY in the Commission Membership, due to the recent departure of the Honorable William S. LaPorte, was then dis- cussed and from the "List" of individuals names shown below, as suggested by various Residents of the Town, including but not limited to present Commissioners, in response to the re- quest by Mayor Koch at the last Regular Meeting (May 11, 173) for submission of individuals names deemed qualified for fil- ling such vacancy which were offered for consideration and are 3, cont. BALL, Lawrence M., FOGARTY, Thomas C., HART, John G., REED, Robert B., LaPORTE, Joan S., MAYER, Marilyn G., SKELLY, Gertrude E., page The Commission, on motion of Mr. Whittemore, duly seconded by Mr. Walker, unanimously approved appointment of Mrs. Joan S. LaPorte to the Town Commission as set forth in Resolution No. 5 -73. The newly appointed Commissioner, Mrs. Joan S. LaPorte, later subscribed to the "Loyalty Oath" and "Oath Of Office ", The Commission informed the newly appointed Commissioner that it intended to confer with the Town Counsel to determine the possibility of providing a Charter Change to allow for hold- ing an election for the purpose of filling such Commission Membership vacancies as may exist from time to time and if it were determined legally possible, that this "Appointee" under- stand that such appointment, or any similar appointments, be ONLY for the interim period, namely, between the date of an appointment and the holding of an election to fill such a va- cancy, at which election such "Appointee" or "Appointees ", if qualified, would be eligible, if desired, to have their names, along with all other qualified candidates, appear on such E- lection Ballots. 4. Nuisance complaints were received by the Commission relative to the undesirable condition of the grounds surrounding the Ladew residence on No. Ocean Blvd., as well as the extreme over - growth of the Australian Pine Trees on Gulf Stream Rd., just south of Banyan Rd., and the administration assured the Commission and complainants that these nuisances would be a- bated in the very near future. MEETING ADJOURNED at 9:45 o'clock A.M. Deputy Town Clerk LOYALTY OATH OATH OF OFFICE STATE OF FLORIDA COUNTY OF PALM BEACH ) Before the undersigned authority, an officer duly authorized to administer oaths, this day personally ap- peared JOAN S. LaPORTE , who, having first been duly sworn, deposes and says: I DO SOLEMNLY SWEAR that I am not a member of the Communist Party, that I have not, and will not, lend any aid, support, advice, counsel or influence to the Commu- nist Party; That I do not believe in the overthrow of the Government of the United States, or the State of Florida by force or violence, that I am not a member of any orga- nization or party which believes in or teaches, directly or indirectly, the overthrow of the Government of the United States or the State of Florida by force or violence. I DO SOLEMNLY SWEAR that I will support, protect and defend the Constitution and Government of the United States and of the State of Florida against all enemies, domestic and foreign, and that I will bear true faith, loyalty and allegiance to the same, and that I am entitled to hold office under the Constitution of the United States, the Constitution of the State of Florida, and that I will faithfully perform all of the duties of the office of TOWN COMMISSIONER OF THE TOWN OF GULF STREAM, FLORIDA, on which I am about to enter, SO HELP ME GOD. J OQ a L 0. I ("1� Sworn To and Subscribed before me this 17th day of MAY A.D., 19 Notary Public NOTARY PUBLIC, STATE of FLORI RAGA -1fi GE MY COMMISSION EXPICEC SEPI'. 23, 1976 GLRcaAL IIV_unANLL UNULR'w"ITERS, Dear Sir: The Town Commission for the Town of Gulf Stream, Florida, has recently received complaints concerning varios types of debris on your property located at 3649 No. Ocean Blvd., Gulf Stream, Flo- rida. The condition of the grounds creates a niusance and particularly hazardous at this time of year due to the ever possible, so- called huri- cane season approaching. It is requested that attention, by the proper parties responsible for the maintenance of this property, be directed toward immediate abate- ment of the nuisance condition as well as trimming of coconut trees and other tree growth thereon. Respectfully TOWN OF GULF STREAM ., RDW:mc Town Manager. JOE GWYNN phoned 6/1/7: and advised that he will ABATE THE NUISANCES on TOWN OF GULF STREAM LADEW'S Property durir the first half of JUN PALM BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDA May 17th, 1973. COMMISSIONERS mglL ADDRESS William F. Koch, Jr., Mayor POST OFFICE BOX 255 DELRAV BEACH, FLORIDA William S. LaPorte, Vice-Mayor 33444 George W. Walker TEL.: DELRAV BEACH Henry N. Whitney 276 -5116 John K. Whittemore Town MeneBer R. D. WORTHING MR. HARVEY S. LADEW, Monkton, Maryland. 21111 Dear Sir: The Town Commission for the Town of Gulf Stream, Florida, has recently received complaints concerning varios types of debris on your property located at 3649 No. Ocean Blvd., Gulf Stream, Flo- rida. The condition of the grounds creates a niusance and particularly hazardous at this time of year due to the ever possible, so- called huri- cane season approaching. It is requested that attention, by the proper parties responsible for the maintenance of this property, be directed toward immediate abate- ment of the nuisance condition as well as trimming of coconut trees and other tree growth thereon. Respectfully TOWN OF GULF STREAM ., RDW:mc Town Manager. gown of (gulf V 4ream (givic Asocialion, CJnc. P. O. BOX 2568, DELRAY BEACH. FLORIDA May 20, 1973 Dear Member: The Town Council, at its meeting of May 11, 1973, passed a reso- lution extolling the late William S. LaPorte for his services to the Town as Commissioner from May 14, 1960 to his demise on October 13, 1973. To quote from the resolution "Said William S. LaPorte personally endeared himself to all who knew him by his friendliness, kind words and deeds, his interest in others and in the public welfare, all before self." The Town's Planning Board in a thorough review of the proposal to change the zoning of the northernmost section of "Place Au Soleil" recommended to deny the request to "downgrade this zoning" Mr. Simon, architect and Mr. Farrar, owner of the section, showed details of the proposed change, after which the Commission denied the request for the change. Georme Walker was appointed Mice- P4ayor of the Town. Mayor Koch re- quested the other members of the Commission to suggest names for the purpose of filling the vacancy in the Town Commission. He made the same request to those in attendance at the meeting. The following names were suggested: Lawrence P4. Ball, Thomas C. Fogarty, John G. Hart, Joan S. LaPorte, Marilyn G. Mayer and Gertrude F. Skelly. The stipulation was made that these would be told that the appointment would be only until next December when, hopefully, the Charter of the Town will have been changed or an ordinance passed, permitting an election to fill the Post permanently. It was decided to convene again on May 17, to appoint the temporary Commissioner. At the May 17th meeting a report was made about the persons con- tacted, Larry Ball is in F...urope and could not be reached, Thomas C. Fogarty had left for the ?lest, John Hart said he was not interested in being appointed by the Commission, Marilyn "Bayer was not interested. This left Joan LaPorte and Gertrude Skelly. Mayor Koch again reiter- ated that the appointee would resign in December and then could run for the Post in a Town election. A voice from the floor inquired if Jack Whittemore would also resign, since he was a Commission Appointee. Koch answered "That's up to him. If he wants to, fine. Or any of us. We all could do it." "However, under the present Charter, no one on the Commission could be made to resign." Mrs. Kit Nickerson from the floor suggested that if the present appointee would resign there was no rea- son why the other appointee should not also resign. "You can't make a law retroactive ", Koch stated. T,Thittemore then suggested that Joan LaPorte would be appointed. This was seconded by Henry Whitney and and Mrs. LaPorte will be sworn in at the June 8 meeting. The Town Manager, Hobert D. Worthing, Pointed out that this appointment was - 2 - made under the old Charter, that the new Charter could not be changed until a Town referendum was held, that most residents would not return until late November or December and that, therefore the Charter could not be changed until early 1974+ Koch again stated that the pledge to resign was voluntary and could not be enforced. It is therefore a logical conclusion that Mrs. LaPorte has been appointed Commissioner until the next regular Town election. This is comparable to changing the rules in the middle of the game; the persons contacted were told that they would have to resign in December. Bill Koch said, at one point, "We all could do it (resign in December. ") As the Commission now consists of three elected by the voters of Gulf Stream, ( Walker, Koch and Whitney) and two appointees, the resignation of all Commissioners in December might find a ,great deal of support. A new TOTAm election might clear the air. Joan LaPorte is a very fine lady and will fill her Post admirably until December or Plarch, 1975. She has an excellent cultural and business background. The Army Corps of Engineers is studying the deepening of the Intra- coastal Waterway from 10 to 12 feet. City Manager Richard Simmons of West Palm Beach told the West Palm Beach Commissioners that the purpose of the deepening was so that large commercial operations could be carried on by means of over -water transportation. Public hearings will be held on the subject. It is suggested that the Town Commission remain posted on this situation, and someone attend the hearings. The Civic Association is endeavoring to have an injunction granted by Circuit Court Judge James C. Downey, set aside. This injunction prevents the County from moving the sand transfer plant at the Boynton Beach Inlet, westward, at the present location the plant is located too far to the east to do any good. The suction pipe rests in a deep hole of water, resulting in a pumping of water with very little sand, there- by deprivine the beaches to the south of the Inlet from the sand normal- ly drifting from north to south. The Boynton Inlet is blocking this sand from nourishing the beaches to the south. The Town of Manalapan, the South Lake Worth Inlet District and Andy and Victoria Anderson were successful in obtaining the injunction from Judge Downey, on June 25, 1969, preventing the County Commission from moving the sand transfer plant. The restoration of our beaches is of interest to all residents of our Town. The beach property owners have spent large amounts of money in erecting interlocking steel seawalls, steel groynes,etc. in an effort to keep the ocean at bay. If this had not been done all houses on the ocean would have disappeared long ago and the ocean probably would have undermined route AlA with disastrous results to the Town. The writer will continue pursuing the matter, but has not much faith in obtaining results. Finally an appeal to Mayor Koch to run the Commission in a more parliamentary manner. The Civic Association has a representative at these meetings, who tape- records the sessions. As these meetings are open to the public this is entirely permissable. (If the meetings were not public, this would be a violation of the Florida."SUhshine Law ") - 3 - A tape recorder cannot tell when someome from the floor interrupts the meeting, who that person is. It has been repeatedly suggested to Mayor Koch that when someone wishes to speak out, he or she should first be recognized, then state name and business. Listening to the tape of some of these meetings, sounds like a real kaffeeklatch. This probably is a folksy and popular way to run a meeting as far as the persons present are concerned. However, we have now close to 200 members in the Civic Association, most of whom cannot attend these ieetings and who rely on these letters to keep them informed. They deserve a full report on the important subjects brought up, complete with names, etc. If an informal give and take takes place at these meetings it is impossible to render an adequate report. Cordially y , Gulf Stream ;ip Association, Inc. John Secre