HomeMy Public PortalAboutMarch 26, 2015TOWN OF GULF STREAM
COMMISSIONERS
SCOTT W. MORGAN, Mayor
ROBERT W. GANGER, Vice -Mayor
JOAN K. ORTHWEIN
THOMAS M. STANLEY
DONNA S. WHITE
March 26, 2015
Dear Gulf Stream Residents,
PALM BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDA
Telephone
(561)276.5116
Fax
(561)777.0188
Town Manager
WILLIAM H. THRASHER
Town Clerk
RITA L. TAYLOR
In October, I reported that the South phase of our electric underground wiring project was
completed. Underground wiring for the two other utilities, telephone and cable, have not yet
been completed, and we recently learned that it may take one to two more years for AT&T and
Comcast to measure the lines, order the parts and schedule transfer of their lines. While this long
timeline is disappointing, it appears to be consistent with the experience of other municipalities,
and there is little the Town can do to expedite it.
Regarding the North half of the project, FPL has completed its Building Cost Estimate,
which is now being reviewed by the Town's Engineer. Once FPL's Cost Estimate is negotiated
and finalized, it will serve as the basis of design for contractors to quote the work. Given our
previous experience with the South project, we expect the North electric underground wiring to
be awarded and completed in 2016. The remaining utility lines with AT&T and Comcast will
then take another one to two years to place underground. This means the project will probably
not be fully completed until 2018. While again disappointing, the time frame is at least now more
realistic.
On a related note, the newest streetlight sample was installed last week on Gulfstream
Rd, near the police station. The previous two samples were rejected as being the wrong color and
then the wrong design. Hopefully, the third time is a charm!
Last year, the Town's taxable property value rose by over 14% to $878,000,000.00,
which is the largest increase in all of Palm Beach County. This is a wonderful achievement that
highlights our Town's uniqueness, and is in my opinion directly related to Gulf Stream's efforts
to preserve its understated beauty with tight zoning rules and reasonably controlled development.
On another matter of concern to many residents, the Gulf Stream Town Commission
recently approved a policy requiring general contractors to be liable for all sub -contractor
construction code violations. Now, when sub -contractors violate our noise restrictions,
construction parking requirements or start -times, the general contractor who hired them receives
the initial warning and then becomes responsible for fines, which escalate on repeated offenses.
100 SEA ROAD, GULF STREAM, FLORIDA 33483
The Commission believes this policy will go a long way toward improving the quality of life for
residents living near construction sites.
Also, the Town Commission recently passed a new sign ordinance, Section 66-447.
Although our prior ordinance worked well and, in my opinion, properly balanced the legitimate
need for certain real estate and political signs against the desire to maintain the aesthetics of our
neighborhoods, Martin O'Boyle filed a lawsuit in federal court to have the Gulf Stream
ordinance declared unconstitutional. On the advice of our lawyers, Gulf Stream changed its sign
ordinance to be fully content neutral and uniformly restrictive in placement. This change will
primarily affect real estate signs, which had previously been treated differently from other signs
because of the importance of sign visibility to our residents when selling their homes. That is no
longer the case. Real estate signs will now be required to meet the same restrictions as any other
sign, which must be placed at least 10' inside the property line.
Not unexpectedly, Christopher O'Hare has used the language in the new sign ordinance
to file Complaints against many of our residents. Mr. O'Hare demands the removal of their flags,
signs and other decorative items as follows:
*American flag at 2665 Avenue au Soleil; *Decorative flag at 201 Lakeview Dr.; *Gulf
Stream School's Annual Giving Campaign Sign and its Entrance & Exit signs; *Entrance and
Exit signs at the Gulf Stream Golf Course; *the Name Signs for Villa D'Este, The Somerset,
Gulfstream Manner, Jamaica Square, and Casa Serena; *All decorations placed near or on the
following homes: 3420 Gulf Stream Rd., 2801 N. Ocean Blvd., 2730 Avenue au Soleil, 4221 N.
County Rd., 2534 Avenue au Soleil, 3524 Oleander Way, 3560 Gulf Stream Rd., 4448 N. Ocean
Blvd., 544 Banyan Rd., 520 Banyan Rd., 3818 Bermuda Ln., 582 Palm Way, 520 Canary Walk,
and 2522 Avenue au Soleil.
These two residents -Mr. O'Boyle and Mr. O'Hare- have continued their efforts to
overwhelm the Town's staff with public records requests and lawsuits. Our attorneys are
aggressively handling those cases, despite lawsuits being filed against attorney Sweetapple and
our Jones Foster lawyers, Mr. Randolph and Ms. O'Connor. These blatant attempts to intimidate
our counsel will not be successful, and we look forward to the day when a court has the
opportunity to pass judgment on this misconduct.
Along that line, many of you may have heard that Gulf Stream has filed its federal RICO
lawsuit against numerous defendants, including O'Hare and O'Boyle. The RICO Complaint is
posted on-line at the Town of Gulf Stream's website, along with other pleadings and deposition
testimony from some of the other lawsuits. Anyone interested in learning the details of the case
should review the pleading on our website. Go to www.mlf-stream.ore and click on "I Want
To." Scroll down to "Find a Town Record" and select "Legal". The RICO Complaint is under
"Town of Gulf Stream."
I remain available to help answer any of your questions or to discuss Town issues of
importance to you. My home number is 243-1432 and my cell is 573-6006.
Very truly yours,
ettw-