BCC Briefs

At the May 4, 2010, Board of County Commissioners meeting, the board took the following action:

Deepwater Horizon – received a report on formation of the Deepwater Horizon Planning Task Force to address mitigation, response and recovery efforts associated with the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that could impact Palm Beach County.

Sports Commission – agreed to reduce the number of BCC-appointed members to the Sports Commission Board of Directors from 14 to 7 and to require board members to reside in Palm Beach County. The changes, effective October 1, will reduce the overall number of board members from 28 to 17.

Tourism – received a report on the $3 million tourism stimulus marketing campaign to promote Palm Beach County to fly and drive market travelers. Performance measures show the county experienced gains in year-over-year occupancy levels from November 2009 through February 2010.

Rock Mining – set a workshop for June 15 to discuss the possibility of placing a moratorium on new rock mining operations in the county.

Veteran’s Park – approved the reallocation of $4,500 in recreation assistance program (RAP) funds for Memorial Day and Veteran’s Day events at Veteran’s Park in Boca Raton.

Burt Reynolds Park – authorized a grant application of up to $150,000 from the FIND Waterways Assistance Program to extend the existing 110-foot staging dock at Burt Reynolds Park by 179 linear feet. If the grant is awarded, the county will provide a match of $323,000 (68 percent of the total cost of the park improvement project) from a 2004 waterfront access and preservation bond issue.

Lake Region Water Treatment Plant – approved a grant agreement with the EPA in the amount of $1.253 million for construction of the Lake Region Water Treatment Plant. A 52 percent local match in the amount of $1.332 million is required and will be obtained through funds previously committed by the BCC for plant construction.

PBIA – adopted a resolution establishing a new standard form hotel-motel courtesy shuttle operator permit at Palm Beach International Airport. The permit authorizes shuttle vehicles to transport passengers to and from designated locations at PBIA at no direct cost to the rider. The initial permit fee is $100 per year, plus an application fee of $250 and a decal fee of $10 per shuttle vehicle.