The city’s landscape code, which was amended after the adoption of Ordinance 10-25 (LDR Rewrite project), includes several provisions that are based upon the Florida-friendly landscape principles as developed by the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS). The Florida-friendly landscaping principles are based upon nine (9) components:

1. Right Plant, Right Place
2. Water Efficiently
3. Fertilize Appropriately
4. Mulch
5. Attract Wildlife
6. Manage Yard Pests Responsibly
7. Recycle
8. Prevent Stormwater Runoff
9. Protect the Waterfront

After the adoption of Ordinance 10-25, staff soon realized that more research may be warranted, in particular, to increase the emphasis on water conservation. The South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) recently declared a water shortage in south Florida, due to what is called a record-breaking dry season. Because of the lack of rain, the SFWMD issued general watering restrictions, which apply to homes, farms, nurseries, and golf courses located throughout Palm Beach County. Furthermore, the SFWMD predicts that many of its monitoring areas and data collection points will continue to experience moderate-to-severe drought conditions for the remainder of this dry season. Water shortage and water conservation represent extreme issues facing this region, warranting more proactive and responsible approaches to outdoor water use.

Staff is pleased to report that new regulations have been drafted, and they are set to be reviewed by the Planning and Development Board on June 28 and by the City Commission in July and August. The intent of these regulations is to foster a more sustainable outdoor environment on developed non-residential and multi-family residential sites, while taking into consideration feasibility and financial impacts upon the development community, landscape industry, businesses, and property owners. These new regulations would not apply to properties occupied by single family homes or duplexes.

Posted by City Planner at 10:57 AM 0 comments

Who’ll START the Rain?*

In his West Palm Beat blog, Palm Beach Post political reporter Andrew Abramson has compiled the 20 Greatest “Rain” Songs of All Time (to stop the drought). West Palm Beach badly needs rain to fill Lake Okeechobee. While Abramson writes tongue-in-cheek that he’s heard a lot of people suggest rain dances,  that fact is that if that city’s estimates are accurate, it will run out of water by the end of this month.

That prompted one of our Boynton Beach city commissioners to question the status of our own water supply so that he could address any concerns constituents may have regarding the situation. In his response, City Manager Kurt Bressner said, “We are in good shape. We still could use some rain.”

Bressner went on to explain that Boynton’s water system is derived from using the shallow aquifer that responds fairly quickly to rain, principally via the system of canals operated by the Lake Worth Drainage District and the South Florida Water Management District. The City’s well fields, he said, are aligned in areas that can benefit from increased surficial water in the canals.

He reminded the commissioner that last year the cities of Lake Worth and Lantana over-pumped their shallow wells closer to the Intracoastal Waterway, which increased salt water intrusion. “Once that starts,” he said,”it’s like a salt water river cutting through a fresh water bubble. It is very hard to recover.”

That’s why four years ago Boynton Beach refurbished its east shallow wells to raise the supply (bowl) of the well to a safer area. The City’s ASR, or Aquifer Storage Recovery, wells have been a salvation for the dry areas. The geological formations under Boynton favored the construction of these recovery wells and has made Boynton one of the few cities in Florida that has been able to successfully use this technique.

Bressner credits former Utility Director John Guidry who guided the installation of the first well in 2000 followed by a second well that came on line two years ago. The current utility administration is building on this system by pushing the interconnect between the City’s East and West water plants to provide greater operational flexibility to shift water from the west to the east and vice versa.

While this is good news for Boynton Beach, it should not been taken to mean that we can be wasteful of water. We need to continue to be vigilant and conserve water where we can. And remember, irrigation is still restricted to two times a week: 2X or Fines. Please be considerate of this precious resource. For more information, visit the South Florida Water Management District’s site at www.sfwmd.gov.

Abramson’s pick for best rain song? Bob Dylan’s A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall, of course.

*With apologies to Creedence Clearwater Revival.

Posted by Wayne at 1:09 PM 0 comments

2011 Hurricane Preparedness Guide

Open publication - Free publishing - More boynton beach

Posted by Wayne at 11:49 AM 0 comments

Library Preservation Week

The Boynton Beach City Library will join the American Library Association and libraries all over the country to promote awareness of collection preservation. The theme this year is Pass It On. Mayor Jose Rodriguez has proclaimed April 24-30 as Preservation Week in Boynton Beach. The Boynton Beach City Library has bookmarks to give away featuring preservation techniques for books, photographs, paper materials and electronic media. The library website features the ALA Pass It On logo.

Read more »

Posted by Wayne at 1:32 PM 0 comments

Ride Your Bike to Work Week

The City’s Green Sustainability Team is hosting various exhibits, displays, activities and events throughout the City to celebrate the 41st anniversary of Earth Day (April 22) and to raise public awareness of the environment and promote a more “sustainable” lifestyle. This week is Ride Your Bicycle to Work Week and City employees have been encouraged to ride bicycles to work instead of driving private motor vehicles.

The City’s Local Historian & Archivist Janet DeVries took up the challenge and rode her bike to work this morning. Below is Janet’s firsthand account of the experience.

“This morning I was up before the sun, had my ‘forty-five’ on, and in celebration of Earth Week, rode my bike to work. With a backpack carrying a change of clothes behind me, I inhaled the salty air and began my five mile trek to work.

Riding a bike gives a person an incredible sense of freedom. It felt good to be getting exercise, fresh air, and saving money and natural resources at the same time. As I pedaled along at a comfortable pace, I wondered why I hadn’t tried this before.

My peaceful ride was interrupted now and again by a few loud mufflers and the diesel engine of the Palm Tran bus. Instead of getting annoyed with the bus I remembered public transportation and carpooling are alternative ways to save precious energy. Today Palm Tran buses even have bicycle racks mounted on the front of them allowing riders to combine using their bike and the bus for door to door service.

“As my legs pumped up and down and I trekked closer to work I pondered. How did people travel before we had all these automobiles and buses? As if in answer to my question, I felt a vibration in the earth signaling the presence of an approaching train. I was riding south on Federal Highway along the FEC tracks. South Floridians have been riding the rails since Henry Morrison Flagler brought his Florida East Coast Railway down here in the 1890s.

Another aspect of note was the absence of schoolchildren. Don’t kids ride their bikes to school anymore? Seems most of them don’t. Society has become a little soft today. I remember reading that before the first high school in Boynton was built in 1926, students rode their bikes all the way to the old Twin Lakes High School in West Palm Beach. That’s 15 miles away! The roads are much smoother today.

The ride was quite peaceful while I was riding along a nature area that runs parallel with the train tracks. I saw several scrub jays and one cardinal. Now and again I smelled some wonderful flowery smells. I began to hear a strange rustle in the bushes. Was that a gopher tortoise? It started to sound like there was lots of wildlife in the underbrush. I pedaled harder.

Suddenly this whole ride your bike to work journey seemed a little far-fetched. I still had nearly two miles to go, was getting winded, the animals in the bushes were getting louder, and the bike was slowing down. 

Flat tire! The strange noise was coming from my own bicycle. The tube was completely flat and I had been riding for a block or two almost on the rim. It was somewhat disappointing to not finish the morning’s journey aboard my two-wheeled steed. The good news is that within my line of vision was a teal colored bus stop sign.

I still made it to work on time; freshened up and slipped into an only slightly rumpled dress. Perhaps I smell a little of coconut sunscreen and perspiration. The experience was priceless. More people should think about using a bicycle. If not for work, perhaps for errands and quick trips to the grocery store. Your body and your Earth will both benefit.”

For a complete list of the City’s Earth Week activities, click here.

Posted by Wayne at 4:26 PM 4 comments

Operation Tribute to Freedom

 

Spc. Marfel Ortiz-Brown

Current Unit: 2nd Battalion, 321st Airborne Field Artillery Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division Current Position: Food Service Specialist Component: Active Army

Current Location: Fort Bragg, N.C. Hometown: Boynton Beach Years of Service: 9 Age: 32

Recently, Spc. Marfel Ortiz-Brown was one of 200 military chefs who put their cooking skills on display at the annual U.S. Army Culinary Competition in Fort Lee, Va. Despite being a freshman member of the Fort Bragg Culinary Team, she came home with three individual medals, including a bronze for her dessert skills.

But the competition wasn’t the first time her cooking was put to the test. Ortiz-Brown has deplyed to both Iraq and Afghanistan and while there, she was responsible for bringing a little piece of “home” to the Soldiers in her unit.

“It was very important for troop morale that the food we prepared tasted as close to homemade as possible,” she said. “I made sure that there was always a hot meal ready when my guys returned from a mission.”

Throughout the deployments, Ortiz-Brown made it a priority to keep all-American entrees on the menu, including chicken parmesan and occasionally steak, and on holidays, she worked extra hard to provide a taste of home for all of the Soldiers who were missing out on family celebrations.

“Although we were in Afghanistan for Thanksgiving, we made sure the Soldiers had turkey, mashed potatoes, fresh shrimp, corn on the cob, pies and cakes,” she said. “We hung a bunch of festive decorations in the dining tent to make it look nice and comfortable for the Soldiers. We wanted them to enjoy the holiday away from home.”

In addition to her cooking duties, Ortiz-Brown would often accompany her brigade on missions and had the opportunity to serve as a driver for the patrols.

After returning from Afghanistan, she assumed cooking duties at Fort Bragg, and it was not long before her culinary skills were recognized. When trying out for a spot on the prestigious Fort Bragg Culinary Team, she had just one hour  to prove herself to the team captain.

“I only had 60 minutes to prepare a dish in front of the team captain. I chose to make a lemon tart with a lemon meringue soufflé,” she said. “It didn’t go as well as I wanted it to, but they saw that I had solid cooking skills, and I ended up making the team.

The Fort Bragg chefs practiced both individually and as a team to prepare for the U.S. Army Culinary Competition, and ultimately came home with the second-place title – losing to the Pentagon Culinary Team by just one point.

“I learned a lot from my teammates and other experienced chefs who had already competed at the U.S. Army Culinary Competition – it was truly an amazing experience,” she said.

Ortiz-Brown currently lives with her husband, also a Soldier, and daughter in the Fort Bragg, N.C., area. In the future, she hopes to use the culinary skills she has gained in the Army to open up a bakery of her own.

(Editor’s Note: This story was submitted to us by Operation Tribute to Freedom, a Headquarters Department of the Army outreach program designed to honor the contributions and sacrifices being made by Soldiers currently serving and returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2003, the Boynton Beach City Commission, by resolution, reaffirmed the City’s support of Company D, 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division Air Assault, a.k.a. DELTA DEMONS.)

Posted by Wayne at 3:43 PM 0 comments

2nd Annual Mayor's Challenge Family Fun Run/Walk

On Sat., March 19, nearly 300 people turned out for the 2nd Annual Mayor's Challenge Family fun Run/Walk. Mayor Jose Rodriguez challenged people of all ages to make exercise a part of their daily routine.

"My goal is to make Boynton Beach a healthier, more vital community," said Mayor Rodriguez. "This run/walk is a great way to get out and exercise and to meet new people who have the same fitness and wellness goals," he continued.

Mayor Rodriguez lead the run/walk, which began and ended at the Schoolhouse Children's Museum & Learning Center.

This event was also an opportunity to meet Mayor Rodriguez personally and to learn about the exciting new elements that are coming to Boynton's downtown core. There were music, family fun activities, and the opportunity to meet event sponsors and advertisers at the end of the run/walk.

Posted by Wayne at 11:26 AM 0 comments