By Jane Smith
Residents on Palm Trail were successful in getting Delray Beach City Commission support to help them reduce boat speeds on a nearly 1-mile section of the Intracoastal Waterway.
The commission unanimously passed a resolution Feb. 11 that calls for idle speeds with no wakes between the George Bush Boulevard and Atlantic Avenue bridges. It was modified at the meeting to include manatee protection.
“We should throw everything into this resolution that we can,” Mayor Shelly Petrolia said.
During public comment, the Palm Trail Homeowners Association president thanked the commission and asked if the resolution could include manatee protection.
The mayor signed the updated resolution in late February. It will be sent to the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, which oversees speeds in Florida waterways.
Because the resolution includes manatee protection, it will have a lengthy review process. It includes a county review committee, a public comment period and public hearings.
In other Delray Beach news:
• On Feb. 4, fired City Manager Mark Lauzier appealed the loss of his whistleblower status in his lawsuit against Delray Beach to the 4th District Court of Appeal.
The city, in turn, is seeking to recover the cost of litigating the whistleblower portion of Lauzier’s wrongful dismissal lawsuit. That motion will be heard at 9 a.m. April 27.
The wrongful dismissal count remains open in Palm Beach County Circuit Court.
• The city’s Community Redevelopment Agency agreed on Feb. 25 to extend the fixed-route transportation contract to June 30, 2021.
First Transit Inc. will supply the vehicles and drivers in the downtown; the hourly rate paid to the company by the CRA was reduced from $55.28 to $46.73. The CRA will pay fuel at cost and First Transit will provide a monthly fuel report with receipts.
Other costs the CRA agreed to pay include wrapping the two vehicles for $12,080 and reupholstering the seats for $10,000.
Comments