truck - News - The Coastal Star2024-03-29T07:27:18Zhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/feed/tag/truckSouth Palm Beach: Long-awaited beach renourishment could take place in Aprilhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/south-palm-beach-long-awaited-beach-renourishment-could-take-plac2019-09-05T13:44:52.000Z2019-09-05T13:44:52.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong>By Dan Moffett</strong></p>
<p>With the help of next-door neighbor Palm Beach, the town of South Palm Beach has a chance to begin a beach renourishment project by early next year.<br /> “I would imagine we’d probably plan on the month of April,” Robert Weber, Palm Beach’s coastal protection coordinator, told the South Palm Town Council on Aug. 13. “That’s the furthest we could work before the beginning of the turtle season.”<br /> Palm Beach is scheduled to begin dredging sand in November to replenish the beaches in the southern end of the town. Weber said the plan is to bring the dredging off the coast of Phipps Ocean Park by March. From the park, sand could be trucked the short distance into South Palm Beach to feed its eroding beachfront.<br /> “I think that the project will take around three weeks to complete,” Weber said, and he estimated that it might take as many as 1,000 truckloads to build up the South Palm shoreline.<br /> Along with the new sand, the plan calls for restoring the town’s dune line where possible by planting sea oats and other erosion-resistant species.<br /> South Palm Beach Mayor Bonnie Fischer and Weber expect the cost of the project to run about $700,000. The town already has the money set aside. It was to have been used for a beach stabilization project that would have installed concrete groins along the shoreline. But Palm Beach County officials abruptly ended their support for the project earlier this year, saying it had become too costly and faced the threats of lawsuits from disgruntled neighbors to the south.<br /> Because Palm Beach has been working with county, state and federal officials on renourishment efforts for the last two decades, no extensive permitting is required. The partnership benefits both towns: Palm Beach can reduce its costs by selling sand; South Palm can repair its beachfront by buying it.<br />The project still needs a number of important issues resolved in order to move forward:<br /> • The Army Corps of Engineers must give its final blessing and then the go-ahead to get dredging started.<br /> • Palm Beach must get satisfactory bids from two contractors, one for dredging and another for trucking. <br /> • South Palm must negotiate easements from several condo associations to get access to the beaches for trucks and workers.<br /> • Both towns must negotiate the details of an interlocal agreement to clarify the ground rules for the project.<br /> • The storm season has to remain quiet so the dredging season isn’t delayed and doesn’t run into the turtle nesting season in May.<br /> “I hope that everyone understands how lucky we are that Palm Beach is going to include us in this project,” Fischer said. <br /> <strong>In other business</strong>, the Town Council unanimously approved setting the tentative millage at the full rollback rate of $3.59 per $1,000 of taxable property value.<br /> The rollback rate is the millage level at which tax revenues remain flat compared with the last fiscal year. Property values in South Palm are up a healthy 5.57 percent over 2018. Even with the rollback, the town can expect to generate about a $90,000 budget surplus because of spending cuts, most notably the upcoming switch to the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office for police services.<br /> “We’ve been able to give taxpayers a break on their taxes for four years in a row now,” Vice Mayor Robert Gottlieb said.</p></div>Highland Beach to vote on whether to replace aging fire truckhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/highland-beach-to-vote-on2010-09-30T21:00:00.000Z2010-09-30T21:00:00.000ZScott Simmonshttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/ScottSimmons<div><p style="text-align:center;"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960304473,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="" /></p>
<div style="text-align:center;">The old Highland Beach fire truck was used in a dramatic rescue at the Toscana condos. <br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Photo courtesy of Delray Beach Fire-Rescue</span><br /></div>
<br /><br />By Steve Plunkett<br /><br />It’s in the shop a lot, and repair bills are mounting. It’s not easy to drive in tight places. And every time it gets back to the station, the life support equipment has to be taken out and plugged into the wall.<br /><br />Firefighters say it’s time to replace Highland Beach’s 15-year-old ladder truck, but they need voter approval to do so. The truck they want costs $810,000; the Town Charter calls for a referendum on any project priced more than $350,000.<br /><br />“That vehicle has outlived its usefulness and it should be replaced as soon as possible,’’ Delray Beach Fire-Rescue Chief David C. James warned town commissioners this summer. Highland Beach contracts with Delray Beach for fire and rescue services.<br /><br />The truck, made by Sutphen, has a 100-foot ladder and is so heavy it sometimes cracks pavers as it approaches high-rises, James said. Its weight limits how close it can get to buildings, he said, making the ladder no better than a much shorter one positioned nearer to the wall.<br /><br />Repair bills have totaled more than $135,000 in the past 4 1/2 years, and the truck is out of service about 50 days each year. ‘’That’s a pretty high average,’’ James said.<br /><br />What’s more, the truck originally was equipped for basic life support. It since has been upgraded to advanced life support but barely has room for all the gear. <br /><br />“When a call comes out, or whenever they leave the station, the crew personnel must unplug that apparatus and restore it to its position in a compartment that is really quite packed,’’ James said. ‘’It’s not designed to carry all the equipment.’’<br /><br />The chief recommends that Highland Beach buy a lighter-weight, more maneuverable Pierce Manufacturing aerial truck with a 75-foot ladder. <br /><br />If the town borrowed money from its reserves, then paid itself back, the owner of a $500,000 home might pay $32.71 for seven years or $77.27 for three years, Town Manager Dale Sugerman said. Exact financing would be determined next year while the new truck is being built.<br /><br />The town has about 60 high rises. Mayor Jim Newill wondered how many stories up the shorter ladder would reach. “I have a personal reason for asking that. I live on the ninth floor,’’ he said. <br /><br />Firefighters said the smaller truck would get closer to buildings, offsetting its shorter reach.<br /><br />Assistant Chief Russ Accardi said the truck is used not only for fighting fires and providing emergency medical services, but also for special operations. He recalled a rescue the truck assisted in at the Toscana condos when a thunderstorm trapped two workers on scaffolding.<br /><br />“This storm came out of the south I believe, very rapidly, very high winds,’’ Accardi said. “Suddenly before they can get down or secure their scaffolding, the scaffolding ropes and cables got wrapped around some palm trees and it moved the scaffolding out of position and they were not able to lower to the ground.’’<br /><br />Firefighters climbed the truck’s ladder and untangled the scaffolding. Under the contract, Highland Beach owns the fire station just north of Town Hall, the ladder truck, a rescue truck and related equipment. Delray Beach supplies five personnel for each 24-hour shift, with three shifts rotating every third day. <br /><br />The proposal to replace the aerial truck had an instant fan on the Town Commission: Vice Mayor Miriam Zwick, who lives in a 16th-floor condo. A recent fall in her apartment left her helpless to move. “Every bone in one side of the neck was broken and the spinal cord was being pinched,’’ she said.<br />Zwick praised the emergency medical technicians, firefighters and police who responded in minutes and took her to Delray Trauma Center.<br /><br />“I take this very personally,’’ she said. “And without looking into it deeper, according to the finances et cetera, I would stand up and say, ‘All right, let’s do it — please!’ ” <br /> <br /><p style="text-align:center;"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960304667,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="" /></p>
<p style="text-align:center;">Fire officials want to replace the truck with one like this lighter-weight $810,000 truck.<br /></p>
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