Consensus for land acquisition — Negotiations are underway for Ocean Ridge to purchase three parcels. A consensus emerged at the May 6 commission meeting for Town Manager Lynne Ladner to proceed with talks about acquiring 6470 N. Ocean Blvd., located on the north side of Town Hall. It could be used to provide more Town Hall parking and park amenities. Two other “mangrove parcels” are also under discussion for purchase. Those two pieces of land near Town Hall are currently zoned for residential development and the town is seeking grants to help defray the cost of purchasing them.
Town manager gets cost-of-living increase — Town Manager Lynne Ladner received a 5% cost-of-living increase to bring her annual salary to $149,625. She might get another bump in pay this year, pending one-on-one commissioner meetings and the results of a study of what other town managers earn, it was decided at the May 6 commission meeting.
Town meeting announcements move from print to online — The commission unanimously agreed to stop putting its required public meeting notices in The Palm Beach Post and move to online announcements. Town Manager Lynne Ladner said that this will save money: The cost of putting in print advertisements for the budget hearings alone is a little more than the annual cost of publishing it online, she said. Legislation effective in 2023 allows local governments to advertise meetings online instead of in print media.
Street name stays — Whitney Way resident Franklin Hoet’s idea that his street should be named Hoet Way — due to how the current name confuses Google Maps because of all the similarly named drives, avenues and streets in Palm Beach County — was not a winning one with the Town Commission. Commissioners unanimously rejected it.
Unforgiven — Spencer Blank is buying 23 Coconut Lane and he’s cleaned up the issues that started accruing fines of $150 a day for 509 days starting Dec. 1, 2022, he told the Town Commission May 6. And he said the seller, James Cooksey, would be willing to drop his lawsuit against the town if the commission agreed the $85,000 in fines, administrative costs and interest would go the same way. The request was unanimously rejected.
— Anne Geggis
Comments
come again? This town manager gets a pay increase? She failed to provide a budget and a special meeting had to be called in in December to make up for her failing to put the budget together properly in the first place.
She is rarely in the office, bounces from city and state meetings to the next luncheaon and that deserves a pay increase?
At least she proposed to buy a piece of land next to town hall that is still in litigation with the upside we may have to hand that over to the litigant if he actually wins. You cannot be serious. Besides the cost to buy that property is outragous.