By Dan Moffett
After only a couple of months on the job, new Town Manager Bogdan “Bob” Vitas is earning high marks from South Palm Beach Town Council members.
The positive reviews are especially encouraging for residents who watched in dismay as Vitas’ predecessor, Jim Pascale, butted heads with the council pretty much on arrival early last year and was gone by June. Vitas presented a “90-day action plan” to council members on Dec. 15, and they liked what they heard.
“You really took our goals seriously,” said Mayor Bonnie Fischer. “You listened to us.”
Vice Mayor Joseph Flagello said Vitas has shown a genuine commitment to make good on the promises he made when he was hired in October, and his cooperative nature “wasn’t just a tactic for the interview.”
Councilman Robert Gottlieb commended Vitas for getting in tune with the town so quickly. “It’s hard to believe you’ve been here such a short time,” Gottlieb said.
Councilwoman Stella Gaddy Jordan said Vitas’ action plan was right on target: “You did an excellent job,” she told him. “The timeline is more than appropriate.”
Some highlights of the Vitas plan:
• Review the town’s police service options, “including status quo, contract (with) other agencies, or a blended approach.”
• Evaluate the Town Hall for repairs, renovation or replacement.
• Create a financial plan that includes “special funds devoted to (beach) renourishment rather than commingled in the general fund.”
• Develop a five-year, long-range capital improvement plan that considers street light upgrades, beach renourishment, sidewalk improvements and possible Town Hall improvements.
• Develop an administrative policy manual with personnel rules and regulations, as well as job descriptions.
• Continue outreach efforts to government organizations outside the town.
• Develop social media connections such as email and Facebook to help keep the community informed.
“We want to clarify who we are,” Vitas said of the planning. “Clarify where we are. And clarify where we want to go.”
He said he wants to schedule a series of workshops over the next couple of months to let council members and residents weigh in on what the town’s priorities should be.
“The job of the town manager is to keep you updated,” he told the council.
Vitas, 58, was the city manager of Key West from 2012 to 2014, and before that served for five years as the village administrator of Lake Zurich, Ill.
In other business, council members reluctantly accepted the resignation of Town Clerk Yudy Alvarez, who after nearly a decade as a town employee is moving to North Carolina to be with family.
Alvarez has been head clerk since April 2014 and started with the town as permit clerk in 2006. Council members expressed special gratitude for the extra work Alvarez put in during the five months last year when the town had no town manager.
“She really stepped up to the plate for us,” Fischer said. “I’m really thankful for what she’s done. She’s a wonderful, wonderful person.”
Flagello said Alvarez will always be considered “an honorary South Palm Beach resident.”
• Political newcomer Robert Gargano has filed to challenge the at-large seats held by Gottlieb and Jordan in the March 15 municipal election. In recent town meetings, Gargano, 68, has questioned some of the council’s contracts with vendors. The top two vote-getters will claim seats.
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