March 12, 2009

Commissioner Koons,
We, the residents of Palm Beach Ranchettes, need your help!
For nearly 11 months now I have been asking for the Board’s help with the paving of Fargo Avenue. I have met with the Engineer and his staff several times and have had scores of telephone conversations. My neighbors have had scores of telephone conversations with the Engineering department. I have appeared before the Board a number of times, made more telephone calls than I can remember, sent emails, met individually with my Commissioner, etc. asking for help.

In May/June of 2008, I met with Commissioner Santamaria and Mr. Webb to discuss changing the MSTU ordinance. On December 16, 2009, your Board passed the ordinance change unanimously. After that Board meeting, Commissioner Santamaria asked Mr. Webb and I to meet in his office to discuss the next step in proceeding with Fargo Avenue. After nearly six months of working towards the MSTU change, I expected that after the Board made the change, Mr. Webb would have a course of action laid out for us to proceed. That was not the case. Commissioner Santamaria made his desires clear and laid out a course of action to Mr. Webb and I thought Fargo Avenue was progressing. However, that was not the case.

A telephone call from a neighbor of mine today, informed me of a letter going out to residents about Fargo Avenue. He was talking to the Engineering Department earlier today and was told that there might not be funds available for the next 3 to 5 years. This was not what Commissioner Santamaria and Mr. Webb discussed in December. Mr. Webb said funds were available from the Sunshine Funds. I tried to reach the Engineering Department myself for clarity and am awaiting a return telephone call.

I would like to remind you that during the July 22, 2008, Board meeting, you asked the County Engineer to give a “good faith effort” to “…catch up with the existing project…”. That was about 8 months ago. The “existing project” is in the final stages. To date, I know of no progress what so ever.

During another meeting with Commissioner Santamaria, Mr. Webb and myself that took place approximately in May of 2008, I brought Mr. Webb pictures of Fargo Avenue road extending into Palomino Drive. The pictures showed the excessive dirt/gravel and pot holes on the existing County paved roads. I asked Mr. Webb if you could send a street sweeper to clean the dirt road intersections on Palomino Drive and Blanchette Trail. Mr. Webb said he could do that and asked if he could keep one of the pictures. Now it is 10 months later and no cleaned or repaired intersections. Paving a new road maybe a major undertaking but shouldn’t road sweeping be a routine task? Does it really take ten months and counting to maintain a County road? It would seem that the Engineering Department has little or no desire to provide basic services to our neighborhood. What impression would you be left with?

During the December 16, 2008 Board meeting, you made a public apology to a woman from Boynton for the County Engineering not properly performing her County water hookup after years of County Engineering issues. The way this is going, it seems like the county might be on the road to another apology… Please don’t let this happen!

 

 

Sincerely,

Andy Schaller

 

 

 

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