Minutes from the General Meeting of March 9, 2015

1. Meeting Called to Order at 7:00 by President Maryann Polizzi
   
2. Roll Call via self-introductions
   
3. Outgoing Secretary Joanne Kelly was presented with a gift of appreciation for all of her
   hard work serving the Association as Secretary.
   
4. Maryann Polizzi thanked Art Broughton for his work as Secretary. Unfortunately, due to
   work conflicts, he is unable to continue in that position.
   
5. Chris Diserio, having volunteered in Art’s absence, was introduced as the new
   Secretary.
   
6. There was a motion by Loretta Sharpe and a second by Mark Herbert to approve the
   Minutes of the February 9, 2015 General Meeting and the March 10, 2015 Board
   Meeting. The Minutes were approved by unanimous vote.
7. Treasurer’s report. Irene Guthrie reported the following:

Beginning Balance: $2,791.88 

Garage Sale Fees (21 homes participated) and Dues +$352 

Mickey Maser Donation -$50

Annual Corporate Report LW Herald Advertisement -$61.25New Balance:  $3,027.63

There was a motion by Mark Herbert and a second by Bob Rashkin to approve the
Treasurer’s Report. The Treasurer’s Report was approved by unanimous vote.

8. Commissioner John Szerdi encouraged residents to watch the local news for a report on the Mayor’s press conference in which she addressed some of the information regarding
   proposals for the Lake Worth Beach. Lake Worth Commissioners voted unanimously to review proposals for the Lake Worth Beach which is currently losing money. Proper notice for the process was placed in local newspapers. Commissioner Szerdi also encouraged residents to vote in the March 10 election.
   
9. Maryann thanked the members of the Sheriff’s Office that patrol our area. Letters of commendation will be presented to Captain Silva on their behalf.
   
10. Deputy Pfeifel from the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office reported that in the last month there were four residential burglaries in our neighborhood. Two of those were in vacant buildings and one was to a shed. There was one robbery to a person during that time. There were three stolen vehicles reported during that time as well as 14 vehicle burglaries. There were 90 arrests made related to prostitution. Two suspects were arrested.
    
11. Picking up from there, Detective Amy Thomas said that those two arrests were made at the end of February and there has been no additional vehicle burglary activity since then. It seems that the two suspects were looking for unlocked vehicles doors and taking what they could from those unlocked vehicles. It doesn’t appear that these two suspects were connected to the mailbox thefts in the area. There was no connection between the arrests made and halfway houses in the area. Detective Thomas does have pictures of some of the stolen items that were recovered.
    
12. Captain Silva mentioned that Lake Worth Commissioners are trying to get more involved with the halfway house situation, but there is little that can be done at the local level. Hementioned that there is nothing linking halfway houses to crime. Some other comments from Captain Silva include: If residents feel there is a problem with people sleeping in Bryant Park, call the non-emergency number (561-688-3400). Sleeping in the park is considered a “life sustaining activity” so there is not much that can be done if someone is simply sleeping in the park. If a park is closed, however, then it is a trespassing issue and residents are encouraged to call the non-emergency number. If residents have problems with other nuisances, including prostitution, they are encouraged to call the non-emergency number. Captain Silva thanked the SPPA for its support. His department is making headway. After taking over in Lake Worth in 2007-2008 robberies have gone from 300 per year to 150 per year in 2014. Trend lines are heading down for homicide and vehicular burglaries as well. Residents are encouraged to engrave their personal items with their driver’s license number. The numbers of officers that Captain Silva and his department have at their disposal is finite and set by contract, but they have been able to bring in officers from elsewhere for special projects. Emergency response times are down to under two minutes.
13.  Community Services Specialist Joel Morganstern introduced residents to the “Got The Dot?” program. The program aims to help those who are involved in a car accident and cannot communicate with first responders. First responders can look in the car’s glove box for the “Yellow Dot” card that carries important medical information about those that are injured. Visit www.pbcyellowdot.com for more information.
14. Felipe Lofaso from Lake Worth Public Services addressed some of the vegetation cutbacks that have taken place on the median. The cutbacks are in response to dangerous liability issues that are created when there is a “wall” of vegetation such as was the case on 17th St. While Public Services goes by DOT standards (including 18 inches above asphalt for ground cover), trimming is done on a case-by-case basis. Mr. Lofaso said that with regards to the drastic median trimming “we are pretty much done.” Going forward, SPPA was encouraged to have a maintenance plan for the approved median landscape plan. SPPA and Public Services were encouraged to work with, and not against, each other. If residents see problem areas, they are encouraged to email Maryann at Poli510@bellsouth.net and she will forward on the concerns. Some of the problem areas that were brought up were: 14th St. and 15th St. heading towards 13th St. need to be trimmed back; Some of the palm trees around the median lights; Potholes on 14th St. South; Some poor visibility near the Dollar General was mentioned as well.

14. Some of the SPPA bylaws need to be “cleaned up.” Nothing major, just “cleaned up.” If you are interested in helping with this process, please email Maryann.
    
15. Volunteers are needed to walk in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade which is Sunday, March 17 at noon.
16. Volunteers are needed to walk in the Pride Fest Parade which is Sunday, March 29.
17. Please note that this date is a correction from the SPPA Meeting Flyer that listed the Pride Fest Parade as March 28.
18. Dates were discussed for the Progressive Dinner, either the end of April or early May before the snowbirds leave. Volunteers are needed to host.
19. March 21 is the Downtown Jewel Flolfing Tournament.
20. Anyone interested in acting as the SPPA Social Director or anyone with an idea for a neighborhood party, please contact Maryann.
21. Ted Johnson will be reimbursed $20 ($10 for 2014 and $10 for 2015) for fees associated with the website. Neighbors are encouraged to visit the website and join the SPPA Facebook page. While the website is public, the Facebook page is private. Please ask a neighbor if you need help signing up for the Facebook page.
22. After more than 20 years, we are sad to learn that Loretta Sharpe has decided to move. She has been an active member in our association and has helped out with many activities as well as her son, Brian. They will be missed.
23. Thanks to Theresa Deveaux for putting together the welcome packages for new residents. If anybody knows of a new person on their block, please contact your block’s Director or Theresa.
24. If Directors need Meeting Flyers printed out to be hand delivered, please contact Maryann.
25. Bradley’s Beach Club will be receiving a free advertisement on www.southpalmpark.org.
26. When possible, try to patronize businesses that are owned or operated by those who are members of the SPPA. Members who own businesses are encouraged to let the SPPA know.
27. Thanks to Deborah Tobias for the work on the banner artwork and design.
28. Chris Diserio thanked Sharon Chapnik for registering for the REAP classes and reminded all residents to “Make the Call Y’All.” For emergencies, call 911 and to report suspicious activity call 561-688-3400.
29. The neighborhood banners have been ordered...20 banners and 10 brackets. They will be installed by the City of Lake Worth without charge. We will be holding off on additional median improvements associated with the grant until SPPA is reimbursed for the work already completed. It should be soon as all of the other participating associations have been reimbursed.
30. Theresa Hamberger was the winner of the $25 Bradley’s Beach Club Gift Card.
31. There was a motion to adjourn by Cheryl Rashkin and a second by Tom Copeland, and the meeting was adjourned at 8:18 p.m.