Question 1:
Why have you chosen to run for office and what personal and
professional experience do you bring?
Carla
L. Blockson
I am
running for the honor of serving as District 2 Commissioner because
Lake Worth Beach is at a crossroad. We are at a place where we can
either regress or progress toward our vision. This year will be my
25th Anniversary of serving in the city. I have served on the
Electric Utilities Board, Community Relations Board, Project
Graduation at Lake Worth High School, For The Children and currently
newly appointed Commissioner for District 2. I retired from the
Social Security Administration after 30 years of service. I
progressed from a technical expert to an operations supervisor,
overseeing and evaluating 27 employees. These experiences have taught
me to build bridges and seek consensus. I am an independent thinker
who thinks outside the box and am willing to listen to all sides
before deciding a course of action. I bring a sense of diversity to
the Commission. My degree in Urban Studies has helped me navigate the
complex business of running a City government. I have met with all
Dept. heads and other city staff, within the past month. I have asked
tough questions and learned much. I am prepared to continue Moving
Lake Worth Beach Forward Together.
Paola
Branda
No
written response
Christopher
McVoy
For some
time now, the City Commission meetings have drawn attention, even
nationally, for their lack of decorum, poor transparency, and
unwelcoming atmosphere for public involvement. Many do not believe
that this helps our city. I chose to run for City Commissioner
because I have the commitment as well as the tools to bring back the
important (and dignified) exchange of ideas and much strengthened
public participation. As a scientist, I have a lifelong dedication to
facts and evidence-based decisionmaking. As an active participant in
Everglades restoration, a multi-agency, multi-billion dollar
state-federal effort, I have extensive experience working with
diverse stakeholders to reach fact-based solutions. Personally, I
have been very fortunate to be able to live and travel in a multiple
countries where speaking the language allowed me to learn how widely
differing cultures solved problems. Additionally, through 20+ years
in Lake Worth Beach, 17 as homeowner, I have great affection for and
commitment to my chosen city. I served as a commissioner from 2010 to
2017.
Ryan
Oblander
It’s
simple really, I was asked. I was asked to run back in 2019 by
Commissioners Omari Hardy and Herman Robinson. They knew that as a
civic leader and my involvement with my neighborhood, EUAB, NAPC, and
various other non-profits, that I would be the right fit for the
position. I moved to Lake Worth Beach in 2005, and within the first
year I helped form the Sunset Ridge Neighborhood Association and have
served as president since 2008. While we don’t always have a large
turnout, we do have a large email list and I keep my neighbors
informed on commission meetings, one-on-ones with the city manager,
electric utilities, PBSO, and planned developments. I served on the
Electric Utility Advisory Board since 2017, so I’ve been exposed to
the nuances of our utility. I joined the NAPC and serve as Secretary
of Communications, keeping all of the neighborhoods up to date, and
volunteer all the time. I’m a graduate of the Lake Worth Municipal
Institute, a city sponsored program designed to educate citizens on
city government. Professionally I work as an application and database
developer, so I have a strong background in technology, something the
city is quite behind on.
Question 2:
What do you see as the long-term plan for the Lake Worth Casino
building on the beach?
Carla
L. Blockson
The long
term plan for the Casino building should involve a “Public–Private
Partnership” that would allow it to become an “individual cost
center”. The cost center should be self-supporting and showcase the
beauty of our ocean front. The partnership between the city and the
investor should be profitable to both sides. This partnership must be
negotiated by professionals familiar with this type of venture. The
initial cost may be greater, but will save the city money during the
life of the contract. City staff may be a part of the process however
the commission is not in the business of real estate development. The
city’s stipulations within the Request for Proposal (RFP) must
insure that a capital plan for maintenance and future infrastructure
improvements are well documented.
Paola
Branda
No
written response
Christopher
McVoy
The Lake
Worth Casino building is relatively new, was professionally designed
and does a good job of integrating an appropriate amount of
businesses into a public park. I appreciate that its lighting was
designed in accordance with state laws that protect sea turtles. I
would like to see the ballroom be more of a focal point for community
activities. Many senior residents have shared with me fond memories
of community dances in the old building. I saw some myself. Once
Covid is under control, I would push for incorporating more Lake
Worth history into the ballroom and for making it a center for
multi-generational activities in our community.
Ryan
Oblander
Do you
remember when then the raft race was canceled so the NAPC threw a
pool party/kayak race? Fun times! I used to take my son there for
swim lessons and just when I renewed we learned the pool was closing.
So I waited, and waited, went to the charrettes and waited some more.
I thought about this for a long time, then one day I happened to meet
with the Director of Parks and Rec for Riviera Beach and he said it
was a no-brainer that we should build a family friendly zero-entry
splash pad and wading pool and if it makes sense, a multi-lane lap
pool as well. The revenue that a family friendly pool attraction on
the beach would bring would be substantial, well more than an olympic
sized pool could generate on its own. Couple that with a snack bar
and a new phone app with menus and delivery options from other Lake
Worth Beach restaurants without using the business-unfriendly
delivery apps like uber eats and delivery dudes. For the upstairs, a
restaurant. For the parking, I’d like to see more resident spaces
and possibly a parking garage. We’d need a master parks plan for
(Truncated)
Question 3: Do
you believe any of the penny sales tax should be spent on the
oceanfront park? Please be very specific (for example, if you support
spending on the pool, please indicate so).
Carla
L. Blockson
If the
penny sales tax monies should be spent on the oceanfront park, we
must first determine if the pool is a “core service.” It would be
a “core service” that does not make a profit. Many communities
absorb this cost because it is offset by their desire for amenities
enjoyed by tourist and its citizenry. Post-Covid world of dwindling
resources and increased demand for services, has the Community’s
priorities changed? If citizens deem the pool as essential, how will
we pay for ongoing maintenance? This becomes a matter of planning and
allotting excess revenue from another source to maintain it. Beach
parking is now $3 per hour. If we raise it too much more, people may
not come. I support adding the pool to the Public-Private partnership
initiative for the Casino and ask investors to underwrite the cost. I
also support building a Community Center in the center of town and
placing an indoor pool there. I am open to using a portion of the
penny sales tax as leverage regarding the pool. Other options may
include adding a splash pad that will appeal to more visitors. I
certainly would want more community involvement in the decision
making process.
Paola
Branda
No
written response
Christopher
McVoy
Yes, I
do. The intent of the penny sales tax was primarily to allow
municipalities to make investments that would improve the community
for the long term. To date, much of the usage seems to have gone more
for normal repair or operating costs, that while needed, often do not
have long term benefits. Residents have wanted the pool reopened for
many, many years. Let’s do this asap, for seniors, for swim team
members, for competitions, for the many that could first learn to
swim in their community pool. I see benefit in considering modest
improvements to the pool area to make it, like the ballroom, a
community gathering point.
Ryan
Oblander
I think
we need to spend some of that money on a master parks plan that would
include the oceanfront park to the tune of $150k. City staff kept
saying we couldn’t afford it but now we can. Without that plan we
are just guessing. I know that some money was earmarked for the pool
project, so if the master parks plan indicates that building
something like I suggested earlier, a revenue generating family
friendly facility, we can issue bonds for the project and cover a
multitude of things including parking and facility upgrades.
Question 4: Do
you support closing some street entrances into the South Palm Park
neighborhood to vehicular traffic and why / why not?
Carla
L. Blockson
I have
seen closing of neighborhood streets have a negative and positive
impact. Residents near the initial closure site may have the
inconvenience of living at the end of a one way street. Property
owners on the proposed streets must be considered and their opinions
given added weight. If this idea is supported by the Commission, how
would we implement a policy for city wide requests from other
neighborhoods? Your issues with Federal Highway are unique and I feel
special consideration may be warranted.
Paola
Branda
No
written response
Christopher
McVoy
I
understand the concern about people and activities coming into the
South Palm Park neighborhood
Ryan
Oblander
Yes, I
would support this. If the residents of South Palm Park feel safer
with some of their entrances closed off then I’m all for it. We’d
just have to get the OK from the fire department to see if this would
create any delays for service calls. Mind you, building walls would
not send the best message, so if they were say, metal gates instead,
that could work. I think it would help to have reflective signage
indicating which streets were open. I would also support if other
neighborhoods wanted something like this to prevent speeding through
side streets. If it went forward, we’d need to analyze its
effectiveness after the first year.
Question 5: Do
you support keeping the contract with PBSO and why / why not?
Carla
L. Blockson
I
support keeping the contract with PBSO. Lake Worth Beach has
benefitted greatly by being part of a larger department. Additional
availability to SWAT, more traffic units, a helicopter, grant access,
and better investigative services are just a few of the amenities we
now enjoy. We were recently awarded a $900,000 grant to reduce crime
in District 1 by PBSO. If we cancelled the contract we could not
afford to purchase the needed equipment and lure the deputies back to
a stand alone department.
Paola
Branda
No
written response
Christopher
McVoy
Yes, I
do support keeping the contract with PBSO. I also support seeking
opportunities to make improvements to the contract. These would
include building in typical contract features such as milestones or
performance measures to help PBSO achieve the best outcomes in Lake
Worth Beach. There are still parts of the city where potential
homeowners are reluctant to buy due to inadequate public safety. We
need to stimulate owner-occupier investment by turning this around,
possibly through expanded community policing. An emphasis on
strengthening community-officer relations might be a part of that.
More bicycle and foot patrols might be a part, as well as informal,
in neighborhood joint sports activities.
Ryan
Oblander
In a
perfect world, nobody would commit a crime and everyone would be good
to one another, but we don’t live in that world unfortunately. We
live in Lake Worth Beach, a city once overrun by gang activity and
sober homes. I was in sticker shock when I saw just how much of our
general fund goes towards paying for PBSO, and we can’t even see,
by law, what exactly they are spending it on. I know they submit for
federal grants from time to time, like the current DUI saturation and
traffic patrols until August 2021. I think as a city, we are better
off with PBSO than without. Could it be better? Sure. With increased
community policing and foot, bicycle, mounted, atv patrols, we could
see crime go down in all parts of the city. We have some fancy new
tech like license plate readers, and I’m sure over the years we’ll
be getting fancier to solve our crime issues. We’ll still have to
find other ways to resolve addiction, homelessness, and mental health
issues that ultimately find their way to our public spaces.
Question 6: Do
you support Lake Worth Beach keeping our electric utility and why /
why not?
Carla
L. Blockson
I
support keeping the Lake Worth Beach Utility. We are a publically
owned municipal utility and can chart our own destiny. The Utility
supplements the general fund in a direct annual contribution of $4.5
million and indirect contributions of another approx. $6 million
dollars. The indirect contributions include salaries from other
departments, the visitor center, and even the cleaning of the cities
alleys. Our rate is among the lowest in the state. In contrast to
FPL, the rates are comparable LWB (110.64) vs. FPL (107.31). Our
increased investment in solar energy will position us as an industry
leader by 2024. System Hardening and Reliability Improvement Project
(S.H.R.I.P) has made great strides in improving reliability and
efficiency. We recently signed a letter of intent with FPL for a new
Canal/Davis substation linking our powerlines to theirs. We will
enjoy increased efficient distribution lines within the city. FPL is
willing to share the cost. The investment for FPL in this venture is
15 million dollars. We cannot afford to lose the Utility.
Paola
Branda
No
written response
Christopher
McVoy
I
definitely support continued community ownership of our electric
utility. City ownership makes sure that any gains stay within our
community rather than rewarding external investors. By keeping funds
within the community, the utility is able to contribute substantially
to the city’s budget. I do feel that the potential for utility to
benefit the community has been greatly underutilized. I would like to
see the utility make Lake Worth a Florida leader in solar energy; in
distributed PV, solar hot water and an expanded solar farm. The
utility could help through bulk purchase pricing of system
components. The utility could bring favorable recognition to Lake
Worth Beach by testing cutting edge approaches to storage of
renewable energy, by exploring renewable energy sales during peak
load times, and by working with research institutions to develop
technical solutions for phased remote grid reconnects after outages.
Ryan
Oblander
As a
former EUAB member and chair, I have a keen interest in this subject.
I can’t stress this enough… our electric utility is a huge asset.
It would be ludicrous to sell our utility now that multi-million
infrastructure projects are in the works and other debt services will
roll off soon. From system hardening and reliability upgrades, to a
second tie-line on the north end for ultimate redundancy, to being
well on our way to 50% carbon free in our energy sources, to ocean
current energy generation technology that has been talked about for
years that can now finally be built due to the way FAU changed how it
can issue grants for such a project. We will have two huge solar
farms going online by 2024, so with our own solar field, that’s 38
KW of energy just from solar, almost 40% of our energy mix. We have
the potential to be the leader in green energy in the entire state of
Florida. We also allow for solar net-metering on residential and
commercial properties if you choose to install your own panels. Some
areas that need improvement are our billing software, payment
options, customer service and commercial rates.
Question 7:
What are your top two priorities should you be elected?
Carla L. Blockson
My first
priority would be to ensure better community access to the office of
Commissioner. I would hold regular office hours and town hall
quarterly meetings in my district with myself and department heads
within the city. The next priority would be fighting for the
Coronavirus vaccine for our city residents. We cannot move forward
economically or socially without flattening the curve. We must
educate our citizens to take the vaccine and ensure its availability.
Paola
Branda
No
written response
Christopher
McVoy
My top
priorities include restoring respectful, civil and open city
government, reinstating a strong energy conservation program,
reopening the pool with penny sales tax funds, pursuing skills
training for residents, increasing traffic calming and improving
community policing. Of these, the top two might be community policing
and lowering electric bills through a strong conservation program.
Ryan
Oblander
That’s
tough because I have a lot of things that I would like to accomplish.
Since I’m only allowed to pick my top two, I would have to say the
beach complex and the ocean current energy projects would be on top
of my list. I say this because they both would increase tourism, and
we need the money, badly. The beach complex obviously would attract
families from all over the county, and hopefully they would also
spend their money at our downtown and nearby restaurants and shops
after their visit. The ocean current energy project because this
could be what puts Lake Worth Beach in the international spotlight as
a global leader in renewable energy. Think eco-tourism and tech
companies setting up shop and relocating their families here. More
tourism would mean more hotels. With this increased revenue and tax
base, we could do a whole lot more to improve our infrastructure,
communities and schools, which is also a high priority, which is why
I joined the Lake Worth Beach Education Task Force.
Question 8:
Are you supportive of legalizing AirBNB in Lake Worth Beach?
Carla
L. Blockson
AirBNBs
in the City of Lake Worth Beach are here to stay. We must find a way
to legalize and regulate them to insure that they enhance the tax
base. The State legislature allowed this practice within the state
and any new rules prohibiting AirBNBs is deemed illegal. The
legislature made these guidelines without providing clear directions
on how the cities should proceed. Lake Worth Beach city ordinances
limited rentals to not less than two months. This disconnect between
the state and city regulations must be changed. We must ensure more
local control and cite owners who do not have a business license and
who do not allow inspections. The city is investigating best
practices and exploring avenues of support with the League of Cities
and industry leaders.
Paola
Branda
No
written response
Christopher
McVoy
In
general I am sympathetic to the idea of AirBNB’s for their
potential to provide supplemental income to owners and possibly to
other city businesses. However, based on the experiences of neighbors
to AirBNB’s at this time I do not believe we have the mechanisms in
place to reliably protect neighbors. These concerns are not
theoretical; they have already been experienced. Also, I would
distinguish between AirBNB situations where the dwelling is
owner-occupied and a room or two within the dwelling is rented with
the being owner present from situations where the whole house is
rented out and no owner on premises. At this point I do not support
the latter; I would consider the former.
Ryan
Oblander
Absolutely,
yes. Guess how many 4 or 5 star hotels we have in the city? Zero! We
have the Sabal Palm House Bed and Breakfast at 3.5 stars, and
Tideline Ocean Resort is 4 stars but it’s not even in the city.
With the fate of the Gulfstream Hotel uncertain, and banks not
financing hotels in the city right now due to a lack of comparables,
vacation rentals fill that void with tourism dollars that we need.
Property owners should be allowed to conduct short term rentals and
not be treated as commercial properties with all the ADA and fire
code regulations that traditional hotels need to have. In chasing
that 5 star rating, most property owners over-upgrade their
properties. I’m sure we can put our heads together and come up with
some ground rules that everyone needs to follow. If someone visits
our city and falls in love with the area, who knows, maybe they could
decide to buy a house and move here. When it comes to parties and
noise, even homeowners and long term renters can be a nuisance, so
it’s not just an AirBNB problem.
Question 9:
What would you do to champion South Federal Highway development other
than halfway houses and recovery centers? Please provide details.
Carla
L. Blockson
We must
develop a long range Master Plan specifically for this stretch of
Federal Highway. Our lack of a planning has allowed for a
proliferation of rehab housing, sober homes, day and hour motels and
vacant properties. We must explore grants and funding options to
ensure effective development incentives are offered to appropriate
partners. The CRA should serve a vital role in the development of the
Master Plan and the Neighborhood Association must be a willing
partner.
Paola
Branda
No
written response
Christopher
McVoy
I would
have the city look into the appraised value of any vacant properties
along South Federal. The City should have a qualified agent
independently appraise the properties and subsequently present a
comparison with the current property appraiser’s appraisals. Low
appraisals discourage development, so I would have the city present
any and all underappraisals to the County for re-evaluation.
Separately, the city’s current process for designating properties
for urban development has a 1⁄2 acre minimum. As some of the
properties may not have sufficient frontage to meet this minimum,
they do not benefit from the city’s leew ay on density, setbacks,
parking, etc., so they may remain undeveloped waiting for adjacent
properties to become available. I would ask the city to re-evaluate
this situation, looking for ways to remove these types of obstacles.
Finally I would ask that the city look into the potential
disincentives associated with our current system of impact fees.
Ryan
Oblander
One
option would be to allow the CRA to take over a portion of South
Federal Highway, but that would greatly reduce the tax base for the
city for a while. Perhaps just a few blocks near the south end so we
could get some new projects going and hopefully that would trigger
additional projects. This area is designated as mixed use, so the
plan would be to have businesses with residential. We could also
reach out to developers who work with smaller boutique hotels.
Another option would be to create a South Federal Highway
Redevelopment Committee that would be tasked with attracting new
businesses and working with the tools and incentives that the city
has already provided to do so, without the purview of the CRA. I’m
confident that over the next decade we will see a renewed interest in
South Federal Highway based on infrastructure improvements, increased
tourism, strong neighborhoods, and better schools.
Question 10:
What is the plan to maintain the mangroves that have been planted
along the ICW in Bryant Park?
Carla
L. Blockson
The
mangroves provide a vital service in keeping the water clean.
However, they do obstruct the view that many residents purchased
their homes for. Staff has been working hard to maintain a balance.
City staff has been horticulturally trained in the trimming and
maintenance of the mangroves. The removal of dead leaves and correct
thinning of the plants should help relieve some of the problems. The
number and placement of the planters have been reduced.
Paola
Branda
No
written response
Christopher
McVoy
Palm
Beach County has a permit in the city’s name allowing the city to
trim the mangroves in the “Living Shoreline” planters bordering
Bryant Park to 6 feet high. The city can choose or not choose to trim
to 6 feet, but cannot trim shorter than 6 ft.
Ryan
Oblander
This is
a timely question because I recently signed up my son for Lake Worth
Lagoonies, an educational program designed by the Lake Worth
Waterkeepers. Renaldo took us to Bryant Park and the kids climbed
down into the planters and were tasked with removing trash and black
mangroves, which grow too fast and crowd out the red mangroves. So he
sort of adopted the planters and his group maintains them with the
help of volunteers. I’m not sure if the city had any plans of
maintaining the planters themselves, so I’m glad people like him
and his organization are involved. It’s a long term experiment to
see what affect these planters have on the water quality, and how
well they protect the expensive sea walls.
Question 11:
Is the CRA doing a good job?
If
not, what would you change?
If
so, what would you do to promote their work and / or improve their
effectiveness?
Carla
L. Blockson
I think
the CRA has done a good job to fulfill their role according to state
statute and the Redevelopment plan. Their primary role is to work
with developers and investors to increase development and infill
within affected areas. The use of Tax Increment Financing increases
local leverage for projects and keeps tax revenues within the
designated area. The CRA has flexibility and real estate expertise
that the City Commission does not have. The CRA has not done a good
job of public outreach. They are deemed ‘non-transparent’. They
do not have the support and buy-in of surrounding residents. The
perception has become “the rule”. The validity of these
perceptions must be vetted by all concerned. The board and the
citizens must come together to reach a consensus on their role going
forward. Their projects should be showcased in city literature to
celebrate their successes. Their meetings should be more accessible
to residents and citizen participation encouraged. The CRA board is
made up of citizens appointed by the Commission.
Paola
Branda
No
written response
Christopher
McVoy
The CRA
has certainly provided benefit to the city, particularly through the
NSP housing program. That said, I am very concerned regarding the
CRA’s current efforts in our downtown. Many believe that the
atypical nature of our downtown, the “flavor” or character of our
downton, especially between Dixie and Federal Hwys is a major
economic engine for our city, both in attracting paying customers to
downtown businesses and in attracting new homeowners who appreciate
the downtown. I am concerned that the CRA is not hewing to its stated
mission of protecting historic districts. I am concerned that the
approach of aggregating multiple parcels into large blocks runs
counter to protecting the character of the downtown. And I am very
concerned that there has been essentially no effort to actively
involve Lake Worth Beach residents in a robust visioning process for
the downtown, prior to issuing RFPs.
Ryan
Oblander
I feel
the CRA is doing what they were tasked to do with the tools they need
to do it. I’m seeing new businesses and housing options every year,
so it’s obvious that they are doing it. If there were some
procedural missteps recently, we’ll find out take corrective action
if needed. The CRA is also helping the NAPC with their neighborhood
guidebooks this year with the graphic design and printing so we can
get these in the hands of new residents and realtors to showcase our
various neighborhoods. I was a part of this project and got to take
pictures all over the city. As far as accessibility, it was always a
tough decision to either go to a CRA meeting or a commission meeting,
since they both fell on the same date. Now, with zoom meetings and
the ability to leave public comment in advance, we sort of have a
workaround for someone to be in two places at once. I’m not
thrilled with the CRA’s website, as all links to things like maps
and budgets are gone and you must make a public records request, so
hopefully that’s just an ADA issue and can be resolved soon.
Question 12:
What would you do to advance the improvement of the condition of our
city streets?
Carla
L. Blockson
The $40
million bond referendum (Neighborhood Road Program) fixed 34% of our
existing roads. Roads, after decades of neglect, were ranked worst
condition to best condition. Worst roads were fixed first. While many
of us are unhappy about the streets that were not done, it was more
of a lack of finances than a lack of will. We must explore other
avenues of financing to complete the projects. The Public Works Dept.
has received two grants from the Transportation Planning Agency. The
Local Initiatives Grant will provide monies to ensure that the City’s
roadways are ADA compliant. Another grant will redo infrastructure
from Lake Ave to 6th Ave. South and Eastcoast St. to Dixie Hwy. The
city must prioritize revenues and research grants to address the rest
of the roads. I would authorize a grant writer staff position to
address funding specifically for roads and infrastructure projects.
Paola
Branda
No
written response
Christopher
McVoy
It is
disappointing to me, and likely also to many others, that the road
bond issued a few years ago will cost city residents many millions of
dollars in interest; that the financial oversight board formed to
ensure fair administration of the bond has not been able to carry out
its duties; that multiple roads have been torn up multiple times; and
that some roads remain in terrible condition. I would insist that the
budget includes regular ongoing maintenance and that the Public Works
director present (1) a clear current status assessment; and (2) a
clear plan, with multiple alternative options, for how to address the
remaining needed work.
Ryan
Oblander
More
bonds! No, we need to look at the remaining funds of the current road
bond project once all phases are completed and make a decision to
either fix the highest rated roads first, since we can fix more of
them at lower cost, or fix the roads with the lowest rating first,
and fix less of them, or a combination of the two. We then need to
ensure that public works has enough money in their budget to continue
to maintain the roads and sidewalks year after year so we don’t
have to do this bond referendum again. As part of this process I’d
like to see traffic calming as well, especially near parks and
schools. I’d prefer not to spend penny sales tax monies on roads,
but those funds are intended for infrastructure, so if we exhaust all
other options it’s something we could look at.
Question 13:
We have many vacant storefronts downtown with some landlords charging
high rents / making property too expensive to promote redevelopment.
What would you do to fix this?
Carla
L. Blockson
The
downtown corridor has long been at the mercy of its landlords. The
city can hold them accountable by charging fees for vacant
properties. The Commission should enact ordinances to require minimum
investment in the vacant storefronts with minimum fees for utilities
and excess fees for idle properties. I would encourage the CRA to
purchase vacant properties and offer incentives to lure new
businesses.
Paola
Branda
No
written response
Christopher
McVoy
This is
challenging. I would explore the use of some form of vacancy taxes
and look into the best practices of other cities under similar
development pressure and with similar problems of low occupancy.
Ryan
Oblander
This is
unfortunate, and it’s not just happening downtown, but on Dixie
Highway as well. The idea is that landlords are waiting to land that
big tenant, but the reality is that retail overall is suffering,
especially now. Some cities have opted to install a vacancy tax in
order to force landlords to accept lower rents, but that doesn’t
always work. Other landlords attract pop-up stores, helping digital
brands get into brick-and-mortar locations with short-term leases.
Other big name stores may offer smaller, local, versions of their
stores.
We need more tourism, since our residents aren’t enough to sustain
our downtown. We need more hotels, and we need to get the Gulfstream
reopened. During their presentation in 2020, they claimed as
restorers of historical properties, once one of their properties is
restored and reopened, there is a revitalization of the downtown
area. I’d like to believe that. So I’m open to forming a Tourism
Board to help the city market itself, as we have a lot to offer.
Question 14:
Covid-19 has taken a toll on our country and our city. What
initiatives would you propose the city make to help our residents and
businesses recover?
Carla
L. Blockson
We
cannot recover without an effective rollout of the vaccine. We must
institute a robust EDUCATION plan to ensure that our residents
understand the importance of wearing masks and getting vaccinated.
There is a contingent of our population that may be resistant to
taking the vaccine. The Biden Administration has proposed legislative
aid to states and cities. We must act now to develop shovel ready
projects to enact once funds become available.
Paola
Branda
No
written response
Christopher
McVoy
The city
should actively document the tolls on our city and use that
information to lobby at the state and federal level for additional
assistance. Given the increase in more contagious variants of
Covid-19 it might be wise to explore innovative ways to encourage
increasesd use of masks.
Ryan
Oblander
I know
that during this legislative session that it’s going to all be
covid, covid, covid. Various recovery packages are in the works from
the Federal and State levels, and we’ll have to work closely with
the County to ensure we get our share of the funding. As a city we
don’t have much of any money to dole out. We have utility payment
plans, many going into default, with costs we could recover from
State funding. We have weekly feeding programs and school feeding
programs to help our vulnerable residents meet their dietary needs,
and will continue supporting that. The tourism industry, bars,
restaurants, and other small businesses got hit hard by all the
restrictions, which is why I support a Tourism Board and vacation
rentals. It may take years to fully recover. I’d like to see the
city work with downtown restaurants and keep the temporary outdoor
dining for now, as well as lower commercial electric rates. With the
vaccine rollouts, and remaining cautiously optimistic, we should
start seeing more people leaving their homes and
enjoying their lives once again.
