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Vision Statement
Mayor Lois J. Frankel
Revised as of: 05/14/2009
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A COMMON VISION
West Palm Beach, Palm Beach County’s largest city, is one of the major governmental, commercial, and cultural hubs in South Florida. With our County population of 1.4 million people, the City serves more than 104,000 residents and 200,000 visitors every day. We are located between the Town of Palm Beach and the Intracoastal Waterway to the east and the Grassy Waters Preserve to the West. Our population and visitors are ethnically and racially diverse.
During my tenure as Mayor I have worked with countless citizens and staff to craft a vision for our City’s future. This statement shall serve as a blueprint for our vision and the actions put in place to bring it to reality.
A City’s greatness depends upon the vision of its people. While it is impractical to think that all of us can agree on all things at all times, we can find common ground in our shared values.
Our City should be sustainable, a place where people feel safe, with a government that is ethical and effective, where the workforce has quality job opportunities, where neighborhoods are vibrant, where natural resources and habitat are protected, and where people from all walks of life have those special places where they can come together to celebrate life.
It is these principles that are the foundation that guides the work of the City of West Palm Beach everyday. With planning, patience, flexibility, and political will, we are putting initiatives and projects in place that reflect our common vision.
PUBLIC SAFETY
Public safety is at the top of our agenda. Our goal is to work in partnership with our community to increase the security of our residents and visitors everyday. This means reducing crime and responding to emergencies quickly and effectively.
POLICE
Under the leadership of Chief Delsa Bush, the West Palm Beach Police Department has received national recognition for its excellence. Crime is down 47% in downtown and 20% in the rest of the city compared to one year ago. We have enjoyed this decrease in crime by increasing the number of police on the streets, using innovative tactics, and forging important partnerships. It is important that we continue to support those and new strategies that continue our progress.
More Police:
We have put more police officers on our streets and supplemented them with private security in the downtown and Northwood Village areas. This has enabled us to create three police divisions resulting in quicker coverage throughout the city. Civilian volunteers are utilized to relieve patrol officers of administrative duties, allowing officers more time on the street.
Innovative Approaches:
Crime fighting tactics such as quick response teams, bike patrols, digital cameras, gang injunctions, curfews and community policing are being used strategically through out the city. ComStat allows the quick calculated allocation of resources by providing a mapped picture of criminal incidents in the City.
Reaching our Youth:
The City offers free motivational programs for children of all ages in our library, parks, and community centers. The Police Athletic League provides recreation, leadership and academic programs for our children while engaging them in positive relationships with law enforcement officers.
At the Northwood Youth Empowerment Center, teens are participating in tutoring, job preparedness, and positive educational and recreational activities. Non-profits groups such as Urban Youth Impact, Boys and Girls Club and Urban League provide guidance and mentoring for hundreds of young people in our community.
Important Partnerships
Keeping our neighborhoods safe means collaboration with many different partners including federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. Code Enforcement prevents deteriorating properties that attract vagrancy and drugs. Citizen volunteers patrol streets and assist with parking and traffic enforcement. Neighborhood associations report suspicious activity to police and to residents. Streets are safer than ever in downtown and old Northwood Village where West Palm police coordinate with IPC International, a private security company.
FIRE RESCUE
The West Palm Beach Fire Rescue Department is respected as one of the best in the Country. It includes our extrication team that has won international honors. Working closely with Palm Beach County and other fire departments our focus is on training, prevention and quick responses. By opening new Fire Stations 7 on Okeechobee Blvd. and Station 8 trailer at Ibis, we have expanded our service to become 24 hour/day first responders to all of our residents. While expanding our force we have increased efforts to become more diverse through promotion and hiring.
Fire Infrastructure:
In order to deliver excellent service to our customers, it is important that we have state of the art equipment and sustainable living quarters for our fire fighters that are able to endure high hurricane winds. In recent years we have rebuilt fire stations 2 (South end) and 3 (North end) and brought on line station 7 (West Okeechobee) and temporary station 8 (Near Ibis). Due to aging conditions, it is necessary to rebuild stations 4 (Parker Avenue) and 5 (Congress Avenue) and build a permanent home for station 8 in the near future. Fire trucks and other equipment must be replaced on a regular basis. City Commissioners have recently passed a new fire assessment fee that will be dedicated to these needs.
Community Programs:
Like police, our fire department reaches out and works with the public. Fire safety programs are taught to school children at our library, schools, and community events. Fire Storm is a spring break reality camp that exposes the fire rescue career to high school students. Hundreds of citizens participate in Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT). These are residents that are organized to receive special training in order to help the city recognize, respond, and recover from major emergencies or disasters. when emergency responders are disrupted.
GOVERNMENT EFFICACY
The mission of our city government is to protect and enhance the quality of life by providing efficient and effective customer-focused services. Our customers rely upon us to pick up their garbage on time and to keep the roads in good repair. Likewise, they depend on us for safe drinking water and clean parks. From planning to police, city employees perform hundreds of tasks each day with the goal of making West Palm Beach a better place in which to live, work, and visit.
Efficiency:
In March we opened the doors to a state of the art City Hall and Library complex known as City Center. City departments that were once scattered between 7 different locations are now under one roof. Our one stop service center on the first floor of City Hall has the latest features to insure the fastest service possible for our citizens. From city permits to utility payments...the process is now more streamlined and easier than ever. All this in a facility designed around energy efficiency and water conservation.
Performance Measurement
Performance measurement drives progress towards desired outcomes. Each city department and division is required to set goals and measure them at regular intervals using dashboard style presentations to communicate results. Our dashboards are used for motivation and learning.
Technology
The Center for Digital Government, in partnership with the National League of Cities, has recognized West Palm Beach, for the past three years in a row, as being in the top ten among cities our size for having the most advanced technology. In 2008 we have been promoted to second place for the most digitally advanced cities in our size category of population between 75,000 and 124, 999.
Emergency communications are now directly linked with Palm Beach County. Construction Services allows customers to get status reports on line. Downtown parking is made easier with pay by cell phone.
City Television offers web streaming and video on demand of city commission meetings. The Library uses social networking technologies to connect with customers and teaching residents how to use the Internet, email, and a variety of PC software.
Documents are being scanned for paperless storage. And, during times of emergency, like Hurricanes, we are able to reach out to residents and businesses quicker and more efficiently using hi-tech telephone notification.
Hiring and Training:
It is a priority of the city to hire and maintain a diverse, competent workforce. We provide numerous in-house training programs to encourage job excellence and internal promotions. The City has implemented new interviewing training for hiring managers and now administers assessment tools for all senior management vacancies in an effort to continually improve the quality of our new hires.
City Hotline
Residents, businesses and visitors may call 822-2222, 24 hours a day to report non-emergency City issues or find out important information. Whether it’s a pothole, a street light out, or an overgrown lot, our motto is “if you see something, say something.”
Ethics and transparency:
The actions of city officials must be clear and visible. Important decisions should be made in the open. Conflicts of interests should be avoided and, if unavoidable, disclosed.
Based upon the recommendations of a citizen task force, the City has instituted new procedures and new reporting laws that improve the transparency of dealings by city officials and those who do business with the City. We have a dedicated ethics officer whose duties include providing on going training to all city employees, office holders, boards and committees.
The City’s award winning procurement ordinance is considered one of the best and fairest in the state. The City's procurement opportunities allow for maximum access and equal opportunity to all qualified vendors to ensure public confidence. Procurement opportunities are regulated by a staff driven procurement office that is conducted in the sunshine. The Mayor and Commissioners participate on rare occasions when high profile projects are considered.
Communications and Media
Much effort has been put into enhancing the City’s public communications.
The City utility bill newsletter, our electronic newsletter known as CityConnect, and daily press releases keep the media and public up to date with important notices. The award winning City Web page wpb.org instantly provides information about city government and city life.
Five years ago, our public TV channel was underutilized, with limited viewing of public meetings and scrolling of information. Today West Palm TV 18 is a vibrant part of city life providing a 24 hour window into a variety of local activities. Live TV can now be broadcast from anywhere in the city. Important city government meetings are not only broadcast as they occur, they are also available on demand at WPB.org or IPOD. Soon, our station content will be seen on popular social web-based networking sites such as Face book and MySpace and YouTube.
ECONOMIC VITALITY
Our common vision includes the opportunity for a person of any race, religion, gender, or gender orientation to work at a job that pays a livable wage.
West Palm is the governmental, financial, legal, and cultural center of the fourth largest county in Florida. We have immediate access to all major transportation modes and the international allure of our next door neighbor the Town of Palm Beach.
In 2007, Inc Magazine again recognized the West Palm Beach metropolitan area as one of the top ten large best cities to do business in America. But today, like the rest of the country, we are not without obstacles. A downturn in the housing market, an unstable stock market, and a tightened credit market are affecting the world economy. This has led to thousands of mortgage foreclosures and lost jobs here in Florida, as well as the rest of the nation.
Our vision must deal both with immediate needs brought on by a world wide financial crisis as well as long term economic sustainability.
This is why it is more important than ever for our region to create an environment that encourages economic development and quality jobs.
Public Works:
With the dramatic loss of construction related jobs in our area, Chamber of Commerce leaders have called upon the city to push forward our capital spending in order to create needed jobs while improving city infrastructure. Towards that effort, the city will advance 110 capital improvement projects at a cost of $126 million dollars that will create an estimated 1000 plus jobs. It will be a priority of the City to move forward on these and other projects as designs are completed and money is available. The City will create a reservoir of projects in order to assess any federal, state, or other grant money that may become accessible.
Housing:
Crucial to a sustainable economy is the availability of affordable housing for the fabric of the workforce. Policies and programs that preserve the city’s existing housing supply, develop quality affordable and attainable housing, and assist low to moderate income persons in acquiring their homes is a focus of city government. In recent years it has been the city’s priority to concentrate housing resources in Pleasant City and Coleman Park, gradually bringing new life to these neighborhoods while assisting families willing to own homes in emerging areas.
Foreclosure Assistance Program
In partnership with lenders and counseling agencies the City is providing assistance to homeowners who are either in pre-foreclosure or seriously delinquent on their mortgage payments and are at risk of having their homes foreclosed. At our unique mortgage foreclosure center located in downtown West Palm Beach, the first of its type in the nation, we have provided relief to hundreds of deserving families.
Now, new monies are flowing into the City from HUD to buy and rehabilitate foreclosed properties. The City will concentrate its efforts in the north part of the city, first focusing on Coleman Park, Pleasant City, and the greater northwest of downtown.
Community Redevelopment
Pursuant to state law, the city operates a Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) with two sub districts, one downtown and one in the Northwood area. The state requires that a certain level of the county and city property taxes generated in these districts be provided to the CRA for redevelopment initiatives only within the boundaries of these areas. The new City Center Library and parking garage were built with CRA funds and will be an anchor to attract people to the downtown area.
Along with the Down Town Development Authority, our downtown CRA is providing incentives for new business development. This has ranged from tax incentives to bring on new hotel rooms to a loan to a local theatre group for their expansion.
The redevelopment of Old Northwood Village has been another focus of this administration. Located between 23rd and 25th streets east of Broadway, this area has the potential to enhance the economic and social vibrancy of the city’s north end. The city’s Community Redevelopment Agency has assembled land that is the subject of an invitation to negotiate for a mixed use project. $ 3 million dollars in streetscape improvements will break ground in 2009. In the meantime, many new businesses have located in the neighborhood, attracted by CRA improvement grants and creative marketing efforts.
Arts and Culture and Special Events
As the cultural center of Palm Beach County, West Palm Beach prides itself as being home to some of the finest visual and performing arts, science and nature attractions, historical treasures, festivals and multicultural experiences in the state. This includes places like the Kravis Center, the Norton Museum of Art, the Ann Norton Sculpture Garden, the Palm Beach Science Museum, the Armory Art Center, the Palm Beach Zoo, the Historic Palm Beach Courthouse, Drama Works, the Cuillo Theatre, and Grassy Waters Park. It includes special events like Sunfest (the largest music festival in Florida), Kaleidoscope, Clematis by Night, Sunday at the Meyer, 4th on Flagler, the Marathon of the Palm Beaches and numerous ethnic festivals.
It is our desire to continue to add to this array of high quality cultural venues and events. On line are the new West Palm Beach Public Library and the Palm Beach International Photo Center at City Center. In the north end of the city we await the opening of the Center for Creative Arts.
West Palm Beach is also home to two of the finest performing arts schools in the country, Bach Middle School, and Dreyfoos School of the Arts.
Improving Permitting
When it comes to building and construction, time is money. That is why the City hired an independent consultant to make recommendations for improvements to our permitting process. That report is a blueprint for increasing efficiency and we are implementing many of its recommendations.
Looking to the future
We work closely with important partners like the Chamber of Commerce of the Palm Beaches, the Downtown Development Authority, The Convention and Visitors Bureau, and the Palm Beach County Business Development Board to enhance our economic environment. The County’s effort to create a bio medical industry has gotten off to a good start with The Scripps and Max Planck Institutes. The CVB is promoting a new tourism package. The County is looking at the creation of an inland port. The Business Development Board is developing a strategy to recruit corporate headquarters.
High on our list of developing both immediate and long term economic stimulus, is the creation of a green job market. The mandate to reduce our carbon footprint, and improve conservation and sustainability has created the potential of millions of new jobs in America. The City’s new sustainability office will work with our business partners to create a green business plan.
City Finances
It is a priority to enhance the city’s fiscal stability without sacrificing quality of services. This requires the careful management of tax dollars. With, declining property values, legislative mandated cuts in revenues, and the high cost of energy, city departments have been asked to tighten belts and reorganize without sacrificing important services.
The city has anticipated selling surplus city owned land to finance capital projects. Current economic conditions has delayed these efforts.
While this city, like public and private industry all over the country, is dealing with shrinking revenues, there remains some bright spots. The city’s double AA bond rating is at its all time high. Our Community Redevelopment Agencies have achieved stand alone credit, a remarkable accomplishment. The City’s emergency fund balance and contingency budgets are solid with $30 million in reserve.
Although volatility of the economy presents great challenges to our ability to maintain a high level of service with dwindling revenues, the attractiveness of our city bodes well for the future.
VIBRANT NEIGHBORHOODS
West Palm Beach is made up of dozens of distinct neighborhoods from suburban gated communities like Ibis and Riverwalk to historic areas like El Cid and Old Northwood. It is our goal to promote livable, inviting, and diverse communities throughout the city.
Infrastructure Improvements
Residents want beautiful clean neighborhoods. Keeping our home in good physical and social repair is an on-going commitment. And it is.
Over the past several years, the City has embarked upon more than 200 capital improvement projects including replacing 100 year-old water and sewer pipes. Other important projects underway include the long awaited street improvements in our Broadmoor district, a face lift for Windsor Avenue and a new community center for Gaines Park.
Historic Neighborhoods
We recognize the importance of our historic neighborhoods and are vigilant in maintaining their integrity in our planning decisions. Historic districts are being assessed for further identification of historic properties. We have mounted a political and legal fight against a proposed airport expansion that would encroach upon historic south end homes, interfering with quality of life and lowering property values.
Neighborhood Revitalization
While most of our neighborhoods are flourishing, some still face great challenges and those areas need special attention to realize their potential. For that reason, the revitalization of our most blighted areas is a priority. We are well on our way to restoring vitality to our oldest neighborhood, Pleasant City. Our sights are now focused on Coleman Park and the greater Northwest near downtown.
Pleasant City
Pleasant City was built by Henry Flagler in the early 1900’s for his black workers. The area is located between 15th and 23rd streets to the south and north and Dixie and the FEC railroad tracks from east to west. What was once a flourishing middle class neighborhood, with street names like Beautiful and Contentment, gave way to deteriorating and abandoned properties and crime.
We are changing that dynamic. The rebirth of Pleasant City will include grants for façade improvements and renovations for qualified homeowners.
Merry Place, the first certified green affordable housing community in the state of Florida, is being built through a partnership among the West Palm Beach Housing Authority, the City, state, federal, and private lenders.
The neighborhood will see renovations to some dilapidated Housing Authority properties and the removal of others. New utilities, landscaping and an aesthetic buffer along the FEC railroad tracks will be paid for by the Community Redevelopment Agency.
With assistance from the Quantum Foundation, the Community Redevelopment Agency will collaborate with the school children and residents of the neighborhood to build a community garden on vacant land near this Center.
With another grant from Quantum, Pleasant City is on track to become the county’s first wireless neighborhood. With the cooperation of a multi-agency partnership, low income families will be able to log-on to the internet and have free access to a new world of information.
Coleman Park
Situated between Palm Beach Lakes Blvd to the south and 25th street to the north and the FEC and CSX railroads on the east and west, Coleman Park is the target of the next major redevelopment project of this administration. In recent years, this 100 plus acre neighborhood has been characterized by blighted conditions and illegal activity.
The area is 49 % homesteaded, with many run down structures. However a score of small homes constructed by Redemptive Life Urban Initiatives Corporation have given homeownership opportunities at affordable prices. City grants have resulted in new life to several commercial enterprises on Tamarind Avenue. Numerous scattered in fill lots remain, giving potential for further revitalization.
Coleman Park is adjacent to Dunbar Village, a 200 unit public housing community, and is also home to Roosevelt Full Service School, an alternative middle school for at risk students. A modern community center and grassy park is situated on its mid west boundary. A memorial to 1928 storm victims creates a beautiful northern border to the neighborhood.
Efforts are already underway to bring new life to this area. The city has stepped up code enforcement here to clean up deteriorating structures, overgrown lots, and unkempt properties. The Housing Authority has announced long term plans to demolish and rebuild Dunbar Village.
Federal monies to the city have been set aside for a revitalization planning process that will include neighborhood charettes. One of the focuses of this process will be to reconnect Dunbar village to the rest of the neighborhood with a new street grid. Other monies will be used to give grants to qualified homeowners for facelifts for their houses. City owned lots will be used to create more homeownership opportunities at affordable prices.
New money from HUD will be used to buy and rehabilitate foreclosed properties.
Social vibrancy
The social infrastructure of a city is as important as its physical plant.
Sustaining vibrant neighborhoods requires more than new buildings and new pipes. True change comes when residents mentor a child, sing in a Sunday morning church choir, or run in a local marathon.
In every corner of West Palm Beach city volunteerism and fellowship are alive.
Visit Flagler Drive on any given Saturday morning and you will see hundreds of people walking to raise money to send a kid with cancer to camp or to support
an outreach worker working with AIDS patients.
The city is home to 479 non-profit and religious organizations. Our own Vicker’s House serves thousands of disadvantaged people every year. Efforts include a program that keeps the elderly from losing their homes and another that has now reunited almost 500 homeless people with their families who live elsewhere.
Hundreds of citizens participate in the dozens of boards and committees that affect every aspect of city life. A citizen nominating committee screens applications of prospective volunteers in order to ensure diversity.
Our city is fortunate to have schools filled with dedicated teachers and children eager to learn and we want to be their partners in success. We participate in a variety of back to school events. We link businesses to local schools.
Library volunteers are reading each week to hundreds of students at local elementary schools and providing tactile learning experience to head start children. Computers at our six community centers and Library allow parents to link up to their child’s classroom.
As a result of these kinds of efforts, I am proud to report that our City has received the Public Sector Gold Award from the Palm Beach County School District.
Parks and Recreation
It is a priority of the City to develop and enhance a healthy, family-oriented environment by creating, promoting, maintaining and implementing recreational and cultural opportunities for youth, teens, adults and seniors in parks and public spaces. We do this every day at our 47 parks and eight community centers. At these venues we run hundreds of different recreational programs for people of all ages.
ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY
Water
We have all gained a new appreciation of water as we have experienced recent hurricanes and drought conditions. Two and a half years ago, the City began a complete analysis of our water system. Today, our 100 year old water plant is undergoing unprecedented maintenance and repair. We are upgrading our water service with new procedures, equipment and professional independent oversight. A consent order with the Palm Beach County Health Department requires new technology within 10 years. A citizen task group is working with professional engineers evaluating alternatives as well as conservation strategies.
Our mission is simple, we want a modern water system and good conservation practices that enable us to provide both the quality and quantity of water that allows us to sustain a good quality of life.
Climate Protection
Reducing our carbon footprint is an important component of our common vision.
Historically, our City has weathered a roller coaster of economic changes and we have survived in large part because of the allure of our weather and natural resources. But this is no longer a given.
Some of our greatest challenges come from the stress placed on the environment by population growth, diminishing water resources, and global warming.
That’s why I signed the US Mayors Climate Protection Agreement along with hundreds of other mayors across the country. The agreement promotes numerous strategies aimed at reducing a City’s overall carbon footprint and practicing environmental conservation.
The City of West Palm Beach is taking action such as planting new trees, encouraging green development, purchasing flex fuel vehicles, and protecting one the City’s most valuable assets, our 20 square mile Grassy Waters Preserve.
This year, the city held it's first sustainability summit with hundreds of participants. A "green print" for our city was created and the new Office of Sustainability is now working with our City Green Task Force to implement sustainability strategies.
We want to be remembered as the generation who protected our planet for our children and grandchildren.
Grassy Water Preserve
West Palm Beach’s hidden jewel, Grassy waters preserve, is part of the vast Everglades ecosystem. It is the home to thousands of species of plants and animals and the source of our drinking water. Our Grassy Waters Preserve Park program in conjunction with a non-profit by the same name is engaged in a multi-year campaign to protect the Everglades environment and teach the public about environmental conservation.
The city is committed to protecting this precious resource. That means fighting the proposed Roebuck Road extension across the south end of our preserves. It is the City’s position that the road is unnecessary and a threat to our environment.
A SPECIAL PLACE FOR SOCIAL INTERACTION
One of the marked distinctions of West Palm Beach from other beautiful towns and cities in our region is our downtown. Sitting on the exquisite intracoastal, it is just minutes from an international airport, a major port, two major rail lines and highways, and the globally heralded Town of Palm Beach. Our new award winning downtown master plan is encouraging creative architecture, distinctive neighborhoods and walkable streets.
With a new residential population, our downtown is one of the governmental, commercial, and cultural hubs of South Florida. Our vision is to become one of the premier city centers in the world where a diverse population comes together to work, play, and live.
We are following a blueprint prepared for the city in 2003 by the Urban Land Institute. Following a visit by a team of national professionals, the ULI told city leaders that West Palm Beach should capitalize on its unique location on the Intracoastal Waterway. A follow up ULI report had several important recommendations on how to revitalize downtown including improving safety, activating our waterfront, removing the old library in order to open Clematis Street to the waterfront, and co-locating a new library with a new city hall.
Using a combination of strategies, our downtown has never been safer. The renewal began by requiring new lighting and attendants in parking lots. Next we banned underage youth from bars. We then expanded our youth curfew to City Place. A new entertainment police unit was added and supplemented by a private security firm. Crime is down an astonishing 47% in downtown compared to same time 2007.
The transformation of our downtown waterfront is well underway. Our new docks have opened to rave reviews from boaters and pedestrians alike who enjoy simply being able to take a stroll on the 440 foot center pier. By 2010, residents and visitors will be treated to a unique destination with stunning new views from Clematis Street and a host of amenities including a beach, shady trellises, a lake pavilion and magical water gardens.
Just down the street at the new City Center complex, the incredible new West Palm Beach Public Library has been impressing patrons through it's state of the art facilities and the spectacular views from the Grand Reading Room. The newest tenant for City Center, the internationally renowned Palm Beach Photographic Centre, is preparing to take's it's place downtown later this year. The revitalization of the waterfront and the new City Center have caused a "buzz" downtown and the increased number of visitors to Clematis Street has business moving back to what once was a blighted block.
So you can see we have been busy not just solving existing challenges but by always keeping an eye to preparing for the future. Your ideas and input are a vital part of the process and I invite you to email me lfrankel@wpb.org with any comments you may have as we work together to build a great place to live!
Learn more about Mayor Frankel.
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Mayor Lois J. Frankel
Term 2007 - 2011
P.O. Box 3366
WPB, FL 33402
(561) 822-1400
lfrankel@wpb.org
STATE OF THE CITY ADDRESS 2010
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VISION STATEMENT OF THE CITY
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