As I reflect on the past eight years as your District 1 County Commissioner, I want to express my deepest appreciation to all of you for allowing me the honor of serving you.  This has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life, and it has given me a greater understanding of what people value in Palm Beach County.

Whether it was serving as a pilot in the US Navy, or elected office in county, city and special district arenas, I have found no greater calling than to serve the public.  This privilege comes with a great sense of responsibility and I hope that when you have sought my assistance with an issue, you came away from the experience knowing that I and my staff did our best to help you and that we heard you. 

During my two terms in office, in addition to making decisions on land use, zoning applications, contracts and community needs, I have focused my efforts on projects and programs that I believe add value to our quality of life.  These areas of focus have included our environmental resources, parks and waterfront access facilities, transit, rail and roadway systems, and economic development. 

With nearly 28,000 acres of preserved natural areas, Northern Palm Beach County enjoys huge swaths of open green space that sustain critical habitat for endangered species of flora and fauna.  Additionally, many natural areas function as wetlands to filter and replenish water that flows to the Loxahatchee River, a portion of which holds the National Wild and Scenic designation.  As the Commission’s representative on the Loxahatchee River Management Coordinating Council, I have had the pleasure of working with local, state and federal officials and agencies, river users and landowners, to support restoration efforts to benefit this watershed.  These projects will increase flood control and water supply benefits on a wider scale, and additionally improve conditions in interconnected water resources such as the Lake Worth Lagoon.

Beaches are one of our most treasured resources and a major tourism draw.  Of our 46 miles of Atlantic coastline, Palm Beach County has 31 miles of critically eroded beaches subject to constant wind, waves, tides and seasonal hurricanes and tropical storms.  We continue to combat this erosion through dune restoration, inlet sand transfer, sand re-nourishment, and the installation of supporting structures.  I am grateful to have had the opportunity to work with our environmental resource managers to support funding from state and federal partners as well as from tourism bed taxes for beach re-nourishment projects along Jupiter Beach, Carlin Park, Juno Beach and Singer Island to combat the long-term erosion resulting in significant loss of beach frontage.

One of my goals when I took office was to maintain and enhance our parks and recreation facilities.  This included creating greater opportunities for waterfront access for our boating community.  Among the projects completed were boat ramp, parking and facilities improvements to Burt Reynolds Park in Jupiter, Bert Winters Park near Juno Beach, and the newly constructed Waterway Park next to Jonathan’s Landing at the base of the Indiantown Road Bridge.

Fullerton Island, on the Intracoastal Waterway just south of the Loxahatchee River and completed in 2015, created mangrove and seagrass habitat, and preserved over five acres of mangroves.  Its amenities include boat docks and kayak access, and a picnicking area.

Another jewel of North County is Riverbend/Loxahatchee Battlefield Park.  Riverbend has received facility enhancements and an exciting plan on the drawing board is an interpretive center for the site of the Loxahatchee River Battlefield.

The Gardens/North County District Park came to fruition through a partnership of the County with the City of Palm Beach Gardens.  The two governments developed a master plan and the City built the park on County land.  The park offers much-needed multi-use fields to the area, along with walking trails, playgrounds, and a water play area.  Phase 2 of the district park will include an indoor sports complex.

We celebrated the completion of renovations at the DuBois Pioneer Home Museum in DuBois Park, which is located on top of one of the best-studied ancient Native American sites in Florida, with artifacts located dating back at least 6,000 years.

A major goal of mine as your District 1 Commissioner has been to support economic development and provide new jobs in diverse industries for our residents.  It was exciting to work with state and local partners to land the new headquarters for United Technologies Corporation’s Center for Intelligent Buildings, now the home of Carrier Corporation, on a site along Donald Ross Road within the high technology overlay across from Scripps Research Institute and Max Planck facilities.  United Technologies’ presence in the county has spanned over 50 years and since 2012, they have undertaken large expansions in engine testing and aviation manufacturing operations.  Together, these projects account for the addition of more than 750 new jobs. 

We have continued to recruit biotech companies to our county, including plans for Beacon Pharmaceuticals to house operations within Jupiter’s biotech overlay at the I-95/Turnpike interchanges on Indiantown Road.  Meanwhile, exciting developments continue at the Palm Beach Park of Commerce on the Beeline Highway north of PGA Boulevard.  After locating to the Park two years ago, Niagara Bottling has expanded its manufacturing and distribution facility with an additional $38M investment. 

In August of this year, Amazon announced plans to launch a new one million square foot state-of-the-art fulfillment center at the Park of Commerce, which will create hundreds of full-time jobs.  The County worked with the Business Development Board to expedite permitting and I am thrilled that we were able to attract this major company to enhance our growing logistics industry.

Economic development requires efficient transportation options, and it has been my honor to serve as chair of the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority, which runs Tri-Rail, as well as past chair and current member of the Transportation Planning Agency (TPA), f/k/a the Metropolitan Planning Organization.  Throughout the pandemic, Tri-Rail has offered a reduced schedule with an emphasis on rush hour trains, with a total cessation of fares in order to help our essential workers commute to and from jobs.  With 18 stations along 73.4 miles of track connecting Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, this is a vital public transportation option with an average weekday ridership of 15,000.

The TPA, tasked with forecasting needs and planning transportation projects to major roads funded by State and Federal dollars, prioritizes improvements needed to enhance safety and create additional road capacity, as well as recommends and funds projects that offer transportation alternatives.  As an avid cyclist, I have supported improvements related to non-motorized means of travel, focusing on pathways for walking and bicycling.  An upcoming project approved through the TPA will install flashers at pedestrian crosswalks along A1A at the beach, which is a heavily used recreation corridor in Juno Beach and Jupiter.

While the County strives to provide a high level of service to the public, a key consideration is a balanced budget.  I am gratified to report that throughout my tenure on the commission, and for the past ten years, we have held our millage rate steady at 4.7815 mils, despite the increasing costs to provide services.  With a professional background in investment banking and finance, I have enjoyed serving as chair for the County’s Investment Policy Committee, which works with our Clerk & Comptroller to help guide the wise investment of county funds, which is also key to maintaining our AAA bond rating by the country’s major rating agencies.

Serving as your county commissioner has allowed me to work with our legislative delegation to support appropriations for county interests as well as quell proposed legislation that could thwart our home rule, or that could create unfunded mandates.  I have enjoyed keeping an open line of communication with our municipal partners in District 1, and helping to support citizen initiatives such as recognition of our local Gold Star families and their loved ones who gave the ultimate sacrifice.

Thank you for allowing me the privilege of working with you for the betterment of our community. I wish you good health and prosperity.