Delray Alliance
ALLIANCE OF DELRAY RESIDENTIAL ASSOCIATIONS
By Judy Goldberg
Notes From February’s 2025 Meeting:
March is almost here! We have been so lucky with our weather compared to the rest of the U.S… Florida is the place to be in the winter. Our community is busy with snowbirds, family visits and so much to do. Enjoy it all and glad that we can share our beautiful Palm Greens together. Yet again, we also want to thank Jerry Carlin and Bonnie Sanger and Peter Dreifus for being our eyes and ears at this last meeting. They are an asset to all of us!
Dr. Lori Vinikoor, our President of the Alliance, started the meeting at 9:30 with a few updates. Atlantic Avenue is being expanded west of the Turnpike. (between 441 and the Turnpike). This is due to the continued expansion of communities in that area. The Tax Collectors Office has had 4 letters written in opposition to the proposed new building. Nothing has happened yet.
Major Keene of Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office announced that Captain Rob Sandt, longtime Captain of the Delray Beach area, was promoted and is now overseeing more districts. Mike Morales is our new Police Captain of District 4. At our MARCH meeting, he will provide details concerning traffic/speeding, tools used for crime mapping, distraction threat, threat assessment and other matters of concern to all of us.
Our Chief of Fire Rescue, Battalion 4, Chief Bill Stansbury said that we had 3500 calls last month, 1300 more than the next closest district. There was a groundbreaking ceremony for Station 49 at Flavor Pict and Lyons Road. This is much needed Station with all of the new buildings on Lyons Road!
Karen Brill, Chairperson of the School Board, said that in March, they will be honoring Sheriff Ric Bradshaw. So far, our school district is status quo, not losing students to charter schools. There is extra mental health counseling as students are very anxious about their safety in school
Our keynote speaker was Amy Kemp, FPL External Affairs Manager. PBC. She spoke about 100 years of service: from delivering Ice to Delivering Energy. Kristin Berntsen, P.S.E., P.M.P., Deputy Director spoke about PBC. Water Utilities Dept. Bringing Pure Water from the Ground to the Tap. Amy presented an excellent overview of that department. In 1925, FPL was one of many companies. Now they are our state’s largest provider with 12 million customers and services forty-three Florida Counties. They have helped to build the infrastructure for reliable power and growth as well as maintaining the current structure. FPL has over 9000 employees from arborists to linemen. They are prepared year-round for all weather-related incidents, hurricanes, tornadoes, and even SNOW! They have awards for reliable poles, wood changed to concrete has helped to avoid over 1.5 million outages. Some lines are being put underground, and smart technology is helping to figure out ways to avoid outages. Drone inspections, visual inspections, tree trimming, all are important elements. Flickers or brief disruptions are less than 60 seconds in most cases. Longer outages, extended interruptions require analysis. The 2024 Hurricane season had 3 major players, 13 days apart. Hurricane Helene essentially restored power in 3 days.
Oct 9 was Milton. Spawned tornadoes and took 5 days to restore power. Remarkable! Amy then spoke about multiple ways to generate electricity by diversifying energy sources and updating equipment. We could use less fuel by having natural gas plants, solar energy and storage, hydrogen and nuclear energy. Most are self-efficient and low cost. The goal by 2030 is to be 30% Solar, the most efficient to support our growing population. Safe and No Coal. Protecting the environment and education is important. Wind farm placement. FPL partners with local businesses and helps with startups and give grants advice. Their rates are not regulated by the state but regulated by Florida Public Services. The Commission must submit a new agreement every four years. There will be a 2,9% annual increase (fuel supply issues.) We are still below the national average.
Krystin Berntsen, Deputy Director of PBC Water Utilities Dept. was our next speaker. The topic was Bringing Pure Water from the Ground to the Tap! The cycle is basically water from the Biscayne aquifer and is treated, cleaned, disinfected, stored and tested for purity. Then it is distributed for drinking, bathing etc., and back to utility where it is reclaimed, treated for sprinklers etc. PBC Water Utilities is the 3rd largest in the state with 600 employees. There are 5 water treatment plants, 60-million-gallon capacity/storage (It can support future growth as well) Over 110 million gallons of water are used daily. They own and maintain all pipes outside of the home. And manage 2300 miles of water distribution pipeline. There are independent labs for constant water analysis(quality) ISO. certified. Enterprise funded. Revenue from customers. AAA rated. Both speakers took questions from the audience.
Our next meeting will be on Wednesday, March 5, 2025. We will have a Safety & Security Seminar. Speakers & Topics include Sergeant Scott Yoder: Traffic, Tim Eramo, Criminal Analyst: Scams & Crime Mapping, Detective Philip Eckes: Distraction Thefts, Investigator Scott Poritz: Threat Assessment. Plus, updates from PBCFR & Government Officials.
The meeting will be held in the South County Civic Center, 16700 Jog Rd, across from Morikami Gardens. Doors open at 9AM when refreshments are served. The meeting starts at 9:30AM and always concludes by 11AM. All invited to attend. See you there!