Park Rangers may be coming to Lake Worth Beach next year

City commissioners Nov. 4 will consider creating a new $418,000 program to offer ‘eyes and ears’ at city parks

Park rangers could start patrolling Lake Worth Beach’s public parks next year.

City commissioners Nov. 4 will consider creating a new Park Ranger division in the Leisure Services department to help improve the park experience for users.

During summer workshops for the city budget that took effect Oct. 1, commissioners agreed to earmark $500,000 for the program. Now, they just need to figure out how to launch it.

A $418,000 proposal commissioners will discuss Nov. 4 calls for the new division to have a manager, three full-time rangers and two part-time rangers.

Full-time rangers would work five 8-hour shifts per week, with part-time rangers providing evening and weekend coverage. The ranger patrols would start at 8 a.m. and end at 10 p.m.

Palm Beach County Sheriff’s deputies would continue offering overnight patrols at the parks, as part of the city’s $15 million contract with PBSO, although some commissioners have expressed a desire for deputies to be more proactive in their after-hour park patrols.

Commissioners earlier this summer considered hiring PBSO deputies as full-time park rangers, but balked at the agency’s $800,000 asking price.

Unlike deputies, the city’s park rangers would offer a near-constant presence in the parks, serving as “eyes and ears” and building relationships with regular users, similar to how the county’s park rangers operate, Mayor Betty Resch said.

The city park rangers would not have arrest powers; they would call PBSO if necessary. But they could enforce city ordinances and issue citations, similar to the powers of a code enforcement officer.

“It’s a pretty regular group of people at the parks. One of the advantages of having someone there is to establish relationships…to encourage them to not do the things we don’t want them to do,’’ Resch said in August.

Commissioners said they have heard complaints from residents who say they don’t feel comfortable at Bryant Park because of the presence of homeless people day and night.

“Most of the complaints I hear from folks is that it’s during the day. ‘I don’t want to bring my kids to the park because the homeless people are harassing them,’’’ the mayor said.

Earlier this year, the city agreed to spend $98,000 to replace bathrooms and other amenities destroyed by vandals at South Bryant Park.

And city officials want to make Bryant Park feel more safe for all park users, especially as the Gulfstream Hotel, just west of the park’s north entrance, gears up to open in 2026.

Although the proposal calls for rangers in just four parks — Bryant, Sunset Ridge, Howard and the beach — commissioners may consider including more parks.

It would cost $352,146 for wages and benefits and another $66,000 for start-up expenses such as mountain bikes, uniforms, certifications and credentialing. A plan discussed at budget workshops earlier this summer called for another $70,000 for two vehicles, although that’s not mentioned in the backup for the Nov. 4 meeting.

Also at the meeting, commissioners are scheduled to:

• Cast the first of two votes on five referendums for the March 10 ballot.

• Discuss a plan to host a lighted drone display on the Fourth of July, either as a replacement for or in combination with fireworks.

The meeting starts at 6 p.m at City Hall. Click here to see the full agenda.