Town halls seek public input on potential Lake Worth Beach charter changes

Some commissioners wonder if there’s enough time to get the referendums on the March ballot

Lake Worth Beach officials are seeking public input on possible changes to the city charter affecting development on the beach, commission terms and other issues.

Ahead of an Oct. 6 City Commission meeting, when potential referendums will be considered, individual commissioners are scheduling town town halls to hear what residents and businesses think.

So far, two town halls have been scheduled:

• Commissioner Mimi May will host one on Monday, Sept. 15, at 6 p.m. at the Lake Worth Beach Casino Ballroom. She’ll also ask residents what they want the city to look like in 10 years.

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• Commissioner Anthony Segrich will host one on Thursday, Sept. 18, at 7 p.m. at the Beach Club restaurant at the Lake Worth Golf Club. He’ll also offer a six-month commission update and discuss upcoming initiatives.

All residents and business leaders are welcome to the town halls, which are not exclusive to residents living in the district of the host commissioner.

Commissioner Chris McVoy said he is planning to schedule a town hall but is still working on the details.

The commission had been scheduled to consider seven ballot questions on Aug. 19 but decided to devote a special meeting to the topic on Oct. 6 to ensure adequate public input.

The original plan was to put the questions to voters in March. For that to happen, commissioners would need to approve ordinances for the referendums by November in order to meet a Dec. 5 deadline for submitting ballot questions to the Palm Beach County Elections Supervisor.

On Friday, Sept. 12, Mayor Betty Resch and Vice Mayor Sarah Malega said they were concerned there might not be enough time to put referendums on the March ballot. McVoy asked if the referendums could be on the ballot at a later date.

“Unless there is some pressing need for one of these, I would hate to see it rushed,’’ Resch said.

Malega also suggested a referendum changing the commission terms to four years instead of three years, which she said would save the city money and help commissioners do their jobs.

Under the current three years, Malega said, “You get elected, you spend a year learning the job and then you’re working to get re-elected. If we have four-years terms, it allows electeds to just focus on the job at hand.’’

Elections Supervisor Wendy Link is scheduled to attend the Oct. 6 commission meeting to answer questions from commissioners.

The potential city charter changes would allow longer leases on city-owned land east and west of State Road A1A, paving the way for hotels at the beach and the city golf course; raise building heights; extend city commission terms; and eliminate election runoffs.

Click here to read an overview of the potential ballot questions.