It’s a great day Palm Bay!
July 4th, Independence Day in the United States, holds great importance as it marks the day when the Declaration of Independence was adopted in 1776. It signifies the founding of the nation, celebrates freedom, fosters national unity, and reflects on democratic principles. Independence Day inspires patriotism, gratitude, and aspirations for a better future, reminding Americans of their shared values and the ongoing pursuit of liberty and equality. We celebrate each Independence Day with gratitude for the blessings of freedom and opportunity our forefathers afforded us.
I hope you all join me in celebrating our nation's independence at the 2023 Independence Day Celebration on Sunday, July 2nd, from 5-9pm at the Eastern Florida State College Palm Bay Campus, located at 250 Community College Parkway SE. We are pleased to welcome back Zambelli Fireworks, food trucks, and various vendors for the biggest and brightest Independence Day Celebration on the Space Coast!
Toby, Palm Bay PD's therapy dog, turns two and he would love for you to come to his party! Join us on Thursday, July 6th from 5-7:00pm in front of Palm Bay City Hall located at 120 Malabar Road. In lieu of gifts, Toby asks that you bring a toy or dog food to be donated to the Brevard County Animal Shelter. I hope to see you there!
I want to extend my extreme gratitude to our Brevard Legislative Delegation for their support! Thanks to Senator Debbie Mayfield, Senator Tom Wright, Representative Thad Altman, Representative Randy Fine, Representative Tyler Sirois, Representative Robert Brackett, and Representative Chase Tramont, 4 of the 5 Palm Bay Legislative Appropriations Requests were funded in the 2023-2024 budget! The total amount dedicated is $4,650,000. The projects include:
• $2.1 M for septic to sewer conversions
• $1.25 M for gun range improvements
• $1.15 M which provides partial funding for the design and engineering for the widening of St. Johns Heritage Parkway, between City limits and Malabar Road
• $150,000 for Sacrifice Park for improvements to the memorial honoring public safety first responder personnel across Brevard County killed in the line of duty.
As you all may remember, I chose Sacrifice Park as the recipient for the annual Mayor’s Ball charity fundraiser, and obtaining this funding will allow us to move forward with the construction of a new monument that will give our valued first responders a memorial worthy of their sacrifice. Stay tuned for a future groundbreaking later this year!
In this fiscal year, we have made tremendous strides in dedicating funding to improve our City’s public safety position. We were able to dedicate over $1.5 million to purchase 38 new and replacement police vehicles, which was a significant step toward removing some of the older, less reliable vehicles from our Police force. We have also been increasing our funding for salaries for police and firefighters. I am proud to say that we recently filled all but 5 police officer vacancies, compared to a time when we had more than 20 vacant positions. This is just a small glimpse into the work we have been doing to prioritize public safety in our City – much more still to come!
Alongside the appropriations requests, the City of Palm Bay is offering a first-eligible, first-served program to cover the costs of abandoning septic tanks to hook up to the City's centralized sewer system. This program is funded by State & Local Fiscal Recovery Funds under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). At the December 15 Regular Council Meeting, City Council authorized $420,000 in ARPA funding to assist low-income households with grant funds to cover 100 percent of the private costs to connect to City sewer. Eligible households must be owner-occupied residential properties having access to City sewer. Applicants can determine whether City sewer access is available by property address and complete a Pre-Qualification Application by visiting www.pbfl.org/s2s. The City will review the pre-qualification applications and request additional information from pre-qualified households. Applicants will be awarded funds based on first-come, first-eligible. For additional information, visit www.pbfl.org/ARPA or email arpa@pbfl.org. I truly believe that we must address this issue to protect our Indian River Lagoon and our own quality of life; that is why I encourage all Palm Bay residents to see if they are eligible and to apply for this program.
The GO Roads Paving Program is still moving along throughout the City. The final striping of Port Malabar Boulevard between Babcock Street and US-1 is now completed, bringing an end to a challenging but much needed road bond project. Next up will be the paving of Madden and Osmosis in southwest Palm Bay, followed by Units 13 and 14, the area north of Malabar, between Minton and Jupiter, which also includes Americana. Visit www.pbfl.org/projects for more project updates.
The City of Palm Bay will hold a groundbreaking ceremony for the installation of five nutrient separating baffle boxes on Tuesday, July 25, 2023, at 9:00am at the Main Street Boat Ramp located at 141 Main Street NE Palm Bay, FL 32905. During the FY2022 State Legislative Session, with the support of Senator Debbie Mayfield and Representative Randy Fine, the City of Palm Bay was awarded $1.2 M for the installation of five nutrient separating baffle boxes to reduce pollutant discharge into Turkey Creek and improve water quality for the impaired Indian River Lagoon.
Finally, I would like to recognize July as Parks and Recreation Month! We will be honoring staff with a proclamation at the July 6th Regular Council Meeting, and I encourage residents to get out and enjoy your favorite Palm Bay park, maybe even visit a new one! We have over 30 to choose from! Events such as Free Ranger-Led Tours of the Turkey Creek Sanctuary and Free Movies at the Pool are happening all month long. Visit www.pbfl.org/parks for a full list of parks and to see what other events we have in store for this month.
