City Commission

City of Delray Beach 100 NW 1st Avenue - Delray Beach, Florida 33444 Phone: (561) 243-7000 - Fax: (561) 243-3774 www.mydelraybeach.com Minutes - Final Thursday, May 7, 2020 2:00 PM Special Meeting: Beach Opening Implementation at 2:00 PM Virtual Meeting City Commission Mayor Shelly Petrolia Vice Mayor Ryan Boylston Deputy Vice Mayor Shirley Ervin Johnson Commissioner Adam Frankel Commissioner Juli Casale City Commission Minutes - Final May 7, 2020 Pursuant to Section 3.12 of the Charter of the City of Delray Beach the Mayor has instructed me to announce a Special Meeting of the City Commission to be held for the following purposes: Mayor Petrolia called the special meeting to order at 2:00 p.m. The roll call was taken by the City Clerk. Present: 5- Mayor Shelly Petrolia, Deputy Vice Mayor Shirley Ervin Johnson, Commissioner Adam Frankel, Vice-Mayor Ryan Boylston, and Commissioner Juli Casale Others present were: George Gretsas, City Manager Lynn Gelin, City Attorney Katerri Johnson, City Clerk SP.1. Discussion of Beach Opening Implementation City Manager Gretsas discussed the meeting he had with the Palm Beach County Beach Reopening Task Force, of which he is a member. He shared the following details from that meeting: · The County Commissioners were gathering data from each municipality with regards to opening of the beaches. · The County staff asked Florida Department of Health, Palm Beach County Director, Dr. Alonso to share her opinion regarding the opening of the municipal beaches. Dr. Alonso shared that although the numbers are going down, and it is still important to maintain social distancing. Her opinion on the opening of the municipal beaches was that if one city opens the beach and other surrounding cities do not, it could potentially cause overcrowding and could make it difficult to maintain social distancing practices. She also shared that in her opinion, it is more important to open businesses than beaches. City Manager Gretsas stated that opening the beach is more a matter of adjusting policies to the needs and concerns of the constituents versus an emergency management matter. He asked for direction from the Commission regarding opening the beach prior to his call with Palm Beach County officials as the County wants an answer from the city as to whether they are going to open the beach or not. Commissioner Frankel thanked Mr. Gretsas for keeping everyone apprised on this matter. He suggested that the City do a preliminary City of Delray Beach Page 1 Printed on 6/14/2020 City Commission Minutes - Final May 7, 2020 opening of the beach for the residents to include walking, jogging or swimming only. Vice Mayor Boylston stated that he is in favor of opening the beaches in phases for passive activities. He stated that if there isn’t any parking or very limited parking that we would only be serving the residents of Delray Beach. Mayor Petrolia stated that not having available parking by the beach could cause problems with people parking on the streets. She felt that the meters should be reactivated; however, she expressed concern over the enforcement at the beach and felt it should only be opened when lifeguards are present. Commissioner Casale expressed concern that people from the west would not have access to the beach as others would and agrees that the city should follow what other cities are doing to prevent overcrowding. Fire Chief Tomey stated that the lifeguards are currently enforcing the order to prevent people who are trying to get on the beach, but once the beach is open they will have to be focused on the water. Deputy Vice Mayor Johnson was concerned that the county wasn’t listening to Dr. Alonso’s suggestion to not open the beaches and stated that if Boca Raton isn’t going to open their beach that it would put pressure on Delray Beach and could cause overcrowding. She also expressed concern that there should be a discussion about parking at the adjacent parks prior to opening the beach. Vice Mayor Boylston is in favor of limiting the parking in the beginning. City Manager Gretsas gave the following recap of the comments from the City Commission: · There be a soft opening for Phase One which would include walking, jogging, and swimming only. It would not include towels or blankets on the beach for sunbathing, chairs, or cabana rentals. · Lots being closed but the parking on A1A would be opened and metered. · Only when the lifeguards would be open. · Public restrooms remain closed. · Opening Anchor Park to residents who have residential stickers. · Lanier could be called to enforce parking. · Opening Dunes Park to residents who have residential stickers. City of Delray Beach Page 2 Printed on 6/14/2020 City Commission Minutes - Final May 7, 2020 · Keep Pavilion closed. SP.2. Public Comments None. There being no further business to discuss, Mayor Petrolia adjourned the special meeting at 2:49 p.m. City of Delray Beach Page 3 Printed on 6/14/2020