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Palm Bay Rental & Utility Payment Assistance Applications Reopen for Qualified Residents

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Palm Bay, FL – On September 17, 2020, the City of Palm Bay received an additional allocation of $225,515 in Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding to assist qualified Palm Bay residents who have been financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic due to unemployment or under-employment. Eligible uses for the funding include rental or mortgage payment assistance, utility payment assistance, security deposits, and utility deposits. Utility payment assistance can only be provided if coupled with rent or mortgage payment assistance.

Applications for assistance will reopen on Monday, October 5, 2020 and will remain open until all funding is expended. Applications must be complete. No incomplete applications will be considered. Eligible residents must be at or below 120% of the area median income and facing financial hardship due to COVID-19, such as unemployment or under-employment. Qualified applicants will be served on a first-come/first-eligible, first-served basis. Applications for assistance will be made available through the City of Palm Bay Housing & Community Development Division office located at Palm Bay City Hall Annex, 120 Malabar Road SE or by emailing HCDinfo@pbfl.org.

All funding must be expended by December 30, 2020 and will be administered by the City of Palm Bay’s Housing & Community Development Division. For questions or assistance with completing the application, please call (321) 726-5616. Visit www.palmbayflorida.org/housing for more information on available programs.

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Justice Ruth Ginsburg Has Died

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Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died this evening surrounded by her family at her home in Washington, D.C., due to complications of metastatic pancreas cancer. She was 87 years old. Justice Ginsburg was appointed to the Supreme Court by President Clinton in 1993. She was the second woman appointed to the Court and served more than 27 years. She is survived by her two children: Jane Carol Ginsburg (George Spera) and James Steven Ginsburg (Patrice Michaels), four grandchildren: Paul Spera (Francesca Toich), Clara Spera (Rory Boyd), Miranda Ginsburg, Abigail Ginsburg, two step-grandchildren: Harjinder Bedi, Satinder Bedi, and one great-grandchild: Lucrezia Spera. Her husband, Martin David Ginsburg, died in 2010.

Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. said of Justice Ginsburg: “Our Nation has lost a jurist of historic stature. We at the Supreme Court have lost a cherished colleague. Today we mourn, but with confidence that future generations will remember Ruth Bader Ginsburg as we knew her — a tireless and resolute champion of justice.”

Justice Ginsburg was born in Brooklyn, New York, March 15, 1933. She married Martin D. Ginsburg in 1954. She received her B.A. from Cornell University, attended Harvard Law School, and received her LL.B. from Columbia Law School. She served as a law clerk to the Honorable Edmund L. Palmieri, Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, from 1959–1961. From 1961–1963, she was a research associate and then associate director of the Columbia Law School Project on International Procedure. She was a Professor of Law at Rutgers University School of Law from 1963–1972, and Columbia Law School from 1972–1980, and a fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences in Stanford, California from 1977–1978. In 1971, she was instrumental in launching the Women’s Rights Project of the American Civil Liberties Union, and served as the ACLU’s General Counsel from 1973–1980, and on the National Board of Directors from 1974–1980. She was appointed a Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in 1980. During her more than 40 years as a Judge and a Justice, she was served by 159 law clerks.

While on the Court, the Justice authored My Own Words (2016), a compilation of her speeches and writings.

A private interment service will be held at Arlington National Cemetery.

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Palm Bay to feature Blue Stone Circle in an upcoming Drive-Up Concert

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The Palm Bay Parks & Recreation Department will host a safe and physically distanced drive-up concert on Saturday, September 26 at Fred Poppe Regional Park, located at 1951 Malabar Road NW, featuring Blue Stone Circle. The concert will start at 7:30pm and run until 10:00pm. Gates will open beginning at 6:00pm. The concert is free to attend, but you must register for your free parking space online at playonline.palmbayflorida.org.

Bring a friend or bring the whole family to this outdoor concert and from your physically distanced parking space, enjoy a wide variety of musical genres including top 40, classics, party favorites, country, R&B, and disco. Food and drinks will be available for purchase.

Blue Stone Circle is excited to offer a safe way for people to get out and enjoy a live concert in Palm Bay. They have performed for Palm Bay audiences during past Independence Day events as well as Fun Friday events. Blue Stone Circle appears as the house band at Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville at Universal Studios City Walk and was a mainstay at Walt Disney World’s Pleasure Island for over six years. Check out the band’s website for more info at www.bluestonecircle.com. For more information about this free event, including COVID-19 protocols, visit www.PBFL.org/Events.,

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Palm Bay Chemical Plant Explosion

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Palm Bay, FL – Palm Bay Police and Fire Departments are working the scene of an explosion in the area of US1 and RJ Conlan Boulevard in NE Palm Bay. The explosion occurred shortly before 11:00am.

The cause of the explosion is under investigation, but Fire Rescue personnel have determined that the explosion originated from an industrial storage area containing 30-40 50-gallon barrels of an isopropyl alcohol-based solution. Hazmat teams are on scene and have confirmed that the materials and resulting plume are non-toxic. One business was evacuated due to the explosion; however, no additional evacuations are required at this time.

Palm Bay Fire Rescue has confirmed that the fire has been extinguished. Due to the industrial area, extra precautions are being taken to prevent hot spots and potential flare ups. Patrick Air Force Base has responded to the scene with their crash truck to assist the effort by spraying the area with a layer of retardant foam.

Palm Bay Police Department has closed US1 and RJ Conlan Boulevard to traffic. Residents are asked to avoid the immediate area.

ROUND-2_POLITICAL-CARTOON

ADKINS vs Fine Round 2

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With elections fast approaching, tensions are high with many candidates nationwide and it’s no different in Brevard County. The pressure is on between Palm Bay’s two candidates for District 53 State Representative, Randy Fine and Marcie Adkins. PalmBayLive.com posted an article last month about the contentions between the two and, unfortunately, those sentiments still ring true today.

Most recently, Representative Fine made public the information that he and his entire family were diagnosed with COVID-19. He claimed that the diagnosis led to him being treated as well as the rest of the members of his family requiring medical attention. Following this disclosure, Rep. Fine then went on to allege, also on his Facebook page, that Marcie Adkins had made claims accusing Fine of fabricated the COVID-19 diagnosis.

Fine posted a screenshot from a Facebook page, with poster name and page redacted, that was claiming to be in possession of Fine’s personal medical records and proof that he made his COVID diagnosis up. Based on this post, Fine accused the Adkins camp of being behind the post and called for an investigation into how his medical records, protected by HIPAA, were obtained.

Interestingly, some Facebook commenters requested additional sources and evidence to support Fine’s allegations against Adkins’, as many believed the redacted screenshot to be insufficient proof of Adkins’ involvement.

After some back and forth in the comment section, Fine provided unredacted source information to the page noting that he believed the page to be run by Adkins’ Campaign Consultant Robert Burns.

PalmBayLive.com was able to speak to Marcie Adkins and Robert Burns who both emphatically stated that the Adkins’ campaign made no such statements about Mr. Fine or his family. In fact, Ms. Adkins pointed out that she made a post on her campaign Facebook page wishing Fine and his family members a quick recovery after the announcement and even asked her supporters to pray for them.

A quick review of her Facebook page did turn up this post made on August 3.

Adkins added, “I would never claim anything like that.”

Robert Burns echoed this sentiment, saying “Marcie did not make the comment/post. She was the only public candidate to offer sympathies. She also solicited prayers from supporters on his behalf. This of note, because in early July, we announced that we had 3 elder volunteers diagnosed with COVID and Fine accused them of going door-to-door while sick, calling them “super-cell spreaders”. When, in actuality, these volunteers just make phone calls with no person-to-person contact.”

PalmBayLive reached out to Rep. Fine for comment, but our message was not returned.

A second muddy allegation in this race involves signage.

The Adkins camp is claiming that Fine is illegally posting signage and not adhering to a city ordinance.

The ordinance in question was enacted last year by the Palm Bay City Council with support from now Deputy Mayor Kenny Johnson. The ordinance was pushed for by many Palm Bay residents who were frustrated with the amount of campaign signs in the area, citing complaints of traffic hazards and view obstruction. The ordinance states that signs can only be posted between 8 AM and 6 PM on weeks nights and 8 AM and 4 PM on weekends. This means that signs must be taken down each night and re-erected the following morning. Signs left up are taken down by city employees.

This issue here, according to the Adkins camp, is that the Fine campaign has not been taking down their signs, as mandated, and instead has been relying on city workers to remove the signs each evening.

PalmBayLive was told that when the city removes the signs they are placed in a lot by Public Works and after a period of accumulation, any signage not claimed is destroyed. So, Adkins alleges that Fine picks up the signs each morning from Public Works and puts them back up but is using city employees and taxpayer dollars for free signage removal labor in the evenings. Representative Fine did not provide a response to these allegations.

These are just the latest allegations amongst a slew of mudslinging between these two opponents and it does not show any sign of stopping, especially with the election fast approaching. Brevard recently published current voter turnout data, and as of today, the data shows a whopping 69,915 votes cast either by mail or through early voting. Despite (or because of) the contentious campaigns, it seems Palm Bay residents are eager to find out who their next representative will be.

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Annual Palm Bay Golf Classic

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Palm Bay, FL – The City of Palm Bay Parks & Recreation Department will host their annual Fall Golf Classic on Saturday, September 19 at The Majors Golf Club, 3425 Bayside Lakes Blvd SE, in Palm Bay. Check-in begins at 7 a.m. and the shotgun start is at 8 a.m.

The cost is $65 per player or $240 per foursome. There will be lots of door prizes, giveaways, drawings, and more! Lunch is provided to all participants. Participants may sign up as a foursome or as individuals. Registration is now available online at playonline.palmbayflorida.org, or by calling the Tony Rosa Community Center at (321) 952-3443 or the Ted Whitlock Community Center at (321) 952-3231.

Proceeds from the tournament will benefit recreation programs and community events in the city for all ages, such as the Holiday Light Parade, Independence Day Celebration, Fun Fridays by the Bay, Drive-Up Movies in the Park, and many more. Proceeds will also help less fortunate kids in the community attend summer camps and swim lessons at deeply discounted rates.

Fall Golf Classic sponsorships are still available for as little as $100 and up to $2,500 to become the title sponsor. For more information on sponsorships, please contact Andy Dimmig at (321) 409-7105 or Andy.Dimmig@PBFL.org.

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Heritage Parkway is now open

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On August 11, 2020 the City of Palm Bay held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to commemorate the completion of a new segment of the St. Johns Heritage Parkway and southern I-95 interchange. The event was open to the public and well-attended.

The new southern interchange will provide Palm Bay residents with much-needed access to the I-95 corridor, reducing the travel time and traffic surrounding the existing interchange at Malabar Road. The inclusion of northern and southern segments serves as the first and second phases of a future beltway which would connect Brevard’s most populous city, Palm Bay, with U.S. 192 in West Melbourne and Interstate 95 in southeast Palm Bay.

Besides reducing travel time and traffic, The Parkway hopes to provide residents with additional access points for critical emergency evacuation routes. Part of the construction team’s work included converting the preliminary design concept from a partial cloverleaf to a diverging diamond interchange. This conversion improved the safety and efficiency by reducing signal phasing from three phases to two phases. Additionally, the team carefully mitigated impacts to the surrounding environment by implementing gopher and tortoise surveys and relocation, as well as scheduling projects around the breeding season of native birds.

The execution of The Parkway and Interchange, including a new traffic signal at the Babcock Street intersection, comes after months of negotiations and discussions between the Palm Bay City Council and Brevard County Commission. Ultimately, both parties reached an agreement this year.

Per the agreement, the County will issue the road construction permit, and Palm Bay will fund, construct and maintain the intersection. The plan is that by the end of 2023, there will be a four-lane intersection with turn lanes and mast-arm traffic signals. The estimate total project cost is over $7 million.

County officials, however, did agree to make reasonable efforts to fund and reconstruct portions of Babcock Street. There was also an agreement to set aside 50% of transportation impact fees from future nearby development for future Babcock widening needs.

Though there was much back and forth, it seems that most members of Brevard and Palm Bay leadership are happy to see the growth.

Councilman Brian Anderson, who had previously expressed his vision for large-scale residential and commercial developments in the area said, “The opening was a long time coming and a good day for Palm Bay. This expansion is a great way to connect the large and growing population of Palm Bay”. For reference, the Palm Bay population stands at 119,000 residents and is projected to hit 300,000 in the next few years.

Palm Bay Deputy Mayor Kenny Johnson echoed Anderson’s sentiments, mentioning that the opening ceremony was a “great event and great turnout.” He was adamant, however, that he “cannot take credit for this opening. The conversation began over 10 years ago, while I was still in high school. But this project was a marathon, not a sprint. Now that we’re here, we want to make sure we continue to grow responsibly. We want to entice residents to work, learn, play, and spend their money in Palm Bay. The sky is the limit; opening the interchange is just the start.”

Acting Palm Bay City Manager, Suzanne Sherman, simply said that this project has been in discussion for “”many, many, many years and I’m proud to see it come to life.”

Councilman Jeff Bailey appeared to be happy to see project completed. Interestingly enough, Bailey previously voted no on the expansion. His initial concerns were that the whole premise of the, admittedly costly, project rested on a verbal trust agreement with developers to foot some of the bill. At the time, he opined that if development flounders, the intersection will have to be paid for by taxpayer general funds leaving Palm Bay residents on the hook again.

However, after additional negotiations, the project was able to get off the ground with his support. Today, Bailey emphasized in a statement, “It’s about time! Many times, my voting has been on the losing side of the direction council has taken, and more often it has been 4-1 against me. I think the project could have been done on time and with less money if other options were pursed. However, this is probably not the right time or place to rehash the faults I found in past decisions of council. The southern interchange is undeniably a milestone for the City of Palm Bay. Many thanks are owed to city staff who saw this project through and other partners in the process. [This] will sow the seeds for future development in the southern part of Palm Bay, which will hopefully reap benefits of a stronger commercial economic base for the rest of the city.”

Despite the positivity shown at today’s opening, there has been opposition and criticism about the necessity, practicality, and expense of the Parkway and Interchange. Some have called it the “Road to Nowhere”, questioning the delays/timing and organization of construction.

Palm Bay Mayor William Capote thinks that that type thinking is short-sighted and negative. He said in an exclusive comment to PalmBayLive.com, “The expansion of the Parkway and Interchange puts Palm Bay on the map. We are often considered a hidden community, but this project and the multiple phases to follow will change that. You can already start to see 20-30 rooftop popping up along the route with a total of 200+ expected. For residential and commercial purposes, this is something that will thrust our city into the larger discussion of Central Florida business and tourism. It is a start to setting up Palm Bay for the next 20 to 40 years. It’s great for Palm Bay and I’m proud of what we have accomplished. Regardless of the skeptics with no vision. We move forward. I was fortunate to be involved with this.”

Though the project began with dissent and disagreement on the best way to approach the expansion, most public officials appear to be optimistic about what this may mean for Palm Bay’s future.

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Update-Shooting of 6 Year Old

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***Update on investigation into the tragic death of 6 year old Natalie Ranga-Sammy Eno, first reported on June 30th, 2020.***

Detectives from the Palm Bay Police Department, working with the State Attorney’s Office, have developed criminal charges against Eno’s mother and mother’s boyfriend. Naomi Ranga-Sammy (mother) has been arrested for Child Neglect and Culpable Negligence. Gregory Hillman (Ranga-Sammy’s boyfriend) has been arrested for Possession of Firearm by Convicted Felon, Child Neglect, and Culpable Negligence.

As previously reported, Eno was accidentally killed by a juvenile family member. The gun, which was previously reported stolen out of Palm Bay, was left unsecured in the home.

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Florida State Senator, Candidate Phillip Snyder, for District 17

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Born and raised in Palm Bay, I grew up the middle child of a large family. At eighteen I became a Christian, at twenty I married my best friend, and at twenty-three I was both a father and a first year teacher.

These three things (my relationship with God, my relationship with my wife, and my relationship with my now three children) have shaped me into who I am today. They are also the reason that I cannot sit back and watch as the state I live in continues to sit on its hands and pretend that our schools aren’t falling apart, our climate isn’t changing, our people aren’t underpaid, and our communities aren’t hurting.

Let me be clear: I’ll be damned if my boys grow up and I can’t look them in the eyes and say with integrity that I tried my hardest to give them the best world I could. They deserve better, as do all those in the next generation.

So, I’m running for Senate to do my part in making a difference. I’m a realist and know it will be hard and that I won’t get everything done that I’d like. But I’m also hopeful, because things can change, and they will change.

But we get to decide how things change.

So let’s make a positive change together

Our campaign is focused on being as clear about our platform issues as possible, which is why detailed information can be found on our website http://www.Snyder2020.org

However, we have locked in on a few core issues that affect every Floridian.

We need to create Racial Equality through policy. It is true that policy doesn’t change people’s hearts, but people with changed hearts should vote for good policy. Through our 4E Plan we will attack the systems at the root of perpetuating system racism.

As a former educator, Education Reform is the issue perhaps closest to me personally. People are beginning now to realize what educators in this state have been warning about for nearly a decade: we have a teacher shortage that’s been fueled by decades long underfunding. Each year, far more teachers retire or leave the profession early than come into the field, leaving our teaching force with lots of empty classrooms, a weak pipeline of certified teachers, and no real path forward. Gov. DeSantis’s step forward with teacher pay is good, but it is incredibly insufficient. Teachers need a mandatory minimum of $50,000 in annual salary, provided by an incredibly minimal corporate tax. Then, we need to provide teachers with a voice to lead a conversation on education reform.

At some point, we need to understand that the best thing for the economy in the Sunshine State is to lean into solar energy as our primary energy source. We already have the infrastructure, now we just need to provide tax incentives for entrepreneurs to start solar panel installation and maintenance businesses in their communities, provide incentives for homeowners to purchase solar panels and funnel that business into those small companies, and give cities grant opportunities to put community solar farms in low income neighbourhoods to provide low cost or free energy to those who need that break the most.

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Resignation of Lisa Morrell, including a recap of the recent City Council meeting

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The Palm Bay City Council met on Thursday, July 2nd, just before the 4th of July weekend. The meeting ran about 3 hours long as the Council had a lengthy agenda to tackle with a couple of rather controversial items.

Though the most heated moments of the meeting occurred towards the end, they were highly impactful. The first of these such moments was the vote on the “resignation” of City Manager Lisa Morell. Resignation is in quotations as several of the circumstances surrounding Ms. Morell leaving are in question. The agenda item to include approval of an amendment to Morell’s Employment agreement was unilaterally brought by Councilman Anderson.

Councilman Anderson vaguely cited having had “several issues with Ms. Morell during her tenure as City Manager.” He noted that the concerns were addressed with Ms. Morell in March 2020 but claimed that issues discussed were not resolved and he believed that “people’s issues were not being represented” by Ms. Morell. It was at that point that Councilman Anderson, Ms. Morell and the City Attorney negotiated and drafted the amendment.

Many citizens and a couple Councilmembers had an issue with the sudden and secretive way that Ms. Morell’s removal was presented to the Council and the public. Public commenters voiced to Councilman Anderson that this method of unilaterally drafting and having Ms. Morell sign the employment agreement amendment (a.k.a resignation) before the Council could discuss a resolution, was a violation of the city charter and sunshine laws, out of the City Attorney’s authority and amounted to blindsiding. Several went as far as to call the council corrupt.

Councilman Bailey was very vocal regarding his frustration that Councilman Anderson refused to present concrete evidence to the Council or public to support the position that Morell should be removed. The Mayor sided with Anderson citing that the reasons should not be made public at this point since the resignation was already signed by Morell. Claiming they should not now “demean her character”.

One member of the public stated:
• “…the process was wrong. There’s no way this should have been walked on. The public wasn’t officially notified until after Noon [the day of]” While another claimed:
• “…it doesn’t matter what anyone “thinks” on the resignation. It [the vote] should have been 5/5 because it wasn’t a vote to fire her. IT was a vote to accept her resignation”

Following the meeting, Candidate for Palm Bay City Council, Seat 2 – Donny Felix, spoke exclusively to PALM BAY LIVE during a special live recap of the proceedings where he stated “…it was quite a surprise to watch what transpired. I truly believe in the order of doing things in certain way and what should have happened, really, is to put a resolution out for a confidence vote by the Council; without necessarily going into the nitty gritty of [the issues with Morell], and vote on it. The public would feel more at ease if it were done in this manner. However, the Council was voted in to make tough decisions and it is their right to want to remove her. But, we have a brand-new Council coming in November, I think we’re going to be fine, as a city.”

In the end, when it became evident that Ms. Morell’s resignation was going to be approved many citizens asked that, at a minimum, the Council deferred the appointment of a new City Manager. This would allow new councilmembers (elected in November) to appoint the replacement. Ms. Suzanne Sherman (Deputy City Manager) will be “Acting City Manager” in the meantime.

The resignation of Ms. Morell was approved, with Councilman Bailey dissenting.

The beginning of the meeting was primarily focused generic housekeeping issues, then the council delved into the consent agenda.

First up was the vote to award a contract for the Parks & Recreation Departments, Mowing and City Parks maintenance work. While some Palm Bay citizens verbalized their thanks to the Council for awarding contract to a local business, others questioned the need to outsource the work when Palm Bay employs outdoor maintenance personnel that are capable of doing the work. The Ms. Sherman responded to the criticism by claiming outsourcing was more cost effective. This issue passed.

Next on the agenda was the appointment of two consultant engineering firms to work on city projects on a as needed basis. After undergoing a selection process, the top two chosen consultants were Wade Trim, Inc., Palm Bay, FL and Infrastructure Solution Services, LLC, Melbourne, FL.

However, there were several public comments in support of choosing a third consultant, Reese Engineering. Mr. Robert Reese as well as employees and supporters reminded the Council that it would come at no cost to have another on call consultant and it’s within their purview to do so since the charter requires a “minimum of 1, and a maximum of 3”. However, Utilities Director, Chris Little defended the decision two chose only 2 by saying that it’s easier and more efficient to work with one to two consultants at most.

The Council supported Mr. Little’s conclusion and the number of selected consultants was approved at 2.

The counsel then voted on the proposal of renaming Malabar Road after former Deputy Chief Lynne Nungesser. One citizen, Bill Batten, stated that while Deputy Chief Nungesser definitely deserves recognition, he was not in favor of renaming a road, citing the burden of address changes for citizen and businesses. He also recalled that years ago a city ordinance discouraging renaming of streets was enacted and he suggested that a future unnamed highway be named after the Deputy Chief instead. The Council argued that the ordinance in reference did not apply and the proposal passed.

Additionally, both the Ordinance 2020-42, amending the Fiscal Year 2019-2020 budget by appropriating and allocating certain monies (third budget amendment), first reading.

Consideration of utilizing a Florida Department of Environmental Protection grant to conduct an environmental feasibility study for Turkey Creek ($160,000) passed by Council vote while the release of reimbursable grant funding allocated to the Tourism Development Council for utilization towards other priorities was tabled until August.

The Frank Watanabe, Public Works Director – Stormwater Fund and Fiscal Year 2021 Rate of $131 passed with one Councilman dissenting.

A highly discussed issue, with many public comments, was the continued request by Thomas Rebman to the Council seeking formation of a round table style workshop or citizen’s advisory board to develop a plan to reduce homelessness around Palm Bay. Councilman Anderson is spearheading the development of this, claiming he met with “community faith leaders and city advocates to have preliminary discussions regarding emergency funding since the rent/mortgage moratorium will be ending in August”; but he was not prepared to discuss the plan in detail. It will be revisited next council meeting.

Discussion -Lisa Morrell resignation

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