2013 Palmetto Bay State of the Village
/On October 23, Palmetto Bay's Mayor Shelley Stanczyk presented the annual State of the Village. Attended by around 100 residents, the event was also available live on cable TV.
Prior to the presentation, food and wine was served outside. The venue under a tent at Village Hall was smaller than in years past, but moving from the Palmetto Bay Village Center seemed more appropriate, focusing the event on the presentation instead of the pre-party food and drink.
Once inside, the Village Council, Village Manager, a large number of Village staff members and residents sat down to hear the Mayor talk about the state of the Village and talk about the night's theme "Charting a New Course". Vice Mayor John DuBois was absent
The Mayor began with a teary send-off to the Palmetto Bay's recently released attorney Eve Boutsis. Boutsis had been representing the Village since its 2002 incorporation. Stanczyk went on to thank and highlight the efforts of all the Directors on staff.
Her State of the Village address highlights included speaking about the parks, schools, police and the fact that the Village still has about $13M in reserves and boasts the 6th lowest millage rate for taxes. Stanczyk also recognized the promotion of the police commander, Greg Truitt, to rank of Major and spoke about continuing lower crime rates.
The main portion of the address talked about the redevelopment of a Palmetto Bay Downtown district. A well-produced video explained that it was about time to focus efforts on bringing in commercial partners to strengthen the Village. The Mayor cited that Palmetto Bay lags behind neighboring municipalities in the commericla sector and corresponding tax revenue.
She asked the Downtown Redevelopment Task Force (of which I am one) to stand and be recognized. "These are the people who will be able to look back years from now and realize they are part of the reason Palmetto Bay has a choice of greate restaurants and places to shop."
The evening ended with a standing ovation.
