Corey Alston

7/30/2019 Corey Alston

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Company facing vote on Riviera Beach

marina deal helps councilman pay for

middle school bands tripBy Willie HowardPalm Beach Post Staff Writer

Updated: 6:11 p.m. Wednesday, May 12, 2010Posted: 5:40 p.m. Wednesday, May 12, 2010

RIVIERA BEACH Members of the John F. Kennedy Middle School band, theMarching Vikings, will travel to Atlanta early Thursday for a parade and fieldcompetition at Six Flags Over Georgia - thanks, in part, to corporate sponsors.

City Councilman Cedrick Thomas contacted several companies to raise $5,000 during thepast two weeks to help the school meet its $18,000 fund-raising goal. The money willsend 90 band students and a dozen chaperones to Atlanta for the Six Flags Over GeorgiaParade and Field Competition.

Students cheered and applauded today in the school cafeteria when Thomas, a JFKMiddle graduate, presented an oversized check to band director Timothy Nance to helppay for the four-day trip.

This year's contributions came from several companies that do business with the city.They included $1,000 from Rybovich, the company that proposes to lease the south endof the city marina for 25 years for a megayacht repair yard. The lease agreement withRybovich Portside LLC is scheduled to come before the city council for a vote Tuesday .

"Those checks were written directly to John F. Kennedy Middle School," Thomas said,adding that Rybovich has supported community projects in Riviera Beach for years."It's giving back. They want to give back," he said, referring to Rybovich and othercorporate donors.

Other donors to the middle school band trip included the Pittman Law Group, whichrepresents the city in Tallahassee; All-Site Construction, which won a $755,192 contractwith the city in October for renovations at the city marina; and the ProfessionalFirefighters/Paramedics of Palm Beach County Local 2928, which represents the city'sfirefighters in negotiations with the city.

Thomas said he plans to propose an ordinance that would automatically designate moneyfor JFK Middle School functions in the city's community benefits fund, which receivesdonations from developers for education and job training programs for youths.PAGE 2 COUNCIL CEDRICK THOMAS SOLICIT MONEY FROM RYBOVICH


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Thomas also raised $10,000 from corporate donors in 2008 for an end-of-the-year trip forJFK eighth-graders who had done well academically.

"This is about the kids in Riviera Beach," Thomas said. "I happen to think our most

precious resource

Riviera Beach hopes to tap county bond money for

marina repairs

By WILLIE HOWARDPalm Beach Post Staff WriterSunday, October 11, 2009

RIVIERA BEACH Falling-down piers will be fixed, a broken fire-hydrant system willbe replaced and restrooms will be renovated at the Riviera Beach Marina under a contractthe city council approved last week.

The $755,192 contract with All-Site Construction will continue upgrades at the citymarina that began with the recent replacement of fuel tanks and pumps and the repair ofcracked concrete near the dry-storage racks.

Repairs planned for Riviera Beach MarinaWork expected to be completed by next summer includes:Fixing broken finger piers, replacing the fire-suppression system that serves wet slips and

installing stainless-steel electrical panels on the docks.Installing 28 fire extinguisher/life-ring stations on the docks.Remodeling restrooms in Newcomb Hall and showers used by boaters.Fixing the drainage system to eliminate flooding near the Tiki Waterfront Sea Grill.Installing paver blocks in the parking area and making repairs and upgrades to variouswalkways.Building a new marina entrance sign at 13th Street and Broadway.Adding lighting and landscaping along the promenade leading to Bicentennial Park.#

Marina Director Ed Legue said the work should be completed next summer. The cityplans to pay for the work by tapping $5 million in Palm Beach County bond moneyobtained through a $50 million waterfront-access bond issue that voters approved in2004.

But before the city can spend the bond money, county commissioners must approve thecity's updated plan for upgrading the marina.The city missed the Feb. 27 deadline for spending the bond money under a 2007


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agreement. It has asked the county for a two-year extension, which will be considered atthe Nov. 3 county commission meeting.

"It's really, really time to move," Councilman Shelby Lowe said. "If we keep sitting onthis money, we're putting it in jeopardy."

Ross Hering, who is overseeing the bond money for Palm Beach County, told the citycouncil Wednesday that the city must spend the bond money during the next two years. Itwould be "much more difficult" to get another time extension, he said.

Council Chairwoman Dawn Pardo said the city will continue to look for federal stimulusmoney for marina projects, including the proposed rebuilding of Newcomb Hall.Meanwhile, the bond money will allow the city continue to improve the marina.

"The $5 million grant needs to be used in a manner that will jump-start the entiredevelopment," Pardo said.

Still unresolved is whether to tear down or repair the rusty dry-storage building at thesouth end of the marina. The council has discussed the possibility of tearing it down andleasing the waterfront spot to a private company.

Lowe said he wanted to see "real numbers done by professionals" before making adecision on whether to keep the marina's dry storage racks. The council is expected todiscuss whether to continue to offer dry boat storage and the plan for future marinaupgrades during a workshop later this month.

The city's plan to use county bond money for marina upgrades should comfort critics of amarina redevelopment plan proposed by Viking Developers who feared the marinaoverhaul would diminish public access. A condition of the bond-money agreementrequires the city to operate and maintain the marina as a public facility for 30 years.

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