PALM BEACH COUNTY — At the Aug. 17, Board of County Commissioners meeting, the board took the following action:

• COVID-19 Update – received presentation from Dr. Alina Alonso, Palm Beach County Health Department. COVID-19 Delta variant now makes up more than 93.3 % of new cases. The county’s daily positivity rate is at 19% and 58% of the population is fully vaccinated. 69% of county residents have had at least one dose. Members of the public are still encouraged to be vaccinated. More information can be found at www.pbchd.com or at www.hcdpbc.org.

The board declared a local state of emergency related to COVID-19.  

• Administration – allocated, by a vote of 4-3, $75,000 to fund the Community Identification Card Program, administered by the Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County. The card will not be issued by Palm Beach County.

• Airports – approved an amendment to the General Consulting Agreement with AECOM Technical Services Inc. for $1,583,691.58 for the continued performance of professional planning and design services related to the approved Palm Beach County Airports Capital Improvement Program.

-- Approved a contract for Ground Transportation Management System Software Services and Support with ReserTrac LLC, for a total not to exceed amount of $167,554.10. The contract provides a system to dispatch, manage, track and charge commercial ground transportation vehicle operators for trips at Palm Beach International Airport.

• Community Services - received and filed the Emergency Rental Assistance Program 2 (ERAP-2) award, which includes receipt of $19,568,705.56, which represents 40% of PBC’s allocation; approved a budget amendment of $49,171,764 within the ERAP-2 Fund to recognize the ERAP-2 funding and interest earned from ERAP-1 and ERAP-2; approved access to Palm Beach County’s Online System for Community Access to Resources and Social Services to other governmental entities or nonprofit partners; approved nine full-time grant funded positions for the Emergency Rental Assistance Program and approved five full-time grant funded positions for Human Services

• County Attorney – approved an employment contract for legal services with Lori Denise Coffman, for the position of County Attorney, for a term of five years, effective November 1, 2021. Current county attorney, Denise Marie Neiman will retire on October 31, 2021.

• Facilities Development and Operations – Adopted and approved a resolution authorizing an amendment to a concessionaire service agreement with Hawkhaven LLC d/b/a Lazy Loggerhead Café for the continued operation of an approximately 1,300-square-foot concession building at Carlin Park in Jupiter.

-- Adopted and approved an agreement with New Cingular Wireless PCS LLC for its continued use of the county’s communication tower site, located at 8130 N. Jog Road, in West Palm Beach, for a period of five years.

-- Adopted a resolution authorizing the conveyance of the county’s interest in a 0.104-acre parcel to the State of Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT); approved a utility easement in favor of the City of Lake Worth Beach; and approved a license in favor of FDOT for the occupancy and use of county property that ties in existing property features with roadway improvements.

• Housing and Economic Development – approved a grant of $715,000 to Autumn Ridge Apartments, for the construction of affordable and workforce housing units to be located at 1580 – 1610 N. Congress Ave., WPB, in the unincorporated Westgate/Belvedere Homes CRA.

-- Approved the FY 21-22 budget for the State Housing Initiative Partnership Program (SHIP) and approved an amendment to the FY 20-21 Affordable Housing Trust Fund to recognize the SHIP grant award for $7,333,993.

-- Approved an Impact Fee Affordable Housing Assistance Program funding award for $20,384 to Riviera Beach Community Development Corporation for the Villas at Solana project and $366,775 to Berkeley Landing Ltd. for the Berkeley Landing rental project.

• Library – approved an update to the county library’s Strategic and Long Range Plan for FY22-24 to reflect the anticipated changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Planning Zoning & Building – staff presented an update regarding developing and implementing a program to evaluate the safety of certain building types in Palm Beach County following the devastating event that took place on June 24, 2021 at Champlain Towers located in Surfside in Miami-Dade County. The County worked with the Palm Beach League of Cities on a draft document. A final draft is expected to be submitted to the commission at a later date.

• Water Utilities – approved a settlement agreement and an amendment to the Reclaimed Water Agreement with Florida Power and Light (FPL). The key terms of the Settlement Agreement/Amendment No. 2 include a mutual release of all claims that the parties has as of May 2, 2021.