1/10/2024

Palm Beach County is pleased to announce a new app to engage with citizens. Connect PBC is a convenient, user-friendly tool that provides access to the latest county news and information. Users can customize their news feed to their area and set up alerts to be notified as new information becomes available.

With Connect PBC, the capability to know more about county government, local happenings, and even the option to open a service request is at your fingertips. Reporting potholes, overgrown weeds, malfunctioning traffic lights, and other issues is easy. Users will receive real-time updates and alerts when the issue is resolved.

The app lets users find out who their district commissioner is and how to contact their office. Users can also provide feedback to county staff and officials.

Search for Connect PBC on Google Play or the App Store.

7/1/2023

Official Newsletter from the City of Boca Raton

7/18/2022
Please read our Amberwoods June 2022 Newsletter.

When to Text 911

I am pleased to let you know that county’s new Text to 9-1-1 is currently working! Hearing and/or speech impaired members of the community, or those in a situation where it is too dangerous to dial 9-1-1, have another option to request help in an emergency: Text to 9-1-1.

The benefits to the public are significant, especially in cases when the caller cannot communicate verbally. Examples of Text to 9-1-1 scenarios include an individual who is deaf, hard of hearing, or has a speech disability; someone who is in a situation where it is not safe to place a voice call to 9-1-1; or a medical emergency that renders the person incapable of speech.

Text to 9-1-1 guidelines:

  • “Call if you can – Text if you can’t.”
  • Do not include anyone other than “911” in the text message. If you include anyone else on your text, it may not be received.
  • Always provide your location. Text to 9-1-1 location information is not equal to current wireless-location technology.
  • When communicating with 911, use plain language. No abbreviations, shortcuts or slang.
  • Photos and videos cannot be sent to 911 at this time.
  • Language interpretation is not currently available when texting 9-1-1.
  • As with all text messages, messages to 911 may take longer to receive, may get out of order, or may not be received at all.
  • Text to 9-1-1 is an enhancement to the existing 9-1-1 system and is not intended to replace traditional emergency voice calls. Text messages are routed to the appropriate Palm Beach County 911 center, in a designated queue.

Tips on Driving in Heavy Rains and/or Flood Waters

It’s our rainy season and it’s not unusual when heavy downpours cause the streets to flood quickly. If you come upon a flooded street, the best recommendation is to avoid flood waters and take an alternate route. If no alternate route exists and you have no other reasonable alternative but to drive through standing water, please be aware of the following:

  • Take your time. Slowing down is the only way to keep your vehicle from hydroplaning.
  • Turn your lights on. Turn your headlights on to help other vehicles see you.
  • Give other vehicles more space.
  • Do your best to estimate the depth of the water. (If other cars are driving through, take note of how deep the water is.)
  • Drive slowly and steadily through the water.
  • Avoid driving in water that downed electrical or power lines have fallen in — electric current passes through water easily.
  • Watch for items traveling downstream — they can trap or crush you if you’re in their path.
  • If you have driven through water up to the wheel rims or higher, test your brakes on a clear patch of road at low speed. If they are wet and not stopping the vehicle as they should, dry them by pressing gently on the brake pedal with your left foot while maintaining speed with your right foot.
  • Stay off the telephone unless you must report severe injuries.
  • If your vehicle stalls in the deep water, you may need to restart the engine to make it to safety. Keep in mind that restarting may cause irreparable damage to the engine.
  • If you can’t restart your vehicle and you become trapped in rising water, immediately abandon it for higher ground. Try to open the door or roll down the window to get out of the vehicle. If you are unable to get out safely, call 911 or get the attention of a passerby or someone standing on higher ground so that they may call for help.

The above information was obtained at https://www.progressive.com/vehicle-resources/flood-safety/.

Property maintenance

Approved on preliminary reading and to advertise for public hearing on August 14 an ordinance revising provisions in the property maintenance code to improve public safety and welfare, ensure that developed and vacant properties and abandoned golf courses meet minimum maintenance requirements, update swimming pool barrier requirements, require owners of multiple occupancy structures to provide for extermination within the structure and make changes recommended by the County Attorney’s Office.

5/25/2018

Snake alert! Rain sending them in search of dry land: Your yard

When the rains come, so do the snakes – sometimes with dangerous consequences. Neighborhoods in Miramar are particularly vulnerable because of their proximity to the reptile’s natural habitat, says Mayor Wayne Messam.

“I don’t think that anyone is oblivious to the fact that we do live very close to the Everglades where there are water moccasins and other types of snakes,” he said on Tuesday. That fact becomes more apparent once the rainy season starts in mid-May.

“We’ve been getting rain for almost a week,” Messam said. “All the rain is pushing those snakes out of their natural resting and nesting areas. They’re looking for dry land, and that dry land is residents’ property.”

One woman living in Miramar’s Silver Shores neighborhood was bitten by a water moccasin coiled on her patio in July 2015. “The sliding glass door opens to her back patio,” said her attorney, Brent Reitman. “She stuck her foot out and before her foot touched the ground, a water moccasin bit her big toe.” The bite could have killed her. Doctors were able to save her life, but not her leg. It was amputated below the knee, Reitman said. In February, she won a $5 million settlement with the homeowner’s association and property management company after accusing them of not warning residents about the snake problem. The woman now lives in Washington state. Silver Shores, a gated community just west of Interstate 75 on Pembroke Road, is a haven for water moccasins, also known as cottonmouths. According to a study by the University of Florida, the chance of running across a water moccasin in Silver Shores is 8.6 times higher than in the Everglades, Big Cypress or Loxahatchee. The community has now posted signs warning residents to watch out for venomous snakes, Reitman said. “This is not unique to Miramar,” Messam said. “Any western community with a canal or lakefront nearby should take the same precautions.”

Experts recommend checking the yard first before letting children or pets out to play. Also be careful when moving your garbage can or a potted plant because snakes like to hide under them. Wear shoes when heading outside and avoid reaching into areas that are hidden or concealed. Look before sitting or stepping on rocks or logs.

And if you do get bitten, call 911 and get to a hospital as quickly as possible, Messam advised. Try to note the snake’s size, pattern and color to help rescue workers determine whether the snake was poisonous. It could be a matter of life or death.