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YOUR COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER | DECEMBER 2017
Delray Fire Rescue to get training facility of its own By: Marisa Herman Associate Editor Delray Beach will soon be able to train its firefighters and paramedics at home, inside the city’s limits. In a 4-1 vote, with Commissioner Shelly Petrolia dissenting, commissioners approved spending $2.9 million to purchase land at 15 SE 10th St. to be used as a training facility for the Fire Rescue Department.
Commissioner Petrolia said she had concerns with the cost of the land and the proximity to the Osceola Park neighborhood. Mayor Cary Glickstein said the training center has been a priority for the city for the past three years and there is no perfect location for the facility.
Currently, the city pays to send its employees outside of the city to maintain training requirements and certifications. Delray personnel can be called to any facility that has an opening.
“This whole conversation about public safety starts and ends with life and death,” he said. “Our response times are far too high because we are sending personnel and equipment out of this city. There is no location in this city that isn’t going to have ramifications for a training center.”
Because those facilities can be located in northern Palm Beach County or even Broward County, fire chief Neal de Jesus said the department’s response times to emergency phone calls increases.
With a training center of its own, de Jesus said the department can control what units train when and if they need to be called in to assist, they are already located within city limits.
“We are already challenged to cover calls for service and we are sending [units] out of the city for training,” de Jesus said. “Regardless of the cost to provide our own training center, my recommendation as your fire chief would be that we have a training center so we can provide a level of service that residents of this community expect and demand. We can’t continue to roll the dice.”
The 2.5 acre site already has two buildings that can be used for classrooms, offices and storage. The department would build a fire tower for fire suppression training. He said it will take a while before the facility receives the certifications it needs to invite other departments to train there. But once that happens, he said the city can charge
Delray commissioners sign off on purchasing land at 15 SE 10th St. to be used as a training facility for the Fire Rescue Department. Submitted photo.
other departments to use the space training. He said the city’s would be modeled off of the training facility in Coral Springs. “This isn’t predicated on making a profit,” he said. “I have a responsibly for the health, safety and welfare for those we serve. If this didn’t generate a dime my recommendation would be to still move forward.”
Rep. Frankel, Realtors® of the Palm Beaches Lang Realty and Greater Fort Lauderdale discuss impact to donate to of proposed tax cuts on homeowners American Red Cross for hurricane relief Staff report
Congresswoman Lois Frankel (FL-21) and representatives from the Realtors® of the Palm Beaches and Greater Fort Lauderdale recently hosted a press conference to discuss how the proposed tax cuts will impact homeowners in South Florida.
Staff report Lang Realty is pledging money to help with hurricane relief.
Joining the Congresswoman was John Slivon, President, Realtors of the Palm Beaches and Greater Fort Lauderdale; John Mike, Federal Political Coordinator; Maria Wells, President, Florida Realtors and local first-time homebuyers. The proposal imposes new limits on mortgage interest deductions and property tax deductions, making the dream of homeownership in communities across America more difficult to attain. In 2015 the nearly 79,000 homeowners in Palm Beach County who claimed the mortgage interest deduction (MID) saved $2,387 on average. The total tax savings from the MID in Florida’s Congressional District 21 in 2015 was nearly $190,000,000. Additionally, the nearly 96,000 home-
Through an initiative called Lang Cares, the company is donating a percentage of all home closings from November and December to the American Red Cross to aid victims of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria.
owners in the district who claimed a property tax deduction saved $1,397, on average, and the total savings in the district was nearly $140,000,000 in 2015. If the MID and property tax deductions were eliminated, the loss would not be a one-year event; homeowners lose out on these potential savings every year. The average decline in value in Florida could be 13 percent, mean-
ing a projected loss in home value of $21,900 for the typical homeowner. The Realtors® of the Palm Beaches and Greater Fort Lauderdale is the 3rd largest local real estate association in the country. As one unified voice, RAPB + GFLR represents 28,000 Realtors®, 30,000 MLS subscribers, and 5 regional boards across South Florida and the Treasure Coast. For more information, visit www.rapbgflrmerge.com.
“This is our way of helping the many people directly affected by this year’s active hurricane season,” said Scott Agran, president of Lang Realty. “We are very thankful for our success and grateful to be able to give back to the communities we serve.” In the last eight weeks, the American Red Cross has launched wide-ranging relief efforts to help people devastated by three historic, back-to-back hurricanes—Harvey, Irma, and Maria – as well as the wildfires in California. Their disaster relief efforts have helped people find clean water, safe shelter and hot meals when they are needed the most. For more information visit www.langrealty.com or call 561-998-0100.