On The Issues

• Crime and Drugs: Crime in our neighborhood is on the rise and we need to address this now before it gets worst, if we want to attract new businesses and residents. Each week at least 50 crimes are committed within a 5 mile radius of the center of our district ranging from burglary and robbery to aggravated assault. I do not want to see the return of the "pill-mills" and I was against the approval of a marijuana distributer in our city as I do not trust the medical industry to police the issuance of legal prescriptions. Sober houses in our district is another issue I have concerns about. One opened up at the end of my block about 10 years ago and while we have never had an issue, I was very concerned when it opened. I do believe that drug addiction is a disease and individuals need help to overcome it, but sober houses are not 100% effective and individuals who relapse during their stay pose a threat to our community. I believe in a strong approval process before they are allowed to operate in our city and strict monitoring of these establishments when they are approved.
• Economic Development: We need to attract the right businesses to our community. Business that attract individuals who share in our community's values and can enhance our quality of life. Companies whose employees want to live in our community and patron our businesses. I fully support our business community in their effort to attract business to our city. New companies mean economic growth for the city, jobs for our citizens and revenue for our existing businesses. I am committed to working with our business leaders to strengthen our local economy by recruiting new advanced industries, assisting existing businesses, and creating new diverse employment opportunities for residents. My goal is to promote job growth and expand the local tax base while still providing a high standard of living for our resident's quality of life.
• City's Infrastructure: The Economic Development Committee and The Deerfield Beach Chamber of Commerce are doing their best to attract new business and their employees to our city. They cannot accomplish this goal in good conscious, when our infrastructure in 50 years old. Now is the time to act, continued band-aids on the system is not sustainable. I do not endorse additional taxes or fees, but agree with the borrowing of money when it is the most advantageous to do so and understand that refinancing when financially beneficial to the city and its citizens is smart money management. Repairing the city's storm system, roads and solving beach erosion are vital to the growth of Deerfield Beach and must be done as economically responsible as possible.
• Saving Our Groins: As you may know the city is involved in legal proceeding with the Township of Hillsboro Mile concerning the status of our groins. I feel very strongly about protecting our groins, we have proof that the groins not only protect Deerfield Beach erosion, but also Hillsboro Beach erosion. If elected I would like to open up additional lines of dialect with the Mayor Deb Tarrant of Hillsboro Beach to see if there is any possibility of the city's working together on a solution instead of continuing with the legal battle. The money both cities have spent on legal fees could have gone towards a solution instead of attorneys.
• Beach Erosion: https://www.grangerplastics.com/sandsaver.html, is an idea I've brought to Chad Grecsek, Director of Sustainable Management and Burgess Hanson City Manager, as an additional option for protecting our beaches. We also discussed different funding options that do not involve any additional financial burdens on the citizens of Deerfield Beach. The City has established a Coastal & Waterway Division that is researching how to conserve, protect and enhance our coast. The report is due by the end of 2019. Upon its completion the report will, be presented to the citizens, county and state for consideration and funding.
• Sand Blowing on Ocean Way: There are numerous options we can look at to resolve this issue.

Dune Vegetation - The positives with this option are that it is a natural option and is proven to work. The negatives include: if we mistakenly choose the incorrect vegetation we would not have the ability to reduce the size of the dunes as they grow, because they would be providing a sanctuary for animals. If we choose the correct vegetation, we could control the height of the respective dunes, but it would have an altering affect on our beach's landscape (after 15 - 20) years the large dunes created would block the view of the ocean from Ocean Way. One of the thigs that make our beach so appealing is the "curbe side appeal", so I'm not 100% sold on this option.

Build a Wall - This option is expensive and the upkeep would also add to the expense. In the short term the wall solves the issue, but after the sand reaches the wall height the wall actually acts like a ramp and will cause more beach erosion then no wall at all. Fort Lauderdale is stuck with their wall as it is now an iatrical part of their beaches' identity, but the wall has not resolved their beach erosion issue and its upkeep has added to Fort Lauderdale's Beach erosion expenses.

Do Nothing - This is an option, but I do not like ignoring a problem and the costs to put the displaced sand back continues to rise.

At this point I'm in favor of continuing to research alternatives and see what the Coastal & Waterway Divisions report discovers.