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Under Florida law, e-mail addresses are public records. If you do not want your e-mail address released in response to a public records request, do not send electronic mail to this entity. Instead, contact this office by phone or in writing. PACE EH (Protocol for Assessing Community Excellence in Environmental Health) For more information on this project, contact Selva Selvendran or Kai Bonner Jones, PACE-EH Coordinator,  at the Palm Beach County Health Department.

PALM BEACH COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT
December 2005 PACE EH Report

To:             Daniel Parker, MSP,
                    Assistant Division Director, Division of Environmental Health

From:         Selva Selvendran, PACE EH Coordinator

Subject:     December 2005 PACE EH Project Update

The Watergate Estates Community Assistance and Resource Effort (W.E. C.A.R.E.) is made up of concerned residents who came together to address the issues in the community. They have been actively working for two years with the Solid Waste Authority and the Community Police officers from the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office to clean and beautify the neighborhood, collect Toys for Tots for Christmas, coordinate a food bank and recruit volunteers to improve the neighborhood.

The PACE EH Coordinator, Nancy Lashway, held a preliminary meeting with members of this group on December 14, 2005, to introduce herself to the community. Nancy noted that the residents were somewhat hesitation to share information because, being a Health Department employees, she was seen as possibly aligned with Palm Beach County Code Enforcement. The residents stated that Code Enforcement officers had unfairly targeted their community.

Following a successful and lengthy meeting, the PACE EH Coordinator identified the need to establish trust with this group and the community itself in order to build on existing community relationships as outlined in the initial proposal. WE CARE is currently busy with holiday activities, so meetings with this group will resume after the holidays. At a PACE Steering Committee meeting held in Delray Beach on December 21, 2005, the following issues were highlighted:

• An initial concern voiced by community residents was that of the perceived negative image of the community within the county itself. A sign posted at the entrance to the community has labeled them a “mobile home park.” The PACE Steering Committee has identified this issue as a “low hanging fruit,” and are committed to helping the community address this concern in order to facilitate building trust and moving on to implementing the PACE process.

• A venue for community meetings is a priority. The Coordinator will contact the pastor of the Calvary Chapel, and pursue getting permission to utilize the church building for community meetings. The Deputy Sheriff, Shawn Goodard, will also help in this process. The Sheriff’s Office is in the process of obtaining approval from the church to use a building on the property as a community police post.
  Efforts will continue to identify community leaders and volunteers so that a representative group can be established and environmental health issues identified.

• The community cleanup program, organized by the Sheriff’s Office, and scheduled on Jan 21, 2006, will be attended by the PACE EH Coordinator, This will be an opportunity to work with the community and gather additional information gathered to characterize the community and strengthen relationships.

• The committee understands that the goal of the PACE EH project is to support the community’s efforts and enable the community to identify and address their own local environmental health concerns.

The project timeline has been changed due to the delayed starting date of the PACE EH Coordinator, and the impact of Hurricane Wilma forcing relocation of offices in the beginning of November, and the holiday season. Polk County and Martin County have been contacted concerning their respective projects.