PALM BEACH COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT
Watergate Estates
December 2006 PACE EH Report

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

From: Kai Jones and Roy McGinnis, PACE EH Coordinators

Subject: December 2006 PACE EH Project Update

1. Project Summary

Along with the end of the year rush several developments occurred on the PACE EH project for Watergate Estate residents. Land much needed for a community park was found and is currently being appraised through the County Park and Recreation Department and through the Property & Real Estate Management (PREM). A report from Florida Power and Light (FPL) may give the much needed information as to the option for street lights. In a joint collaboration with Epidemiology, Code enforcement and the Sheriff?s office a MRSA health concern was investigated. Two properties known to need some upkeep due to their state of disrepair got a much needed face lift.

2. Work Plan and Process Update

PACE-EH Tasks	Action	Outcome	Target Date
Task 6: Analyzing the Issues with a System Framework	The community has selected three issues of concern. ∙ A Community Park ∙ Crime ? Drug Dealing/ Drug abuse ∙ Property upkeep/ Properties in Disrepair	In progress	January, 2007
Task 10: Rank the Issues	Preconceived perception is being analyzed with the data collected from the surveys and a list of environmental health issues is being developed and ranked according to locally defined criteria.	Completed	December, 2006
Task 11: Set Priorities For Action	No formal determination has been made but the community is in support of making Crime a number one priority.	In Progress	January, 2007
Task 12: Develop An Action Plan	The Action Team committee is still forming and the fruit of meeting will produce a written Community Action Plan.	In Progress	February, 2007

3. Outstanding Issues/Concerns

December has been an exciting month. So many things are happening at once. For start Kai Jones and Mike Mc Ginnis attended the monthly Countywide Community revitalization Team (CCRT) meeting and to their surprise many of the reports focused on Watergate Estates. First Property and Real Estate Management (PREM) and Parks & Recreation presented their plans for the community park. They are in the processes of having the land appraised and brought along with them a conceptual drawing. After acquiring the land they believe the park will be completed in a year. There was also a report that Florida Power and Light (FPL) plan to finalize their report for street lights in the community of Watergate Estates. There will need to be a meeting to discuss what plan of action to take.

Property up keep and home in disrepair ranked high on our Community assessment. Two homes were identified through partnership with the Palm Beach County Code enforcement and the Palm Beach County Sheriffs department. We are pleased to say the improvements made to these properties have greatly increased the appearance of theses streets as well as increased community pride. Officer Deputy Goddard and participants from WE CARE worked together using inmates and volunteers to make the much needed improvement. It was a great holiday season gift.

Investigate and Educate
We received information from a survey about an outbreak of MRSA (Staphylococcus aureus bacteria); with this information the Palm Beach County Health Department PACE EH team was prompted to do a health investigation. On the evening of December 4, 2006 in collaborated efforts from Epidemiology, a team from the Delray Beach Environmental Health Office, Code Enforcement, and the County Sheriffs Department a door to door investigation was conducted and information pamphlets were distributed. Most of the residents who were once infected had already been treated and those who were uncertain were given referrals to the County Health Department for diagnosis and treatment.

Lastly
Plans for conducting monthly meetings are in the works and we will continue to look and identify persons who are interested in heading a community directorate board.