Boca Raton state of the city: Mayor dishes on tax rates, Glades Road interchange and development

BOCA RATON — Mayor Scott Singer touted major milestones achieved in the city within the last year through its community partnerships last week during his state of the city address.

"We've got a full room here, which I'm delighted to see," Singer said moments after starting his fourth annual address at the Spanish River Library.

About 100 people piled into the library’s second floor, eager to ask questions about topics such as development, traffic mobility and historic preservation.

Singer highlighted some of the city’s key projects and accomplishments from the past year, including Brightline’s new high-speed rail station in Boca Raton, the opening of Blue Lake Elementary School — the third state-of-the-art school to be built in the city in three years — and the opening of Wildflower Park and expansion of Silver Palm Park.

'A great moment for Boca Raton's future': Brightline station opens for business

More:Boundary changes to fill Blue Lake Elementary and relieve crowding in Boca Raton approved

“Successes like these are highlights of the daily hard work of nearly 2,000 city employees who provide outstanding services to Boca Raton’s 100,000 residents, 13,000 businesses and many students and visitors,” Singer said.

The mayor also noted the city’s property tax rate hasn’t increased in the last 10 years.

"I never get tired of showing our low tax rate," Singer said. "One of the lowest tax rates of any full-service city."

Here’s a closer look at what else was on residents' minds:

Policy: What about minority-owned businesses getting work?

Several residents had specific policy questions for the mayor, including what efforts the city is making to ensure that minority- and women-owned businesses are considered.

“It goes on two different ways,” Singer said. “If you want to get the most number of contractors getting the lowest costs to all taxpayers, they do not have preferences. … The second way is to try to favor certain groups to try to bring equity to the process, but it comes at a significant cost when you're dealing with public funds.”

Development: What is the status of Camino Square?

Residents had various questions about development. Singer said he was proud of moving the Camino Square project moving while he was on the council. When completed, it will be a mixed-use shopping and residential center in Boca’s downtown. That hasn’t changed. The residences are just being built first.

“The net result is we’re going to have better traffic flow, even when all of those units are filled because they’d lead such substantial road improvements,” Singer said.

Glades Road interchange: Will getting through it eventually be quicker?

Residents discussed their concerns about the new Glades Road interchange and the amount of time it takes to drive through it. Someone pointed out that it took about 20 minutes to drive less than a mile because of the interchange, which currently has three open lanes.

“The fourth lane will be coming when they complete their work in May,” Singer reassured him. “It should get better. Sometimes you have some growing pains. They're not done, no one thinks it's appropriate.”

Flyers explaining the interchange were available at the check-in table. FDOT spokeswoman Andi Pacini also was on hand to answer questions.

More:Glades Road interchange on I-95 opens Monday in time for morning rush hour

Mobility: How 'Vision Zero' is a mission

Singer spoke about the city's many projects intended to make it safer for people to walk and bike in Boca Raton. One of these projects is the recently adopted “Vision Zero” — a plan approved in October to eliminate all traffic fatalities and severe injuries on the city's roadways.

Singer said the city already is taking steps to meet this goal. Though there will never be zero traffic fatalities, Singer told the crowd, an increase in devices such as flashing crosswalks is a step toward getting there.

Elections: What is on next week's ballot for Boca?

With municipal elections right around the corner, Singer received questions from the election cycle itself to what’s on this year’s ballot. One resident asked why elections take place in March, versus November. The short answer? Because of the rush of snowbirds Palm Beach County sees during the typical election season in November.

“Why I think it's important and beneficial to our residents is that municipal issues can be very different than the national and state issues, which are partisan,” Singer said. “Our elections are nonpartisan. … Our issues about development, beaches, parks, they don't jibe with the national debate. Think about all the partisan issues we have at the national level.”

Jasmine Fernández is a journalist covering Delray Beach and Boca Raton at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at jfernandez@pbpost.com and follow her on Twitter at @jasminefernandz. Help support our work. Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Boca state of city: Mayor talks tax rates, Camino Square, Glades Road