Mayor's Message (Parklander)

I recently attended a beautiful ceremony on September 11 honoring several fallen heroes by JPT Taravella High School. The event was spearheaded by Principal Sean Cerra and Assistant Principal Mrs. Wiggins and paid tribute to three Taravella alumni that lost their lives as a result of the terror spread on that fateful day. My heart continues to go out to the families of Michelle, Jeff and Phillip and our entire City is with you and everyone else impacted by the tragedies that have befallen us over the last 6 years.

I am also writing this with a heavy heart as my sweet mother-in-law, June Kavaljian, remains in a deep coma. My second "mom" completely welcomed me into her family since I married Brenda (almost) ten years ago and I am quite sad. Well, I don't want to share all the details, but I thank those of you that have had us in your prayers and my colleagues for your enduring care and support. Needless to say, every day is precious and we must count our blessings.

I am so happy to report that we are bringing back all the crossing guards as a result of strong negotiations to reduce some insurance expenditures. I appreciate our staff's commitment to our children on a daily basis.

The City is offering grants to help homeowner's fund home repairs. This program is designed to provide assistance to low and moderate income property owners whose assessed property value does not exceed $331,579. Households can receive up to $35,000 in home repair assistance. Please note that the Home Repair Program does not reimburse for rehabilitation that was done prior to applying for assistance. Income criteria does apply, and the maximum household income per year varies depending on the household size. Income criteria is as follows:

  • One person – less than $34,350
  • Two people – less than $39,300
  • Three people – less than $44,200
  • Four people – less than $49,100
  • Five people – less than $53,050
  • Six people – less than $56,950

Please call 954-344-1154 or 954-344-5910 for eligibility. If you are not eligible, please share this information with someone who may be. Grants will be awarded on a first-come, first-certified basis and will remain available until all funds are spent. For more information, visit coralsprings.org/grants.

Please join many City employees, me and PNA on Thursday, Oct. 11 at the Marriott Heron Bay for PNA's 4th Annual Festival of the Flutes. The VIP hour starts at 6 pm promptly and the regular event starts at 7 pm. Please come and enjoy great food from Mambo Jambo, Gold Coast Grill and other great restaurants. Thanks so much to Fusion for sponsoring the wine again for the main event! Thanks also to Jack and the Parklander for all of your support and most of all, thanks to Terry Boccard for your wonderful, loving efforts as the Chairperson for the event. Please visit www.pnanetwork.com or call me at 954-757-5551 for more information.

I also want to invite you to get involved with your city by joining a citizens' government committee. Our Customer-Involved Government Committee was founded in September, 2002 and it is a great way to learn about volunteer opportunities and discover many "hidden" benefits of living in the City. At times, this committee serves as a focus group on issues in the community. Our primary objective has been to increase voter turnout and education. We also have a Speaker's Bureau of citizen volunteers that are able to speak to a group about an upcoming issue. Our next meeting will be on Oct. 10 at 6 pm at the West Wing of City Hall.

Please email me at SBrook@coralpsrings.org about any topic you wish to share and visit our website, www.coralsprings.org, for practically any information you want to learn about your great City. Thanks again for the pleasure of serving you

Posted: Thursday, Sep 13, 2007