At the Royal Palm Beach Village Council meeting on Thursday, April 5, the council approved a resolution regarding gun violence to be sent to the Florida Legislature and the United States Congress members who represent the Royal Palm Beach area.
Several weeks ago, in the wake of the deadly shooting in Parkland, a request from the Palm Beach County League of Cities asked municipalities within Palm Beach County to adopt resolutions that would address or take a posture on the issue of gun control. The Village of Royal Palm Beach responded by having staff draft a resolution to send to the lawmakers in Tallahassee and Washington, D.C.
Although the Florida Legislature passed a statute that prohibits counties and municipalities from putting together their own gun control laws, it does not prohibit the council from expressing a viewpoint in representing the village and the people of the village.
The council pulled the item related to this issue from the consent agenda and discussed it at length.
Councilman Richard Valuntas asked for the removal of wording that referenced any of the council’s responsibilities higher than what is allowed by federal and state law, and the use of those particular words as being unnecessary for a council, as they were beyond its purview. The council members all agreed to remove those sentences and supported the overall resolution’s intent.
It was agreed to approve the resolution written by the village attorney with the removal of specific sentences and modifications as re-written during the meeting and read by the attorney.
After some discussion and those changes, the draft was approved with the adoption of Resolution 18-10, a resolution of the Royal Palm Beach Village Council, demanding that the United States Congress enact “common-sense gun control measures” to protect children, residents, schools, community institutions and public gathering places from gun violence.
The council approved the resolution unanimously. “Let the record show we had very good discussion on it,” Pinto said.
In other business, the council approved a number of consent agenda items, such as the approval and authorization for the village manager to enter into an agreement with Lyle Sumek Associates Inc. to facilitate the development of the 2018 Strategic Plan for the Village of Royal Palm Beach, and for the mayor to sign a “site lease agreement” between the Village of Royal Palm Beach and Sprint Spectrum LP regarding the cell tower site at 1050 Royal Palm Beach Blvd.
Also on the consent agenda, the council approved six special event permits, the hiring of grant writing and landscaping services, and a lease agreement regarding the use of two buildings located in Veterans Park.
During the regular agenda, the council approved residents to serve on the Planning & Zoning Commission to include: June Perrin, Ray Nazareth, Ross Shillingford, David Leland, Charles A. Plummer Sr. and Philip J. Marquis. The council also approved the residents to serve on the Recreation Advisory Board to include: Phyllis Katz, John S. Riordan, John Ruffa, Shenoy Raghuraj, Denis Seibert, Sandy Rubin, Carlton A. Brooks and Leslie Sales Leffler.
