Sunday, October 12, 2008

Rene Varela, Candidate for Commissioner District 4, on Vital Services

The key to future stability as a city is to have fully functional and cost-effective public services, independent of other municipalities and county government. As a city we must make every possible effort to preserve these vital services as a function of the public interest. All of these services should and must provide the city with the economic and physical stability necessary to enable the positive development of our neighborhood and business community.

Clearly, many problems exist with each service, mainly as a result of historical negligence, but we must redouble our efforts to save these resources as a key to our future. In fact, our capacity to generate electricity and water are the largest potential revenue generating capacities that our city possesses.

What is required is the vision to see our future through these services, the persistence to root out all of the waste and revenue streams already available, and the will to change our current destructive path so that we can move toward a brighter future. Without these vital services, the Lake Worth can not map its own uninhibited path toward much needed progress for all of its residents. For a better future we must:

Restore Vital Services to economical and functional viability

Revitalize all existing external water and energy service providing contracts

Ensure that existing contracts maximize returns for Lake Worth

Innovate to make our city energy and water generation profitable rather than a burden

Alternative water generation methods must be employed

As South Florida wells dry up, Lake Worth becomes an important supplier

Encourage community and home generation of alternative energy

Taking the burden off our generation system

Transition city to alternative energy generation

Removes financially destabilizing effect of world petroleum market