HomeMy WebLinkAboutDocumentation_Regular_Tab 16_04/10/2014 RESOLLITION N0.12-14
A RESOLUTION OF THE VII.LAGE COUNCII. OF THE VII.LAGE OF
TEQUESTA, FLORIDA, ACKNOWLEDGING AND IDENTIFYING
SIGNIFICANT PUBLIC HEALTA, SAFETY AND WELFARE
CONCERNS RESULTING FROM THE "ALL A�OARD FLORIDA"
PLAN; URGING LOCAL, STATE AND FEDERAL OFFICIALS TO
ASSIST THE VILLAGE IN MITIGATING SAID CONCERNS;
PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.
WHEREAS, Florida East Coast Industries (FECn is developing a privately owned,
opera.ted a.nd maintained. high-speed passenger rail service named All Aboard Florida (AAF) thax
will travel between Miami and Orlando with stops in Fort Lauderdale and West Pa1m Beach; and
WI�REAS, the AAF plan is to run 16 daily round-trip high-speed passenger trains
along the existing Florida East Coast (FEC) railroa.d corridor, resulting in 32 daily gate closings
on Tequesta Drive (as well as all other grade crossings along the FEC r�.ilroad corridor) in
addition to current gate closings for e�sting freight trains; and
WHEREAS, the AAF plan will result in additional lowering and raising of the train
bridge across the Loxaha.tchee River, crea.ting greater opportunity for bridge mechanism failure,
which causes southbound trains to block all of the three grade crossings to the north (Riverside
Drive, Tequesta Drive and County Line Road); and
WHEREAS, the Village of Tequesta Public Safety Facility, housing both police and fire
rescue personnel and equipment, lies west of the FEC raikoad cortidor, while 95% of the
Village's commercial zones, including retail, restaurants and the entire US Highway 1
commercial area, along with numerous multi-family housing developments, and the entixe Town
of Jupiter Inlet Colony, all of which are served by Village of Tequesta Public Safety, are located
east of the FEC railroad corridor; and
WHEREAS, additional grade crossing closures and blockages will hi.nder Village of
Tequesta Public Safety from being able to make timely responses to emergency calls or transport
medical patients loca.ted east of the FEC railroad corridor, compromising the health safety and
welfare of the citizens of Tequesta and all those who rely on Village of Tequesta Public Safety
services; and
WI�REAS, Marine-85, the Village of Tequesta certified Advanced Life Support (ALS)
boat, is docked at a marina east of the FEC railroad corridor; and
WHEREAS, Mari.ne-85 cannot navigate under the train bridge across the Loxaha.tchee
River when it is lowered, making it impossible to reach and render assistan.ce to boaters in the
Loxahatchee River west of the FEC raikoad corridor, and
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WHEREAS the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of the Village of Tequesta, and
that of a11 those who rely on Village of Tequesta Public Safety services is the primary
responsibility of the Village Council of the Village of Tequesta; and
WHEREAS the significant risks posed to public safety response times, land and
maritime mobility, and the overall quality of life for those who live in and visit Tequesta is a
genuine threat to the public health safety and welfare; and
WHEREAS, the Village Council of the Village of Tequesta desires to bring these issues
to the attention of neighboring local governments as well as Palm Beach County, sta.te and
federal officials, and urge all such officials to take steps to help mitigate these risks.
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE VII..LAGE COUNCIL OF THE
VII.,LAGE OF TEQUESTA, FLORIDA, TAAT:
Section 1: The above recitals aze fully acknowledged and incorpora.ted into the body
of this Resolution as if fully set forth herein.
Section 2: The Village Council of the Village of Tequesta hereby calls on all of its
neighboring local officials, as well as officials from Pa1m Beach County, the Sta.te of Florida and
federal officials, to take a11 steps possible in order to mitigate the threat to the overall safety and
wellbeing of all who live, work and visit the Village of Tequesta and its neighboring
communities, by prevailing upon FECUAFF to:
• Divert or decrease the number of freight tra.ins along the FEC railroad corridor;
• Limit the volume of all railroad traffic (both freight and passenger) per hour during peak
times;
• Reschedule freight trains to run at night;
• Limit and schedule the times that the Loxahaxchee River train bridge will be lowered;
• Upgrade the Loxaha.tchee River train bridge structure andlor replace the loweri.ng and
raising mechanism to help reduce the opporiunity for mechanical failure;
• Install "sealed corridor" grad.e crossing safety equipment;
• Install infrastructure and equipment necessary for quite zones;
• Restore grade crossings to include repaving and restriping the roadway;
• Help fund a Public Safety substation east of the FEC railroad corridor;
• Provide access to real-time train-monitoring by Village of Tequesta Public Safety
dispatchers.
Section 3: The Village Clerk is hereby directed to provide copies of this Resolution
to the Towns of Jupiter and Jupiter Inlet Colony, to Martin and Palm Beach County, and to the
Sta.te of Florida and the United States Departments of Transportation.
Section 4: This Resolution sha11 be effective immediately upon adoption.
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