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5-Harden Newspaper Articles·/' :,-- . --·· ME1 ROBIN BRAN H Staff Columnist Sun-Sentinel, Monday, Ap Fish Delray manager from day labor pool A resident of Lake Worth who was voicing his opposition to the firing of then-City Manager Ken Nipper in February 1987 may have sug- gested, albeit inadvertently, the so- lution to an ongoing problem in Delray Beach. We're speaking here of the ongoing problem in which Delray runs through city managers as if it were the mother of twins running through Pampers. For some reason, this has led to a certain re- luctance among out-of-work city managers to become grist for the mill, as was demonstrated most recently by Robert Elliott of Enid, Okla., who narrowly avoided becoming Delray's ninth manager in 11 years only by withdrawing his name from consideration and fleeing back to Enid. Elliott attributed his skittish behavior to a breakdown in salary negotiations, and the com- missioners said that while they were disap- pointed by his decision. they would try again with their second-ranked applicant, upon which David Harden, the former manager of Winter Park, agreed to another round of interviews. so here we go again. It's a familiar scenario in Delray, and one that was equally familiar in Lake Worth for several years. which brings us back to the citi- zen who spoke (in vain) against Nipper's firing that night in 1987. "You don't pick a city manager out of day labor." Craig Henne said to the City Commis- sion. "What is the rush to fire this man? Do we - have somebody waiting to come in as the new city manager?" Puncture the golden 'chute Well, nobody ever answered Henne's ques- 'ions. provocative though they were. And no- ~y picked up on his opening remark, whic;h ;:¡~ Pv~n mnro ..... ,.. •• L.!-· - 2 held in a1 metto Park Re AIA when the tv them from behir The teen-ager and had a .38-cal waistband, polie, "I saw them f hind us," said ti asked not to be him in the face a and pulled out shooting." The man ran across the street said. His girlfrie suspects. "He [the mal€ By JIM Di PAOLA Staff Writer BOCA RATON - A Lake Worth parking enforcement officer and a teen- age felon have been charged with rob- bing and sexually assaulting a woman and firing a gun twice at her boyfriend as the couple left the beaclÌ early Sun- day morning. During questioning, Jacques Darnell Keil, 29, of Delray Beach, and a 17- year-old from Boca Raton confessed to a previous armed robbery on March 24 at the South Beach Pavilion, police said. On Sunday, the victims, both area res- idents, left the beach just north of Pal- ·- t ........... - 50 i) \ ' I HIGHi low 8Ç)s LOW: upper 60s RAIN CHANCE: 20% Complete, look at w~athër, 3A. No, it's But new manager By Anthony Marx Staff Writer ot yet official lose to signing on dotted line Barring some unforeseen stumbling block, David Harden will be Delray Beach's new city manager. City commissioners voted unanimously Monday night to hire Harden, a 47-year-old former Winter Park city manager. Their decision comes a week after contract talks with their first choice, former Enid, Okla., manager Robert Elliott, ended in a standoff over base salary and severance pay. , lt turns me on. I get a lot of satisfaction out of it. , - David Harden Har en, who met individually with commissioners Monday, said he had no objections to their proposed I Lithuania und ~ r compere atlon package and is expected to negotiate contract details this weck with city officials. Com- missioners agreed to offer him a base salary of $70.- 000, six months' severance pay and a standard array of other benefits. , Because Delray Beach has had 10 city managers since 1980, candidates for the job have insisted on generous cushions if they are abruptly dismissed. Turn to Manager page SA oressure I Clean kids ---- --"- I ì Page SA - THE NEWS - Tuesday, April 17, 1990 Harden Manager From page 1A "I'm excited about it," said Harden about returning to a city manager's post. "lt turns me on.' I get a lot of satisfaction out of it." Harden's 12 years with Winter Park ended in March, after he bowed to pressure from commissioners looking for a more aggressive, outgoing manager. Since leaving the $57,500 post, he has worked as a self-employed con- sultant. "I think there's a quiet strength there," said Commissioner Mary McCarty. "He may be quiet but he's not weak." But earlier, McCarty had joined Mayor Tom Lynch and Commissioner Jay Alperin in expressing reservations about Harden's subdued personality. He was among five fi- nalists interviewed by commissioners last month and was the top pick of Commission- ers Bill Andrews and Dave Randolph. lt was the individual meetings Monday with Harden that seemed to erase lingering doubts in Lynch, McCarty and Alperin. "I'm very comfortable with him," Lynch said, echoing comments made by the rest of the commission. "I fed he will be a very good city manager and have a long tenure with the city." Because he will need to sever current busi- ness ties, Harden is set to start work in about a month. Before then, he is expected to fa- miliarize himself with next year's budget, on which city staff have already begun wc Commissioners discussed the budget day, in a workshop sesssion devoted to ifying a list of the top six priority areas had each submitted to city staff last · They discussed the need for affordable ing, downtown parking garages and r borhood revitalization. But the $59.5 million budget is expect be extremely tight, hampered by as mu $1.2 million in revenue shortfalls. As suit, commissioners lashed out at Old S Square officials, who told them last that the new cultural center will need ~ 000 for a $400,000 operating budget. "We were never apprised of the imp McCarty said. "It's all coming home to sooner than I thought it would.'' GRJNGLE, DOHERTY ~WHEAT, C~ 19//9 REALTORS . PRICED FOR QUICK SALE! Everyone w an affordable home ln a great neighborhood this is it. Three bedrooms and two baths, aim new appliances, spacious family room, bui bookcases in 3rd bedroom, and a lar~e scree patio with lush tropical plantings. Situated J fl mlly r n ar schools and church .L.P .. º~~.!tl!..___ . --- - ENTERTAIN YOUR QUESTS on the breezy screened patio of your first floor apartment ln Pelican Pointe. This 2 bedroom unit is almost new, and situated nearby the heated community pool. Beautifully tiled floors ln the foyer and kitchen. Split bedroom pl na dde prlvnoy. Roll· up term 1h111t r1 tld d aholvlng fn 1111 0101 t1. , r r y ur lii I rie. r du 10 a 1 1 . Oö ~.11 i PB Sun-Sentinel, Monday, April 16, 1990 38 RA METRO 1 nd :hers on rida iet, po- ist ung ce 1e 3each, the m to list- as list- >OD, I ~t clo- eek sures Man gets 2n shot at top Delray job Commissioners to íntervì ew ex-Winter Park manager By JANE MUSGRAVE Staff Writer DELRAY BEACH - Less than two months after David Harden lost a chance to become an assistant city manager in Boynton Beach, he is in line to become manager of Delray Beach. The rejection that forced Harden to move his job search south had nothing to do with his abilities, Boynton Beach City Manager J. Scott Miller said. Rather, Miller said, he felt the for- mer manager of Winter Park was too qualified for Boynton's possible $67,000-a-year assistant's post. "I thought David Harden would be better as a manager." Miller said. "I didn't think he would be happy as an assistant." Now the question is whether Delray would be happy with Harden, and vice versa. Today, the slight, soft-spoken man, who spent 12 years in Winter Park be- fore he stepped down under pressure last year, is to arrive in Delray for a second shot at the job that has been va- cant since City Manager Walter Barry was fired in July. Harden was not the Delray Beach City Commission's first, choice to re- place Barry. Two commissioners ini- tially voiced strong reservations about Harden. But when the commission's first choice, Robert $Uiott, last week decid- ed he didn't want the job, it agreed to give Harden a second look. "I still bell ve he's the man who can handle the job," said Commissioner Bill Andrews, who With Commissioner Da- vid Randolph, ftvored Harden from the start. Mayor Toll) Lynch and Commission- ers Jay Alperin and Mary McCarty, however, said they weren't ready to give Harden their unqualified support. Today's interviews, which are to cul- minate at 6 p.m, when the commission meets to decide whether to hire Harden, are to help the three doubters decide if their misgivings are warranted. None of the three doubts Harden's technical qualifications. Their concern is his personality. Those who worked with Harden in Winter Park say he is not an outgoing person. Commissioners there said his low-key personality in part contributed to his downfall. "The commission wanted someone who was more agressive and outgoing," Winter Park Commissioner Gary Brew- er said. In addition, commissioners in Winter Park said Hardep had been in the city for too long. When staff changes were needed, Harden had a difficult time dismissing or demoting people, Winter Park Com- missioner Peter Gottfried said. Having been in the city for so long, Harden wasn't just firing employees, he was fir- ing friends, Gottfried said. The commission's concern about Harden's inability to make personnel changes in Winter Park climaxed when he refused to fire the city utilities direc- tor who was at the center of a contro- versy involving charges of mismanage- ment and corruption, Gottfried said. While an investigation uncovered no evidence of criminal wrongdoing, the utility director's actions showed poor judgment, Gottfried said. Harden's re- fusal to fire the utilities director, who had become a friend, convinced com- missioners Harden needed to move on, Gottfried said. But, he added, Harden's inaction was the product of longevity, not weakness. "If he comes into a new situation, I don't think he would have any problems making changes that are needed," Gott- fried said. "I thought he was a very good city manager. It was just time to move on." That Harden worked in Winter Park for 12 years is testament to him, said Miller, Boynton Beach's manager. The average tenure of a city manager is about five years, he said. "If you're doubling that, you have to be good," he said. And, he added, man- DAVID HARDEN • AGE: 47 • PERSONAL: Married, three children • CURRENT JOB: Self-em- p I o y ed gov- ernment consultant • EDUCATION: Master's ln city planning, the Geor- . gla Institute of Technology; bache- lor's ln chemistry, Emory University • EXPERIENCE: After a 12-year ca- reer, resigned last year as manager of Winter Park (pop: 23,00 ) . While the parting was amicable, some council members said they .. wanted a more hard-driving man-,; ager. He became manager ln 1977,, after working ln the city's planning department. Also worked as a.. planner ln Orange County. aging Winter Park is no easy task. "It'.s a very demanding city," he said. • Although Elliott turned down the Dël- ray manager's job, in part, because fîe ·wanted more money, city commission- ers said they don't expect their initial offer to exceed the $70,000 annual salâ- ry they offered Elliott. · CONTRACT --~FROMëñ;::~p=-=~-=GE~1a--- ßeJray approves $70,000 contract for city manager Elliott said he preferred an O_Pen-ended contract, thinking a fixed-te~ contract had negative connotations. Harden was among about 100 people who applied for the position that has been vacant since Walter Barry was fired in July. He will be t~e city's eleventh manager in mne years. . !11 addition to approving Hard- en s contract, commissioners dis- cussed what issues and projects they want to address during the upconung year. The so-called goal-setting ses- 5£ i síon is one of several the commis- s1 on has held during the past month to assure next year's city budget, whi~h is to be unveiled this summer, will address the projects they agreed are important. One area that commissioners agreed they want to focus on is the preservation of neighborhoods. To help them accomplish that goal, they agreed to form a neigh- borhood task force. T~e group is to consist of 20 to 30 city residents who are to be giv- en six months to come up with a plan to protect, preserve and im- prov~ neighborhoods throughout the city. T~e commission is to meet agam on May 15 to put the finish- mg_ touches on the goal statement, w~ch IS to guide the use of taxpay- er s. money and commission action dw:mg the next year. I - ·- .. -·-- -- ----- -- - - . ....., __ - ·- - ----------------·-- Delray approves contract New city manager ¡ begtns orlr May 2 i l By JANE MUSGRAVE Staff Writer DELRAY BEACH - After nine months and one false start, Delray Beach finally has a new city manager. At a special meeting on Monday, city commissioners officially approved a $70,000-a- year contract with Da- vid Harden, former city manager of Winter Park. Harden, who was of- fered the job last week after the commission's top choice rejected it, said he was "very Harden pleased" with the con- tract terms. Although he will not officially begin work until May 21, he is to spend one day a week in the city until that date acquaint- ing himself with staff and procedures. He said he plans to coincide his visits with commission meetings, so he will usu- ally be in the city on Tuesdays. Before approving his employment con- tract, commissioners agreed to pay Hard- en $300 a day for his weekly visits. In addition to his annual salary, Harden is to get a $400 monthly car allowance and the city will contribute 9.5 percent of his salary into his retirement fund. Commissioners also agreed to pay him six months sàlary if they fire him. Because the contract does not have a fixed term, such as one year, unless Hard- en quits or is convicted of a felony, there is no way the commission can get rid of him without giving him severance pay, ac- cording to the agreement. The idea for an open-ended contract was born when the commission was in contract talks with Robert Elliott, a for- mer manager of Enid, Okla., who eventu- ally decided he did not want the job after all. 9EE CONTRACT / 5B ----- I >i I I ¡ i l ,] .:. W ith the arrival of David Harden, there will be a new style in the Delray Beach city. manager's of- fice. Will that style please the newly united City Commission, especially if the commis- sion becomes less united? For the past two years, Delray Beach has had high-profile man- agers. First was Walter Barry, an outgoing and dy- namic person who at times sounded like a commission- er. Then came in- te rim Manager BILL McGOUN Malcolm Bird, who -------- had been a com- missioner, and an outgoing one. Neither left any doubt about whom he considered to be in charge. Mr. Harden is different. His manner is reminiscent of Jim Pennington, the manag- er before Mr. Barry. His answers are deliv- ered in a matter-of-fact voice and often consist of little more than "Yes" or "No." When he does give a longer answer, it tends to be a general statement about the role of a city manager in the commission-manager form of government: "I see the City Commission providing the political leadership in the community and I see my responsibility as taking policy direc- tion from the commission and implement- ing it in the most efficient, effective, quali- ty-conscious manner possible," he said. "Certainly, I will have recommendations on policy and will bring up issues from time to time that I feel the commission needs to address, but I see my role as leading the staff and the commission's role as leading the community. "I have a responsibility to help the commission do their job by providing them with information and recommendations to make decisions ... I have a responsibility to help the staff of the city in providing city services by doing all I can to ensure that they have the resources, the equipment, training they need ... "The manager always must bear in mind that he works for the full commission and it is his task to carry out the majority decision, whatever that majority may be from time to time. He has to be careful not to become seen as the manager of a particular major- ity. That majority could change with an election ... " This last comment shows that Mr. Hard- en is not totally unaware of Delray Beach's recent political history. During the 12 years that he was manager of Winter Park, a city just north of Orlando with roughly half the population of Delray Beach, two managers in Delray Beach were fired and two others resigned under pressure. Mr. Barry was seen by supporters of former Mayor Doak Campbell as being in league with the Mary McCarty-Bill Andrews faction on the previ- ous commission, whereas Mr. Bird was seen by supporters of the McCarty-Andrews fac- tion as serving the Campbell faction. Mr. Harden also understands that coali- tions come and go, a point that was illustrat- ed at Tuesday night's meeting. The new Delray? commission has been seen as being of one mind, with Mrs. McCarty as the dominant member, but she was on the short end of a 3- 2 vote as commissioners approved an excep- tion from their definition-of-family ordi- nance for five members of the Catholic lay organization Opus Dei. While Winter Park is much smaller than Delray Beach, the town did provide Mr. Harden with experience in downtown rede- velopment of the sort sought for Atlantic A venue. Park A venue in Winter Park is as charming a public place as I have seen in a smaller city. Additionally, Mr. Harden has a planning background that will stand him in good stead. The question is whether he will be able to satisfy the commission in general and Mrs. McCarty in particular. Her preference is for the Walter Barry style, whereas Mr. Harden resigned in Winter Park last year after being criticized as being too introverted. Nevertheless, Mrs. McCarty says she is satisfied, though he was not her first choice. "He speaks his mind," she said, "but not in a flamboyant manner ... Frankly, maybe it's what we need." Mr. Harden undoubtedly shares that view. "Right now I'm just anxious to get down here," he said Tuesday afternoon, "so I can-start dealing with things on a daily basis and begin reaching some conclusions on things such as organization and start pulling together next year's budget package." Will he feel that way in six months? • Bill McGoun is senior editorial writer for The Palm Beach Post. ,,::.;. .. ~··'"-~- •. :-i!'"!:~~=··=·:'":~::: . .:.··~- e s. I -lqò ~ \ .6 i,lf STEPPING INTO THE FIRE City manager's biggest challenge will be to soothe the raw nerves of politics. By JANE MUSGRAVE StalfWrtl..- DELRAY BEACH - A week before he toç,k over as the city's chief executive, city police picketed in front of City Hall de- manding one commissioners' resignation. On Tuesday, a day after be took the helm, those who opposed the officers' action turned out en masse to wave some protest signs of their own. "Welcome to Delray Beach," Police Chief Charles Kilgore joked to bystanders as Da- vid Harden, the city's new manager, walked by the police demonstration. Despite the tension filling City Hall, Harden said be has no regrets about accept- ing the post that had been vacant since pop- ular City Manager Walter Barry was fired in July. "It's unfortunate," he said of the police protest "lt appears to me that a number of people are talking to each other through the press. I hope we can start talking to each other." . But secood thoughts about the $70,000-a- year post? "I'm glad to he here," Harden insists. Since being tapped in April, the former manager of Wmter Park has spent about 11/, days a week in City Hall In addition to attending commission meetings, he has re- viewed personnel files of city department beads, the city's comprehensive plan, six consultant reports and the city code. "It's not like rm walking in cold," he said. Having attended commission meetings, including a series of goal-setting sessions, he has a good idea of what course the.com- mission wants to set for the city. His priorities, be said, include addressing commission goals in the ,budget that will be reviewed by the commission this summer and go into effect Oct, 1: Harden said he also wants to assure the $21.S million in capital projects that voters approved in November and $20 million of water and sewer system improvements are completed efficiently and on schedule. At the suggestion of Commissioner Bill Andrews, Harden is considering hiring a person or a firm to oversee the multitude of . upcoming construction projects. Likewise, at the suggestion of Andrews and other commissioners he is reviewing whether two assistant city managers are · needed. Because of the size of the city, Harden said he is fairly certain he needs two people to help him run the day-to-day operations of City Hall But, be said, the responsibilities and the title of the existing two assistants • may change. - That is just one of several organizational matters he will address in the coming months, be said. Despite fears to the contrary, be said no massive reorganization is planned. A pro- posal by Andrews that, in part, triggered the police protest and feelings of uncertainty among other city·employees was not em- braced by the commission as a whole and is not under consideration, Harden said. The management of departments, most · notably Public Works, may he reorganized. The department's role was never clearly de- fined under Barry's leadership. Now, with the departure of some key em- ployees and the numerous pending capital improvement projects, its role is far differ- ent than in the past so its organizational structure. is being reviewed, Harden said. Although Harden was selected after the commission's first choice turned down the job, commissioners have voiced confidence in bis abilities and pledged to work with both him and each other to solve the city's problems. Having worked without a permanent city manager for ten months, some commission- ers have become active in City Hall matters. Commissioner Bill Andrews said the up- roar that was caused by bis reorganization plan might have been avoided had the city bad a permanent city manager. In the fu- ture, be said, he would ask Harden to inves- tiga te proposed reforms before be promotes them as solutions. Harden said be senses that commission- ers are anxious to have him on board. "I think they honesUy want to work with a city manager, and we'll work well together." U> '-"'""-------~ N Nancy Roti, top photo, welcomes her new boss, Delray Beach City Manager Staff pholosfJIU GUTTMAN David Harden, above, on his first day en with the city. 5 CJ) .. :?. :ï !!- -l tr -~ .. c. .. ::e ;,:: .. '< N _ ... DAVID HARDEN Delray Beac;h City Manager - A.GE: 47. PERSONAL: Married, three children. EDUCA TlÒN: Master's ln city plan- ning, Georgia lnstlMe of Technology; bachelor's ln chemistry, Emory University. EXPERIENCE: After a 12-year career, resigned last year as manager of'Winter Parle - population: 23,000. While the parting was amicable. some council members said they wanted a more hard- driving manager. He became manager in 1977 after working in the city's planning department Also worked as a planner in Orange County. QUOTE: "li appears to me thai a num- ber of people are talking to each other through the press. I hope we can start talking to each other." On paper, Delray's new manager looks frugal By JANE MUSGRAVE Slaff Writer DELRAY BEACH - Less than a week after be- - coming city manager, David Harden has started cut- ting government waste. . Saying it unnecessarily adds cost and inefficiency to city operations, Harden has banned the use of le- gal-sized paper. · "All departments and agencies of the city are di- rected to stop using legal-size paper immediately," Harden wrote in a memo to all city departments on Tuesday - his second day on the job. In case anyone questioned the order, Harden de- tailed why cutting paper down to size cuts waste. His edict, he explained. is based on Project Elf - a pro- gram devised by the Association of Records Manag- ers and Administrators. Elf (eliminate legal-size files) was launched after an extensive study found that not only is le5dl-size pa- LARGER PAPER, . - - LARGER COSTS Legal-size paper costs more to purchase and store, according to 1982 figures gath- ered by the Association of Records Man- agers and Administrators. For example: ITEM LETTER-SIZE LE!=.~L-SIZE Four-drawer $208.50 $298.70 file cabinet Manila folders $9.40 $12.10 Copier paper $6.30 $8.05 Envelopes $14.35 $18.50 • Delray Beach staff gets police, fire departments' wish lists. 108 per ·more expensive than letter-size, but so, too, are the file cabinets, folders, binders and desk trays that are needed to store it. In case anyone doubted the thoroughness of the study, Harden offered a sample of it, which included the observation that, "There is, therefore, a waste of 960-1,400 square inches of furniture-grade steel in each file used for letter-size media." If the federal government used legal-size paper ex- clusively, taxpayers would have to pay an additional $72. 6 million a year, according to the study. In Delray Beach, the cost savings won't be that dra- matic. The city spends about $2,000 a year on 60 cases of 81/2 - by 14-inch paper, according to city purchasing agents. But, Harden said, it's a start. ····~-·.···¡r ~~ -......-·-- -:-- . . ,.., .. : r - t ,,, Delray. hopes to ~l~~ç~· ... : budget without l08iÌÎgj9~ : f 8 (ll)>T ·· · ·' .. , ... ~ .. ,,., . . ~By.JOE.NEWMAN . . ,¡, / ). '.. The.city has ~any .pressin{n~; Al-·.··: ·· Palm Beach Post Staff Writer . S¡ Lr¡ ·f-o · perin said. Improving the stormwaterdraìn- · ¡ I?ELRAY BEA0{ - Ne": City ~ger age system and-.J?~ovid.ing_'uti)itie::!',·to _an_·. j " DaVId Harden admits that scISSors might be·· .· mcreasmg .populatìon ... .. the easiest thing to use on nex_t Y:~'s budget, · · ·.:~e._-near _th~.1-~:P:ºf. ill~.·. ¡ but he hopes he can get by with mirrors. . · list, be saìd, '::. . . ·: · . : Cutting services and staff is the last· ·. · Last week; 'Harden's . : ·: option, Harden said.· He and city commission- · first, department heads· _. · -1. · ers hope they can shuffle different depart- · · submitted·' their' re- · ments to .make the city run more efficiently. · quests. · · · • · · · · · ., ·'-.-._ j · • Com.missioners have said the city's hierarchy . The · thickest_ 'budget : : , · is cumbersome with 17 department heads.' · · · was· submitted by ··the·, I . That problem can be relieved by combin- Police Department, : ····: · :- ing some departments, Harden said. For "Everything ·in ~y example, public works. could be absorbed. .. · · budget is justìñed," said- , .ìnto another-department, Harden said. I Harden · Chief Charles Kilgore. · F · "Our first effort will be to try to do it .. · "I've always· . submitted; what I · actually: · within the existing total number of employ- .. ·. thought we needed." · · . ·, ~ · .. ees "· Harden said. · · . Next year, Kilgore ~ys hewìll need 10 , r_., .~ ).br months, city commissioners "have .. new police· officers afa 'minimumsalary of · : .. predicted they ·will have trouble. finding · $25,500, 14 _patrol cars. Ior; _$196,000 .. and · 1 • r , • · I . _, enough money for next year. · .· ·· ·. · $500,000 for overtìme.:'': ···· · ,,. .: ''° ''S_.': • ·, ¡ ,, . "We can't expect the support from feder- '· The overtime: is needed 'because of the · · ¡ al and state agencies we've received in the· . special events that require extra officers. ·1,. past," said Commissioner Jay Alperin,' "I But ·the. biggest. problem' is 'the load on the I . ' think anybody that says .there's not going to · department's' dispatchers, Kilgore. said> '· ' Í, .. be any type of new taxes is just trying to · Kilgore is asking for four'new employees : mislead you." .· , · _:_ to take phone calls to assist dìspatehers .. · · • . .· ••. : . 1 •.. ·~ ... •. . . :: !.••. ~ ··-:j ·:. ·.·· : .,:,:';'·::(._.{·.·· ... :-· I· . I Volume m Issue V CITY OF DELRAY BEACH 100 N.W. 1st AVENUE • DELRAY BEACH. FLORIDA 33444 May 25, 1990 DELRAY BEACH WELCOMES NEW CITY MANAGER David T. Harden. The search for a new City Manager, which began late last fall with a citizen's advisory group scrutinizing nearly 100 ap- plications, bas ended. David T. Harden, a former City Manager of Winter Park, Flor- ida, moved into the position this week, bringing with him an impressive back- ground in municipal government During his twelve years as City Manager in Winter Park, he was responsible for managing all services provided by the city, including some services which are not common to Florida cities of this sue. These included a public library, a public bus system and an extensive aquatic plant management program. While serving in Winter Park he began a program to reverse the deteriorating water quality of the lakes in the City. Parks and playgrounds were revitalized with enhanced landscaping, and modem play structures, which were financed by private donations. In 1981, the City bought back the water system that lm been sold during the 1920's. This controversial purchase was viewed by Harden as bis greatest accomplishment while managing Winter Park. For the next seven years that City was able to hold the water rates while embarking on an ambi- tious upgrading program. During the latter years of his term as Winter Park City Manager he instituted a quality improvement process to involve employees throughout the city in improv- POUCE ACADEMY 9 - Chùf Charlu Kilgore is swrolllllle.d by IM niM new grodwltu of IM Poliœ Academy. (fop row left to righi) Jolr,uiy Ortiz, Ziquiri Baroli, Clrief Kilgore, Sam Raineri, Ricltard VwcJúo, Joseph Hart. (Bouom row left to righi) RaNla/1 Wilson, Francis Moschette, Jol,,a Palt!TfflD, œtd David Hoeffer. ing efficiency and effectiveness in the delivery of city services, This process proved very effective in team building, staff de- velopment and strengthening employee relations. Mr. Harden received his Bachelor of Arts degree in chemistry from Emory Uni- versity in Atlanta, Georgia and a Master of City Planning from the Georgia Institute of Technology. While serving as a Supply Officer in the Navy he was awarded the Navy Achievement Medal for outstanding performance. His top priority, on the non-professional level, will be relocating his wife, Andrea and three sons, Jeremy (15), Chad (13) and Aaron (9) to Delray Beach. They are presently residing in a Victorian house in Apopka, Florida near Orlando. The home bas been completely restored and was recently approved by the State for nomina- tion to the National Register of Historic Places. Mr. Harden's family will be join- ing him when the present school term is completed. POLICE ACADEMY GRADS JOIN DEPARTMENT The Nationally Accredited Delray Beach Police Department bas added nine new officers to its ranks. The latest graduates ofthePoliceAcademyrecentlycompleted a 16 week basic training course at Palm Beach Community College. The knowl- edge and skills acquired at the Academy give them the tools to become effective police officers. Now, an additional 14 weeks of training with a Field Officer is required Police work bas changed drastically in the past ten years, and the new officers will be instructed in all aspects of police work prior to working alone. Training on such diverse subjects as crack cocaine, child abuse, and sensitivity will be given on an ongoing basis. ·¡- . ( City manager leaves politics t~ politicians By DONNA LEINWAND Herald Staff Writer DELRAY BEACH - David Harden speaks carefully. Sometimes he doesn't respond immediately to a question. He looks up. Thinks for a minute or two. Answers. He says nothing that could trip him up in the · · press or the eyes'of the public. That, he said, is for the politicians. Harden signed on last week as city man- ager determined to remain above the politi- cal fray that seems to constantly set this city on edge. "I try not to get personally and emotion- ally tied up in these things," Harden said. "I recognize that I'm not directly answerable to the voters. My job is to do what the majority of the commission wants." Harden came to manage cities through a circuitous route. He grew up in Okeecho- bee, a cattle town where his father was a mechanic. At Emory University, he majored in chemistry - a vocation that he said suited his analytical, methodical demeanor. He spent two months at Florida State University doing graduate work in chemis- try when city management came to mind. He quit school. "To some people, this would probably DAVID T. HARDEN : • Peraonal: Age 47 ... married to Andrea ... three boys ages 9, 13, 15 ... grew up ln Okeechobee .•. House he restored ln Apopka has been nomi- nated for the national His- torical Register. • Profe11ional: City manager of Winter Park for 12 years ••• assistant city manager for Winter Park •.. plan- ner for Orange County .•• supply officer ln the U.S. Navy. • Education: Bachelor's degree ln chemistry from Emory University j ..• master's degree ln city planning from the Georgia Institute of Tech- , nology ..• U.S. Navy Officer's ! School. • Quote: "I try not to Judge 1 motives, Just actions." sound strange," he said. "But I believe J,od has a purpose for every life, so this wasl~Y calling." He received a master's degree in public administration from Georgia Institute of Technology, where he wrote a thesis on locating solid waste facilities. In 1967, antic- ipating a draft, Harden joined the U.S. Navy. He served as a supply officer, learning aboµt personnel, finance, inventory and the com- petitive bid process. After his stint in the Navy, he joined t~e Orange County planning department, which was scrambling to accommodate the growth that would accompany Disney World. He said his greatest strength - learned while juggling the politically powerful home build- ers lobby with the interests of Orange County - is his ability to meet with dis- agreeing factions, find the common ground and negotiate a 'settlement. It ìs this low-key, behind-the-scenes approach that led to his resignation as city manager of Winter Park after 12 years on the job. "Over the last couple bf years, the city commission changed and they wanted a change in management," he said. "They wanted more of a public figure in the com- munity." . Harden had purchased a Victorian home in Apopka, near Winter Park, planning to spend his spare time restoring it. Since h¡s three sons went te, Apopka schools and his family attended an Apopka church, his social activities remained in Apopka. "The commission had a problem with it," he said. "lt was hard for me to be involved in a lot of community activities. But I don't see that as my role. I want to be available to the public. They need to know who I am, that I'm approachable. But I don't feel it's the manager's role to provide political leader- ship to a community. That's for the commis- sion. I lead the staff." Political turmoil surrounded Delray Beach's last two city managers. Malcolm Bird, who served for about seven months, was a former city commissioner. Many resi- dents claimed his appointment as city man- ager was a political jab at Vice Mayor Mary McCarty and Commissioner Bill Andrews. Walter Barry, who was fired at an early morning meeting in July, had been accused of sexually harassing an employee and courting community support by pitting one faction of the commission against the other. "I think the present commission wants to change that," Harden said. "I think I can help change it. I will address policy matters to reflect the majority view of the commis- sion. I know to keep my personal opinions to myself." ---· Sun-Sentinel, Friday, June 29, 1990 Delray manager · says streets chief should be fired By JANE MUSGRAVE Staff Writer DELRAY BEACH - Saying an extensive review showed a pattern of racist behavior, City Manager Da- vid Harden on Thursday recommended that the city's streets director be fired. David Harvell, 30, was suspended with pay from his $41,500-a-year job. Next Thursday, ~e six-year city employee will be given an opportunity to persuade Harden to reverse his decision. Il that effort fails, his next step will be the city's Civil Service Board. Il the five-member board agrees he should· be fired, Harvell could file suit in hopes of getting his job back. . While neither Harvell nor his attorney could be reached for comment, Harden said Harvell told him be is not racist, as employees be supervises have è . ii IS . X charged. •· :..- ;;;9t:,-:a About 15 employees, who filed a grievance against. Harvell, said be routinely used disparaging terms to describe blacks and publicly announced be intended to create an all-white streets department - ·· Harden said his investigation revealed that during the last three years the average raises Harvell has given to white employees was larger than the average raises he has given to blacks. SEE SUSPENDED /78 ! I l- i I I 'ª'" •• b:u··M SUSPENDED FROM PAGE1B Delray manager says streets chief should be fired A review of Harvell's hiring practices showed that of the nine employees he hired since 1988, eight were white and one was black. "These facts taken together con- stitute a prima facie case of racial discrimination in violation of the city's affirmative action plan and various state and federal Jaws and regulations prohibiting discrimi- nation based on race," Harden wrote in the memo explaining why Harvell should be fired. His decision was a reversal of a recommendation by Assistant City Manager John Elliott Elliott said Harvell should be suspended .for a week without pay and be placed on probation for a year. Harden said Elliott did not re- search city personnel records and also did not know that Harvell had been disciplined last year. Although Harvell's pers~nnel file contains only rave reviews, Assistant City Manager. Bob Bar- einski wrote a memo to Harden saying he had given Harvell a ver- bal warning after employees raised similar complaints last year. "The fact that there have been problems going back a year" was a deciding factor in the recommen- dation, Harden said. · Zack Straghn, a local black lead- er who tried to get city officials to listen to employees' complaints, urged city commissionèrs earl!er this month to make sure action was finally taken against Harvell "I thought this problem was cor- rected a year ago and then it bl?5- somed out again, 1' Straghn saìd, "He had a year to get his- act straight and he didn't , . . That means this man can't be reformed." Straghn said he was pleased by Harden's recommendation. ''There was 'no way the - city could get good productivity out of [Harvell's employees], The wor~- · ers down there were really tern- fied of him," Straghn said. Harden also criticized Harvell · for exhibiting poor supervisory skills and for taking a city-owned ladder home for several months. I 4G Sun-Sentinel, Sunday, July 1, 1990 Su11-Sentinel f12'41íft9:'Gl"m.-.~~ Dedicated to being the most Important Information provider ln Broward and Palm Beach counties, Florida Thomas P. O'Donnell, President & Publisher • Gene Cryer, Editor • Earl Maucker, Managing ·Editor· • . Kingsley Guy, Editoria/ Page Editor ---------------::·::::::::::~M~04~0•'1:',~- ... - .• ,.-----'----....:......:.... _¡ EDITORIALS ------- \' Take-charge message good sign avid Harden doesn't say much. As Delray Beach's new city manager, he is letting his actions speak for him, and so far the take-charge message is strong and steady. · He took a bold but carefully considered step in recommending the city's streets director. be fired for what Harden believes is a pattern of racist behavior. It was a firm action, but not impulsive. Harden researched the employee's behavior thoroughly before concluding David Harvell should be fired. The recommendation doesn't mean Harvell, 30, actually will lose his $41,500-a-year job. He can appeal to the city's Civil Service Board and if that doesn't work, can file suit to regain his job. Either avenuewould allow him to tell his side of the story; . It's important to remove racism, or at least blunt it, whenever. possible. Equally important in this episode is what it shows· about Harden's meticulous approach to his job. Füteen employees filed a grievance against Harvell, saying he regularly disparaged blacks and planned an all-white department. Assistant City Manager John Elüott, who is black, looked into it and recommended Harvell be suspended for a week without pay and placed on probation for a year. But the new city manager wasn't satisfied. Harden combed through hiring records and found Harvell had hired eight whites and one black since 1988. Salary records showed whites in his department received larger raises than blacks. Harden learned Harvell had been reprimanded a year ago after employees raised similar complaints. . . These facts taken together, said Harden, "constitute a prima facie case of racial discrimination." He overruled his assistant. Harden has been on the job barely a month, not long enough to judge his work . accurately. So far, however, he is doing well. ~wilsdiu 511\' '4 I 11'1 eoi.., · --· .. , .... ~~ With Kilgore going, Delrav is on track NMS q Í<olJºq () T he sun has set n the · Charles Kilgore era in Delray Beach. With closed-door bar- gaining resulting in an appar- ent agreement by which the embattled chief of police can leave gracefully, Delray resi- dents can look to a Kilgore- less future - and what that means for the community. The power balance bas shifted in Delray. And residents can be grateful for that. / OUR VIEW Commlsslon, while, at the same time, not merely throw- ing more abuse at the chief. Mayor Tom Lynch, too, has exercised sound judgment in recent weeks, a welcome change from his critical public swipe at Kilgore in the spring, intemperantly demanding he step down. The chief, predictably, hunkered down. Confrontation doesn't work.' What apparently did work was a com- . bination of reason and subtle pressure. Charles Kilgore may not be a quitter, but he knows when the rock and the hard i place have grown to- l gether. What now for Del- ray Beach? The new police chief should I be as free of political baggage i as possible - which probably a¡ means he or she should come from elsewhere. That's no re- flection on the capable officers · now in the department. It means only that a pair of fresh eyes will best see both the positives and negatives of . a department that has been in turmoil for years. Mayor Lynch, the City Commission and City Man- ager Harden must exercise the kind of skill and good judgment demonstrated in this final act of showing Chief Kilgore the door in order to assure the public and the members of the police depart- ment the best possible candi- date will become the new chief of police in Delray Beach. KIigore is leaving none too soon. The March elec- tions eliminated much of the testy politics of con- frontation that plagued the town for years. A new team, a new attitude. a new belief that what's important is what's good for the town, have taken up residence in City Hall. And this resolution tó what has been a thorny problem is a good example of that. Chief Kilgore has resisted repeated efforts to throw him off the hill. He has been the immovable object. Now he has met the irresistible force. One cannot really blame this veteran police officer for not jumping aside on request. He has his pride, after all, and he may not yet be ready to head for the rocking chair. But where confrontation and bluster failed to move the object, reason and logic and a studied approach did it. Credit is due City Manager David Harden, who worked effectively, quietly and in good faith with the chief to achieve the wishes of the ma- jority of the qty _Kilgore From page 1A In a signed 1956 employment application, Kilgore said he graduated in 1946 from Southern Military Academy in Camp Hill, Ala. Yet officials with the school now known as Lyman Ward Mil~ itary Academy, say there is no r~rd of him graduating with :nme other students in 1946 or· -1947. Furthermore, Kilgore· signed an honorable discharge form from the U .S. Navy in 1950 that states he only completed his sophomore year at Southern. · Kilgore declined to comment 1 Thursday about the matter. In . the past, he has insisted he 'graduated, but school records to prove it were lost in a fire. When he reapplied to the de- partment in 1961 following a ; ~o-year break, he said he was a . first class ship serviceman" when he serveo m me U.;:). Navy between 1946 and 1950 .. But according to his · discharge records, he attained the rank of "seama~," three rankings below the serviceman's position. Taken together, these misstate- ments. could justify firing, according to city policy. And while previous city managers could have obtained the docu- mentation needed, they did not hav~ the political support of earlier city _commissions to dis- miss the chief. . ~ocal private iqvestigator Vir- gmia Snyder, a longtime Kilgore cri.tic, said Thursday she sup- phed Harden with docu- mentation on the chief's school and Navy records. Harden and Kurtz did not re- turn several telephone calls on Thursday. Kilgore last month asked for $250,000 to step down, and for months has vowed not to leave while Special Prosecutor Janet Ren~' ~ investigating allegations of criminal wrongdoing. Kilgore de;Lè"gööc:l for Delray T he long awaited departure of Charles Kilgore as Delray Beach police chief will remove a nettlesome distraction that hampered elected city commissioners trying to set city policy. The Kilgore "problem" got in the way of important city business, as commissioners and the chief bickered and battled. Now, finally, it is over. Kilgore will walk away on Nov. 2 with a $90,000 payoff from the city, plus $24,400 in unused-sick leave and vacation time. · In a sense, the money is a bribe to quil But on balance everyone in Delray Beach will . benefit, not just Kilgore. 1 One benefit will be the end of name- calling and of demands by commissioners that Kilgore quit. There was so much acrimony, it draùkd energy from commissioners. · Equally important, the city now can seek out a truly professional police chief to run the. department in a fair, unbiased way. Kilgore, 61, has spent 34 years in the city police department, the last 11 as chief. His behavior at times was grossly unprofessional. What other police chief would take a part- time job as a vitamin distributor, and attempt to sell vitamins to officers who worked for him_? What other police chief would hold another part-time job as a rent collector for apartments? Relations between the city's police and its black residents were touchy enough without the chief acting as a tough rent collector in a mostly black section of town. Kilgore abused his position and should have been forced to leave long ago. Several investigations of his department were conducted by outside agencies, and one is still going on, led by Dade County State Attorney Janet Reno. This investigation of possible criminal wrongdoing is to be completed on Nov. 6, just four days after Kilgore leaves. Given his record as chief, it is hard to explain how he became president of the Florida Police Chiefs Association. Surely there must be professional chiefs in Florida who deserve this honor. The agreement between Kilgore and the city wisely prohibits both sides from further sniping at each other. There's no need for more criticism. It's time, instead, for Delray Beach to get on with its important business, not the least of which· should be a search for the best police professional available to lead the department to a higher level. F OR DELRAY Beach and its embattled Police Chief Charles Kilgore, his negotiated retirement is a win-win . . accord. The chief, a 34-year veteran, leaves a year early with dignity, his retirement benefits intact, and $90,000~ The city avoids a court battle that could have sub- jected taxpayers to far-greater liabilities. Whatever is said politically about Chief Kilgore - and there was quite a lot of ven- omous spittle in the last election - . the department under his leadership achieved accreditation. In 12 years as chief, he built a professional, competent department that had received mostly praise from city offi- cials. That record and his civil-service pro- · tection made it very düficult simply to fire . the chief. Indeed, commissioners ought to consider. putting future : chiefs under con- tract so that they can be held accountable. PQliâcally, the grounds for removal were well plowed, Residents generally had been dismayed by accusations of ticket, .. fixing and the department's misuse of informants against one of its critics. While Palm Beach County State Attorney David Bludworth cleared the chief and department of any criminal wrongdoing in the ticket scandal, . Dade·County State Attorney Janet Reno is AS CHIEF KILGORE RETIRES . . still investigating the other incident • The most persistent and troubling com- plaints, however, were the accusations of. brutality toward blacks. Those complaints . finally undermined support for Chief. Kil· gore, and they will undermine his successor ·· unless they're resolved. New City Manager : David Harden has the difficult task of find- '! ing a successor with the skills to build upon ·! the department's recognized professional ' competence while also winning the black community's confidence. He will not lack for advice, and he should listen well. · Delray Beach's African-American com- munity repeatedly has sought changes in police policies and attitudes. lt has sought to open the department to blacks seeking jobs · · and promotíons and to halt harrassment, particularly of young· black men. It has demanded that black residents be accorded the dignity, respect, and .. response that white residents take forgranted, Changing the police. chief gives many hope that these ·1 1. . fundamental concerns will be addressed. Mr. Harden and city commissioners must · still see that thev are now addressed in fär.t _ MGR- Delray gives manager great apprais By STEPHANIE SMITH Staff Writer . DELRAY BEACH - City Man- ager David Hatden is a man of few words but even fewer shortcom- ings in city commissioners' opinion. On his six-month job appraisal, Harden received a 7 percent pay increase, the highest on the 0- 7 percent scale. His annual salary is now $74,914, plus a $400-a-month car allowance. "lt was good," Harden said on Wednesday about his evaluation. In a break from tradition, com- missioners did not fill out a writ- ln a break from tradition, commissioners did not fill out a written appraisal of City Manager David Harden's performance, but some of them met individually with him in closed-door sessions. evaluatìons of city managers be- came public "mockeries" and they qid not want that with Harden. .l "If there's something radically wrong, then the commission needs tp discuss it together, but when \'fe're just talking about personal líkes and pet peeves, I think we qan do that one-on-one," Lynch said. The only weakness aired about Harden is his stoic, reserved demeanor. "His biggest weakness is verbal communication," Commissioner · ~ay Alperin said. A precise man, .fiarden does not say things off the uff. His terse comments often are ten performance appraisal, but some of them met individually with Harden in closed-door sessions. "Nothing was done in writing," Harden said. "They didn't want a public record." Mayor Tom Lynch said past Sun-Sentinel, Thursday, November 15, 1990 178 11, better raise ireceded by pauses while Harden hinks about his reply. Alperin said that while he un- lerstands Harden's thoughtful-· iess, it can be unnerving. "He's vorkíng on it, and he has improved mmensely," Alperin said. Alperin voted against the 7 per- cent raise at Tuesday's meeting because he said a 6 percent in- cr e as e would have been appropriate. "Although I think he's great and foes a fine job, I just didn't see him as beyond perfect, which 7 percent would indicate," Alperin said. Commissioner Bill Andrews wanted to go off · the scale and award Harden a 10 percent raise. "I just kind of like what he's do- ing," Andrews said. Among what he considers Harden's greatest feats are bringing stability to em- ployees in City Hall and providing commissioners with the security that he has things under control, Andrews said. What Alperin saw as a weak· ness, Andrews and Lynch saw as an asset. "Everybody realized when we first hired David Harden that he was introverted, quiet, reserved, good, and methodical. This is not a surprise," Lynch said. "He's just not the type of person who is going to go around grabbing people's hands and he shouldn't be. He's not a politician." 14A THE PALM BEACH POST MONDAY, MAY 27, 1991 s The Palm Beach Post TOM GIUFFRIDA. Publisher EDWARD SEARS, Editor TOM O'HARA, Managing Editor LoN DANIELSON, Genero/ Manager RANDY SCHULTZ, Editor of IM Editorial Page JAN TUCKWOOD, Associau Editar ALAN FERGUSON, J1P Advertising LARRY SIEDLIK. J1P & Treasurer • GALE HOWDEN, Director; Community Rtlations TOM HIGHFIELD, J1P Circulation : LINDA MURPHY, Director; Human Resources WALLY REICHERT, Director; Production ~ ~ KEN WALTERS, Director; Marketing and &search What a difference I ayear makes in Delray. llliiilllliii. elray Beach cut $600,000 from U t.'hP. P.ity budget last week with _... hardly a ripple. That is a testa- ment to the skill and professionalism David Harden has brought in his year as city manager. Two years of political turmoil, in which the manager's office was em- broiled, ended in March 1990 when the Çity- Commission majority was swept out of office. Two months later, the new and improved commission brought in Mr. Harden, a Florida na- . tive who had been city manager in Winter Park, near Orlando. .. _ ... Mr. Harden hit town on May 21, just as the recession was hitting hard. ª-~-.-~~as greeted with the news that the 1_~_8,9-90 budget might be $1.2 million out of balance. The gap turned out to tië: Ötlly $500,000 an_d Mr. Harden was able to cut $1 million, which meant the deficit became a surplus. ,, .. He showed his skill by creating broad-based departments for human resources and support services while folding seven previously independent departments - public utilities, engi- neering, data processing, purchasing, personnel, risk management and bud- get · - into others. He thus cut the number of city departments from 15 to 1_~ and eliminated one high-salary po- sition, development services director. He showed his toughness by moving qùíckly to get rid of Streets Director Dávid Harvell, who resigned after al- ('it\/ l\ll~n~d'i::lr n~\/irl ""'"J o-· - - ,. ·- Harden turned a deficit into a surplus. legations of racism regarding his treatment of subordinates. It hasn't been easier this budget year. Projections showed that if noth- ing were done, the $36 million operat- ing budget would be more than $600,000 in the red come September. Once again, Mr. Harden was ready. He . instituted a: selective hiring freeze and curtailed overtime, office supplies, telephone use and travel.The political- ly popular Police Department ab- sorbed its share: four of the eight frozen positions and $15,000 in over- time. Along the way Delray Beach has expanded the city water plant, im- proved fire service, instituted recy- cling and litter-reduction efforts and set up a system to finance drainage improvements, There was some concern about Mr. Harden when he arrived because he was the commission's second choice. But that concern has been dispelled by the manager's performance. "I'm very comfortable with the decisions David has made," said Mayor Tom Lynch, and there is no indication of displea- sure anywhere. Happy anniversary, Mr. Harden NUMBERS GAME Delray manager uses slide rule to figure out figures. By STEPHANIE SMITH Staff Writer DELRAY BEACH - The city is upgrading its computer system at a cost of $866,630, but when City Manager David Harden wants to do some nit- ty-gritty number crunching he unsheaths his trusty slide rule of 30 years. In marathon budget sessions with his department heads, Harden wields his slide rule to slice financ- ing requests close to the bone. "I just think sliding is faster than pushing but- tons," Harden said on Wednesday. "If you go to the Orient, people there use the abacus. It's a matter of what you're use to." For the record, Harden is not bad at punching buttons either. He "touch types" on the calculator. The slide rule in the brown leather case stamped "Compass" dates back to his college days. He was a chemistry major at Emory University in Atlanta. On his graduate school entrance exams, Harden scored in the 98th percentile in math. In graduate school, he decided against a future as a chemist and switched to city planning. The explanation: "It's a long story. Suffice it to say, after two months of graduate studies in chem- istry, I decided to change majors," Harden said. His mathematical wizardry is somewhat intimi- dating, though impressive, to his employees. The city's budget director of many years, Yvonne Kin- caide, concedes she never quite got the hang of the slide rule herself. "Don't ask me to use one," Kincaide said. . ; Staff photo/ROBERT DUYOS Delray Beach City Manager David Harden uses a slide rule during budget meeting. ---------- 108 Sun-Sentinel, Thursday, August 8, 1991 PB PE( Manager: Chief must ln Delray Beach City Manager Da- vid Harden is taking his time in hiring a replacement for Police Chief Charles Kilgore, who left in November. But he hopes to have a decision made by the middle of September. Harden explains the importance of this decision and why it is taking so long. Q • How difficult a decision is this one for you? Is it one of the toughest ones you've had to make as a city manager? Á. I don't mind making the decision. It may be very easy. It just depends on how the pro- cess is done. It might come down to three people who are ex- tremely qualüied, and it could be very difficult to choose be- tween them. In terms of impor- tance, I would say it is one of the most important decisions I will make. Q • Is this a decision you wish they would have made be- fore they hired you? Á. I'm kind of looking for- ward to it. For whatever reason, the Police Department has been the center of controversy for many years. I like to think that a good selection will put that behind us and start developing a real partnership between the whole community - and not just segments of it - and the Po- lice Department. Q • Why is this such a diffi- cult decision? Is this a decision city managers dread? ' Á. No, I wouldn't say that. It's recognized as a very key po- sition and city managers rec- ognize that ... to my knowledge, more city managers bave lost their jobs over the firing of the police chief or the attempted firing of the police chief than any other thing. It's a high-profile job and typically the police chief comes to bave a great deal of political influence. Q • Did you expect 171 appli- cants for the position? Á. Ob, yes. A lot of people want to be police chief. The one thing that surprised me is that we got 45 applications from peo- ple who are already police chiefs somewhere else. Some of those are from smaller cities and they'd like to move to a larg er city but a number of them are in cities our size or larger. Q. You have formed a panel to help screen the 22 finalists. How did you choose the panel? Á. One of my concerns about the whole process and when we get to end of it I want the community as a whole to feel like we bave a new po- lice chief who is their police chief. So we tried to pick peo- ple who would be representative of the community and would have some influence in different parts of the community. Also, people who are involved and ac- tive in community affairs and have a good perception of what kind of police chief we need in Delray Beach. Their charge is to whittle the list down to between five anc seven. They will conduct inter- views and recommend to me om: that they feel are the top three or four, and I will make the selection. Q • Why is it important that this is the community's police chief? Former Delray manager re By RICH POLLACK Staff Writer J. E I- don Mariott knows what Delray Beach City Manager David Hard- en is up against. Twelve years ago, Mariott was the Delray Beach city manager decid- ing who would become the next police chief. Mariott chose Charles Kilgore, a deéì- s i on that was greatly debated L--.....,...'-----'-_;.;., for the 11 years Mariott · K i l g o r e r e mained as chief. "I think I appointed the best per- son to fill the job at the time," Mariott said this week from his home in Coral Springs. "You never know for sure when you appoint someone how it is going to turn out." Appointing someone is some- thing J. Eldon Mariott no longer has to worry about. Two years ago, with a not-so- gentle push from elected officials in Deerfield Beach, Mariott re- tired and put 32 years of city man- ager life behind him. But at 70, Mariott is still staying busy working on sorting out the papers he accumulated over the WHERE City Mar years, working on a book that he has been tinkering with for mon than 20 years and keeping up or what is going on around him. In between, Mariott finds time to do a bit of consulting work ano to spend time with his wife of 50 years and his three sons and three granddaughters. "I used to hear the guys who re- i •• ... ••••• i.V Vil. 0'1íìi)M; l.,U ª"'" nOm JVC. ___ I J PLE 1ild partnership Á. I will be bel/account- able if our choice turns out poor- ly. I'm not trying in any way to avoid that responsibility. But the police chief is a "peculìar department head and the public is more concerned about that department head than any others. For a long time in Delray Beach, the police chief has been the subject of controversy, even the police chief before Chief Kilgore was. And especially in the last few years, the communi- ty was divided. I think it is im- portant to try and bring the com- munity together. Q • Is it in the best interest of everyone to go outside the de- partment to hire someone? Á. The obvious advantage of promoting from inside is that you have someone that knows the city and knows the department. They don't have a learning curve to deal with. The disadvan- tage is that they bring acer- tain amount of baggage with them, people that like them and dislike them, all kinds of things from the past, negative and positive, within the depart- ment and the community. A new person basically starts with a clean slate. Some experts in the field will say that someone from the outside has the best chance of making real fundamental changes. Q • You are being very delib- erate in your search. Do you have any idea of when it will be filled? Á. My target had been Sept. 9. But after getting our advisory committee set up and checking their vacation schedules, we're going to have to slip that by a week. Q • What are you looking for in the successful candidate? If there were five characteristics, what would they be? Á. I want someone who is open and accessible to the public. I want someone who will take charge and is a strong leader, someone with impeccable in- tegrity, someone who is innova- tive out there looking for new ideas and trying them out and if they don't work trying some- David Harden thing else and someone who is sensitive to the variety of peo- ple we have in this community. Q • Is race a factor in your decision? Á. It's a factor but not a major factor. People that I have talked to from the black com- munity have said sure we would like to have a black police chief but what we really want is the best police chief we can find and that's what we're look- ing for. calls chief appointments lRE THEY NOW? ger J. Eldon Mariott tired say they were busier than ever and I didn't believe it until now," Mariott said. Mariott said he misses a little bit of that public life that he lived for so many years, a lot of it in Delray Beach and a lot of it in Deerfield Beach. "I led a very active and gung-ho public life," Mariott said. Marlett said he still holds the longevity record for a city manag- er in Deerfield Beach, two times. He was city manager there from 1960 to 1967 and then again from 1981 to 1989. In between, he spent a few years in Thomasville, Ga., and 11 years in Delray Beach. During those years in Delray Beach, Mariott appointed Kilgore and his predecessor, Murray O. Cochran. Appointing a police chief, Mar- iott said, is no different than ap- pointing a public works director or a recreation director. "It's the same thing as far as I'm concerned," he said, conceding that the police chief's job may be a bit higher profile. "There's nothing mysterious as far as I'm concerned." Mariott said he enjoyed his life as a city manager and is enjoying retirement. Buthesaid he will not close any doors yet. Would he go back to being a city m~ager full time? "I hope never," he said. Instead, J. Eldon Mariott said he would welcome the chance to fill in as an interim city manager ev- ery now and then and wouldn't mind helping a city out in recruit- ing a city manager. A fitting compensation e ity Manager David Harden has . done an exemplary job of tak- . ing the politics out of Delray · Beach city government while adjust- ing to the recession. He deserves the 6 percent raise commissioners grant- ed him Tuesday night. - When governments are laying off people and deferring purchases, why sliould a city give its top administrator an extra $4,495 a year? Because Del- ray Beach is one of the few govern- ments 'not laying anyone off, yet Mr. Harden came up with a budget that bolds the line on property taxes at ~!-15 per $1,000 of taxable value. · There has been one financial crisis - after another ever since Mr. Harden began work in March 1990. He inherit- ed a 1989-90 budget that had to be cut by $500,000. He did that and more with a-minimum of pain. He faced a similar -shortage for 1990-91 and closed the . gap with a selective hiring freeze and · cutbacks in travel, overtime, office ·supplies and telephone use. This year, b.~ cut the budget $2 million from last year while protecting jobs and grant- ing merit raises, though cost-of-living r:aises had to be eliminated and 16 pòsitions left vacant. How does he do it? Mr. Harden has Delray City Manager David Harden has kept the recession and politics at bay. made government more efficient. He dismantled a two-tier system of de- partments and clusters of depart- ments, winding up with 10 that report directly to him instead of 15 that reported to assistant managers. Be- sides making the departments more responsive, the changeover eliminated one high-salary job. And Mr. Harden depoliticized the administration. His two predecessors were believed to have favored one commission faction over the other, feeding the favored commissioners information that was withheld from the other side . Finally, Mr. Harden is not indeci- sive. Most recently, he conducted an open police chief search but made his own decision and stuck with it in the face of some community opposition. Merit raises in Delray Beach range up to 6 percent. Mr. Harden belongs where commissioners put him: at the top of the range. --,,1 -, --.u......_ \..Cl-1,.lll- Cates at local restaurants, and evên a helicopter ride. _ The 40-member group SJ?ent about six months gathering donaí- ed goods and services. It also hopes local radio and television stations will donate equipment for the planned station. . The biggest roadblock to :fATJ footing the bill is the state's tre- mendous belt-tightening, said Sap- dra Norton, · dean of the Schmidt College of Arts and Humanities. "These are very hard tim~/ she said. In addition, many other areas.of the college have their own Wish lists, with items that include 'ª foreign language laboratory and 3,!l experimental theater, she said.-, - She suggested FAU's student government partly or fully pay. fo¡ the station, as is tne at other colleges. . / ê) / i O¡ 9 ( .--~- Pr aise and a 6% raise : ·: for Delray city manageí' i.:., Gumbo Limbo to cost $3,000 The $2_8 million project, which includes the marine life tanks, two classrooms, a biology laboratory, and marine science center for Florida Atlantic University researchers, is two months ahead of schedule. iole in a pipe that four new saltwater nbo Nature Center d Tuesday, itìon of pipe buried teef Park. Project es not know what was installed nine d exceed $30,000 if lune. Greater Boca oners did not think '. up the dune. " Gloris said. "We General contractor M.J. Anderson Inc. of Palm Beach Gardens has until Feb. 24 to complete the project. but may finish before the end of the year, Gloris said. This is the fírst time the district has hired a manager for a construction project. Having someone on-site to handle problems has saved money, said Gordon Gilbert, the tax district's chairman. The district may ask Gloris to supervise develop- ment of Sugar Sand Park when the nature-center expansion is completed. ners said, "We really wanted to keep the two studies separate so we could focus on land use and zoning in the west Boynton area plan," senior planner Carl Flick said. But the county backed off be- cause the study of the 20,000-acre reserve is expected to be finished in June, early enough to avoid con- mcts. Recommendations will be ncluded in the growth plan. Work IVill start on the plan in February ind take six to eight months to put ogether. COBWIµ and the county also .greed to expand a study group rom nine to 10 members to include representative from the Hagen taneh Road area. Miller said the meeting accom- lished another of his group's ob- ectìves, "We're communicating with ich other for the first time." ~-......_- --- By SONJA ISGER Palm Beach Post Staff Writer DELRAY BEACH - They used the words "remarkable" and "ex- cellent" to describe his work. One said he had experience that out- numbered their own and another said he would do "everything with- in my power to keep him." Delray Beach city commission- ers unanimously agreed Tuesday night to give City Manager David Harden a 6 percent raise, boosting his salary $4,495 - from $74,921 to $79,416. "I think I told him if he leaves, I'll sue him," City Commissioner Bill Andrews joked. "He's got more experience than putting the five of us or at least three of us together." Andrews also raised the only criticism: "If anything, he held back a little bit. Be should be getting more comfortable in giving us input." Commissioners were less gen- erous with their praise of City At- tòrney Jeff Kurtz's work. Commis- sioners Jay Alperin, Armand Mouw and Andrews said Kurtz needed to speed the work going through his office. But they added that the legal department had improved . ''You're doing a good job of improving the department. It keeps getting better and better," Mayor Tom Lynch said. The commission unanimously WHAT THE CITY COMMISSION DID The Delray Beach City Com- mission on Tuesday: . • POSTPONED discussion of the revised plans for Miller. • Park's expansion. ¡ • APPROVED 3-2 a request by McDonald's on Linton Bou- •• • levard to build a playground. ,•, ••• • APPROVED a temporary, certificate of occupancy for • Brandy's restaurant. ·, ·" awarded Kurtz a 5 percent raise, increasing his salary to $70,980:: And after months of debate, commissioners approved 4-1 a èon- tract that allows a cruise shìp to operate from Veteran's Park. · ·· "It has taken such a long tímé, i~ hasn't hit me yet," said cruise ~hip captain Dane Mark. "I really - (fo look forward to getting the process going. I think the city's going tò;·be real happy with it." · But some residents remain un- happy with the boat's apprová'I. Kathy Stokes, who has 'fought the. city and the boat for months, sáys she and others may take the mattér to court. -·~- · "There are a lot of things wrong with the contract. The city is sèn: ing the park," Stokes said. - ·. - -- ......_ . _----. - I l ;I- ~ ra- o:>..: . J.s }l{l 011,.· ;ps gag, reM.~ ·! • Ulled ·r,.Á8 'J ___...:. \ 8'Z \ !I,. Sun-Sentinel, Tuesday, May 26, 1992 >, 1992 PB MANAGER DAVID THEODORE HARDEN Delray Beach City Manager •AGE:49. • PERSONAL: Wife, Andrea; three sons. • HOMETOWN: Delray Beach. Raised in Okeechobee. • BACKGROUND: City manager in Winter Park 1977-89 and Winter Park's assistant manager of planning 1974-77. ln U.S. Navy 1967-71; became commissioned officer in 1968. Graduated from Atlanta's Emory University with a bachelor's degree in chemistry and math in 1964, and from Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta in 1967 with master's in city planning. • QUOTE: "A leader is best when people barely know he exists, not so good when people proclaim and obey him, worse when they despise him, but of a good leader who talks little, when work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say 'We did it ourselves!' " - Lao Tsu, 565 B.C. Between jobs before he moved to Delray Beach, Harden also gave home schooling a try, teaching science and math to the boys. Since relocating, the older boys - Chad, 15, and Jeremy, 17 - have attended a church school. Traveling, camping, reading history books, collecting stamps and coins, and home construction work are Harden's hobbies. "The personal satisfaction is taking something that's broken and fixing it," Harden said. With the groundwork laid by his predecessors with such tools as the city's Comprehensive Plan and the 1990 Decade of Excel- lence bond issue, which brought money for building renovations, street repairs and other projects, Harden is helping bring satisfac- tion to residents. "I would not ask any more of him than what he does now," Commissioner Jay Alperin said. "He puts in plenty of time in his job. It's hard to ask someone to do a better job when they are doing a great job." REPORT CARD This is how city commis- s i on ers have graded Harden's performance: • Mayor Tom Lynch: His strengths are his honesty and ethics, his ability to listen and understand and his profes- sional attitude. He's able to juggle 10 things at once. lt shows that he's a very pa- tient person; it shows som_e- one willing to address the is- sues. • Commissioner Jay Alperin: He's a very strong leader. He has helped us through some very tough times. He is ve_ry supportive of the cornrrus- sion' s desires and very cre- ative on his own. • Commissioner Dave Ran- dolph: We wanted a better footing in the city and we were under a mandate from the citizens to straighten up. Much of the credit goes to Mr. Harden. He is fiscally sound. He watches out for the city's dollars. I have not heard any derogatory com- ments about him. He deals fairly and squarely with the staff and with the city commission. • Commissioner William An- drews: He has the ability to get people to work as a team and to produce a quality product. He has defused the politics at City Hall and the office politics. I think he is more comfortable with the position. • Commissioner Armand Mouw: I think he's doing a wonderful job and I like his style. He has gotten his hands on the controls of the city and the employees at City Hall. That was complete- ly out of hand. He's well liked for it. I think they totally re- spect him. --- --- -~ -----. --- - - .. -- -.------· I OA The News, Thursday November 12, 1992 o o OUR VIEWS Delray police do not deserve racist charges The issue: Charges of racism in Delray Police Department. We suggest Charges are not warranted. Racism is an ugly stain the Delray Beach Police Department can- not seem to remove. Until Chief Richard Overman and city offi- cials· do so, the city's police officers will never have the respect of the community. The latest charges of racism in the department were made by the National Black Police Association. The NBPA charged Delray is · making no attempt to re- duce racism and discrimi- nation in the department's hiring practices. City Manager David Harden quickly - and rightly - fired back with facts. Since October five of seven Delray police officers hired have been African- Americans, and two of four promoted officers were Af- rican-Americans. An Afri- can-American officer was assigned to the Internal Af- fairs Unit. A substation was opened last month in south- west Delray. In Delray Beach, 26 per- cent of the residents are Af- rican-Americans, and 17 percent of police officers are African-Americans. In Boynton Beach, 20 percent of the population is Afri- , can-Americans, but only 2 ·-1 ?i percent of the police för~,J~u~ is Afrìcan-Amerìcan.": J:ilub 11~1 _.Yet the NBPA praised,..':;" .rn- Boynton Beach for "progress" it has made in its hiring practices. .. 7~11 That's like giving the Yugo the prize for the year's best foreign car. '1 err Mr. Harden, a normally reserved man who is more comfortable ·. · with his slide rule than controversy, lashed out at the charges. His re- ·, :í quest for an investigation by the U.S. Justice Department is the right one. Rather than lob charges back and forth with the NBPA, Delray Beach can let the Justice Department sort out the facts. .J' · .:,. ' If the NBPA is looking for a department to reform, it could find a better target than Delray Beach. Nevertheless, the pattern of recur- ring. charges of racism in the Delray Beach Police Department is dis- You HAVE THE PoWER. . • Delray Beach police must continue their efforts to increase hiring minorities. Despite criticism, Delray has become a leader in minority hiring in the county. WRITE/CALL Police Chief Richard Overman 300 W. Atlantic Avenue Delray Beach, Fl 33444 243-7800 & . 1 ••• J~ -- --~ Ü.00:.STC. Wrm:JR. President & Publisher • W.n~. F.m.i. . · VP& Editor J.ICX!(ELY:tX }l. Knt,m Managing Ediror C. R\.,nudkllllw Edirorial Page Edilor SœrrX. F.ocaro.x VP Opemrions Uß NOV. o, !VIT. rsaruen auuouuceo I.UC ICJ.Ul>UILCll.l,a.1n V.I ~"''"" . Cook, a police officer who was accused of lying to a supervising offi- cer. Ms. Cook, a highly qualified officer, claimed she was a victim of racism. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is looking into the charges. Last March, Delray Beach's reputation was tar- Dished when he term ~!nigger'' was used over police radios. - 7 .- . When former Police Chief Charles Kilgore stepped down after 34 years in 1990, there were allegations of racism - charges Mr. Kilgore ignored the Pineapple Grove neighborhood - in his final perfor- mance evaluation. Former Chief Murray Cochran, whom Mr. Kilgore replaced in 1974, also left amid the same allegations. The lingering stench of racism in the department must be re- moved. Police morale and public perception are suffering. City offi- cials are depending on the Justice Department investigation to put these charges to rest. The numbers are on the city's side.O 20A THE PALM BEACH POST SATIJRDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 1993 The Palm Beach Post TOM GIUFFRIDA, Publisher EDWARD SEARS, Editor LoN DANIELSON, General Manager TOM O'HARA, Managing Editor JAN TuCKWOOD, Associate Editor RANDY SCHULTZ, Editor of the Editorial Page ALAN FERGUSON, VP Aclvertiring LARRY SIEDLIK, VP & Treasurer GALE HOWDEN, Director, Community Relations TOM HIGHFIELD, VP Circulation :LINDA MURPHY, Director, Human Resources WALLY REICHERT, Director, Production . KEN WALTERS, Director, Marketing and Research J¡)elray nets big return from good government :y hanks to Delray Beach, the city · that works, tennis pros will begin · _ practicing today for next week's Virginia Slims tournament. There's a ·lesson in that for other cities - and for :Pa¡m Beach County - about how to -think big, act quickly and work smart. After last year's Slims tournament at The Polo Club, promoters said they .would leave the Boca Raton site be- .cause it wasn't big enough. For a time, .it appeared that the county would lose .theannual tournament to Coral Springs in Broward. But Delray got interested. .After much negotiation and debate ...- .little of it rancorous - the City Com- .mission approved a plan to rebuild the .municipal tennis complex downtown 'and add a stadium. That was an ambitious plan for a city of 47,000. And there were problems at first, not the least of which was buying -three homes to make room for the ·expansion. By the time all the details of the. $2.5 million project were worked out, the city had only four months to build a stadium with 5,000 permanent .and 3,500 temporary seats, plus other .courts and a clubhouse. 'Other kinks threw the project 10 days. behind schedule at one point. Difficulties in getting supplies contrib- uted to the problem. But by midweek, -the- work was essentially done, leaving time for cleanup and inspections. On top of that, the job came in only 3.2 percent The city got the Slims tournament, and residents got a great new tennis center. over bid. That is good by private- industry standards and almost unheard of in government work. Unlike the county, which hired a private company to supervise construc- tion of the new Judicial Center, Delray Beach had a clear chain of command. City Manager David Harden gave How- ard Wìght of the Engineering Depart- ment responsibility to oversee the proj- ect. "We had very close coordination of our engineering staff and our Building Department staff," Mr. Harden said. City employees were on the site to answer questions and forestall prob- lems whenever needed. Such confer- ences often took place at 7:30 a.m., according to architect Digby Bridges. The result is a complex that has been praised by tournament Director Sharon O'Connor as "by far the nicest tennis facility I've seen" in its class. Once the pros leave town, the new complex will be enlarged, providing the people of Delray Beach with a first-class recreation facility and the knowledge that their government made it happen. >t 1/1 ·t PINION: THE.PALM BEAÇH POST SUNDAY, MARCH 7, 1993 :J ~ l BELLE GLADE ON THE DELRAY BEACH POPULATION: 47,181 DIAGNOSIS: This is as close to ideal as it gets. There's almost no political in- fighting. Any differences get put aside so downtown rede- velopment projects such as Old School Square and a $2.5 million tennis complex can be completed. David Harden is an exceptional city manager, and Richard Overman an exceptional police chief. · PROGNOSIS: Excellent. A public works bonds issue is nearly completed. Both candidates in Tues- day's only contested commission election could help Delray. GREENACRES POPULATION: 18,683 nT A l"l\.Tl1,C'JC'. /I '--- --!- .. - gr a ended, in large part because former Town Manager Griff Roberts resigned in 1991. Mr. Roberts believed in paying for services with money from building permits. Under May- or Karen Golonka and' City Manager Lee Evett, Jupiter has fought to keep car dealerships from lining Indiantown Road. With luck, the current gov- ernment can correct the planning mistakes of the past. Jupiter's tax rate is also very low for a city of its size. PROGNOSIS: Good, if Tuesday' elections pro- duce council members who believe in planned growth. LAKE WORTH CRITICAL POPULATION: 28,564 DIAGNOSIS: Lake Worth has a good public beach, a casino and pool, a waterfront n11h1; ... ,W"'" A ..... _,..,... ,.,_,.J -. .. ,. PALM BEACH GARDENS which the council and ad~ln:' istration functioned smoothly led to recreation-center and civic-center projects and, ap- parently, to a high school w~l,l ahead of schedule. Royal Pa).m Beach has the best racial bal- ance of any suburban community. PROGNOSIS: Questionable. Recently, the vil-: Jage council. has dissolved into rivalries and accusà-· . tions' of ethics violations. The group that emerges : · from Tuesday's election still has to hire a city , · manager. These problems could be a momentary : lapse or a disturbing new pattern that stalls the · city's growth. ITUART STABLE ª"'¡ POPULATION: 11,936 . , DIAGNOSIS: The city ac- · ' complished a lot for down- . · · town under the leadership of' former Mayor Joan jefferson. "lt makes the manager strong enough to make some changes and excercise some leadership over the staff," Harden said. The manager, who studies group dynamics, is often criti- cized for not being more forceful on some issues, but he said it is all part of his leadership strategy. ''If an issue is going the way I think it should, I won't add any- thing," Harden said. "You only have so much political or person- al influence in a group. You need to be wise on what issues you speak." At City Hall, his low-key style of management has helped others feel secure in their jobs, he said. "I'm very calm. I don't get rat- tled about much. That tends to calm down the whole organiza- tion," Harden said. That calmness had been miss- ing from City Hall for years. · During the past decade, the city limped through eight manag- ers or acting managers who gen- erated complaints ranging from mismanagement to sexual harassment. . - Some workers point to their leader when talking about City Hall's current mood. "He's a very fair person," said Nancy Roti, Harden's secretary. "He considers everything. He doesn't make snap judgments." Commissioner Armand Mouw said he, too, likes Harden's style. !; '· ' "He's very nonpolitical. He's • : "! not out dreaming up schemes and 1 he doesn't put himself up front," , Mouw said. t "I'm aware of prior commis- - sions that have canned city man- agers because they weren't con- ----·---------- stantly leading, steering or motivating them and not guiding them by the hand. Harden does it in such a way that you hardly know it. It just happens. Maybe he's more of a politician than we think." Long days and nights filled with appointments, meetings and speaking engagements have left Harden struggling with time mana ement. Delray leader brings calm to city politics :': ---------------... .. , By CAROL LEWIS-BOHANNON Staff Writer DELRAY BEACH - Politicians say he is honest, ethical and soft-spoken. ; • Those are not necessarily attributes to help one get ahead in politics and business, but _ _..!!C""::aa?'II• armed with them, David T. Harden eased into a politically torn city two years ago and has emerged as one of the city's strongest leaders. Commissioners, some of whom wondered how the former U .S. Navy officer could calm the tur- moil, now say they have given Harden carte blanche to manage their city. "We are finally getting the city to run like a business," said Mayor Harden Tom Lynch. "He's the president of the corporation. He runs it and he runs it in the way he feels is right." . : Squabbling city workers are working together, COI\l: missioners have stopped bickering and residents are getting phone calls and letters answered. - To cross the political storm, Harden has juggled in:- · side City Hall as well as outside in the community ... He has been guided by his world view. "As a Christian, I treat every individual with r~ spect. I value their opinions and I see them as individ- uals," Harden said in his office on Thursday, his set>' ond anniversary. "I try to be sure my actions are based on that." ., ' , Job ~u~cess has ªls? come because of support frqm: comrmssioners, he said. ~ SEE MANAGER / 48 FROMPAGE1B Delray leader has a calming effect on city business ~. ~. < , ' Yet he manages quality time with his family .. His wife, Andrea, whom he met nearly 20years ago while stationed at Cecil Field Na- val Base near Jacksonville, said marrying him was the "smartest thing she has ever done." "He is a very diligent person," she said. "He is very helpful around the house. His Saturdays are spent doing things with the children or working on house repairs." Every Saturday morning is re- served for a pancake breakfast out with one of his three boys. Sunday mornings are reserved for church. Andrea Harden teaches their youngest son, Aaron, 11, at home .. .. , :{ .·• · City manager plans to float ahorne down Intracoastal · Project will be combined with çwo city-owned houses BY DARaE WÌ1JAIISOII . STAFF WRITER A vacant lot in. the 500 block of Delray Beach's North Swinton Avenue will soon be sporting a piece of history. Delray Beach City Manager David Harden is planning to buy and move an old West Palm Beach home to that spot early next year. "It's not in the historic district, but it's in a row of historic homes," city historic preserva- . tion planner Pat Cayce said. "The whole area is eligíble to become a historic district." · The lot borders two city historic districts, she said. Three-house project Harden's new circa -1926 home will be floated down the Atlantic Intracoastal Water- way by barge early next year, at the same time as the city's Community Redevelopment Agency moves two homes. The circa 1939 and 1925 houses are being saved from a bulldozer's path and moved to Delray Beach. Harden estimated his share of the moving bill, which will come out of his own pocket, to be about $50,000. The CRA and city government will jointly spend about $70,000 for the other two houses. Harden: Will The two CRA homes will be move home .placed between Northwest First and Swinton avenues in the Old School Square Historic District. The CRA has filed for eminent domain au- thority to acquire the cluster of brown du- plexes that now sit there. But because court proceedings are still pen- ding, CRA spokeswoman Diane Hervey said the agency will ask Palm Beach County com- missioners next Tuesday for more time to get the homes ont of West Palm Beach. Airport noise doomed homes Both houses are among the 360 houses the county bought because of noise problems asso- ciated with néighboring Palm Beach Interna- tional Airport. County officials had wanted all the homes moved or demolished by this month. The CRA will ask them to extend that deadline until March 1, Hervey said. Harden said his home is not owned by the county but was recently acquired by the Nor- ton Gallery of Art as part of an expansion project. Harden said the three-bedroom, Mediterra- nean-style house has been completely restored. The CRA will get a $242,800 state grant to restore both of its houses, which were received at no~ from the county.O .; Unbecoming an officer T he Delray Beach Police Depart- ment has no use for Verna Cook. For most of her career in law enforcement, officer Cook has been outstanding. She has been a D.A.R.E. officer, counseling youngsters about the dangers of drugs, in both Connecti- cut and Florida. "li I can teach just one child not to go out there and hurt somebody, then I feel like I've accom- plished something," she said in a 1990 interview. In Connecticut she was known as "Officer Friendly," and in Delray Beach the mother of five has been praised as someone with whom students "feel very comfortable." The best single-word explanation for what has happened to this highly qualified officer is "politics." Mrs. Cook seems to have decided that she should be giving orders rather than taking them. One factor may have been the dissatisfaction of some residents with the selection of Richard Over- man, who is white, to succeed Charles Kilgore as chief. Mrs. Cook is a local representative of the National Black Police Association. Perhaps more im- portant, Mrs. Cook seems to have come under the influence of at least one outsider who wants to sway depart- ment policy through her. Whatever the reasons, the result has been a record of insubordination. Mrs. Cook drew a seven-day suspen- sion, which she has challenged, for Verna Cook deserves to be fired from the police force in Delray Beach for insubordination. resisting a sergeant's order while working in uniform as an unpaid vol- unteer at a block party. The breaking point came, according to the depart- ment, when she repeatedly lied about her location after failing to respond promptly to a radio call. She told a supervisor she was at Northwest Fourth A venue and Lake Ida Road. In fact, she was nearly a half-mile away. Then, during an internal investigation, she denied having told her supervisor of her error, according to police rec- ords. Chief Overman has recommended that Ms. Cook be fired. City Manager David Harden will make the decision. li she is fired - as she should be - there may be complaints that a minor- ity officer is being singled out unfairly. But there's no racism here. Chief Over- man has pledged to improve relations between minority residents and the department, and he's following through on that promise. Ms. Cook simply broke the rules. All officers know that doing so carries a price. . ~ ,. . . . IA TÌjè Ne.k..".W~nesday·_~mber 8, 1993 ·~·· r.~ F u· . . . -~. : f' .. : . . ·;. .· i' .· ,; . ',. . -__ ,., . .ª . ---_ .. ·1'·\· ·= l.• . •• • . - ·" : ·- _. t_.. . - . . . ' .. ·--·,·_., ; IIIÎ o , '· OUR VIEWS .... Historic .. preservation : sets De1ray apart The issue: . . . Historic preservation in Delray Beach .. -We suggest · Moré ·residents shòuld pa!'!-icipgte ..... H istoric preservation in Delray Beach ~--~J~h- m~rf than Old: _ School Square. It's Doc's Soft Serve, thé Sundy House, the . Colony Hotel and the Seaboard Railroad Depot. And in thé · _ next several weeks, three historic houses from West Palm · Beach .will be added to the list. Delray Beach's. commitment to his- . toric preservation is paying off, but the hárd work .must'continue..' . . ~--------------~"· · _._ · City Manager' David · Harden deserves a pat on the back for not.just talking - about hístoric preservation, '11. 1 but takíng.a .personal stake . ': .s. ilciii-' the process. .Harden is.-.,: - .•. ;:. . .: pay4tç foi a_ 1926 house to ·_ · be delivered from West Palm Beach. As private citi- ,.- zen DavidHarden, he will i .;, p}y Jro~ :~ own pocket.for : : restoratíon and plans to put the house at 500 N. Swinton -Ave. His house is being _ · .. moved to malee way for ex- -.' . -:pansion of. the Norton.Art Y iGalJèry. -~ . The other two historic houses - are from the Hill- crest subdivision and are be- ing· -mòv~d to malee way· for expansion of Pairo Beach - "International Airport. One. of the houses is planned to become the office for Delray Beach's Community-Rede- velopment Agency. Appro- priately; the otherís · · · · -scheduled to become-the of- fice of the county's Preser- vation Board. ln the next several weeks, all three will floate south down the r . ·.· YOU HAVÈ THE POWER · • The more residents become involved; : the more vibrant will be redevelopment in ' Delray Beach. City. Manag~r David Hard- en's purchase of a 'historic home hopefully - · will spark more historic· development on ,- North Swinton Avenue. · . . WRITE/CALL · City Manager David Harden :. 100 NW First Ave. Delray Beach; FL 33444 243-7010 - Intracoastai waterway to l\.Ilow1c:; rill~. ~ç1u,ulòWU&5 '·",.,..., uu """" two houses will be.paid primarily by a $242,SQO state grant. ;. · · Harden estimates his share of the moving bill to be about $S0,000.• . The CRA is paying the $70;000 to float thè'òther:two houses to their ' . ; ·. _ i · ~new.Defray Beach· locations. ·cRA Executive Dírector Chris Brown · ·· · : · figures it -will-cost another ,$15;()® -in ·moving cosq¡ and to install utí- .· .·· . · litfes. Histo~ prese,y@ªº!l isn't·-cheap, but it's_. w~rtbwhfl~... _. . . ~. - . ti.. ·,thema,,1vorlflbút-':""'-'1ake::thCf'commitrilent :of the en- . -~""'~ - ' V'.,. ·~":'I"¡';. ·!~ -~ ... ~, • • ,.:-,-:-,. • • • •: .... • •. . • , . .. . .comm\mfty.·. or example, the·.westem theme-ili downtown~DaVIe ·. . : . · ·hasset thatcítyapart from··oib~rs-·in suburban.Broward. Pensacola :- .c .: _, ,li-.-,.,.-~::--.~-.-.,: '(•,\~,,-~~c:,~;¿:~¡1:¡-h'!fr~!~~~:lîfJ~~~~~~·J~~w:?~,~~1 ~ . ..: .. · blestone· streets. Historic buildíngs on Clematis Street were renn- . ~ . , .·. · . . bished, and the formerly one-way strip of boarded-up stor~qonts is ¡-.: ~~fo<>,.~~ :_/~ ';_ !?{~·f··~-~~!i5~~<t-l!Ìl¡.:.~ .p~çk_Ç(!His,.~#1.dabytm.iuil· .din.~ \lòtwn=t8~n Wh~tlPti~lßí'ght · .,.. .--.. - J' · ·,, :'. ·· \._ ~- ~ ',.,,..opJ>C,S' tone A ave rou · ~: · WAYIŒ~ - //: } (.'. ~· '. : : bacli .. ~plefto· tölatonce.!d~nñarít Martin:"CoìÌ t · · bwntown. These · t _VPU.dllòr -/_/ ~-·'.· ~,.'((,,-·'~ Chan_gCS::~dn.'t happen OVCrnight •.. · . ..,.:,.· . . .· · .,_,, •.• ~···· · f.J~~~ ' .. ,· \:·.:.· .. ·,·,· ~~!Of,~:,~ ~ain~WJ!tò~~Yt:·~~- · :! c.RAND.w.Muw, -1· · -· ·. ·.,~tfîêr-step br the löng!~ of making histöriG.~~ )VorJ[. {: r.lllarlll,...F.dllar .'·: ··,~y Beacb ~~t;s'.~1()fßciaü.~deserve:.ct~tfor,.w.J.iat .th.ey;-.~ye 1..ooz,J:Aunr :, . -dò~ and encouragement to ·keep Up the -good',~9.rk.O • · · .. · -·· . . · VP/~ _,.. ·;, . : •:··. _., .. '<·· .. • .;_,( .. -~-· :-.·· The • quire To Life PHOTOS by PAMELA JONES 44 PHOTO BY ROBER! BRANTlEY BY BERNARD McCORMICK T HERE are people living west of Boca Raton who love where they live but hate their addresses. We refer to the legal battles between residents who purchased new homes in the area and developers who sold it to them. It seemed when the mailman came calling, the new residents discovered they did not have a Boca Raton ad- dress. They were served by the Del- ray Beach post office. It was mortifying. The residents sued, claiming the developer misled them when they purchased units in Boca Dopa, or wherever, into think- ing they were going to dwell in sto- ried Boca Raton. To people in Delray Beach, the in- cident was doubly amusing. First, few people living in Delray Beach covet a Boca Raton address. To them Boca Ra- ton is a bunch of nouveaus so alien to the subtle graces of Delray Beach that the matter is not worth a second mar- tini. And when it comes to storied past, Delray residents giggled a sec- ond time. Delray had a storied past Gold Coast JAl\L:ARY 1994 T lie suct"css of Detro» Beach's ,, rcdct-clinnncní is that it ntanaced to reneu: rather than change. benefit. TI1e east side of Atlantic Boule- 0 »rd is scheduled for $950,000 worth , improvements in the next stage. "We were more of a business facil- itator, an organizer," says Lynch. Over several years of progress so many or- ganizations got on the bandwagon that the Chamber of Commerce this year brought Marjorie Ferrer up from \!iami to coordinate the marketing cf torts of some 25 groups anxious to participate in the increasing number of events bringing visitors to the downtown. The Art and Jazz on the avenue gre\·V from 2,500 when begun to 25,000 todav. Looking for vvays to publicize \\-:',., it had done, the city scored a ma- jor coup when it landed the prestigious Virginia Slims of Florida on a 20-year contract The Slims had been played for five years at the Polo Club of Boca Raton and promoter George Liddy had been negotiating with the city of Coral Springs when the possibility of Delrav Beach de..veloped. 'The Irish believe in fate," says Lid- dy. "lt wasn't really based on logic. Logic said Coral Springs. The selec- tion was a visceral one. We went up and liked what we saw. After meet- ing with Mayor Tom Lynch,Joe Wel- don (director of parks and recreation) and David arden (city manager), we were aware there was no personal vanity involved. The fortunes of Del- ra y Beach were their only concern. Every subsequent week has confirmed the correctness of our decision." The city built a beautiful tennis cen- ter on the site of an existing recreation area. Liddy guessed the move could cost the tournament a 30 percent loss in spectators the first year. Instead at- tendance was up 10,000 and returned $6 million to Delray Beach. It also showcased for 81,200 people, almost SO percent of whom came from Gold Coast ABOVE: Marjorie Ferrer is the d_1¡11111110 who coordinates 25 organimtion« participating in Dr/ray's rc11nissn11œ. She's 011 ha portabl« ¡1lw11c nt Emu'» dur- i11g "Art and Jazz 011 the A11t.·n11c." outside Palm Beach County, the re- developed Atlantic Avenue and Old School Square. lt sure beat pineapples for promotion. T HE result of such facilities as Old School Square and The Tennis Center located on the fringe of the old black neigh- borhood has been a sociological shift. Damiano's, one of South Florida's most acclaimed new restaurants, has appeared on Swinton Boulevard, in a historic house in what had been a slowly decaying area. And, one of the area's most popular nightspots, The Backroom, located behind Westside Liquors and owned by a prominent black resident, Carolyn Cunningham, draws a consistently integrated crowd. "Who would have thought you'd have a mixed neighborhood 10 years ago?" says Lynch. "But it turned out that people were willing to take a risk on a neighborhood that was moder- ately unstable." !, i ! Virginia Slims of Florida is helping show- case Delray Bench's redeietopmení, The 11ew tennis center attracted more than 81,000 people in Marci, - a world record for ll1()111<'11's 011tdoor tennis. And nil unthiu walki11g distance of the commerciol district. 49 From Crazy Quilt to Story Quilt ... Delray Beach Spins Threadbare Patches into Downtown Tapestry by Stephanie Murphy l the tale of Delray Beach were recorded as a story quilt, the city's first 100 years would unfold in rich, random patches that fade into the colorful, blaz- ing decade of its centennial. Unquestionably the most vi- brant, these recent 1 O years are the most significant index of what Delray Beach can become in its second century. The de- cade also reminds observers not to forget the grim 1970s or how long the city was stranded in gray areas dominated by political skirmishes and eroding re- sources. By then, the steep decline of the Central Business District was reflected in staggering va- cancies on the verge of 50 per- cent. Downtown was never on Sunday, schools wore sad faces and crime was having neighbor- hoods for breakfast. Today, the devil goes hungry, schools are winners and Down- town is all but full. The home- runs keep on coming-from na- tional awards to widespread rec- ognition for individual and col- lective excellence. Waves of in- quiries frame the same ques- tions: "How did you do it and who paid for it?" Individual heroes and hero- ines, several milestones, related events and consensus-building movements help explain Delray Beach as a national model. The status is deserved, partly be- FWRIDA LEAGUE OF CITIES 14 cause citizens refused to abdi- cate responsibility to govern- ment. Instead of using the "es- tablishment" as a perennial crutch, instead of bashing the system once again, Delray re- belled by joining, then leading, the fight for a Downtown renais- sance." 1984 emerges as the pivotal year that altered the city's face and future. The following chro- nology measures events within government, business, and com- munity circles that fostered and harnessed momentum in a uni- fied direction. Doak Campbell, mayor of the city in 1984, believed Delray had no future unless the Downtown was rescued. Revitalizing the city's gateway was the obvious linchpin, so Campbell organized an Atlantic Avenue Task Force of 25 members to study renewal of the avenue. Goals were identi- fied, including infrastructure, physical enhancements. historic preservation, a marketing master plan and incentives for new ten- ants. Ironically, positive change developed from a strong determi- nation to reject aspects of "im- proved" infrastructure that were already in the blueprint stage. The Department of Transporta- tion proposed to revamp Atlantic Avenue by widening it to six lanes. People who seldom shared opinions about anything agreed to battle the Department of Transportation to save their sidewalks and parking spaces. As insurance executive Tom Lynch (then president of the Chamber of Commerce and now mayor) explains: "We fought it and won because everyone de- cided to beautify the street in- stead of widening it. We decided it was more progressive to fix the product first, then market it- rather than after (new business arrived). There were plenty of Doubting Thomases who now realize we were right." In 1985, as recommended by the Task Force, the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) was created to revitalize a 1,900- acre district between Southwest 10th Street and Gulfstream Bou- levard. Historically important. the CRA district complemented long-range goals that dove-tailed with a new Downtown, where landscape improvements were being financed by city utility bills. Banking on the dual engines of culture and history to gener- ate momentum in the business community, the Task Force iden- tified the abandoned elementary school at Swinton and Atlantic as a keystone project from which others could evolve. Warts and · all, the school was nonetheless a prize for three good reasons: (1) its historic status was valuable among citizens pre-disposed to honor heritage; (2) it had served as a stage for touring perform- ers, so preserving its cultural focus offered continuity; and (3) its location had incomparable advantages as a drawing card for all comers of the community. The 1926 structure was pur- chased from Palm Beach County in 1989, using funds from the Decade of Excellence Bond Ref- erendum endorsed by residents, as well as grants from the Flor- ida Division of Cultural Affairs and the Division of Historic Re- sources. A non-profit organiza- tion of citizens restored Old School Square (see related ar- ticle in this issue) as a cultural complex that readily blossomed QUALl1Y CITIES - JANUARY 1995 15 into the Downtown's centerpiece. After the buildings were saved, private donations were converted into showcase facilities, the Cornell Museum of Art and His- tory and the Crest Theatre, now coveted by regional performing arts groups. Last month, Old School Square became a national model for excellence, for achievement beyond its designed mission, by bridging the comfort zones of a community very diverse eco- nomically and ethnically. A downtown redevelopment strategy devised in the late 1980s wisely plugged into Delray's heritage as an artist's colony where noted writers and cartoonists of the day had gath- ered. During the 1930s, they soaked up seaside charm while studying the elements that drew growing numbers of wealthy tourists beyond Palm Beach. In 1987, real estate developer Alexander "Sandy" Simon chal- lenged the business community and residents to temporarily deal government out of the equation that symbolized Delray's future. In a town hall-style weekend retreat to Stuart the following year, more than 100 well-wish- ers participated in the Visions 2000 Assembly. They identified specific goals and a larger purpose: "a commu- nity renaissance to enhance the city's unique cultural, historical and natural resources to main- tain and attract a diversified and balanced population." All agreed on the need to re- build Downtown, including mi- nority neighborhoods; to recap- ture the oceanside village atmo- sphere with its strong artistic element; and to adopt a long- term citywide infrastructure agenda that would fuel such a turnaround. Specifics included a new streetscape for Atlantic Avenue, to upgrade and unify its image; an initiative to improve inner- city schools, as well as the res- ~0sâtlsf áctiôti··, . ..~ . ~ "· -~ . : . . j ' . .~ ¡,;,;;, .. ;-. . ' At Municipal Q:isle ·eo.:woration we work hand in haÍfd tQ\\~rd a common goal - ~XCEL~E:NCE in serving our valued clients. OÙrá:lients: satisfaction is the measure of òur success. • Fourteen Full-time Staff Attorneys • Professional Ordinance Codification ""·"",;, ~ -~-,,~ ~ ~~~F_~~:i • Continuous Code · · Updating • Your Code on Computer • SOCRATES Search and Retrieval Software • Complete Minutes ' Iridexing Service Municipal C44.è Corporation ·-º l's'~ THE NA TION"S.1::B'&)ING CODIFIER li-800~262-e2ô33 I· -~.i- ~'%~ • .:$t ~~-!i' FLORIDA LEAGUE OF CITIES 16 cue of Old School Square; com- mitment to overhaul the drain- age, sewage and road systems; and a campaign to anchor West Atlantic Avenue with desirable landmarks, such as the new regional courthouse, and new police and fire stations. A $21.5 million bond referen- dum passed in 1989, with funds earmarked for public works projects and beautification. The status quo advanced dramati- cally in 1990 with a new mayor (Lynch) and new City Commis- sioners Jay Alperin and David Randol h, who hired City Man- ager avìd.Harden to operate government as a usiness. n 1991, the po tee department hired community-minded Chief Richard Overman. ln 1992, a committee led by Sandra Almy documented Delray's level of citizen activism in an All-American City applica- tion. The only Florida city among 30 finalists for the award, Delray garnered praise in a program that singles out cities that ad- dress problems and fix them through citizen involvement. Their efforts to beautify and bolster must reflect a significant grassroots collaboration. Beyond asking for funds, such cities must demonstrate wise plans for spending to improve their qual- ity of life. When the All-America City Award was announced in May 1993, Almy's words rang true: "Diversity is our history. How we handle that diversity is our fu- ture." The ethnic and cultural gaps that seemed to be an ob- stacle, proved to be a blessing. As people channeled the energy of their diversity, they forged new initiatives to fight crime, to improve education and to revi- talize deteriorating, older neigh- borhoods. Lynch says that "Our All- America status reflects national awareness of how the commu- nity works together to resolve urban problems as a combined citizen/merchant effort. We al- ready knew we were making it- and making a difference. The official designation drew broader recognition of our unity." Other highlights during that year included the designation of Delray's 3,200-seat Tennis Cen- ter as the best-built facility in the world. Explains CRA Chairman Kevin Egan, the former municipal tennis court had been an eyesore the city wanted to move. Yet people realized that a major reno- vation could make the Tennis Center a plum for West Atlantic Avenue. Its success in drawing a 20- year commitment for major com- petitions, such as the Delray Beach Winter Championships (formerly the Virginia Slims Win- ter Championships), helped sell Palm Beach County on a $1 mil- lion grant for 5,000 additional permanent seats. Located a few hundred yards west of Old School Square, the Tennis Center also is being positioned as an arena to present major entertain- ment such as concerts and sport- ing events that promoters would relish. Egan had been part of the At- lantic Avenue Task Force, as were many other leaders who now sit on the boards of agencies making decisions regarding Downtown redevelopment. Egan says, "It's easy to be on the same page when you learn together. We get along on issues because we started at the same point." In fall 1994, Delray scored another monumental coup with its Florida Main Street designa- tion for Pineapple Grove, a 24- block neighborhood northeast of Atlantic and Swinton avenues. A national program that has recog- nized 35 Florida cities since 1985, the Main Street revitaliza- tion approach incorporates ele- ments of organization, promo- tion, design and economic re- structuring. The historically significant business center of Pineapple Grove is a unique selection, since most Main Street designations involve a community's primary thoroughfare and CBD. The im- petus for Pineapple Grove Main Street Inc., an independent non- profit entity, came from the Del- ray Beach Joint Venture, which financed professional consulta- tion on the program's methods. The Joint Venture is Delray's Secret Weapon lf Delray has one secret weapon that reinforces all its other winning moves in recent years, it is the Joint Venture-a collaboration of the CRA, the Downtown Development Author- ity (DDA) and the Chamber of Commerce. Marjorie Ferrer, downtown coordinator hired in 1993, says that "The Joint Venture grew out of a long-time marketing frustra- tion. The CRA doesn't need to be in the special-events business and the DDA is a taxing author- ity. Then you have the Chamber, which must address the con- cerns of a very broad member- ship-far beyond Downtown. The Joint Venture became a textbook example of how to put together a public-private partnership that really works." The Chamber and the CRA made a convincing argument for the Joint Venture, a progressive operation that has been modeled extensively by neighboring Boyn- ton Beach and other Florida mu- nicipalities. The Joint Venture addresses Atlantic Avenue as an overall district rather than a single, isolated street. Improve- ments on the Avenue spill over into surrounding areas, extend- ing the unity further. Often asked to make presen- tations on her role, Ferrer said, "People seem surprised Delray is so willing to share its concepts and strategies. But sharing the wealth is one reason Delray has come this far in the first place. We make it happen together." Selected by a search commit- tee from a field of 350 appli- cants, she is experienced in both private industry and non-profit organizations-with more than 25 years experience in market- ing, merchandising and adminis- tration. Her Joint Venture duties include marketing the area from 1-95 to AIA; developing and pre- senting special events; coordi- nating a master calendar; serv- ing as a "staff resource" to facili- tate good communications among all agencies, organiza- QUALI1Y CITIES - JANUARY 1995 17 tions and the city; and servìng as the point person to attract new business ventures to fill any Downtown vacancies. Thus, Ferrer develops pro- grams to reinforce the downtown as a retail destination; promotes the cultural and historic advan- tages of the area; develops and presents special events such as "Art and Jazz on the Avenue"; devotes 20 hours a month to projects for the DDA; and devel- ops Avenue-driven marketing strategies to attract the most desirable new tenants. DDA Chairman Mike Listick, a local attorney, says his agency's commitment to the Joint Ven- ture is reflected as a priority in the annual budget: "Our single highest priority was maintaining support for the Joint Venture, and we're very proud of DDA's role in organizing such a pro- gressive structure. One of the beauties is, it triggered some important communication that wasn't there previously. And good communication can erase resistance to something that really is the right thing to do." Ferrer used good communica- tion to introduce herself to Delray. Having relocated from Miami-untainted by any politi- cal allegiance-she soon realized her newcomer status was a dis- tinct advantage. Almost immedi- ately, she polled each special interest group to identify its perception of Delray's current image versus what was desir- able. From the answers given by two government agencies, dozens of merchants and more than 20 special interest groups, she learned many favored similar elements that, when blended, could become a powerful syn- ergy: hometown, artist colony, seaside village, historic land- marks, cultural and performing arts core (music and theater). beaches, a renaissance city, up- scale shops with unique mer- chandise oriented toward per- sonalized service, and a boutique atmosphere for shopping. Once common ground was clear, Ferrer showed them how to avoid scheduling competing CITY OF DELRAY BEACH CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM Our 94 million dollar Capital Improvement Program is a well-devised plan designed to benefit the entire City. It was launched five years ago and is funded primarily by the Decade of Excellence Bond Issue, the Water and Sewer Revenue Bond, and the Stormwater Utility Fund. The projects include improvements to roads, alleys, storm drainage, sidewalks, and the construction of three new fire stations. The Capital Improvement Program is revitalizing the City and attracting new families and businesses to Delray Beach. The renovation of Old School Square, improvements to parks and recreational facilities, restoration of our municipal beach, construction of the new Tennis Center and soon to be completed Golf Course Clubhouse all contribute to an attractive lifestyle for residents and visitors to Delray Beach. During the last five years, the City has successfully completed projects with construction costs totalling over $76,000,000. There's another $18,000,000 worth of projects in the works. We are proud of our accomplishments during this short period of time and look forward to continue building a bright future for the City of Delray Beach. 94 Million Dollars Worth of Progress! Public Utilities Projects $46.7 million Fire Facilities and Equipment 7.3 million Recreational Facilities 11.8 million Cultural Facilities 3.3 million Paving, Drainage and Sidewalks 17.4 million Beautification Projects 7 .5 million TOTAL: $94 MILLION Building a Bright Future for Delray Beach! DELRAY BEACH FLORIDA ***** All-America City ~ I I' ® 1993 Thomas E. Lynch Mayor Kenneth Ellingsworth David E. Randolph, Sr. Barbara Smith Co111111issio11er Commissioner Co111111issio11er David T. Harden City Manager William Greenwood Environmental Services Director Produced by the Cíty of Delray Beach 100 N.W. Fírst Avenue Delray Beach, Florída 33444 For more lnformatíon call (407) 243-7000 CITY OF DELRAY BEACH 94 MILLION DOLLAR CAPITAL IMPROVEI\1ENT PROGRAM OUR PROGRESS IS SHOWING! Veterans Park Swinton Avenue Beautification Fire Department Headquarters Look What We 've Done in Five Years! I ) account for 3.5 million gallons of domestic water storage. Recently completed Miller tank at Miller Park accounts for an additional 2.5 million gallons of storage and increased the water pressure for the southern section of the City. A state-of-the-art Aquifer Underground Storage Reservoir facility is presently being designed and will account for an additional 60 million gallons of water storage when completed. I I. Beautification Projects Landscaping; brick paver and concrete curbing on Atlantic Avenue, west of the Intracoastal; Congress Avenue; Swinton Avenue; Federal Highway; N.E. 2nd Avenue: and the Boy Scout Hut on Lake Ida Road have improved areas of the City. Beautification improvements on Atlantic Avenue, east of the Intracoastal and west of 1-95 will be completed by the fall of '95. I 2. City Attorney's Offlce Block Renovations The former public utilities building at N.W. I st Avenue and N.W. 2nd Street was rehabilitated both inside and out. Construction of a new parking lot and passive park for the entire block will be completed in the spring of '95. I 3. Golf Course Improvements New fairways, cart paths and the rehabilitation of greens have made the course one of the finest in the area. The new clubhouse will be completed by the summer of '95 and will provide banquet facilities to accommodate 250 people. 14. Miller Field/Currie Commons Park This expansion project provides addiÍional ball fields for baseball and soccer, lighting, additional parking, a press box and landscaping. I 5. S. W. 10th Street/S. W. 10th Avenue Improvements Reconstruction and widening of S.W. I 0th Street from Swinton/Old Dixie to Congress Avenue; and S.W. I 0th Avenue from Linton to S.W. 10th Street, is presently under construction and will be completed by the summer of '95. Total costs for this work is $2.2 million. 16. Water Treatment Plant Expansion Water quality has improved with the addition of an excess lime softening plant, laboratory expansion and equipment replacements. The facility was completely repainted. 17. Beach Arca Storrnwater Pump Stations Bay Street and Basin Drive Pump Stations are under construction and will be completed by the summer of '95. Additional pump stations are being designed and will be in operation by the winter of '95. These stations will greatly reduce the seasonal flooding in the area. 18. Water/Sewer Enclaves Provides water distribution and sanitary sewer to former County enclave "pockets" within the City limits. I 9. Street Resurfacing To date the City has resurfaced 32 miles of City streets. This work also includes swale grading, and in some cases, sidewalk construction. 20. Water l>istrihution System Improvements Various projects were upgraded with over 61,000 linear feet of water transmission mains to insure adequate fire flows and pressures. I. Delrav Beach Tennis Center Horne to the Delray Beach Winter Championships, this $4.7 million tennis complex provides residents with a world class facility for professional tennis, junior matches. special events and everyday use. Phase III is presently under construction and when completed will provide over 8,200 permanent stadium seats. 2. New Fire Stations Station #2 is located in the beach area, Station #5 serves the southwest section of the City and Fire Station Headquarters is located on West Atlantic Avenue. J. Olei School Square The City's oldest school buildings were restored and transformed into a multifaceted cultural arts center, which has become the focal point of the City. 4. ~orthwcst/Northcast/Southwest/Beach Arca Roadway Reconstruction Complete roadway reconstruction on a number of streets in these areas including storm drainage, water distribution and sanitary sewer upgrades. 5. Sanitary Sewer and Lift Station Improvements Construction is complete on the new sewage booster pump station. Several individual lift stations have been built or rehabilitated. The existing master lift station at Veterans Park has been demolished to make room for the Phase li Veterans Park improvements. ó. Beach Improvements One million cubic yards of sand was dredged from offshore in 1992 and placed on the municipal beach. A new beach patrol facility at Sandoway Park will be completed by the summer of '95. 7. Alky Recunxrruction Phase I and Phase Il Alleys in downtown business district were reconstructed and repaved, and downtown parking areas improved. 8. \'ctt•rans Park Recently completed Phase I construction of Veterans Park includes a new shuffleboard and lawn bowling courts, a gazebo, brick paver sidewalks, and the interior renovation of the existing Community Center. An innovative award winning playground was built by the community. Phase II construction adjacent to Atlantic Avenue, including a fountain and riverwalk, will be completed by the spring of '95. 9. Raw Water Supply New wells are proposed at Morikami Park (summer '95) and two new wells have been completed at the Golf Course; combined with new associated transmission mains should provide a source of quality water well into the next century. I O. Wall'!' Storage Tank Rehabilitation/Construction Renovation has been completed on the North Reservoir, South Reservoir and the Elevated Storage Tank which combined THE ALL-AMERICA CITY "Parade of Capital Projects" w :::> z o ~ _J o:: <( ~ o:: ~ f- o ;E >- o:: o:: <( <( œ LAKE IDA ROAD I- :J 2 ~ ATLANTIC LOWSON 9 19 accourr Recenti additiot pressur Aquifer being d gallons 11. Bcautil Landsc Avenue Avenue: Hut on Beautif Jntracoa 12. City Al The for N.W. 2r Constru entire b 13.Golfü New fai made th clubhou provide 14. Miller I This ex¡ baseball and lam 15. S.W. IO Reconst Swinton from Lii construe costs foi 16. Water 1 Water q1 lime sof replacerr 17. Beach ¡J Bay Stre construe Additior opcratio reduce ti 18. Water/~ Provides County t 19. Street I~ To date t work als sidewalk 20. Wulcr r Various J of water and pres: SUNDAY, JUNE 24, 2001 Delray regains honor as All-America City The city is joined on the list by South Miami, but Deerfield Beach falls short of Florida sweep. By Howie Paul Hartnett Palm, Beach Post Staff Writer ATI.ANTA - For weeks leading up to this year's All- America City Awards competi- tion, Joe Gillie said not only was Delray Beach going to win a sec- ond title, it was going to be named first Saturday, his prediction came true. , "We came to win," said Gillie, • executive director of Old School Square. . Delray Beach was the first of 10 communities awarded the an- nual title sponsored by the Na- tional Civic League and Allstate • ·Insurance. Each year more than 100 ·communities apply for the award. A panel trims that list to 30 :fi- • nalists, whose representatives travel to the national convention • ,- in Atlanta this year - to com- pete for the 10 titles. Florida communities book- ended .. the ceremony jsith South Miami winning the award on its :first attempt Deerfield Beach, Florida's third representative, did not win. Delray Beach is the :first Florida community to win the award twice. The city first won in 1993, a fact they still advertise on signs all over the city. In 1998, the city was a :finalist, but lost "I have gotten it before and I've not gotten it," said Chuck Ridley, co-chairman of the city's award committee. "Getting it is a lot better." Every one of the nearly 100. member delegation agreed with . Ridley as they stormed the stage. Mayor David Schmidt ac- cepted the award for all the resi- dents of Delray Beach. "Thank you on behalf of the 60,000 pieces that make up that quilt," said Schmidt, referring to the prop the city used in its stage presentation. Then Schmidt pointed to · Frandy Roberts, one of the former gang members who trav- eled with the city to tell judges Pteasß see ALL-AMERICA, 48 4B THE PALM BEACH POST e SUNDAY, JUNE 24, 2001 Florida towns show each other support at national contest ALL-AMERICA From1B how he turned his life around through the Youth Enrichment Vocational Program. "Island Boy, if you think your mom is proud of you now, wait until she sees 'this award," Schmidt said using Roberts' nickname. · His mom is not the only one Roberts intends to show the award to. He promised to men- tion the award when he tries to recruit others for the program. · "This gives me more str.ength to do more good," he said. "This is one of the best feel- ings I've had in a long time." Besides Roberts' program, the city told judges about the Vil- lage Academy, a deregulated school opened last year mainly to help minority students; and the Community Neighbors Help- ing, a senior citizen volunteer program. The strength of those projects seemed to give city offi- cials an abundance of confi- dence. But that was all a facade, Ridley.saìd. ''We were about to throw up," he said. "It's much harder to AH-America cities Here are the 10 win- ners named Saturday of the 2001 All- America City Awards. Delray Beach South Miami Santa Clara, Calif. Fort Dodge, Iowa Howard County, Md. Ocean City, Md. Independence,Mo. Bozeman, Mont Fayetteville, N.C. Brownsville, Texas ' get the second one." Wìnning the first one was all that South Miami officials were thinking about Saturday. But it didn't come easy. The last of the 10 cities an- nounced, they had to wait until the end to learn their fate. The three South Florida cit- ies were supportive of each oth- er. As they came off stage, South Miami folks were greeted by Delray Beach supporters, JENNI GIRTMAN/Atlanta Journal-Constitution Delray Beach City Manager David Harden gives Downtown Joint Venture Director Marjorie Ferrer a hug after the city was awarded, who gave them a standing ova- tion and joined in the city's cheer. And when Deerfield Beach officials accepted their consola- I tion prize, Delray Beach and South Miami supporters chant- ed, "Florida, Florida." Delray Beach supporters spent Saturday celebrating, but they already know the first order of business when they get home. ''We've got some signs to change," resident Frank McKin- ney said. > howie_paul_hartnett@pbpost.com • Stay Connected • I Friday, April 08, 2011 î!Cbe Tßoca 3ß.aton î!Críbune Your Closest Neighbor !!Seard! in site ... - • Home • Business • Community • Municipal • Sports • Faith • Columnists • Arts& Life • Politics • Contact Us • ABOUT US • Events • Mail Subscription • Where you can find our newspaper. Delray Beach city manager wins prestigious awards Rating 3.00 out of 5 [1] DELRAY BEACH - The Florida City and County Management Association (FCCMA) presented the 20 I O A ward for Career Excellence to Delray Beach City Manager David T. Harden for his exceptional service in municipal government The presentation took place at its annual luncheon held recently in Orlando. The A ward for Career Excellence acknowledges "an outstanding local government administrator who has fostered representative democracy by enhancing the effectiveness oflocal elected officials and by consistently initiating creative and successful programs." Delray Beach City Manager David T. Harden During his 39 years in municipal government, 20 of which have been dedicated to the city ofDelray Beach, Harden's style ofleadership has established a vision for the city that focuses on improving the quality oflife in the community. His philosophy is to strive to improve upon this vision by working diligently with the City Commission and municipal employees to meet the needs of all residents. Harden also received the FCCMA President's Award for outstanding professional team building and Managers in Transition (MITS) support The FCCMA President awards this honor to those who, by example, have gone above and beyond in modeling the core practices oflocal government management. In addition, the City's Grant Team received honorable mention in the Program Awards Excellence category for its successful efforts in securing Federal Economic Stimulus Funding which has been used to benefit the community. Harden began his career in local government in 1971 when he became a planner for Orange County, Florida. Three years later, he took the position of city planner for Winter Park and in 1977, rose to the position of city manager. http://www.bocaratontribune.com/delray-beach-city-manager-wins-prestigious-awards/ 4/8/2011 ln 1989, Harden left Winter Park and in 1990 took on the responsibility of city manager for Delray Beach. :::i~i:ai¡; ~~::! s:::~:g;t~~:! !"::1d3;~~ s~:~~g~n=~ ~~~:::~ttth~eJ:~~ ~~º!!y r;!:~::gan°;1;:;3~ª;~1~¿ ~vinf11 enea ity onors (1993 and 2001), Preserve America Community (2008) and Playful City USA (2009). g 0 like 8 peq>le ike this. Be the first of vour friends. + + # THE PALM BEACH POST REAL NEWS STARTS HE~E SATURDAY, JULY 21, 2012 7B Harden reflects on 22 years as Delray manager . _J David Harden will retire in January after bringing stability and growth to the city. By Marla Herrera Sun Sentinel DELRAY BEACH - He's a soft-spoken, methodical man who is often viewed by residents who object to his style as autocratic, but when he delivered his res- ignation speech, his voice trembled slightly with emotion. City Manager David Harden announced last week that he will retire in January after 22 years in offìcé - more than tripling the· average tenure for mu- nicipal managers. "I look back and say, 'How did he do it?'" said former City Commissioner Gary Eliopoulos. "It real- ly is that so-called person- ality of not communícat- ìng too much that kept him in office. He outlasted ev- . eryone." Harden was the city's second choice in 1990 when he was hired, a timé when the city had gone through several city managers in a matter of months. Former Mayor David Schmidt, who served on th.e city commission from 1997 until 2003, said Hard- en's personality is just what the city needed: "The calm manager," he said. "While he was the day-to- day leader, he answered and took his direction from the commission." Schmidt said he often heard department direc- · tors say Harden gave them the freedom to brainstorm . ideas that over time have · the news of a $40 million made Delray Beach stand deficit in capital improve- out. · ment projects in 2007. He Harden said it wasn't has been bashed by resi- so easy at first. He moved dents for automatically re- swiftly to replace several newing contracts such as department directors. garbage collection and the "It's important for a beach cabana services. manager to have the loyal- Before coming to Dei- ty of the staff," he said. ray Beach, Harden spent But his time in office 12 years as city manag- hasn't been without con- er of Winter Park. When troversìes. He has been Harden became city man- criticized for withholding ager he said he asked Pete David Harden, 69; was hired to be Delray Beach's city man- ager ln 1990. Knowles.who spent 30 years as city manager of Sanford, for advice. "He said don't socialize with commissioners, don't get personally caught up in issues and be sure you al- ways give the same infor- mation to all the commis· síoners," Harden said. Harden has a few pas- sions of his own: Historic preservation and his work· outs. Now 69, Harden can dead-lift 290 pounds. He said running three times a weeks and weight lifting · has. been ways to deal with the pr.essure of running a city of 64,000 people. · "I found that if I did not do physical exercise the stress would manifest in other ways," he said. In between workouts, · Harden toiled to put in place the city's vision of becoming a town with safe neighborhoods and a vi· brant downtown. He over- saw projects such as the construction of the Tennis Center and the relocation of Atlantic High School. He gives credit to cit- izens and their involve- ment for the transforma- tion of Delray Beach. But some residents said he was the backbone of the renais- sance. "He should be credited with all the stability that enabled all the growth and the improvements that we've made," said resident Joann Peart. "He has been the stabilizing force." OUR VIEWS DELRAY BËACH : Harden changed a city The phrase "end of an era" suffers from overuse, but it correctly describes . what soon will happen in Delray Beach. David Harden, who has been Delray's city manager since 1990 - ironically, he was the commission's sec- ond choice ,.. announced his retirement last week. He will leave in January, and can look back on a ten- ure and a record that may be unmatched for Palm Beach County cities. As Mr. Harden noted, Delray Beach had "Boca From 'Boca envy' to pride in remade downtown. envy" when he arrived. It was a relatively large but sleepy city, plagued by fac- tional politics and resul- tant weak management. Mr. Harden brought the better management, and a series of city commissions brought the better politics. In 1991, Mr. Harden hired Richard Overman, who · made over the police de- partment. Under Mr. Harden, At- lantic Avenue became a re- gional destination. The tax base fattened. Mr:Hard- en worked out a plan for a new Atlantic High School. We disagreed with Mr. · Harden òn certaìn issues in recent years, but no one can deny how important his contributions to the · city have been. Randy Schultz for The-Post Editorial Board Sun Sentinel Wednesday, October 17, 2012 SOCIETY PALM BEACH I In Harden we trust: \ Delray Beach Preservation Trust honors City Manager David Harden D elray Beach City Manager, David T. Harden, will be honored for his extensive work in historic preservation by the Delray Beach Preservation Trust. The event will take place at 6 p.m. on Nov. 9 at the Delray Beach Golf Club. The first David T. Harden Preservation Award will be presented to Harden himself, who will retire this January after 22 years as city manager. Significant projects that Harden has encouraged include: the creation of new historic districts such as the West Settlers District; the restoration of Sandoway House Nature Center and Spady Museum; the growth of the campus of the Delray · Beach Historical Society; and stronger ordinances to protect the five historic districts of Delray Beach, which include Nassau Street, Old School Square, West Settlers, Del Ida and the Marina Historic District. Before he came to Delray Beach, Harden had earned a master's degree in City Planning from Georgia Tech University and served as city manager of Winter Park. When he lived in Apopka he put two houses on the Natìonal Register of Historic Places. When Harden moved to Delray, he moved a historic Andrea Harden, left, and David T. Harden ln their historic home located in Delray Beach. house that was going to be torn down in West Palm Beach to a vacant lot on Swinton Avenue, which has served as his home. The Trust was founded in 2007 and its mission is to educate the public on the importance of historic structures and to physically save them when possible. Due to the efforts of the Trust and the support of Harden and others, the Trust was able to restore the 1924 house of early resident Willie Franklin. Although, this year the David . T. Harden Preservation Award · will be given to the namesake, the TrÌ.ist plans to present the award to a deserving citizen each upcoming year. Tickets are $50. For more · information, visit www. DelrayBeachPreservatiori.org or call 561-278-1882 .• Anna Laura Sherrard, left, Robert J. Hickok and Ann Margo Peart stand in front of the Harden's historic Delray Beach home. ' d , I ~ - - --- .. . . -----------------------------· for news 2417 go to delraybeachtrfbune.com October, 2012 · Edition 6 - 3 Com1~1~B~J!lun~ews Managers of Municipalities and Maior~League Ba~eball Teams Share a Common Fate: Short Careers With One Team. · Delray Beach's David Harden has been an exception, as one of the longest-tenured city managers in Florida. He has been overseeing the day-to-day operation of his city for more than 22 years. · But Harden recently announced he will retire in January, ending a run as one of the most powerful City officials. 'Tm a little bit anxious. Retirement has never been a goal of mine unlike other folks," Harden said. "It has been my privilege to work with an incredible staff, dedicated city commissioners, and innumerable passionate, involved citi- zens who love Delray Beachi' The Okeechobee native has served seven mayors in his 22 years. During his tenure, the city grew from 669 employees to 807 (mostly police and firefighters because of annexation) and his budget has soared from $S5 million to $9S million. He has been the subject of criticism both from elected officials and residents. Some police union reps and officers say he is too tight. The retired U.S. Navy captain came into Delray Beach city leadership in 1990 at a time when the city was mired with unprofessionalism and mismanagement, He was hired him from Winter Park to manage the city's reconstruction. Atlantic Avenue, downtown, was hemor- rhaging and many avoided the area. Shutters on the run- down, restaurant-less strip of tired storefronts shops were pulled down at 5 p.m. Today, under his vision, the strip is now the place to be for scrumptious meals, upscale shopping and family festivals. People want to live downtown and de- velopers are jockeying for available land, even if it abuts the railroad track, where the train rumbles by night and day. Commissioners also directed Harden to look at the is- sues facing the police department and make the necessary changes partially because morale was almost as bad as in City Hall. He ultimately persuaded Police Chief Charles Kilgore to resign. · He was also charged with ensuring the commission's goals, objectives and policies were carried out, which wasn't always done, said Robert Bareinski, assistant city manager, who has been with the city since 1984. He took the helm and has been a soft-spoken power be- hind the scenes leading his team to meet the challenges of providing quality services to Delray Beach residents despite a 'slowed economy, reduced city staff, and tight budget. In particular, many praised Harden for professionalizing the City Manager's office. Customer service was critical to him - how staff treated the residents, customers and commissioners. "He built a sense of teamwork, fairness, honesty and ac- countability without micromanaging," Bareinski said. "He stressed being a team, all of us working together for the same goals and objectives and to support each other. He in- stilled that in us." Harden always told us: "we may or may not agree with commission's decisions but it was our job to make sure those decisions were carried out," he added. Harden said he is also proud of the change in atmosphere in the southwest and northwest sections. When he arrived in town, there was a sense of hopelessness. He recalls asking Kilgore to put foot patrols on West Atlantic Avenue and the chief refused, saying that it was too dangerous. 'When we started doing community policing in our mi- nority neighborhoods, a former commissioner from one of our retirement communities called me and asked why we were doing that, saying that we should just let those neigh- borhoods take care of their own problems," he said. 'While many challenges in race relations remain, I find· that resi- dents in these neighborhoods are hopeful for a better future." Just years ago, commissioners gave him a vote of no con- fidence over his handling of the city's trash-hauling contract with Waste Management. The company may have over- billed and/ or underpaid Delray Beach, and Harden has not provided conclusive answers to resolve the questions. Harden knows in his line of work, the faces in city com- mission can change dramatically each year in the annual election and his job can be short lived. But he continues to forge ahead, focusing on the city and leaving the politics to the sidelines. To read more about this story, visit www. Delraybeach- tribune.com. --·· ---- ... ··-- 12 News The COASTAL STAR December 2012 Delray Beach Harden hears plaudits for steady hand at helm By Margie Plunkett Twenty-two years ago, before Delray Beach's vibrant downtown emerged, the city was suffering from a civic inferiority complex. It "had Boca envy. We felt like we should be like them," remembers City Manager David Harden. "Now, we see the reverse." The turnaround in the city and the way residents view Delray Beach are some of the biggest changes here since Harden arrived in 1990 - and the city manager counts them among his greatest accomplishments in office. "To see that reversed in many ways gives me a great deal of satisfaction," he said. "It involved a lot of people," he said. "We've had good political leadership throughout that period and a lot of organizations - the DDA, Chamber of Commerce, Old School Square, all the different groups - working together." Harden is preparing to retire in January after more than two decades leading Delray Beach's staff. His long stint has also seen progress in the develoninc western been city manager in Sanford for 20 years. That advice: "Be sure you always give all the commissioners the same information. Don't socialize with commissioners. And don't get emotionally involved with issues." The second greatest accomplishment for the city and Harden, he said, has been seen in minority neighborhoods. "Many people felt hopeless about their neighborhoods" when Harden first came to Delray. "Now, there is a lot of positive feeling and optimism about what can be done." Delray Beach additionally has benefited from Harden's personal and professional passion for historic preservation. In 1994 he floated a historic house - built in 1926 - down the Intracoastal from its original lot near the Norton Museum in West Palm Beach to Swinton Avenue in Delray Beach. He still lives in the home with his wife, Andrea. Harden was honored in November for his part in preserving structures and areas of Delray Beach with the first David T. Harden PrPSPrv::itinn Aur::irrl ,, ,.,========--~"...-=~ After 22 years, David Harden is stepping down as Delray Beach city manager. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star Harden's advocacy of protections for the city's five historic districts: Del Ida Park, Marina District, Nassau Street, West Settlers and Old School Square Historic Arts District. Like most public careers, Harden's has had its contentious spells. In recent years, commissioners gave Harden a vote of no confidence for the handling of ,:, rPc1f'lPnt>c rf'\mnl-i;rit<' ..,k,....,,+ accumulate." Harden said. Looking back further, Harden recalls about 2006 that the commission wasn't happy with him over bond projects. Commissioners didn't feel as if they had been adequately informed about the projects involved. "We probably had two commissioners who thought I should be fired," Harden said. "We were supposed to h,,;1~ ,.,. ,.."'_.,,-,,-~ ........ ,..,..,-+ ............. A recent commission debate on whether to make it easier to fire a city manager was as much a tribute to Harden as it was consideration of a change to Delray Beach's charter. "I know for a fact that the continuity and consistency of vision here, pretty much passed on by Dave Harden, is a great deal of the reason why we've been able to change the other five people /-.----! ..... !,.. ........ \ J..1- ... L -!J.•••• V.a. J.J..I.Vt.V.A.J.1r,., y.a.1r,.,~\o,.,l I' U.1.J.VJ.J. projects come to fruition and city awards including All- American City and Florida Trend's The Best Run Town in Florida designation. It hasn't always been easy in a position that's naturally scrutinized and often at the mercy of politics. Yet he has managed much more than to have merely survived. Harden attributes his career longevity to advice he received at the very start from Pete Knowles, who then had i H,,>Cl VClllVU .l! U,>L l..lLC::U numerous projects, including creation of the West Settler District, growth and expansion of the Delray Beach Historical Society, restoration of Sandoway House Nature Center, the 1924 Franklin House on Northwest Fifth Avenue and the Spady Museum, and ensuring that new hurricane-resistant windows at Old School Square retained the building's historic character. The trust also noted p1c11,;uœs concerning garoage pickup. The issue was ultimately reviewed by Harden's staff and the financial review board and resolved to the commission's satisfaction, according to the city manager. What does Harden say of the vote against him? "It goes with the territory." "One city planner I knew who was more cynical than I am, said, 'If you're in public life, your friends come and go. And your enemies nasn t oeen ount.: Harden said. "All the money available was used for other projects (by commissioners' choice). "Each time a project went over budget, they were informed, but they said they didn't realize the accumulated impact of the projects that went beyond," Harden recalled. Harden survived, thanks in part to a Delray Beach requirement that city commissioners need a 4-1 majority to oust its manager. ,. -..,, J.,,, ,,. "' ; ~r - ... ·~ I-'-., ~t· ~ . ~ keep the vision," Mayor Woodie McDuffie said after an October public hearing. "The knowledge is here, the leadership here." Public comment also echoed that sentiment. "We have great leadership and a fabulous city manager," said resident Christina Morrison. "I can't help think that 22 years of strong leadership put (Delray Beach) in this position. Thank you again, Mr. Harden, for all you do for " us. Two former mayors spoke at that hearing. "I, too, wish to thank Mr. Harden for his dedication and his hard work," said Jay Halperin. "Tom (Lynch) and I are here - we hired him." Among the most critical issues that the still-unknown new Delray Beach city manager will face are financial challenges that have persisted through development of the last five budgets - and while things are improving, they aren't solved yet. Most recently, Harden said, "we had a budget gap that was plugged in ways that can't be repeated in the future." The new manager will have to find ways to balance the budget that don't impede the city - while at the same time finding ways to sustain the city's high level of performance and to continue to improve, he said. Harden has advice for the next city manager. See HARDEN on page 13 December 2012 The COASTAL STAR News 13 HARDEN Continued from page 12 "They need to be sure we're cultivating future commissioners, people involved enough in the city to know how it works and what's going on," he said. His successor should also be involved in maintaining a clear vision of the city. The city's goals have been "remarkably consistent in its years of strategic planning," Harden added, noting that it's getting ready to start the Visions 2020 planning process. There is another concern, the city manager said. "There's so much pressure to not raise the millage (tax rate) - to reduce the millage. You have to be very careful that you don't get deferred millage and the city starts to deteriorate," Harden said. When Hardens steps away, he said he will most miss working with the staff to find ways to improve. The city manager recalled the words of a recent speaker he'd heard: "Modern leadership isn't command and control, but creating an atmosphere in which innovation can flourish. That's what I'm trying to do," Harden said. "That part I'll miss." He will be glad, on the other hand, to get away from the workload and have flexibility in his schedule, the city manager added. In retirement, his time will be spent on volunteer projects with his church and the Boy Scouts. Harden is an elder of the Suncoast Community Church and serves as chairman of the Osceola District, Boy Scouts of America, where in the past he has received the highest honors an adult scouting volunteer can win. Consulting work could occupy some of his time as well, and he may take up a suggestion that he write a book on downtown revitalization, a topic experienced both in Winter Park and Delray Beach. "There's plenty to do," Harden said. Born in Fort Pierce, Harden grew up in Okeechobee, and he earned a bachelor's degree from Emory University in 1964 and a master of city planning from Georgia Institute of Technology in 1968. Before coming to Delray Beach, he served in the U.S. Navy. ln 1977, he became city manager of Winter Park, where he stayed until moving to Delray Beach. Candidates for citv rna ns o=r Delray Beach will remain his home. He and Andrea have three sons. Their oldest son, Jeremy, 37, and three grandchildren live in Boynton Beach. Son Chad, 36, is in Tennessee, and Aaron, 32, is in Seattle. "My wife says if we ever move, we have to keep a place in Florida," Harden said. * BERMUDA STYLE HOME Gulf Stream. Charming 3 BR home, with deeded beach access, on a beautiful large lot with a pool and cabana. Home offers an open floor plan with a den/office, fireplace, wood paneling, eat·in kitchen and 2·car garage. $1.599M WEB #2464973 BALLANTRAE CONDOMINIUM Gulf Stream. This very desirable 3 BR condo· minium offers fabulous ocean views, a lovely master suite plus 2 extremely large guest rooms and a den. Ballantrae boasts a beauti· ful pool and each apartment has 2 garage GULFSTREAM TOWNHOUSE Gulf Stream. This 4 BR townhouse offers the privacy of a single family home ideally situ· ated ln the Gulf Stream neighborhood with beach access across AlA. Some amenities include: elevator, covered balconies, lanai and large master suite. $1.575M WEB #2424310 ST. ANDREWS CLUB Delray Beach. 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