Palm Beach County OKs $1.83 million design contract for Prosperity Farms Road improvements

The Palm Beach County Board of County Commissioners on Oct. 7 authorized a contract to begin design work on a five‑mile segment of Prosperity Farms Road, a project described by county staff as focused on drainage, signalization, bike lanes and pedestrian improvements rather than widening.

County Deputy Engineer Joanne Keller said the item would fund design for a large segment that touches multiple municipalities and will include outreach to those cities. "This is authorization to do work to design a 5 mile segment of road … for drainage improvements, some signalization, bike lanes, pedestrian improvements," Keller said.

The action was taken after Village of North Palm Beach Council member Orlando Puyol urged the board to delay or table the item to allow additional municipal discussion. "We believe additional time is necessary to allow for further discussion between the County and our Village," Puyol said, adding that Prosperity Farms Road runs through sensitive local sites including synagogues, parks and schools.

County staff and several commissioners said the contract is the first practical step to produce drawings and a package that municipalities and residents can react to. Commissioner Melissa Weiss and others said the design consultant must first be hired before detailed community engagement and revisions are possible. "We have to start somewhere," Commissioner Weiss said.

District Commissioner (motion maker) Joel Flores moved to approve the contract; Commissioner Maria Woodward seconded. The motion passed 7-0.

County staff and the district commissioner committed to scheduling follow‑up meetings with municipal officials so local concerns can be incorporated into the design. Commissioner David Sachs suggested setting a time‑certain meeting so municipal staff would have a specific date for discussion. County staff said the consultant work would include community engagement and outreach as part of the design phase and that nothing would be finalized without further municipal input.

The county indicated the initial design authorization was approximately $1,831,869.34 to begin the project; commissioners said additional steps and funding approvals will be required before any construction occurs.

Next steps: county staff will execute the design contract, begin the outreach and design process with affected cities, and return to the board with further milestones and any budget requests required for later phases of the work.