Final vote today on the three-year BSO contract
Commissioners decide the sheriff's contract, the McNab channel stays shut, and the skatepark is already open until 10 p.m.
Commissioners take the final vote today on a renegotiated three-year law-enforcement contract with the Broward Sheriff's Office. Initial approval on July 14 was unanimous, though several commissioners described their yes votes as conditional. The reported total is $71,092,312, including a little over $1 million in Florida Retirement System costs, with annual increases capped at 5 percent. The term runs three years with two optional three-year renewals if both sides agree, plus a 90-day termination window. Under the contract, BSO would provide detail at six named city events, hold at least one community event annually in each of the city's five districts, maintain a neighborhood presence, and operate the Real-Time Crime Center around the clock. The city still retains the option to pursue its own municipal police force.
Nordstrom Rack is coming to Pompano Citi Centre on September 17
Nordstrom Rack lists its Pompano Citi Centre store opening for September 17 at 1440 NE 23rd Street. The official opening page also advertises a pre-opening shopping party and a grand-opening celebration, but it does not list dates or times for either event. September 17 is the only firm date on the page, and the company's listing is the place to check for party and celebration details as the opening approaches.
The channel under the McNab Road Bridge is closed to boats
The waterway beneath the McNab Road Bridge has been closed to all navigation since Wednesday, July 22, and the city put the closure at ten days. Crews are demolishing and rebuilding the bridge overhead, and the navigational channel stays shut while heavy equipment, material removal, and structural work are underway. The city did not state an exact reopening date and said it will issue an update if the timing changes, so boaters should plan around the closure. The replacement comes out of the voter-approved 2018 G.O. Pompano bond program and is meant to improve safety, resiliency, pedestrian and bicycle facilities, infrastructure, and marine clearance.
The new skatepark opened Thursday, and it's open until 10 p.m.
The city's new skatepark at 1701 NE 8th Street opened to the public on July 23, with posted hours of Monday through Sunday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. New Line Skateparks designed and built it with input from local skaters, and the layout carries both street and transition features for skateboarders, bike and scooter riders, and inline skaters at different skill levels. The signature element is a custom Pompano fish sculpture designed as a ramp-and-grind feature.
A Celia Cruz and Miami Sound Machine trumpeter plays The Hive on Saturday
The Present In Place, Space, and Time Music Series runs Saturday, August 1, from 2 to 3:30 p.m. at The Hive Black Box Theater, with tickets listed at $10 and up. The series brings instruments and musicians from different cultures into a live setting, and the August 1 schedule lists trumpeter Douglas Michels. His background runs through the salsa scene with Celia Cruz, Gilberto Santa Rosa, and Tito Puente, and includes joining Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine. He is also musical director of RF Factor.
Blanche Ely House gallery visits today, by appointment only
The Blanche Ely House Museum is listed for gallery visits today, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and those visits are by appointment only; the scheduling number is 954-545-7800. The restored former home of educators Blanche and Joseph Ely presents the history of Pompano Beach's Northwest Community alongside current art exhibitions, so one stop covers both the house itself and the work currently on the walls. The listed window is four hours long, and the appointment requirement applies to all of it.
Clay Open Studio on August 8 is for people who already throw
Clay Open Studio is scheduled Saturday, August 8, from 1 to 5 p.m. at Bailey Contemporary Arts Center, admission $30. This is independent studio time rather than a class or workshop, and participants must have taken at least two clay classes or have proven experience. The age minimum is 13. Glaze, tools, and firing are included in the admission price, and clay is sold separately in five-pound increments at $1 per pound.