The Village of Palmetto Bay lost a cherished member of our community when Paul Neidhart passed away last week. Paul was not only a member of our first Village Council, he was also its first-ever elected Council member who ran unopposed in September 2002 to secure his seat. Paul served as Councilman for District 2 for six years, from 2002 to 2008.
While serving on the Council, Paul bettered the Village in countless ways. He accomplished much of this through teamwork and partnership building while acting as a constant ambassador for Palmetto Bay. He was a liaison to both the Community Services Committee and Public Works Advisory Committee, and also had long-term ties to the Rotary Club, the Palmetto Bay Business Association, and the Economic Development Council. He helped spearhead infrastructure improvements along the US-1 commercial corridor, sparked the vision for the Franjo Triangle/Commercial Island district, and initiated several street repaving projects.
Paul also had a constant interest in improving the quality of life for Palmetto Bay’s younger residents. He helped bring beach volleyball to Coral Reef Park and the skate park to Palmetto Bay Park, and was instrumental in negotiations that gave Palmetto Senior High’s baseball team continued use of Field 3 at Coral Reef Park and named the field in their honor.
We wish Paul’s family and friends our deepest condolences and thank him for his many contributions that made Palmetto Bay the fun, friendly, and successful Village that it is today.