By Dan Moffett
New Yorker Allen “Chick” Behringer started coming to Briny Breezes for visits in 2002 and then bought a residence here in 2008.
When he heard about the recent opening on the Town Council created by the resignation of Ira Friedman, Behringer said he also heard a call to public service.
“I’m retired and living here full-time now,” he said. “Other than doing some travel, I want to do something for the community which I happen to love. I want to keep it as it is. I want to keep it functional.”
Council members unanimously approved Behringer for Friedman’s open alderman’s seat at the May 26 meeting. A former resident of Oak Beach, Long Island and New York City, Behringer said he worked for “20-some-odd years” in corporate sales and ran a small business that manufactured signs for another 20 years. The council filled another vacancy during the meeting when council members approved Councilwoman Christina Adams as the town’s deputy bookkeeper.
In other business, Council President Sue Thaler said the Florida Department of Transportation told the town it is willing to approve an A1A golf cart crossing at Marina Drive and Ruthmary Avenue if the Briny Breezes corporation changes the direction of Marina Drive traffic to eastbound.
“I’m not sure if that’s good news or bad news,” Thaler said.
Ocean Ridge Police Chief Hal Hutchins, the town marshal, said the direction change would require switching the angle of the parking spaces on Marina. Hutchins said it might be possible to satisfy the state’s condition by making Marina a two-way street that allows east and west flow across A1A. Thaler said the FDOT letter arrived shortly before the meeting, and the Town Council will wait to hear from the corporation before discussing the possible changes.
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