Jacob Stuart, 20, tosses a bowl of fries at Fran’s.

The ‘Frantastic 4-piece’ meal for $10.25 at Fran’s Chicken Haven in Boca Raton.

Photos by Libby Volgyes/The Coastal Star

By Jan Norris

    Finger lickers take note: Fran’s Chicken Haven is back — back to the original recipe, that is. 

    The fried chicken institution in Boca Raton, a shotgun style take-out spot in a strip mall that offers chicken straight from the fryer in front of you, has been the buzz on social media since it reopened seven months ago.

    Boca Raton High School grads Chris and Jacob Stewart found the spot, Jacob said, after their dad, Mike, noticed it was available.

     “We had been looking for a small bar or restaurant to open, and this came open, so we pooled our money and took it over,” Chris said.

    Fran’s had been in Boca Raton since 1964 and was a well-loved dive serving what diners on message boards called “the best around.” The neon sign bearing Fran’s name in the window is grandfathered in to the city’s code.

    “It was phenomenal chicken,” said Jeffrey Richman, a 20-year Boca Raton resident and a Fran’s devotee. “It reminds you of what your mother made. Comfort food.”

    Fran and Joe Gerace had run the take-out spot for 36 years, using Fran’s original recipe for a crispy crust and moist meat — a secret no one will reveal. They retired in 2000 rather than paying a higher rent. For the last 14 years, it has seen a number of owners who bought the recipe along with the lease. 

    Richman said the first owner after the Gerace’s “fooled around with the formula. She did something to it. It wasn’t the same.”

    Longtime customers quit coming, and it was eventually sold to a kosher cook who used it to bake Jewish breads, Jacob Stewart said.

    “She tried to make it kosher and really didn’t focus on the fried chicken. It was more of a bread thing for her,” he said. “And she was never open on any schedule. Just whenever.”

    It lasted only a long season. Richman went in and saw the hours. “Not open on Friday and Saturday nights? Are you nuts?”

    She closed and the property was once again for sale. The Stewart brothers decided to try it, with their dad’s help, and opened last July.

    They closely followed the original recipe to recreate a childhood memory. “We used to come here with our Mom and Dad when we were kids. It was great fried chicken,” he said. “We wanted to take it back to the chicken that everybody liked.”

    They added a few new sides: fried pickles, hush puppies, corn nuggets, and put on desserts — fried Oreos and fried Twinkies — but the bulk of the menu (fried chicken, shrimp or gizzards and livers) remains the same.

    The return of the chicken livers and gizzards was welcomed with huge orders, Jacob said. “The kosher owner didn’t have them, and people who came in here got mad, so we brought them back.”

    There are still those looking for a kosher chicken dinner, he said. “We just have to say, ‘sorry.’ But I think the original Fran’s diners are happy we’re here.”

    Word of mouth and social media have helped diners find out about Fran’s rebirth.

    “We’re doing pretty good,” Jacob said. “We’re going through about 15 (40-pound) boxes a week. So I guess that’s a lot — 600 pounds.”

    “People like it, and want us to franchise, so we’re thinking about it,” Chris said. “Maybe we’ll do a food truck, then franchise. Right now, we’re just waiting to see how it goes in season.”

    A counter with three stools, and six tables that accommodate 18 along one wall, make for a compact dining area. A refrigerator with serve-your-own drinks sits on the back wall, and behind the counter, the brothers are busy frying chicken and dumping it into the bins, waiting to be scooped into paper baskets for serving.

    While the tables are generally full at lunch, the bulk of the business is take-out, Jacob said. People line up on Friday and Saturday nights for the chicken dinners. At $10.25 for a half-chicken dinner with two sides, or $8.25 for a plate of fried livers, it’s a little pricier than Fran’s original. College students and city workers are offered discounts.

    Chicken and waffles, and fried shrimp also are options on the menu, but are not as popular as the chicken, straight up.

    “It’s great chicken,” said Jonathan Sherry, taking a stool and ordering a breast and wing. He’d been coming in since the early ’90s and is glad the new owners are back to the original recipe. “Old school. No frills. Just like I knew growing up in upstate New York. When I splurge on fried chicken, I come here. Not healthy, but I don’t eat it every day. You come for the quality, not the ambiance. You can’t find anything else like it in Boca Raton.”

    “The chicken’s the thing,” Richman said. “I’ve been back every week now, and it’s great. Fran’s phenomenal chicken.”

Fran’s Chicken Haven is at 1925 N. Federal Highway, Boca Raton. Phone: 395-0781.

By Steve Plunkett

    Motorists heading south to a Florida Atlantic University football game or other campus event in 2017 will exit Interstate 95 on a ramp that crosses Yamato Road and the interstate itself before depositing them on FAU Boulevard.

    And drivers leaving FAU for points south will use an equally intricate ramp that takes them north almost to Yamato before U-turning back to merge with I-95.

    It’s all part of the state Department of Transportation’s $66.6 million solution to adding an I-95 interchange at Spanish River Boulevard. Work started in mid-January on noise walls along Yamato Road and next to the San de Vance community, the first phase of the nearly three-year project.

    “It’s truly going to be the solution to congestion on Glades Road,” Deputy Mayor Susan Haynie said while noting the start of construction at the City Council’s Jan. 14 meeting.

    Dan Grippo, the city’s municipal services director, said the Transportation Department wanted to call the interchange “FAU Blvd.” on exit signs but Boca Raton pushed for the name to be “Spanish River Blvd.”

    Grippo said Boca Raton expects most of the new traffic to be headed to the university and he does not anticipate much spillover on Spanish River Boulevard, which the city maintains.

    City Council member Constance Scott, at a state-sponsored open house for the interchange Jan. 15, agreed.

    “I really don’t see a huge amount of traffic that’s going to occur,” Scott said. 

    FAU Boulevard and Spanish River, now a three-way, T-shaped intersection, will become a four-way crossing.

    The project includes widening Spanish River Boulevard west of FAU Boulevard, building eight new bridges between Spanish River and Yamato, widening five bridges on the interstate and Spanish River, improving traffic signals, and extending the El Rio Trail to a trail north of Yamato.

    A new lane will be added in both directions on I-95 between the Spanish River interchange and Glades Road. New lanes in both directions will also be added between the Yamato Road and Congress Avenue exits. Yamato Road will also get an improved northbound exit ramp and westbound entrance ramps.

    Astaldi Construction is performing the work, and Creative Engineering Group Inc. is overseeing the project for the Department of Transportation. It will be necessary to close traffic lanes to do the work safely, the state agency said.

    Project-related closures on I-95 and ramps can be expected from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. each day Sunday through Friday, the DOT said. No lane closures will be permitted during FAU events in order to minimize potential impacts, it said.

SOURCE: City of Boca Raton and the developer

Map by Bonnie Lallky Seibert/The Coastal Star

By Steve Plunkett

    Beachside condo opulence is coming inland to the west side of the Intracoastal Waterway in Boca Raton.

    Citing a resurgence in the condominium market, architect Derek Vander Ploeg filed plans with the city in January to build a nine-story complex with 25 “pretty much luxury” units at 327 E. Royal Palm Road. The new residences will be about 3,400 square feet apiece.

    “These will be the first units of that size off the beach,” Vander Ploeg said

    Residences in the project, dubbed “327 Condominiums” for now, will be priced from $1.2 million to north of $2 million, he estimated.

    The site is a block south of East Palmetto Park Road. 

    A four-story condo complex lies between it and the Royal Palm Yacht and Country Club to the south.

    Owners of the pricier condos will be able to see not only the golf course but also the ocean, Vander Ploeg said. “The views are going to be pretty spectacular, especially when you get over the third floor.”

    Vander Ploeg said the small number of units will attract a relatively homogeneous group of owners. “It’s almost like a vertical block,” he said.

    The project comes after Boca Raton approved hundreds of smaller rental apartments downtown in recent years. Developers of those projects said banks would not finance condo construction.

    “You can start to see the trend now starting to change,” Vander Ploeg said.

    He anticipates getting city approval of the project by May and breaking ground before the end of the year. 

Kids help paint an Autism Speaks mural with fine artist Georgeta Fondos during Hand’s

80th Anniversary Art Open House at Hand’s Office & Art Supply in downtown Delray Beach.

Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

Lonnie Cook Jr., who died in 2012, paused to look at a photo of the store’s founders.

2008 archival photo provided

By Christine Davis

    People often remark that “Hand’s has it,” said owner David Cook. “Or they’ll say, ‘You are the only one who has it,’ so I answer, ‘Come here first!’ ”

    Hand’s Office and Art Supply, at 325 E. Atlantic Ave., has been a fixture in Delray Beach since 1934. While Hand’s marks its anniversary each year with a big sale in January, this year Hand’s made it extra special, celebrating its 80th with a poster-painting event, “Artists for Autism,” which benefited Autism Speaks.

    You see, Jimmy, the 7-year-old son of Hand’s longtime employee Maureen Wacha, is autistic and needed a new banner for the March 2 “Walk Now for Autism Speaks” event and Hand’s stepped in to help.

    “Hand’s is always active in the community. Besides its involvement in the town’s changes and politics, we like to have some fun, too,” said the store’s manager, Liz Hughes. “Our business theory is as old as we are, (providing) what a town’s citizens and visitors need or want. Even at 80 years old, we will still do our best to get it for you.” 

    To give a little of Hand’s history in a nutshell: The company was started as a bookstore by Lauren Hand, who also served as the city clerk and treasurer and was a managing editor of the Delray Beach News. Lonnie Cook Jr., whose grandfather came to Delray Beach in 1911, bought Hand’s in 1964, and passed it on to his son, David Cook.

    By the time David was in 10th grade, he was helping deliver office furniture and unloading boxes of office supplies. After studying business at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, and working a few years out there, he returned to Hand’s.

    “I came back in 1987, April 1; that’s why I remember it,” he said, adding that he feels like he’s been at Hand’s his whole life.

    His first projects included implementing an in-house computer system, doubling the store’s Hallmark area, and expanding the furniture line.

    Since then, many other changes have come about.

    “We were always known for our unique gifts and fun stuff, and we’ve expanded that in recent years to include more touristy items. Of course, we try to find the unusual,” he said. “Retro would be a good word. We have pink Steno pads and No. 1 pencils are big — they are hard to find. The biggest thing we’ve done is in our art department. We’ve always sold art supplies. But now, we are a full-line art store, since the town has more art classes and art students.

    “The office furniture department has dwindled away. Since everyone doesn’t need a desk at home, we put less emphasis on them and we’ve added things like drafting tables.” (Some advice from Cook on buying a comfortable desk chair: “You have to test-drive chairs. Don’t buy a chair without sitting in it.”)

    Other notes about what you’ll find at Hand’s: Filofax, a day planner system, continues to be popular. Inventory in the Hallmark gift shop has been upgraded, and customers will be seeing even more really nice gift items. Fun Florida-themed Christmas cards have continued to be very popular  (“We go to great lengths to make sure they don’t have snow on them,” Cook said). Hand’s also has added a bedroom furniture line.

    Coming up on March 8 is Hand’s “Paint Delray Day,” when people can join Palm Beach Plein Air Artists as they paint the town red and other colors. Mark your calendars for this event, and if you don’t have a 2014 calendar yet, Hand’s is sure to have one you’ll like.

By Steve Plunkett

    A Houston’s restaurant appears headed for a December 2015 grand opening on the former Wildflower site on the Intracoastal.

    But many details in the lease proposal by Hillstone Restaurant Group Inc., which the City Council reviewed Jan. 14, remained conceptual, Deputy City Manager George Brown said.

    Even the restaurant’s name could change, Glenn Viers, the group’s vice president, said when asked it if will be a Houston’s.

    “At this point in time I don’t know that we’ve really made that decision,” Viers said. “That’s certainly the way that we’re leaning.”

    Hillstone’s conceptual drawings show dock space and a pier for boating patrons as well as a cantilever deck for foot traffic. It also proposes a 2,000-square-foot patio for outdoor dining. Hillstone already operates a Houston’s off Glades Road at Military Trail. 

    “We’ve been a happy and proud member of the Boca Raton community for over 20 years,” Viers said. “We feel that we’ve got the wherewithal to really develop what we feel is an exceptional site into an exceptional restaurant site.” 

    James Drake, who lives across the Intracoastal from the site, asked that landscaping or a wall be put in to keep automobile lights from shining on his house.

     “You’re going to have hundreds of cars coming in with headlights glaring all day and night,” Drake said.

     Deputy Mayor Susan Haynie said she has concerns about parking at the site and access to it, along with the proposed restaurant’s impact on traffic. She also wanted assurance that neighboring Silver Palm Park and its boat launch facility would not be affected.

    And council member Anthony Majhess said there were not enough details in the Hillstone proposal.

    “I don’t see how our board can move forward tonight or give direction to move forward and negotiate a lease based on the information we have in hand,” he said.

    Mayor Susan Whelchel said city staff could tackle those problems while they worked with Hillstone to create a development plan and refine the proposed lease. Staff and the restaurant company could not communicate with each other until after the proposal was unsealed and analyzed.

     “Why don’t we let them talk to each other so that they can work out these details and the concerns that we’ve heard,” Whelchel said.

    The council voted 4-1 to proceed with negotiations, with Majhess dissenting.

    The following weekend someone concerned that Hillstone would take space away from boaters created a Facebook page titled “Save Boca’s Silver Palm Boat Ramp.” The page received more than 600 “likes” in its first three days and a letter from the restaurant group.

    “Hillstone does not intend to make any alterations to Silver Palm Park, especially to the boat ramp or trailer parking,” it said, pointing out that a map on the page erroneously showed that the company wanted to use the park for restaurant parking.

    If that wasn’t enough to allay fears, Haynie presented a resolution at the Jan. 28 meeting to affirm the council’s Jan. 14 action, specifying that it asked for a revised proposal and insisted that Silver Palm’s spaces for trailer parking would remain the same.

    “Over the last several days we’ve had so much confusion and there’s been so much of a question mark as to what the council’s actual direction was to staff,” Haynie said.

    Majhess said the resolution, which passed 5-0, was closer to what he proposed at the earlier meeting.

    “I still want to see where we’re going to park the cars,” he said.

    Hillstone was the only company to respond to the city’s request for lease proposals. It also operates Houston’s restaurants in Pompano Beach and North Miami Beach, and Hillstone in Coral Gables and the Palm Beach Grill in Palm Beach.

    It plans a restaurant between 5,500 and 7,500 square feet that would be open for lunch and dinner seven days a week. The company wants a minimum 20-year lease with five five-year options and said it would pay $500,000 a year in rent plus 5 percent of gross annual sales.

    Boca Raton bought the 2.3-acre parcel at the northwest base of the Palmetto Park Road bridge in 2009 for $7.5 million. 

Mary Kate Leming/The Coastal Star

    One of the few remaining small motels in Boca Raton built in the late 1950s has finally succumbed to progress as bulldozers and demolition crews have cleared the site of what had been the Boca Motel and Efficiencies. Located at 910 E. Palmetto Park Road, not far from where the landmark La Vieille Maison restaurant once stood, the motel with many incarnations managed to survive building booms and recessions before demolition started last month. Originally opened as the Uncle Dudley Motel and later known as the Wavecrest Apartment Motel, the building was typical of the mid-century motels that dotted South Florida decades ago, said Susan Gillis, curator at the Boca Raton Historical Society. 

    "I’m sorry to see it go because it was a little part of old Boca and it represented one of the last of the mid-century motels still remaining," she said.

A dead sperm whale, estimated to weigh more than 15 tons, washed ashore Jan. 10

at Spanish River Park. Boca Raton Ocean Rescue Capt. Tim Fry wraps a strap

around the whale’s tail so it can be pulled onto the beach for a necropsy.

Photo by Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

    A dead 30-foot sperm whale washed up on the beach in Boca Raton just south of Spanish River Boulevard on Jan. 10. Biologists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration were sent to the scene to take samples for a necropsy.  

    It will take weeks or months for scientists to determine what killed the big mammal. The whale was badly decomposed and sharks had taken bites out of it. The appearance of a beached sperm whale is not that unusual.  

    The whale could have been a male, which might travel in much smaller groups or be solitary and range much farther than females, said Laura Engleby, NOAA Fisheries Southeast Region marine mammal branch chief.  The whale was towed back out to sea by NOAA.

 — Cheryl Blackerby

By Steve Plunkett

    One City Council race has already been decided, while a 10th candidate qualified for Boca Raton’s unusually crowded ballot.

    Lawyer and real estate investor Scott Singer won Seat A (held by Susan Haynie) when candidate Craig Ehrnst switched races less than an hour before the city’s qualifying period closed Jan. 10 to run for Seat B (held by Michael Mullaugh).

    Singer garnered endorsements from Whelchel and County Commissioner and former Mayor Steven Abrams. Through Dec. 31, the latest reporting period, he raised $49,526, making him the early leader. He also lent his campaign $5,000.

    Because Singer wound up with no opposition, his name will not be on the March 11 ballot.

    Ehrnst, the corporate treasurer of NCCI Holdings Inc., has collected $11,016 in donations and lent his campaign $10,000. He now faces incumbent council member Michael Mullaugh; Eric Gooden, a Lynn University senior; and Mohamed Abdalla, an admissions counselor at Lynn.

    Mullaugh has raised $22,465 so far and lent his campaign $100; Gooden has raised $3,454 and borrowed $500 from his campaign manager; Abdalla has $3,425 in contributions and lent himself $2,100.

    Meanwhile mortgage broker Yaniv Alcalay, a past president of the Rotary of Boca Raton Central, became the 10th candidate to qualify. He will face political activist Rosetta Bailey, a retired bank officer, and small-business owner Robert Weinroth, who is also a lawyer, in the race for Seat D  (held by Anthony Majhess).

    Weinroth has amassed $8,000 in donations and lent his campaign $16,000; Bailey has $25 in contributions and lent herself $500; newcomer Alcalay has not filed a campaign finance report.

    In the big-money mayoral race to succeed Whelchel, Deputy Mayor Susan Haynie has raised $92,505 and lent $200 to her campaign, while council member Anthony Majhess has $47,563 in donations and $500 from a self-loan.

    Whelchel, who cannot seek re-election because of term limits, has endorsed Haynie, who is also term-limited on her council seat. Majhess resigned his Seat D a year early, effective March 31, to run for mayor.

    Singer’s uncontested election narrowed choices for Boca Raton voters. Normally the city elects two council seats one year, chooses its mayor and the two other council seats the next year, and has no election in the third year of the cycle.

    Two candidates’ forum, sponsored by the Federation of Boca Raton Homeowner Associations, are scheduled for Feb. 4 at 6500 S. Congress Ave. (south of Clint Moore Road). Mayoral candidates will talk from 8:30 to 10 a.m. and council candidates will speak from 7 to 9 p.m.  For more information, see www.federationofbocahoa.com."

Voice therapist Linda Barrantes helps patient Peter Levine perform

voice exercises at her Boca Raton office.

Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Paula Detwiller

    Peter Levine of Delray Beach wasn’t alarmed when his deep, baritone voice began to get raspy. But some folks at his synagogue were. Fellow congregants could hear Levine’s husky, strained voice when he led prayers during unamplified Sabbath services. 

    “People came up to me very concerned: are you OK? What’s the matter with your voice?” Levine says. 

    He went to an ear, nose and throat specialist who ruled out throat cancer and told him to “buy some honey, drink water and stop worrying about it.” So he did.

    But Levine — who uses his voice frequently as a court-system mediator, a member of several boards of directors, and a Type-A person who likes to make his point, intensely — got worse. His throat was constantly sore, and his voice got even deeper and more gravelly.

    A second specialist found a small polyp on one of his vocal cords, and noticed one cord was much narrower than the other. The doctor said Levine, 74, might need surgery — but suggested he first try voice therapy. 

    That’s when Levine met the therapist he calls his “lifesaver,” speech-language pathologist Linda Barrantes at Boca Raton Regional Hospital’s Davis Therapy Centers.

    “Peter had all the typical voice behaviors we see,” says Barrantes. “He was a fast talker, didn’t breathe, and spoke to the end of the breath, which creates a lot more strain and tension on the voice.”

    Barrantes taught Levine how to speak in a slightly higher register — “adjusting his pitch and volume and finding that smooth spot,” she says — and to breathe more frequently to support his voice. She trained him using software called Visi-Pitch, which gives instant visual feedback.

    “The vocal cords have to come together and meet in the middle — like mirror images of each other — so if there’s a little gap, such as that caused by thinning of the vocal cords, the person can’t project like they used to, or make themselves loud,” Barrantes says.

    Barrantes says what happened to Peter is very common in aging. As we get older, our vocal cords can thin. Suddenly we’re straining to make ourselves heard. Polyps, nodules, or cysts can develop on the vocal cords, weighing them down and changing how well they vibrate to produce sound.

    As you might expect, speech-language pathologists see a lot of aging teachers, salespeople, performers and others who’ve been heavy vocal users throughout life. And they don’t want voice problems to curtail their activities after retirement.

    Voice therapy teaches new behaviors and techniques to minimize vocal strain and reduce inflammation of the vocal tissues. Patients learn how to keep their voices durable throughout the day.

    Levine did his vocal exercises while “cross-country skiing” in his swimming pool.

    “My wife Elizabeth laughed when she heard me in the pool going ‘mah, moh, mee, moo’ at a higher pitch,” he says. “But she became a partner in all of this. She was my Jiminy Cricket when it came to remembering my exercises.”

    Levine’s vocal-cord polyp is still there, but it has shrunk and he no longer needs surgery. During Yom Kippur gatherings at his synagogue, he was able to talk nonstop for more than an hour without discomfort or strain. 

    “I’m living proof that this works,” he says, “but the key is, you have to be mindful and apply the techniques for the rest of your life. It’s a lifestyle change.”

    Outpatient voice therapy is also available at Bethesda Hospital’s Bethesda Professional Plaza on South Seacrest Boulevard in Boynton Beach.

Paula Detwiller is a freelance writer and lifelong fitness junkie. Visit her at www.pdwrites.com.

The Rev. Mark Leondis stands at the pulpit below some of the iconography that adorns the ceilings

at St. Mark Greek Orthodox Church in Boca Raton.

Kurtis Boggs/The Coastal Star

St. Vincent Ferrer is preparing for its annual Parish Festival, set for Feb. 28-March 2.

Organizers hope to raise $100,000 to support the parish school.

Photos provided

A $2.4 million gift honors the late Norman and Ruth Rales.

INSET BELOW: Van Richards

By Tim Pallesen

    The new ceiling at St. Mark Greek Orthodox Church is theology in color.

    The vividly painted icons of Christ and other faces and symbols of the Bible will be finished this month after a 10-year project that cost $2 million.

    The Boca Raton church followed Greek Orthodox tradition for its ornate ceiling. 

    “Byzantine iconography has been called the windows to heaven,” the Rev. Mark Leondis explained. “It’s a glimpse of heaven on Earth.”

    The artist, Laurence Manos, learned the classical Byzantine style and lively use of color while living at the Mount Athos spiritual center in Greece. Manos has been painting the ceilings of Greek Orthodox churches in America since 1986.

    St. Mark’s ceiling was finished just in time for the Feb. 22 visit by Archbishop Demetrios, the leader of the Greek Orthodox Church in America, to consecrate the sanctuary.

    Mormons, take note! The first Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in South Florida opens next month in Fort Lauderdale.

    The temple will serve 25,000 Mormons from South Florida congregations.

    Temples are considered houses of the Lord, where Christ’s teachings are reaffirmed through marriage, baptism and other ceremonies that unite families for eternity. The only other Florida temple is in Orlando.

    The public is invited to tour the temple from March 29 to April 19, except Sundays.

    Details at www.fort lauderdalemormantemple.org.  

    The origin of the local Jewish Family Service can be traced back to the Great Depression, when a boy named Norman Rales was embraced by the Hebrew Orphan Asylum in New York City.

    His mother had died and his father had no money to care for eight children. Rales grew up appreciating the foundation for life that his Jewish community had given him.

    Rales made a fortune in a building supply business. He retired to Boca Raton, where he established the Ruth Rales Jewish Family Service in 1979 to honor his wife, who died in 2004.

    The faith-based agency offers Meals on Wheels for seniors, Holocaust survivor support, a food pantry and a Delray Beach senior center.

    Norman Rales died last year. Now his four sons have donated an additional $2.4 million to rename the social services agency to honor both of their parents.

    In the past, social services were limited to seniors. The latest grant will allow the newly named Ruth & Norman Rales Jewish Family Services to also assist families and children.

    A new family center will offer academic tutoring, job training and other programs that focus on young people. New counselors will provide the same early direction that Norman Rales received in his life. 

    A sold-out crowd of 350 prominent guests raised $500,000 for Jewish Family Services at its annual gala and auction Dec. 12 at St. Andrews Country Club in Boca Raton.

    Partygoers were treated to dinner, dancing and a Night of Fantasy created by event co-chairwomen Wendy Legum, Roxanne Lipton and Jill Viner.

    Guests entered on a purple carpet that was the elaborate train of an elegant gown worn by a lady on stilts. The cocktail area also had a living tree walking on stilts and a woman was tumbling inside a hoop in the silent auction area. The wait staff wore hot pink wigs or purple bow ties.

     A rousing cash call raised $155,000 for the Jacobson Family Food Pantry. Michel and Lawrence Blair received the annual Ruth and Norman Rales Humanitarian of the Year Award.

    As one of Delray Beach’s top annual family events, the St. Vincent Ferrer Parish Festival will feature a midway with 20 carnival rides, live music, games, an antique car show and more.

    But the biggest attraction might be in the Irish pub where Monseigneur Tom Skindeleski will serve up his famous clam chowder. “The chowder might go faster than he can make it,” festival organizer Lisa Hargrove worries.

    The three-day festival from Feb. 28, through March 2, has a goal of $100,000 to support the parish school.

    The great food includes a Friday night fish fry, plus corned beef and cabbage all three days to honor the congregation’s Irish tradition.

    “We began as an Irish festival,” Hargrove said. “So we make sure to keep the corned beef and cabbage.”           

    The new music director at Unity of Delray Beach just finished performing as jazz pianist Fats Waller in the stage show Ain’t Misbehavin’ at the Lake Worth Playhouse.

    Karl Van Richards is a skilled performer in music, dance and theater. A Jamaica native, he has performed around the world and locally with the Greater Palm Beach Philharmonia, the Coral Gables Symphony and the Boca Symphonia.

    Van Richards was ordained last October and also serves as a pastor at St. Paul AME Church in Miami. 

    Watch for more public concert opportunities at Unity of Delray Beach under the new music director. He says he loves sacred and contemporary music, in addition to jazz.

    “It’s wonderful to be at a place where I’m free to do all this,” Van Richards said. “Unity has a very strong tradition of good music.”

Tim Pallesen writes about people of faith, their congregations, causes and community events. Email him at tcpallesen@aol.com.

Traci and Matt Woodall combine art and wine

at Vino Van Gogh in downtown Delray Beach.

Photos by Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

Tom and Erin Craig have found the perfect prescription

for working together at Gulfstream Pharmacy in Briny Breezes.

Howard and Diane Hoffman of Boca Raton own and operate The Boca Raton Beach House restaurant together.

Diana Mummaw is a designer and her husband, Doug, is an architect

at their Boca Raton firm, Mummaw & Associates.

INSET BELOW: Melissa (left) and Alan Jacobson

Story by Mary Thurwachter

    Fueling the flames of romance isn’t always easy, especially when you work with your mate each day. Here are five couples who have found a way to make it happen.

Matt and Traci Woodall

    How they met: Matt, 45, and Traci Woodall, 41, met when he spotted her in a mall in Tallahassee while at Florida State University in 1990. “After going away to the Army, I returned for a football weekend with some buddies in 1994 to hang out with Traci and her friends,” Matt said. “Little did we know that this would be the beginning of a long life together. She finally caved and accepted my marriage proposal and we got married in 2000.”  

    Working together: They never worked together until they opened Vino Van Gogh, a wine and art studio in Delray Beach where customers can take their inspiration from a famous painting or work side-by-side with resident artists on their own masterpiece. “We weren’t sure how it would be to work so closely and of course spending so much time together,” Matt said. “It has worked out well because we split our responsibilities so we don’t step on each other’s toes. The downside of working together is that we don’t get much time together outside of the business. Since we are so new, we spend all of our time at the studio. Thankfully, we can both be at the studio together so we aren’t away from each other for long periods.” 

    Keeping romance alive: “We keep our romance alive by having a Monday night date night since that is the only night we are closed,” Traci said. “Matt always leaves me sweet notes at the studio or at home. We try to never take each other for granted; however I can count on both hands the number of times I have wanted to strangle him! LOL.” 

    Valentine’s Day plans: “This Valentine’s Day we will be working,” Traci said. “Last year was our first Valentine’s at the studio, and we did a really fun couples-painting and had Champagne, cheese, strawberries, etc. I don’t feel like I am missing out because we are together and we are at our business that we love, surrounded by people we love to be around.”  

    The sweetest thing Matt did for Traci: “Early on in our dating, Matt drove from Fort Bragg in North Carolina to my house in Tallahassee to surprise me for the weekend,” Traci said. He drove the eight hours in his Jeep in November without a top on it.” 

    The sweetest thing Traci did for Matt: For their 10-year anniversary, she surprised him with a mini vacation to one of their favorite hotels. She arranged for his parents to fly in to watch the kids. Champagne was waiting in their room. 

Howard Hoffman  and 

Diane DeSantis Hoffman

    How they met: Howard Hoffman, 60, and Diane DeSantis Hoffman, 61, have been married for almost 19 years. They own The Boca Beach House restaurant in Boca Raton, where Howard is the chef. Diane is a real estate broker (Beachside Properties), a licensed general contractor and a writer. Before the restaurant, they bought, renovated and sold/leased residential properties. 

    “We met when I was staying on Singer Island checking out South Florida as a potential place to live,” Diane said. “I came off the beach in my swimsuit and sarong (in those days, my body was bikini worthy) and sat at the Tiki Bar at the hotel. Moments later, a drink was sent over to me by a man I’d never met (Howard). He came over to me and we had a conversation that began with: ‘So, are you a ‘dancer?’ He thought I was a stripper! I straightened him out quickly and we became friends. We became soul mates. We married and are now cell mates at the restaurant.”

    Working together: “We were in the real estate business for many years,” Diane said. “Basically, we’ve worked together for about 15 years. At first, yes, it was very difficult to work together, live together, sleep together and eat together. But over the years, we’ve gotten into the groove and we’ve both basically adopted selective hearing. It makes life so much more bearable.”  

    The downside: “We never get a break from each other. Howard likes to talk a lot. His eyes are connected to his mouth — when they open in the morning, so does it and neither closes until late at night. I’m sure I have annoying habits as well, but we both go off to our neutral corners, then reunite later. He goes to his garden and I write.

    The perks: “We can trust each other to run the business. We know how the other thinks so we can anticipate an agreed response to any problems that may arise. 

    “I keep him on the straight and narrow and he keeps me reeled in.”

    Keeping romance alive: “Romance alive?” Diane said. “Really? What romance?”

    Valentine’s Day plans: “We’ll probably break open a bottle of Champagne and celebrate the fact that neither of us has killed the other yet,” Diane laughed. “He may want to go out to dinner and let someone else do the cooking for a change.”

    The sweetest thing Howard did for Diane: When Diane turned 50, she ran the New York City Marathon. “My dear husband supported me through months of training, sprained ankles, broken bones, whining and self-doubt,” she said. “When it came to race day, he traveled to New York with me to be my cheerleader. Throughout the day, he’d take a subway, the bus or a taxi to various points along the route so he could cheer me on, hold my jacket or hand me water. It was getting dark by the time I crossed the finish line in Central Park, but he was there waiting at the end, freezing, with open arms. That was very special to me.”

     The sweetest thing Diane did for Howard: “My dear wife planned and executed a special surprise party for my 60th birthday.” 

Doug and Diana Mummaw

    How they met: Doug, 48, an architect, and Diana Mummaw, 53, a designer, work together at Mummaw & Associates in Boca Raton. “We met at my studio, where she was doing temporary work,” Doug said. “We were married 22 years on Jan. 4.”

    Working together: “She has incredible design skills, which I do not have, and our individual skills really enhance a project. I continue to be amazed today at her ability to see color, materials, textiles in such unique and successful ways,” Doug said.

    Diana said her weaknesses are Doug’s strengths. “It’s nice to spend time together and have lunch almost every day.”

    Keeping romance alive: “We are friends, partners and husband and wife. I think having all three makes romance easy,” Doug said.

    “We’re soul mates and really love each other,” Diana said. 

    Valentine’s Day plans: “Dinner and probably a movie at iPic,” Doug said.

    The sweetest thing Doug did for Diana: “We had our 22rd anniversary recently and he wrote down 22 things he still loves about me,” Diana said. “That was special.”

    The sweetest thing Diana did for Doug: “She is my personal shopper and she surprised me with a new outfit,” Doug said.

Tom and Erin Craig

    How they met: Tom and Erin Craig, both 42, run Gulfstream Pharmacy on Ocean Boulevard in Boynton Beach. They met when they were 19, their sophomore year in college. “Tom (who has a degree in finance) is originally from Ohio and I was born in Delray Beach,” Erin, a pharmacist, said. “My father, William Strucker (also a pharmacist), owned Gulfstream Pharmacy at that time. He was getting ready to retire and we were finishing college and decided to move back to Florida and take over the family business. It has been 15 years and we are still going strong.”

    Working together: “We have worked together 23 years and married 14 years,” Erin said. “We consider each other best friends, so it makes working side-by-side fun. It can be stressful sometimes, especially dealing with sick patients and insurance companies.”

    Keeping romance alive: “Respecting each other most importantly, is key, along with a good sense of humor,” Erin said.

    Valentine’s Day plans: “We usually exchange cards and Tom gives me flowers,” Erin said. “It’s the little things everyday that are more important to the relationship.”

     The sweetest thing Tom did for Erin: Tom gave Erin, her mother and daughter all diamond cross necklaces for their daughter’s first Christmas.

    The sweetest thing Erin did for Tom:  She surprised him with a ticket to The Masters tournament for his 30th birthday. 

Alan Jacobson  and
Melissa Boher Jacobson

    How they met: Alan Jacobson, 58, producing director at the Plaza Theatre in Manalapan, and Melissa, 51, social media and marketing director, voice and acting coach and actress, met at an audition in New York for a touring production of Damn Yankees. 

    “We went out for coffee while we were waiting in a very long line to audition (even though Alan doesn’t drink coffee),” Melissa said.  “We stayed and talked for several hours, and never went back to the audition! We were engaged within three months, married within a year, and have been married for 22 years.”

    Working together: “It is wonderful to work together, as we often read each other’s minds,” Melissa said. “It can also be challenging, because you tend to not hold back opinions with those you know love you unconditionally. The downside is that sometimes it is hard to let go and just live your life outside of work. When you work for yourself it’s 24/7. The upside is we totally understand that, we get to plan and take vacations together, and we get to share what we do and love with each other and with our family.”   

    Keeping romance alive: “It’s certainly a challenge, when you are balancing family and work,” Melissa said. “We try to make it a priority to carve out time for each other, and do special little things for each other even when we are crazy busy.”

    Valentine’s Day plans: “We usually go out to dinner, but we are notorious for not making reservations,” Melissa said. “I like to buy peanut butter chocolates (his favorites) for Alan every year. I usually get a lovely bouquet of red roses from him. We often end up at some little Thai restaurant.”

    The sweetest thing Alan did for Melissa: “Alan is very romantic,” Melissa said. “He never forgets anniversaries or opportunities to give me a gift. The best gifts are the ones I call ‘just because,’ that happen when you need a lift, when you are not expecting anything, like a bouquet of flowers for no reason. Although he has planned some wonderful surprises for me over the years, such as a private dinner in a restaurant, spa days, and shopping sprees, I think my favorite gift is still the lifelong membership he purchased for me for one of my favorite organizations. I love saying I’m a lifelong member of Hadassah, thanks to my awesome hubby.”

    The sweetest thing Melissa did for Alan: “The one that sticks in my head most is when we had a cabaret performance, which Melissa was performing in, and she brought me onstage to sing to,” Alan said. “I always wanted to be that person brought on stage and this was the perfect moment. It was also the perfect song, Irving Berlin’s Always. And for the audience, we were no longer characters to them, but real people. It was a real rush.”

Use only brushes and toothpastes designed for use on animals when caring

for your pet’s teeth. Remember: Products designed for dogs can be toxic to cats.

Photo provided 

By Arden Moore

    Many who adore their dogs and cats may deck them out in a new outfit, bring them along on a getaway weekend at a pet-welcoming hotel or shower them with a basket full of new toys.

    Now, I’m all for pampering pets, but not at the cost of ignoring their health needs. That’s why I urge you to call your pet over today and position him in front of you. Now, calmly and bravely, gently open his mouth and take a sniff.

    If you are bowled over by foul breath, I wouldn’t be surprised. Here’s why: according to the American Veterinary Medical Association about 70 percent of cats and 80 percent of dogs by age 3 show some degree of gum disease. You read right: the young age of 3. 

    Many of us brush our teeth at least twice a day and gargle. We book semi-annual visits to the dentist for professional exams and cleanings. We would not even consider going a week without brushing our teeth — yuck!

    Sadly, that’s not the case for our pets. Dogs and cats lack thumbs to brush their own teeth or dial appointments with a veterinarian. Without our intervention, they are at serious risk for developing gum disease, plaque and calculus buildup. Unchecked, they can incur oral tumors, require tooth extractions. Infections can spread to the lungs, heart, liver and kidneys and cause life-threatening conditions, including diabetes, strokes and kidney disease. Delays for treatment for any of the above can take a big bite out of your wallet. 

    In honor of February being Pet Dental Month, I urge you to truly be ‘down in the mouth’ with your pet. If your pet does require professional dental care, this month is the ideal time to book an appointment, because many veterinarians in Palm Beach County are offering discounts up to 20 percent to  25 percent for dental cleanings. You save a little money and your pet will have kissable breath!

    For the health sake of your pet, I hope you vow to begin a regular at-home dental hygiene regiment today.  I offer these tips:

    • Look and sniff. Examine your pet’s mouth daily. Report any swellings, bleeding or sores to your veterinarian promptly. I spotted a fast-growing tumor above the canine tooth of my dog, Chipper, during such an examination. My veterinarian removed it, biopsied it and reported that it was benign. He also praised me for catching it early before the tumor spread and affected Chipper’s ability to chew food. We avoided a costly tooth extraction. 

    • Monitor mealtimes. Pets who eat slower than usual, suddenly spill kibble on the floor or back away from the bowl may be experience oral pain. Again, our pets can’t tell us where or why they hurt. The best pet parents are what I call true pet detectives — always on the hunt to spot anything out of the ordinary in their pets. 

    • Shop smartly. Look for pet food, dental toys, treats, oral gels, toothpastes and toothbrushes that carry the VOHC seal of acceptance. VOHC stands for the Veterinary Oral Health Council, comprised of veterinary dentists who regularly evaluate dental items and determine which products meet their standards. To find which dental items merit being on this list, please go to vohc.org/accepted_products.htm. 

    • Brush regularly. Just as you do for yourself, treat your pet to daily brushings. Only use toothpaste, toothbrushes and finger brushes made for pets. Never use a dog toothbrush on your cat to risk a toxic reaction.  Not sure how to brush your pet’s teeth?  Check out this short video produced by the American Veterinary Medical Association that is posted on YouTube: youtube.com/watch?v=wB3GIAgrTPE. 

    • Go with Plan B.  If your dog or cat won’t let your mess with his mouth, you can still minimize the accumulation of tartar with dental mouth rinses, gels and water additives. Check with your veterinarian for the one best suited for your pet.

    Remember, doggy breath — even in your cat — should never be dismissed or ignored. Make the daily brushing a fun event for you and your pet. By investing a few minutes each day addressing your pet’s dental needs, you can help prolong his health and his life.

Arden Moore, founder of FourLeggedLife.com, is an animal behavior consultant, editor, author, professional speaker and master certified pet first aid instructor. Each week, she hosts the popular Oh Behave! show on PetLifeRadio.com. Learn more by visiting www.fourleggedlife.com.

Edible greens (from left) rouge grenobloise, arugula and tatsoi are among the plants

growing at Gray Mockingbird Community Garden.

Photos by Kurtis Boggs/The Coastal Star

Director Brian Kirsch poses with recently picked papayas

at the Gray Mockingbird Community Garden in Lake Worth.

By Deborah S. Hartz-Seeley

    A hand-painted sign marks the Gray Mockingbird Community Garden. Organized about four years ago, it is a work in progress.

    “It’s a place to learn the value of being nurtured by nature,” said Patricia Oliphant of Lake Worth, who uses the garden as a meeting spot for tutoring sessions with children. “The garden welcomes everyone.”

    It sits on about an acre of land in Lake Worth that was made available through the Scottish Rite of Free Masonry. If you visit, don’t expect carefully weeded paths, well-organized beds or pristine pots. Instead, people who give their time to work here grow food that they share with others. 

    “Growing your own food is one of the most powerful things you can do,” said director Brian Kirsch, who is here most days. “And with it we want to grow a sense of community.” Kirsch is joined by a core group of 15 volunteers who help keep the garden going.

    Enter through the vine-covered arch to find a crazy quilt of porter weed, milkweed, green Cuban oregano and other flowers, weeds and fruit trees that attract dragonflies, caterpillars, moths, monarch and zebra long wing butterflies. 

    Head toward the back of the property and you’ll pass more than 50 papaya trees, many of which were grown from seed. There’s also red bananas, peach trees and, if you wind back through the underbrush, even a miracle fruit tree.

    The garden features six 4-by-10-foot raised beds that can be rented for $80 a year by people who want to grow their own food but don’t have a place to do it. The cinderblock-lined beds come filled with compost and soil so they are ready to plant. 

    One brims with broccoli spears jutting from blue-green leaves. From another, a squash vine snakes out onto the black plastic that keeps weeds from growing between the boxes. 

    These beds are harvested by those who plant and tend them. But volunteers also garden as a group. They are experimenting with aeroponics, for which parsley, eggplant, tomatoes and arugula are rooted in pockets of air instead of soil.

    A Boy Scout troop helped build a hydroponic system using blocks of foam floating in water. Today red stemmed Swiss chard pokes out of the water into the light.

    Elsewhere rocks and cement chunks from the demolished Palm Beach Mall were recycled to make a keyhole garden that’s named for its shape. Other plants grow in three-gallon containers and blue grow bags. Wooden planks set on cinder blocks hold trays of tiny seedlings. 

    Nearby, there are 100-foot-long rows dug into the earth where you’ll find tiny green arugula leaves, Japanese mizuna, tatsoi, baby bok choy and the most peppery Italian arugula you can imagine. This exotic harvest is the work of volunteer Michael Heckart, who teaches English at Royal Palm Beach High School.

    “I got a late start planting this year but I hope to make up for it,” said Heckart, who sometimes brings 15 or more student volunteers to help him weed and plant the heirloom seeds he searches out on the Internet.

    These specialty crops along with other of the group-grown veggies and fruits are sold to local restaurants. The money is used to buy garden supplies and equipment. Garden volunteers also contribute food and herbs to local shelters such as the Family Promise in Delray Beach.

    “This garden gives me a reason to get up in the morning,” Kirsch says.

Deborah S. Hartz-Seeley is a certified master gardener who can be reached at debhartz@att.net when she’s not in her garden.

By Tim Pallesen   

    Delray Beach’s excitement over the Arts Garage got a long-term commitment Dec. 10 when city commissioners approved a contract to sell the 10,000-square-foot facility to the arts group for $2.5 million.

    The Creative City Collaborative that operates the Arts Garage has until March 2016 to raise the money.

    “The City Commission recognized the value that the Arts Garage is to the city,” CCC board president Robert Schmier said after the 4-1 vote.

    The Arts Garage has leased the space since it opened in 2011. Supporters were alarmed when a law firm tried to acquire the building. 

    “We needed to protect the fact that we’re going to be there forever,” Schmier said. “The only way to do that was to buy it.”

    Commissioners applauded how the Arts Garage has brought life to Pineapple Grove as both a popular entertainment nightspot and a performing arts academy where accomplished performers teach music and acting to children.

    “The Arts Garage has turned into an economic magnet for the entire downtown,” Commissioner Shelly Petrolia said.

    “Facts show that having arts in Delray Beach means a stronger local economy,” Mayor Cary Glickstein agreed. “The best user of that space is the performing arts center that we are lucky to have there.”

    Only Commissioner Adam Frankel objected, saying the $1,000 deposit to hold the space until the $2.5 million can be raised was too generous. “What’s to say that every nonprofit in town isn’t going to ask for similar terms?” he asked.

    Frankel also questioned why the CCC hadn’t raised any money since commissioners agreed to sell the building under a city parking garage last April. “That’s a huge red flag to me,” he said.

    But Schmier said the contract was necessary before fundraising could begin.

    “The first order of business was to get this contract signed,” he said. “There’s no way that a not-for-profit corporation can raise funds without a contract to do it.”

    Arts Garage executive director Alyona Ushe said money will be needed for renovations and an endowment in addition to the $2.5 million to purchase the building.

    “We are growing extremely quickly and we’re also extremely young,” Ushe said. “But we’re determined to make our best effort.”

    The Arts Garage got started its first year with $300,000 from the Delray Beach Community Redevelopment Agency.The start-up money equaled 75 percent of its first budget.

    Private contributions have increased since then to where the CRA only funds 25 percent of its $1 million annual operating budget now, Ushe said.

By Tim Pallesen    

    Coastal residents are moving ahead to tighten the design restrictions for new single-family homes in their area. 

    “The more restrictive you make this, the higher your property values will be,” Mayor Cary Glickstein, a developer,  told residents at the Dec. 12 annual meeting of the Beach Property Owners Association.

    Single-family neighborhoods near the ocean already have guidelines that architects must follow to design a house. But residents want to toughen the point system that determines whether a house receives city approval for construction.

    “The guidelines are there, but they’re a little too nice,” BPOA president Andy Katz said.

    Some residents are particularly concerned that existing guidelines have allowed an imposing three-story home to be built at 344 N. Ocean Blvd.

    “Nobody wants a mega three-story house next to them with somebody leaning over them to look into their yard,” resident Missy Corey said. “Three stories should be a no-no.”

    Neighbors who live near the controversial house on Seaspray Avenue met last month to discuss the concern.

    “This is not neighbor versus neighbor,” Jack Barrette clarified to BPOA members. “I hear the property owners are very lovely people who have no idea there’s a mountain of trouble.”

    The BPOA will hold at least one more meeting with residents before making recommendations to city commissioners for the tougher restrictions.

    Coastal resident Mary McCarty agreed with Glickstein and Katz that the point system needs to be changed. McCarty and Katz also suggested that the city’s Site Plan Review and Appearance Board look at the more questionable designs.

    Several residents also said they want to eliminate “electric teal” from the palette of acceptable colors for coastal homes. 

Signs that read ‘PRIVATE NO TRESPASSING’ flank both sides

of the town’s beach walkover at Old Ocean and Beachway Drive.

Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

By Dan Moffett

    Town commissioners are poised to make another attempt at striking the right balance in the wording used on Ocean Ridge’s public beach signs.
    At their Dec. 9 meeting, commissioners got an earful on all sides of the issue — from residents and each other.
    Property owners near the dune walkovers complained that “public access’’ signs attract too many out-of-town beachgoers to beaches with no facilities to support them.
    Residents who don’t live on the beach said homeowners who recently posted “no trespassing” signs on their properties beside the Beachway Drive walkover are misleading the public and deterring access.

    “The two signs that say ‘no trespassing,’ that is a red flag, a stop sign,” Elizabeth Ackerly told commissioners. “It says ‘I don’t belong there.’ And it’s not right.”
    Mayor Geoff Pugh said he recalled having similar debates as far back as 2006.
    “I don’t think the point is about stopping access to the beach,” Pugh said. “But do we need to advertise it with flashing lights and a sign?”
    “We’re not talking about inviting people and putting up glaring lights,” said Vice Mayor Lynn Allison. “We’re talking about putting up a small sign that says ‘public access.’ ”
    “This is a very complicated issue,” said Town Attorney Ken Spillias, who noted that Ocean Ridge has a 100-year history of public walkovers to its beach but technically has no legal obligation to post public access signs.
    He said the town can’t enforce trespassing violations on its own and must wait until someone complains. Spillias said even determining the high-water mark, where the private properties and public beaches converge, is complicated. It’s based on a 19-year average and “shifts over time.”
    Spillias said years ago, some townspeople wanted to post “Ocean Ridge Residents Only” signs. He quickly rejected that idea and spared the town a lawsuit.
    Resident Terry Brown said the town was overcomplicating the issue and making a “Keystone Cops fiasco” over what really is a simple matter: The public has a right to access the beach, period.
    “These two signs that say ‘no trespassing’ are totally misleading,” Brown said. “People will think that the beach is private, which it is not.”
    In October, town workers removed two signs at the Beachway Drive walkover that said “Private Beach” and resembled the town’s blue-and-white designs. Town manager Ken Schenck said he had talked about sign possibilities with residents who lived near the walkover, but had “no idea what they were going to do.” He said their signs were removed because they did not conform to code.

    Six other dune walkovers have “Public Beach Access” signs. The Beachway Drive crossing is the exception with a sign that lists town beach rules, but without reference to access.
    Steve Coz, who lives on nearby Osprey Court, said his neighborhood “bears the brunt” of the people who come across Woolbright Road bridge to the beach. 

    Coz said some Boynton Beach communities were listing the town’s beach as an amenity for their residents and encouraging its use.
    “They come there with vans, trucks, carfuls of people,” Coz said. “They expect facilities. We do not have facilities there. ‘Public access’ says Ocean Ridge is providing something it’s not providing.”
    He said that beachgoers have littered the dunes with toilet paper and condoms, but the traffic has decreased since the “no trespassing” signs went up.
    Commissioners decided to revisit the issue at their Jan. 6 meeting and told Spillias to research it further.

In other business:
    • The commission directed staff to proceed with the abandoning of the western right-of-way in front of the homes at 5516, 5514 and 5512 Old Ocean Blvd. The town has no source of water to maintain vegetation on the 100-foot strip of land. Property owners will take over the strip, handle the landscaping, maintain the right of way and pay the town expenses.
    • Commissioners approved the hiring of two new police officers, Frederick “Rick” Stang and Aaron Zawistowski. Stang has eight years’ experience in law enforcement in Arkansas, most recently with the Hot Springs Police Department. Zawistowski, a reserve officer, has nine years’ experience with the Indian River Sheriff’s Office and Seminole Tribal Police.

By Dan Moffett

    Gulf Stream commissioners have given preliminary approval to a proposal that would put staggered commission terms on the ballot for the March election.

    But the go-ahead comes with a stipulation that the town’s civic association, which requested the charter change in November, makes a case for final approval at the commission’s Jan. 10 meeting.

    “I really don’t think there’s anything on the downside, frankly,” said Commissioner Bob Ganger, who called the proposal “a wonderful thing that the civic association has done.”

    The proposed ordinance passed 4-1, with Commissioner Garrett Dering dissenting. Dering said he saw no compelling reason for making the change and thought it was a knee-jerk reaction for the commission to act without more consideration to the town’s entire election process.

    “Look at the whole ball of wax, look at the whole deal,” he said. “To me, term limits are a lot more important than staggered elections. I don’t know what you accomplish with them.”

    Dering argued that the “the real risk, the practical risk is that people move, or die or whatever,” not that commissioners are voted out of office in elections. None of the five commission members has ever won a town election, after all. They all were appointed and then returned unopposed.

    Gulf Stream is one of only a few South Florida municipalities that elects all its officials in the same year.

    Patsy Randolph, a member of the civic association, told commissioners that staggering the elections would improve continuity and also encourage more residents to get involved in their government.

    “If you have an election, you learn how to get involved,” Randolph said.

    Mayor Joan Orthwein, who in her 19th year on the commission ranks as one of the longest-serving elected officials in Palm Beach County, said that term limits don’t make sense in a small town.

    “We’re talking term limits but we couldn’t fill a position on the architectural review board,” she said. “As we go forward, it’s going to be difficult to get people who are willing to serve.”

    If commissioners give their final approval at the proposed ordinance’s second reading in January, then voters would get to decide in March whether the town should change its charter and allow the staggered terms. The plan also calls for putting the seats of all five commissioners up to a vote. The top three vote-getters would win three-year terms and the bottom two would get two-year terms.

    Ganger said the proposed change could send a signal to residents that government officials are willing to do what they can to promote wider involvement.

    “We’ll keep working at it and two years from now, we’ll probably have a different charter and probably have more people participating in the process,” he said.

In other business:

    • Commissioners unanimously approved a 4 percent increase in water rates to help preserve the reserves for the town’s aging system.

    • The commission also unanimously approved five candidates for the ad hoc committee that will review the town’s codes. Three members are not Gulf Stream residents — Richard Mouw, David Bodker, Benjamin Schreier — and were added to bring in perspectives from the outside. William Boardman and Patsy Randolph are the two town residents on the panel.

The aging Audubon Causeway bridge must be replaced or repaired.

Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

By Dan Moffett

    Commissioners will have to dig deeper than expected into town reserves to replace or repair the aging Audubon Causeway bridge on Point Manalapan.

    That’s the news Town Manager Linda Stumpf delivered during the commission’s Dec. 17 meeting, after receiving a report from Bridge Design Associates, the town’s engineering consultant.

    “They did a complete evaluation,” Stumpf said, “and it was a little bit unsettling.”

    The consultant came back with two options: The town can spend about $528,000 to repair the bridge and expect about 10 to 15 years of service before it would have to be replaced. It can’t be repaired again, the consultant said.

    Or, the town can spend about $750,000 to replace the bridge and expect about 50 years of use before something would have to be done again.

    Back in the spring, when the bridge project first surfaced, the commissioners were talking about a modest repair job of $100,000 or maybe $200,000. But the bridge has been steadily deteriorating and getting progressively lower evaluations in the Florida Department of Transportation’s biennial reviews.

    “If we don’t do anything to the bridge for two years, there will be weight limit restrictions placed on the bridge until we do,” Stumpf said, “which could impede people that are doing major renovations and need to use it.”

    The commissioners unanimously approved Stumpf’s plan to get engineers to develop plans for both repairing and replacing the bridge and come back with cost estimates. The commission wants to put the project out to bid in January. 

    To pay for the construction, the town would use about $125,000 from water plant reserves and as much as $625,000 from unassigned general reserves.

    Stumpf said the project could start as early as April, which would enable work to be completed before the next tourist season begins in November. 

    One-way traffic would continue during the project. FDOT also advised the town to set a 13-ton limit on the structure and restrict boaters from going underneath because of the possibility of falling concrete.

    “They strongly suggest we post weight limits on it now, which we really have to do to protect our town,” said Mayor David Cheifetz, who said he leaned toward replacement as the right option, believing that it would be more cost-effective over time than repairing it.

    Stumpf had one more piece of bad news for the commission. The consultant’s estimates didn’t include replacing the aging water line that runs across the bridge — an undetermined cost that will require some reserve digging, too.

In other business:

    • Commissioners gave unanimous preliminary approval to two amendments to the town’s comprehensive development plan.

    Cheifetz characterized the move as “simply a housekeeping matter” and said the approval “corrects some inconsistencies in our zoning code.”

    But Gary Parr, the vice chairman of the asset management firm Lazard Ltd., appears to disagree with that assessment. Parr bought the historic Casa Alva property in December 2012, and he and his attorneys have asked the town not to make any comprehensive plan changes that would diminish his development rights.

    Parr’s 5-acre property was named specifically in the amendment the commission approved. But Cheifetz says the change “doesn’t affect his rights at all.” 

    Town attorney Trela White characterized the amendment as merely a mapping designation that assigns Parr’s property residential status, not commercial, which doesn’t change its current use.

    The two amendments are scheduled to come up for the commission’s final approval at the Jan. 28 meeting. Cheifetz said the town will carry on negotiations with Parr until then. 

    • Cheifetz announced that he has chosen Commissioner Chancey Johnstone to lead a task force on beaches. The mayor said the group has a “fact-finding” mission and will consider a variety of erosion, sand transfer and sea level change issues, then report to the commission.

    Other task force members include Michael King, general manager of the Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa, Bart Smith, manager of the Ziff family estate, resident Kent Shortz and Stumpf.

By Mary Thurwachter

    Beachgoers expect to find water at Lantana’s beach — for swimming and wading and splashing along the shoreline. Historically, they could also expect to wade through water in the parking lot, too, after a rainfall of any significance.

    But the parking lot perils are due for a rescue. At its Dec. 9 meeting, the Town Council authorized a $51,000 contract for engineering services for drainage and paving improvements at the beach.

    Money for the project will come from both the utility fund ($44,000) and the general fund ($7,000).

    Town Manager Deborah Manzo said the work would likely begin in February and continue until July.

    The plans, Manzo said, call for removal of the asphalt followed by a buildup of a new baserock section, approximately 7-inch-thick and 5-inch full-depth asphalt pavement.

    “A lot of the vegetation around the perimeter of the parking lot will be moved, some to Bicentennial Park and some to other town properties,” Manzo said. “In 2015, we will have to put money in the budget for landscaping.”

    Police Chief Sean Scheller said that the town would also be installing two new parking kiosks, possibly ahead of the drainage and paving work, to replace rusting meters.

    Currently, some of the parking meters aren’t working. With the new kiosks, customers will be able to pay with coins, bills, credit cards and smartphones. By using the kiosks, police won’t have to spend as much time collecting from the meters, a task they perform three days a week.

In other action:

    During December, the council reduced the frequency of meetings for the Nature Preserve Commission from six to two a year. Council members said they did not think the commission needed to meet so often to accomplish its business.

Garrett Dering

    No matter how Gulf Stream decides to run its elections, Commissioner Garrett Dering says his days as a town commissioner are numbered.

    “I have no intention of running for election this time,” he told commissioners. So, if you’re going to have an election, I have no dog in this hunt.”
    Dering, 67, was appointed to the commission in October 2011 to fill the seat of Chris Wheeler, who moved from the town. Dering was unopposed the following March for the remaining two years of Wheeler’s term.
    A certified public accountant and retired partner of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, the Kentucky native bought his Ballantrae condo in 1999.

    Dering told commissioners the decision to give up the seat is firm: “What did Lyndon Johnson say? If nominated, I will not accept. If elected, I will not serve.”

— Dan Moffett