By Mary Thurwachter 

    A plan to convert two town-owned lots into a waterfront park and parking lot got the green light from the Lantana Town Council in June. 

    But several neighbors to the side-by-side lots, at 106 and 122 N. Lake Drive on the west side of the Intracoastal Waterway, made it clear during a public hearing on July 8 that they only approved of half of the plan — the parking lot. 

    Lantana used money from its reserves to buy the lots for $1.2 million in December 2011 after a plan for residential development fizzled, a victim of the economic downturn. The same property, a block west of the new Ocean Avenue Bridge, fetched $5.3 million when sold in 2006. 

    Last month, the council approved a special exception to its code to allow the lots to be used as a one-acre passive park in the residential district. The conceptual plan calls for a kayak and canoe launch accessible to the disabled, an observation deck, a kiosk and parking lot for up to 31 cars. 

    An existing pier would also be upgraded. 

    The town agreed to work with neighboring property owners to ensure adequate screening — fencing, walls and landscaping — for security and aesthetic purposes. 

    The town also said it would work with the county to develop mangrove planters in the northeast and southeast beach areas and to protect existing scrub habitats adjacent to the beach. 

    The town hopes to secure a grant to pay half the $250,000 cost of developing the park. 

    Neighbors said that while they agreed more parking spaces were needed for the business district on Ocean Avenue, a park would mean increased security problems.

    “It’s a tremendous safety issue,” said Frank Ballinger, who lives on East Ocean Avenue. He said the property was too small to be used as a park. 

    Other residents said vagrants would be attracted to the park. 

    “I’m not in favor of a park,” said resident Phyllis Small. “I’m in favor of a parking lot and many residents feel the same way.” 

    Wayne Cordero, owner of the Old Key Lime House on East Ocean Avenue, submitted a petition signed by 60 residents who, like Small, want a parking lot but not a park. 

    Council members said the park was in the best interest of the town. 

    “I can’t see why it is not being welcomed,” said Mayor Dave Stewart. 

    A park, he said, would help preserve the waterfront for future generations. He compared it to the 1940s, when forward thinking members of the Lion’s Club spent $4,000 for land that eventually gave the town its beach. 

    The money for the North Lake Drive property was “saved by good fiscal management,” Stewart said. “There are many residents who feel this is within the vision of the town.”

By Tim O’Meilia 

    Police, fire and emergency services will cost more. But taxable property in Briny Breezes is worth less. And the town’s tax rate is already maxed out. So the Briny Breezes Town Council will ask the corporation that owns the town to increase its support so the town can balance its 2013-’14 budget. 

    After struggling to reduce legal fees and voting to increase permit fees by $25 to $85 and inspection fees to $50 per inspection, aldermen still faced a $41,000 deficit for the new budget year during two budget workshops in July. 

    So the town will turn to Briny Breezes Inc. to make up the difference. The corporation paid 30 percent of the town’s combined $520,000 bill for police, fire and emergency service this year. The town will ask it to pay 38 percent next year — $198,000, up from $147,000. 

    “Maybe the corporation has to pay more because we’re maxed out on taxes. We can’t charge any more,” said Alderman Sue Thaler. 

    Corporation President Joe Coyner said he would lay the groundwork to ask the corporation board to increase its contribution. Mobile home owners own shares in the corporation depending on the size of their lots. 

    Police and rescue services will account for 82 percent of the town’s proposed $638,100 budget beginning Oct. 1. The proposed budget is a 6.4 percent increase over this year’s. 

    A new three-year contract with Ocean Ridge for police services will cost 10 percent more and the fire and rescue service provided by Boynton Beach increases 4 percent annually. 

    Mobile home owners will again pay $10 for each $1,000 of taxable property value, the maximum allowed by state law. Taxable property value in Briny Breezes fell 0.75 percent this year, only one of two Palm Beach County municipalities without an increase. 

    As Mayor Roger Bennett is fond of saying, whether it's property tax or corporation assessment, it all comes out of the homeowner’s pocket. 

    The council set public hearings on the budget for 5:01 p.m. Sept. 12 and 26.

By Tim O’Meilia 

    After months of discussing setting standards for seawalls, Manalapan town commissioners abruptly decided July 23 to scrap the idea. 

    “I’ve been getting a lot of pushback from residents on the seawall situation,” said Mayor David Cheifetz. “Enforcing the code would be expensive for the residents.”

    Other commissioners agreed and voted 5-0 to drop plans for seawall regulations. 

    The new regulations would have required that residents’ seawalls more than 2 years old be certified by a coastal engineer as capable of withstanding a Hurricane Andrew-force storm. 

    Walls built before 2011, including those along the Intracoastal Waterway on Point Manalapan as well as those along the ocean, would have to be re-certified every five years. 

    “This new ordinance affects not only the ocean but about 200 homes on (the point),” said Commissioner Howard Roder. 

    The regulations also would have set minimum height limits and rules for thickness, length and depth of seawalls. 

    The town began considering regulations after more than a dozen seawalls collapsed during storm surge caused by Hurricane Sandy traveling north off the coast in October. 

    Town officials were concerned that neglected seawalls led to the collapse of neighboring structures, including those that were properly maintained. 

    The new seawalls built on 15 oceanfront properties since then would not have to be re-certified for 15 years. The town spent $3,500 developing the standards, largely based on the town of Palm Beach’s regulations. 

    The town oversaw oceanfront seawall maintenance and repair for more than 50 years until 2003, when complaints over $1.8 million in repair cost assessments prompted the town to leave maintenance up to individual seawall owners.

By Tim O’Meilia 

    “David’s Rules of Order” — Manalapan Mayor David Cheifetz’s five informal suggestions for civility and decorum during town commission meetings — lasted four months. 

    Now commissioners and residents have three pages of “public participation guidelines” to follow during public meetings, including the centerpiece of Cheifetz’s original rules — a five-minute limit for speakers, unless the mayor grants an exemption. 

    And no giving your minutes to someone else so he or she can talk longer. 

    “What we’re trying to do is bring a little order to the process,” Cheifetz said. 

    Commissioners approved the new rules of decorum 3-2 at the July 23 meeting with Commissioners Howard Roder and John Murphy opposed. 

    A state law effective Oct. 1 requires public bodies to have a participation policy to ensure audience members have a chance to speak on agenda topics or to bring up their own concerns. 

    Town Attorney Trela White said she drew from Cheifetz’s ideas and other sources in crafting the resolution, “but I would not characterize it as the Cheifetz resolution,” she said, as some have called it. 

    Roder wanted to postpone discussing the guidelines until next month so residents would have a better chance to examine it. “I would like more discussion from the public, more participation,” he said. 

    The policy requires speakers to address the commission as a whole and not individually and forbids speakers from trying to question or debate issues with the commissioners. 

    Resident Kersen De Jong, who often speaks at meetings, objected to the time limit and the prohibition against engaging in dialogue or asking questions of commissioners. 

    “We have very few people attending these meetings. To seek a way to limit those few who do attend is sending the wrong message,” De Jong said. 

    Several other residents also objected to the new policy. Resident Mary Ann Kunkle suggested the policy was aimed at Roder and De Jong. “Why can’t we just work together? We have two people who have a different way of looking at things and they should be able to do it,” she said. 

    Other no-no’s include shouting from the audience, cell phone use and reading documents verbatim for the purpose of putting them on the record. The documents simply may be submitted to the clerk for inclusion in the record. 

    Several times in recent months, Cheifetz and Roder clashed over Roder’s attempts to read items into the meeting minutes. 

    The policy originally called for a three-minute speaking limit but complaints by residents resulted in the longer allowance. Commissioners also decided to experiment with allowing public comment on non-agenda items at the start of the meetings instead of at the conclusion. 

    “I don’t see the need for this resolution,” Murphy said. “Why do we need the extra paperwork?” 

    Commissioners and residents promptly broke the new rules in discussions over whether to hold evening meetings and whether to mail agendas to town residents. Meetings will remain at 9:30 a.m. and residents will be given the chance to get agendas by U.S. mail or email. 

    In other business, Cheifetz scolded Roder and De Jong in a strongly worded statement because they “repeatedly asked for the resignations of Town Manager (Linda) Stumpf, Police Chief (Carmen) Mattox and police officer (Keith) Shepherd.” 

    He said they have filed complaints with various agencies to no avail. Cheifetz said they have made more than 100 public records requests, cost the town $24,262 in professional fees to respond to their allegations and “created an atmosphere of conflict that reflects poorly on our town.” 

    He urged them to settle their differences privately. “We’re all trying to do our civic duty by serving our community … let’s try to do it constructively, not destructively,” he said. 

    Roder has accused Stumpf of incompetence and Mattox and Shepherd of lying. De Jong has filed a complaint with the U.S. Attorney’s Office charging that the police force racially profiles motorists driving in town. 

    After Cheifetz’s remarks, Roder said, “None of my statements has ever been refuted.”

    In his own statement later, De Jong disputed the mayor’s tally of public record requests and said the town’s spending money seeking investigations by other outside agencies of his racial profiling claims was the town’s choice. “I take offense at Mayor Cheifetz’ statement blaming me for causing the town to spend and waste staff time regarding my desire as a new U.S. citizen to participate in our democratic process.” De Jong said public safety and racial profiling are significant issues.

By Tim O’Meilia 

    Manalapan town commissioners upheld Town Manager Linda Stumpf’s recommendation of a 3 percent salary increase for general employees, two part-time weekend police officers to patrol the beach and a six-car police fleet. 

    By a 4-1 vote, the commission set a tentative tax rate of $3 for every $1,000 of taxable property value beginning Oct. 1, but indicated that would likely be reduced before the final 2013-14 budget is approved in September. 

    Commissioner Howard Roder wanted to set the tentative rate at $2.90, the current rate. The commission will hold another budget workshop at 10 a.m. Aug. 26. 

    The owner of a home with a $2 million taxable value paying $5,800 this year would pay $6,000 next year, if the property value remained the same. However, the average value increased 6.4 percent, meaning individual homeowners likely would pay more. 

    Commissioners said they may be willing to dip into town reserve funds for $100,000 or more to repair the Audubon Causeway on Point Manalapan, which has been gradually deteriorating, according to Florida Department of Transportation biennial evaluations. The town is awaiting a $15,000 structural evaluation of the town-owned, two-lane bridge by its own engineering consultant. 

    The commission rejected several suggestions from Roder, including cutting the police lieutenant’s position and two part-time police officers who patrol the beach on all-terrain vehicles on the weekends. 

    “The part-time beach patrol is unnecessary,” Roder said. He said annual traffic stops have been reduced from 230 to 60, freeing officers to man beach patrols. “I am concerned about safety but our police officers are carrying it out well.” 

    “From January to September (2012) we operated without a lieutenant and our crime rate was down 13 percent,” Roder said. 

    Police Chief Carmen Mattox said cutting part-time officers would reduce the 12-hour per day weekend beach patrols. 

    During weekdays, officers drive the beach four times during each 12-hour shift. Weekend patrols are continuous. 

    “It’s very important for the ocean residents to have this beach patrol,” said Mayor David Cheifetz. “It would be a very bad idea to take it away.” 

    Four other commissioners agreed with Cheifetz. Commissioner Peter Isaac was absent. 

    Roder also opposed Stumpf’s proposed 3 percent employee salary hike. “We should not emulate what we did for the police. We should make it a lump sum (increase) so it doesn’t become part of their base salary,” he said. 

    Police will get a 2 percent raise beginning in October under a new collective bargaining agreement signed by the town. The deal included a 7 percent raise retroactive to 2011 and a 3 percent hike this year. 

    Other commissioners favored the raise for general employees. 

    Commissioners agreed with Roder’s suggestion to cut a $20,000 computer software upgrade. 

    The commission also agreed to buy a $15,000 license plate reader to replace one of the six stationed on A1A and on the point. The plan is to replace one reader every year. The readers notify police of warrants, expired licenses and stolen cars passing through town. 

    The six-car police fleet includes rotating five patrol cars on and off the road. The lieutenant would drive one of the rotation cars. Currently he is assigned a specific car which is not outfitted for handling detainees. 

    The chief drives the sixth car. The town would continue its policy of replacing one car each year except in the year the chief’s car is also replaced. 

    Cheifetz indicated that a seventh town-owned car, currently driven by the town manager, would be sold. Several commissioners disagreed with providing the manager a car. Her contract calls for a car or a $400 monthly allowance.

By Tim O’Meilia

    Ocean Ridge town commissioners will consider giving town employees a 3 percent raise, buying two police cars, a tree-trimming bucket truck and an all-terrain beach vehicle, and replacing the town’s outdated computer system — all in next year’s budget.

    Also on the agenda for a July 31 budget workshop meeting were raises for the police chief — the lowest-paid in Palm Beach County, according to a salary survey — the lieutenant and two dispatchers and hiring a part-time beach patrol officer and a second full-time maintenance worker.

    The $5.5 million budget proposed by Town Manager Ken Schenck and Town Clerk and Treasurer Karen Hancsak is about $180,000 more than this year’s budget and already includes the employee raises, one police car and $100,000 in street and drainage improvements on Inlet Cay, Thompson Street and Spanish River Drive.

    Commissioners set a tentative tax rate of $5.50 per every $1,000 of taxable value for the year beginning Oct. 1 but said they intended to reduce it before final budget approval in September. The current tax rate is $5.35. 

    Homeowners would pay slightly more for garbage and trash collection — $228 for single-family homes (up $3) and $159 for apartments and condos (up $2).

    The 3 percent employee pay increases would match what the unionized rank-and-file police officers will receive under their union contract approved in May. Commissioners had indicated earlier that they intended to match the increase.

    Paying for Schenck’s “wish list” of computers, a bucket truck, a second police car, an ATV and a pay boost for non-unionized employees would tack another $200,000 onto the budget.

    That would require increasing the tax rate from the current $5.35 or dipping further into the town’s $3 million in reserves to balance the budget. 

    At the July 24 budget workshop, Commissioner Ed Brookes asked for a more precise cost-benefit analysis of the proposed expenditures. “Put a little more detail into it so we can make a decision,” said Mayor Geoff Pugh.

    Ridge Road resident Jerry Magruder complained that commissioners were ignoring more significant issues. 

    “I think we need a very vigilant Police Department. We don’t need computers. We don’t need cars. We need protection for the people,” she said. 

    She urged the town to station cameras on the town’s two bridges and north and south entrances to the town. 

    Magruder said she was the victim of a January break-in that caused $100,000 in property damage and $100,000 in lost jewelry. 

    “Everyone on my street has guns,” she said. “I can’t sleep at night. I am totally frightened.”

    Police Chief Chris Yannuzzi disputed Magruder’s claim of four break-ins in the area, saying hers and an attempted burglary across the street were the only incidents since January 2012. 

    He said he could not verify the amount of damage or the value of the stolen jewelry. 

    Yannuzzi said the department is negotiating with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office and other agencies in collaborating on a camera system that would read license tag numbers. 

    He said he hopes to share the $60,000 to $100,000 annual cost with other agencies, so the town would pay $20,000 to $30,000. 

    He emphasized the cameras were not surveillance cameras, but photograph license plates, allowing police to cooperate with other towns on stolen cars, wanted persons and the like.

By Tim O’Meilia 

    Local officials are hoping to shave months off a two-year environmental impact study that could lead to beach restoration in South Palm Beach, Lantana, Lake Worth and southern Palm Beach. 

    The $560,000 study is required to get federal approval of the latest version of a beach plan — an estimated $5 million project that would place seven short groins along the South Palm Beach-Lantana shoreline and dump about 75,000 cubic yards of sand on severely eroded “hot spots.” 

    “We are committed to completing the study in a year,” town of Palm Beach coastal coordinator Robert Weber told South Palm Beach Town Council members July 23. 

    Required public hearings and public comment timetables would extend approval time beyond a year, Palm Beach County officials said. 

     “We can’t shorten the advertising and public commenting period. It’s federally mandated,” said Leann Welch, environmental resource supervisor for Palm Beach County. “We’re hoping to shorten the time of the study itself. We don’t have to re-study the reef. We’ve already done that. We’re hoping to tighten the time frame.” 

    The South Palm Beach plan is being studied jointly with a separate Palm Beach plan at the insistence of federal officials since the two projects are adjacent. Palm Beach would pay $340,000, the county $165,000 and South Palm Beach about $40,000 (20 percent of the county’s share). 

    Palm Beach officials attended the South Palm Beach Town Council meeting to encourage the town to sign an inlet-to-inlet coastal management plan that considers projects regionally and promises to streamline studies and permitting for follow-up projects. 

    “It takes years and hundreds of thousands of dollars just to get to the starting line,” said Palm Beach Town Manager Peter Elwell. “We see a lot of benefit to the BMA (beach management agreement) so getting approval isn’t the regulatory quagmire it has been.” 

    A sticking point for South Palm Beach, Lantana and Manalapan is the possibility of paying a share of the cost of monitoring of the coastline, hardbottom and sea turtles regardless of whether renourishment is ever approved. Elwell said Palm Beach will pick up the tab for the three towns. 

    Under one scenario, South Palm Beach would pay $19,372, Lantana $5,103 and Manalapan $4,725 annually, based on their length of beach. That included no county contribution. 

    “We realized that would discourage you from participating. The town of Palm Beach is saying we will do the rest,” Elwell said. 

    Palm Beach was scheduled to pay 92 percent of the estimated $472,000 annual cost since 12 of the 15 miles of coastline between the Boynton and Lake Worth inlets are in the town. Now, the county will pay about $50,000 for aerial photography and graphics it performs annually anyway. Palm Beach will pay the remainder. 

    “We can be a signatory without any cost to us,” said South Palm Beach council member Stella Jordan. 

    “We need to support this but we need to look at the cost,” said Councilman Robert Gottlieb, referring to the town’s share of the project being studied. 

    Council members said they would consider the agreement in the next two months. Palm Beach has signed and the Palm Beach County Commission will consider it Aug. 13. 

    Lantana and Manalapan officials said they had not been notified of Palm Beach’s plan to absorb the monitoring costs. Neither has formally considered signing the agreement. 

    “The last I heard was that we would be asked to pay 17 percent of some undetermined number,” said Manalapan Town Manager Linda Stumpf. “Without knowing what those costs are, I couldn’t advise my commission to participate.”

    “It’s another piece of the puzzle for us to consider,” said Lantana Town Manager Deborah Manzo.

    A public informational meeting on the proposed joint project is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Aug. 12 at Palm Beach Town Hall, 360 S. County Road, Palm Beach.

    South Palm Beach nonunion employees would get a $1,500 bonus and perhaps a cost-of-living increase under a $1.7 million budget proposed by Town Manager Rex Taylor. 

    In a budget message, Taylor asked council members to consider cost-of-living raises for all employees during budget discussions. A workshop is planned for August but no date has been set. 

    Under their union contract, police will receive a $1,000 bonus in the new budget beginning Oct. 1. They received $1,500 bonuses this year. Council members set a tentative tax rate for the next budget year at $3.42 for each $1,000 of taxable property value, the same as this year’s. The rate can be reduced, but not increased, during budget discussions. 

    Final public hearings on the budget are scheduled for 7 p.m. Sept. 10 and Sept. 24.

— Tim O’Meilia

By Jane Smith

    Four companies submitted proposals last month in a bid to become the operator of the Lantana airport. 

    They are: Galaxy Aviation, Pahokee Airport, Saker Aviation and Sheltair Aviation. 

    The county’s Department of Airports is in a quiet period for 30 days while it reviews the proposals for the general aviation airport, officially known as Palm Beach County Park Airport. It sits at the northeast corner of Congress Avenue and Lantana Road. 

    Bids, originally due June 21, were extended to July 19. The four companies attended a mandatory pre-bid meeting in May. 

    Three operate airports in Florida. Pahokee Aviation is part of Landmark Aviation, based in Houston, which also operates Palm Beach Gardens airport and three other Florida airports. Galaxy Aviation, with operations at Palm Beach International and Boca Raton airports, has facilities at three other Florida airports. Sheltair Aviation, based in Orlando, operates the Executive Airport in Fort Lauderdale and 13 others in Florida. 

    Saker Aviation, based in Pennsylvania, operates out of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport in Avoca, Pa.; the heliport in Manhattan; and the Garden City Regional Airport in Garden City, Kan. 

    The county airports department also had requested bids to develop a corner section of that airport property to build a hotel, restaurant or other commercial project. The airports department wanted to rent the vacant land. Because no company submitted a bid for that 5.99-acre parcel, the county canceled that request for proposals. 

    The Lantana airport, with 125,000 takeoffs or landings in 2012, is restricted to fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters; jets are not allowed to land there. 

    It does not have an aircraft control tower, and aircraft follow a voluntary noise-abatement plan. It also does not charge landing fees. 

    Most of those aircraft operations are touch-and-go landings practiced by student pilots at the three flight schools based at the Lantana airport, according to Florida Airmotive, the current airport operator. 

    Florida Airmotive has a long-term lease which expires at the end of March. In the late 1980s, it built a terminal in the style of an Old Florida farmhouse with a breezeway through the middle. The office has wooden benches, and model planes hang from the ceiling. It’s filled with bits of Palm Beach County aviation history, including old flight maps on the wall. 

    The company spent millions to turn the airport, oft-described as “The Junkyard” because of its decrepit buildings, into a homey showcase that pilots, student pilots and visitors enjoy. According to the operator, they did not bid because, “the county was not interested in extending the lease.” 

    The county airports department makes money from the Lantana airport in several ways: ground rent, share of the rent charged to tenants in the hangars, a share of the tie-downs and a 5-cent surcharge on fuel used by aircraft. That totaled $120,000 in the most recent financial year, said Mike Simmons, finance director for the county airports department. (The airports department budget is not part of the county’s general fund.) 

    Starting in April, the county airports department is looking to make $200,000 annually from the hangar rentals, plus an additional $9,487.50 for ground rental of the 14.63 acres, and an additional $10,000-plus from fuel sales (204,430 gallons were sold in 2012), according to its proposal. 

    It is offering a $2 million rent credit to the new Lantana airport operator to fix or replace the hangars. 

    It had originally offered $1 million, but doubled the amount after potential bidders said more money was needed to do the repairs.

Below, inset left: Stephanie Immelman

Below, inset right: Karen Granger

Photos provided

    Note: Each month The Coastal Star features news from the businesses in our community. Business Spotlight is presented as a service to our advertisers and the local business community. 

    Twitter this: In July, the Delray Beach Marketing Cooperative promoted Stephanie Immelman to the position of executive director, proving it pays to have social media knowhow. 

    Of course, that’s just one of Immelman’s areas of expertise. Says Cathy Balestriere, the cooperative’s chair: “With Stephanie’s extensive background in international marketing and corporate finance, she has made numerous valuable contributions to DBMC ever since joining as destination marketing manager in 2008, including spearheading the social media campaign that resulted in Delray Beach being named the Most Fun Small Town in the USA by Rand McNally, USA Today and the Travel Channel.” 

    Marketing “fun” is not as easy as one would think. It takes expertise, and Immelman has it. She comes to DMBC with an impressive employment history, which includes working as director of market intelligence for AT&T in Brussels, Belgium, and London; managing international marketing programs for MCI, Sprint, Continental and Eastern airlines; as well as managing a private art gallery in London. 

    Serving as interim director since March, Immelman lead the Summer Drive campaign for in-state travelers, the annual Fourth of July celebration, and the ongoing branding initiative among the city of Delray Beach, the local Chamber of Commerce and the CRA. 

    There’s more coming, Immelman promises. “I look forward to working closely with our partners — the city, the Chamber of Commerce and the Delray Beach CRA — to further promote our city as a great place to visit. After all, as more people visit us, the more they want to move to Delray Beach and open businesses here.” 

    And speaking of fun, Boca has its share of it, too. The Greater Boca Raton Chamber of Commerce has just invited one and all to “come for the wine; savor the experience.” Its wine tasting party, “Wine & All that Jazz!” is slated for 7 to 9 p.m. Aug. 3, at the Boca Raton Resort & Club. While listening to sounds by Alex and The Band, wine lovers will have ample opportunity to sample more than 100 fine wines and lavish hors d’oeuvres served by Abe & Louie’s, Blue Martini, Oceans 234, Rapoport’s Restaurant Group, Red the Steakhouse and more. 

    Guests in the VIP room sponsored by NCCI will enjoy succulent food, ultra-premium wines and a signature cocktail. 

    “Wine & All That Jazz!” is part of the Boca Chamber Festival Days, and is just one of 30 events that the chamber will host this August. To view the calendar, visit bocaratonchamber.com/bcfdschedule. 

    It might be off-season, but you’d never know it. The Greater Delray Beach Chamber of Commerce has all kinds of news this month: Karen Granger, who has been serving as interim president, has been named president and CEO; growth in new membership is at 37 percent over last year; and June events received lots of buzz, thanks to featured guests, bestselling author David Pollay and former Gov. Charlie Crist. 

    Other good news: the chamber will soon move to its new office space on the first floor of the Old School Square parking garage on Northeast First Street, and the chamber’s capital campaign was kicked off in June with lots of enthusiasm. Its goal is to raise $750,000 from the community for build-out of its new space, as well as furnishings and equipment, and they are already a third of the way there. For information, call 278-0424. 

    “Hundreds of visitors from around the world come through our doors seeking information about our area. Since we represent the town, we want to make a memorable first impression on these guests,” Granger said. “Together we can do this!” 

    Coming up on Saturday, Sept. 21, chamber members will honor their annual winners and finalists during their 2013 Luminary Gala, which will be held at the Delray Beach Marriott. Business Person of the Year, Business of the Year, and Nonprofit of the Year have yet to be announced, so stay tuned. 

    However, the chamber has released winners in other categories. Dave Henninger of Island Air Conditioning is this year’s Lifetime Achievement award winner; Connor Lynch of Plastridge Insurance Agency is the Director of the Year award winner; and 2013 Business Recognition award winners are Ancient Olive, Buddha Sky Bar, Hyatt Place Hotel, Maclendon Wealth Management, Sandbar at Boston’s, and Villas by the Sea at the Marriott. 

    This year’s Ken Ellingsworth Community Service award winners are John Campanola, Peter DeRosa, Carol Eaton, Ron Gilinsky, Chuck Halberg, Christina Morrison and Rosa Torres-Tumazos. And this year’s Ambassador of the Year award winner is John Campanola of New York Life Insurance. 

    For regional hospitals, Boca Raton Regional Hospital received a very healthy ranking in U.S. News & World Report’s 2013-2014 annual listing of “America’s Best Hospitals:” 21st in Florida and ninth in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale metro area. It was also rated as a high-performing hospital in gastroenterology/gastrointestinal surgery and gynecology. 

    “Not only was the hospital listed for the third consecutive year, but we have gone up in the rankings and were recognized as high-performing in two specialties,” said Jerry Fedele, the hospital’s president and CEO. “It is truly gratifying to be acknowledged in such a prestigious fashion for the care we provide.” 

    After analysis of data that included death rates, patient safety and procedure volume, nearly 4,800 regional hospitals were winnowed to 732. The regional rankings are aimed primarily at consumers who may not be willing or able to travel long distances for medical care. The rankings also give patients and their families more options of hospitals within their community and health-insurance network. Highlights of the 2012-13 rankings will appear in the U.S. News Best Hospitals 2014 guidebook, available for purchase. 

    Owner/chef Chrissy Benoit of The Little House and singer/songwriter Ric Pattison are looking for talent in a variety of styles to sing one-hour sets on Monday nights from 6 to 9 p.m. Of course, an audience is welcome, too, and the kitchen will be open for food and drinks. The Little House is at 480 E. Ocean Ave., Boynton Beach. 

    No matter the occasion or destination, it’s simple to be the best-dressed guy in the room, believes Giovanni Marquez, founder of FSB (Fashion Shoppes Boutique) and FashionMenswear — as long as the clothes come from his store or website. Offering a nice mix of sharp looks, there’s something sure to suit any man of any age, and Marquez knows what he’s talking about. The Boynton Beach fashion hub has 40 years under its belt. FSB/FashionMenswear has survived, thrived and kept fashionable with a blog as well as a presence on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Polyvore, Tublr, Google+, Linkedin and Pinterest. 

    Soon to come to FSB will be digital notebooks and laptops, so customers can shop for online-exclusive items while in the store. How’s that for au courant? And PS, there’s a big sale going on. The store is at 515 E. Ocean Ave., Boynton Beach, or visit the website, fashionmenswear.com 

    Lang Realty is expanding in all directions. Recently, it acquired Reback Realty’s Manalapan office at 277A S. Ocean Blvd. in the Plaza Del Mar shopping center, and that’s on top of adding new agents at its Delray Beach location and opening a new office in Jupiter. 

    Kristine Wasserman, formerly of J. Bailey Wolforth, Inc. has joined the Delray Beach firm of Illustrated Properties on Atlantic Avenue. Since 1979, Kris has specialized full time selling beach area properties in Ocean Ridge, Manalapan, Delray Beach and Highland Beach. Wasserman and her husband, Tom, have lived in Ocean Ridge for 35 years.

Christine Davis is a freelance writer. Please send business anouncements to her at cdavis9797@comcast.net.

By Steve Plunkett 

    The Boynton Beach Community Redevelopment Agency will give away land under the Little House Restaurant and the Oscar Magnuson house — the city’s oldest structure — to lure a Delray Beach law firm and jumpstart development downtown. 

    Vivian Brooks, executive director of the CRA, told board members July 9 that just that afternoon she had reached a tentative agreement with law firm Kanner and Pintaluga PA and developer One Boynton LLC, which owns most of the land fronting Federal Highway between Ocean Avenue and Boynton Beach Boulevard save a sliver of CRA-owned land at the northwest corner. 

    “I think it’s a win-win in my opinion at first blush,” Brooks said. “To have these [law firm] jobs right there in a brand-new office building that’s highly visible at a very critical, main intersection I think will kick off more interest in downtown Boynton.” 

    Plus, said Brooks, the Magnuson and Little House properties would go on the tax rolls if owned by a private entity instead of the city. 

    “I like what I’m hearing here,” Mayor Jerry Taylor, who chairs the CRA, said. “And the magic words I heard from you were, ‘We’ll move it along quicker.’ Those are magic words to me.” 

    In April the personal-injury law firm said it would build a nine-story, 50,000-square-foot office building with 300 parking spaces. One Boynton presented drawings of a 14-story, high-density residential tower, a 13-story residential tower and a 12-story, 120-room hotel. 

    One Boynton representatives said the 10-attorney law firm would bring about 200 employees to the downtown when it moved in in 2015 and would have room to add more. 

    “I would envision in five years it could be 300 to 400,” firm co-founder Howard Kanner told The Coastal Star. 

    Jim Knight, principal of the Knight Group in Delray Beach, represents the law firm in the negotiations. Three years ago he was instrumental in bringing Walmart to the Federal Highway corridor. 

    The CRA said it would give its half-acre at Boynton Beach Boulevard to make the deal work, but Brooks said negotiations afterward slowed to a “snail’s pace.” 

    Then F. Davis Camalier, principal of One Boynton, suggested the law firm build on the CRA land plus some of his. The CRA would give him the Magnuson and Little House parcels in return. 

    “He actually wanted a land swap. He presented that,” Brooks said. 

    City Commissioner Michael Fitzpatrick, also a CRA board member, said he met with Camalier less than four hours before the meeting and the Manalapan resident offered barely a hint of the proposed deal. 

    “I’m still interested in having a three-story parking garage as the plaza base,” Fitzpatrick said. 

    The CRA bought the corner parcel for $900,000 in 2002 for the extension of Boynton Beach Boulevard and access to Marina Village. The Palm Beach County property appraiser values the land at $425,000. 

    The agency bought the Magnuson property for $850,000 in 2007 from broker Thomas Walsh, whose family owns the Marriott Hotel in Delray Beach. The county’s appraised value of that parcel, at 211 E. Ocean Ave., is now $70,294. The two-story, 1,500-square-foot Magnuson house was built in 1910. 

    “It is designated historic. It’s only locally historic, so it doesn’t protect it from being torn down,” Brooks said. “If you want some protection, maybe you could say it would have to be moved.” 

    Brooks said the CRA could find a new site for the structure. 

    “That would not be a huge issue. It’s an easy-to-move piece of property because it’s wood,” she said. 

    Under the tentative deal the Little House Restaurant would stay at 480 E. Ocean Ave., at least until its lease runs out in 2017. The property appraiser lists its market value at $101,492. 

    The restaurant is in the historic Ruth Jones Cottage, which was built in 1934 at 201 NE First Ave. The CRA paid Jones $265,000 for the cottage in 2007 and four years later spent $350,000 to move it and save it from demolition. 

    The house still has its original hardwood floors, front door and coral rock fireplace. The ceiling was created using Dade County pine from the original bedroom walls. The CRA next meets Aug. 13.

There was plenty of room to run during Colonial Animal Hospital’s open house. 

Below, Dr. Rob Martin talks with Vicki Stallings and her 7-month-old dog, Xena.

Photos by Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

Clarification
A business spotlight in August about Colonial Animal Hospital may have given the wrong impression about the type of veterinary care practiced by Colonial’s vets. They strive to give the highest level of care possible by a group of general practitioners.

Dr. Robert Martin said it was important to him personally that this clarification be made.

By Jane Smith

    Colonial Animal Hospital is passionate about pets, says Dr. Robert Martin, a veterinarian and owner of the hospital.

    Its Woolbright Road location in Boynton Beach couldn’t adequately serve the practice’s growing clientele of coastal cats and dogs. “During the season, the parking lot was full,” he says.

    They were so focused on moving pets through the practice for routine medical visits, that they “couldn’t spend the time with the clients … We want to slow the visit.”

    In mid-July, they held an open house to show off their newly built Gateway Boulevard location, with exam rooms painted in bright colors. Martin purchased that property in 2008. Then last year, he began clearing the land to build the $1.6 million state-of-the-art Colonial Gateway Veterinary Center. 

    At 4,500 square feet, it is double the size of the Woolbright location. The new center features indoor and outdoor runs for boarding dogs, an exercise pool by Endless Pools, space for popular groomer John Grumbar and grounds landscaped with a special artificial grass called K9Grass. 

    “We want to provide the type of care that clients want and need,” Martin says.

    That means boarding dogs have indoor and outdoor runs to give them a more home-like atmosphere. The Endless Pool provides physical therapy for the dogs with hip and other joint issues and a way to exercise overweight dogs. And it’s also for fun for dogs that stay overnight, he says.

    Martin began working at the Woolbright Road location in 1998 when he was the second vet in that practice and it had five support staff: two technicians, two receptionists and one kennel employee. He bought the practice in 2004.

    With the addition of the new Gateway Boulevard location, the practice will have five vets and 20 support staff, depending on the time of year.

    About 98 percent of their clients are cats and dogs, the other 2 percent are what Martin calls “pocket pets,” including hamsters and rats. They don’t treat any birds or exotic animals, such as snakes and other reptiles.

    The basic office visit costs $49, plus extra for vaccinations, flea and tick prevention, heartworm preventives and other tests. He does not like discussing the money part of the practice, saying it “makes me squeamish to talk about it.” 

    Martin describes his vets as GPs who provide specialist care. He is proud that his practice was built on word-of-mouth referrals.

    For example, he and his vets know that Cavalier King Charles spaniels are prone to cardiac problems, so they pay extra attention when performing a physical exam on that breed.

    They also try to have a good knowledge of dog and cat behavior. “Just the physical presence in the vet’s office can be stressful,” Martin says.

    He grew up with a German shepherd, which instilled a love of dogs. His family of five kids and a wife has five dogs — two Australian shepherds, one French bulldog and two Chihuahuas.

    That canine love is the main reason, he says, why he became a vet.

    Colonial Gateway Veterinary Center, 2235 N. Federal Highway, Boynton Beach, 732-3629; Colonial Animal Hospital, 127 E. Woolbright Road, Boynton Beach, 737-6448; www.ColonialAnimalHospital.com.

The Junior League of Boca Raton recently named its new board of directors for the 2013-24 year.

Its mission: to volunteer, raise money, help develop the potential of women and improve the community

through leadership and action. Photo: (front row) Florence Kizza, Crystal McMillin, Andrea Garcia, Jamie Sauer;

(back row) Meghan Shea, Maggie Dickenson, Nancy Dockerty, Samantha Vassallo, Kellie Mejia, Kristen Stanley,

Terri Williams, Sherry Winter, Melissa Whelchel and Jennifer Barner.

Photo provided by David Decoteau/Downtown Photo

Academy of the Arts middle-school students took center stage during three free performances

of ‘The Magical Land of Oz.’ Attendees included students from Title I and other area schools,

as well as the community-at-large. ‘We are so grateful for the overwhelming generosity

and dedication to the continued success of this program,’ said Head of School Tami Pleasanton.

Photo: The cast of ‘The Magical Land of Oz,’ with Artistic Director Becky Cleveland.

Photo provided by Carol Cunningham

Local patrons, Boston natives and members of the Boca Raton Running Club (pictured above)

joined forces to raise money for The One Fund, a nonprofit organization established to aid

the victims and families affected by the Boston Marathon bombings. The community-wide event

that drew more than 300 featured five bands, games, raffles, a silent auction and an official proclamation

from the city. With help from corporate sponsors, more than $20,000 was raised.

Photo provided

To strengthen cultural and culinary bonds, Delray Beach Mayor Cary Glickstein joined Miyazo, Japan Mayor Shoji Inoue

and his Sister Cities delegation for a July lunch at Caffe Luna Rosa in Delray Beach.

Joining them were Karen Granger, president and CEO of the Greater Delray Beach Chamber of Commerce,

Vin Nolan, economic development director for the City of Delray Beach

and Sister Cities of Delray Beach President David Schmidt and board member James Mihori.

Photo provided

By Steve Pike 

    If you’re looking for some great reading, try Isaac’s Storm by Erik Larson, which tells the story of scientist Isaac Cline, one of the country’s first meteorologists, and the events leading up to the September 1900 hurricane that killed more than 6,000 people in Galveston, Texas, and almost wiped out the barrier island. 

    Larson writes that before the storm, which would become the deadliest in U.S. history, the nation “was swollen with pride and technological confidence.” 

    Today’s technology to predict and map hurricanes and severe weather has taken quantum leaps forward since Cline’s time, so as the peak of the 2013 hurricane season approaches, area residents have a plethora of techno options to track potential storms. 

    Among the best is Storm Shield Weather for iPhones and Android phones. The app can be downloaded from WPTV’s website (www.wptv.com). 

    “It’s the only app I know that acts like a weather alert radio, sending you the latest NWS severe weather warnings,” said WPTV chief meteorologist Steve Weagle. “It also gives our tweets, the hurricane tracks, seven-day forecast, our radar and other SPC outlooks, too.” 

    The Palm Beach County Department of Public Safety’s Division of Emergency Management has enhanced the features of its smartphone application. The app is called PBC DART (Palm Beach County Disaster Awareness and Recovery Tool). The app, which launched last year, enables residents to determine whether they reside in an evacuation zone, locate their nearest public shelter, and report damage to their home or business. 

    Enhancements to the app include: 

• Grocery and building supply stores with emergency power 

• Gas stations equipped with transfer switches 

• Immediate access to Palm Beach County Division of Emergency Management’s Twitter feed 

• Disaster supplies kit information 

    PBC DART is available at no charge from Apple’s iTunes Store or the Google Play app store. For additional information on emergency management programs, visit www.pbcgov.com/dem/. 

    If you like to watch weather radar, Weather Bug (www.weatherbug.com) has some great interactive maps with radar. It also serves as an early warning system. 

    Some other quality apps: 

• The Weather Channel (www.weather.com) has apps for iPhones, Android phones. Blackberry, Windows Phone, iPad and Kindle Fire. It’s a free app that uses the Weather Channel’s TruPoint technology that provides a forecast within 1.5 miles of the user’s location. 

• The American Red Cross has a free app — Hurricane by American Red Cross — for iPhones and Android phones that is among the best available. The app allows the user to monitor conditions in specific neighborhoods, find help and let others know the user is safe even if the power is out. From your mobile phone, call **REDCROSS (**73327677) and get a link to download the hurricane tracking app to an iPhone or Android device. Or you can download them directly from the iTunes and Google Play app stores. 

• Hurricane Hound is a free app from Google Play that shows the tracks and forecasts of active hurricanes and tropical storms. It also highlights areas the National Weather Service is watching for possible development. The app, which covers the Atlantic and Eastern Pacific basins, provides access to NWS forecast information, including tropical outlooks and discussions, public advisories, forecasts and satellite imagery.

By Emily J. Minor 

    MANALAPAN — Around town, they called her “Manalapan’s mom” — mostly because she was friendly and kind and downright adorable. “The past four or five years, she gave up the snowbird thing and just lived down here permanently,” says Manalapan Vice Mayor Louis De Stefano, about his mother. “She loved it.” 

    And the town loved her. 

    Phyllis De Stefano, the daughter of a New York City sanitation worker, was smart as a whip but never finished high school because she had to drop out and help her parents after the 1929 stock market crash. Mrs. De Stefano died in her sleep in the lovely cottage her son had bought her on Lands End Road. She was 97. 

    “She always had a funny, upbeat disposition, no matter what was going on,” the vice mayor said. “She was warm and engaging and had a very strong faith.” 

    Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., on Aug. 27, 1915, she was the daughter of Italian immigrants, Giovionni and Valleverde Lombardozzi. The parents spoke only Italian at home, but their daughter, Phyllis, learned English quickly once she started school. Her son said she was so quick with the studies that she eventually was able to skip a grade in elementary school. 

    But when Wall Street crashed, she quit school to work for a laundry. Her $12-a-week paycheck helped the family get by, De Stefano said. “She was always sorry she didn’t go back to school,” he said. 

    In 1935, at the tender age of 20, she married Arthur De Stefano, another Brooklyn kid who was a year her senior. For a while, the newlyweds lived with her parents, De Stefano said, but eventually they bought their first home in Bay Ridge in 1948. There, they raised their three sons. 

    Mr. De Stefano died in 1994, and the vice mayor’s two brothers also preceded Mrs. De Stefano in death. 

    Louis De Stefano, who moved to Manalapan in 1990, said his mother started coming south for the winter shortly after he settled in town. “I convinced her she would like it,” said De Stefano, who called his mother’s time in Florida some of her happiest years. 

    So beloved was she that in January, the town named a small park after her. The plaque reads: “Tranquility Park. Dedicated to Phyllis De Stefano. Town of Manalapan. 2013.” 

    The family asks that any memorials be given to the town for the continued beautification of Tranquility Park, which is near Mrs. De Stefano’s Manalapan home.

Ocean Ridge resident Joyce Bruck (shown here with her Chihuahua Chi Chi)

travels extensively, using two Canon cameras to capture images

of the humans, the wildlife and the scenery she encounters.

Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

   Joyce Bruck of Ocean Ridge is an accidental photographer. 

    The former computer operations manager who worked in California for two decades was bitten by the travel bug while growing up on the East Coast. 

    “I was brought up to go see things,” she said of her family’s annual road trip from South Carolina to Miami Beach. “My family had a Brownie camera, and someone took a picture of me at 10 in St. Augustine.” 

    From that modest start, she would go on to visit 100 countries on seven continents. Her favorite countries are: Namibia and Madagascar for the wildlife and tribes, Antarctica for the penguins and icebergs, Chile for its varied scenery and Churchill, Manitoba, Canada, for the polar bears. 

    In Namibia in 2006, an elephant lumbered toward the rental car she was driving through the Etosha National Park. Her friend rolled up a window on the passenger side of the car, and Bruck said, “Winnie, that is not going to do any good.” Bruck took its picture, and then the elephant simply stepped around the car, averting a crisis. 

    She uses two Canon EOS Rebel camera bodies, one with a wide-angle lens of 18-50 mm and one with a zoom that goes from 70-300 mm. 

    “You can’t just have one camera today because when you fumble around changing the lens, your subject could disappear,” she said. 

    She specializes in still lifes of animals, birds and people, as well as scenery. “Subjects intrigue me,” she said. The zoom lens allows her to stand back a comfortable distance from the subject and still make a good photograph, she said. 

    Her travel photos have been exhibited at the Delray Beach Public Library and at Boca Raton City Hall. Her Florida bird photos were displayed at the Daggerwing Nature Center in suburban Boca Raton. 

    Bruck also enjoys seeing her travel photos in the monthly International Travel News, which relies on the candid tips from subscribers. She receives no pay for this but does it simply for the thrill of seeing her photos in print. 

    She writes tips for other readers, such as saving all travel documents until the trip is over. Her house is a testament to the save-everything principle. 

    She never took formal photography lessons. As a member of the Boynton Beach Camera Club, she often picks up tips from fellow photographers. 

    Because her parents died when she was young, she became self-sufficient. When she was working as a math aide for TRW Systems, she taught herself to program computers. She also is a Florida-licensed real estate broker. 

    Bruck, 70, truly enjoys living in Ocean Ridge, where the views are not marred by high-rises. 

    Her passion is ballroom dancing. She takes a weekly class and goes out dancing with her instructor each week. 

    For her next trip this fall, she will combine dancing and touring on a Silversea cruise ship that sails from Venice. She is researching Italy with five books from the Boynton Beach Library. 

    Currently single, Bruck picks cruise ships with gentleman hosts. That way, she can go on all-day tours and take photos. Then when she returns to the ship, she’ll have a companion for dinner and dancing. 

— Jane Smith 

Q. Where did you grow up and go to school? How do you think that has influenced you? 

A. Columbia, S.C. There was not much culture from which to learn or career options. ÖAfter graduating from the University of South Carolina with a bachelor’s in biology, I called a cousin in California and asked if I could come out for a (job-hunting) visit. Within a few days, I got a job at the USC Medical Center as a biology researcher. 

Q. How/when did you become a photographer? 

A. A guy I was dating in 1965 gave me a Kodak Instamatic for my birthday. I used that camera when a girlfriend and I took a road trip through Europe. 

Q. What other careers have you had, what were the highlights? 

A. Biological researcher, math aide, computer programmer, data processing auditor, manager computer equipment operations, mostly in Fortune 500 companies, in California. Real estate broker/owner and mortgage broker (in Florida). The highlights were discovering how to do things better, faster and more accurate. I once managed 28 people. 

Q. Tell us about your photography. 

A. I take pictures in Florida and around the world, using them in articles I write, travel presentations and exhibitions. 

Q. How did you choose to make your home in Ocean Ridge?

A. I visited Florida as a child and had a relative living in Fort Lauderdale. I prefer warm climates. When I was trying to decide exactly where to live, I drove up the coast (to Singer Island then came back to) Ocean Ridge and decided this was where I wanted to be. 

Q. What is your favorite part about living in Ocean Ridge? 

A. It is quiet, peaceful, beautiful. Just yesterday, a fox ran across the road in front of my car one block from my house. There are always birds, flowers and butterflies. 

Q. What book are you reading now? 

A. I read about one book a week — usually best sellers. 

Q. What music do you listen to when you need inspiration? When you want to relax? 

A. Various kinds: ’50s, country and western, light piano concerts and Celtic women. 

Q. Do you have a favorite quote that inspires your decisions? 

A. Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today. 

Q. Who/what makes you laugh? 

A. My Chihuahua Chi Chi.

About 20 volunteers (including Gael Silverblatt, below, at left) took part

in a recent planting of mangrove seedlings just north of the Lake Worth Bridge.

Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

By Deborah S. Hartz-Seeley 

    A fisherman on a yellow and orange kayak paddles toward a mangrove island. Soon he’ll hook a 40-inch snook that will, after 10 minutes of fighting, get away. 

    “I would have loved to get a picture of him,” says Eddie Eagle from Delray Beach. 

    A birder carrying a massive camera walks toward the small shade pavilion at the end of the boardwalk. He expects to see a mated pair of oyster catchers that until now were only found along the coast as far south as New Smyrna Beach. 

    “It’s an incredible, really nice area for seeing birds,” says Al Pelligrinelli of Boca Raton. 

    Welcome to the Snook Islands Natural Area that stretches north of the Lake Avenue Bridge along the Lake Worth Lagoon. 

    “It’s a real gift to the city,” says Gael Silverblatt, the co-chairman of the Snook Islands Volunteers. After all, most of the funding for this multiphase project came from grants and state money; the county supplies staff to oversee the construction. 

    Before the habitat restoration began in 2003, this area of Lake Worth was a “dead zone,” says project manager Carman Vare, who works for Palm Beach County Department of Environmental Resources Management. 

    A deep trough at the bottom of the lake was created in the 1920s when it was dredged for sand to create the Lake Worth Municipal Golf Course that still attracts duffers today. 

    The hole left in the lagoon was a massive 1.2 miles long, 800 feet wide and, in some areas, 20 to 25 feet deep. 

    It was so deep that light couldn’t penetrate and there was no oxygen in the water. In fact, the only thing that survived at those depths were worms associated with raw sewage, says Vare. 

    Lucky for Lake Worth residents, at about the same time, a restoration project was underway just north at Peanut Island where they needed to get rid of 40 feet of sand. 

    That’s when it was decided that 1.2 million cubic feet of it would be put on barges and shipped south, where it would be used to fill the huge hole, stabilize the muck and create four islands and three peninsulas along the coastline. 

    Today these areas, which were hand-planted with mangrove trees and cord grass, provide more than 10 acres of habitat for birds and more than 2 acres of habitat for oysters. As a result of the work, nature has donated 46 acres of sea grass that has sprung up around the islands. 

    “You can plot and plan and try to engineer things but ultimately mother mature blesses what she likes. We never envisioned this project to be so successful,” says Vare. 

    In its early years, this natural area wasn’t easy for people to enjoy. “You had to climb to the top of the Lake Avenue Bridge to see it,” says Ginny Powell, who does public outreach for ERM. 

    To ease access, docks, a 650-foot fishing pier and a 550-foot boardwalk were added in 2012. And 100 of Silverblatt’s volunteers planted 450 donated native plants to buffer the area from the street. 

    But that wasn’t the end of the restoration. Another one-third-acre island and more oyster habitat were recently added north of the bridge. This project was finished in June when about 20 volunteers hand-planted 1,000 red mangrove seedlings. 

    South of the bridge the work continues with three more islands and oyster habitat scheduled for completion by mid-2014. 

    “These projects have a lot of benefits for the economy, the city and the private sector by providing jobs,” says Powell. “But best of all, they’ve been good for the environment. Talk to any citizens that know about these projects and they are thrilled. I’ve heard no complaints.” 

A note to paddlers 

    If you want to paddle the Snook Islands Natural Area, there’s a floating dock located at the northwest end of the Lake Avenue Bridge. Heading west on the bridge, take the turnoff into the nature center. There’s a drop-off area where you can unload your boat. But before launching, you’ll have to move your car to street parking located a block or two away. 

    We found it much more convenient to put in from the boat ramps of Bryant Park on the southwest side of the bridge, where there’s plenty of parking and restrooms. 

    For more information on the Lake Worth Lagoon restoration, visit www.pbcgov.com/erm/lakes/estuarine/snook/