Renderings show the Gulfstream in perspective, above,

and in a Lake Avenue streetscape.

Courtesy of JRA Architects, Louisville, Ky.

By Jane Smith

    One of the owners of the historic Sundy House in Delray Beach recently received approval to renovate the historic Gulfstream Hotel in Lake Worth.
    The combined planning and historic preservation meeting, held Feb. 17, means the Gulfstream project won’t have to be reviewed by the Lake Worth City Commission.
    The city’s Historic Resources Preservation Board was able to review only three of the seven issues in a session that lasted nearly six hours. The remaining four issues will be heard at the March 9 meeting.
    They include: razing two rundown historic homes to make way for the new hotel annex; adding a 6,500-square-foot, one-story building on the southeast side of the Gulfstream Hotel; and building the five-story hotel annex that will be 65 feet tall and a two-story parking garage with rooftop parking on the hotel’s west side. The garage can accommodate 145 cars.
    Board Vice Chairman Darrin Engel stepped down from the dais because his employer, REG Architects, recently was hired by the development team to be a consulting architect.
    The project will be done in phases, with the Gulfstream Hotel finished first. Amenities will include a champagne room and a rooftop bar.
    Restoring the hotel to its 1925 grandeur will result in 18 fewer rooms for a total of 87 rooms. The still-to-be-approved addition will provide kitchen facilities and have a rooftop pool, deck and pedestrian walkway to the hotel annex.
    Most of the 24 people who commented want to see the Gulfstream reopened. It’s been closed for more than 10 years.
    Some residents who live in nearby condos were concerned about the noise level of the rooftop deck and wanted to know the hours it would operate.
    Others were concerned about the parking, especially when the Gulfstream hosted a wedding or other big event. Bonnie Miskel, the land-use attorney for the project, said the owners would agree to do a parking study six months after receiving the last permit for the hotel annex.
    Rick Gonzalez of REG Architects said another floor could be added easily to the parking garage.
    Gonzalez also praised his employer, Hudson Holdings. “Florida is so lucky to have Hudson Holdings here from Chicago. They will bring back economic vitality to Lake Worth,” he said.
    In May 2014, Hudson Holdings teamed with Carl DeSantis, founder of Rexall Sundown vitamins, to buy the Gulfstream Hotel for $7.22 million. The hotel was placed on the National Register in 1983.
    In Delray Beach, Hudson Holdings partnered with Marshall Florida Holdings in July 2014 to pay $17.5 million for land on South Swinton Avenue that includes the historic Sundy House.
    For the property, now known as Swinton Commons, the development team is seeking Delray Beach approval to move eight historic homes and demolish eight others. Gonzalez also is the consulting architect for that project.

By Rich Pollack

    Advances in technology are helping to breathe new life into plans by local law enforcement agencies to install license-plate recognition cameras along State Road A1A, despite a Florida Department of Transportation ban against placing the cameras on state rights of way.
    Ocean Ridge Police Chief Hal Hutchins and Highland Beach Police Chief Craig Hartmann say both their departments have begun looking into the possibility of placing license-plate recognition cameras on public or private property beyond the state rights of way. The Delray Beach police department is also studying the issue.
    “We believe the technology may have advanced to the point where we no longer need to position equipment on the right of way,” Hutchins said. He is quick to point out there are many variables that could factor into whether the cameras available are a good fit for Ocean Ridge or other coastal communities that may want to install them.
    Both Hutchins and Hartmann, along with representatives of Delray Beach, have spoken to several camera vendors that can scan license plates from farther off the road than those placed closer to the roadway and have plans to speak with several others.
Hartmann said representatives of one company have already visited Highland Beach and demonstrated the effectiveness of their license-plate scanning systems when they are placed beyond the state right of way.
    But it may take a while before license-plate scanners are being used in any of the communities.
    “We’re being very cautious,” Hutchins said. “This isn’t a silver bullet.”
    The concerns, he said, are accuracy and effectiveness.
    “We’re concerned about accuracy based on specific positions,” he said.
    Cameras misreading a tag because of how the cameras are positioned could possibly lead to a significant number of false positive detections, which law enforcement representatives said would be unacceptable.
    The chiefs say it is also important to consider environmental conditions, such as obstacles that could interfere with a camera’s ability to read a tag at night, before making a decision on whether or not to move forward.
    License-plate recognition systems work by scanning tags of passing cars and comparing that information to tag numbers in databases set up by law enforcement agencies. If a tag registered to a stolen vehicle is spotted by the system, for example, an alert is sent to a dispatcher who verifies the information and then notifies officers on patrol.
    Along the coast in southern Palm Beach County, law enforcement agencies had previously formed a task force led by then-Ocean Ridge Police Chief Chris Yannuzzi to explore the possibility of working together to bring license-plate recognition systems to A1A.
    The plan was derailed and put on hold in late 2014 when state DOT officials ruled that the cameras were not permitted on state rights of way.
    License-plate scanners are still being used in other areas in South Florida on roads that are not designated as state highways, and DOT officials have allowed municipalities that had installed cameras prior to the ruling — including Manalapan and Palm Beach — to keep those cameras.
    Hutchins said that as of now, each department is working independently to determine if the new technology would make the cameras useful in their communities. Still, the departments are in communication with one another and sharing information they gather.
    Once research is completed, Hartmann and Hutchins plan to bring their findings to their respective commissions for approval.
    In the interim, the chiefs are continuing to speak with vendors across the nation to see if there is a system that is a good fit for state roads in their communities.
    “This isn’t just a local phenomenon,” Hutchins said. “There are a lot of vendors who have products we could use.”

By Dan Moffett

    As it waits to take ownership of Old Ocean Boulevard from the state, Briny Breezes is turning to its Planning and Zoning Board to develop new rules for the road.
    Town Attorney John Skrandel told council members during their Feb. 25 meeting that he expects state officials to transfer the deed to Old Ocean to the town by the end of March, ending a clerical oversight that likely dates to the 1940s.
    With ownership, the town also assumes responsibility for maintaining the road. Council members have expressed concern that construction projects in Ocean Ridge could send heavy trucks down Old Ocean and damage the pavement.
    The council wants the planning board to research possible restrictions the town might put on traffic to protect its iconic seaside boulevard. Planning board Chairman Jerry Lower said it probably makes more sense to limit the number of axles on trucks rather than set weight restrictions, because the town has no scales with which to monitor cargo loads.
    Police Chief Hal Hutchins told the council that when the planning board convenes this month, it should use the opportunity to take a look also at parking on Old Ocean and make recommendations for possible improvements.
    “If you’re asking P and Z to look at restrictions on the roadway,” Hutchins said, “you can ask them to look at the total use of the roadway, too — not just weights on trucks.”

    Editor’s note: Planning board Chairman Jerry Lower is publisher of The Coastal Star.

Kim Beaumont’s CPA practice is in Boynton Beach.

Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

    Most people dread the tax season, but one of Kim Beaumont’s favorite things to do is “a big, juicy, complicated tax return, with all kinds of problems.”
    “I’m an analytical person, a problem solver,” said Beaumont, a certified public accountant with more than 30 years of experience and a practice in Boynton Beach. “I think I’ve done well at it because those are some of my better traits.”
    These traits also serve her well in her role as treasurer of Impact 100 Palm Beach County, a charity that awards grants to local nonprofits. “It’s just a fabulous group of dynamic women,” Beaumont said.
    Each member of Impact 100 donates $1,000 per year, and collectively they fund $100,000 grants to initiatives that are voted on by the members at their annual awards event.
    In 2015, four $100,000 grants were awarded and the two remaining finalists each received $18,000. This year’s deadline for new memberships is March 31, in order to participate in the April 19 vote and awards ceremony. The goal this year is $500,000.
    “A lot of women are busy, so the concept of one meeting, one vote, $1,000, is very interesting to them,” said Beaumont.  “Their heart and passion for it is just contagious.”
    Beaumont, who resides in Ocean Ridge with her husband, David, and their two daughters, helped start the Boynton Beach YMCA in 2000, and has been a supporter of Bethesda Hospital.
    She also served for six years as treasurer of Old School Square cultural arts center in Delray Beach, and was a board member and committee chair of the Greater Boynton Beach Chamber of Commerce. 
    “As a volunteer, what I bring to the table is my ability to handle finances, as well as a practical, big-picture approach to handling the challenges and accomplishments,” Beaumont said.
    Beaumont, 54, spent her adolescent years helping out on the family farm in Jupiter, where she learned the value of hard work. She and her six sisters, along with their father, did everything from milk the cows to build barns for the animals.
    Her mother volunteered as the leader of the 4H Club for the Jupiter Farms area, taking her own children, as well as about 20 other local children, to county fairs all over the state. “She was always a very hard worker, a great example,” Beaumont said.
    From her parents Beaumont also learned about giving. “They didn’t have a lot of money, but they always gave to the church and to different organizations, no matter what,” Beaumont said. “I always saw that, and they always preached it, and they were always helping their neighbors.”
    From time to time, they also took in foster children.
    Beaumont is a fifth- generation Floridian. Her family history includes, on her mother’s side, the Butts family, who at one time owned most of west Boca and were major green bean farmers, and on her father’s side, the first governor of Florida after the Civil War.
    Her father only recently moved off the family farm in Jupiter, and the 100-acre property will be added to the River Bend Park. Their house (where Burt Reynolds filmed The Maddening) will be turned into a nature center.
    “I feel so blessed in my own family — I love my job, husband, kids — and because there’s so much need in this world, you make the time to give back,” said Beaumont. “It hasn’t always been easy, but I feel called to do that, and an obligation. And the more people we get giving, the better the world will be.”
— Marie Puleo

    Q: Where did you grow up and go to school? How do you think that has influenced you?
    A: I was born in Delray Beach and lived by the beach until I was 9. We spent many days at the beach swimming, turtle hunting, having cookouts and bonfires. I have six sisters and many cousins that lived locally so there was always someone to play with. At age 9, we moved to the Jupiter Farms area.
    We had horses, cows, pigs, chickens, etc., and participated in 4-H showing our animals at county fairs around the state. My sisters and I had a lot of responsibility taking care of our animals, including building the fences and barns to house them. My parents made us do it all so we learned at a very young age how to work hard and be responsible.
    I have been back in the Delray area for over 30 years and I love it.

    Q: What professions have you worked in? What professional accomplishments are you most proud of?
    A: I graduated from FAU with an accounting degree in 1983 and passed the CPA exam the first sitting. I have been practicing public accounting since 1983 focusing on tax planning and preparation for individuals, business, estate and trusts. I love what I do and I am very proud that all of my staff have been with me for 20 years or more.
    
    Q: What advice do you have for a young person selecting a career today?
    A: Select something you will enjoy, but be realistic about the job opportunities.
    
    Q: How did you choose to make your home in Ocean Ridge?
    A: My husband and I love the ocean, boating and scuba diving.
    
    Q: What is your favorite part about living in Ocean Ridge?
    A: My neighbors and living by the beach.
    
    Q: What book are you reading now? 
    A: I am an avid reader. I enjoy fiction and nonfiction, and of course my tax journals. I just started Being Mortal, by Atul Gawande.
    
    Q: What music do you listen to when you need inspiration?
    A: Pandora, rock ’n’ roll and I enjoy the ’70s dancing music. When I want to relax, I like soft rock.
    
    Q: Have you had mentors in your life? Individuals who have inspired your life decisions?
    A: My parents are both very hard-working people with tremendous integrity and they have influenced me the most. They always told me I could do or be whatever I wanted, if I was willing to work for it, and I found that to be true. Also, my husband; he is much more laid back than I am and helps me stop working and play.

    Q: If your life story were made into a movie, who would you want to play you?
    A: Meryl Streep. I just love her as an actress and she is so versatile. She can play me as a beach bum and a cowgirl with a successful career.
    
    Q: Do you remember how young you were when you did your first work for a charity? What was it and how did you become involved?
    A: As a 4-H member we did a lot of community service. When I was age 12, we took some of our horses and cows to Jupiter Elementary School and shared them with the kindergarten and first-grade children. We let them pet the animals, milk the cow, talked about caring for the animals and answered their questions.
    One child asked if I fed the cow a Hershey bar would it produce chocolate milk. They were so cute.
    
To find out more about Impact 100 Palm Beach County, visit www.impact100pbc.com.

By Dan Moffett

    After first taking a hard look at the numbers, Manalapan commissioners said they like what they see in a proposed sale of the town’s water utility system to Boynton Beach.
    “I think this is an exciting development that has a lot of potential,” Mayor David Cheifetz said of the deal.
    Boynton Beach utilities director Colin Groff told commissioners that not only is the deal feasible, but also it could be completed as early as Oct. 1.
    “We don’t see anything that would hold us up,” Groff said. “It’s just a matter of sitting down and doing the work.”
    The acquisition proposal calls for Boynton Beach’s taking over the entire Manalapan system — the water plant, pipes, customers in Hypoluxo and even the utility employees, who would go on the city’s payroll.
    The benefits to Manalapan are cheaper water and a much-needed overhaul to an aging infrastructure. Under the proposal, the overwhelming majority of Manalapan customers would see their monthly bills decrease, most of them dropping by about 15 to 20 percent. Boynton Beach would take over the costly replacement of decades-old pipes along A1A, and because of its size, the city utility says it has the resources to ensure reliable service is maintained.
    The benefit to Boynton Beach is more paying customers, which means more revenue. The city utility has grown to 102,000 customers and can easily absorb the roughly 900 that Manalapan serves, Groff says.
    Both the city and the town will benefit from the economies of scale that the merger could deliver.
    There are several issues that will have to be resolved for the deal to go forward, however. Chief among them is what to do about the hit Manalapan’s largest water users are likely to take.
    Because the town would be converting from a flat-rate fee scale to a tiered schedule under which customers pay higher rates for higher levels of use, as many as 10 customers could see their bills go up by about 50 percent. These are homeowners along the ocean with large properties to irrigate who typically use 30 to 40 times more water than the average household.
    Groff told commissioners during the Feb. 23 meeting that the city might be able to soften the blow for these mega-users by helping them switch to more efficient irrigation methods or reclaimed water.
    Another issue is deciding what to do with about $2 million that’s sitting in Manalapan’s utility reserve fund. Some or all of it could go toward driving rates down.
    Cheifetz told Commissioner Clark Appleby, a financial consultant, to review the numbers and report to the commissioners during the March 22 town meeting, when they are expected to formally approve or reject the deal.

    In other business, Vice Mayor Peter Isaac said problems with Florida Power & Light threaten to delay completion of the Audubon Causeway bridge project for “one to three months.”
    Isaac said FPL didn’t show up as promised in mid-February to move power poles from one side of the bridge to the other. Until that happens, workers can’t continue construction and may have to move on to other jobs to keep busy.
    “FPL required eight weeks to move two poles 20 feet,” Isaac said. “Not hardly a beacon of productivity and efficiency. I’ve run projects all over the world. I could get this done in Nigeria. But Florida Power & Light? Absolutely not. Probably one of the most inefficient companies I’ve ever come across.”
    Isaac said the project still could be completed by the end of July as hoped, if FPL cooperates.

Improvements at Woolbright Road and I-95 are about to begin.

By Steve Plunkett

    Construction of the new Spanish River Boulevard interchange on Interstate 95 in Boca Raton will hit the two-thirds completion mark sometime this month, while work to improve the interchange at Woolbright Road in Boynton Beach is just getting underway.
    Both projects are scheduled to be finished in summer 2017.
    At Spanish River, 11 of the project’s 13 bridges are under construction, and “mechanically stabilized earth,” or MSE, walls are being built. Ponds are being excavated, new ramps are being constructed and work continues on widening, paving and drainage operations on the interstate between Glades Road and Congress Avenue.
    The biggest change will be lane shifts the week of March 6 to permit work on the median, said Andrea Pacini, a Florida Department of Transportation spokeswoman. The lanes in both directions will be moved over between Spanish River Boulevard and Yamato Road, she said.
    Pacini said Spanish River Boulevard will be entirely closed to traffic between Broken Sound Boulevard and Airport Road the week of March 6 from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.
    “We now have to demo the other half of the Spanish River bridge,” she said.
    The Spanish River interchange, with a $68.8 million price tag, will be Boca Raton’s fifth entrance/exit on I-95.
    While work goes on, the interstate between Glades Road and Congress Avenue may also have up to three lanes closed, as needed, from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. Sunday through Thursday. The southbound I-95 entrance ramp from eastbound Yamato Road may also be closed as needed during those times. The project area is 2.5 miles long.
    In Boynton Beach, nightly lane closures of Woolbright Road began the week of Feb. 28, Pacini said. One lane in each direction is closed from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m. Sundays through Thursdays, she said. The closures will continue through March.
    Woolbright will be widened from Southwest 18th Street on the west side of I-95 to Southwest Second Street on the east. Plans call for twin left-turn lanes in both eastbound and westbound directions onto the interstate, widening the northbound ramp to receive the eastbound turn lanes and transition to one lane, and rebuilding the south exit ramp to allow traffic to flow freely onto westbound Woolbright.
    The $9.1 million project stretches over 0.9 mile of Woolbright.
    Farther off on the horizon are improvements to the I-95 interchange at Linton Boulevard in Delray Beach, scheduled to take place in 2019. But on March 15 the state DOT will hold a public information workshop on its plan at the Delray Beach Public Library, 100 W. Atlantic Ave. The workshop will be in an open-house format from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the first-floor, large conference room.
    The $11.2 million project will widen the on-ramps and move them closer to I-95, and add bike lanes to Linton Boulevard, among other changes. The work is expected to begin in spring 2019 and be finished by fall 2020.
    The workshop is meant to let people comment on the proposed design and the social, economic and environmental effects of the planned improvements.

By Jane Smith

    The city is moving closer to banning the sale of dogs from puppy mills.
    On March 1, Delray Beach commissioners unanimously approved the first step by restricting dog and cat sales to rescue groups only.
    City Attorney Noel Pfeffer said that dogs bred in puppy mills may be licensed, but the puppies are not raised in humane conditions.
    “The purpose and the cure is to reduce the supply chain,” he said.
    He talked about Palm Beach County cases where similar ordinances were upheld.
    Commissioners thanked him for the presentation, and members of the audience applauded after the vote.
    But the law would penalize the only pet store in its downtown: Waggs to Riches pet boutique on Atlantic Avenue.
    Opened in October 2006, Waggs sells tiny designer dogs such as shih tzus, toy poodles and Chihuahuas.
    People come into the store and often don’t leave without paying thousands for a designer dog and the accouterments needed to live an upscale life: rhinestone-studded collars and blinged-out doggy strollers.
    Waggs’ owner could not be reached for comment.
    When the new law is approved, Waggs would have six months to sell off its inventory of designer dogs or face a $400 penalty for each violation.

Ocean Ridge resident Beth Sloat’s

Blue, a 24-inch by 24-inch oil.

By Lucy Lazarony

    For the second year in a row, an art exhibit will be on display at Ocean Ridge Town Hall during March.
    “It will be in Ocean Ridge for the entire month,” says organizer Nancy Flinn. “We’re lucky. We’re going to have a curator from the Norton Museum be a judge and I’m very pleased about that.”
    The 27-piece exhibit includes oil and acrylic paintings, pastels and mixed media pieces. Samantha Niederman, curatorial assistant to the education and American art departments at the Norton Museum of Art, will judge the show. Ocean Ridge artist Max Matteson will hang the show.
    Participating artists are from across South Florida.
     “It’s not just the barrier island by any means,” Flinn says.
    Flinn says she decided to organize the art exhibit in Ocean Ridge as a way of giving back to her hometown.
    The paintings are for sale, and a percentage of the price of each painting sold benefits Ocean Ridge. Five paintings sold in last year’s art show.
    “The percentage goes right into art in public places for Ocean Ridge,” Flinn says.
    Having an art exhibit in Ocean Ridge helps to spread awareness of the art scene and attracts visitors to Town Hall.
    “Last year, at least 50 people came through a week specifically to take a look at the art,” Flinn says.
    Flinn, who has lived full-time in Ocean Ridge since 2006, is a member of the Delray Art League and paints watercolors as a hobby.  
    “I enjoy what it can do for me on a personal basis, the joy of creation, and the various subjects you can choose to paint,” Flinn says. “It’s a wonderful retirement habit.”
    Flinn, who is on the board for the Arts Garage in Delray Beach, enjoys working with and supporting fellow artists.
     “I need to be associated with creativity because that’s what fuels me,” Flinn says. “My skills are organizing and promoting and marketing.”
The Ocean Ridge art exhibit is available for viewing in Ocean Ridge Town Hall, 6450 N. Ocean Blvd., Monday through Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. 

By Ann Henson Feltgen

    Improving grade crossings and laying new tracks will continue to pose traffic delays and detours this spring, as All Aboard Florida readies train tracks for its Miami-to-Orlando express service, set to begin in mid-2017.
    Brightline, the new name given the $3 billion service, will ultimately comprise 10 seven-car trains, each with 356-passenger capacity, running 32 daily trips along the Florida East Coast tracks shared with freight lines. New track will be added to connect Cocoa to Orlando. The trains will travel up to 125 mph.
    According to Ali Soule, spokeswoman for All Aboard Florida, every grade crossing from Miami to Cocoa will be upgraded with new steel rail, thousands of concrete ties, new signals and crossing bars that will help keep pedestrians and automobiles safe and allow uninterrupted sleep for nearby neighbors by eliminating the need for trains to sound horns at crossings.
    Construction is already underway in West Palm Beach and Lake Worth, according to All Aboard Florida’s timeline.
    One of the areas most affected by this construction will be downtown Delray Beach, where its popular main street entertainment area, East Atlantic Avenue, is bisected by the tracks. Work there is scheduled for mid-April and will continue through June, but is subject to change.
    Laura Simon, executive director for the Delray Beach Downtown Development Authority, said the impact to businesses, especially those closest to the railroad tracks, will be felt.
    “We were able to go through the impacts of the Federal Highway project, so I think we will be OK,” she said. “But the business community does not yet have this on their radar, the restaurant and retail industries are day-to-day driven.”
    She added that her agency will keep the public and business community informed and that while there will be impacts, they would suffer through it.
    Soule urges residents to consult All Aboard Florida’s website for the most recent construction schedule at AllAboardFlorida.com/construction/grade-crossings.
    She said the company works closely with local municipalities, county and state agencies as well as transit agencies, the Florida Department of Transportation and areas stakeholders to notify them of upcoming closures.
    To date, Soule said 45 grade crossings have been updated between Miami and West Palm Beach. The work includes laying a second set of tracks next to the existing track in the crossings. The new tracks are stubbed into the original track at a later date.
    All 109 crossings in Palm Beach County will become quiet zones. Funding came from the Palm Beach Metropolitan Planning Agency, Soule said.
    Additional track improvements along the 66.5 miles of track between Miami and West Palm Beach total approximately $154 million.
    As the crossing and rail improvements are underway, train stations also are being constructed in Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach. And the trains themselves are being built.
    Siemens is constructing the trains at its manufacturing plant in Sacramento, California, with the first train to be delivered in Florida this year. According to Siemens officials, the trains will feature high performance, be energy efficient and employ the industry’s latest technologies.
    The West Palm Beach station under construction is downtown between Datura and Evernia streets, which have been permanently closed at the site. The 60,000-square-foot station not only connects Brightline but also existing local transportation, and is just blocks from Tri-Rail and Amtrak.
  All Aboard Florida also will build an apartment and retail complex adjacent to the station.

By Cheryl Blackerby

    Lantana Beach was the first beach in Palm Beach County to get a “No Swimming Advisory” from the Florida Department of Health shortly after new, more stringent criteria for beach water testing went into effect Jan. 1.
    But the January bacteria levels were so high, Lantana Beach also would have been closed to swimmers under the old guidelines.
    The new criteria for tests for enterococci bacteria were recommended by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency after recent epidemiological studies showed disease risks from water with high bacteria levels are higher than previously thought.
    “High levels of enterococci can indicate an increased risk of gastrointestinal illness, as well as infections in open wounds, and ear and eye infections.” said Tim O’Connor, spokesperson for the Florida Department of Health Palm Beach County.  
    Lantana Beach’s advisory was lifted a few days later when bacteria levels dropped.
    Because winds were high, the bacteria could have come from a cruise or cargo ship emptying a bilge in the Gulf Stream, although it’s a rare occurrence, O’Connor said.
    High bacteria levels are generally associated with mammals, including people and wildlife, heavy recreational usage, spillage brought in by high seas or polluted runoff from inland lakes and waterways following heavy rains. It could even come from passing whales, he said.
    Septic tanks have not been a problem, he said. “We really don’t find seepage. It’s more likely general runoff.”
    The wading lagoon at DuBois Park in Jupiter got a no-swimming advisory in February, which lifted when bacteria levels dropped a few days later. It was the second beach to be closed to swimmers since the guidelines were put in place.
    The Department of Health staff in Palm Beach County tests 13 beaches from Boca Raton to Jupiter every two weeks for enterococci bacteria and assigns designations of poor, moderate or good ranges.
    “The new testing criteria lowered the level of enterococci bacteria about 25 percent,” O’Connor said. Under the new standards, no-swimming advisories are expected to increase from less than 5 percent of beaches tested to about 8 percent, he said.
    “Beaches that were in the moderate range may now be in the poor range,” he said.
    The new no-swimming advisory has been lowered from 104 or greater enterococci CFU (colony forming unit) per 100 milliliters of marine water to 71 or greater enterococci CFU per 100 milliliters. It is estimated that 36 of 1,000 people get ill from exposure to water with bacterial counts at or greater than 70 CFU per 100 milliliters.
    Lantana Beach’s sampling showed bacterial levels in the water to be at 350 colonies per 100 milliliters of marine water, putting it in the poor range under both old and new guidelines.
    Swimmers can monitor the water quality of beaches at www.flhealthpalmbeach.org.
    If swimmers feel ill after swimming, they should contact their doctors or tell emergency room doctors that the illness may have come after swimming. Swimmers may also want to shower immediately after swimming. Ú

    OCEAN RIDGE — Martin L. Gross of New London, N.H., and Ocean Ridge died Jan. 26, in Ushuaia, Argentina, following a stroke suffered en route to Antarctica. He was 77 years old.
    Mr. Gross and his wife, Deirdre, became winter residents of Ocean Ridge in 2014, after renting several houses in Ocean Ridge the previous three years. Over the past several years, one of Mr. Gross’ happiest endeavors was building a warm winter getaway in Ocean Ridge. He loved living in a house designed by his wife and conveniently located across the street from his dearest friends, Peter and Jean Burling.
    Mr. Gross’ adventures began in New York City, where he was born on Oct. 22, 1938. As a young child, Martin and his older brother, Woolf, were dispatched to summer camps and later to working cattle ranches in Utah during the summer months to escape the polio outbreaks that plagued New York City in the years following World War II.
    After high school, Mr. Gross headed north to Cambridge, Mass., where he attended both Harvard College and Harvard Law School, graduating from the latter in 1964. His fondest memories of his law school years were not his classes (he didn’t figure out how to do well on his exams until his third year), but the weekends he spent in Newburyport, Mass., with his good friend Will Rogers, whose family adopted Martin and treated him as their own.
    Before embarking on his first job as a law clerk in New Hampshire, Mr. Gross and his first wife, the late Caroline Lord Gross, purchased a VW pop-up camper and drove to Alaska with Martin’s mother, Harriet. Harriet slept in the camper; Martin and Caroline slept outdoors in a tent. After several weeks of abysmal weather, the camper was coated with a thick layer of adobe-colored mud. When the trio returned to Concord and washed the car for the first time, it was in pristine condition. Thereafter, Martin never worried much if his car was dirty.
    Following his clerkship, Mr. Gross joined the Concord law firm of Sulloway & Hollis PLLC, from which he retired (while maintaining senior counsel status) in 2015 after more than 50 years of distinguished service to his clients and to the New Hampshire Bar.
    As with everything else in life, Mr. Gross viewed the practice of law as an adventure. He delighted in besting his adversaries and often developed long and lasting friendships with them. His in-house writing boot camps were legendary, and his wit and charm were ever present at the office and in the courtroom.
    While working full-time as a Sulloway lawyer, Mr. Gross served three terms as the mayor of Concord and could often be seen spending his lunch hours walking the length of Main Street between Capitol Street and McDonald’s in the south end, chatting with his constituents. Mr. Gross so enjoyed these daily jaunts that this pattern continued long after his tenure as mayor had ended.
    While a young lawyer at Sulloway, Mr. Gross developed a real talent for cooking. This was driven by necessity since Caroline’s busy schedule at the state House meant she was often home late. Undeterred by a complete lack of training (and by a lifelong aversion to cookbooks), Mr. Gross channeled his inner top chef and produced thousands of wonderful meals for friends and family. Over the years, the informal “Sunday suppers” he enjoyed with his close friends Malcolm and Susan McLane, Liz and Dennis Hager and other dear Concord friends were a social staple.
    In addition, following his induction into the Snowshoe Club, Mr. Gross spent several years preparing delicious meals (usually involving pork tenderloin or chicken) with his Snowshoe Club cooking partner, John Swope. Though not a baker, Mr. Gross loved dessert. His favorite after-dinner treat was a mini Dove bar (only 60 calories!), which he would consume in a single bite.
    Six years after the loss of his beloved Caroline in 1993, fate intervened and Mr. Gross met his second wife, Deirdre Sheerr-Gross, a New London architect. The meeting occurred at Chicago’s O’Hare airport, where both were waiting to board a flight back to New Hampshire. It would turn out to be a kismet flight on United Airlines (friendly skies indeed!) with Deirdre in seat 2B and Martin (who always flew coach and never paid for upgrades) in seat 3B directly behind Deirdre. Seeing that seat 2A was open, Mr. Gross leaned over and graciously asked Deirdre, “Can I buy you dinner?”
    They have been having dinner together ever since. This episode gave Mr. Gross plenty of fodder for his expansive repertoire of bad puns — “United” Airlines, 2B or not to be — and Martin made the most of it. Six months later, in July 2000, he and Deirdre were married. On the day before their wedding, Deirdre gave Martin the car of his dreams — a Porsche Boxster — and Martin delighted in telling everyone that the car was a gift from his girlfriend.
    During their 15-year marriage, the couple traveled the world. Despite temporary setbacks (Martin’s surgeries, lost luggage, etc.) they visited South America, Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Central America and multiple European countries. This past September, in homage to Mr. Gross’ mud-laden Alaska road trip of the early 1960s, the couple rented an Airstream trailer and toured Grand Teton and Yellowstone parks; they did not have to sleep outdoors.
    In January, the couple left for Antarctica, a trip that was to be Martin’s last great adventure. While southbound on his way to Antarctica on a cruise ship he suffered a stroke and had to be transferred to a passing northbound vessel. That ship docked in Ushuaia (the cruise’s point of origin), where Mr. Gross underwent surgery to relieve a subdural hematoma. Despite excellent care and a successful surgery, Mr. Gross contracted an infection from which he did not recover.
    Mr. Gross loved the spontaneity and unpredictability of travel. He would have appreciated the irony of his last great adventure.
    Mr. Gross is survived by his wife, Deirdre Sheerr-Gross, of New London; his brother, Woolf Gross (spouse Lucy) of Arlington, Va.; a nephew, William Gross, of Arlington, Va.; two cousins, John and Charles Gross, both of New York City, and his brother-in-law, affectionately referred to as “hermano west,” Hugh McCrystal (spouse Polly).
    In addition, Mr. Gross is survived by dozens of close friends including his childhood friend Peter Soloman (whom Martin always introduced as “the man I’ve never not known”), Will and Sherry Rogers and their two daughters, Anne and Catherine (who were Martin’s goddaughters and who lovingly called him “Uncle Martin”), Peter and Jean Burling, Rick and Karla Karash, Alex Bernhart and Myra Mayman, Merwyn and Carol Bagan, and others too numerous to name.
    A celebration of his life was held in Concord on March 2 at the Capital Center for the Arts.

Obituary submitted by the family

By Mary Thurwachter

    At both its meetings in February, the Lantana Town Council grappled with on-street parking woes on Hypoluxo Island.
    The council proposed a solution in January to mandate parking on the odd-numbered side of the street on odd-numbered days, and on the even-numbered side on even-numbered days.
    Then, after further consideration, members proposed the odd/even rule on a yearly basis: park on the odd-numbered side of the street in odd-numbered years and on the even-numbered side in even-numbered years.
    But by the council’s second meeting in February, that ordinance, too, was dismissed.
    The proposed laws were meant to address mainly lawn maintenance and construction vehicles parked on both sides of roads.
    Mayor Dave Stewart said he has heard many complaints from drivers who have to zigzag around parked trucks.
    The town had also heard from Fire Marshal Matthew Gaffney, who said he is worried about “parking by service vehicles and contractors on narrow roads that make it impossible to maneuver the fire rescue vehicles down such roads, especially when they are parked on both sides of the street.”
    Several residents said negotiating around large vehicles parked on both sides of the road was a recipe for disaster.
    At the Feb. 22 meeting, Stewart said he and Town Manager Deborah Manzo had toured the problem area and found the difficulties mainly were from construction vehicles on site for months at a time.
    “This yearly thing is not gonna work,” Stewart said. It would mean building cranes stretching across the street.
    Residents like Michele Fritts agreed. “It would be awfully hard to have cranes across the street,” she said. “The main problem on the south end (of Hypoluxo Island) is the flow of traffic. We are in favor of having one way in and one way out. That wouldn’t help the north end of the island, however.”
    Another Hypoluxo Island resident, Media Beverly, also asked that the right-turn-only sign be returned at the intersection of northbound South Atlantic onto Southeast Atlantic. “That helped a lot,” she said.
    “I know firsthand that there were minimal traffic issues when most southbound traffic used Southwest Atlantic and most northbound traffic used Southeast Atlantic,” Beverly said. “It was easy — one way in and one way out. But after the town removed the long-standing right-turn-only sign at the intersection of northbound South Atlantic onto Southeast Atlantic, most northbound vehicles now turn left onto Southwest Atlantic, creating more congestion on Southwest Atlantic.
    “The solution is simple,” she said. “Let’s install traffic counters, as was done before (which resulted in the permanent speed cushions), to determine if Southwest Atlantic Drive is truly overburdened with vehicular traffic, more so than Southeast Atlantic Drive.”
    Stewart said that to put up the requested traffic sign required a traffic study, something the town has been discussing.
    Erica Wald, who also lives on Hypoluxo Island, talked about maneuvering around trucks parked on both sides of the road.
    “When there’s an obstruction, there’s a car coming at me and I have to back up,” she said. “Sometimes there’s a standoff. Sometime there’s going to be a head-on collision. I absolutely agree we need to put up a one-way sign.”
    With both proposals falling flat, it’s back to the drawing board for the on-street parking issue.

By Mary Thurwachter

    At the recommendation of Town Attorney R. Max Lohman, the Lantana Town Council voted Feb. 22 to dissolve the Lantana Nature Preserve Commission.
    Lohman said the commission (members are appointed by the town) and the Friends of the Lantana Nature Preserve Committee (a nonprofit organization) frequently duplicate efforts and that only one of the groups was necessary. There are some common members to both groups and only one is covered by Sunshine Laws regarding open meetings.
    Lohman said the town was trying to protect itself and members of the two groups from getting into trouble with the Sunshine Law.
“I’ve had some calls on this and some members didn’t understand the nature of the Sunshine Law,” said Vice Mayor Malcom Balfour, a former chairman of the Lantana Nature Preserve Commission whose wife, Ilona, serves on both committees. He said the matter was due more discussion. But Lohman said everyone would have a chance to voice opinions on the matter on March 14, when the ordinance will have a second reading and public hearing.
    The Nature Preserve, a coastal hammock between The Carlisle senior living facility on East Ocean Avenue and the Intracoastal Waterway, was created by a 1997 ordinance. The Carlisle pays the town $40,000 a year to maintain the park. No money comes from the town’s general fund to pay for its maintenance.

Olive Belcher (with her daughter Brittany) used the Out of the Box

food truck to cater the preview of a listing at Boca Bay Colony.

Photo provided

By Christine Davis

    In January, the Florida-based women’s clothing retailer Boston Proper, a division of Chico’s FAS, was acquired by Brentwood Associates, a Los Angeles investment firm (the terms of the deal have not been disclosed).
    The sales history went like this: Chico’s FAS, which bought Boston Proper for around $205 million in 2011, had announced that it planned to sell Boston Proper’s direct-to-consumer side of the business and close its 20 stores last August.
    In November, Chico’s FAS signed a non-binding letter-of-intent to sell the business; closed the stores in December and on Jan. 19, annouced that it had completed the sale.
    Over the years, Boston Proper (previously the Mark Group, previously Mark, Fore & Strike) has gone from sporty, to preppy, to a smattering of everything, to saucy. What will its new vibe be? California dreamin’ denim? Boho hipster chic?
    In its press release, Boston Proper’s president and chief merchandising officer, Sheryl Clark, who’ll be staying on with Brentwood, had this to say about Boston Proper’s “wear it like no one else” approach:
    “Everyone changes. We’ve changed. Our customer has changed. The world has changed. But our core attitude is still there. We’ve started the conversation with our customers, and they’re eager to join us on this journey of growth and rediscovery.”
    All that change, though, was not positive. Chico’s FAS noted it wanted to focus on its other three brands: Chico’s, White House Black Market and Soma. But also, it admitted Boston Proper did not meet its expectations.
    At this point, Boston Proper plans to refocus on building its brand directly to consumers through its print, digital and social channels. Headquarters will remain in Boca Raton, and a staff of 70 will stay on.
    But for Floridians, Boston Proper is a trip down Memory Lane. Here’s some history from newspaper and online sources:
    Chico’s FAS started out as Chico’s in 1972, in a Sanibel shop owned by Marvin and Helene Gralnick.
    Delray Beach’s Michael Tiernan of the (then) Mark Group, whose brands were Mark, Fore & Strike and Charles Keath, bought Boston Proper’s customer list and its name out of bankruptcy in 1990 for $125,000 from the Saudi International Bank. Focusing on this new division, by 2004, Mark, Fore & Strike and Charles Keath were sold, and the Mark Group changed its name to Boston Proper.
    And a tidbit stretching further back: Mark, Fore & Strike was cofounded in 1951 by J. William Tiernan. Son Michael started its mail order business in 1977. 
                                     
    In January, Naples-based furnishings retailer Clive Daniel Home opened a 70,000-square-foot showroom at 1351 Boca Raton Blvd. in Boca Raton. The retailer, with a staff of 30-plus professional interior designers, also offers specialized hospitality services for lobbies, clubhouses, restaurants and hotels.
    The showroom features a live demonstration kitchen, an accessory shop, a design studio, a resource room, and The Chat Room, a community room available for local businesses and organizations to hold seminars, social gatherings and fundraisers. 
                                     
    Have starry-eyed guests coming to town? They are in luck. Some of our local coastal hotels and restaurants are Forbes Travel Guide 2016 award winners. Five-Star hotels include Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa and Four Seasons Resort Palm Beach. The Breakers Palm Beach was awarded four stars. Eau Spa was named a Five-Star Spa and Palm Beach Spa at Four Seasons Resort Palm Beach was awarded four stars. Four-Star restaurants include Café Boulud Palm Beach and Jove Kitchen & Bar, which is in the Four Seasons Resort Palm Beach.
                                     
    Through an association agreement, Brown Harris Stevens acquired Manatee Cove Realty on Feb. 26.
    This is the second acquisition for Brown Harris Stevens, which has been in Palm Beach since 1998; the company had acquired Barrett Welles Property Group in late September 2015.
    Manatee Cove Realty presents a good fit, and will strengthen Brown Harris Stevens’ presence in the county, says Brown Harris Stevens’ broker and executive vice president, Ava Van de Water, who oversees the company’s three offices in Palm Beach.
    “We are thrilled to have Manatee Cove Realty, Jennifer Spitznagel and all her great agents as part of the Brown Harris Stevens family.”
    Brown Harris Stevens, a luxury real estate firm that dates back to 1873, has offices in New York City, The Hamptons, Palm Beach and Miami. It’s owned by Terra Holdings, the parent of a group of nine real estate companies with more than $7 billion in annual residential sales.
    Spitznagel founded Manatee Cove Realty in 1998 in Plaza del Mar, Manalapan, and moved her office to Lake Worth in 2011. Focusing on central Palm Beach County, primarily in the coastal area, Manatee Cove Realty has 14 agents and approximately 40 listings.
    “We were recently in discussions with Brown Harris Stevens and all the pluses were there for us to bring the two companies together,” Spitznagel says. “Many of our clients are second-home buyers from New York, where Brown Harris Stevens has a strong network, so this seemed like a very good combination for us to better service our clientele.”
    Manatee Cove Realty will change its name to Brown Harris Stevens; it will keep its current office at 619 Lake Avenue; its agents will stay on, and they will be joined by additional agents. Spitznagel’s title will be director and Van de Water will be the managing broker.
                                     
    At an awards brunch at the Delray Sands Resort, Lang Realty recently recognized its top agents and teams. Among them were several area agents: Diamond Star award winner Olive Belcher; Diamond award winner Julie Giachetti; Ruby award winner Michael Mullin; Emerald Award winners Warren Heeg, Mary Windle, Caron Dockerty, Donald Gorbach and Diane Duffy; and Emerald Team award winners Michael Gallacher and Anne Bernet.
                                     
    At its brokers’ open preview in February — when the Olive Belcher Team rolled out its listing of a Boca Bay Colony lot at 854 NE 75th St., Boca Raton — it rolled in the food, catered by Out of the Box food truck. The result? A great response and great turnout. While agents and neighbors enjoyed a gourmet lunch and drinks, they got to view the large interior-point parcel at the end of the cul-de-sac, with 240 feet of water frontage and an eastern exposure.
                                     
    Real estate agent Polly Schiff has moved to Boca Raton Coldwell Banker Previews’ Boca Resort & Beach office. She moved from Miami Coldwell Banker Previews, where she was a luxury Realtor for 28 years.
                                    
    Each year, the incoming president of the Greater Palm Beach County’s Women’s Council of Realtors selects a charity to support. 2016’s president, Jessica Rosato, an agent with Nestler Poletto Sotheby’s International Realty, has selected the Achievement Centers for Children & Families in Delray Beach.
                                     
    Recently, members of the Realtors Commercial Alliance were recognized for their accomplishments and contributions to the commercial real estate industry.
    Christina Morrison, certified property manager of Carmel Real Estate & Management, was named 2015 RCA Realtor of the Year for the time she contributed to the Alliance, her service on various committees at the state level, and her community involvement in Delray Beach. Blair Lee with Lighthouse Realty Services was presented with the Retail Deal of the Year Award for the sale of two buildings at 1830 N. Federal Highway, Boca Raton. Alan Steinberg, of Keyes Commercial North, was presented with the Business Brokerage Deal of the Year Award for the sale of the Miracle Car Wash in Boca Raton. 
                                     
    In February, the American Humane Association announced the launch of the Lois Pope LIFE Center for Military Affairs in Palm Beach. Its programs and initiatives include: K-9 Battle Buddies, which facilitates reunions of military dogs and handlers, sends care packages to active-duty military dog teams, and provides veterinary care for retired war dogs; Wags4Patriots, which provides returning veterans with service dogs; Operation Purple, which sends registered therapy dog teams to the National Military Family Association’s camps for kids with deployed parents; and the Red Star for Warriors program, which redeploys veterans to protect and serve on the home front in times of crisis.
                                     
    South Florida Legal Guide named Gladstone & Weissman, P.A. a Top Law Firm in 2016; principals Peter L. Gladstone and Jeffrey A. Weissman, Top Lawyers in 2016; and partners Denise L. Jensen, David L. Hirschberg and senior associate Heather L. Apicella, Top Up and Comers in 2016. The firm’s main office is at 101 Renaissance Centre, 101 N. Federal Highway, Suite 702, Boca Raton.
                                     
    Culture-related spending by the audiences of Palm Beach County’s 19 largest cultural institutions totaled $538.3 million last year, according to survey results disclosed by the Cultural Council of Palm Beach County in February.
    The culture-related spending supported 11,795 county jobs, generating $226 million in resident household income, $22.1 million in local government revenues, and $25.9 million in state government revenues. The survey also revealed that tourists constituted more than 64 percent of the spending and that the majority were visiting specifically to experience the county’s arts and cultural opportunities.
                                     
    The Boca Chamber’s Golden Bell Education Foundation’s new chairman is Chuck Stout, executive vice president of CBIZ Benefits & Insurance Services Inc.  Other new board members include: Mary Sol Gonzalez from Image360, Andy Thomson from Proskauer Rose LLP, Jennifer Jager from Plum Productions, Lise Orr from Minuteman Press, and Tara Ryan from Modernizing Medicine.
                                         
    Boca Raton Airport Authority Executive Director Clara Bennett was appointed to the board of directors of the Gold Coast Tiger Bay Club.
                                     
    In January, international fitness model Lisa Armoyan was named president of TransMedia Models and Talent, a new division of the Boca Raton-based TransMedia Group. She will also manage the firm’s collaboration with the network My Jam TV.
                                     
    This year’s 40th anniversary of American Red Cross Designers’ Show House is sure to set spectators’ hearts afire. More than a dozen designers decorated the historic North Station, former fire station No. 3, in West Palm Beach’s Old Northwood neighborhood.
    Built in 1938 on a half-acre, it was renovated into a four-bedroom Art Moderne-style home. It’s open through March 26, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays to Saturdays and noon to 4 p.m. Sundays. Admission is $35. Groups of 10 or more may contact Brianna.Sidman@redcross.org for special rates.
                                     
    On March 5, the Community Caring Center of Greater Boynton Beach holds its 2016 annual Hunger Walk/5K Run/Kids Fun Run. Registration is at 6:30 a.m. at 511 NE Fourth St., Boynton Beach. The race starts at 7:30 a.m. with the Kids Fun Run following immediately. Registration for the walk begins at 8:30 a.m. The price for the 5K Run and Kids Fun Run is $40. Walkers are asked to bring a donation of nonperishable food items and/or $20. For information, call 386-4261.
                                     
    All proceeds from a tennis tournament at the Boca Raton Resort & Club, from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. March 6, will benefit the Boys & Girls Club of Boca Raton. All levels of play are welcome. The fee for players is $100 and $50 for spectators. For information, call 683-3287 or visit www.bgcpbc.org.

Send business news to Christine Davis at cdavis9797@gmail.com.

By Steve Plunkett
    
    The much-anticipated list of vacant, undeveloped properties on Boca Raton’s beachfront is a short one.
    “There’s essentially three,” said Briann Harms, assistant executive director of the Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District, which undertook the census at Mayor Susan Haynie’s request.
    The idea is for the district to explore buying the properties to protect them from development and set them aside for public use.
    Realistically, the list likely is shorter.
    One of the three parcels, 2500 N. Ocean Blvd., is set to become the site of a four-story, 10,432-square-foot home after winning reluctant approval from the City Council in December. A second property, 2425 N. Ocean, is across State Road A1A from 2500 and is not directly on the beach.
    The third property is two parcels north of 2500 and slightly larger, .4 acres as opposed to .3.
    “It would only be those small pieces as far as we can determine along the entirety of the beachfront,” Arthur Koski, the district’s executive director, told his board of commissioners Feb. 16.
    Koski said he and Harms looked only for parcels that are privately owned and excluded public parks and land owned by condo associations.
    “There is a lot of private property that is under the ownership of the various condominiums,” he said.
    City Council members on Dec. 8 reversed a Zoning Board of Adjustment decision that prohibited construction of the house at 2500 N. Ocean Blvd. The zoning board had refused to grant variances for property width and front yard setbacks.
    City Council members said if the variances were not approved, the city would likely face litigation because similar variances had been approved before. But residents said the four-story house would change the face of the beach, disorient sea turtles and set an unwelcome precedent for development.
    Beach and Park District commissioners told Koski to contact the owners of the three properties to see whether they would be interested in selling them to the district for public use.
    Commissioner Dennis Frisch also asked that the owners of the parcels between the district-owned Ocean Strand property and the two beachside properties be contacted about their willingness to sell.
    “I’d like it to be contiguous to Ocean Strand so somebody can park at Ocean Strand and walk up the beach and not get kicked out by the condominium folks,” Frisch said.
    Those parcels include a duplex property, a walkway owned by the residents of nearby Northeast 24th Street and another owned by the Ocean Club of Boca Raton condo association.
    Save Our Beaches, a group opposed to the four-story home, plans a rally from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 6 on the Ocean Club property, at 2400 North Ocean.
    The parcel west of A1A might be useful for access to the beach if the other properties are bought, Frisch said. “If that’s available that would be a nice parking spot for people to go across,” he said.
    Frisch also asked that a query be sent to the Lago Mar Association, which owns land on the Intracoastal Waterway at the northwest corner of Ocean Strand and the western end of Lago Mar Lane.

By Mary Hladky

    Three months after its downtown design consultant gave up the job, Boca Raton has hired a new, interim consultant to help oversee downtown development projects.
    Fort Lauderdale-based Calvin Giordano & Associates was brought on board in February and is being paid nearly $50,000 for about six months of work. The city wants a permanent arrangement and will soon seek proposals.
    The move comes after many downtown residents expressed deep dissatisfaction with the work done by the previous consultant, Urban Design Associates, which was hired to improve the appearance of downtown projects.
    It developed interim design guidelines that allowed developers to build as tall as 160 feet downtown provided their plans included pedestrian-oriented streets, public spaces, landscaping, building setbacks and a varied skyline.
    The Mark at CityScape, a mixed-use development near the corner of Federal Highway and Palmetto Park Road, served as a test case for how well those guidelines worked.
    Many residents said The Mark flunked that test, describing it as bulky and unappealing. They also worried that projects now coming out of the ground that used the interim guidelines, including the mixed-use Via Mizner at the corner of East Camino Real and Federal Highway, would be similarly flawed.
    Pittsburgh-based UDA signaled it was ready to pull out in early November when it recommended the city hire an architectural consultant. UDA’s contract ended Nov. 22.
    CGA has a limited mission. It will review only new development proposals that would be taller than the 120-foot height limit in much of downtown, using software to do its analysis that the city does not have.
    John Gore, president of BocaBeautiful.org, described the hiring of CGA as a “good move.”
    “It is ridiculous that once the plans for a building like The Mark are approved, nobody pays attention to make sure the developer builds what he promised,” he said.
    Ann Witte, the group’s vice president, agreed UDA needed to be replaced. But she questioned whether an out-of-town consultant could provide adequate oversight.
    “You need to have someone on staff doing the checking,” she said.
    Mayor Susan Haynie and Deputy Mayor Robert Weinroth in November suggested hiring a city architect rather than hiring a consultant. But council member Michael Mullaugh disagreed, saying he was concerned about the cost of hiring staff for a full-time city architect.
    CGA, which offers services such as engineering, land planning and landscape architecture, also is conducting a traffic study aimed at ending traffic tie-ups at Palmetto Park Road and Northeast/Southeast Fifth Avenue.

By Rich Pollack

    The makeup of the Boca Raton Airport Authority will again change following the recent resignation of Deputy City Manager George Brown.
    Brown’s resignation comes less than two months after the resignation of Deputy Mayor Robert Weinroth, who gave up his Airport Authority seat in December.
    Brown, who will continue to serve as the city’s liaison to the authority, said he thinks communication between the city and the Airport Authority has improved as a result of Weinroth’s service.
    Leaving the board, he said, will give him additional time to focus on his other responsibilities.
    Last May’s appointments of both Weinroth and Brown to the authority by the Boca Raton City Council marked the first time a sitting council member and a member of the city staff were appointed to the board since the state Legislature created it in 2004.  
    The decision — and Weinroth’s casting of the deciding vote on his own appointment — raised eyebrows and led to a complaint to the Florida Commission on Ethics.
    In the wake of Weinroth’s resignation, the City Council last month voted 4-1 to appoint former Boca Raton Airport Authority member Mitch Fogel to the vacant seat. Fogel, an attorney, served on the board from 2013 until last year when Weinroth replaced him.
    Brown said he hopes his eight months on the board lets other authority members know he and Weinroth were focused on helping the authority achieve its goals.
    “I hope I was able to make it clear that we weren’t there to shake things up,” he said. “We were there to help the board with its work.”
    Brown tapped into his experience in government to help the authority revise its bylaws and thinks that effort has led to improved communication between the authority and the City Council as well as with the public.
    “It seemed there were areas of the bylaws that stifled communication,” he said.
    Brown said his term as an Airport Authority board member will benefit him as he continues in a liaison role.
    “I have a better understanding of the day-to-day operations,” he said, adding he also now has a stronger relationship with other authority members and with the authority’s staff.
    The City Council is expected to appoint a new authority member this month to fill the spot Brown vacated. The new board member’s term, along with those of the four other authority members appointed by the city, expires in May.
    The two remaining members of the seven-member authority are appointed by the County Commission for two-year terms, which expire in 2017.

By Sallie James

    Two activists have sued Boca Raton in federal court, claiming their rights to equal protection and due process were violated when the city created a zoning classification that paved the way for a controversial synagogue.
    The four-count lawsuit filed Feb. 4 by Gerald Gagliardi and Kathleen MacDougall accuses the city of wrongly approving a zoning classification specifically tailored to allow construction of Chabad of East Boca on .81 acres east of the Intracoastal Waterway at 770 E. Palmetto Park Road. The Boca Raton City Council approved plans for the towering Orthodox synagogue and museum in May 2015.
    The lawsuit claims the city violated Gagliardi and MacDougall’s constitutional rights by creating “unconstitutional legal classifications” and asks the court to bar Chabad of East Boca from building on the property. The pair also are seeking costs, attorney fees, and compensatory and punitive damages.
    According to the lawsuit, an existing zoning classification that allowed only a “place of public assembly” on the property was revised to also include “place of worship” as a result of “secret internal and nonpublic discussions” so the 18,000-square-foot project could be built.
    “Through the city action, a singular religious group has been provided promotion, endorsement, and secret reinforcement of its religion and its religious mission through corrupt dealings of the city,” the lawsuit states.
    The lawsuit further states that the city granted “numerous unlawful variances and favorable, intentional and erroneous interpretations of the city’s code” in order to issue all necessary approvals so the Chabad project could move forward.
    The lawsuit also claims that the City Council “knowingly and improperly” ignored parking deficiencies, approved a building that exceeded allowed sizes and approved deviations and variances that did not meet legal criteria.
    Council members voted to allow the proposed synagogue’s height to exceed the 30-foot limit allowed by city code and rise to 40 feet, 8 inches, a factor that drew outrage from many residents who worried the city’s approval of the project’s increased height would set a precedent for future, taller developments that could ruin the area’s ambiance.
    “No other religious entity has received such city assistance in exceeding established land-use laws in the history of the city,” the lawsuit states.
     Boca Raton spokeswoman Christina Biagiotti declined to comment about the lawsuit, citing pending litigation.
    For the Chabad, the lawsuit is just another bump in a road that has been fraught with difficulty. In 2008, residents fiercely protested the Chabad’s plans to move into a 23,000-square-foot building near Mizner Park and the Golden Triangle neighborhood. Those plans were scuttled after the City Council approved strict new parking requirements that the Chabad was unable to meet.
    Proponents claim the open parcel on East Palmetto Park Road is perfect for Chabad of East Boca’s state-of-the-art synagogue and world-class, interactive Israel museum and will increase area property values. They disagree with claims of increased traffic, noting that Chabad members walk to services per their religion.
    Opponents insist that such a facility’s use will be too intense for the site and will drive extra traffic into an already congested area also critically affected by the ups and downs of the Palmetto Park Road drawbridge. The height will be intrusive, they claim.
    Rabbi Ruvi New said his congregation will not be deterred.
    “We are very positive and forward-looking. Anyone would be happy not to have to be involved in litigation, but no way is it derailing us or demoralizing us in the slightest,” New said.

By Sallie James

    A ranking organization for the property/casualty industry has named Boca Raton’s Fire Rescue Department one of the best in the nation, citing its top-notch fire services.
    The impressive news could mean a savings of up to 3 percent on personal and commercial property insurance after June 1, when the rating takes effect.
    The city’s Fire Department received a Class 1 ranking in February after the Insurance Services Office measured the city’s fire-suppression services, emergency communications, water supply and risk reduction.
    “From the city’s view, it will help bring more businesses to the city,” said Assistant Fire Chief Michael LaSalle. “This is a big deal. We are very, very pleased with the Class 1 ranking for the residents and visitors of Boca Raton.”
    The ranking places Boca Raton in the top one-third of 1 percent in the country, with only 178 fire departments out of 47,000 nationwide achieving such a score.
    Delray Beach Fire-Rescue has an ISO rating of 2.
    The ISO’s Public Protection Classification Program plays an important role in the underwriting process at insurance companies.
The PPC claims to accurately measure the effectiveness of public fire protection for fire districts nationwide and ranks them accordingly.
    Boca’s ISO rating had been a Class 2 for about 20 years, LaSalle said.
    After June 1, property owners should contact their insurance agents to ask about possible rate reductions.
    “We have always touted ourselves as a world-class service,” LaSalle said. “It’s a huge accomplishment for us.”

Robert Glassberg, a Best Wishes of Boca Raton employee for more than 31 years, assists

Samantha Santoro and her boyfriend, Ryan Leavitt, both 18 and seniors at Boca Raton High School.

Santoro was searching for a graduation present, taking advantage of the steep discounts offered at the store.

Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Lucy Lazarony

    For almost four decades, Arthur and Suellen Sussman, of Boca Raton, have run Best Wishes of Boca gift and jewelry shop.
But the shop will soon be no more: The Sussmans plan to close the business when it runs out of inventory.
    “The store was opened in 1972 and I bought it in 1977,” Arthur Sussman says of his business, a mainstay of the Fifth Avenue Shops on Federal Highway since the 1970s. “It’s been happiness ever since.”
    The store’s inventory evolved over the years.
    “It was originally a card and gift shop, and my mother-in-law suggested we take in jewelry,” Sussman recalls. “And subsequently, we grew to mostly jewelry.”
    In addition to cards and jewelry, Best Wishes of Boca carries fine collectibles and tableware by brands such as Armani figurines, Boehm porcelain, Christopher Radko, Dansk, Lenox, Nikko china, Swarovski and Vera Wang.
    Suellen Sussman did the shopping for the store for almost 40 years and loved “bringing beautiful things into the shop,” she says. “As you can see, we deal with the most lovely lines and pretty items.”
    With each line, she sought out the most beautiful and useful pieces.
    “In any one line, there will be something so extraordinarily beautiful or useful in some way,” she says. “I really zero in on that. You can use it in a couple of different ways.”
    Longtime customers who bought their engagement rings and wedding bands at Best Wishes of Boca have brought in their children and grandchildren to do the same.
    “That’s very gratifying,” Arthur Sussman says.
    Cynthia Brown, of New Hampshire, spends a month in Highland Beach each year and  is a 20-year customer.
    “I love the owners,” Brown says. “I have a collection of the Swarovski at home. I just like coming in and seeing all the nice things that they have.”
    Brown said she will miss Artie and Suellen, and Artie Sussman feels the same way about customers.
    “I’ve made lifelong friends with customers and I’ve seen children and grandchildren grow up. They’ll say, ‘Why are you leaving?’ Because I want to retire,” he explains.
    “Basically, I’m hitting 74,” he says. “My wife is going to be 70. We want to take some time off and do some other things.”
    The Sussmans and their children made the move from Lido Beach in New York to Boca Raton in 1977.
    “It was little. You knew everybody. We came here with three little kids. What a wonderful place to raise children,” says Suellen Sussman. “We didn’t lock our front doors. After Little League, you went to McDonald’s. The kids had lunch. We happened upon Boca purely by accident. We liked the small-town feeling.”