An upscale 7-Eleven is planned for this building surrounded
in scaffolding at 831 E. Palmetto  Park Road in Boca Raton. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Angie Francalancia

Renovations began last month along East Palmetto Park Road, bringing a welcome face-lift to a strip of old retail on the barrier island but also an unwelcome tenant in national convenience store 7-Eleven.

Scaffolding surrounds the building at 831 E. Palmetto Park Road as work proceeds to add 777 square feet to accommodate the convenience store and give the building a face-lift.

“We’re doing a major façade renovation, adding parapets and window banding,” said Doug Mummaw, architect and representative of the owner, James and Marta Batmasian’s Investments Limited. 

While residents in the surrounding neighborhoods welcome the renovations, many remain wary of what it will mean to have a 24-hour convenience store in their midst.

Architects envision a cohesive façade for this building,
which stretches from 877 to 899 E. Palmetto Park Road.
Renderings provided

“I’m still in a ‘wait and see’ myself, along with the rest of the community, as to how it’s going to turn out,” said Boca Raton Commissioner Anthony Majhess, who lives in the area. “I’m certainly holding my breath and have fingers crossed on everything we were promised, but I think the scale is appropriate for the building. I was happy the landlord wanted to revamp some old, one-story buildings and not change everything.” 

Neighbors challenged the city’s approval of the addition and modification to the building to accommodate the 7-Eleven, claiming that the store was incompatible with the neighborhood and would invite problems.

Mummaw worked with the neighbors, enhancing the design to the national company’s upscale model, which includes a 14-foot granite gourmet coffee bar. Across the back of the property, a masonry wall and row of purple and yellow tabebuia trees will go in to screen the neighbors.

The Batmasians, Boca Raton residents who have been developing properties in the city for three decades, expect the renovations to attract other national tenants and improve the overall value for neighbors as well. Investments Limited owns five of the six properties on the north side of East Palmetto Parkway east of the Intracoastal to Wavecrest Way.

 Within the next 12 months, each will be renovated, using architectural elements to tie them together.  The 831 building is expected to be complete by the end of the year, with work on the 803 building beginning this month. 

The façade of 801 E. Palmetto Park Road also would receive an update.

Peter Barinoff, who originally was part of the group challenging the approval, said he was persuaded to support the project.

“We think any progress along East Palmetto Park is a positive for the whole community area,” Barinoff said.  “It’s long overdue that that shopping center has a renovation. There were initial concerns, but much was done by the developer to alleviate those concerns. We also did speak to the Boca Raton police chief, and he assured us they would be watching the area closely.”

Other neighbors remain unconvinced. Diane Hoffman, owner of the Boca Beach House restaurant, said she doesn’t think 7-Eleven will affect her business at all but that it will cheapen the neighborhood.

“The residents are extremely concerned with what a 7-Eleven usually brings — vagrancy, crime — and having it open 24 hours a day will invite additional problems with the homeless and others hanging out,” she said. Because none of the shops and restaurants is open past 9 p.m., Hoffman says, a 24-hour convenience store is out of character.

Although Hoffman and Investments Limited disagree over 7-Eleven, they do agree on one concept for improving the area: “It’s a matter of getting good tenants,” Hoffman said.

The 7-Eleven will feature a granite coffee bar. Neighbors will be screened from the store by a masonry wall and trees. 

By Cheryl Blackerby

Property owners in the Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District will see a slight decrease in their tax rate, yet most won’t be able to see it in their tax bills.

The district’s board approved a final budget Sept. 24, which included a tax rate of 0.9986 per $1,000 of taxable property value, down from last year’s 1.0066. Because assessed values rose 0.9 percent, according to the Palm Beach County property appraiser, the amount of revenue the district will receive for the 2012-13 budget year that starts Oct. 1 is the same as last year.

Only homeowners who have the same assessed value as last year or a lower one will enjoy a decrease in their tax bills this time around. Inside Boca Raton’s city limits, property values rose 1.2 percent, the property appraiser said.

The operating budget expenditures are 10 percent more than last year’s expenditures. The board is paying for capital improvement projects including a $2 million reimbursement to the city of Boca Raton for a beach restoration project at North Beach that took place several years ago. That payment is in addition to a partial reimbursement of $2 million the district already paid. 

“Prior to the last beach restoration, it was customary for the government to fund about 70 percent of restoration, which left 30 percent to be paid by state, county and local governments,” said Arthur Koski, the attorney for the district.  “But with budgetary constraints in Washington, federal funds were not available, and the entire cost fell on local governments. The city paid the rest.”

After viewing studies on North Beach and Central Beach, the board doesn’t anticipate additional beach restoration projects for five years or longer.

Other capital improvement projects the board is considering include Science Playground renovations; Phase 4 of Sugar Sand Park; and Phase 2 of the Spanish River Athletic Facilities, such as a paved bike path around the lake. 

The board also decided that the district and city of Boca Raton would become joint operators of the Gumbo Limbo Nature Center, replacing the Palm Beach County School Board.

The center was constructed with a grant from the Department of Education with the Palm Beach County School Board as a tenant. The school board will no longer participate because of budget constraints. The park, however, still will be utilized for school-sponsored programs. 

The district includes the land in the southeastern corner of Palm Beach County, east of Florida’s Turnpike and south of Clint Moore Road, including all of the city of Boca Raton.

The board’s Oct. 15 meeting has been moved to Oct. 22. The first meeting of the month will still be Oct. 1.              Ú

By Tim Pallesen

Boca Raton property taxes will rise after the city council voted to increase the tax rate by 8 percent.

“This recognizes that all things in the economy will be moving up,” Councilman Michael Mullaugh said after the 3-2 vote at the city’s final budget hearing on Sept. 27. “We are in the position to offer the appropriate incentives to live in Boca Raton.”

 Mayor Susan Whelchel and Commissioner Constance Scott joined Mullaugh to approve a property tax rate of $3.41 per $1,000 of taxable property. Deputy Mayor Susan Haynie and Councilman Anthony Majhess voted against it. 

The increase over the current $3.15 rate will raise the tax bill by $130 for the owner of home with $500,000 in taxable value.

The spending increase comes after three years in which the city cut its operating budget by $21.9 million and eliminated 196 jobs because of falling property values.

The new budget includes $1 million in economic development incentives for new businesses that create new jobs in the city.

The tax increase drew one loud protest at the budget hearing.

“Talk to somebody who doesn’t have a government job. We’re taking big hits,” said Zon Reed, a Boca Raton real-estate broker. “Everyone has got to tighten their belts.”

The taxpayer group Boca Citizens for Fiscal Responsibility also kept up its pressure for the council to reduce spending by cutting police and fire pensions.

This year’s $1.6 million cost increase for fire and police pensions is the largest increase in the budget and is “slowly swallowing city resources,” group leader Elizabeth Grinnan said.

The council dipped into its emergency reserves to cover that cost increase.

“The city has no plan to deal with the unsustainable cost of public safety,” Grinnan told the council. “Show the leadership for which you were elected.”

Whelchel responded that the council has “been remiss in not being more open about what we have to address.” 

City Manager Leif Ahnell is currently in pension talks with fire and police unions, promising proposed changes to the council early next year. Several council members said they want a task force of experts to assist him in negotiations. Úp

By Rich Pollack

Highland Beach voters maintain the final say on the town’s big-ticket purchases, but commissioners can now sign off on spending up to roughly $1 million on a single item or project without a referendum. 

Commissioners voted to change the town charter, raising the trigger on how much the commission can spend without going to voters. The previous $350,000 limit was lifted to 10 percent of the town’s operating budget — or about $1 million this year against a budget of $10.4 million.

The commission’s 4-1 vote, with Mayor Bernard Featherman dissenting, follows weeks of discussion that included several proposals ranging from leaving the cap at $350,000 to dropping it altogether. 

Initially, commissioners considered a proposal from the town’s Charter Review Committee that would have brought the spending limit to 10 percent of the operating budget. That proposal, however, would have required a majority commission vote for projects up to 7 percent and a supermajority 4-1 vote for projects of between 7 percent and 10 percent. 

Committee members said the plan was the result of an informal survey showing that Highland Beach was the only community in the area that required a referendum on expenditures.

After rejecting that committee’s proposal as too complicated, commissioners then gave tentative approval to a simplified plan that would have allowed the commission to authorize spending of any amount with just a majority vote.

That proposal met with opposition from residents, including retired attorney Al Kraft and resident Carl Feldman, who brought to the commission a petition, signed by 200 residents in three days, in favor of not changing the cap.

During discussions, Commissioner Dennis Sheridan offered a compromise proposal of setting the cap at 10 percent of the operating budget. The proposal initially failed to receive three votes, but was later brought back to the commission and approved after Commissioner Doris Trinley reconsidered. 

Sheridan said he presented the compromise after receiving calls from concerned residents. “The idea of not having anything in the charter and giving free rein to the commission was not what they wanted,” he said. 

Throughout the discussions, town officials noted that the $350,000 referendum trigger equated to about 10 percent of the operating budget when it was put in the charter several years ago.

For his part, Kraft says the new charter language is a step in the right direction, although he doesn’t think it goes quite far enough.

“I think they could have come up with a better resolution which doesn’t diverge as much from the original position,” he said. 

At an earlier meeting, commissioners gave final approval to the town’s 2012-13 budget, which includes a tax rate of $3.95 per $1,000 of taxable property value, up from $3.40 in the current budget.                          

By Rich Pollack

It’s not unusual for residents of Highland Beach to approach Police Chief Craig Hartmann and ask how they can show their support for the Police Department.
“We had people who wanted to help financially, and we didn’t have a vehicle to accept contributions,” Hartmann said.
That changed in July with the creation of the Highland Beach Police Foundation, a nonprofit organization led by a five-member board of residents that will work with the Police Department to determine how money collected from the community will be spent.
“Typically, money donated to foundations like this is used for one-time purchases not included in the town’s budget,” Hartmann said. “The money we receive will help our department stay current, and it will help us enhance the service we provide to the community.”
With the majority of the department’s budget going to salaries and benefits, the money raised can have a significant impact on the purchase of new equipment and tools that can be used to keep the town’s residents and police officers safe, foundation president Greg Babij said.
“This is really needed in Highland Beach,” said Babij, who has lived in town for four years with his wife, Tami, and their two young children. “It can make a huge difference.”
Hartmann says foundations supporting police departments are common throughout Palm Beach County as well as throughout the country.
Locally, the towns of Palm Beach and Ocean Ridge have similar foundations, as does the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office and the cities of Delray Beach and Palm Beach Gardens.
In Ocean Ridge, the Department of Public Safety Support Group has been operating for at least 20 years, according to Police Chief Christopher Yannuzzi. He said money collected from the community has been used for everything from digital cameras for crime-scene photos to automated external defibrillators for police vehicles.
Yannuzzi said that the Ocean Ridge Public Safety Support Group is comprised mostly of police officers and reserve officers who vote on what items will be purchased for the department.
Contributions to the support group, a separate entity from the Police Department, have no impact on how the department enforces the law or provides services to residents, he said.
“I haven’t received any feedback that residents who are contributing expect more service or special treatment,” Yannuzzi said.
In Highland Beach, there are no police officers serving on the foundation board, other than Hartmann, who, along with foundation counsel Robin Caral Shaw, will be a non-voting member. As a result, officers will not be involved in soliciting donations or in final decisions on how money collected from the community will be spent.
“The foundation is set up as a corporation working toward the benefit of the Police Department,” Shaw said. “By definition, it is separate from the Police Department.”
Hartmann says that the new foundation is now making it possible for residents to target their financial support directly to public safety instead of to the town’s general operating budget. “There are a lot of people in Highland Beach who are philanthropic and who want to support the Police Department,” he said.
Among those is resident Richard Shusterman, a member of the foundation’s board, who is paying for the cost of setting up the group as a nonprofit organization.
“This is all being done at no cost to the town,” Hartmann said.
The foundation, according to Hartmann and Babij, is planning to send a letter to residents soon that will include additional information about the organization. Ú

By Rich Pollack

If your dog is a hot dog after a long walk, the town of Highland Beach soon may have a cool way for Fido or Fifi to cool down.
Town officials are exploring the idea of purchasing a three-tiered water fountain — complete with a special spigot for pets — that would replace a 15-year-old drinking fountain in front of Town Hall, adjacent to Highland Beach’s popular walking path.
“There are hundreds of people who use that walking path, and many of them have dogs,” said Town Manager Kathleen Weiser, who is pricing the specialty bubblers at the request of commissioners.
The three-tier fountain, which includes one level for adults, one for children or those in wheelchairs, and a ground-level pet fountain that can be controlled from the top by the pet’s walker, is estimated to run the town between $2,500 and $3,000.
The idea bubbled up when commissioners and town officials attended a recent Florida League of Cities conference in Hollywood and saw the fountain on display in the vendor exhibition area.
Available as an attachment to regular water fountains, pet fountains have been offered by the company exhibiting them at the conference — Most Dependable Fountains — for about 15 years, according to national sales manager Vince McGrory.
They are being used in several cities in Florida, including Orlando, Clearwater and Largo, he said.
Weiser has collected four quotes from different companies. One of those quotes — from Most Dependable Fountains — includes a reduced price and a waiver of shipping and handling fees if the town waits a year and buys the floor-model fountain displayed at next year’s conference.
Should commissioners bite on the offer, Rover may have to ruff ... er, rough it out just a bit longer, but the tale could wind up having a happy ending. 

Diane Schrenzel shares her knowledge of the Louvre Museum
in Paris on Nov. 1 at the Highland Beach Library.  Schrenzel
lives in France most of the year and part-time in Highland Beach,
where she takes painting classes at Burlini Studio of the Arts in
Boca Raton. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

Pure joie de vivre. That’s what flows out of 14-year-old Parisian and part-time Highland Beach resident Diane Schrenzel when she talks about Renaissance art. 

“When I go through my art history book and I hit the Renaissance, I think this is the period,” she says. “I love the sense of balance and harmony, and what I also like are the bright colors they used. For example, Botticelli or Raphael, they had really bright colors — pinks and light blues, and all these kinds of colors I really love — and every Italian Renaissance painting really makes me think of light and joy and spring, as a matter of fact … ”

She speaks confidently, using grown-up adjectives such as “magnificent” and “spectacular.” And despite her youth (she’s wearing a short, pink Spandex swim-dress and flip-flops at the moment), you realize she’s the perfect person to speak with authority about her favorite museum on Earth: the Louvre in Paris. She’s been there at least 30 times.

“I think it’s something really so exceptional … and what is weird for me, 99 percent of the people who go to the Louvre just see the masterpieces, a few antiquities, the Mona Lisa, and then it’s ‘Ciao, bye bye.’ ”

Schrenzel will have a chance to teach locals about the Louvre when she presents a lecture at the Highland Beach Library on Nov. 1. She has created a slide show of significant Louvre paintings and will share anecdotes about various works.

For a few years, Schrenzel and her mother, Helene, a French radiologist, have spent summer vacation and periodic school breaks at their Highland Beach condo. When in town, Schrenzel takes painting classes twice a week at the Burlini Studio of the Arts in Boca Raton, where she is using oils to copy paintings by Cezanne, Van Gogh and others. 

“I like being in the footsteps of a great artist. For example, in my art studio, I’m painting water lilies by Monet. And sometimes when I paint, I really feel like the painter myself,” she says, remembering her visit to Monet’s gardens in Giverny, France.

Here in Florida, Schrenzel enjoys the beach, shopping at Boca’s Town Center mall — “Everything is concentrated in one area, not like in Paris” — and eating non-French desserts such as carrot cake. She speaks four languages (French, English, German and Spanish), and envisions a career at a major art auction house.

“Now that the world has become so competitive,” she says in her wise-beyond-years way, “Christie’s really needs people who have studied management, law, something more than just art history.” A straight-A student, she plans to pursue the appropriate academic path to make her dream come true — once she finishes high school.

— Paula Detwiller

Q. Where did you grow up and go to school?

A. I was born in Paris (such a beautiful city!), where I grew up and where I have always studied in a bilingual school. I will be entering 10th grade.

Q. What are some highlights of your life?

A. Traveling, painting and speaking about subjects I like. I have traveled to the U.S. since the age of 6; it’s a country so different compared to France in almost every field. I have traveled to China and Australia; their cultures and ways of living are so unique and interesting. And I have traveled around Europe’s historical, highly cultural and artistic countries. In all those places, I enjoyed extraordinary museums, being fond of art history (Renaissance, 17th- and 18th-century European paintings, Impressionism, Fauvism). Painting has become my life’s passion. I’ve been painting since the age of 6, in Paris. In Boca Raton, I paint at Burlini Studio of the Arts. That’s where I began painting with oils. I love Chris, the instructor there. Speaking, mainly to adults, about art history and politics, is really part of my life. The lecture that I will do at the Highland Beach Library (“Louvre Museum through Unknown Anecdotes”) has already been done at Burlini Studio; I spent 30 to 40 hours preparing it. I am also interested in French politics and, when I have time, I read newspapers and magazines.

Q. How did you choose to make your home in Highland Beach?

A. We discovered the city through friends by pure accident and fell in love with it.

Q. What is your favorite part about living in Highland Beach?
A. Enjoying the beach, which is really unique and magnificently beautiful, while doing activities (for example, seeing baby turtles, reading and shopping).

Q. What’s your favorite painting in the Louvre? Why?

A. Titian’s Madonna of the Rabbit because the sunset is very Venetian-like and beautiful, and because of its hidden messages — for example, what details show us that it is a religious painting (except for the title)? Suspense ...  I am going to give the answer during my lecture.

Q. Who is your favorite artist? Why?

A. Raffaello Sanzio or Raphael is one of my favorite artists. He knew how to combine tenderness in his Madonnas with the art of Leonardo da Vinci (mainly sfumato, or fine shading) and of Michelangelo (muscular nudes) with talent and genius.

Q. If someone made a movie of your life, who would you like to play you and why?

A. My mom. We really look alike, and she is one of the few people I can really trust.

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

A. Jewish folk and religious music, and French songs from the 1960s and ’70s — Michel Polnareff and Claude Francois, who wrote the original version of My Way.

Q. What do people not know about you that you wish they would?
A. That sometimes I can be very shy, and people often misinterpret this and think that I snub them.  

Q. Do you have a favorite quote that inspires your decisions?
A. Dance as if no one were watching you; sing as if no one were hearing you; love as though you’ve never been hurt before; live as though heaven is on Earth.

f you go:  The Louvre Museum, 5 p.m., Nov. 1, Highland Beach Library.

Applied Technology and Management Inc. will develop a feasibility study of the South Boca Raton Beach Nourishment Project shoreline and the area where sand is dredged.

The study is to assess inlet dredging alternatives that can reduce project construction costs. The cost listed for the change order associated with the project: $164,804. The Boca Raton council approved the item on the consent agenda at its Sept. 25 meeting.

The council also approved a resolution supporting coastal management programs of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and advising the state that Boca Raton will be able to provide the local financing share needed for those programs it opts to participate in.

— Margie Plunkett

 Lynn University namesake Christine Lynn talks about
the campus that will host the debate.  Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

For more information on the Boca Raton Presidential Debate: Philanthropists propelled Lynn University to world stage | Work transforms theater and gym for media-heavy event

Editor's Note: Presidential debate shines a spotlight on Boca Raton

_____________________________

 By Thomas R. Collins

Some two years ago, officials with Lynn University got in touch with the city of Boca Raton and shared some exciting news: They were applying to host a presidential debate in 2012.

Is that something, they asked, that the city would support?

“The city council said yes, that would be a cool thing,” Assistant City Manager Michael Woika said recently. 

The city didn’t consider the expenses immediately, but — now that Lynn actually is hosting the last debate on Oct. 22 — the city figures that paying for security provided by the city’s Fire and Police departments will cost $250,000. The city thought that state money was going to be set aside to help with the local costs, but that didn’t happen. Essentially, the response from the state was, “Glad you could host, but we don’t have any money,” Woika said.

Lynn — a 2,100-student liberal-arts school — is spending $5 million — with $150,000 in Palm Beach County tourism tax dollars to help. They’re also getting contributions from small businesses, which can give $255 to be recognized as official debate businesses.

Hosting a presidential debate can be seen as a civic privilege, but it does come at a big price. And what are the actual, concrete benefits?

The main thing can be summed up in one word, Lynn and economic development officials say: exposure.

A media horde to end all media hordes — with 2,000 to 3,000 credentialed members of the press — will descend on the Boca Raton area, with many staying for days, they say. 

Joshua Glanzer, the public relations director at Lynn, said the press coverage of Lynn and the surrounding area alone will amount to a huge score. 

“That alone is probably going to approach our investment of $5 million because your name is going to be mentioned globally for weeks leading up to the debate,” he said, walking outside the administrative building, where a video screen counts down the seconds to the debate and red, white and blue debate logos hang on streetlight poles. That’s an estimate derived using “P.R. equivalency value” — what you would have paid for those 30 seconds of TV airtime or that quarter-page newspaper article had you actually bought advertising.

Workers prepare to give a fresh coat of paint to the entrance
at Lynn University. Jerry Lower/Coastal Star

 That should translate into higher application numbers and bigger enrollment, Glanzer said.

Business development officials also are expecting a bump.

“Hopefully the media that come in here are going to cover the different stories to promote our community,” said Troy McLellan, president of the Boca Raton Chamber of Commerce and chair of the county’s Convention and Visitors Bureau. “Boca Raton already has a well-renowned name. Hopefully this media coverage puts it in a different light. And for Lynn, it puts Lynn on the map.”

“In my mind,” he added, “although you can’t really quantify it before the event, there’s nothing but upside.”

The city is hoping to “put our best foot forward with our visitors,”  Woika said. A series of lectures, movies, concerts — culminating with a debate “watch party” at the Mizner Amphitheatre — is going on, mostly sponsored by civic and cultural groups, Woika said.

At Lynn, officials hastened the completion of a makeover of its main entryway, with a new traffic light and a change in the alignment of the roadway. That’s not part of the $5 million, since it was planned anyway — but without the debate, “you never know” when it might have been done, Glanzer said.

Eighty courses have had debate-related coursework written into them, with some courses created specifically to take advantage of the immediacy of the political spectacle, Glanzer said.

In the end, the debates probably benefit the hosting university far more than the surrounding community.

Ole Miss saw a bump, maybe
In Oxford, Miss., where the University of Mississippi — or Ole Miss — hosted the first presidential debate of 2008, Mayor George “Pat” Patterson originally wanted to refer to the university any questions about long-term benefits — because for the town itself, there haven’t been any, as far as he can tell, he said.
“It’s expensive, it’s not cheap — I’d hate to add up the cost in man-hours” and other expenses, said Patterson, who was mayor at the time of the debate.
Still, it was a thrill and there are no regrets, he said.
“I’m glad we did it, and I’m also glad it’s over with,” he said.
At Ole Miss, the number of applications and enrollment figures have continued to climb after the debate, though they were also climbing before the debate, said Andy Mullins, the chief of staff to the chancellor who was the 2008 debate’s point person.
He said he thinks enrollment got a bump due to the debate, “but you can’t prove that.”
The website, though, got 40,000 hits in the week after the debate, many from outside the immediate area. The university is all but certain that enrollment from out-of-state students increased due to the debate exposure, but they didn’t consider it worth it to scientifically study that, Mullins said.
They do estimate, using that “P.R. equivalency” method, that they got $36 million worth of media coverage, he said.
What is not in doubt is that the debate provided a great educational tool and a great experience to the students, he said. Some of them got jobs with major networks after college from contacts made with the media during the debate.
“There’s no way to calculate exactly what it meant with us,” Mullins said. “But if we didn’t do anything but just check with the students on what they felt about it, we would have gotten an A-plus. Because they just loved it.” 

Pat and Bill Jacob have been to 191 countries since buying
Reid Travel in 1974. ‘You need to talk to somebody who has
been there,’ says daughter Lauren, who works with them and
serves as president of the company. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Steve Pike

In the age of Expedia, Orbitz, call centers and automated voice commands, Reid Travel still provides the personal touch that has been its trademark since 1974. After all, there’s something to be said for talking to someone who has been there, done that. 
Bill and Pat Jacob have been going there, doing that since 1974, when they bought the travel agency at 326 E. Palmetto Park Road in Boca Raton.
The Jacobs have traveled to 191 countries on six continents in the past 38 years, and it’s that experience, along with some strong business acumen, that has made Reid Travel one of the top agencies in the country.
“People spend so much money on a trip, they want to talk to someone before they spend $50,000 and more on a trip,” said Pat Jacob, vice president of Reid Travel. “They want to be able to trust someone and realize they’re getting some darn good advice. You can only provide that if you have experience — and we have a lot.”
Indeed. The Jacobs show pictures of themselves in such exotic locales as the Taj Mahal in India, the Great Wall of China and on an elephant’s back in Nepal. Bill Jacob has attended numerous cruise-ship christenings, including Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth 2 in 2010.
Bill Jacob’s path to South Florida isn’t much different from most other Northeast transplants’. Tired of the cold and the daily grind of the brokerage industry, Jacob moved his family from New York to Boca Raton in 1974. Shortly after settling in with his wife, Pat, and daughter and two sons, Jacob walked into a real-estate agency to see what was available.
What was available, Jacob was told, was a struggling two-year travel agency founded by the Reid family.
Jacob, a native of Pittsburgh and graduate of Georgetown University, scooped it up. Now a spry 87 (Pat is 84), he still walks the few blocks between his home and office as he has nearly every day for the past 38 years. Jacob is chairman of Reid Travel, which has evolved from a corporate and leisure travel business to a luxury leisure travel business. Reid Travel’s trademark bright orange bag tags, provided to each client, have been spotted around the world.
“We’re not so interested in the Boomers. We wait until they get to our level,” Jacob said with a chuckle.
Reid Travel’s consultants average more than 20 years in the travel industry. Each team member participates in ongoing education through worldwide travel and seminars.
“You can narrow down your selection online — that’s pretty easy — but you often need to talk to somebody who has been there.” said Lauren Jacob, Bill and Pat Jacob’s daughter, who has served as president of Reid Travel for the past four years. “Someone who can say, ‘It’s a beautiful hotel but … ’ ”
The most difficult thing to achieve, Lauren Jacob said, is to communicate to the public the value of the travel agent.
“Most people can look up flights. It’s really how you gain the expertise to know to do certain things when you travel and not to do certain things,” she said. “So when we do trips for people, we’re typically starting as they’re walking out their front door and typically finishing when they walk back through their front door. We make an effort to make it seamless for them.”
“People look forward to going on vacation, so they’re upbeat. There’s nothing like it when a person comes back and says he or she had a fabulous trip. It really makes your day.” Ú

Chaplain Paul Underhay officiates at the wedding of
Diana Estep and Eduardo Jacome before moonrise. Photos by Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Ron Hayes

The groom was a little early. The moon was a little late.
At 6:15 p.m. on the last Saturday in September, Eduardo Jacome stood on the beach at Ocean Inlet Park, nervously smoothing his black tuxedo, tugging his red vest, eying the flowered bower by the water’s edge.
“A harvest moon?” he muttered, understandably distracted. “No, we didn’t know about a harvest moon.”
There are moons, and there are full moons, and then there is the harvest moon. For three days, starting Sept. 29, a fat, strikingly orange moon started climbing the eastern sky even before the last golden puddles of sunset had left the clouds. The full moon nearest the autumn equinox — Sept. 22 this year — is called the harvest moon because, tradition claims, its bright orange light let farmers harvest their crops well past dusk.
Meanwhile, across A1A in the marina parking lot, Diana Estep stood by a van, patiently holding a bouquet of roses while fluttering bridesmaids adjusted her white satin gown.
“A harvest moon?” she muttered, understandably distracted. “No, I didn’t know about that. I wanted to be married on the beach because we spread my mother’s ashes from the pier here six years ago …”
By 6:30, the couple were standing beneath the bower, surrounded by a dozen friends while Chaplain Paul Overhay of Lake Worth’s Church of the Nazarene read the brief wedding service.

Anglers fish from the jetty as a harvest moon rises over Ocean Inlet Park.

But still no moon.
And then, just after 6:45, as the wedding photographers scurried about to capture their first kiss as husband and wife — there! Big and round and wafer-thin, visible now above the low clouds on the horizon, a truly perfect moon to be married by.
Hang a harvest moon over the inlet, and you’ll find almost as many cameras here as fishing poles.
Not far from the happy couple, Stormy and Sebastian Brigandi watched from canvas beach chairs, and when the moon had escaped the clouds, she aimed her iPhone.
“Oh, sure, we knew it was a full moon tonight,” she said, snapping away.
The Brigandis live well west, off Lawrence Road, but drive to this beach almost every evening to spend an hour or two.
“I take pictures on my iPhone,” she said, still snapping away, “then post them to Facebook.” She laughed. “Especially in the wintertime, to make the family up in New Jersey jealous.”
Later the sky is dark and the moon high over the south pier, where Bennett Brihn has been fishing, more or less nonstop, since Thursday.

Bennett Brihn of Davie fishes at Ocean Inlet Park. 

 “Oh, that’s beautiful. Excellent!” he says, taking in the sky as he tugs a crevalle jack  from his hook. This is his first trip back to this pier since moving to Davie four years ago, and he’s been lucky. About 150 jack, five or six bluefish, one mackerel, a few snapper, which unfortunately were short of the 10 inches legally required for keeping.

“The fishing up here’s great,” he says. “Way better than down south. And I don’t even eat fish. I just like catching them. I like cheeseburgers.”
He baits his hook and casts again.
“When I find a fish that tastes like a cheeseburger, I’ll eat fish.”
All around him, the night is being punctured with momentary flashes of light, from iPhones and tiny digital cameras.
While the fisherman beside her at the rail tries to catch fish, Sylvia Wood catches the harvest moon with her Canon.
“Of course I knew it’s the full moon,” she said. “This is the October moon, my birthday month moon. I’m going to take this picture home and put it on my computer.”
The moon was high overhead now. Wood aimed once more.
“I grew up in the ’70s,” she said, “I’m a cosmic kind of girl.” And snapped another picture.
And if you missed this harvest moon, don’t worry. On Oct. 29, the hunter’s moon will rise.                                 

Stormy and Sebastian Brigandi of Boynton Beach drive
to the beach to spend an hour or two almost each evening. 

I read the article written by Ron Hayes in the September issue of The Coastal Star. Although I always enjoy your newspaper, the article about Gumbo Limbo and the rescue of Cindy by Ryan Butts and his colleagues was of particular interest.
Although as a visitor I do not get a chance to interact with some of the wonderful rehab staff, I know that Ron Hayes “gets it.”
His storytelling provides a wonderful account of what makes Gumbo Limbo so special. I can understand a child’s wonderment at something in their lives that changes it forever. Mr. Hayes’ account of Ryan’s childhood dreams coming true was so inspiring. I hope every parent reading your paper encourages his or her child to read Mr. Hayes’ story.
He seems to have captured the true spirit of that special bond that takes place with each sea turtle the Gumbo Limbo rehab team has in its care. Although I am not familiar with the entire team, I have the pleasure of knowing Connie Thomas-Mazur, and the light in her eyes at the wonderment of helping these creatures is truly something to behold.
Thank you, Mr. Hayes  and The Coastal Star, for acknowledging the many heroes in our coastal community.
Clare Lazarow
Highland Beach

For more information on the Boca Raton Presidential Debate: Privilege, price accompany presidential debate | Philanthropists propelled Lynn University to world stage | Work transforms theater and gym for media-heavy event

_____________________________

By Mary Thurwachter, Managing Editor

Boca Raton will become the center of the political universe on Oct. 22 as President Barack Obama and Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney come to Lynn University for their third and final debate. 

We’ll have to wait and see if there will be a defining moment, a signature sound bite or a major gaffe. But we do know that the historic event will put Lynn University — a 2,100-student liberal arts school — on the map, and shine a spotlight on Boca Raton and Palm Beach County.

Some 3,000 members of the press, political pundits and VIPs will fly in from all over the world; many are expected to spend several days. 

As Tom Collins reports in this edition, hosting a presidential debate may be viewed as a civic privilege, but it comes with a hefty price.

In preparation for the big night, Lynn has raised millions to cover debate-related costs, and Boca Raton has set aside up to $250,000 for security provided by the city’s police and fire departments.

Palm Beach County is kicking in $150,000 in tourism dollars and small businesses are doing their part, too, by contributing $255 each to be recognized as business sponsors.

One of the reasons Lynn was chosen to host the debate was its 2-year-old Keith C. and Elaine Johnson Wold Performing Arts Center. 

Tim Pallesen in this edition reports how Boca Raton got the 750-seat theater — designed to look like the inside of a violin. It is a tale of high society and philanthropy. Boca Raton is proud to have an abundance of both.

But Boca Raton has so much more than a state-of-the-art performing arts center and the generous and forward-thinking folks who worked so diligently to make it happen.

It also has a community that has come together to make sure it is ready and eager to shine in the spotlight. 

 The interior of the Wold Performing Arts Center is
designed to resemble the inside of a violin. Photo provided

For more information on the Boca Raton Presidential Debate: Privilege, price accompany presidential debate | Philanthropists propelled Lynn University to world stage | 

Editor's Note: Presidential debate shines a spotlight on Boca Raton

_____________________________

 By Tim Pallesen

Christine Lynn realized last month what the impact of the presidential debate would be when a Vermont innkeeper asked if she was the Mrs. Lynn at Lynn University.

“In years past, nobody knew where Lynn University was,” Lynn said. “Now we’re on the map all over the U.S. and around the world.”

The university is named for Lynn and her late husband, Eugene. Their contributions include $10 million for Lynn’s library and another $10 million for a five-story residence hall.

Other wealthy Boca Raton residents have given to grow the 123-acre campus with its 2,100 students, too.

Now, along with corporate sponsors, those benefactors are contributing money to pay the university’s $5 million cost for the 9 p.m. presidential debate on Monday, Oct. 22.

“This is our moment to shine and show the best of ourselves,” Lynn President Kevin Ross said. 

More than 100 miles of cable have been laid to power 70 TV satellite trucks to broadcast Barack Obama and Mitt Romney around the world from the university’s performing arts theater.

Signs and colorful platings invigorate one of the sidewalks on campus

Photo by JerryLower/The Coastal Star

The Secret Service has closed the theater as workers build booths inside for the six big news networks: ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, CNN and C-Span.

But Christine Lynn got a peek and calls it “amazing” how the theater has been transformed for the world to see. 

She reports the five back rows of seats were removed for the TV booths. More seats were taken for TV cameras. 

The university transformed its gymnasium into a media center, where up to 3,000 journalists will work.

Another big cost has been the widening of Military Trail at Lynn ’s main entrance and the creation of a second entrance off Potomac Road. 

Students, alumni and friends of Lynn University are invited to a barbecue on debate day and a viewing party on the soccer field.

But others should stay away from Military Trail between Glades Road and Spanish River Boulevard, Boca Raton Police Capt. Coy Dixon said.

“The public definitely should expect traffic delays around Lynn University,” Dixon said.

The proposed Atlantic Plaza II would have 442 residential units, plus office,
retail and restaurant space near the Intracoastal.  Rendering provided

 By Margie Plunkett

The Atlantic Plaza II mixed-use development would exceed Delray Beach’s density and height under a new proposal, which drew pleas from residents to respect the surrounding area and Veterans Park.

Following resident protests at a packed Sept. 24 meeting, the Planning and Zoning Board postponed its vote on the request for a month, asking the developer to return after reflecting on the feedback from the board and the public.

“We all want this project to be viable,” said board member Craig Spodak. “It needs some reworking.”

The project’s height would surpass a 48-foot limit, reaching nearly 60 feet, while the density would climb from the allowed 30 residential units per acre to 51.1 units, according to plans presented to the Planning and Zoning Board.

“We’re asking for the same height that’s approved,” said developer Jeff Edwards of Ohio-based Edwards Companies. “We are asking for more density.”

The $200 million, 9-acre project, which is next to Veterans Park on East Atlantic Avenue, must also still undergo a review of its newly submitted site plan. Developers hope to start construction by the end of the year.

The new plan proposes 442 residential units, compared with the 197 that the city allowed in Atlantic Plaza’s last approved site plan. 

The current plan has 79,071 square feet of office space, 52,021 square feet of retail and 28,204 square feet of restaurants. The six buildings in the plan range from three to five stories and include two pools and a “green roof.” Residents at last month’s meeting voiced concerns about the project’s height and density, drainage problems, additional traffic and that the area would be less walkable than the rest of the downtown. They also contended that Veterans Park would be in shadows much of the afternoon and that getting to the park would be more difficult.

The added residential cars and the delivery trucks, including for food and liquor, will crowd the city’s streets, said resident Ed McCall. “This is not going to improve the quality of life of Delray Beach.”

Bob Ganger, past president of the Florida Coalition for Preservation, said his organization’s purpose is to preserve the lifestyle of people in coastal communities. “Adding more density is going against our cause.”

While complimenting the developer’s solid work, Ganger added, “Coming from Ohio, they just didn’t read our market.”

Some residents as well as board members focused on LEED certification.

“We should mandate this developer to get LEED certification,” said board member Spodak, echoing others at the dais as well as some in the audience. “It should be incumbent for all developers who come in with a project of this size.”

 The developer could “use the elements spelled out in the LEED program to enhance the project,” said board member Jan Hansen. 

Board members were looking for more information on how the project would address fallout of increased density, including impacts on schools, traffic and parking. 

Board member Thuy Shutt wanted to see school concurrency addressed as well as to know whether the developer was marketing to families or non-families. In addition, she added, “I’d like to see more strategies to relieve some of the single-user vehicles here.”

The Chamber of Commerce and the city’s Economic Development officials supported the project, noting it will bring needed jobs and investment in the city. “It does promote a lot of jobs,” said Michael Malone, Chamber of Commerce president.

At the meeting’s end, developer Edwards said, “A lot of what has been suggested … can be accommodated.”

Edwards is one of four joint-venture partners on the project. The local private equity firm CDS International Holdings, owned by Carl DeSantis, is also on the team, as well as resident and local developer Bill Morris and Mike Covelli.

The Planning and Zoning Board is an advisory board that makes recommendations to the city commission, which then approves or denies requests.  

The decades-long friendship between Jan McArt (left)
and Elaine Wold made the theater happen. Photos provided

For more information on the Boca Raton Presidential Debate: Privilege, price accompany presidential debate  

Work transforms theater and gym for media-heavy event

Editor's Note: Presidential debate shines a spotlight on Boca Raton

_____________________________

By Tim Pallesen

A TV audience of 60 million will get a sense of Boca Raton by watching the final presidential debate in a theater designed to look like the inside of a violin.

The Keith C. and Elaine Johnson Wold Performing Arts Center opened two years ago at Lynn University as the only performing arts theater between West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale.

The story of how Boca Raton got a 750-seat theater suitable for the Oct. 22 presidential debate is a tale of Boca Raton high society and philanthropy.

To make it happen, Lynn founding president Donald Ross first adopted a student orchestra and then hired former Royal Palm Dinner Theater owner Jan McArt.

McArt operated her dinner theater from 1977 until it closed in 2002. Boca Raton’s leading philanthropists were her patrons. Ross was there, too.

Keith C. and Elaine Johnson Wold Performing Arts Center features the Lynn Philharmonia after the debate. 

“Jan McArt brought entertainment and culture to Boca in the early days when it was just a sleepy town,” Ross said. “She’s a dynamic, fantastic lady full of life and personality.”

The same patrons who had enjoyed McArt’s dinner theater gave money to start Lynn’s performing-arts program when McArt was hired in 2004. Elaine Wold contributed $1 million, and the family of Libby Dobson gave $500,000.

“They were so pleased at what was happening that they decided to build the theater,” McArt said.

Wold gave an additional $6 million in 2007 for construction. Others matched her additional $2.3 million challenge grant, and a total of $14.9 million was raised. 

The opening-night performance by Bernadette Peters in March 2010 was a gala invitation-only affair.

Boca Raton ’s glitterati entered a lobby with six chandeliers made to resemble the celebrated starburst chandeliers at the Metropolitan Opera. 

A catered buffet was served in the Christine Room, named for Christine Lynn, the matriarch of local philanthropy.

“The original chandeliers were not what Elaine Wold wanted so she flew up to the Metropolitan Opera and took pictures,” said Lynn, who describes Wold as “a very gracious lady whose passion is the performing arts.”

“Her long-time friendship with McArt made the theater happen,” Lynn said. “All of her friends got together and contributed.”

The exterior of the Wold Performing Arts Center.

Wold served champagne and cookies three weeks later when Mitzi Gaynor performed for the theater’s public opening.

Now McArt’s wide array of performers share the theater stage with the talented Lynn Conservatory of Music students whose tuition, room and board is paid by local philanthropists.

Ross rescued the orchestra students in 1999 when the next-door Harid Conservatory closed its music division.

The music students must audition to perform in the Lynn Philharmonia, a 60-piece orchestra that will reopen the theater on Dec. 1 after the politicians and news media leave.

The music conservatory is one of only four in the nation that pays all expenses. Lynn flies in top performers from major U.S. orchestras to be the instructors. 

The orchestra originally performed at St. Andrew’s School, but the beautiful new performing-arts theater helps it attract the best student musicians from around the world, Conservatory of Music Director Jon Robertson said.

“It’s a game-changer for us to be able to perform in a great hall,” Robertson said. 

Designed by architect Herbert S. Newman of Yale University, the curved wood walls and ceiling shaped like a violin catch everyone’s attention. “There’s a magic here. People come and say they can’t believe it,” he said.

Robertson calls Ross a visionary and McArt a legend in explaining how Boca Raton got such a jewel of a theater with exciting productions.

“Jan McArt is a legend in this community,” he said. “People don’t mind investing in someone who is tried and true.”

As Lynn ’s director of theater arts program development, McArt puts a little bit of everything on the stage when the Conservatory of Music orchestra isn’t playing. Donors from her Royal Palm Dinner Theater days sponsor her shows.

“The university pretty much let me build the program,” McArt said. “They shared my vision and gave me freedom to produce.”

The performing-arts theater with unusual beginnings fills a void that once existed for music and entertainment in Boca Raton.

“There was a need,” Ross said. “The Kravis Center in West Palm Beach is a wonderful place. But Boca is 30 to 40 minutes away. To have a performing-arts theater right here in Boca was the appropriate thing.”   

On Tap at the Wold

The four major performances this season begin on Jan. 26-27 with Bravo Amici, a blend of opera, Broadway and pop. The playbill says Queen Elizabeth II and Sir Elton John are fans of the “stunning divas and handsome tenors.” 

Cirque D’Amour — “an intimate evening of song, dance, humor and mind-blowing acrobatics” — is sponsored by Elaine Wold on  Feb. 16-17.      

Christine Lynn sponsors a tribute to the music of ABBA on March 2-3, followed by 25 dancers who were America’s Got Talent finalists performing on April 6-7.

A songbook series with Marshall Turkin’s Classic Jazz Ensemble has three performances this winter. McArt also will host readings of four new Broadway plays.

Holly Meehan is gearing up for the Junior League
of Boca Raton’s Woman of the Year luncheon, which
marks its 25th anniversary this year. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Lucy Lazarony

For Holly Meehan, her life changed one Saturday in October 2010.  

On that day, which she dubbed Super Saturday, Meehan, a new volunteer with the Junior League of Boca Raton, was taking a bus tour of every nonprofit and charitable organization that the Junior League of Boca Raton assists.

And she was two weeks away from giving birth to her youngest son, Alexander.  

“I had this giant belly with my husband’s college shirt on because it had to be so huge,” Meehan, a mother of three, remembers with a laugh. 

The personal stories of children and families being assisted by charitable organizations such as the Florence Fuller Child Development Centers resonated deeply with Meehan. Her heart sprang open, and the tears flowed.  

“How can I help these people? How can I help these kids? It was really inspiring,” Meehan says.  

And she’s been an enthusiastic volunteer with the Junior League of Boca Raton ever since.

“You hear story after story. You can’t help but want to sign on your volunteer hours to such an amazing organization,” Meehan says. 

Every year, volunteers from the Junior League of Boca Raton assist area nonprofit organizations with volunteer hours, monetary grants or a combination of both.

The aim is improving the lives of children and families in the south Palm Beach County area. 

Meehan and her oldest son, 

George, 5, and her daughter, Olivia, 4, all help with sandwich days at Boca Helping Hands, preparing backpacks full of sandwiches, snacks and juice boxes for elementary school children in need. 

“As a mother, it feels good. I’m setting an example for my kids that you need to give back,” says Meehan, who lives in Royal Palm Yacht and Country Club in Boca Raton with her husband, David, and their three children. 

Just how many hours does Meehan log in as a volunteer with the Junior League of Boca Raton?  She honestly doesn’t know.

“I don’t even count them, to tell you the truth,” Meehan says. “I love volunteering with children. I like doing literacy programs. I like helping women get jobs.” 

And this year she is chairwoman of the League’s 25th Annual Woman Volunteer of the Year luncheon, the Junior League of Boca Raton’s biggest fundraising event.  

In 2011, the Woman Volunteer of the Year Luncheon raised more than $162,000. And Meehan hopes to top that amount at this year’s luncheon, to be held at the Boca Raton Resort and Club on Oct. 18.

“I really love the League, and I want to raise awareness and money any way I can,” says Meehan.

The Woman Volunteer of the Year luncheon honors 25 local women from various nonprofit organizations throughout Palm Beach County for their dedication, focus and passion for improving the lives of others.

This year’s luncheon includes a fashion show from Neiman Marcus, a silent auction and raffle, a video highlighting the contributions of the 25 nominees and, of course, an announcement of the volunteer of the year. 

The best part of the luncheon for Meehan?  

“The nominees, for sure.  We have seven League nominees this year, but everyone is incredible. And most of these women aren’t volunteering with one organization. They’ve spent their lives giving back.”          

If You Go

25th anniversary of the Woman of the Year luncheon, benefiting the Junior League of Boca Raton and the charities and nonprofit organizations the League assists. The event includes a fashion show from Neiman Marcus, a silent auction and a raffle.  

Where: Boca Raton Resort and Club, Mizner Center Grand Ballroom

When: Oct. 18 

10:30 a.m.: Silent auction and raffle

11:30 a.m.: Luncheon

Tickets: Silver Seating $125, Platinum Runway Seating $200 (with champagne)
For more information, call (561) 620-2553 or visit www.wvoy.org/www.jlbr.org/wvoy.

By Tim Pallesen

A man who signed up for the swank Ocean Drive drug and alcohol recovery program just as Delray Beach erupted against it has sued the Caron Foundation.

Scott Dickenson claims he arrived from Atlanta on Dec. 18 expecting the “luxurious beachside setting” with amenities such as the house chef, yoga, paddle boarding and quiet walks on the beach that Caron advertised on its website.

Instead, Dickenson says he was housed in a west Delray Beach apartment house after paying more than $100,000 for his eight-week Ocean Drive stay.

The lawsuit, filed in Palm Beach County Circuit Court by Delray Beach attorney Jason Dollard, accuses Caron of fraud and false advertising. “A contract was in place and Caron just didn’t live up to what they promised to do,” Dollard said.

Caron attorney Jim Green said Dickenson got what he paid for. “Caron denies that it breached any contract or mislead plaintiff in any way,” Green said. “We will defend against these allegations vigorously.”

Dickenson was unaware when he signed the contract that coastal Delray Beach residents had just begun to object to Caron’s plan to house Ocean Drive patients in two sober houses near the ocean, Dollard said.

Caron’s house at 740 N. Ocean was closed for renovation during his eight-week stay. The city refused to allow the second house at 1232 Seaspray Ave. to open.

Caron sued the city in February. After Dickenson returned to Atlanta, the City Council settled the lawsuit and both sober houses were allowed to open.                                   

By Margie Plunkett

A $9 million beach renourishment project will proceed, after Delray Beach commissioners committed to spending the money even though anticipated federal financing has not been allocated.

“It will cost us way more if we don’t,” said Commissioner Al Jacquet, echoing the sentiment that the beach is the city’s most important resource.

In August, commissioners questioned whether Delray Beach could afford to pay for the project itself, given extensive budget-cutting. But at a special meeting in September, City Manager David Harden explained that the general fund debt service would shrink by about $1.4 million in the 2014 fiscal year, providing leeway to finance beach renourishment.

Commissioners gave their thumbs-up after city staff assured them it would pursue federal reimbursement, which represents about $5.2 million — or 56 percent — of the cost. The state and county have committed money to pay the balance, amounting to about $2 million each.

“We would make every effort to get the funding — the authorization is there,” Harden said. “We would continue to lobby the delegation.”

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock LLC, which was the successful bidder in a fall competition for the beach work, was awarded the contract at the special meeting. The work was expected to begin in November.

The Beach Property Owners Association had urged city lawmakers to go ahead with beach renourishment in a letter from President Mary Renaud.

Beach renourishment was essential not only for the recreation and beauty the coastline provides but also to stave off storm erosion or a breach that could mean the loss of millions of dollars in property value and revenue to Delray Beach, the BPOA said.   

“This is not money being spent on an extra ‘nice’ item the community can enjoy,” the letter said. “It is money being spent on the backbone of our town. Without the beach, we could easily see our town underwater and have the sea claim our town.”                      Ú

By Tim O’Meilia

Gulf Stream homeowners will pay 7.1 percent more in town property taxes, on average, in the new budget year as commissioners try to replenish the town reserves.

The commission voted unanimously at public hearings in September to bump the tax rate to $3.10 for each $1,000 of taxable property value, up from the current rate of $2.93. That means the owner of a $1 million property after exemptions who paid $2,927 last year will pay $3,134 if his property rose the 1.1 percent average of all property in town.

“I think the people can understand we’re paying ourselves back. We hope to take a surplus to our reserves,” said Commissioner Bob Ganger.

Town reserves fell from $1.4 million to about $1 million this year because of expenses related to burying utility lines. 

The budget will increase to $2.97 million from $2.61 million, a jump of 4.4 percent. Town Manager William Thrasher estimated that as much as $50,000 could go to reserves at the end of the coming budget year. 

“I think the secret is holding the line on expenses,” said Commissioner Tom Stanley.

The new budget includes a 2 percent employee pay increase, $30,000 for the design of the westerly addition to Town Hall, $45,000 for two police SUVs, $20,000 in computer upgrades and $14,000 for a fire district study for the barrier islands, which may not occur.

The cost of a fire-rescue contract with Delray Beach will increase 35 percent to $428,000, much of it due to providing service to the county pocket annexed in March. The base contract increased 5 percent.

The annexation also boosted property tax revenue an extra $200,000.

Commissioners also approved a new five-year police and fire communications contract with Delray Beach that will cost $54,000 the first year and be adjusted annually based on the consumer price index.

In other business, the commission asked Town Engineer Danny Brannon to calculate the cost of replacing the town’s 80 street lights with white light LED bulbs, compared with keeping the yellowish high-pressure sodium lights installed by FPL. 

Brannon estimated that the LED lamps would cost about $320,000 to install and last 12 to 15 years and save money on energy. The sodium lamps last about four years. FPL charges little upfront for installation of new lights but about $14 per month per light. Commissioners also requested a comparison of various lamp styles.  Commissioners approved borrowing $2.4 million to complete the utility-lines burial project. The 10-year loan will cost 2.09 percent. 

Commissioner Stanley, appointed in August, was named vice mayor on a unanimous vote. No one else was nominated.