By Dan Moffett

South Palm Beach is facing months of continued delays to beginning its much-anticipated beach restoration project.
The town had hoped to start work on its eroding beachfront this fall. But Mayor Bonnie Fischer now says it’s unlikely anything will happen until after the first of the year, at the earliest.
“We’re still at ground zero,” Fischer said. “We still have issues with easements. We’re having a really difficult time.”
The plan calls for partnering with neighboring Palm Beach and buying as many as 1,000 truckloads of sand the town is currently dredging as part of a large beach renourishment project to the north. The sand would be hauled south and then used to fortify the South Palm Beach dunes.
The problem is the town still has no way to deliver the sand to its beach. Property owners have been reluctant to allow access for the work.
The project got a huge boost on Oct. 19 when the Palmsea condominium voted unanimously to grant the town an easement and use of the east-west thoroughfare that runs from State Road A1A next to the condo building.
“That’s a big one — getting Palmsea’s support,” Fischer said.
Still other access issues and opposition remain with the owner of a private single-family residence, other condo residents and potentially even the Town of Lantana.
“We’re still trying,” Fischer said, “but it’s a controversial project.”
The plan is a substitute for a joint project with Palm Beach County to install groins on the beach. That project fell apart early last year because of skyrocketing costs and objections from neighboring communities to the south that feared the groins would steal sand flowing their way.
The partnership with Palm Beach would cost the town between $700,000-$900,000 to buy the sand and install erosion-resistant plants along the dune line. Unlike the groin plan, Fischer says the substitute project has “no long-term value” because, without groins, there is no guarantee the new sand wouldn’t be swept out to sea by the first storm surge.
The clock is running on South Palm Beach. Work has to be completed by May to avoid interfering with turtle nesting season. “We hope something can happen,” Fischer said.
In other business:
• Despite a tough budget year with revenues diminished by the COVID-19 pandemic, South Palm Beach was able to deliver a slight tax break to residents at a time when most Florida municipalities were struggling to make ends meet.
In September, the council voted to drop the town’s tax rate for the 2020-2021 budget to $3.54 per $1,000 of property valuation — which is below the $3.55 rollback rate that would hold taxes flat year over year, and below the $3.59 of last year. Though most taxpayers aren’t likely to notice the small reduction, Vice Mayor Robert Gottlieb says it demonstrates the council’s commitment to fiscally conservative budgets.
“We’ve cut the tax rate five years in a row now,” Gottlieb said. “That is important.”
Taxable values are up 22% in South Palm Beach, the highest increase in the county, thanks to the opening of the $72 million 3550 South Ocean condo building.
• The council approved a two-year contract renewal for Town Manager Robert Kellogg, maintaining his annual salary at $100,000.
Hired in December 2018 after serving as manager in Hillsboro Beach and Sewall’s Point, Kellogg has brought stability to a position that went through a period of administrative turmoil. South Palm Beach had three managers come and then go in the three years before Kellogg’s arrival.
The council originally agreed to give him a one-year contract but then unanimously approved his request for two years.
“We had five managers in five years,” said Councilman Bill LeRoy. “Now we’ve got a hardworking, responsible manager. I’d be happy to have him signed up for a multiyear contract as opposed to a one-year contract.”

By Sallie James

LANTANA — He was a gifted surgeon and beloved doctor who used his skills to restore sight to thousands of patients, many who swore he changed their lives forever. Lawrence B. Katzen, the founder of Katzen Eye Care and Laser Center in Boynton Beach, was also a devoted philanthropist who traveled regularly to developing countries to teach physicians how to operate. 
Dr. Katzen died Oct. 20 after a lengthy battle with stomach cancer. He was 71.
“He was an amazing man. An absolutely extraordinary man,” said his wife, Jane, a nurse who worked together with her husband at their eye surgery center for years. “He loved giving back. That was his favorite thing to do.”
A pioneer in the field of laser vision correction, Dr. Katzen founded the Katzen Eye Care and Laser Center in 1981 in Boynton Beach. Since then, more than 50,000 LASIK and cataract surgery and general ophthalmology patients have had their vision surgically improved at the center.
The native Floridian was born on June 11, 1949, to Rose and Harry Katzen, and was raised in Miami Beach. He and his two brothers all became well-respected physicians.
The surgery center’s Facebook page blossomed with condolences from adoring patients and staff.
“So sorry to hear of his passing. I thank Dr. Katzen and his wonderful team for the incredible quality of life I now enjoy. My deepest condolences to his family and the entire Katzen team. May God bless you and comfort you,” wrote Steven C. Traynor. 
“One of the best doctors I’ve ever had. He clearly loved what he did and was very compassionate to all his patients,” Wendy Marks said in another post.
Wrote Patricia Érika Germosén, “I’m SO incredibly sad to hear this news. I will be eternally grateful to Dr. Katzen; he literally changed my life when he personally performed my LASIK surgery back in 2013.”
One of his pet projects was to share his eye surgery skills by training physicians in underserved countries through Project Orbis. The organization supports a Flying Eye Hospital that allows leading physicians to train and educate local ophthalmologists, medical students and nurses in underserved countries.
Dr. Katzen made 19 trips abroad, helping to save thousands from blindness and eye diseases that were previously untreatable by local practitioners. His goal was to leave each community with a better-equipped medical staff that could continue with its new skills. He made his first trip overseas in 1982 to Africa.
His son Harrison remembered accompanying his father to Peru at age 13 and seeing the need that his father filled. It was something he could never forget.
“It had a profound impact on me as a person because I got to see the impact he was having across the world,” his son said. “Just to see the gratitude. He operated on kids for the most part. He did ocular plastic surgery.” 
In one particular instance Dr. Katzen rebuilt an eyelid for a child in Malawi who had been run over by an oxcart. Because of the injury, the child’s eye had remained open around the clock.
“He was very deformed,” Jane Katzen recalled. She said when Dr. Katzen returned to the village to check on the child after his surgery, the chief and numerous tribesmen lay across the tarmac to show honor to her husband.
“They felt a miracle had been performed,” Jane Katzen said.
In another instance, Dr. Katzen operated on a Peruvian woman in her 80s who had been blind since age 13 when she was struck by lightning. She saw her family for the first time as an octogenarian.
“We take for granted eye surgery in this country,” Jane Katzen noted.
Dr. Katzen was also one of the founders of the Richard David Kann Melanoma Foundation, created in memory of one of Dr. Katzen’s best friends who had died of skin cancer.
Dr. Katzen and his wife gave countless hours and financial support to build the foundation over the past 25-plus years. Dr. Katzen received the RDK 2020 Vision Award for the vision he had to lead and guide the organization for all its years.
Dr. Katzen met the woman who would become his wife in 1972, when the two were students at Jackson Memorial Hospital. She was studying nursing and he was a medical student. They married in 1976 and worked together at their eye surgery center until Dr. Katzen’s death.
Dr. Katzen attended Miami Beach High School and the University of Miami before graduating from the University of Miami School of Medicine and completing his ophthalmology residency training at the Washington Hospital Center.
“He was respected by the optometric community. He also taught at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute as a visiting professor,” his wife said. “He was a gifted surgeon and loved teaching other physicians.”
Dr. Katzen was also a passionate boater, golfer, diver, fisherman and skier. He instilled the love for the water in his children and grandchildren. 
He is survived by his wife, Jane; a daughter, Janine Katzen, and a son, Harrison Katzen; a brother, Barry Katzen; and numerous grandchildren, nieces and nephews. His parents; his stepfather, Al Astor, and his brother Melvyn Katzen preceded him in death. 
Services were held virtually on Oct. 20. Donations can be made to the Richard David Kann Melanoma Foundation at https://melanomafoundation.com/, or to Orbis at https://www.orbis.org/en/how-you-can-help.

OCEAN RIDGE — Prudence “Prue” Sanford Regan, beloved wife of the late John M. “Jack” Regan Jr., and matriarch of the Regan family that grew to include six children, nine grandchildren and six great-grandchildren, died peacefully at her home in Westerly, Rhode Island, on Sept. 11. She was 97.
Raised in Cranford, New Jersey, Mrs. Regan was the daughter of Harold Crooker and Prudence Rindell Sanford and sister to the late Jane S. Ziegler. The two sisters grew up as best friends; their parents placed them in the same class at the Kent Place School in Summit, New Jersey, so that they could experience high school together.
A few years after graduating from Bradford Junior College, Prue met Jack Regan on a blind date in January 1949. They soon married and began a 62-year magic carpet ride together that took them to places at home and abroad and exposed them to experiences they scarcely imagined when first they met.
As the family expanded and moved to Morristown, New Jersey, Wellesley, Massachusetts, Bedford, New York, and Manhattan in support of Jack’s flourishing career, Mrs. Regan provided the unifying force at home. She juggled with ease and grace the duties of spouse and mother. She thrived in her role as the guiding light for the family. Mrs. Regan shepherded her six children gently through life while providing a wonderful example in how to select the right life partner and build a strong marriage.
She was consistently warm, engaging, gracious and elegant.
Mrs. Regan delighted in painting and working in her gardens at her homes up North and in Ocean Ridge.
She was an award-winning member of the Bedford Garden Club and the Garden Club of America. In 1984 and 1985, she served as gala chair of the Friends of the Inner-City Scholarship Fund, a foundation that supports students in the schools of the Archdiocese of New York City. She was particularly proud that art, education and philanthropy have played a central role in all of her children’s lives.
The Misquamicut Club, the Watch Hill Yacht Club, the River Club, the Gulf Stream Golf Club, the Ocean Club and the Bedford Golf and Tennis Club provided her with years of enjoyment.
Mrs. Regan is survived by her children — John M. “Mac” Regan III (Tracy) of Watch Hill, Rhode Island, Deborah R. Edwards (Douglas) of Hartsdale, New York, Peter M. Regan (Aviva) of Cooperstown, New York, R. Christopher Regan (Leslie) of Katonah, New York, Prudence R. “Rindy” Hallarman (Peter) of Lincolnshire, Illinois, and William M. Regan of New York City; eight grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren. She was predeceased by her husband, Jack (2011), and her grandson Parker M. Regan (2012).
The family extends its heartfelt thanks to the nursing teams from St. Elizabeth at Home and Hope Health and to Grace Brown, Mrs. Regan’s home manager, all of whom cared for her in a devoted, loving manner for several years.
A private funeral service will be held by the family. A celebration of Prue’s life is planned for July in Watch Hill. For online condolences visit www.gaffneydolanfuneralhome.com. The family requests any donations be made to the Inner-City Scholarship Fund, 1011 First Ave. #1400, New York, NY 10022-4112, in memory of Prue and Jack.
— Obituary submitted by the family

OCEAN RIDGE — Iris Matthews Kern of Ocean Ridge died Oct. 7. She was 87.
Mrs. Kern will be sadly missed and fondly remembered by her loving husband of 61 years, Alfred “Al” R. Kern. She was the loving mother of Roy (Lori) of Peters Township, Pennsylvania; Dr. Tara (Pete) Rose of Peters Township, Pennsylvania; and a son, Dennis (Loraine) of Mesa, Arizona, who preceded her in death.
Mrs. Kern is also survived by her six grandchildren: Rod and Dr. Darby Kern; Nolan and Brea Kern; Jake and Ryan Rose.
Mrs. Kern was born to Herman and Velma Matthews in Philadelphia, on Sept. 22, 1933.
She attended Penn State Ogontz, then moved with her family to Atlantic Beach and met the love of her life, Al, at an officers dance at the nearby Jacksonville Naval Air Station. Iris and Al would spend three years at Naval Station Mayport and then another three years stationed in Honolulu, where they started their family.
In 1962, the couple moved to Moon Township, Pennsylvania, where she raised their children. They moved to Florida in 2000.
Mrs. Kern was an active lifelong member of the United Methodist Church, an avid reader and golfer and a member of Montour Heights Country Club, Moon Township, Williams Country Club, Weirton, West Virginia, and the Lost City Golf Club in Lantana.
Her hobbies included arranging flowers, and she loved to raise and tend orchids in her house and outside garden. Mrs. Kern held memberships in the Moon Township and Ocean Ridge garden clubs. She also enjoyed arts and crafts, including her much sought-after needlepoint Christmas stockings and pillows.
Mrs. Kern enjoyed a well-lived life and was a beautiful, soft-spoken, kind and gentle soul who will be sorely missed.
A celebration of life service will be planned after the coronavirus pandemic has eased.
The family requests that in lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to the First United Methodist Church, 101 N. Seacrest Blvd., Boynton Beach, FL 33435, or the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, 28 W. 44th St., Suite 609, New York, NY 10036.
— Obituary submitted by the family

BRINY BREEZES — Virginia P. Brown, 91, died on Aug. 23. She was born in Detroit and started coming to Florida as a little girl.
She and her husband, Ralph, owned a home in Cape Coral before moving to Briny Breezes in 1983 as snowbirds. They were active in the Briny community and formed wonderful friendships and memories. They would travel with the travel club and looked forward to the monthly parties, especially the Michigan party.
Every month she looked forward to reading The Coastal Star, even when she was up North.
Mrs. Brown was married to Ralph Brown for 58 years before his death in 2010. They had four children plus grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Florida held a special place in her heart and the hearts of her children. She and her husband loved boating and would cruise the Intracoastal Waterway as well as the waters in Michigan.
They traveled throughout the United States and Europe.
Besides their home in Briny Breezes, the Browns had a home in Livonia, Michigan, waterfront property in Omena, Michigan, and waterfront property in Sugar Springs, Michigan.
She was preceded in death by her husband and her son, Tom, as well as her brothers and sisters, mother and father, and many friends.
She would say that getting old is not for the weak.
She is survived by her children Ralph and Jon of Livonia, her daughter, Jackie (Roger) of Casper, Wyoming, as well as her grandchildren and great-grandchildren in Michigan.
— Obituary submitted by the family

Eau Palm Beach in Manalapan boasts a 3,000-square-foot oceanfront terrace, two pools, a large fitness center and a deluxe spa. Room amenities include marble baths and inviting balconies, most with ocean views. Photo provided by Eau Palm Beach

By Christine Davis

Manalapan’s Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa came in No. 3 of 30 properties that earned spots in Condé Nast Traveler’s  Readers’ Choice Awards in the category of “Top Florida Resorts.” 
The Four Seasons Resort Palm Beach, which is temporarily closed, came in at No. 24. The awards rank the best hotels, resorts, destination spas, countries, cities, islands, trains, airlines, airports, cruise lines, tour operators and villa companies in the world, according to Condé Nast Traveler. 

The Boca Raton Resort & Club has begun to offer an oceanside education remote-learning program for children, which can range from a weeklong family vacation to a long-term stay. The resort’s custom-designed education suites, located at the Boca Beach Club, connect to adjoining guest rooms. Also offered are curated hands-on extracurricular activities that include ocean-related experiences, athletics, nature excursions and field trips.
The suites also are available as an add-on to a two-night stay at the resort, starting from $199 per day.
Enrichment activities are priced a la carte. For information, visit www.bocaresort.com or call 561-447-3000.

CEOs of hotel brands that include Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott, IHG and Best Western wrote a letter dated Oct. 15 to President Donald Trump asking him to take action to provide the hotel industry with relief by utilizing funds from the Main Street Lending Program. According to a recent survey of hotel owners, more than two-thirds of hotels report they will be able to last only six more months at current projected revenue and occupancy levels without further relief.
The letter notes that the Main Street Lending Program was established to provide up to $600 billion in financing for small and medium-sized businesses that were in sound financial condition prior to the pandemic. To date, only a small fraction of available loans has been utilized.

Jeff Dash, chief experience officer of Delray Beach Experience, has introduced a new app (both iOS and Android) that presents a guide of places to eat and drink and things to see and do in Delray Beach and beyond.
Users can search for businesses, view business details, offers, directions and safety protocols for COVID-19. There is also a hotel program in which guests can receive a 10-day complimentary VIP membership that offers savings around the city. For information, visit DelrayBeachExperience.com. 

Delray Beach resident Sugar McCauley has begun selling her line of bra-free “sugarshirts” online. Prices for her nautical sweatshirts and her classic oxford shirts range from $143-$148, with 10% of profits donated to the Caridad Center, a provider of free health care services. For details, visit sugarshirtsbysugar.com.

Incapital, an underwriter and distributor of fixed-income securities and risk-management investment solutions, is moving its Florida-based operations from Boca Raton to The Offices at 4th & 5th, at 25 SE Fourth Ave., Delray Beach. Incapital will occupy the 18,066-square-foot fourth floor by mid-summer 2021.
“We are thrilled to not only be moving to Delray Beach, but to be moving into an extraordinary new property,” said John DesPrez III, CEO of Incapital. “The community offers our team many rich quality-of-life benefits, with the dynamic environment of Atlantic Avenue steps from our front door. … We’d like to thank Mayor Shelly Petrolia, the City Commission and the Delray Beach Community Redevelopment Agency for engaging with us and for their ongoing commitment to making Delray a destination of choice for employers. We are especially grateful to our partners in this transaction, Peter Sougarides of Samuels & Associates and Stanley Iezman of American Realty Advisors.”

Recorded on Oct. 14, a residential 1.26-acre lot with 130 feet on the ocean located at 611 S. Ocean Blvd., Delray Beach, sold for $15.5 million.
The seller, Sea to Seaside Development, a Deerfield Beach-based homebuilder led by Randal Perkins, was represented by Chris Lowry with Chris Lowry Realty Services. Fried Business Holdings, a Delaware limited liability company with a New York City address, was the buyer. The property last sold for $14,693,200 in 2018.
“Based on all MLS land sales in Delray Beach since January 2000, this $15.5 million sale is the highest sale,” said Steve Fisher of Fisher Appraisal Group, Boynton Beach.

701 South Ocean LLC, managed by Mark Timothy Inc., bought the lot at 701 S. Ocean Blvd., Delray Beach, from Michael J. and Judith F. Rothberg for $11.375 million in September. Mark Timothy is led by Mark Pulte, son of the late founder of Atlanta-based PulteGroup, Bill Pulte. Pascal Liguori and Antonio Liguori of Premier Estate Properties represented both the buyer and sellers. The Rothbergs bought the 1.19-acre oceanfront property in 2017 for $13.4 million. 

The Boca Chamber of Commerce hosted its annual business awards celebration virtually on Oct. 23. Recognized for their commitment to economic growth and dedication to the mission of the Boca Raton Chamber, honorees included Pastor Bill Mitchell of Boca Raton Community Church, business leader of the year; Ahnich Khalid of Maggiano’s Little Italy, small business leader of the year; and TherapeuticsMD, business of the year. The chamber announced that Michael Daszkal will remain as chairman for another year.

The Boca Chamber’s Boynton Beach First Responders Awards Program, which was held virtually in September, recognized police officer Agent Shaun James, firefighter/paramedic Roxanne Girardi and firefighter Capt. Jeff Powers.
“Since our merger with the Boynton Beach Chamber of Commerce almost two years ago, this program was a priority for us to bring back,” said Troy McLellan, president and CEO of the Boca Chamber. “This program showcases the passion for service, dedication to a higher cause, and personal sacrifices that are at the core of being a first responder.”
Program sponsors included Baptist Health, Get Dry, Inc., ADT, All Dry USA and Florida Power and Light. 

The Florida League of Cities announced in September that Boca Raton Deputy City Manager George Brown was appointed to serve on its 2020-2021 municipal administration legislative policy committee. Brown will help develop the league’s legislative action agenda and will help league staff understand implications of proposed legislation.
Brown has served Boca Raton in administrative and management roles for 37 out of the past 43 years as a city employee, and he has been deputy city manager since 1999. He has been involved in the Florida League of Cities legislative policy process since 2007 and was recognized by the league as a “Home Rule Hero” in 2012.

The board of Florida Peninsula Insurance Co., a homeowners insurance company headquartered in Boca Raton, promoted Virginia Austin to the position of director of special investigations. Austin, who began her career with the company as a claims examiner, has managed its special investigations unit for the last seven years. In her new role, she will represent the company regarding claims suspected of fraud in conjunction with the Department of Financial Services and associated Florida law enforcement agencies.

With the launch of an inaugural holiday ornament, Downtown Delray Beach encourages shopping locally this holiday season as well as celebrating Small Business Saturday on Nov. 27-28.
To participate, customers are asked to save receipts of $200 or more at venues within the Downtown Development Authority district, after which they can receive a limited-supply fused-glass-mosaic ornament.
It can be picked up from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Nov. 28 at a location to be announced.
 The offer is one ornament per customer, limited to the first 200 people on a first-come, first-served basis.
Exclusions include food or beverage purchases, hotel accommodation receipts, parking or transportation receipts, as well as any retailer that does not fall within the DDA district.

The Boca Real Estate Investment Club will present “Deal of the Year” on Nov. 12, a competition featuring deals closed in 2020. Ben Sens of Boss Construction Group will speak on permitting during the pandemic. Social distancing will be followed and wearing masks is required.
The meeting, which starts at 7 p.m., will be at the DoubleTree Hilton, 100 Fairway Drive, Deerfield Beach. The cost is $20 and free to members.
For information, call 561-391- 7325 or visit bocarealestateclub.com.

Lang Realty agent Brian Battaglia of Boca Raton, a native of Lake Charles, Louisiana, helped organize aid for the Lake Charles community, which was hit by Hurricane Laura.
Lang Realty and its agents made a donation of $4,600 and collected supplies. Battaglia then rented a truck to transport the donated goods to Lake Charles.

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

By Jane Smith

The coronavirus pandemic has forced the cancellation of the Boynton Beach & Delray Beach Holiday Boat Parade.
“How would we allow people to come out and safely watch the boat parade?” asked Michael Simon, executive director of the Boynton Beach Community Redevelopment Agency, at its Oct. 13 board meeting.
Since COVID-19 arrived on the scene in mid-March, no large events have been held in Palm Beach County.
The Boynton Beach CRA had allocated $14,750 to host the event, with holiday-decorated boats traveling down the Intracoastal Waterway into neighboring Delray Beach.
But on Sept. 30, Boynton Beach CRA staff received an email from the Delray Beach Parks and Recreation staff saying that the Delray Beach City Commission was not allocating any money to share in the costs of the 49th annual Boynton Beach & Delray Beach Holiday Boat Parade.
Delray Beach has reimbursed the Boynton Beach CRA for 50% of the shared expenses related to event marketing, including T-shirts, participant prizes and the awards dinners in 2017, 2018 and 2019. 
“I’m leaning toward not continuing this for now,” said CRA Vice Chairman Ty Penserga. “It’s hard to proceed without our partner.”
The holiday boat parade is something the Boynton Beach CRA does well, Grant said.
“But we don’t want to be part of a super-spreading event.”
CRA Board Chairman Steven Grant asked whether the agency had money allocated to light up Ocean Avenue.
Simon said the CRA has about $6,000 to spend this year on installing lighting along the avenue. Unlike last year, there will be no holiday lighting ceremony at Dewey Park.
The city of Boynton Beach has already canceled its holiday parade.
Delray Beach also will not hold a holiday parade this December. It is putting up the 100-foot Christmas tree to put some life into the holiday season. But the city will not host a tree-lighting ceremony. The city may have a menorah- lighting ceremony on the first night of Hanukkah, Dec. 10.
Parks staff is look at the city’s Tennis Center, according to Mayor Shelly Petrolia.
The location was selected because it is large enough to allow residents to gather in small, socially distanced groups. Then the menorah would be walked to the Old School Square grounds.

By Jane Smith

Boynton Beach boaters were able to persuade the City Commission to reduce the annual parking pass from $350 to $200 at Harvey E. Oyer Jr. Park on the Intracoastal Waterway.
The Sept. 22 decision was made at the city’s final budget hearing. The new rate of $200 for Florida residents took effect on Oct. 1.
“The $350 rate is causing quite an uproar,” Boynton Beach resident Sven Mautner told The Coastal Star on Sept. 9. “They are basing it on $1 a day.”
But he said the annual parking pass cost just $50 in the financial year that ended Sept. 30.
“I have a 21-foot boat with a single motor,” Mautner said. “I use it to go snorkeling with my wife. We bring along some sandwiches.”
He first read about the proposed $300 increase in The Coastal Star.
Resident Clifton J. Bell sent an email on Sept. 9 to Commissioner Christina Romelus and Public Works Director Andrew Mack with this subject line: “City Resident Boat Decal 700% Increase is EXTREME.”
He objected to Boynton Beach residents’ having to pay the increased cost of the annual permit when the city has installed metered kiosks that operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week. “Our taxes already go towards funding of city parks,” he wrote.
The city now charges any vehicle that uses the long boat spaces $1.50 per hour, payable at the two parking kiosks.
The maximum daily charge is $10 weekdays and $25 on weekends.
Boynton Beach offers boat owners an annual parking pass at $200 for Florida residents and $350 for nonresidents.

Ramp replacement in the works
At the Sept. 22 final budget hearing, Mack explained that the city is using penny sales tax money and a Florida Inland Navigation District grant to replace the boat ramp. Requests for proposals will go out in the first quarter of the new financial year, he said. Actual construction will start in late spring or early summer, Mack said.
Because of the boat ramp construction, Commissioner Justin Katz proposed a $100 annual parking pass. “Boaters might not be able to use the ramp,” he said.
But Mayor Steven Grant wanted to keep the parking pass at $200.
“If you use the boat ramp eight times during the weekends or 20 times during the week, the pass will pay for itself,” he said. “People abuse the boat ramp and leave their trailers there.”
The idea of charging for parking is to allow more boaters to use the park, said Colin Groff, assistant city manager. “Ten shorter spots will be free. But if you park in the longer spaces, you will have to pay,” he said.
Reducing the pass cost by $150 would mean about $50,000 in reduced revenue to the city, Groff said. “But the city could sell more passes at the lower rate. We just don’t know where the numbers will be,” he said.
City commissioners narrowly approved the $200 annual parking pass rate, with Vice Mayor Ty Penserga and Katz voting no. Penserga had said at the first budget hearing that the pandemic was not the time to be raising rates.

Town plans aerial photo to show how crowded beach would be

By Rich Pollack

A potential compromise in plans for the initial development of the county’s long-disputed Milani Park is gaining traction, while a proposed second phase concerns Highland Beach leaders who say it would bring the beach more visitors than the park can adequately handle.
To prove their point, town commissioners are planning to stage a beach sit-in of sorts, bringing 100 people to the area during high tide for an aerial photograph that they hope will show just how tightly packed beachgoers would be.
The county parks department sent a conceptual drawing to the town in October showing 42 parking spaces in phase one of the park’s development. It showed an additional 58 parking spaces in the second phase, which would take place when additional demand is demonstrated.
While Highland Beach commissioners are willing to accept phase one’s 42 spots, which was a compromise hammered out during September meetings between town and county leaders, they believe the beach portion of the planned park is often too narrow and too short for a large number of beachgoers.
By bringing 100 people to the beach at high tide for the photo, Mayor Doug Hillman — using a calculation of 2.5 people per car — is hoping to demonstrate just how crowded the beach could be with only the initial phase.
“It behooves all of us, including the county, to see just how crowded the beach is at 100 people,” Hillman said. “If the beach can’t even accommodate 100 people, then it demonstrates that one can’t even consider phase two.”
For more than 30 years Highland Beach residents have been battling the county, hoping to halt development of the park, which includes 5.6 acres straddling State Road A1A at the town’s south end.
Sold to Palm Beach County in 1987 by the family of real estate developer Cam D. Milani for close to $4 million, the property has been at the center of legal wrangling that resulted in a settlement a decade ago delaying development for up to 10 years.
In October 2019, county commissioners agreed to put off groundbreaking for five more years but asked the parks staff to begin making plans so construction could begin at the end of that period.
Since then town leaders have been meeting with county Parks and Recreation Director Eric Call — and later with Robert Weinroth, the county’s vice mayor — to come up with a compromise that would minimize the impact the park would have on the area.
That led to the development of the phase one concept, which is modeled after Ocean Ridge Hammock Park, an 8-acre oasis with beach access in Ocean Ridge.
That tentative conceptual plan, which would have to be further detailed and would need County Commission approval, includes a walking path through a wooded area on the east side of A1A that would have educational signs pertaining to the history of the site. The 42 parking spots are on the west side.
The first phase does not include bathrooms, a lifeguard station and a parking attendant station that were in the original development plan, which was approved as part of the settlement. That plan called for a total of 125 parking spaces.
“The original plan is more intensive than what we have in phases one and phase two,” Call said.
The second phase, Call said, includes the bathrooms and a lifeguard station and a lifeguard stand on the beach and the 58 additional parking spaces.
Call said the county bought the property with the intent of providing public beach access and wants to ensure that access is available.
“I think it’s important that taxpayers have access to the ocean,” he said.
Still, he said, enough access to meet demand for many years may be available in the first phase of development. He predicted that expansion in phase two might not be needed for another decade.
“I don’t know if it will be necessary for at least until 2030,” he said.
He said one of the criteria for determining if phase two is needed will be if nearby public beach parks fill up early in the morning.
As part of the settlement agreement, the county is required to charge for parking at Milani Park and Call says there is a plan to have automated parking stations installed. One caveat is the county must charge at the least the same amount as nearby parks, including Spanish River Park in Boca Raton, which is a short distance away.
The cost for those without a city permit is $20 a day. City residents and Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District residents can purchase a permit for $62 a year. There also are some parking meters on Spanish River Boulevard for $3 an hour.
Spanish River Park, which has amenities such as bathrooms and lifeguards, as well as a wide beach, is attractive to families and sunbathers, while the Milani Park area — which includes Yamato Rock — attracts snorkelers, anglers and surfers.
Call said that he is open to working with Highland Beach to see if there might be ways to work out additional compromises.
“This is just a first brush,” he said. “We want to negotiate further and see if there might be something less intense.”
Town officials are hoping that the aerial photo of 100 people on the beach will play a role in further negotiations and are planning to gather everyone sometime soon.
“I’m sure we’ll find a way to social distance and wear masks,” Town Manager Marshall Labadie said. 

By Mary Hladky

Nine new electric vehicle charging stations will be installed at seven city locations thanks to a Florida Power & Light program that will provide the stations at no cost to Boca Raton.
Under agreements with FPL that City Council members approved on Sept. 22, four existing EV charging stations at City Hall, the Downtown Library and the Spanish River Library will be replaced by new ones.
Stations also will be installed where none now exist. Red Reef Park, South Beach Park and Spanish River Park will get one station each. Two will be located at the Municipal Services Complex at 2500 NW First Ave.
FPL will install and maintain the stations. The city will be responsible for paying for the electricity dispensed through the stations, an expense city officials said will be “nominal.”
“I am pleased to know we are upgrading and expanding our current four EV charging stations to nine, in areas across the city,” said City Council member Monica Mayotte, an advocate for environmental protections.
City staff initiated the agreements with FPL, “which tells me that the city is committed to providing EV charging stations to EV owners who reside in and visit Boca Raton,” she said.
The FPL program, announced Sept. 18 during National Drive Electric Week, will install more than 1,000 electric vehicle ports at more than 100 locations across the state.
Many will be for public use at parks, shopping malls and Brightline train stations in West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale and Miami. Some will be for both public and employee use, such as at Jupiter Medical Center.
“Our new Evolution program will help the state significantly expand the amount of EV charging stations, so more Floridians can enjoy the benefits of using electric vehicles,” FPL said in its announcement.
The charging stations are expected to be installed and operational in late December or early January, said city spokeswoman Chrissy Gibson.

The U.S. Department of Transportation awarded the city a $16.35 million grant in September that will offset a substantial portion of the costs of building a Brightline train station and parking garage immediately east of the Downtown Library.
Under the deal with Brightline approved by the City Council in December 2019, the city is responsible for building the 455-space garage. The grant will reduce the city’s costs to $9.9 million from $11.4 million.
The grant also will lower Brightline’s costs for building the station and rail line improvements.
Brightline officials have said they expect to break ground at the beginning of next year, with the station opening in mid-2022.
The grant “will improve mobility, connectivity and safety, while reducing emissions,” Mayor Scott Singer said in a statement.
Brightline suspended passenger service on March 25 due to the coronavirus pandemic. It has not announced when service will resume.
But the company is moving forward on building additional stations in Boca Raton, Aventura and PortMiami and is laying new tracks for train service between West Palm Beach and Orlando.
In July, the company reclaimed the Brightline name after announcing it was scrapping a “strategic partnership” with British billionaire Richard Branson’s Virgin Enterprises that had rebranded Brightline as Virgin Trains USA.

— Mary Hladky

An article that appeared in The Coastal Star’s September/October print edition about updated plans for a proposed Boca Raton performing arts center at Mizner Park incorrectly stated an aspect of the city’s role in the project. The cultural group behind the plans wants the city to continue paying for the existing public programming at the amphitheater. The cultural group would assume the cost of amphitheater maintenance.

By Steve Plunkett

Boca Raton’s City Council must reconsider its 5-0 decision not to grant permission to build a duplex on the beach, Palm Beach County circuit judges say.
Council members Andrea O’Rourke and Monica Mayotte prejudged the application by 2600 N. Ocean LLC proposing a four-story, 14,270-square-foot residence east of A1A between Spanish River Park and Ocean Strand, the judges decided.
At a Feb. 26, 2019, City Council meeting, attorney Robert Sweetapple, representing the landowner, showed a campaign video of then-council member and now Mayor Scott Singer standing on a dune and declaring he could not support plans for a house on the beach. Sweetapple also had copies of emails that O’Rourke and Mayotte had sent constituents saying they would vote against variances for construction seaward of the Coastal Construction Control Line.
In a ruling issued Sept. 16, Circuit Judges Jaimie Goodman, Janis Keyser and G. Joseph Curley said Singer’s statements constituted a “general political stance made in a campaign video” and were permissible. But O’Rourke’s and Mayotte’s emails to residents — saying they had “no intention of granting [the application]” and “[would] do all I can to prevent this from happening” — showed they were not impartial, the judges said.
“This was more than mere political bias or an adverse political philosophy — it was express prejudgment of Petitioner’s application,” the judges wrote.
Their ruling said 2600 N. Ocean LLC “is entitled to a new hearing without the participation” of Mayotte and O’Rourke, who has since become deputy mayor. That would leave Singer and council members Jeremy Rodgers and Andy Thomson to rehear the application.
But Rodgers, a Navy Reserve officer, has been deployed on active duty to the Mideast and has not attended a council meeting since late June.
Sweetapple promised even more litigation over the parcel, which was recently appraised at $7.2 million.
“Boca Raton has engaged in a decades-long program to deny any development of this private, taxpaying, oceanfront property. To date it has failed to acquire the property as part of its spectacular oceanfront park system,” he said. “The continued denial of any reasonable development of this parcel constitutes a taking. The ongoing illegal actions of the city will continue to be addressed in the courts.”
Each side of the proposed duplex would have had a rooftop with a pool, spa, fire pit and outdoor kitchen. Sweetapple said the building would have special glass facing the ocean that would transmit only 10% of interior light, below the city’s request for 15%, and have only 8% reflectivity. Lighting is a concern for nesting and hatchling sea turtles.
Council members caused an uproar when they gave a zoning variance in late 2015 for a four-story beachfront home two parcels south, at 2500 N. Ocean Blvd. The state Department of Environmental Protection issued a notice to proceed with that project, which still needs review by the city’s Environmental Advisory Board and another council vote. Ú

Crews last month finished installing pedestrian-activated crosswalk signals at eight locations along State Road A1A in Highland Beach, closing the book on a three-year effort. The solar-powered lights each feature a diamond shape crosswalk sign with a horizontal light bar below. When activated, the lights flash across the horizontal bar to alert motorists of a pedestrian in or approaching the crosswalk. ‘This is definitely an improvement for crosswalk safety,’ said Highland Beach Police Chief Craig Hartmann. ‘Drivers can see the flashing lights from several hundred feet away so they now have more time to react and stop.’ Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Rich Pollack

As town commissioners struggle to restructure water and sewer charges, one thing is certain — most customers will soon be paying more for a gallon of water when they turn on the faucet or flush the toilet.
But there is a silver lining: As water rates go up, residents will likely see a small decrease in the town’s property taxes.
While commissioners have spent weeks discussing a consultant’s proposal to adjust the way the town determines how much water users pay — and have yet to reach agreement — there is consensus on making the town’s utilities cover their costs.
Like most municipalities, Highland Beach has separate funds — called enterprise funds — for water and sewer. Unlike other communities, however, the town uses property tax dollars to cover the debt rung up during water and sewer projects.
Under the proposal from consulting firm Raftelis — and at the urging of the town — about one-third of the annual $1.4 million cost of debt service would be shifted in the next fiscal year to the enterprise funds and away from the town’s general fund, which is supported by tax dollars. The remainder would be shifted to the enterprise funds over the next four years.
“The commission has made a commitment that the enterprise funds for water and sewer should be independent and entirely supported by the utility rates,” Town Manager Marshall Labadie said. “For it to be independent, we have to raise revenue to cover costs.”
He pointed out that moving the debt from past utility projects, which now stands at about $11.4 million, will benefit taxpayers, especially those with larger homes.
“The rate increase will be slightly countered by a tax decrease,” Labadie said.
During a recent meeting, commissioners learned that the owner of a home with a taxable value of $250,000 would save about $59 a year in property taxes over a five-year period.
In addition to moving the debt services to the enterprise funds, the town plans to raise utility rates to cover operational and other costs.
Because the current rate structure does not generate enough revenue to cover the full cost of water and sewer operations, the town has had to dip into reserves in each of the enterprise funds.
During the current fiscal year, $570,000 is expected to be taken from the water enterprise fund to cover operations and $735,000 from the sewer enterprise fund. That leaves the water fund with $3.2 million and the sewer fund with $1.5 million.
Raising water and sewer rates will also help the utilities cover the cost of routine replacement and repair and help pay for potential capital projects.
As the town looks to the future, it anticipates having to repair or replace some of the aging sewer lines and is waiting for an engineering study to estimate the cost. How much is needed could affect how the town designs its rate structure.
As commissioners continue to review the water and sewer rates, which they do every five years, they will consider changes to flat “ready to serve” fees that all users pay, as well as charges for usage.
On the wastewater side, users currently pay a flat “ready to serve” fee with no charge for usage. In its study, Raftelis proposed increasing the flat fee and adding a fee for usage.
On the water rate side, the consultants recommended raising the “ready to serve” fee slightly and making adjustments to a tiered system based on usage.
While town leaders search for a rate structure that is fair to residents of condominium and multifamily buildings — as well as those living in single-family homes — they’ll be researching rate structures of other towns, getting more detailed costs of the sanitary sewer pipe improvement project and studying the feasibility of transferring money in the general fund reserves to the enterprise funds.
In addition, they’ll explore spreading expected increased costs over longer than just five years and consider ways to educate utility customers on ways to improve water conservation, which is encouraged by the South Florida Water Management District.
“There’s a lot to be done,” Mayor Doug Hillman said. 

Reynaldo Torres, front, an employee of Seminole Equipment in Miami, prepares a section of the Haven Ashe Bridge for painting. The bridge runs over the Boca Raton Inlet and was closed to traffic for seven weeks. The bridge reopened to vehicles and pedestrians at about noon Oct. 8. Painting operations were expected to be done by early November. The state Department of Transportation changed the paint color from light blue to dark blue.
Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Mary Hladky

A cultural arts group’s ambitious proposal to build a performing arts center at Mizner Park moved closer to becoming reality on Oct. 13 when the City Council unanimously agreed to enter into negotiations to reach a deal.
The Boca Raton Arts District Exploratory Corp. hopes to completely renovate the existing 3,500-seat amphitheater and add a new theater building, additional indoor and outdoor performing arts spaces, a rooftop terrace and more parking.
As now envisioned, the Boca Raton Center for Arts and Innovation would cost $121 million, including $20 million for an endowment fund and reserves. It would be financed by donations from cultural arts supporters and corporations that have long wanted such a facility in the city.
If the city and the exploratory group agree, fundraising would start next year and the project would open in late 2026 or early 2027.
“On behalf of our organization, the donors who’ve funded this vision, and the countless stakeholders who’ve participated in its shaping, we are very grateful for the council’s support in moving this partnership forward and look forward to working with (city) staff to work out the details,” Andrea Virgin, the group’s president, said in a statement.
City Council members have conceptually supported the creation of a performing arts center, which was first proposed two years ago, and they did so again at the meeting.
“We all just want to make sure it succeeds in a way that works for everyone,” said Mayor Scott Singer. “To have this in our city would be a huge coup.”
“It is difficult to believe Boca does not have a concert hall or performing arts center,” said Deputy Mayor Andrea O’Rourke. “I think we should take advantage of this opportunity.”
But hurdles must be cleared to reach a final agreement.
The arts district group wants a 99-year ground lease on 3.6 city-owned acres in Mizner Park adjacent to the amphitheater, for which it would pay a nominal $1 per year, and is asking the city to continue paying $1.2 million a year for existing public programming at the amphitheater. The arts district group would assume the cost of maintaining the building.
The city has entered into such lease deals before. The Boca Raton Museum of Art, located on city land west of the amphitheater, has a 99-year ground lease and Brightline has a 29-year ground lease on city land east of the Downtown Library where its train station will be built.
Council members offered no objections to the ground lease, but its length will be negotiated. Singer said a 49-year lease is more “palatable.”
The two sides also will have to work out amphitheater operations. Council members want the city to continue operating the amphitheater, where it stages about 70 concerts and other events a year. Representatives of the exploratory group said they could agree to the city’s continuing to hold events, but they want to be in operational control and to hold their own events when the city isn’t using the building.
Although the meeting ended amicably, Singer nearly upended it when he said he had asked an economist he met in college to offer his thoughts on the proposed project.
Andrew Zimbalist, an economics professor at Smith College, delivered sharp criticisms, saying the exploratory group’s statements that the project does not pose a financial risk or cost to the city and will generate a big economic benefit “are not accurate.”
The group’s analysis used a faulty method that is not “scientifically reliable or valid,” he said.
“The method relies upon a variety of unrealistic assumptions and was designed back in the 1930s to aid in Soviet economic planning,” he said. “We all know how that turned out.”
Clearly stunned by Zimbalist’s comments, Brett Egan, president of the DeVos Institute of Arts Management and a project consultant, responded forcefully. He said Zimbalist made “many, many misleading and blatantly inaccurate statements” and asked for a transcript of the comments so he could respond point by point.
The economic analysis methodology has been used by many other businesses and cultural organizations, including the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, the Cultural Council for Palm Beach County, the Center for the Art of Performance at UCLA, Brightline and many others, he said.
If the group does not raise enough money to fully fund the project, no construction will begin and the group will pay for any cost overruns, not the city, Egan said.
O’Rourke reacted quickly, saying Zimbalist’s comments were “a little bit of blindside and I think it is really unfair to the people who have worked so hard to make this presentation.”
Singer said he had not known what Zimbalist would say. “I didn’t ask Dr. Zimbalist to come today to torpedo anything,” he said.
Singer followed up at the City Council meeting the next night, offering a “mea culpa.” He said he had apologized to Virgin, Egan and Zimbalist.
“I didn’t mean to create confusion, dissension, heartache,” he said. “I try to bring people together.”
A member of one of the cultural groups that banded together to propose a cultural arts complex, but who has since withdrawn her support, also has raised concerns about the project.
Wendy Larsen, co-founder of the Festival of the Arts Boca, said, “It is a very ill-conceived project” that would be unaffordable for not-for-profit organizations such as hers to use.
“It is too expensive to build and too expensive to operate,” said Larsen, who started the Center for the Arts at Mizner Park along with her law partner, the late Charles Siemon. The two also raised money to build the amphitheater.
Other members of the consortium, however, remain strong project backers, including Dan Guin, executive director of Boca Ballet Theatre; Carole Boucard, president of the board of the Symphonia chamber orchestra; and Irving Lippman, executive director of the Boca Raton Museum of Art.
“It is certainly time for Boca Raton to have a performing arts center that can accommodate local arts groups with the kinds of programming Andrea has in mind,” Lippman said of Virgin. “I think you will find people eager to rally around the cause.”
Noting the wealth concentrated in the city, Boucard said she expects it will be possible to raise enough money to build the complex.
“I don’t see why we can’t raise that money, between corporations and businesses and private individuals,” she said. Ú

By Mary Hladky

The City Council held the line on its tax rate this year, approving $3.68 per $1,000 of taxable property value that is unchanged from last year’s rate.
But the rate is 6.6% higher than the so-called rollback rate that would have generated the same tax revenue as the previous year. Also, property valuations in Boca Raton continued to increase this year.
The council on Sept. 21 also unanimously approved a $772.6 million budget for the 2020-21 fiscal year, down slightly from last year’s $784 million.
City administrators kept a tight rein on spending, adding only three new employees to the city’s workforce. The most significant increased cost was $2.6 million for salaries and benefits. But other expenditures were trimmed, including $1.4 million for vehicles and $422,000 for travel.
“I think all our residents can be pleased that our millage rate is not increasing, our water and sewer rates are not increasing, our other fees are not increasing, and we continue to have a healthy budget, AAA bond rating and exceptional services provided at low cost to taxpayers,” Mayor Scott Singer said.
As budget planning began earlier this year, city officials feared the city’s finances could be slammed by property value declines next year and more immediate drop-offs in sales tax and user fee revenues due to the coronavirus pandemic.
But City Manager Leif Ahnell told council members on Sept. 8 that while the pandemic did have an impact, especially in May and June, it was less than expected.
This year’s property valuations, based on data gathered before the coronavirus hit, increased by 4.75%. Ahnell’s concerns about next year’s valuations have been eased by an influx of out-of-state residents buying homes in Florida.
“We are seeing a huge number of purchasers coming to Florida to buy property,” he said, and it now appears that property values will increase substantially next year.
He and his staff also think that user fees and sales tax revenues will swing up once a COVID-19 vaccine becomes available.
Singer underscored Ahnell’s point by noting that a recent New York Times article about Florida’s hot property market featured Boca Raton and included a photograph of Mizner Park.
In other good news for city homeowners, the amount they pay for fire protection will remain at $145 after last year’s $10 increase. Water and sewer rates also are unchanged.
But residents will see some cost increases.
The City Council’s 2019 decision to keep residential garbage collection and recycling services in-house, rather than outsourcing them to a private company, immediately resulted in new employee hiring, plans to buy new collection vehicles and an increase in sanitation rates.
Sanitation rates will increase again this fiscal year — by $1.99 to $23.58 per month for single-family residents and $1.20 to $14.27 per month for multi-family dwellings — to pay for two more employees, vehicles, equipment and facilities to store sanitation vehicles.
New user fees will be charged to people using the city’s parks. These include a fee for new picnic shelter rentals at Hillsboro El Rio, University Woodlands and George Snow parks.
Golf course, cemetery and mausoleum fees also will increase slightly.

ABOVE: The station on South Dixie Highway, designed by Chester G. Henninger, opened in 1930 and operated until 1968. The buyer plans to renovate the station and use it for cultural events. BELOW: A restored 1947 dining car. Photos provided by Peter Lorber

By Mary Hladky

The $2.1 million sale of the former Florida East Coast Railway station in Boca Raton has been finalized nearly three years after the Boca Raton Historical Society and Museum selected Mizner Arts LLC as the buyer.
The Mizner Arts principals are Boca Raton-based GEO Group founder and CEO George Zoley and his family, but the driving force behind the purchase is his daughter, Holly Meehan.
The sale was completed on Aug. 26, according to county property records.
“We want to save it,” Meehan said of the train station, which opened at 747 S. Dixie Highway in 1930 and remained in operation until 1968. “We want the community to be able to use it. It really is for the community.”
The building, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, will be used for cultural and arts events, she said. More specifics will come after she and her mother, Donna Zoley, renovate the building, a project that she expects will take some time.
Meehan, a longtime Junior League volunteer and a former historical society board member, will maintain the society’s Ticket to Ride education program at the train depot.
The program has long been very popular with school groups, which learn about the railroad and its impact on city and state history while visiting the depot and two restored 1947 rail cars, a steam engine and caboose.
Mary Csar, the historical society’s executive director, said the difficult decision to sell the station was made in 2015 because the society could not afford to operate and maintain both it and the historic Town Hall building at 71 N. Federal Highway.
“We can now focus on the Town Hall,” she said. “I think it will be a win-win.”
The historical society’s board agreed early on that Meehan’s proposal for the train station was the best one submitted, Csar said.
“It is exactly what we would want to do ourselves if we could do it,” she said. “It is fantastic for the community.”
Csar and Meehan both anticipate the train depot will become a gathering place for residents and visitors attending special events and community activities.
The historical society will invest the sale proceeds to sustain itself and the Town Hall museum.
It is in the midst of renovating the Town Hall, which was built in 1928 and designed by famed architect Addison Mizner. It also is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The project initially was expected to cost $1.5 million but has risen to about $3.9 million because of the complexity of updating an old building, Csar said.
The historical society is financing the project through reserves and a fundraising campaign. The city, which owns the Town Hall, contributed $650,000 to the project in 2019.
Csar expects to reopen the building and its museum to the public in late 2020 or early 2021.

By Mary Hladky

Former Boca Raton Mayor Susan Haynie’s trial on public corruption charges has been postponed for the fourth time, and is now set to begin on Jan. 11, 2021.
Prosecutors and Bruce Zimet, Haynie’s criminal defense lawyer, agreed to move back the trial date from Oct. 26, citing disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, additional time needed to complete pretrial discovery and the possibility that not enough potential jurors would be available.
Palm Beach County Chief Judge Krista Marx suspended all jury trials in April because of the coronavirus pandemic but issued an administrative order on Sept. 9 allowing a limited number of trials to begin after Oct. 9.
Circuit Judge Jeffrey Gillen ordered the new trial date on Sept. 11.
Haynie, 65, was arrested on April 24, 2018, on charges of official misconduct, perjury, misuse of public office and failure to disclose voting conflicts. She faces more than 20 years in prison if convicted.
Prosecutors contend that Haynie used her position on the City Council to vote on six matters that financially benefited James Batmasian, the city’s largest downtown commercial landowner, and failed to disclose income she received from him.
Haynie has pleaded not guilty. Zimet has repeatedly said she will not accept a plea deal.
Then-Gov. Rick Scott suspended Haynie from office, but she never resigned. Scott Singer won a special election to claim the position in 2018 and was re-elected in March.