Update: A1A roadwork south of Linton Boulevard postponed until at least late May

By Rich Pollack

For more than five years, state officials have been talking about plans to widen and repave State Road A1A from Linton Boulevard in Delray Beach south through all of Highland Beach and warning of major traffic disruptions.

This month the project finally began with work at first being done to modify swales for improved drainage. And much to the chagrin of residents and motorists, the construction won’t stop for at least a year.

The $8.8 million, 3.3-mile project includes adding a 5-foot-wide bicycle lane on each side of the road and will require periodic lane closures that will cause temporary traffic disruptions, Florida Department of Transportation officials say.

The widening of the road, mainly on the west side of South Ocean Boulevard, will also result in the removal of landscaping and the relocating of two dozen trees. Six trees in poor condition cannot be saved, FDOT representatives say.

Drainage work was expected to start on the east side of A1A south of Linton Boulevard and head south. That first phase is projected to take about four months and will include periodic lane closures of about 1,000 feet. The contractor will have flaggers directing traffic.

Work on the second phase — the milling, repaving and widening — is expected to take about eight months, with work being done on southbound lanes first.

One area where the improvement will be especially noticeable is the intersection of A1A and Linton Boulevard. For years, town leaders and residents have complained about the long line of cars turning onto the Linton Boulevard bridge and causing lengthy backups on northbound A1A.

The project will more than triple the length of the left-turn lane for cars heading over the bridge from 75 feet to 275 feet. The lane now accommodates only about three cars. That will expand to about 11 cars once the work is complete, meaning that cars will block northbound traffic less often.

Highland Beach Town Manager Marshall Labadie believes that the disruption will result in visible benefits once the construction is complete.

“My hope is that all the frustration residents experience will be well worth it when we have a newly paved road, a better intersection at Linton Boulevard and improved drainage,” Labadie said.

During an interactive online public meeting and a live Town Hall meeting last month, FDOT teams fielded questions from residents, with several asking about the impact of construction at Linton Boulevard.

One resident asked if traffic signals and bridge schedules could be altered to improve travel conditions only to be told that the county is responsible for the bridge operations.

Still, the state will work to minimize issues at the intersection.

“The project team will monitor traffic conditions and work with the county as needed,” said Melissa Readling, the project spokesperson.

Another resident suggested the FDOT meet individually with condo associations to discuss how the project will affect those residents specifically. Readling said the agency would welcome such meetings and that people interested can reach her at mreadling@corradino.com or 772-577-8803.

The FDOT is also planning signage along A1A advising residents of the construction and announcing delays.

The department will issue weekly project updates and post project information, including photos and monthly lane closure information, at www.d4fdot.com/pbfdot/sr_a1a_resurfacing_project.asp.

Related: Recusal order affirmed

By Steve Plunkett

U.S. District Judge Rodney Smith took a dim view of how the city of Boca Raton did business.

Smith presided over a non-jury trial last year of a lawsuit brought by beachfront property owner Natural Lands LLC seeking to overturn the city’s denial of a variance to build a home on a narrow, undeveloped lot at 2500 N. Ocean Blvd., east of the Coastal Construction Control Line.

Boca Raton’s elected officials and city staff “were so tainted with bias that there was no building that could have been built on this property by plaintiff, regardless of whether the building met the ‘minimum requirements’ for a CCCL variance,” Smith wrote last month in a document titled Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law.

Particularly egregious in Smith’s eyes were the testimonies by Mayor Scott Singer and then-Council members Andrea O’Rourke and Monica Mayotte.
Singer, he wrote, “although he agreed that a fair and impartial hearing means that a council member could not pre-judge an issue prior to the hearing, he nevertheless believed that ‘fair and impartial are ambiguous terms.’ His bias was clear. Despite being an attorney, defining the term ‘fair’ proved difficult.”

Singer disputed the judge’s characterization and noted that the city is appealing the case.

“My testimony was that I am fair and impartial in quasi-judicial hearings and was at this hearing as well,” Singer said.

O’Rourke, the judge said, “feigned ignorance of her multiple communications with individuals who opposed the plaintiff’s CCCL variance application. Although not the subject of this litigation, the court notes that her conduct potentially violated not only the city’s codes, but the Sunshine Law as well.”

And Mayotte, like O’Rourke, was “not a credible witness,” he wrote.

“Despite testifying that she was a rule follower, she failed to follow the rules outlined in the City Code and other guidelines for the conduct of city officials. She feigned ignorance until her ex parte communications with council members and others were explored on direct examination,” Smith said.

The judge also wrote that the trio of elected officials appeared to have been coached on how to answer questions while on the witness stand.

“On cross-examination, the mayor and council members gave planned speeches on plaintiff’s ability to build a smaller home on the property,” Smith said. “The court finds that the mayor and council members were merely pandering to the court and that their testimony did not represent the positions they sincerely held or believed during the hearing on plaintiff’s CCCL variance application.”

Equally “tainted” in Smith’s view was “the conduct of the City Manager (Leif Ahnell), Deputy City Manager (George Brown), Development Services Director (Brandon Schaad), and many other employees of the City who were involved” with the variance application.

The judge noted that the council members did not ask a single question of the experts who testified in support of Natural Lands at their hearing before voting unanimously to deny the variance.

But Smith stopped short of declaring that the variance must be approved. The plaintiff’s lawyers had argued that if the three council members had abstained from voting on the variance, the city would not have had the required quorum.

“Plaintiff neither cites to legal authority in its pleadings for default grant of a variance on these or other grounds, nor was the issue raised or elucidated during the trial held from March 20 through March 24, 2023,” Smith said.

‘Clear bias’ against beach home puts key figures off case

Related: Judge chides Singer, Mayotte and O’Rourke, says beach project didn’t get fair hearing

By Steve Plunkett

A year after verbally ordering Boca Raton to reconsider its 2019 denial of a permit to build a four-story home on the beach, a federal judge has put his decision in writing.

“It is hereby declared” that plaintiff Natural Lands LLC “has the right to build a single-family, detached dwelling” at 2500 N. Ocean Blvd., “subject to satisfying the city’s CCCL variance criteria,” U.S. District Judge Rodney Smith said in a written final judgment he handed down on March 22.

In addition, Smith said that Mayor Scott Singer’s “bias was clear” and he would have to recuse himself from any future decisions on whether to give Natural Lands a variance to the city’s Coastal Construction Control Line, which limits building east of State Road A1A.

Also ordered to recuse themselves were Council members Andrea O’Rourke and Monica Mayotte, who were similarly found to be unfairly biased. But both have been term-limited out of office, O’Rourke in March 2023 and Mayotte on April 1.

Smith also ordered a host of city officials to steer clear of any future CCCL application by Natural Lands, including City Manager George Brown, Department of Development Services Director Brandon Schaad and environmental engineering consultant Michael Jenkins.

“The city shall ensure that its review, analysis, and/or processing of plaintiff’s CCCL application shall be sanitized such that anyone who previously reviewed, analyzed, or evaluated plaintiff’s prior application shall recuse themselves from any future proceedings, as the court finds that they too were tainted, directly or indirectly,” Smith ruled in an associated document on March 7.

Boca Raton reopened its appeal of the case the same day. It had appealed Smith’s ruling shortly after he voiced his decision on the last day of the March 20-24, 2023, non-jury trial. But the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the city had to wait until Smith filed his written judgment.

Smith also gave the Natural Lands attorneys until May to file their legal bill, which he said the city would have to pay.

The Natural Lands legal team celebrated the judgment.

“We are thrilled that the court has entered a written order that fully codifies its oral decision without waiver,” attorney Keith Poliakoff said. “The property owner will continue in its quest to build a home on this property, with the weight of the court order advising the city that it must approve a home at this location.”

Poliakoff said the final judgment, if upheld on appeal, would require the city to pay his team more than $1 million in legal fees and costs. 

This was the second adverse court ruling in two months against the city and in favor of beachfront construction. A Palm Beach County circuit judge said on Feb. 1 that Boca Raton “unlawfully withheld and illegally delayed” turning over 42 public records that were prejudicial to the owner of 2600 N. Ocean Blvd., just north of the Natural Lands parcel. That landowner also has been trying to get a building permit for an oceanfront residence.

Robert Sweetapple, one of the lawyers for the 2600 landowner, Delray Beach-based Azure Development LLC, has said his side’s legal bill, also to be paid by the city, will top $1 million as well.

Neither figure includes what Boca Raton has paid its outside lawyers from the law firm Weiss Serota to litigate the cases.

Poliakoff said Natural Lands is working on an alternative design for 2500 N. Ocean to ensure compliance with new floodplain requirements.

“The property owner has always wanted this parcel developed as its winter retreat, so no current plan to sell has been contemplated,” he said.

The case stretches back to 2011 when the landowner first applied for a building permit.

In December 2015 the City Council caused a public outcry when it approved a zoning variance to allow something to be built at 2500 N. Ocean, an 88.5-foot-wide lot. City rules normally require lots at least 100 feet wide.

Natural Lands planned to build a 48-foot-tall, 8,666-square-foot single-family home at the site and obtained a Notice to Proceed from the state Department of Environmental Protection in October 2016.

But the council denied a city CCCL variance on July 23, 2019.

Before the trial, the city offered to pay Natural Lands the $950,000 it paid to buy the parcel if it would drop the case. The partnership declined.

By Mary Hladky

Andy Thomson easily reclaimed a Boca Raton City Council seat on election night, capturing 62.5% of the vote to defeat opponent Brian Stenberg.

Thomson, senior counsel at the Baritz & Colman law firm in Boca Raton and an adjunct professor at Florida Atlantic University teaching local and state government, resigned from the council in 2022 to pursue his unsuccessful candidacy for the Florida House District 91 seat now held by Peggy Gossett-Seidman.

After losing that race, Thomson said he would seek elected office again and ultimately decided on a run for Boca Council Seat D to replace term-limited Deputy Mayor Monica Mayotte.

“I feel incredibly blessed to be entrusted with this,” Thomson said at his campaign party at Maggiano’s restaurant. “I have served on the City Council before, but I take the duties very seriously and I am honored that the city would have me back in that way.”

Thomson received far more campaign donations than any of the other candidates, bringing in $133,604, as well as the longest list of endorsements.

Also victorious in the March 19 election was incumbent Yvette Drucker, who claimed Seat C by winning 77% of the vote and trouncing perennial candidate Bernard Korn.

While the election held no surprises, it did signify a notable shift. With Mayotte, who lives in the eastern part of the city near downtown, departing the dais, all five council members live west of Interstate 95.

Stenberg made sure voters knew that he lived in Boca Square in the eastern part of the city and told them he would bring that perspective with him to the council if he prevailed at the polls.

A partner in the Greenfield Properties medical office real estate management firm, Stenberg was making his second bid to serve on the council after Mayotte defeated him in 2021.

Stenberg congratulated Thomson at his party at Duffy’s restaurant. “I wish him the best. I wish the best to the city of Boca Raton,” he said.

He did not rule out another race for a council seat. “There is a disconnect between what happens at City Council and what citizens expect of their city,” he said. “I would like to make sure we don’t have that disconnect.”

Stenberg said he did not seek endorsements and raised $16,709, with about a quarter of that coming from personal loans to his campaign. He relied on reaching out to voters directly and through volunteers.

Stenberg drew support in mid-March from the BocaFirst blog, which, without mentioning him by name, called him the “resident advocate candidate” in the mold of former Deputy

Mayor Andrea O’Rourke. An east Boca Raton resident, she stressed being “resident friendly” and opposed to overdevelopment.

City development has long been an issue in campaigns as the number of residents has reached nearly 100,000, construction projects have sprouted citywide, and traffic snarls streets.

In their campaigns, both Thomson and Stenberg offered carefully crafted views on development, with Thomson saying growth should be managed responsibly, and Stenberg calling for “respectful growth” that avoids overdevelopment.

Drucker, who raised $61,463 in campaign donations, is a first-generation Cuban American and the first Hispanic to serve on the council. She is a longtime volunteer with many organizations, including the Junior League of Boca Raton.

Drucker has made improving transportation and mobility a top priority and promised to continue that work during her second term.
Although dubious when council members asked her to represent them on the Palm Beach County Transportation Planning Agency, she is now passionate about the subject.

Drucker is on the TPA’s executive board and was recently appointed to the National League of Cities Transportation and Infrastructure Services Federal Advocacy Committee.

Korn, a real estate broker, self-financed his campaign with $5,550. He has twice lost elections to Mayor Scott Singer and once before to Drucker. But he did attract more votes this time, getting 23% of the total compared with 4.9% in his 2021 race against Drucker.

In the most recent campaign, Korn said his top priority was to end “uncontrolled development.” He also railed against what he said was political corruption in the city and among council members without offering factual evidence.

Korn repeatedly asked residents to file complaints with the state against Drucker, contending she had violated ethics rules, even though there was no basis for that allegation.

“It was a wonderful result for this campaign,” Drucker said of her victory, “but also to win by such a margin after the attacks by my opponent. The best is yet to come.”

By Mary Hladky

As Monica Mayotte ended her six years on the dais, fellow City Council members named Yvette Drucker to replace her as deputy mayor at an April 1 organization meeting.

They also elected Fran Nachlas as chair of the Community Redevelopment Agency, replacing Marc Wigder, who has held that post for a year, and newly reelected council member Andy Thomson as vice chair.

Drucker kept her role as a voting member on the Palm Beach County Transportation Planning Agency, a position she covets, and Nachlas is the second voting member.

Thomson resigned from the council at the end of 2022 after serving most of his three-year term in order to pursue an unsuccessful run for the Florida House District 91 seat, and reclaimed his seat in the March 19 election. He won a council seat in a 2018 special election and was reelected in 2020.

Drucker had served a full three years on the council when she was reelected in March, making her the heir-apparent to become deputy mayor based on consecutive length of service.

Council members heaped praise on Mayotte, who wore a pastel suit that included green stripes to the meeting. “I am sure it is not an accident,” Mayor Scott Singer said of her wardrobe choice. She had made it her mission to press the city to improve environmental safeguards and sustainability.

“You will always be my sustainability champion,” Nachlas told her.

“You taught me a lot about sustainability and resiliency and just how important it is to protect the environment,” Drucker said.

Wigder cited her “unwavering commitment to causes she believes in.”

Mayotte advocated for creating an Office of Sustainability and hiring Lindsey Nieratka to manage it. Nieratka created the city’s sustainability action plan in 2019, now being updated.

Mayotte urged other council members in 2021 to join the Race to Zero, a global campaign to take immediate action to reduce carbon emissions and limit global warming.

Also at her urging, the council prohibited the sale or distribution of polystyrene foam products on city property and the use of balloons and confetti on outside areas of city property.

She joined other council members to approve a building recertification program, proposed by Singer after the collapse of a Surfside condominium. Its intent is to ensure that buildings are safe and resilient to climate change.

Mayotte also pushed for a green building ordinance that will offer incentives to developers whose buildings use less water and energy and create fewer gas emissions.

That ordinance is now in the works, and Mayotte said last month that she regrets leaving the council before it is approved.

Findings in two lawsuits against the city blemished her tenure.

State and federal judges determined that she and former Deputy Mayor Andrea O’Rourke were unfairly biased in the cases, with Singer joining them on the second one, involving construction of beachfront homes. The judges ordered them not to take part in future votes on the properties.

In his remarks, Singer noted Mayotte’s environmental work but said her tenure was notable for other reasons as well.

“You also have been very responsive to the business community,” he said, and supported improving efficiency and streamlining the city’s operational processes.

Andrea Virgin, the CEO of the proposed Center for Arts and Innovation in Mizner Park, recognized Mayotte at a March 25 council meeting.

“You were a remarkable force for our project,” Virgin said, thanking Mayotte for her support of the cultural arts center. “We hope you will continue on this exciting journey with us.”

In making her remarks, Mayotte first drew a deep breath to hold back tears.

She praised fellow council members, thanked voters for “supporting my vision” and described O’Rourke as her mentor.

“I think I was able to prove it is possible to be business friendly, neighborhood friendly and still focus on sustainability,” she said.

Her parting advice to the council: “Be bold. Take risks. The city is on the precipice of great things. Make it happen.”

By Rich Pollack

It finally happened.

After 33 years and two unsuccessful attempts to rid the town of an outdated $350,000 spending limit that couldn’t be adjusted for inflation, Highland Beach town leaders now have the green light to spend more than twice that amount on any one project without having to appeal to residents for permission.

Last month, voters in town loosened the handcuffs on town commissioners, giving their blessing to a charter change that ups the town’s spending cap from $350,000 to $900,000 per project before a referendum is mandated.

“This is a monumental step forward for Highland Beach,” said state Rep. Peggy Gossett-Seidman, who spent five years on the Town Commission before winning a seat in the state Legislature. “This was way overdue.”

Highland Beach Vice Mayor David Stern, who championed efforts to boost the cap to what the $350,000 limit passed in 1991 would be in today’s dollars — as well as an annual inflation adjustment going forward — praised those who cast ballots.

“The voters did the right thing,” he said. “This is outstanding.”

The measure passed, 60% to 40%.

In addition, voters gave the OK to spend up to $3.5 million to line sewer pipes in town. And on a third ballot question, they agreed to give the town the option to allow the county’s supervisor of elections to oversee Highland Beach’s election canvassing board rather than requiring commissioners to serve on it.

The sewer pipe-lining project received 77% approval while the canvassing board issue received 70% support.

Benefits of a higher cap
The change in the spending cap probably will have the most significant impact on the town’s leaders, making it easier for them to tackle more capital projects without having to get voter approval first, which can be a lengthy and costly process.

“This makes the process a lot smoother,” Stern said. “We now have the ability to approve projects with a reasonable cost without having to go to referendum.”

With the town starting its own fire department in May, increasing the spending limit takes on more importance, Town Manager Marshall Labadie said, because of the high cost of replacing equipment and apparatus.

Stern believes the success of the proposal to increase the cap was due in part to the simplicity of the ballot measure, as well as to support from the Committee to Save Highland Beach, a political action committee that opposed raising the spending limit when it came before the voters two years ago.

“This was presented to the voters in a clear and simple way,” he said.

Gossett-Seidman, who was on the commission during the failed 2022 attempt, said the voters’ approval this time will make it easier for town leaders to get things done.

“The cap was set with all good intentions but it outlived itself to the point where it was strapping the town,” she said, adding that portions of the sewer pipe-lining project that voters approved last month could have been done earlier but for the cap.

Problems in the past
The town has had mixed results in recent decades when it came to seeking spending approval from voters — and two previous attempts to raise the town’s spending cap failed.

In 2010, the cap forced town commissioners to go to voters for approval to spend $810,000 for a new fire truck, but they were turned down, with the measure coming 70 votes short.

That vote left the town stuck with a truck that was 15 years old and had cost $135,433 for maintenance and repairs during the previous five years, leaving it out of service an average 11.8% of the time. The truck continued to cost the town thousands of dollars in repairs for several years until a lease agreement with Delray Beach was signed.

In 2012, it appeared that the spending limit would be increased when the Town Commission passed an ordinance raising the limit to $1 million only to discover — after a Palm Beach County Inspector General report two years later — that any change in the limit needed voter approval.

In the interim, the town had begun construction of an $850,000 Town Hall and Police Department renovation project that was permitted to proceed.

A much larger project — $45 million to improve drainage, underground utility wiring, and enhance the town’s Ocean Walk multi-use corridor — went down to defeat in 2019, with more than 90% of voters rejecting the plan.

The town took its second shot at raising the limit in 2022. But that attempt to increase the cap to about $1 million failed to get voter support, in part because the proposed limit was based on a percentage of the overall town budget, which was seen as a complicated formula.

Some projects were OK’d
Over the years, not all of the town’s spending requests were turned down by voters.

Nine years ago, they gave the commission permission to spend $2.8 million on a water main replacement project on six side streets.

And, in 2021, voters over-whelmingly gave the Town Commission the green light to spend up to $10 million on a new fire department, with just shy of 90% of voters approving the proposal. That vote cleared the way for the town to build a new $8 million-plus fire station and purchase needed equipment. The new fire department begins service May 1.

Gossett-Seidman said the original cap was necessary when it was approved, but she sees the new spending limit as a major benefit to the town as it continues to grow.

“The cap was set forth in 1991 to prevent overspending in good times, but you can’t do all the things needed by a town with a limit that was set 33 years ago,” she said.

The new Highland Beach fire station in mid-February. It has a two-bay garage to house a ladder truck and a rescue vehicle. The old station will house a backup rescue vehicle and a backup fire truck. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Rich Pollack

Building a new fire station from scratch is never an easy task and it can be made even more challenging by tight deadlines.

This month, Highland Beach will host an invitation-only ribbon cutting for its state-of-the-art fire station that leaders say is being completed a month ahead of schedule, several thousand dollars under budget and just a few weeks before the town’s new fire rescue department takes over from Delray Beach on May 1.

Actual construction, Chief Glenn Joseph says, took just nine months, a timeline that eclipses the typical construction schedule of between a year and a year and a half.

“It started as a community vision and now it’s a reality,” Joseph said.

Getting the two-story, $8 million-plus station done on time took a coordinated effort, Joseph said, with representatives from the design firm, the construction contractor and several town departments meeting on a weekly basis, sometimes for hours.

“If we had a problem, we didn’t leave the meeting until that problem was solved,” Joseph said.

The station was budgeted to cost $8.6 million, but the actual cost should come in closer to $8.4 million, according to Town Manager Marshall Labadie.

“When we had options, we took the most efficient and effective path forward,” Joseph said, adding that the station has all of the needed, most up-to-date equipment and technology. “There’s nothing missing.”

Added Labadie: “We focused on form and function rather than aesthetics.”

The new firehouse at the south end of the town’s municipal complex has a two-bay garage housing a ladder truck and a rescue vehicle.

A backup rescue vehicle and a backup fire truck will be housed in bays of the town’s current fire station, with the remaining portion of that now-obsolete station possibly used in the future as a community center of sorts. The new station will have eight bunk rooms, a kitchen, day room and gym as well as an Emergency Operations Center equipped with the latest technology. There will also be administrative offices as well as a full conference room on the second floor.

Also included in the new station is a mezzanine over the bays and a public reception area where residents can go for health checks, such as blood pressure screening provided by on-duty paramedics.

While construction of the new station has been a major focus, Joseph and his team have also been working on ensuring the town meets all state and county requirements in developing policy and procedure manuals for the new department.

As of mid-March, all of the fire rescue department’s 28 positions — captains, drivers and paramedics — were filled and training had begun.

Most of the members of the department, which will operate with four shifts and seven on a shift, are from the area, including a captain who recently retired from Delray Beach Fire-Rescue, Joseph said.

Highland Beach commissioners voted in April 2021 to sever the contract with Delray Beach, believing they could provide improved service at less than the estimated $5 million a year Highland Beach pays to the city.

Labadie said that the town expects to save several hundred thousand dollars each year by creating its own department.

The town manager said that while the ceremonial April 19 ribbon cutting is limited to invitation because of space considerations, a public open house will be planned for the fall.

By Mary Hladky

A proposal by Mayor Scott Singer to limit the authority of a key city board has sparked an outcry, with board members saying they were blindsided and two members resigning.

The first public indication that Singer and other City Council members wanted to change the Community Appearance Board’s duties came at the Nov. 13 council workshop meeting when it was noted that Singer wanted to revise its roles and responsibilities.

The CAB, consisting of seven unpaid volunteers who must be either an architect, landscape architect, engineer, contractor or a businessperson, is the first city body that reviews the aesthetics of proposed projects other than single-family homes. Members examine the architecture, landscaping, signs, paint color and proposed exterior changes.

Its mission is to ensure that projects look good and will enhance the city’s appearance.

Once a project passes muster with the appearance board, it goes to the Planning and Zoning Board and then to the council for final approval.

CAB members have worked for years outside the limelight. Members attended four meetings a month that lasted late into the night until a few years ago when city streamlining reduced the number of meetings to two a month and the matters that needed review.

Council members and city staff now say that they have heard complaints about the CAB, although they have not specified who made them.

“We have gotten concern from property owners, businesses wanting to move here, residential communities that sometimes CAB exercises more artistic discretion than I think was originally envisioned,” Development Services Director Brandon Schaad said at the November meeting.

At the Feb. 26 workshop, Singer said large businesses, community associations and property owners “complain about the process,” adding that some say they should be able to paint a building any color they want.

The council directed staff in November to propose changes to the CAB’s duties and the approval process to improve efficiency.

But CAB members said they were not told that this would be discussed at that meeting and their input was not sought. They learned the scope of what the council and staff had in mind only when the subject appeared on the February meeting agenda. A memo City Manager George Brown sent to the council said that staff proposed reducing the appearance board’s role in approving paint colors by allowing staff to make more color decisions.

Staff wanted the council at a later date to consider eliminating CAB landscaping and architecture design reviews, thus stripping away two of the CAB’s other major responsibilities.

The board would continue to review building signs, although it has done less of that since a master sign code was approved several years ago.

Yet the CAB would become an appeals board for developers or architects who want to challenge staff decisions.

CAB Chair Tiery Boykin, an architect, and John Kronawitter, a contractor and architect, resigned their board positions days before the February meeting.

In their resignation letters, both said that the appearance board had not been notified about the proposed changes in advance and were not invited to participate in the process.

Boykin urged the council at its Feb. 26 meeting to reconsider what appeared to be the elimination of the board.

“If you look at the beauty of Boca Raton, you’ll see what this board has been doing,” he said.

Council members denied they were doing away with the CAB. They thanked Boykin for his service. None asked him to return to the CAB.

“I do disagree with the direction the city is going in,” Boykin said in an interview. “I think it is an effort to be too friendly to developers. It takes away from the check-and-balance system our city really should have.”

The council, he said, was reacting to secondhand rumors rather than facts. He noted that developers and architects can appeal a CAB decision to the council, but he is unaware that anyone has done so.

When Boykin watched a video of the November meeting, he was astonished to hear Schaad say that if city staff took over evaluation of building aesthetics, it would be necessary to hire an architect. At the time, four architects were CAB members working at no cost.

“I hope the city will realize it will be difficult to replace the CAB,” he said. “No one wants their building critiqued, but there is a lot of times a better solution” resulting from the process.

When Kronawitter, president of HDAI Construction, saw Brown’s memo, “I felt like we were under-appreciated, we really weren’t necessary,” he said in an interview. “They could hire someone to do this rather than get all the free help of the architects on the board.

“I thought, what was the point of being on the board. You are not going to be effective,” he said.

The CAB, Kronawitter said, “provided a good service to the city. We had qualified people reviewing these things.”

Boykin said at the end of the February meeting that “misinformation got out of hand and everyone on the CAB felt they were sandbagged.” He suggested that staff meet with the CAB to “talk this out.” Singer agreed.

At that March 19 meeting, the remaining CAB members voiced their concerns to Erin Sita, the city’s deputy director of development services.

Michael Goodwin, the owner of Crazy Uncle Mike’s restaurant and brewery, who was promoted to CAB chair at the meeting, said he was unaware of any architects or landscape architects who work for the city.

“This is taking away aesthetic reviews and giving it to (staff) people who are not qualified to do aesthetic reviews,” he said. “You are asking CAB to become an appeals board for bad-looking projects. Honestly, I don’t think this board is interested in any of that.”

Sita denied that the city wanted to do away with the CAB, but said that she understood the board’s frustration. “It feels like criticism of the job you have been doing. You are not feeling valued,” she said.

While the city does not have architects on staff, it does have people with degrees in architecture “who have expertise,” she said.

“I hope you see this as an opportunity for continued discussion, and we are not cutting you out but are reinserting you in a different place,” Sita said.

The city’s plans are not final, Sita said, and she promised more conversations with CAB members.

And yet, “this change is going to happen,” she said.

By Rich Pollack

David Matthewman had just come back from a ceramics convention in Virginia and texted his father on the Thursday before Easter to let him know it went well.

“He ended the text by telling me ‘I love you,’” William Matthewman said, adding that he returned the message right away. “I texted him that I loved him too.”

The next morning at 5 a.m., William Matthewman discovered two Florida Highway Patrol cars parked outside his Highland Beach home and troopers telling his wife, Diane, that David, 34, had been killed instantly in a head-on crash with a wrong-way driver.

“It was just like, he was gone,” said Matthewman, a U.S. magistrate judge in the West Palm Beach federal courthouse who along with Diane are well-known in the Highland Beach community.

FHP troopers say that David was driving a 2013 Ford Fusion on Interstate 95 in the northbound express lane just before 2:30 a.m. on March 29 when his car was struck by a southbound 2014 Hyundai Elantra going the wrong way in the northbound lane just south of Palmetto Park Road.

David along with the driver of the Hyundai were pronounced dead at the scene. A woman passenger, who William Matthewman said was a close friend of David’s whom he had been seeing for a few months, was taken to the Delray Medical Center’s trauma unit in critical condition, where she later died.

The name of the woman, who William Matthewman said was wearing a seatbelt as was David, as well as name of the driver of the other vehicle, had not been released as of April 1.

David Matthewman, a 2013 graduate of Florida Atlantic University who majored in studio art and criminal justice, spent many of his years in Highland Beach and although he had an apartment in West Palm Beach, he continued to list his parents’ home as his official place of residence.

“He was here three or four times a week,” his father said.

A “water guy” whose favorite place was the ocean, David Matthewman had become friendly with the owner of a boat that had beached not far from his parents’ home and would help with repairs. He even made sure the owner had enough to eat, bringing pizza on several occasions.

A gifted artist who made a career out of selling his ceramics and shooting photos to help real estate agents market homes, David Matthewman also taught ceramics and other classes at the Armory Art Center in West Palm Beach.

He taught classes to military veterans and families while creating his own works that were featured in Palm Beach galleries as well as art shows.

Among his works were ceramic starfish and clamshells as well as other pieces that were designed as orchid holders.

William Matthewman says he doesn’t have much information about the woman who was with David at the time of the crash but would not be surprised if she was involved in the arts.

“Ceramics and photography were his passion,” the judge said.

A former cross-country runner at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland and later a marathon and 5K race runner, David Matthewman played hockey and was a big hockey fan. He was looking forward to watching the Florida Panthers in the playoffs again this year with his father at his parents’ home.

William Matthewman said that David became an organ donor in 2019 and that his son’s organs will be used in the future.

“That’s just who David was,” he said. “He was generous in life and generous in death. We feel fortunate that he will continue to help others.”

The family will receive friends on April 6 from 4 to 8 p.m. with a 7 p.m. Celebration of Life service at the Gary Panoch Funeral Home, 6140 N. Federal Highway, Boca Raton. No formal burial will follow. David’s ashes will be placed at a later date into an environmentally friendly living reef to be placed offshore of South Florida.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Armory Art Center, https://canvas.armoryart.org/donate.

Rutherford Park also boasts expanded mangrove boardwalk

By Steve Plunkett

Boca Raton will celebrate the opening of the refurbished Rutherford and Lake Wyman parks with a ribbon cutting on April 27.

“It was supposed to be the 5th but got pushed back for some last-minute punch items,” city spokeswoman Anne Marie Connelly said.

The parks will have a soft opening “within the next couple of weeks,” she said.

The almost-completed $9.5 million do-over dredged long-neglected canoe trails and rebuilt and extended a boardwalk to connect the parks, which abut each other near the Fifth Avenue Shops. Rutherford is at 600 NE 24th St. and Wyman is at 1500 NE Fifth Ave. The parks are on the west side of the Intracoastal Waterway across from Ocean Strand Park.

Besides restoration of the silted-in canoe trails, the parks now have two kayak launch sites and a boardwalk connection to the parking lot. Plans called for use of native plants, removal of invasive vegetation, and trimming and planting of mangroves.

The city used a $2.7 million grant from the Florida Inland Navigation District for part of the project. Construction began after Thanksgiving 2022.

At one point the construction estimate soared to $15.5 million, but the city rebid the project and decided not to build new restrooms and not to extend the boardwalk northward to save money.

The canoe trails had become a distant memory for residents who once entertained their children and grandchildren at the parks.

In 2012 the city rejected a plan put together by former Mayor and then-County Commissioner Steven Abrams that would have restored Rutherford Park’s canoe trails, extended its boardwalk and created a sea grass basin, dubbed by some a “manatee restaurant,” on a large spoil island just east of Lake Wyman Park.

That project would have been funded by a $2.1 million grant from FIND and $450,000 from Palm Beach County, with the city and the Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District each chipping in $225,000.

City officials were tempted by the outside money but ultimately did not want to cede control of the project to others.

In 2016, the city drew up a $6.5 million plan that included two double boat ramps in Rutherford Park and no money from FIND. That plan was dropped in favor of the current configuration.

By Mary Hladky

Boca Raton City Council members want a downtown circulator service. And they want it now.

Then-Deputy Mayor Monica Mayotte and Council member Yvette Drucker on March 25 unloaded their frustration that even though they have pushed to hire a company to ferry people around the downtown ever since the Brightline station opened in late 2022, city staff has yet to contract with a provider.

Adding insult to injury, Boynton Beach announced that its electric vehicle circulator service, provided by Circuit, would launch in the eastern part of the city on March 23.

Dozens of other South Florida cities also have implemented such service.

“What is causing the delay?” Mayotte asked. “Why are we still sitting here with no circulator service?

“This is one of my frustrations that I think we are missing big opportunities,” she added. “So this needs to be done as quickly as possible.”

City officials said in October that they would request proposals from interested companies in November and hoped to award a contract in January. Drucker noted that the city is now months behind schedule.

“All these other cities are going right through us and we are behind,” she said. “I don’t understand. We are Boca Raton and we are better than that.

“Other cities that are much smaller than the city of Boca Raton with much less staff get things done a lot faster,” she said.

When it appeared that staff was moving slowly, Drucker herself invited three companies — Freebee, Circuit and Via Transportation — to make presentations. Those took place in July and September.

Responding to the complaints, City Manager George Brown said city staff has almost completed the process.

The city received proposals from six companies and selected one, although Brown did not name it.

A contract is being negotiated that will be ready for a council vote sometime this month, he said. Service would start about six weeks after that.

Drucker, however, wants to approve a contract at the council’s first meeting this month, April 9. “It had better be a damn good selection,” she told Brown.

Drucker and Mayotte both asked why the city didn’t simply use a contract negotiated by another city as a template rather than do all that work over again.

Many cities have piggybacked on another city’s contract.

Brown said other city contracts did not provide the flexibility Boca Raton wanted to expand or reduce service based on demand.

He defended the staff’s work, saying it took only two weeks to draft the request for proposals.

It has taken four months to almost complete the work when six months is usually required.

“How do we get these things moving through the process a lot faster?” Drucker asked. “How do we make it more efficient?”

Brown said the city has hired a consultant to advise on how the city can improve the procurement process.

Companies that provide circulators operate similarly, tailoring their services to whatever a city wants. How much they charge depends on the size of the service area and what the city asks for.

They typically offer electric vehicles and customers use an app to book a ride. Some cities provide the service to their residents for free, but many charge about $2 per ride.

In October, staff proposed the initial service area would run from Glades Road to the southern city limits, and east of Interstate 95 to Fifth Avenue/Royal Palm Way.
The maximum wait time would be 10 minutes.

By Steve Plunkett

The Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District turns 50 this year and will start celebrating the milestone this month.

On April 11, an archival display will open at Sugar Sand Park with coffee and cookies for visitors from 6 to 7 p.m.

Briann Harms, the district’s executive director, and publicist Chuck King explored the Schmidt Boca Raton History Museum to find historical tidbits about the district.

“They have a lot of really, really cool stuff about our parks and the history of our parks,” Harms said.

On April 21, the district will host a barbecue lunch with free carousel rides starting at 11:30 a.m. at Sugar Sand, 300 S. Military Trail.

Harms gave a shout-out to the city’s recreational services staff for helping to pick and schedule the events.

“Obviously, they’re going to help run a lot of these events, which is why we picked the dates that they’re available and don’t have other events going on,” she said.

The archival display will move to the history museum in the Historic Town Hall, at 71 N. Federal Highway, on May 29.

For Parks and Recreation Month in July, the district will sponsor tree giveaways at various parks.

And every Sunday in September will have free rides on Sugar Sand’s carousel again. On Sept. 29, the park will offer celebratory cupcakes.

Harms said more events could be added later in the year.

The district was created by a special act of the state Legislature in 1974 as a funding mechanism for the city’s purchase of the land that would become Red Reef Park. During its first couple of decades, it was known as the Greater Boca Raton Beach Tax District.

The property taxes it collects cover all operations and capital improvements at Red Reef, which the city holds title to, plus the financial obligations of its own facilities: Sugar Sand, Patch Reef, Ocean Strand and North parks, and the Swim and Racquet Center. It also pays half the costs of beach renourishment projects and Boca Inlet dredging.

Co-Chairwomen (l-r) Haley Winstead, Wendy Sadusky, Rebecca D’Emic, Kathy Adkins, Susan Brockway and Renee Feder wear Oscar de la Renta dresses that fit the brunch‘s theme, ‘For the Love of Flowers.‘ Photo provided by Warner-Prokos Photography

By Amy Woods

The iconic couture of Oscar de la Renta has formed the theme for the 10th annual Angel Moms Brunch benefiting Place of Hope.

The famed designer’s patterns and prints inspired the “For the Love of Flowers” event set for April 12.

“This year is a little bit different,” Co-Chairwoman Rebecca D’Emic said. “It’s the 10th anniversary, and we wanted to make it extra special.”

Not only will the intimate fashion presentation be a new element of the fundraiser, the venue will be as well. Formerly staged at the Royal Palm Beach Yacht & Country Club, the brunch is moving to Boca West Country Club to accommodate more guests.

“We’re trying to reach deeper into the community by including all the women who would like to attend,” D’Emic said. “This way, Angel Moms can buy individual tickets and sit together.”

Place of Hope assists abused and neglected children, and its Angel Moms focus on those who have aged out of the foster care system.

A crowd of 600 is expected at the four-hour affair. It will feature a social hour with a silent auction, champagne and passed hors d’oeuvres followed by the honoring of D’Emic as the 2024 Angel of Hope for her service as president of the Angel Moms.

“It’s a fundraising event, but it’s to recognize all the current volunteers, and it’s also to introduce what Place of Hope is doing to new Angel Moms in the community who would like to serve somewhere,” D’Emic said.

“It’s not just about the money. We want women from all different demographics to be a part of what’s happening here.”

The highlight of the program is guest speaker Tori Hope Petersen, author of the bestseller Fostered.

“I finished her book,” D’Emic said. “It’s excellent. She is using her trauma and what she went through to now encourage and inspire others to get involved. She’s going to share her story.”

Petersen lived through more than one dozen foster homes as a child and, as an adult, advocates on the issue, explaining to audiences how they can change the world by loving those in front of them.

“We’re so thrilled that this event is celebrating its 10th anniversary,” said Charles Bender, Place of Hope’s founding CEO and board member. “We’re so grateful for everyone who has supported us along the way and continues to build our solid foundation for the future as well.”

If You Go
What: Angel Moms Brunch
When: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 12
Guest speaker: Tori Hope Petersen, author of the bestseller Fostered

Where: Boca West Country Club, 20583 Boca West Drive, Boca Raton
Cost: $250
Information: 561-483-0962, Ext. 61, or placeof hoperinker.org

By Amy Woods

The Center for Arts and Innovation, a campus to be constructed in Boca Raton, has named a veteran nonprofit leader to the position of executive director of leadership gifts.
Jan Savarick will serve as the liaison for a group of donors known as the Center’s Vanguards who will help fund the next phase of the capital campaign.

“Jan is an incredibly respected and highly regarded leader in the nonprofit sector and has spearheaded some of the most ambitious campaigns in South Florida,” Chairwoman and CEO Andrea Virgin said. “The addition of her unique perspective and expertise perfectly positions the center as we translate this transformative vision into physical reality.”

Most recently, Savarick was executive director for presidential initiatives at Florida Atlantic University. Previously, she was president of the Boca Raton Regional Hospital Foundation.

For more information, call 561-859-2117 or visit thecenterforartsandinnovation.org

One of the many quilts to be auctioned. Photo provided

Boca Garden Club to host quilt auction
The Boca Raton Garden Club is partnering with Quilt Guild by the Sea to present a quilt auction at 3 p.m. April 5 that is free to attend for the public and includes light refreshments.

Taking place at the clubhouse at 4281 NW Third Ave., the auction will serve as a fundraiser.

“We are pleased to be able to showcase some of the work of our very talented members and offer their quilts for auction to the community,” said Linda Eddy, guild president. “We want to promote the art of quilting as well as raise some money for both the guild and the garden club’s charities.”

For more information, call 561-395-9376 or visit bocaratongardenclub.org

Milagro Center launches reading program for kids
In response to a recent report showing nearly two-thirds of third-graders in Delray Beach public schools are failing in reading, Milagro Center has launched an emergency fundraising initiative called “CODE READ.”

“CODE READ” aims to assist underserved students after school and in summer camp to improve their skills and achieve grade-level literacy.

“These statistics are alarming, especially for the children we serve, all of whom come from families that live below the federal poverty line,” Barbara Stark, president and CEO of the center, said of the report. “Advancing from third to fourth grade is a critical marker for academic success; falling short of that, students are four times more likely to drop out of high school, lowering their earning power as adults and possibly costing society in welfare.”

Through the “CODE READ” initiative, the nonprofit is asking for donations starting at $45 for one teaching session per student.

For more information, call 561-279-2970 or visit milagrocenter.org/code-read

St. Lucy Catholic Church’ s annual themed dinner dance attracted more than 250 guests. A multicourse meal was served and live music was provided. The awarding of gift baskets to several lucky ticketholders highlighted the social affair sponsored by the Men’s Club. Proceeds of $10,000 will support both the church and Covenant House Florida. ABOVE: (l-r) Louise Picarello, Marisa Acocella, Alfio Petruzella, Dominick Conte, Chris Fuentes and Declan Fuster. Photo provided

The Culture, Arts and Society Today party had its largest attendance to date. The fete, which raised funds for student scholarships, celebrated the 30th anniversary of the naming of FAU’s Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters by honoring the legacy of the Schmidt Family Foundation. Myrna Gordon Skurnick also was honored for contributing to the arts in South Florida; her name graces the Writing Nest at the university Theatre Lab.
ABOVE: (l-r) Michael Horswell, Stacy Volnick, Skurnick, Dick Schmidt and Doug Campbell.
BELOW: James and Marta Batmasian. Photos provided

An evening of music, dancing, dining and drinking was enjoyed by attendees who gathered to mark the opening of the ‘Florida in World War II’ exhibit at the Schmidt Boca Raton History Museum. The event paid tribute to the historical significance of the resort during the war. The exhibit will run through May 17. ABOVE: (l-r) Gloria Hosh, Terry Fedele, Katrina Carter-Tellison and Denise Alman. Photo provided

The Ocean Ridge Garden Club had its inaugural ‘Secret Gardens by the Sea’ tour featuring seven private gardens, one public space and a town dune maintained by club volunteers. More than 100 guests attended the fundraising event that supports charitable, civic and educational programs. Attendees perused bromeliad gardens, native plants and a butterfly garden. The tour included a buffet lunch.
ABOVE: (l-r) Club members Barbara Cook, Britt Flanagan, Christina Benisch, Lisa Ritota and Polly Joa at one of the tour stops. BELOW: A centerpiece put together by Benisch.

Photos provided by Caroline Robison

The 21st annual benefit for Achievement Centers for Children & Families featured seven stunning abodes, a luncheon and more. Owners opened the doors of their Intracoastal Waterway retreats to more than 750 guests who received an inside look at the flourishing gardens and exquisite interiors. Ticket sales will benefit Achievement Centers’ work in supporting children and families in need in South County. ‘The ongoing support from our community enables us to deliver top-notch programming and create fresh opportunities for the children and families we assist,’ ACCF events manager Julia Corliss said. ‘We look forward to assisting under-resourced families through this year’s home tour as the demands of our community persistently grow.’ ABOVE: (l-r) Gayle Clark, Jennifer Kilpatrick, Deena Dick and Nicole Burns.

Kari Shipley and Leonora Andersson. 

Sheila DeMarco and Marsha Wachman.

 (l-r) Laura Finn, Raegan Lafferty, Kerry Filippone and Dina Schwartz.  

Photos provided

The debut of ‘Rose B. Simpson: Journeys of Clay’ was celebrated by more than 100 members of the museum’s board of trustees as well as donors and other patrons who admired the exhibit of 30-plus figural works. Attendees enjoyed sips and nibbles in the Ruth and Carl Shapiro Great Hall before everyone ventured into the galleries for a tour. RIGHT: Don and Linda Silpe. Photo provided by Capehart