ABOVE: What better way for Florida children to ring in the holiday season than with a spirited snowball fight.  Aca McGowen takes aim at some family members from a “artificial” snow pile at Mizner Park.
RIGHT:  Boca Raton Community High School percussionist Zack Rosson ads a slap stick sound effect to the holiday song “Sleigh Ride”.   Photos by Jerry Lower

By Jan Norris

See recipes
   
The holidays are a whirlwind and everybody’s seemingly busy — too busy, generally, for dinner parties.
Cocktail or wine parties have become the way to entertain large numbers and do it with ease — with the right foods on hand. Set out a dip or two, some olives and cheeses, have  great tunes spinning and you’re good to go.
Here’s a list to get you prepared as a last-minute host:

For cocktail foods:
Olives
Roasted red peppers
Cocktail breads
Dried figs, apricots, dates
Pickle selection – sweet and dill
Nuts – unsalted is best
    (toast your own with herbs)
Caviar – buy domestic for garnishing
Cracker selection: Wheat, cheese, pretzel,
    rice or soy for gluten free diners
Cheese selection
(3 or 4 cheese varieties, 2 semi-soft; 2 hard)
Dried meat selection
(sausages, hams, beef)

    To make quick dips:
Sour cream
Pepper jelly
Onion jam
Cream cheese
    (or Neufchatel – lower in fat)
Jarred salsa (or buy fresh if possible)
Herb mixes or salad dressing spices
Churrasco hot pepper sauce
Vegetable slices

For the bar:
Vodka, Rum, Bourbon, Scotch, Tequila
2 red wines
(Pinot Noir or Merlot;
Beaujolais as a lighter choice)
2 white wines (Chardonnay or Pinot Gris;
Dry Reisling or Viognier)
Sparkling wine (A Spanish Cava, Italian Prosecco
or a domestic sparkling wine suggested)
Fruit juice mixers: cranberry, apple, citrus juices
Lime mix
Sodas — cola, lemon-lime, ginger ale
Club soda
Sparkling and still bottled waters
Bitters
Liqueurs: orange, raspberry and coffee flavored
Craft beer selection
Maraschino cherries, olives, salt and coarse sugar
for glasses
Extra ice cubes
Picks for garnishes

Non-edibles:
Plastic drink cups
Cocktail napkins
Small dishes for nuts, olives and other snack foods
Plastic wine glasses for pool areas
Paper plates
Paper napkins

By Angie Francalancia

The best place for Boynton Beach Fire Rescue Station No. 1 might be in Ocean Ridge.
    Boynton Beach’s City Commission agreed during a workshop late last month to talk about the potential of moving Station No. 1 into Ocean Ridge’s Town Hall and garage.
Ocean Ridge, along with Briny Breezes, contracts for fire rescue service from Boynton Beach.
    Earlier in the month, Ocean Ridge Mayor Ken Kaleel sent a letter to Boynton Beach Mayor Jose Rodriguez, saying Ocean Ridge wants to jointly study the proposal. It could provide a way for Boynton Beach to keep a station open near its highest call area downtown, as well as find additional space for its Police Department in the existing Station No. 1 at Boynton’s municipal complex off Boynton Beach Boulevard. And there’s a potential that Boynton Beach could garner more money if other coastal towns choose to contract with the city for fire service.
    “We can move that station to the east and still serve that area with the highest concentration of calls,” Boynton Beach Interim Fire Chief Ray Carter said. “It may be 30 seconds longer in response time. Once we move over there, there’s other potential dollars by providing services say, to Manalapan.”
    Manalapan has inquired about having Boynton Beach provide fire rescue service, Carter said. “Obviously, it’s something we’d have to look at.”
    Manalapan now contracts with Palm Beach County Fire Rescue for service.
    The coastal towns have been concerned about their fire and emergency service for several months since Boynton Beach began discussing closing the downtown station to help balance its budget. Although the station survived budget talks, Boynton did eliminate six fire rescue positions from the budget, forcing Carter to staff the station with only one two-person crew and eliminate ambulance service from Station No. 1
Although Station No. 1 handles a denser area with a higher concentration of calls, Boynton Beach’s other four stations have larger areas to cover, making it more logical to drop the staffing from Station No. 1, Carter said.
    There’s no way Boynton Beach could completely eliminate the Station No. 1 crew, Carter said. Although Carter said he could serve the downtown area if Station No.1’s crew was housed either in Ocean Ridge or at Boynton’s Fire Station No. 4 located farther south, consolidating the crew at Station No. 4 would be detrimental to the north end of Ocean Ridge.
    “There clearly will be a marked increase in response time to the north end of Ocean Ridge with a move to Station No. 4 — as much as one and a half minutes,” Carter said. “For the folks of Ocean Ridge, I don’t think that’s something that would be acceptable.”
     Rodriguez, responding to Commissioner Steven Holzman’s suggestion to move the crew to Station No. 4, said, “Remember, we’re talking about a happy medium because we were talking about closing Station No. 1.”
    Ocean Ridge Town Manager Ken Schenck, who attended the workshop, told the Boynton Beach Commission that Ocean Ridge’s garage space formerly housed the fire department before the town contracted with Boynton to provide service.
    “We would have to make some modifications of some interior rooms, but we have a kitchen and showers for our police unit,” Schenck said.
    Schenck said he didn’t know how much it would cost to modify space inside the Town Hall because he did not yet know what Boynton Beach Fire Rescue would require. He expected to meet with Carter to discuss the requirements within a couple of weeks.
    “The mayor is willing to spend some money if we’ve got to make modifications,” Schenck said. “The biggest need, as far as I know now, is sleeping quarters.”
    Schenck said the move would necessitate Ocean Ridge’s renegotiating its contract with Boynton Beach. Ocean Ridge now pays $871,000 for fire rescue service under a contract that runs through 2016. Additionally, Briny Breezes pays $282,000 for service.
    “Obviously it’s going to have to be feasible to both sides,” Schenck said of a new contract.                                

By Thomas R. Collins

Across the state and the country, cities are going to back to a principle that was taught in kindergarten: Sharing is good.
For everything from police officers to roadwork to water pipes, cities are teaming up with other governments to provide services to their residents.
The idea of cities sharing services isn’t new, but it’s happening more and more in this tight economic climate, with plummeting tax bases that have brought budgets to their knees.
“I’m sure it’s spurring folks to look harder and deeper into any possible way to reduce costs,”
said Ken Small, the financial and technical assistance manager with the Florida League of Cities, a job in which he gives guidance to cities looking to tweak the way they provide services.
Rethinking the way services are provided has been discussed by officials in coastal towns, although there are no plans yet for any new drastic sharing arrangements. Some of the towns already rely on larger neighbors for some services, including utilities. But recent talks have broached service-sharing among the coastal towns themselves.

More towns
looking nearby
The rate at which cities are looking beyond their borders for services seems to be increasing everywhere.
Mayors of four towns in north Pinellas County recently met informally to talk about the possibility of sharing resources — including possibly placing their fire departments under the same leadership while maintaining their individual fire departments, as well as a joint medical clinic to provide health care for their workforces.
Across Florida, cities most often look beyond their borders for police and fire protection, since those services are so expensive and more difficult for smaller cities to pull off well. And cities have been known to contract with the YMCA for recreation, with nonprofit groups for veterans services, even with neighboring counties for services, Small said.
There is no template for how to go about seeking outside services, he said. Maybe a city doesn’t want to farm out its entire fire or police department — then maybe it signs on for just fire hydrant maintenance or SWAT team protection.
“It isn’t all or nothing,” Small said. “You can look at piecemeal parts.”

Deals cut both ways
In Southwest Ranches, a town of 7,300 in Broward County, officials have jumped from one provider of police services to another. First, when the town was incorporated in 2000, they used the county sheriff’s office for one half of the town and the city of Davie for the other. Later, they signed with the sheriff’s office for the whole town. Then the sheriff’s office canceled the agreement, and the town is now with the city of Pembroke Pines.
Bert Wraines, the interim town administrator for Southwest Ranches, said it’s just a matter of finding the best deal, although it cuts both ways because the other party can choose to end the agreement.
“You have to be good negotiators,” he said.
In Taylorsville, Utah, a city of 58,700 that sits just southwest of Salt Lake City, city administrator John Inch Morgan tends to put the city’s contracts out to bid every five to ten years just to test the market. Most of the town’s services are contracted out.
“It helps everyone sharpen their pencils,” he said. For example, the city has found that, with the economic downturn, it has been able to get a better deal from the private sector for engineering services rather than keeping it in-house. For police, the city contracts with a “unified police department” that serves several towns. But the deal is only for dispatch, record-management and evidence-handling.
“For me, that makes sense,” said Morgan, who thinks his MBA has served him well on the job. “What I want to do is have control over the officers.”

Ripple effects
to consider
In many cases, there is more control when a contract is involved, he said.
“I believe that many times when you have contracts, you have greater control (than) even when you have your own employees,” he said. “If we can terminate a contract with 30 or 60 days notice, those folks are going to serve the needs probably to a greater degree than the employees would.”
Experts say decisions on service-sharing require great care. Mayraj Fahim, a New York-based government consultant, thinks of government entities as ecosystems, and that cities have to carefully consider the ripple effects when changing their structures.
“Every kind of system, if you change the integration level, you affect the system,” and those effects can be either positive or negative.
Scott Paine, associate professor of government and world affairs at the University of Tampa, said cities have to be sure they have an out if things don’t go well.
“Are we confident enough about the quality of the service we’re going to get, or are we confident enough that we can shift to another provider if this provider fails to satisfy us,” he said. “You can essentially be held hostage if it’s not a competitive market.”
Small said cities have to be circumspect even before setting out to analyze a potential agreement — because going down that path and doing a U-turn can get expensive, which is particularly bad as administrative staffs are being cut during the lean times.
“You’ve got only so much manpower that you can (use to) look at something,” he said. “So you’re going to be looking at the biggest bang for the dollar.”                                     

By Allen Whittemore

    If anyone knows this pleasant little stretch of A1A well, it’s Tom Hill.
    He has been working here since 1973 and in the Delray Beach/Gulf Stream area since 1970.  He is the first and only manager of the Ballantrae Condominiums, a 40-unit condo that has seen many changes over the years.
    Hill has enjoyed the intimate quality of life at Ballantrae; particularly the busy time there around the holidays.
    “I have interactions with all of the people … here we offer so many services that we could not in a larger complex.  I get to know them better.”
    He also has gotten to know their children and watched them grow up, many who now return with their families. 
     “It is rewarding for me to see the second generations wanting to buy homes here as well.”  
    Garrett Dering, president of the association board, called Hill “truly wonderful, and he knows these buildings like the back of his hand. His dedication is a great asset for us.”
     Hill, 68, a Syracuse, N.Y., native, served in the Air Force during the Vietnam War.  After the war, he obtained a commercial pilot’s license and hoped to start a career with one of the airlines.
    “There were so many pilots after the war that is was hard to get a job flying commercially, so I got a job as a crop duster.”   First in Georgia, and then he flew over the fields of western Palm Beach County. A couple of close calls in the air led to him find “safer” employment on the ground. 
    He liked the Palm Beach County lifestyle and settled with his wife in Boynton Beach, where they reared their three children.
    Around then, he met George Mara, the man who was to develop the St. Andrews Club.
    Mara hired him to be the first maintenance manager at St. Andrews from 1973 until 1980, and he held that position while Mara began developing Ballantrae directly to the south.  Upon completion of the units, Hill moved next door and began the job he has had for the past 31 years. 
    He was intricately involved in the early days as the property switched from the developer to the owners.     
    “That time was very hectic as we were finishing the buildings, painting, developing the condominium board, establishing the rules and helping people move in.”  
    Over the years things have evolved a little. “In the early days we did the lawn maintenance as well … I really did some walking in those days.”  
    Recently, the town of Gulf Stream annexed Ballantrae and other adjacent properties and Hill said the transition has been smooth. 
    Police, fire and paramedics are on site within minutes, and the town employees have been extremely helpful with their needs.
    The residents of Ballantrae have been appreciative of the work Hill has done over the years. A few years ago they hosted a party for him and presented Hill with a photo collage of the property signed by all of the owners. That collage now hangs prominently on his office wall.
    Hill’s job has been so much more for him that just a place to put in 40 hours a week and he seems in no hurry to retire.  He takes great pride in the relationships that he has built here. 
    “I have been fortunate to work for some very nice, quality people who have been very successful … They are generous people who give back to their communities.  They have taught me so much.”

By Margie Plunkett

The recent retirement of Ocean Ridge police officers Doc Darville and Dan Tinfina renewed a debate among commissioners in November that was reliably divisive: What, if anything, will the longtime employees be given for their departure?
    Commissioners lined up behind two basic concepts: the town’s traditional retirement bonus for longtime employees of $100 for each year employed; and a noncash symbolic gift to be determined — whether a watch, plaque or other token.
    In the end, they put off their decision until December until town attorney Ken Spillias finalizes the policy that will ultimately guide them for bonuses for retirements and holidays. But not before rolling through the same discussion they’ve had with other recent retirements and defeating a motion to give a symbolic gift.
    The complicated debate started with caution about using the words gift or bonus. In addition, the officers have retired from a police force that has entered collective bargaining. And last but not least, commissioners voice a straight out difference of opinion.
    Mayor Ken Kaleel kicked off this month’s debate with, “Someone who works for us for 20-plus years — I don’t mind giving them $100 a year.” Darville, a 20-year veteran, would be given $2,000 under that plan, for instance.
    The mayor’s view was quickly followed by the opposing view: “I absolutely think we have to recognize them. I think it should be a symbolic gift,” said Zoanne Hennigan, whose later motion to spend $500 on a token was defeated.
    While Commissioner Ed Brookes sided with Hennigan, Commissioners Geoff Pugh and Lynn Allison supported the mayor’s point of view.
    After the mayor noted that he was embarrassed that the town could not reward employees because it had no policy, Allison pointed out that the $100-per-year bonus has been an informal policy and should now be written up.
 Allison also added that if you asked the employees whether they’d rather have a symbolic gift or cash, they’d choose the money.
    “Someone who works for the town that long deserves something besides a plaque,” Kaleel said, adding, he thinks 20 years should be the cutoff for the bonus.
    Spillias, who said that bonuses are allowed as long as the criteria — such as length of service — are specified, will return with the policy at the December meeting.
It would include provisions for year-end bonuses, retirement bonuses for employment in excess of 20 years and bonuses for extraordinary service.      Ú

Commissioners neither accepted nor rejected Town Manager Ken Schenck’s action plan to address shortcomings described in his evaluation in October. Instead, at the November meeting, they directed him to talk with Commissioner Zoanne Hennigan and revise his plan to be more specific and measurable.
    Hennigan, who said she was “sorely disappointed” with Schenck’s plan, moved to reject it, but received no supporting second motion from the others. The commissioner also had said that while she was available 24/7, Schenck had not called her as expected to meet on his plan.
    Other commissioners, including Lynn Allison, who said she had a long discussion with Schenck, asked him to revise the plan to provide more details on the items that were measurable.
    Mayor Ken Kaleel pointed out that not everything is measurable and for some items, “you have to have faith and trust in the job that’s being accomplished.”
    Commissioners had previously given Schenck three months to improve the noted performance.
—  Margie Plunkett

By Steve Plunkett

    Manalapan officials are continuing to work with Ocean Ridge to fine-tune their neighbor’s proposal to take over police dispatching and also have asked the Sheriff’s Office for a quote.
    Town Manager Linda Stumpf told commissioners that Police Chief Clay Walker has met four times with Ocean Ridge Chief Chris Yannuzzi and that she also has asked sheriff’s officials to develop a price.
She said she expects to have dollar amounts to report in December.
    In June, the town issued a request for proposals to take over Manalapan’s police dispatch service, which has four full-time and four part-time dispatchers and costs taxpayers $367,700 a year.
    Only Ocean Ridge filed a bid, for $450,000 the first year, followed by $257,500 the next and $265,255 the third year.
The three-year total would have been a net gain of $130,375 but the first-year amount was $82,300 more than Manalapan currently spends.
    “This is a bit of a sticker shock,” Vice Mayor Robert Evans said at the time, explaining that he had expected something closer to the $57,000 South Palm Beach pays Lantana for dispatch service.
    Commissioners told Stumpf and Walker to work with Ocean Ridge to refine the proposal.
    Atlantis, Greenacres and Lantana also picked up copies of the RFP, but did not bid.

Chris Evert (above) taunts Burn Notice star Jeffrey Donovan (left) after lobbing a ball at him during last month’s Chris Evert/Raymond James Pro-Celebrity Tennis Classic at the Delray Beach Tennis Center. Donovan told Evert not to hit the ‘money-maker.’ Photos by Jerry Lower

By Thom Smith

With a lot of community support and a little help from tennis and show biz friends, Chris Evert raised another $800,000 with her Chris Evert/Raymond James Pro-Celebrity Tennis Classic at the Delray Beach Tennis Center and the Boca Raton Resort and Club. Since its inaugural in 1988, the event has raised $20 million, all of which has gone to charities in South Florida.
    Tennis stars John and Peter McEnroe and Murphy Jensen and film/TV stars Christian Slater (Breaking In), the recently slimmed comedian Jon Lovitz, Burn Notice’s Jeffrey Donovan and Today’s Hoda Kotb added luster to the weekend. Proceeds go to Ounce of Prevention, which assists pregnant and parenting women who are trying to overcome substance abuse problems.
                                   ***
    Evert’s ex-, champion fisherman and former Olympic skier Andy Mill, can now add another line to his shingle: award-winning author. Mill received two gold medals from The Benjamin Franklin Awards, one of the more prestigious accolades in independent publishing. His book, A Passion for Tarpon, was named best recreation/sports title and best regional title, the first book about fishing ever to be so honored.
    “This important new book, besides being visually stunning and a fascinating read, is an excellent resource to educate anglers and policymakers on a global scale, we hope helping to guide legislation and sound management supporting their conservation for future generations,” said Dr. Jerry Ault, University of Miami marine biology and fisheries professor and founding member/scientific adviser of the Bonefish and Tarpon Trust.
    Mill, on the other hand, is amazed that he was able to bring it off. “It’s insane; I’m not an author, I’m a skier,” he said, noting that helping to write scripts for the fishing show he hosted on the Outdoor Life Network was nothing like writing a book.
    “I needed something to pull me out of the hole I was in after my divorce and this publisher asked me to do this book,” said Mill, just back in Boca after summering in Aspen. “It took me five years. Debra and this book pulled me out of that hole.”
    Debra is the former Debra Harvick, whom he met two years ago in Aspen, asked her to marry on their third date and finally tied the knot a year ago in Aspen.
    “She’s my best friend,” Mill said. “We ride our bikes on A1A and when we go bow-hunting for elk in Colorado, she’s right there alongside me.” 
                                   ***
    Splendid timing. It’s not in our circulation area, but no doubt some local beachcombers will want to make the trip to Stuart’s Lyric Theatre on Dec. 13, 14 or 15. Actor Robert Wagner will deliver a personal retrospective. Wonder what he’ll have to say about that night 30 years ago aboard his yacht Splendour.  All tickets are $50. (772) 286-7827 or info@lyrictheatre.com.

                                 ***
    For love or …? One-time Delray Beach businessman and two-time failed political candidate Nick Loeb says he won’t run for the U.S. Senate. Loeb had been interested in the seat held by Democrat Bill Nelson.
    The son of a Reagan-appointed ambassador, Loeb lost a Delray Beach Commission race in 2007 and abandoned a Florida Senate race in 2009 after his wife filed for divorce. He then popped up in California where he became friends with Modern Family star Sofia Vergara, who offered aid and comfort after he was banged up in a car crash.
    Loeb had said last summer that he would decide about another campaign after the Emmy awards in September. On Nov. 17, shortly after Fox News reported Loeb would run — with the blessing of Vergara — he held a brief news conference in Miami Beach.With Vergara at his side, he announced he would not run. “I’m still very hurt from last year’s accident,” he explained.
    Maybe the pain is caused by bad odds. Republican hopefuls include local Adam Hasner, the former state House majority leader, former U.S. Senate appointee George LeMieux and, most recently, U.S. Rep. Connie Mack from Cape Coral. Mack has name recognition: old-timers think he’s his father (the former senator) and old-old-timers think he had something to do with baseball.
                                   ***
    South county residents who remember Prezzo, rejoice!
    “It’s like the son of Prezzo,” restaurant mogul Dennis Max said of his next project. He plans to open Assaggio del Forno — that’s Italian for “Taste of the Oven” — in early January in the space formerly occupied by Bistro Zenith in Regency Court at the corner of Jog and Yamato.
    Prezzo was a popular Italian bistro that Max and then-partner Burt Rappoport opened nearly two decades ago on Glades Road just east of the turnpike. Assaggio del Forno expands some of its concepts and introduces some new ones.
    “We’ll have an Italian wood-burning oven to make artisanal pizzas,” Max said. “But the menu will cover all of Italy, not just the south, and it will be mainly small plates and smaller plates. You can sort of graze through. We encourage people to get a few things and share them.”
    In Mizner Park, Max’s Grille is enjoying its best year ever, and Max’s Harvest, which opened in Delray’s Pineapple Grove in June, has exceeded expectations, said Max, who has added live music with “Jazz off the Avenue” every Friday, featuring saxophonist Will Bridges.
    In mid-December, Max plans to open another Italian restaurant in Deerfield Beach.  In the South Federal Highway space formerly occupied by Marcello’s, Frank & Dino’s will offer a culinary salute to Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin.
    “It’s where the Rat Pack eats,” Max says. “We’re paying homage to that whole era — drinking, partying, a convivial atmosphere and good food. Italian-American classics — we’ll serve those dishes in their glory, surrounded by pictures of all those stars, with live music on the weekend.”
                                   ***
    In other restaurant news, the creators of Cut 432 — Brandon Belluscio, Brian Albe and Chef Anthony Pizzo — plan a January opening of Park Tavern in Worthing Place on East Atlantic in Delray.  Look for candy-red tufted booths, rough Chicago-brick walls, a poured-concrete bar, nostalgic Edison light fixtures and a menu that changes with the seasons.
                                   ***
    To paraphrase Mark Twain, reports of the death of Plaza del Mar have been greatly exaggerated. OK, its viability looked bleak with the departure of Florida Stage, the Epicurean and Collaro’s, but resuscitation began with the arrival of John G’s and Newport-based Angela Moore, which arrived last year on Worth Avenue, opened its Manalapan sibling Oct. 14. An opening party is scheduled for Jan. 20.
    Maybe we can blame it on Maurici Luz. Styling first with Frederic Fekkai and then at his own salon in Lake Worth, his attention was directed to a large space at Plaza del Mar. On April 1, he opened Maurici’s Salon & Spa and Milton’s Grooming Parlor, offering the utmost in pampering for humans and canines. (Milton is Maurici’s pet French bulldog.)
    Since then, First Trust Investments, Guido the Tailor, Jewelry Artisans, Jeannie’s Ocean Boutique and The Gym Manalapan have moved in. Rumors have another restaurant coming in, allegedly with Lake Worth roots, but inquiries were met with firm denials.
                                    ***
  TV news. It ain’t what it used to be. This is the age of gushy recitation, gratuitous cleavage, breathy and fawning interviews; reporters who don’t know the difference between a crash and a forced landing; weather girls who don’t know a typhoon from a hurricane; sanctimonious sportscasters given to pontificating instead of reporting.
    Jim Sackett did know the difference. At 66, he also knew it was time to go. Sackett signed off his last newscast at WPTV-Channel 5, Nov. 23 at 6:30, and no doubt the managements at the area’s other two network stations gave thanks. For 33 years, he helped WPTV-Channel 5 dominate the market like no other station in the nation. For those who follow, we hope they learned a few things: his sense of place, his knowledge of the community and, most importantly, that ultimately, it’s the story, not the story teller. 

Thom Smith is a freelance writer. Contact him at thomsmith@ymail.com.

By Tim O’Meilia

    Be warned:  the three-minute rule is now in effect at Briny Breezes meetings. And no cheers or jeers.
    The Town Council unanimously enacted a set of five procedural rules Nov. 17 for public comment at Town Council and board meetings.
    Among them: one three-minute comment per agenda item, no rebuttals. One three-minute comment during the public comment portion at the end of the meeting, so cram all your thoughts into one carefully crafted speech.
    Profanity earns you an ejection from the meeting. So may “personal, impertinent or slanderous remarks.”
    Watch your boisterousness. “Demonstrations of approval or disapproval” run the risk a room clearing by the presiding officer.
    Step up to the mic and give your name and address. Make your comments short and to the point. The first two people to speak at November’s meeting didn’t give their names.
    “This is not an effort to halt public participation,” said Mayor Roger Bennett. “This gives us a handle on things if they get out of hand.”
    Briny Breezes joins a list of municipalities cracking down on uncivil tongues at meetings. South Palm Beach has a three-minute rule and Mayor Donald Clayman reads the rules at each meeting.
    The town of Palm Beach has had a three-minute rule for years, usually enforced on controversial topics. In Highland Beach, the town clerk recites the town’s Civility Pledge before each meeting.
    Council President Sharon Kendrigan proposed the rules after angry comments during the October meeting. “We just want people to behave in a civil manner,” she said after the November meeting. She said the town attorney was insulted by some remarks at that meeting.
    Kendrigan suspects townspeople have become too accustomed to vitriolic exchanges at corporation board meetings.
    “Yelling and hollering? Not in Briny,” she said.

An elderly South Palm Beach couple killed in the crash of a small airplane was moving back to their longtime Chicago-area home so the husband could be near family while he was being treated for an illness.
John W. Bialek, 80, his wife, Ilomae, 75, and the pilot died when the plane crashed in a Chicago suburb late Nov. 28. Two others aboard the twin-engine Navajo survived.
The couple owned units at the Le Chateau Royale condominium in South Palm Beach and in the Golden Lakes retirement community west of Lake Worth. They were seasonal residents for several decades.
Their son, John B. Bialek, told the Chicago Tribune that his father was undergoing treatment for a blood infection and the couple had decided to return to Chicago to be near their children and grandchildren.
The plane was owned by Trans North Aviation, a firm that provides medical airlift service, and left West Palm Beach at about 6 p.m.
It refueled in Jesup, Ga., before beginning the final leg of the trip to Chicago Executive Airport in the suburb of Wheeling.
The pilot reported fuel problems and the plane went down about five miles short of the airport in a wooded area, barely missing a home, in Riverwoods, a northwest suburb, a Federal Aviation Administration official said.
— Tim O’Meilia

By Steve Plunkett

The Spence estate is no more.
A demolition crew razed the 74-year-old house in late November, keeping the property on track to become Gulf Stream’s first subdivision in recent memory.        Seaside Builders LLC won approval Nov. 10 to replat the 6-acre-plus estate into six roughly 1-acre home sites to be known as Harbor View Estates.
    The developer also was given permission to take until Dec. 15 to demolish the home after pleading that the project was stalled first by the Architectural Review and Planning Board’s decision in July that Seaside and its neighbors work out their differences, then by the Town Commission lacking a quorum in October. But it didn’t need the extra two weeks.
    Mayor William Koch Jr. recused himself from the issue because his real estate company listed the sale with a $6 million asking price, as did Vice Mayor Joan Orthwein, who has an active real estate license with Koch’s firm.
    New Commissioner W. Garrett Dering, appointed to Chris Wheeler’s seat after Wheeler sold his home and left town, joined Commissioners Fred Devitt III and Muriel Anderson for a series of 3-0 votes.
    Project architect Gary Eliopoulos said concerns from neighbors, town staff and the architectural review board had led to significant changes in the proposal, among them a so-called “hammerhead” entry road to the new homes rather than access on Hidden Harbor’s road, along with a 10-foot landscape buffer on the west, north and east and a 15-foot buffer on the south rather than the town’s 3-foot requirement.
    “We made sure that the pristine state of this property that you see today remains intact after this development is done,” Eliopoulos said.
    Also, he said, the retaining wall around the former estate will meander around large trees to preserve rather than move them and is higher at the ends of the hammerhead to shield neighbors from new residents’ headlights.
    “The fact is that a plat of this size and nature most likely will never occur again,” Eliopoulos said.
    Still, neighbors to the south denounced the project as an unwelcome subdivision.
    “This is a beautiful piece of property and one that we’ve cherished. It’s filled with all sorts of wonderful little animals and birds,’’ said Nancy Touhey, who has the first driveway on Hidden Harbor’s access road. “I do feel that six houses is way too many.”
    Scott Morgan, who recused himself when the architectural board considered the proposal, also decried “six long rectangular-shaped lots that will house six long rectangular-shaped houses” in the estate-home neighborhood.
    “This is perfectly acceptable in subdivisions in other places,” Morgan said. “You’ll see them in Ocean Ridge, you’ll see some in Delray Beach and Highland Beach, and you’ll see plenty in Boca Raton. But there are no subdivisions in Gulf Stream.”
    But Martin O’Boyle, who lives just west of the Spence property, said developer Tom Laudani’s promise to keep the tree canopy on the access road and other changes were “such a win” for Hidden Harbor.
    “From a personal point of view I’m tickled,” O’Boyle said. “What he has done is, he has preserved the values of my property, my neighbors’ and my friends’.”
    The property and its British Colonial home have a distinguished list of owners.
    Seward Webb Jr. bought the acreage from financier E.F. Hutton in 1937, then had noted Palm Beach architect John Volk design the house. Hutton had bought the land from the Gulf Stream Realty Co. in 1926.
    Webb was a grandson of William H. Vanderbilt, in his time the richest man in the world; Webb’s wife, Gertrude, was the daughter of a New York City mayor.
    Typewriter heiress Gladys Underwood James bought the estate in 1957 after Gertrude Webb was widowed, then sold it to John Caddell II, a third-generation shipyard operator in Staten Island, N.Y., and his mother in 1972.
The Caddells sold it 18 months later to Edmond and Regina Spence. Regina Spence died in December.
    “Obviously we’re losing one of our treasured homes in this community,” said Bob Ganger, chairman of the architectural board.
    Eliopoulos said he has consulted with the Delray Beach Historical Society and the Palm Beach Preservation Foundation and will give the town an architectural record of Volk’s creation.                     

By Steve Plunkett
   
Townsfolk apparently don’t like paying the interest that comes with installment plans.
    Gulf Stream took in $3.2 million in prepayments of the special assessment for the underground utilities project by the Nov. 1 deadline, Town Manager William Thrasher said.
    “The money was coming in so quickly at times that we thought we were desperately understaffed,” Thrasher said.
    The remaining $1.8 million will be paid over the years on property tax bills. The interest rate won’t be known until February, but Thrasher has said it should be close to 4 percent.
    Among those taking advantage of the prepayment savings was the St. Andrews Club, which is mostly in Boynton Beach but has tennis courts and a wedge of land on the Gulf Stream side of State Road A1A.
    Club President Helen Burns said St. Andrews paid $27,000 to cover assessments on its three parcels. It cast all three of its votes in favor of burying the utilities, she said.
    Gulf Stream paid the share St. Andrews condo residents just north of Little Club Road would have owed if they lived in town. Those owners contributed to the $27,000 bill along with the rest of the club membership, Burns said.
    “The condo owners actually did get a bye, but the club itself did not,’’ she said.
    Engineers are now in the field, determining where they will need easements to place equipment, Thrasher said. He expects the project to go out to bid between January and March, depending on how quickly Florida Power & Light Co. provides necessary information.
    Construction to bury the electric, phone and cable TV lines will begin next spring.

By Angie Francalancia

    It started this summer with a string of annoying vandalisms to cars. Over Labor Day weekend, a neighbor was cleaned out in what police described as a professional burglary. In October, a neighbor scared off a would-be robber who had entered his home.
    Then last month, the neighbors in Delray Beach’s Seagate area got another shock — another home burglarized in the middle of the day in a neighborhood where lots of residents are home.
    Residents in this quiet neighborhood between the Intracoastal Waterway and the ocean were used to leaving their cars unlocked and walking the streets of the ungated community unconcerned about crime. Now, they’re talking about starting a crime watch program.
    “Everybody’s getting really nervous around here,” said Kathy Baffer, president of the neighborhood’s homeowners association. “We have two small children. I never used to put the alarm on except at night. Now I put it on every time I leave the house — even when I run up the street to pick up the kids.”
    Baffer said she’s never remembered a time when there have been so many incidents in Seagate.
    “I sent out an email to all the neighbors telling them I wanted to possibly start a crime watch. A lot of people like the idea. I’ve been here for 13 years, and it’s never been like this. The one that just happened was in the morning — a Saturday morning, and the other was between 3 and 5 in daytime. We’re really just trying to keep everybody safe.”
    Seagate may not be the only community seeing a spike in crime.  JoAnn Peart, captain of the Lake Ida Citizen Observer Patrol, said she’s heard of several communities getting hit recently.
    “I’ve heard of some incidents in the marina district on the west side of the Intracoastal, and Palm Trail has had some problems,” Peart said.
    “A few years ago, we had a lot of problems here. People were going through in the middle of the day with a crow bar and opening the front doors, even if there was an alarm. We started a Citizen Observer Patrol with the [Delray Beach] Police Department in 2009. We take turns driving around, observing for two-hour shifts. We have about 700 homes. A lot of people work, so it’s harder. But it’s important. Actually, when we started it, crime really went down dramatically. But it has spiked up. We don’t stop it, but I really think we help [deter] it.”
    Much of Lake Ida’s crime spike is attributed to one burglar connected to “numerous” incidents there and in Boynton Beach’s Chapel Hill area, said Sgt. Nicole Guerriero, spokeswoman for the Delray Beach Police Department. Police arrested Widley Laurent last month, “and crime pretty much stopped both in Lake Ida and in Chapel Hill,” Guerriero said.
The arrest happened after a resident reported a suspicious individual, she said, a testament to the benefits of neighbors being aware and crime savvy.
    “What I tell people is you have to look at it as if this is their (criminals’) job. They look for the opportunities, such as open windows, jalousie windows, unlocked doors.”
    In both of the Seagate burglaries, there were no signs of forced entry, meaning a door or window was left open, she said.
    “Where we’ve had the most success is where people are paying attention and working with the police.”
    Baffer asks that any Seagate residents who are interested in starting a crime watch email her at murphy444@aol.com.        

By Margie Plunkett

    The Fontaine Fox property is losing a 50-foot swath of land to a garden owned by the daughter of Miracle-Gro’s founder.
    Now owned by developer Frank McKinney, that slice of Fontaine Fox history will become the property of Kate Littlefield, whose father, Horace Hagedorn, started Miracle-Gro, but it will still retain its historic designation and be subject to Historic Preservation Board regulations. 
    “It’s all about her garden,” architect Gary Eliopoulos told the Historic Preservation Board in November. “Kate wants to purchase  the land to provide a buffer for her property.”
    The 2.5-acre Fontaine Fox property consists of three adjacent parcels, the first an oceanfront property. A second parcel is on the west side of Ocean Boulevard.  And a third parcel is west of the second, with its westernmost boundary at Andrews Avenue.
    The north portion of the third parcel is the historically designated area that would become Littlefield’s and would join parcels due north that Littlefield already owns.
    The Fontaine Fox House, on the second property, was designed by South Florida architect John Volk, whose clients also included the Vanderbilts, Duponts and Pulitzers. Fontaine Fox, who died at 80 in 1964, wrote and illustrated a popular cartoon panel called Toonersville Folks than ran in as many as 300 newspapers a day from 1913 to 1955.
    Among later owners of the property, also known as Ocean Apple Estates, was the family of Mott’s Apple Sauce fame. It was placed on the Local Register of Historic Places in 1989 for its architectural and cultural significance. 
    Littlefield has owned large properties throughout the country consisting of hundreds of acres, Eliopoulos said.
The northern two Delray Beach properties, which are not in the jurisdiction of the Historic Preservation Board, have a home and grassy land; “She’s trying to give as much as she can to her dog,” he said.
    No dwelling will be allowed on the 50-foot deep property, although Littlefield wanted the right to build a garden shed, Eliopoulos said.
    “The impact is a positive one — less buildable area,” said Historic Preservation Planner Amy E. Alvarez.
    The land transfer reduces McKinney’s third parcel by 40 percent, “So you’re going to have a smaller lot with a smaller structure,” she said. “It’s a positive thing.”
    The Fontaine Fox property is restricted to three homes, but currently has two — the Fontaine Fox House and a 2,400-square-foot house on the ocean property at 615 N. Ocean Boulevard. A previously proposed plan included a road and four or five houses, Eliopoulos said. The plan was denied, according to a memo from Alvarez to the Historic Preservation Board.
    McKinney’s website lists the price of the entire vacant parcel on the west side of his property at 610 N. Ocean Boulevard for sale for $1.3 million.         Littlefield’s family still operates the Hagedorn garden empire.
Her father died in 2005, but not before a merger resulted in what today is the Scotts Miracle-Gro Co. Littlefield’s brother, Jim Hagedorn, is chairman and CEO of the company, while she is a company director and chair of its largest shareholder, Hagedorn Partnership L.P., according to Forbes.com.
    Delray Beach commissioners approved an amendment to the Fontaine Fox House Ordinance of 1989 during their Nov. 15 meeting. A public hearing was set for Dec. 6.

By Mary Jane Fine
   
A generous offer from Seaside Builders to provide services, labor and material at cost has potentially moved Delray’s back-to-the-future beachfront pavilion one hurdle closer to realization.
    “It is very encouraging,” says Bob Currie, the architect who has donated his own work on the project. “We’re gonna do it. It is going to happen.”
    The pavilion, on A1A at Atlantic Avenue, will be a somewhat altered version of the original 1927 pavilion, which succumbed, not long after completion, to a hurricane.
    Its updated descendant will be built to withstand a Category 5 storm.
    But construction cannot begin until the next hurdles are cleared: “All we’ve got to do,” Currie says, “is get through the red tape.”
    Navigating that red tape involves securing site-plan approval from the city of Delray Beach —  the city included the pavilion in its newest budget — and approval from Florida’s Department of Environmental Protection. Toward that end, Currie has attended a series of meetings and submitted multiple sets of surveys, landscape plans and assorted paperwork to both the city and the DEP.
    It remains to be seen, he says, whether the Competitive Negotiation Act will compel Delray Beach to seek additional bids before deciding whether to accept Seaside’s.
    Mary Renaud, president of Delray’s Beach Property Owners Association, voiced reluctance to cite Seaside’s exact offer but called it “significantly lower” than an initial estimate of $250,000 from another company. The BPOA has been a major player in championing the project.
    Tom Laudani, co-owner of Seaside Builders, was the first to respond to the spate of letters Renaud mailed early in the year, she says, seeking donations for the project. Laudani made the offer, “Because I live in this community,” he says. “I’ve been here for 13 years, and I have a vested interest in the community.”
    The pavilion is phase one of an overall renovation of the beach area that includes landscaping; replacing benches, trash cans and beach showers with updated versions; designing dual paths for walkers and bike riders; redoing signage in the area; and possibly trading coin parking meters for pay-by-numbered-space meters.
    “The whole beach area has to be redone,” Currie says. “The pavilion is the most visible element, to show what the area could be.”
    Renaud is considering putting together a second Delray’s-Got-Talent fundraising event — the first, held in March, brought in $35,800 — to attract additional money toward the completion of the full-scale project.
    The initial talent show was described as “a red-carpet evening of music … headlining many of the best classical, jazz, country and rock ‘n roll performers in the area.”
    “I’d do it again, but not a third time,” Renaud said with a laugh.
    For now, the pavilion project remains on hold pending city and state approvals, a process that could take from three to nine months, Currie and Renaud speculate.
    “The state is the problem child,” says Currie. “You know how our government works. I’ve done things involving the beach before. The day before time is up [to grant approval], they want us to show them something else.”                  

By Steve Plunkett

Will Palm Beach County’s renewed emphasis on ethics become the Grinch who stole Christmas gifts from municipal employees?
    The Commission on Ethics was set to discuss gift-giving guidelines for town workers and other government employees at its Nov. 30 meeting. A proposed opinion said a holiday gift of cash from someone besides a vendor or lobbyist “is not prohibited provided it is not given in exchange for the past, present or future performance of an official act or a legal duty.”
    “We’re new and this is the first year,” said Alan Johnson, the commission’s executive director. “They’ve never squarely looked at holiday giving where it’s one to one.”
    Some cases are easy to determine, Johnson said.
    “Employee-to-employee is a no-brainer as long as there’s no quid pro quo,” he said. Also, fruit baskets to a town hall should not be questioned, he said.
    What the commission decides will be posted on its website, www.palmbeachcountyethics.com, which also has collected its first round of gift forms from municipal employees and officials. Nine individuals from Boca Raton to South Palm Beach submitted forms, far fewer than the 43 just from the town of Palm Beach Police Department.
    Persons filing the form are asked to describe “each gift, the value of which you believe to exceed $100, accepted by you in the calendar year.”
    Forms from the southern coastal communities included:
     • Delray Beach City Commissioner Adam Frankel, $150 for an entry to the 2011 Habitat Golf Classic from Paradise Bank, $300 worth of Miami Heat tickets from contractor Charles Mishner, $250 for a ticket to the CJ Foundation Gala from developer Cito Beguristain, $175 worth of gala tickets from the Sandoway House, $3,550 worth of tickets to the Delray International Tennis Championship from the event, a $150 ticket to the 4 Kids Gala from Paradise Bank, $150 worth of golf at the Habitat for Humanity tournament from Paradise Bank and $2,350 worth of tickets to last year’s Chris Evert Pro-Celeb Tennis Classic from Chris Evert Charities;
    • Delray Beach City Commissioner Tom Carney, $325 for tickets to this year’s Evert Classic.
     • Delray Beach City Manager David Harden, $1,233 for tickets to the International Tennis Championship;
     • Boynton Beach then-Assistant City Manager Lori Ann LaVerriere, $250 for two tickets to a Chamber of Commerce dinner dance from accountant Donald Porges;
     • Boynton Beach Planning Commissioner Sandra Greenberg, $150 for a gala dinner from the Mary Louise Berger campaign;
     • Ocean Ridge Police Chief Chris Yannuzzi, $1,620 worth of tickets to Miami Dolphins football games from resident James McAndrew;
     • Ocean Ridge police Sgt. Robert McAllister, $805 worth of tickets to a Dolphins game from McAndrew, and reserve officer Steve Shoiock, $810 worth;
     • Manalapan Police Chief Clay Walker, $200 in gift cards from resident Peter Blum.
    No one in Boca Raton, Highland Beach, Gulf Stream, Briny Breezes or South Palm Beach disclosed a gift.
    Ocean Ridge’s town attorney is researching whether the town should give its employees a year-end bonus.
    In Gulf Stream, Civic Association President Bob Ganger said the town’s 17 employees could expect their usual gift. The association collects money from residents who want to give something, then divvies it up among the workforce.
    “No one in town who receives the gifts knows who gave them,” he said.
Ganger called the association’s anonymous method of gift-giving “kind of a template” for other communities and one that has been thoroughly reviewed by Town Attorney John “Skip” Randolph.
    “We have no record of who gave; we have no record of how much they gave. It all goes into a pile,” Ganger said.
    And the spirit of the gift is well-meant, he added.
    “People in the town really do appreciate the service they get from the employees in town,” Ganger said.

By Deborah S. Hartz-Seeley

When it comes to food shopping, you probably have a favorite store you regularly visit. You are familiar with the layout, have a preferred day to shop and know the cashiers who will speed you through the line.
    So when that store closes, if only temporarily, it can upset routine.
    And that’s what’s happened to the customers of the Publix Super Market in Sunshine Square. Closed for renovations in October, the store in this popular strip mall is being remade into a 54,000-square-foot modern supermarket with a prescription drive-thru.
    Although there is word it will reopen next summer, a company spokesperson says “we do not have an opening date set.”
    So, until the work is done, the regulars will have to shop elsewhere. We explore some of your options.

Supermarkets
    The Publix website (www.publix.com) lists more than 25 markets within a 10-mile radius of Sunshine Square. So there’s no need to go to another chain if you don’t want to.

But for those who prefer to shop in the immediate neighborhood, there’s a Winn-Dixie just east of Publix’s location. There also are nine Winn-Dixie stores within a 10-mile radius listed on the company’s website (www.winndixie.com).

Wholesale Clubs
Costco Warehouse, 1873 W. Lantana Road, Lake Worth, 533-0958 (6.2 miles); 17800 Congress Ave., Boca Raton, 981-5004 (8.6 miles), www.costco.com.
   
BJ’s Wholesale Club, 1540 W. Boynton Beach Blvd., Boynton Beach, 561-369-3409, www.bjs.com (3.3 miles).
    Most people are familiar with wholesale clubs that are no-frills, big-box businesses with membership fees. At Costco, membership ranges from $55 to $110; at BJ’s, $50 to $90 depending upon benefits.
    The variety of goods and services — everything from food and home electronics to caskets — offered at warehouse stores make them popular with the price-conscious shopper.

Insider Tip: You can get a free one-day shopping pass to BJ’s by visiting www.bjs.com/one-day-pass.content.join_one_day_pass.A.join_consumer.


Superstores
    Wal-Mart’s newest super store is at 3625 S Federal Hwy., Boynton Beach, 600-3088 (1.1 miles); there’s another location at 3200 Old Boynton Road, Boynton Beach, 742-0718 (3.3 miles).
   
Super Target, 650 N Congress Ave., Boynton Beach, 561-396-2202, target.com (3.1 miles).
    These are large low-price department stores with groceries as part of their mix. That means you not only can food shop but also pick up many other things on your shopping list in one stop.
    The high ceilings of the newest 93,000-square-foot Wal-Mart may make you feel a bit dwarfed. And the place could use a few more bright lights.  But if you like supercenter shopping and savings, this store like other super stores, offers deli items, frozen foods, meats and fresh produce plus wine and beer.

Insider tips: At Target, you get 5 percent off all your purchases if you use the company’s Red Card. I’ve also discovered that Target has particularly good prices on boxed cereals including national brands.
At Wal-Mart, they have introduced choice-grade meats. However, the seriously budget conscious can still purchase the lower-quality select grade.
And you may want to bring a jacket when you shop at Wal-Mart’s new supercenter. It was very chilly on the day we visited. 
   
Bravo, 1510 SW Eighth St., Boynton Beach, 737-9916, www.bravosupermarkets.com (1.2 miles): One of only 35 Bravo stores in Florida, this market in Boynton Beach has a decidedly ethnic flavor.
    Like most supermarkets, it offers a selection of packaged goods, fresh produce, frozen products, meat and prepared foods. But here you’ll also find a full line of Latin products and fresh tropical produce.
    Look around and you’ll see such specialty items as Puerto Rican bread, rice and sausage in the hot prepared foods case and tripe in the meat case. The store also carries a wide range of Hispanic spices and 20-pound bags of rice.

Insider tip: People over 55 years of age receive a 5 percent discount on Mondays.
   
Aldi, 4801 Linton Blvd., Delray Beach, www.aldi.us.com (8.1 miles): Aldi was started by two brothers in Germany. Today it has over 8,000 stores worldwide with 1,000 of them in 31 states including Florida.
    Opened at this location in August, Aldi Supermarket is not your typical food giant carrying 30,000 items. Instead, the company prides itself on stocking only about 1,400 grocery and household items, including wine and a limited selection of fresh meat and produce. The company claims this small scale lets them control quality and price.
    Don’t expect to find national brands here either. Instead you will discover house brands such as Benton cookies, Savoritz crackers and Clancy’s chips.
    And you’ll find other cost-saving measures employed at this store. For example, there’s a cluster of shopping carts by the door. But you need to deposit 25 cents before a cart is released from its chain. You get your money back when you return and lock the cart. This way, no one is paid to retrieve carts from the parking lot.
    At the checkout, they accept cash and debit cards; no coupons, credit cards or checks. And if you want a paper bag, it costs 6 cents; plastic, 11 cents.
    And you have to pack your own groceries.
    As a result, the company claims its prices are up to 50 percent less than what you pay for national brands at other stores.

Insider tip: What impressed us is that people seemed to be having fun shopping here. And, we learned, one couple keeps a plastic laundry tub in the trunk of their car into which they quickly and efficiently unload their groceries directly from their cart. That makes them easy to unload at home, too.
   
GFS Store, 250 S. Congress Ave, Boynton Beach, opening 2012, www.gfs.com, (2.6 miles): Gordon Food Service will be opening a store in Boynton Beach this spring. Like all their stores, this one will provide both GFS and national brand products in food service-size packages that are also available by the case. Think No. 10 cans of peaches or tomatoes, oversized jars of mayonnaise and 20-pound chubs of ground beef.
    There’s nothing fancy about these stores that feature meat, seafood, dairy and tabletop supplies as well as limited bakery and fresh produce.  

Insider tip: Here’s your chance to discover what restaurant chefs already know: Many things on restaurant menus are bought ready-made.

By Margie Plunkett
and Tim O’Meilia
   
Lantana’s Ocean Avenue bridge closed for two years — bummer.
    Lantana’s lease of sections of two parks for two years — cause for fireworks. Literally.
    The new $33.2 million Ocean Avenue bridge will not only be wider and safer for drivers, pedestrians, bicyclists and fishermen, it will also stuff cash into Lantana’s bank account and make the Fourth of July more spectacular.
    The town will pocket $654,000 over the next two years for renting the east ends of Sportsman’s and Bicentennial parks to the building contractor for a staging area for construction material and equipment.
    And the construction company will furnish a barge to launch fireworks for the town’s 2012 and 2013 Independence Day celebrations.
    The Town Council approved the agreement Nov. 14 with GLF Construction of Miami. The firm is expected to begin moving materials in after the Dec. 20 effective date of the lease.
    The bridge is scheduled to be closed from mid-March until October 2013. The new bridge will include a $654,000 fishing pier running under the Lantana end.
    GLF must keep vehicles and equipment from interfering with the public boat ramps and the parking areas west of the ramps in Sportsman’s Park and from blocking any of the parking spaces in Bicentennial Park. The eastern entrances to both parks may be closed.
    Council member Lynn Moorhouse gave kudos to Town Manager Michael Bornstein, who negotiated the deal with both Palm Beach County and the construction firm. Although GLF pays the rent technically, the money comes from the county as part of the construction contract.
    Bornstein has said the money will be used to refurbish the parks once the bridge is completed.
    Moorhouse credited Bornstein for boosting the lease payments from an initial offer of $250,000 annually, adding, “He busted their chops and got a free barge for the next two July Fourths.”

By Margie Plunkett
   
A long-awaited drainage and pavement project on Hypoluxo Island is taking shape with a newly awarded contract for design and construction assistance for paving improvements.
    Council approved at its Nov. 14 meeting a $26,623 contract with Kimley-Horn and Associates for engineering services on the project, which is to resurface North Atlantic Drive from Ocean Avenue north and Beach Curve Road from Southeast Atlantic Drive to Barefoot Lane.
    Earlier this year, the project to correct the decades-old drainage problems got the go-ahead, with the award of a $711,765 contract to Intercounty Engineering Inc. of Pompano Beach.
The area has been plagued with flooding for 30 or 40 years, according to Town Manager Michael Bornstein.
Neighbors have been frustrated by the long-standing problem, which has caused rising waters that threaten vehicles and enable boat traffic. But they got some hope during budget discussion this year, when they learned funding had been designated for the project.
In other business: Bornstein received a glowing evaluation from council members, who approved his contract for another year.
The tight budget meant no raise for Bornstein, but he was awarded a one-time $1,000 bonus, as were other town employees earlier this year.
    “I think Michael’s the best thing that’s happened to us,” said council member Lynn Moorhouse.
    Bornstein drew kudos for projects such as the effort to save the post office by mailing coconuts to Washington, the attention he brings to Lantana by portraying the Barefoot Mailman and his work redistributing budget resources as they have grown ever scarcer.
    He was also commended for negotiating a $674,000 lease payment to Lantana for the use of parts of Sportsman’s and Bicentennial parks for staging equipment, vehicles and materials during the construction of the Ocean Avenue Bridge.
    Four residents offered their comments, thanking him for his responsiveness to issues brought by members of the community.
    “Local government is a tough business,” Bornstein told council and residents at the meeting. “You’re in the public spotlight. But it’s one of the most rewarding to be involved with. You don’t do it to get wealthy.
    “Anything that’s been accomplished has been a team effort. We’re very much like a family,” Bornstein said. “It’s very rewarding. I enjoy working with everyone, citizens, volunteers and my bosses. I can’t think of a better place to be.”