Related Story: City by City COVID-19 Cases

By Dan Moffett

Manalapan officials were more than a little perplexed recently when the Florida Division of Emergency Management released statistics that reported 41 people had tested positive for COVID-19 in the town of 466 people.
The number was at least five or six times greater than what Town Manager Linda Stumpf believes Manalapan has had.
“It’s not close,” Stumpf said. “The number should certainly be less than 10.”
Officials next door in South Palm Beach experienced the same thing. The state reported 27 cases in the town, population 1,470.
Mayor Bonnie Fischer and Town Manager Robert Kellogg have been tracking cases closely for the last year, and they believe the town had no more than six. They say Town Hall keeps in continuous contact with condo managers and residents, so officials know how many cases they’ve had.
“We know there haven’t been anything near 27 cases,” Fischer said. “It’s that ZIP code problem again.”
Small municipalities across Florida are becoming resigned to the likelihood that the state’s COVID-19 report will not be accurate, and almost always, the number of cases reported will be too high. The reason is “that ZIP code problem.”
The Division of Emergency Management bases its data collection on patients’ ZIP codes, but they are not precise instruments for capturing the cases in small towns, which often share their ZIP code numbers with much larger demographic areas.
For example, Manalapan is part of the 33462 ZIP code area that sprawls more than 6 miles west and includes some 30,000 people living in Lake Worth, Lantana, Atlantis and Hypoluxo.
Manalapan officials say COVID-19 cases from elsewhere in the large ZIP code area are being incorrectly attributed to the small town.
South Palm Beach shares a ZIP code with some 8,800 residents in Palm Beach. The state is mixing in some of them in the case counting.
Kellogg has tried to investigate the state’s methodology — with little result. “The only response I get is that we are included in the Palm Beach ZIP code number of cases,” he said.
Manalapan, too, has looked for answers. “I haven’t been able to get anything specific,” Stumpf said.
Emergency Management in Tallahassee has not responded to requests for comment.
State officials do say, however, that the COVID-19 numbers should be considered preliminary and could require more investigation. “The data in this report are provisional,” a disclaimer says, “and subject to change.”
The state’s counting is particularly annoying to South Palm Beach, because few Florida communities have been as proactive in fighting the virus. The town has handed out 13,000 face masks to residents and brought in the county’s mobile testing unit four times.
“Our town has been very careful,” Fischer said. “The numbers just aren’t right.”

By Dan Moffett

Ocean Ridge voters have plenty of contrasts to consider as they prepare to elect two commissioners in the March 9 municipal election.
In Mayor Kristine de Haseth and former Mayor Geoff Pugh, voters have two of the most experienced and recognizable figures in town.
De Haseth has served as mayor for the past year, after two years as a commissioner. Beyond that, she is widely known as executive director of the Florida Coalition for Preservation with a long record of activism along the coast.
Pugh is one of the most experienced public servants in the town’s history. He served six years as mayor (2012-2018), had 15 years overall on the commission and before that served on town advisory boards.
Two political newcomers are at the other end of the experience spectrum. Both Carolyn Cassidy and John Kramer are making their first runs for office.
Cassidy, a real estate agent, has an engineering degree from Cornell University and a record of activism in local politics back in New York.
Kramer has 45 years’ experience as a corporate CFO, including with the U.S. Department of Transportation. He spent 20 years at Philip Morris International, rising to the rank of vice president.
Three of the candidates — Pugh, Cassidy and Kramer — share a common issue: They believe the commission has overreached in recent years, passing too many ordinances and meddling too much with homeowners’ individual rights.
“In the last few years, we’ve created way too many ordinances that are actually hampering our ability to increase our property values,” Pugh said during the town’s virtual candidates’ forum on Feb. 11.
He said that too often new ordinances “don’t tell you what you can do but tell you what you can’t do.”
Cassidy agreed: “The addition of so many ordinances has made it extremely onerous for homeowners. … We have to respect individual property rights.”
Pugh has endorsed Cassidy.
Kramer said the commission has spent too much time mandating rules on trees and synthetic turf laws and too little time dealing with finances.
“This election should not be a popularity contest, beautification project or just support a few residents,” Kramer said. “It is about who has the best financial planning and infrastructure background to protect and increase the values of our homes and the town we live in.”
De Haseth, the lone incumbent in the field, defended the commission’s record since she came aboard in 2018.
She said recent ordinances were passed to preserve Ocean Ridge’s character and will do that. Property values are climbing, she said.
De Haseth pointed to a five-year comprehensive plan she helped develop as evidence of serious work and fiscal responsibility. She cited her record as mayor during the past year and how engaging with outside communities and officials has brought COVID-19 testing to residents and made them safer.
“This year was a little bit off because of the pandemic,” de Haseth said of a 2020-21 budget that required dipping into reserves to balance. “But we’ve never used our reserve fund as a slush fund or anything like that.”
All four candidates agreed the town should keep its Police Department and not outsource services to larger agencies. All four agreed that septic-to-sewer conversion, which could cost $30 million or more, looms as a huge issue. But there wasn’t much discussion about what action the town should take now to prepare.
There was wide agreement that the commission should work harder at communicating with residents.
Candidates pointed to the dispute in December over closure of public beach access to allow seawall repair.
“It’s quite clear to me that this commission, at the direction of the mayor, does not value voices of residents,” Cassidy said.
Kramer said “it’s an online world” and the town should improve its access on the internet and make government “more user friendly.”
Pugh said the commission should work on welcoming residents’ participation. “Some of the Town Commission meetings have gotten intimidating,” he said.
Despite some glitches and the pandemic, de Haseth said, her work on the commission has Ocean Ridge well-positioned.
“The town is on a positive track,” she said during the forum, “and I would like to continue to do hard work for you.”
Commissioners serve three-year terms. The top two vote-getters will win the at-large seats. The commission appoints the next mayor after the election.

Anthony Turner’s heirs sold the property to Soleil Estate LLC in 2019 after the town reduced liens for code violations from $200,000 to $20,000.
Photo provided

By Steve Plunkett

An ambitious proposal to demolish an unoccupied Intracoastal Waterway estate and add the property to a planned 14-home subdivision next to Place au Soleil appears close to falling apart.
The town’s Architectural Review and Planning Board recommended approving changes Feb. 25 to Gulf Stream’s comprehensive plan and zoning classification for almost 15 acres just north of Place au Soleil to allow for the 14 new homes.
But Cary Glickstein, former Delray Beach mayor and president of Ironstone Development Inc., the developer behind the plan, was not optimistic he could seal a deal on acquiring the Turner property at 2900 Avenue au Soleil. It lies between the new subdivision and the rest of Place au Soleil and in effect would add a 15th home to the project and create deeper backyards for some home sites.
The estate includes a house and a large detached garage.
“In addition to title issues, litigation has plagued the property for over a decade,” Glickstein said.
He offered the ARPB two scenarios, one with Ironstone acquiring the property and one without. The board recommended that the Town Commission approve the plan without the disputed property but said Glickstein could amend his application if he succeeds in buying the parcel.
The ARPB also recommended approving a 10-foot setback for backyard pools in the neighborhood. Ironstone agreed to drop its plan for a motion-activated gate to the subdivision.
Bluewater Cove, the new name for the project originally called Water View Lane, will have one street running east from the Place au Soleil entrance to two home sites on the Intracoastal and 12 other lots along the road. The plan calls for a path from the new street leading to an observation deck on the waterway.
Glickstein said Place au Soleil residents he has spoken with support the plan.
“I think most people feel that it’s value added to their community,” he said.
As envisioned, the 14 new homes would add $37.3 million to the town’s tax base and generate almost $140,000 a year in property taxes.
Ironstone changed the development’s name after Town Commissioner Donna White complained that Place au Soleil’s other streets are named after colors.
The acreage is the result of the Gulf Stream Golf Club and the Florida Inland Navigation District swapping land to give both entities parcels stretching from Federal Highway to the Intracoastal. Ironstone will be buying the golf club’s property.
Chet Snavely, president of the Place au Soleil Homeowners Association, already bought one longtime neighborhood eyesore, an abandoned house at 2775 Avenue au Soleil, demolished it and covered the parcel with sod.
Neighbors complained that it and the Turner property were hangouts for homeless people and drug deals.
Glickstein said he anticipated two or three spec homes being built at first, with another two or three following as sales allowed.
If Glickstein can buy the Turner property, he said, Ironstone would relocate pipes that connect a pump house to the golf course and Gulf Stream’s drinking water line a ways north to not interfere with the subdivision. The narrow, west-east parcel also has a multi-vehicle garage on the Turner property that is in disrepair and would be razed.
“The 2990 property has had a tortured past, and in some respects maybe should have never been used for anything other than the public utility that traverses the property today,” Glickstein said.
He praised his design team for its final proposal. “It’s almost a natural extension to what is there,” he said.

Gulf Stream Mayor Scott Morgan presents Town Clerk Rita Taylor with a plaque Feb. 12 recognizing her dedication to the town. The Town Commission surprised Taylor by naming the Town Hall library in her honor. Taylor has worked for the town for 31 years. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

By Steve Plunkett

The one-room library inside Town Hall is now the “Rita L. Taylor Gulf Stream Library” in a show of gratitude for the town clerk’s 31 years of service.
“Rita has been over those years the face of this town, and it is her relationship with the residents here that has been so significant,” Mayor Scott Morgan said as commissioners approved the naming Feb. 12.
Taylor became only the second person in Gulf Stream to have something named after her. She was surprised by the gesture, which came while officials were celebrating her birthday. The town’s commission chambers are named for the late and longtime Mayor William F. Koch Jr.
“I don’t know of any place that I would have rather spent 31 years,” Taylor said. “I love it here. I guess it’s too much to ask for another 31 years.”
Besides being a reading room, the library is where residents and architects meet with Taylor to review building plans and where town commissioners chat with her over upcoming agenda items.
Taylor, whose age was not disclosed, previously served 20 years as clerk in Ocean Ridge. Meanwhile, she was an alderwoman and volunteer clerk in Briny Breezes, where she owns a second home, from the early 1970s to the late 2000s.
Taylor is Gulf Stream’s second-longest tenured employee. Police Chief Edward Allen joined Gulf Stream’s police force in 1988.
Putting in decades of public service is not exactly rare in Gulf Stream. Koch was in his 46th year as mayor when he died in 2012. Town Manager William Thrasher retired in 2017 after 21 years of employment and now holds the same spot in Briny Breezes.
And Commissioner Joan Orthwein was honored by the Florida League of Cities in 2020 for her 25 years as an elected official. That did not include seven years on the Architectural Review and Planning Board.
“I feel that this is my second home,” Taylor said of Town Hall. “And I enjoy every minute of it — or most every minute.” Ú

By Jane Smith

Delray Beach city commissioners reluctantly agreed Feb. 9 to waive $60,000 in rent owed by the owner of the Lady Atlantic yacht that docks at Veterans Park. At the same meeting, the commissioners agreed to bill the yacht’s owner almost $40,000 for a gate built to stop flooding in the park. 
Commissioners hesitated to waive the rent because for nearly two years a gap had remained in the newly raised seawall that allowed the yacht to lower a gangplank for passengers to use.
The yacht’s owner was responsible for creating a gate to close the gap. The opening allowed water from heavy rains, high tides and storms to flow into Veterans Park along the Intracoastal Waterway.
The yacht owner paid the city $10,000 per month in rent, according to its 5-year lease signed in 2018. The owner has not paid rent since February 2020 because the COVID-19 pandemic closed all activities for a few months. The tour boat takes passengers on the Intracoastal.
“Once we were able to reopen after the mandatory shutdown, it was at 50% capacity, which barely covers expenses,” owner Joseph Reardon said in a Jan. 28 email to the city’s Parks and Recreation director.
“We went into the wettest summer on record, followed by the busiest hurricane season on record, followed by our traditionally slow season.”
Passenger traffic was down by about 75% from March through November 2020 compared with the previous year, according to passenger count information from the Lady Atlantic. More recent passenger count numbers were not provided.
Reardon wrote that he received some federal help through the Paycheck Protection Program, designed to help small businesses with payroll, rent and utility bills. He did not list the amount received.
The Lady Atlantic rent waiver is one of many the city has made since the pandemic led to a virtual shutdown of the city in mid-March 2020.
The Delray Beach commission waived fees for valet companies using city parking places on Atlantic Avenue until Dec. 31, waived fees for 40 parking spaces in the Federspiel garage, and waived more than $70,000 in rent owed by Oceanside Beach Services because the beach was closed for eight weeks last spring.

Owner to get bill for gate
Reardon was obligated to close the gap left in the Veterans Park seawall when it was raised 20 inches during a construction project that ended in early 2019, according to Missie Barletto, Public Works director.
Reardon had asked for the opening to allow for a loading ramp used to bring passengers aboard and off the yacht. When the ramp was not used, the gap needed to be closed to prevent flooding in Veterans Park during high tides and heavy rains.
In January, commissioners heard that the city’s Public Works Department had designed and built a $38,960 gate to close the gap.
The yacht owner “had a full year of being able to design and close the gap in the seawall” before the pandemic, Mayor Shelly Petrolia said at the Jan. 19 commission meeting, when the rent waiver was first discussed. “I don’t want to see the cost falling on the taxpayers.”
Barletto said the city was sending the $38,960 bill for the gate to Reardon.
The city’s Community Redevelopment Agency paid for the nearly $640,000 seawall project, built by Callaway Marine Technologies Inc. of West Palm Beach.

By Jane Smith

As the March 9 election nears, a PAC involved in the Delray Beach mayoral race is spreading false allegations via phone and mailers. A 30-second robocall, underwritten by the political action committee Progress for Delray Beach, blames the Feb. 23 barrier island water main break by an FPL contractor on Mayor Shelly Petrolia. The call, featuring a woman’s voice, was sent Feb. 24 to a sampling of voters citywide.
The call starts off talking about a boil-water order for the city. But the water main break affected only barrier island residents who were advised to boil water for three days as a result of the main break.
“This is just another example of Delray’s drinking water crisis under Shelly Petrolia’s watch,” the recorded voice said. “The Florida Department of Health has found unsafe drinking water for the eight years Shelly Petrolia has been in charge.”
But Petrolia has been mayor for only three of the past eight years. Cary Glickstein served as mayor for the previous five years; Petrolia was a city commissioner then.
Tracy Caruso, Petrolia’s opponent, is linked to the robocall because the same PAC previously sent out negative fliers aimed at Petrolia.
At the end of the Greater Delray Beach Chamber of Commerce candidate debate, held Feb. 10 at the Arts Garage, candidates were able to ask each other one question.
Petrolia held up a stack of negative fliers that Caruso’s campaign had made about the mayor. Many recent fliers had a St. Petersburg return address for this same PAC — Progress for Delray Beach.
Petrolia, a residential real estate broker, asked Caruso for one positive comment.
“I would say my positive thing about you is that you will be out of office soon and able to enjoy your retirement,” Caruso said.
Caruso’s question to Petrolia was about the possible $3 million in fines from the Florida Department of Health Palm Beach County that may be levied soon for problems with the city’s reclaimed water system.
Delray Beach adopted the reclaimed water plan in July 2008 and failed to abide by it, according to the department.
Caruso asked, “Did the revolving door of eight city managers and the disruption it caused create this willful lack of oversight?”
Petrolia answered, “First off, I was not on the commission back then. … When we heard about the problems in early 2020, we shut off the system.”
Caruso, a downtown business owner who chairs the city’s Historic Preservation Board, is married to state Rep. Michael Caruso, a Republican. Tracy Caruso changed her voter registration from Republican to no party affiliation one day after registering her candidacy in the non-partisan Delray Beach mayoral race in November. 
She continues to get most of her major donations from outside Delray Beach. Of the 37 donors who gave her campaign $1,000 in February, 21 were from outside the city limits, according to the campaign contribution reports. She had raised $181,305 as of Feb. 25.
By comparison, Petrolia, a Democrat, had raised $132,292.90 as of Feb. 25. In February, her reports showed five of her eight major donors were from outside Delray Beach.
While Caruso has relied on PACs to finance her negative mailings, Petrolia’s materials go out under her own name, including those that say Caruso was a Trumpette. Trumpettes are Palm Beach-based women who support former President Donald Trump.
The two mayoral candidates have squared off at four debates and during one recorded interview. The interview was hosted by the Beach Property Owners Association. The interviewer was Rita Ellis, the group’s treasurer and a former Delray Beach mayor who has endorsed Caruso.
The other debates were:
In January, the Set Neighborhood Alliance broadcast its virtual debate of the mayoral candidates on Facebook.
A nonpartisan group, When We All Vote Palm Beach County Voting Squad, held a virtual forum of the commission candidates in February. The forum was broadcast via Zoom and is available on the group’s Facebook page.
The St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church and the League of Women Voters in Palm Beach County held their Delray Beach commission candidate debate in February at the church. It was also broadcast on the church’s YouTube video page.

Seat 1 interview stays civil
The commission Seat 1 race features incumbent Adam Frankel and political newcomer Price Patton.
Patton, a veteran journalist and a founder of The Coastal Star, is on leave from the monthly newspaper. He lives on the barrier island and has endured the reclaimed water shutoffs during the past two years. He has served on the city’s Historic Preservation Board and is currently serving on its Site Plan Review and Appearance Board.
He said during the BPOA interview that he would empower city employees to think outside of the box in response to Ellis’ question about “the toxic culture in City Hall.”
When asked what qualities he would look for in a city manager, Patton said someone who has experience in local government.
In his closing statement at the BPOA interview, Patton said, “I’m running a grassroots campaign, with a fresh but seasoned voice.” He pledged to resolve the city’s problems, restore creativity in City Hall, keep the charm of Atlantic Avenue and the beach, and keep working to restore the city’s historic character.
Frankel, a criminal defense attorney, is serving his second stint on the City Commission.
When Ellis asked about the lack of maintenance of the beach promenade, Frankel said, “We are a tourist destination. We should prioritize its annual maintenance.”
On a new city manager, Frankel proposed interim City Manager Jennifer Alvarez. “She is doing well, has the demeanor to do a great job,” he said.
Frankel also said he did not agree that the city needs a crisis public relations firm to address the reclaimed water issue. “We have a great utilities director,” he said.
His closing remarks focused on the BPOA’s issues: limiting what can go on a roof in the single-family neighborhoods of the barrier island, trimming sea grapes along the beach and stopping aggressive panhandling downtown.
By the Feb. 25 reporting date, Frankel had raised $60,840, and Patton had raised $41,035.

Rematch in Seat 3 race
The battle for Seat 3 features a rematch of the 2018 City Commission race between Ryan Boylston and Mitch Katz.
Boylston, the incumbent who likes to say he is “your vice mayor,” calls himself an “organic politician.” He started his political career serving on city boards.
Addressing the question about “the toxic culture at City Hall” during the BPOA interview, Boylston said, “Elected officials need to stay off Facebook. We need to resonate what our values are at the top.”
When Ellis asked about fixing the reclaimed water problems, he said, “Our job is to build confidence. I’m proud we hired a firm to help our public information officer. We are in a pandemic with businesses closing and programs to help them. Then, to throw a water issue on top” would be too much.
Boylston, owner of a creative marketing company in downtown Delray Beach, said his priorities for the next three years would be to get new Congress Avenue businesses on the tax roll and open the first Haitian-American center in Palm Beach County.
At the end of the Chamber of Commerce debate on Feb. 10, Boylston asked Katz why he did not have support of prominent organizations and the unions of firefighters and police.
“That would compromise me too much,” said Katz, who works for a private higher education firm.
In return, Katz asked about the state ethics violations that Boylston settled last year.
They were from the time Boylston served as chairman of the Downtown Development Agency. He voted on its budget, which included money for ads in a publication he partly owned. Before running for City Commission, he sold that stake.
“I settled those two items,” he said.
By the Feb. 25 reporting date, Katz had raised $24,587, and Boylston had raised $66,584. All candidates agreed that addressing the rising sea levels would require working regionally with city neighbors to the north and south. The estimated $300 million-plus cost to raise the Delray seawalls could be met only with state and federal assistance, they said.

By Rich Pollack

Town leaders will be focused this month on determining how the community receives fire and emergency medical services, eventually deciding if Highland Beach should continue contracting with Delray Beach, start its own department or consider a hybrid model using a private provider.
The town also will consider creating a public safety department with its police officers certified as firefighters so they would be available to serve as backup in a major fire.
Those options were presented to Highland Beach in a draft report it received late last month from Matrix Consulting Group, which was commissioned to take a hard look at the services the town receives from Delray Beach and evaluate feasible alternatives.
Should town commissioners choose to depart from the status quo and separate from Delray Beach, the impact will be felt both in the small town and its much larger neighbor.
At issue, according to Highland Beach Town Manager Marshall Labadie, is the cost of the service provided by Delray Beach, which staffs a fire truck and rescue vehicle working out of a station in town.
“Everyone agrees they do a superb job, but at what cost?” he said.
The town budgeted $4.8 million to pay Delray Beach for fire rescue service this fiscal year, and the report from Matrix projects that number could increase to $6.5 million by 2027.
If Highland Beach chose not to renew its contract with Delray Beach, the city would lose those millions of dollars in revenue and would lose use of the station the town owns.
The Matrix report found that in 2019, personnel working out of the Highland Beach station responded to about 650 calls outside town, with 70% being for emergency medical services.
During the same year, the crew at the Highland Beach station responded to 704 calls for service within the town, again with the vast majority being medical calls, according to the report.
In addition to presenting information about the cost of starting a municipal fire department, the report outlines possible hybrid models. One model would include hiring a private company to provide fire and medical services, with another requiring the town to create a municipal fire department and outsource emergency medical services.
Another option presented in the report would have the town contract out emergency medical services and have the police and municipal fire departments combined into a public safety department.
Training police officers as firefighters, the report says, would provide additional personnel in the event of a large fire.
While the Matrix report shows that the operational cost of most of the alternatives would be lower than the cost of staying with Delray Beach by 2027, it also points out that implementation would include significant start-up costs for at least the first three years.
Start-up costs over that time period are projected to range anywhere between about $2 million for a public safety department and as much as $3 million for a stand-alone Highland Beach fire rescue department, according to the Matrix study.
Although the study provided an analysis of alternatives, it did not include a recommendation on what options might be best for the town.
However, the report did recommend that should the town stay with Delray Beach, contract terms should be modified to reflect more accurate personnel costs and include performance benchmarks that can be accurately measured.
The Town Commission plans to have a special meeting on March 11 to hear a presentation from the consultant, discuss the report and start a process that could take two or three months before a decision is made.

By Mary Thurwachter

After a cellphone video submitted by a supporter of mayoral candidate Robert Hagerty became fodder for a local TV news story, Lantana council member Mark Zeitler, a backer of incumbent Mayor David Stewart, became the focus of a police investigation.
The video, taken on Feb. 20 and submitted to the TV station and the police by Catherine Phillips, 57, a vocal critic of Stewart, shows Zeitler, 64, tossing a Hagerty sign into the street after installing a sign for Stewart. During an on-air interview with CBS-12, Phillips said she couldn’t believe an elected official would act in that manner and that at one point she thought he was going to punch her. She said the tenant had given her permission to put up a campaign sign.
Zeitler says there is more to the story. He said he had permission from the property owner to put up a Stewart sign at the Arnold Avenue address, and that man did not want another candidate’s sign on his lawn. The property owner wanted to talk to Phillips on the phone, Zeitler said, but Phillips refused.
Zeitler said he tried to give Phillips her sign back, but she wouldn’t take it and he left it on the ground in front of her car. Eventually, he tossed the sign into the street as she recorded him.
He shouldn’t have done that, Zeitler told The Coastal Star. And he said he apologizes to Hagerty for doing so.
Hagerty’s campaign manager, Jennifer Wink, appeared before the Lantana Town Council during its Feb. 22 meeting to offer this comment:
“We have been made aware of the behavior exhibited by Mark Zeitler over the weekend. We were appalled to see video footage of our local elected official acting as he did. His actions were certainly inappropriate and unwarranted. We support the constitutional rights of our fellow citizens, including those of free speech and the rights of private property.  
“As the former commander of the Lantana Police Department, Robert Hagerty has faith in our local authorities to investigate the matter and we have no further comment on this issue at this time.”
The police closed the case on Feb. 26 after Hagerty said he did not want to pursue it.
Supporters of both candidates have complained about signs being stolen, but as of March 1, this was the only one that spurred a police probe.
Phillips brought a sexual harassment charge against Stewart in 2018. That allegation was dismissed after an investigation by the Florida Commission on Ethics.

Related story: Supporters of mayoral candidates spar over sign placement

By Mary Thurwachter

During an hourlong debate on Feb. 18 hosted by the Lantana Chamber of Commerce, mayoral candidates Robert Hagerty and David Stewart discussed topics that ranged from development plans to water sources to how the town should best use its $9 million reserves.
Held at the town’s Recreation Center, the well-attended debate (both in person and virtually via Zoom) was moderated by Chamber President Dave Arm. Questions were submitted by residents ahead of time.
Hagerty, a former commander with the Lantana police, and Stewart, the town’s mayor for the past 21 years, had plenty to say ahead of the March 9 election. Here are their responses on a few topics.

Use of reserves
When it comes to the proper use of the town’s $9 million reserves, Stewart said it wasn’t so much the proper use but how having that money, and keeping it in local banks, gave the town much better borrowing power.
“Because we have money in the bank, we were able to rewrite a lot of loans with cost savings of over $1 million,” Stewart said. “If we didn’t have the money in the reserves for Sea Pines, we wouldn’t have been able to write those checks for over $340,000 to pump 12 million gallons of water out of that area when we needed it.
“If you get a major hurricane hit, you have to rebuild your infrastructure, you have to do all sorts of things to restore property values to the residents,” Stewart said. “By having that (reserves), you’re able to do it.”
Hagerty said the reserves should be put toward repairing infrastructure.
“Right now we have a 3.5 millage rate, which as Mayor Stewart says brings in $4 million a year. But understand we run a $20 million budget. I think if the opportunity presents itself and repairs are necessary, it shouldn’t have to wait.
“It’s nice to have the money in the bank, but we can save money till we’re blue in the face, but we’ve got to be sensible about spending it.”
Stewart countered by saying, “This town has never, since I’ve been mayor, turned down doing any repairs that were necessary. When water lines have had situations, we have lined them, we have saved them. We have taken money from reserves when necessary to provide the infrastructure that’s needed.”

Town’s water source
Arm said the town’s water source may be in jeopardy due to saltwater incursion and other reasons. He asked candidates for their plans to address this potential problem, including the upcoming transfer of the town’s water from the Biscayne Aquifer to the Floridan Aquifer.
Hagerty said he wasn’t familiar with the problem and couldn’t answer at the moment, but said the town has some of the best water around. “I don’t think that’s going to change.”
Stewart offered detail, citing permits from the state and the South Florida Water Management District obtained in 2003 during water plant work.
“Our municipality, since day one, has pulled water from the Biscayne Aquifer, which runs from 200 to 500 feet deep. Those permits will be gone in 2028. Our town’s only solution when that permit is gone will be to go to the Floridan Aquifer, which is 5,000 feet down and more, which means you have to go to a reverse osmosis type of plant.
“The cost to do that would be in excess of $10 million. We need to plan ahead so that in 2028, when the time comes, our residents and the future council will not be burdened with that problem of trying to get the water supply for this town.”
The alternative, he said, would be to buy water from the county, which would cost about the same but result in loss of control of the water plant.

Future development
Lantana is experiencing a period of development, including Aura Seaside apartments, Water Tower Commons and the Kmart site, Arm said. He asked candidates for their thoughts on development overall and balancing residents’ concerns, developers’ desires and the future growth of the town.
“You have to have growth to go forward,” Stewart said. “Many projects have come forward and have somewhat stalled, but they will be done and they will prosper in the future. The development of certain areas will happen and it’s a balance that you have to consider to not cause a problem or an inconvenience for the residents who live around it.
“At the same time, you have to consider the influx of good development. … When something comes in front of me, I try to think, is this going to be great for Lantana four decades from now, or is it just going to be great for five years? And if it’s not going to be great in 40 years, I’m usually not in favor of it.”
Hagerty said he thinks the future growth of the town is on track but that 50% to 75% of businesses are unoccupied.
“I agree to a certain extent with what Stewart has said.We have to do what’s going to prosper for the town for years to come. They’re talking about a project at Kmart (plaza) that’s more residential, but at the same time they’re knocking out where commercial business used to be.
“I think the overall picture needs to be addressed again with what the residents of the town want and how our codes can build into that.”

Candidate pitches
Hagerty said he would bring a new sense of environment to the town, having worked here for 30 years.
“I think the people are first and foremost. … I understand there’s a budget hearing and only so many people come, but I want to make it so we can have additional meetings or some type of meet-and-greets. I want to make sure they have a better understanding of how things work and their voices start the planning process.”
Stewart said residents have the right to get up and speak if they don’t like something every two weeks at council meetings and during the four budget hearings. “I have never denied anyone who wants to talk about something.”
Stewart said he was the better candidate for several reasons. “I was chairman of the planning and zoning before I ran for mayor. I attended the meetings consistently in the ’80s and ’90s to understand the flavor of Lantana.”
Stewart also said he has established a good rapport with governors and other officeholders through his work with the Florida League of Cities. He served as president of the Palm Beach County League of Cities in 2007-2008. Having that access has been helpful with projects to take the town forward, he added.
Stewart said he has served the town well. “Your taxes have remained flat. Your property values have gone up, even in spite of the downturn in 2008. Our town has been better than it was 21 years ago. And I want to continue that.”

The Lantana Nature Preserve reopened Feb. 3 with a new concrete trail. Another 350 feet of the trail remains to be done. Mary Thurwachter/The Coastal Star

By Mary Thurwachter

On Feb. 3, town officials reopened the Lantana Nature Preserve with a new 6-foot-wide concrete trail.
The old pathway, and the entire 6½-acre preserve at 440 E. Ocean Ave., were left in shambles by Hurricane Irma in 2017. After years of debate on what kind of material to use for the walkway, the Town Council agreed on concrete last March. The original trail was made of shale rock, which had washed away over the years. Pressure-treated wood, pavers, asphalt and gunite sand had all been considered before the town settled on concrete.
Although the Town Council had asked that the entire pathway be installed at the same time, one section on the north end still remains to be done.
The north portion of the trail is bordered by mangroves and other aquatic vegetation in the waterway that is protected under various environmental regulations, according to Eddie Crockett, the town’s operations director. 
“To expedite the construction and subsequent opening of the path and get a usable amenity for the community up and running quickly, we broke the construction of the path into phases,” Crockett said in an email.
The first phase is complete.
“Phase II will be the remaining approximately 350 feet on the north side of the Nature Preserve,” Crockett wrote. “The permit for Phase II was submitted in December 2020 and we hope to get it approved this spring and start construction shortly thereafter. Once we get an approved permit, the construction will be quick and the Nature Preserve will remain open during construction.”
Crockett added: “As far as those who use the Nature Preserve that are mobility challenged, they can use the northernmost east/west path connector to avoid the unpaved portion of the trail and still enjoy a significant portion of the amenity.” 
In November, American Design Engineering Construction Inc. was awarded the contract to build the concrete path and repair the retaining wall at the preserve for $144,494.
The preserve is open 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.

By Dan Moffett

Keith Davis has been practicing government law in South Florida for two decades, so when he told Briny Breezes Town Council members that regulating signs was difficult, they knew things were going to get complicated.
But it might be getting more complicated than anyone expected — even the town attorney.
In the wake of the November election, the council wanted to rein in temporary signs, especially political campaign signs that showed up throughout town and often weren’t removed after the voting. Real estate and yard sale signs were also an issue.
Davis has written sign ordinances before, one of the most recent coming in Manalapan. The trick is to regulate the size, location and display of signs without getting involved in their content and clashing with First Amendment constitutional rights.
What makes Briny different from Manalapan and other municipalities Davis has counseled is its corporate structure. Because the corporation owns the land, the town has to find a way to work with the corporation’s rules.
“The corporate layer makes it extra complicated,” Davis said during the council’s meeting on Feb. 25. When it comes to signs, finding the right balance between free speech and restriction “is bar none the most difficult thing to regulate I have ever encountered,” he said.
One option is for the town to adopt the corporation’s rules, Davis said, so that the landowner and the municipality were in sync. Another possibility is a “free speech zone” — a designated common area where residents could post signs of all persuasions. Many communities have addressed the problem this way.
The proposed ordinance would not change rules for permanent signage, such as monuments and street signs.
Council President Sue Thaler said it’s clear that Briny needs stronger rules than those on the books to “keep the town from being dumped up by a bunch of signs,” especially during election season.
She said whatever the council does, it’s likely some resident will challenge the new law.
Town Manager William Thrasher said that while it’s important to work with the corporation, it’s more important to safeguard free speech and individual rights.
“Our primary responsibility as a government is to abide by the First Amendment,” he said.
Davis told the council he would do more research and bring back a revised draft of the ordinance for discussion at the next regular meeting on March 25.

Voters can chart course
Briny voters can help give the town its first formal charter by participating in the special election on March 9.
On the ballot are proposed amendments that would outline procedures for governance. The provisions would define the duties and role of the town manager, and make the town clerk an appointed position, rather than elected.
Other measures codify rules and methodology for the Town Council’s operation. Briny has not had a comprehensive, detailed charter since its founding in 1963.

Linda Sorenson, an Ocean Ridge resident for 14 years, is a strong supporter of the League of Women Voters and the role it plays in informing the public. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

Related Story: Palm Beach County Chapter celebrates being largest of League of Women Voters

Linda Sorenson, a member of the Palm Beach County chapter of the League of Women Voters since she moved to Ocean Ridge 14 years ago, says people often misunderstand the organization as politically partisan.
“The league does not support any candidate or political party,” said Sorenson, 81. “It’s strictly an issues organization. But when you’re an organization that considers itself supporting good government, it tends to be government issues.
“It’s very difficult, especially in this climate with our polarization, to keep the nonpartisan reputation — which we work very hard at keeping.”
A native of Albany, New York, Sorenson was a member of the board of directors in the league chapter in the Capital District. She has taken on a lower profile since coming to South County, though she did vet questions at a candidate forum in Ocean Ridge ahead of the March 9 election.
“We do take positions on bills, both on the state and national levels, and often when we study an issue we can form coalitions with groups such as the AARP or the ACLU to have a stronger voice,” she said.
Sorenson said people new to the area should consider joining the league as a means of learning about the “political aspects” of their new surroundings.
“And it’s a great way to meet people, like-minded people,” she said.
An annual membership is $60 for one person and $90 for a household. Membership information is available online at https://lwvpbc.org.
The Palm Beach County chapter has nearly 700 members, making it the largest in the country as of January, and Sorenson said it is among the most active as well.
“We have a lot of young people, and quite a few men,” Sorenson said. “It’s open to men; they just don’t want to change the name because of the name recognition. It’s been established for more than 100 years.”
Sorenson enjoys walks on the beach, swimming and travel. With children in Seattle, Utah and Boston, she has spent recent summers driving to see and spend time with all three.
“Some people don’t like to drive, but I love the freedom,” she said. “I’m not sure I’ll make it out West anymore, but going up and down the East Coast is a piece of cake.”
— Brian Biggane

Q: Where did you grow up and go to school? How do you think that has influenced you?
A: I grew up in Albany, New York, and attended a girls Episcopal school for 12 years. The most influential part of my teenage years was meeting and falling in love with the boy who became my husband (Edward Sorenson) six years later. He was the most intelligent person I have ever known and expanded my horizons. I attended Connecticut College and we were married while in college.
I had some very influential professors who taught me to think and enabled me to explore interests I didn’t know I had. I majored in zoology.
Q: What professions have you worked in? What professional accomplishments are you most proud of?
A: My professional history is the four years I worked while my husband attended medical school. My field was pharmaceutical research for a division of Sterling Drug. I did animal studies on parasitic diseases and also contraceptive drug research. Once my three children started school, I took over the management of my husband’s psychiatric practice office.
My achievements and fulfillments have come through other areas of life and I’ve been fortunate to be able to pursue my many interests. Raising three now very accomplished and caring human beings is the legacy of which I’m proudest.
Q: What advice do you have for a young person seeking a career today?
A: My advice would be to get a well-rounded, liberal arts education in order to be exposed to the many options available. There is time to specialize when he or she learns what excites and motivates them.

Q: How did you choose to make your home in Ocean Ridge?
A: My grandparents retired to Delray Beach in 1945 from Rochester, New York, and my parents retired to Delray Beach in 1964, so I am the third generation to have a home in this area. After my husband died 15 years ago, I decided I could be happier here for the next chapter of my life than in the cold, snowy Northeast. It was our dream to live on the ocean and I am living out that dream in Ocean Ridge.

Q: What is your favorite part about living in Ocean Ridge?
A: I value the opportunity to see the ocean always and be outside every day. I was a runner for 40 years, but now alternate swimming and walking, an important part of my daily life. Ocean Ridge has the feel of a small, well-run, caring community. I participate in our Book Club and Garden Club.

Q: What book are you reading now?
A: I recently finished a memoir, Permission To Fly, by Layng Martine Jr., and am presently engrossed in Birds In Fall, a novel by Brad Kessler.

Q: What music do you listen to when you want to relax? When you want to be inspired?
A: To relax I enjoy all kinds of what I call “mellow folk,” from the ’60s on. To be comforted and inspired, I usually listen to classical music.

Q: Have you had mentors in your life? Individuals who have inspired your life decisions?
A: I have had many mentors in my life, starting with my husband. In my later years, they have been people of faith — pastors, mystics and friends who have inspired me to a deeper relationship with God. I spend time every day in prayer and contemplation. I’m active at St. Joseph’s Episcopal Church in Boynton Beach, where I’m a choir member. My faith propels my activism in charities that support the marginalized of our society, such as CROS Ministries, Caridad Center and Family Promise.

Q: If a movie were to be made about your life, who would play you?
A: I have no desire to have my life made into a movie. If it came to pass, I would suggest Mary Steenburgen, someone I consider not only a great actress but down-to-earth and wholesome.

Q: Who/what makes you laugh?
A: My children and grandchildren make me laugh, and optimistic friends who have a light touch about life and see the good in all.

By Ron Hayes

When the League of Women Voters was founded in Chicago on Valentine’s Day 1920, women couldn’t vote.
Six more months would have to pass before the U.S. Constitution caught up with them.
Last year, both the 19th Amendment and the league marked its centenary, and this year began with the Palm Beach County chapter celebrating its distinction as the largest of the league’s more than 750 chapters.
“I can confirm that as of January 2021, the League of Women Voters of Palm Beach County currently has the largest membership of any league in the country,” reports Sarah Courtney of the nonprofit organization’s national office in Washington, D.C.
“Our largest leagues by membership are geographically diverse and include St. Louis, Missouri; Austin, Texas; Cleveland, Ohio; San Diego, California; and Milwaukee, Wisconsin.”
She declined to provide membership numbers for other chapters. But after competing with California chapters off and on for years, Palm Beach County has pulled ahead.
“It’s a moving target,” says Darlene Kostrub, the county’s membership director, “but at this moment we have 662 Palm Beach County members.”
Originally, the league admitted only women, in line with its initial mission to educate those newly enfranchised voters, but that policy was changed in 1973, two years before the Palm Beach County chapter was founded.
“Today, I’d say about 15-20 percent of our members are male,” Kostrub says.
The county’s league is one of 29 state chapters from the Panhandle to the Keys.
“It’s a great honor that our state is home to the largest local League of Women Voters in the nation,” said Patricia Bingham, the state board president. “We commend the leaders of Palm Beach for their phenomenal recruitment and retention work.”
Local league President Ken Thomas attributes the chapter’s growth in part to its work attracting younger members.
“We have a very active committee called the Young Leaguers who reach out to circles that aren’t our traditional demographic,” he said.
During last year’s Black Lives Matter demonstrations in West Palm Beach, for example, league members registering new voters were also able to add members by highlighting a new outreach that offers free membership to students between 16 and 26.
“A lot of these people who were peacefully protesting were interested in civic engagement and saw the league as a legacy organization with a history of doing this work,” Thomas said.
Kostrub, the membership director, estimates about 60 local members are students, some still in high school, but most are college students.
Another factor in the league’s healthy growth, Thomas said, is its commitment to remaining resolutely nonpartisan.
“People say we don’t endorse candidates,” he said, “but I like to reinforce that we don’t oppose any candidates, either. We don’t endorse or oppose.”
On Feb. 11, the league hosted its first virtual candidates forum, with an audience watching by Zoom as Delray Beach City Commission candidates discussed the issues at St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church.
When the league realized not all the candidates could sit socially distanced on the chancel, seating for all was moved to the floor level to avoid any perception of favoritism by having them seated on two levels.
“We don’t only say we’re nonpartisan,” Thomas said, “we actively strive to appear nonpartisan in the way we conduct ourselves.”
While the league is nonpartisan, however, it is not apolitical. Statewide, it has vigorously fought for and against political policies. In 2019, state league chapters went to court to fight Senate Bill 7066, which would require ex-felons to pay off all financial obligations before they could vote, and last year, working with the ACLU, Florida members contacted more than 100,000 former felons to encourage them to register and vote.
Locally, the chapter’s website touts its commitment to reproductive rights, gun safety and immigration reform.
But regardless of any candidate’s position on controversial issues, all are invited to participate in the forums, and in Palm Beach County, the results are clearly effective.
“Our goal is to have 700 members,” Kostrub said.

Risa Levinson receives a case of water from Nelson Palomo, a maintenance worker for the city, after the Feb. 23 main break. At left is city crew leader Zach Torres. The city and FPL gave away water for parts of two days at Anchor Park amid a boil-water notice for the barrier island.
Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Rich Pollack

Many residents of coastal Delray Beach who have dealt with city water woes over the last few years were told once again to boil water as a result of a construction crew rupturing a main last month.
This time residents received bottled drinking water courtesy of the city and the contractor whose team was responsible for the break.
According to the city and FPL, crews installing underground power lines at the intersection of Seagate Drive and Bauhinia Road on the barrier island accidentally broke the water line at about 6 p.m. Feb. 23, a Tuesday.
The water main was repaired and the line flushed, but because the pipe was exposed a precautionary boil-water notice was issued.
While the notice was initially for just a portion of the barrier island south of Atlantic Avenue, it was later expanded to the northern portion of the coastal area out of “an abundance of caution.”
Because the city is required by the Florida Department of Health to test water for two days to be sure there is no contamination, the boil-water notice was not lifted until the following Friday morning.
After the water main break, representatives from the contractor and the city reached out to residents and offered to provide bottled water for about a day and a half at Anchor Park.
“The contractor assisted the city by distributing door hangers to the affected homes and delivering bottled water to the affected customers due to the inconvenience,” an FPL spokesman said in an email.
Most residents were able to pull up in their vehicles and receive a case of bottled water from a city employee. Some residents, who live nearby, walked up to receive water.
“Our contractor, as well as FPL, is committed to doing the right thing for our customers,” the spokesman said.
Many Delray residents living on the barrier island were told to boil their water in December 2018, after cross-contamination was discovered with drinking water and reclaimed water mixing.
The city could face a fine from the Florida Department of Health of up to nearly $3 million as a result of issues stemming from its reclaimed water distribution system.

Related Stories: Despite flaws, reclaimed system meets mission of conserving water |Barrier island water main damaged by construction crew

By Jane Smith

As Delray Beach awaits a possible multimillion-dollar fine over its mismanaged reclaimed water program, at least 10% of its barrier island residents have switched back to using drinking water for landscape irrigation, snubbing the highly treated wastewater.
About 20 of the residences converted back to potable water for irrigation and never notified Delray Beach, leaving their reclaimed water meters still installed, city records show.
In the summer months of July through September, the city paid Line Tec Inc. of Delray Beach to remove reclaimed water meters from four locations, according to city invoices.
A 2007 city ordinance makes it mandatory for properties to connect to the reclaimed water lines if the service is available to them, but the rule has gone largely unenforced by the city.
Problems with the city’s reclaimed water system surfaced in January 2020, leading to a state-ordered shutdown of the system for months last year while inspectors checked all the system’s connections.
Barrier island residents told the city inspectors that they converted to potable water for irrigation for a variety of reasons.
The residents said the reclaimed water was unreliable and had unforeseen shutoffs or no was longer needed because they switched to a landscape style that requires little or no watering. Some signed forms, not approved by city leaders, allowing them to opt out when reclaimed water was offered.
City leaders say they are working to bring these residents back to using reclaimed water for irrigation, but they have not said exactly how that will happen.
“It’s a criminal act if you disconnect from the reclaimed water system. Federal law protects the health, safety and welfare of drinking water,” said Fred Bloetscher, whose firm did the 2020 review of the Delray Beach reclaimed water system. “In residential areas, it’s all homes or nothing.”
One of the four locations where a reclaimed water meter was removed by Line Tec has since been reconnected. That one, at 120 S. Ocean Blvd., converted back to reclaimed water on Jan. 21, 2021, according to the utilities inspector’s notes. City inspectors had found a cross connection there in April and a boil-water order was issued for the Ocean Place condominium residents.
The other residences sit farther south on Ocean Boulevard, including one where the family and its dog were sickened in the fall of 2018, possibly from the cross connection discovered at 801 S. Ocean in December 2018. That discovery led to a boil-water order for a southern section of the barrier island.

Unenforced ordinance
What the city allows is at the crux of the reclaimed water debacle in Delray Beach.
In 2007, Delray Beach passed an ordinance making it mandatory to connect to reclaimed water within 90 days of when its pipes are laid in the neighborhood. The city pays for the reclaimed meter, the backflow preventer and gives utilities customers a lower price when they use reclaimed water for irrigation.
But the city does not enforce the ordinance, according to Bloetscher, who was hired last spring to review the reclaimed water system. The situation blew up after a phone call to the Florida Department of Health in Palm Beach County in early January 2020.
A South Ocean Boulevard resident called the Health Department to say she was not adequately informed about a cross connection discovered there in December 2018. Her complaint led to the shutdown of the entire Delray Beach reclaimed water system on Feb. 4, 2020.
The department insisted the city inspect all reclaimed water locations to make sure each had a backflow preventer installed. More than 190 of the 581 barrier island sites did not have one. The devices prevent the reclaimed water from flowing back into the drinking water supply.
The department allowed Delray Beach to turn on its reclaimed water system in phases. Most barrier island locations had the service restored by late June.
In a Jan. 7, 2021, draft letter, called a Civil Penalty Authorization Memo, the department proposed fining Delray Beach for 11 violations, amounting to nearly $3 million.
The worst violation was for failing to provide adequate backflow prevention at 581 locations. The department proposes to fine Delray Beach $5,000 for each site, or a total of $2.9 million.
“The City adopted the ‘City of Delray Beach Cross Connection/Backflow Prevention Program’ on July 2, 2008,” the state Health Department director in Palm Beach County, Dr. Alina Alonso, explained in the letter. “The City then failed to follow its plan.”
The letter also noted Delray Beach benefited financially by not implementing its plan, to the detriment of its “residents’ health and welfare.”
The letter and a proposed consent order are under review by the county branch of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, which is the regulating agency over the state’s clean water rules.
From there, the consent order and letter travel to Tallahassee to be reviewed by the secretary of the Florida DEP. Then, the consent order, an agreement between the Health Department and Delray Beach, will be given to Delray Beach. The city can appeal the ruling to an administrative law judge.
“The time frames for the review are not known,” Alexander Shaw, the department spokesman in West Palm Beach, said in Feb. 28 email to The Coastal Star.
In a Feb. 16 email, Shaw wrote that the city’s annual cross connection report is due by March 31.

By Rich Pollack

Back in the early 2000s, when Delray Beach city leaders first considered providing golf courses and other large-scale users with reclaimed water for irrigation, conservation was a primary concern.
“It was good public policy to say ‘let’s give the aquifer a break,’” said former Mayor Jeff Perlman, who was on the City Commission at the time. “It just seemed to make sense from an ecological standpoint.”
While saving millions of gallons per day of treated water was a good idea from an environmental standpoint, it also turned out to be a big step toward helping the city meet regulatory requirements, which set a cap on how much water the city could pull out of the ground.
Providing reclaimed water also had the side benefit of generating additional revenue to the city’s water and sewer fund.
But the city experienced a drop of more than $100,000 in reclaimed water revenue from 2019 to 2020 after leaders decided to stop providing reclaimed water to the barrier island for four months because a mix of drinking water and reclaimed water was discovered. Further, 10% of homeowners east of the Intracoastal Waterway have decided not to reconnect to the system.
The last portion of the reclaimed water project on the barrier island was finished in March 2019.
According to the city, revenue from reclaimed water fell from $289,325 to $177,825 in 2020. Last year’s number is also lower than 2016 revenue of $203,328.
To be fair, $100,000 is just a drop in the bucket when it comes to the city’s utilities budget, which is about $36 million in the current financial year.
At the same time, some of the revenue decline can be attributed to a wet 2020, which the National Weather Service says had almost 9 more inches of rain than in 2019.
Still, as people on the barrier island choose not to use reclaimed water for irrigation on properties that are often lushly landscaped and instead replace it with potable water, demand for potable water increases.
Fortunately for Delray Beach, that increased demand is not pushing the city near capacity limits set by the South Florida Water Management District, which is charged with making sure a large chunk of the state doesn’t run out of water.
“Usage fluctuates but the city has not yet experienced capacity issues,” a city spokeswoman wrote in an email.
The city, according to the spokeswoman, had a daily flow in January of between 13 million and 15 million gallons a day to users, significantly less than its 26 million gallon a day treatment capacity and its 19.1 million gallon per day supply capacity.
The city will submit a new water supply plan to the state in July, according to the email.
Capacity concerns led Delray Beach to bring reclaimed water to the barrier island in the first place, according to former City Manager David Harden.
“The driving force was to conserve potable water,” he said.
At that time the South Florida Water Management District provided Delray Beach with a $500,000 grant to install reclaimed water on the barrier island.
One reason the city got the grant was it showed that by providing reclaimed water to the barrier island, it would be able to meet permit requirements. The district’s consumptive-use permit projected treated-water needs forward 20 years and how much water the city could pull from the aquifer.
Harden said the city would not have been able to meet the supply projections without providing reclaimed water east of the Intracoastal Waterway.
“The residents on the barrier island used a lot of potable water,” he said.
Harden said that the city’s decision to close off an ocean outfall, which at the time made it possible to send treated effluent into the ocean, helps make it possible to provide reclaimed water to the barrier island.
With treated water either being used for irrigation or sent into deep wells, Delray Beach was able to use the outfall pipe under the Intracoastal to provide reclaimed water to the barrier island.
At the time, Perlman said, the city held meetings with residents to assure them reclaimed water was safe.
“It was a big effort to get the barrier island residents to understand what we were doing,” he said. Ú

BRINY BREEZES — Paul William Ruopp of Briny Breezes and Brick, New Jersey, died on Feb. 22. He was 88.
Born on March 7, 1932, to Hans and Helen Ruopp in Roselle Park, New Jersey, Mr. Ruopp was a 1950 graduate of Roselle Park High School. There he was active in sports, Glee Club and All-State Chorus in 1949. After high school Mr. Ruopp attended Pace University and received a bachelor’s in business administration in 1954.
He was on active duty in the U.S. Army from 1955 to 1957 in Boston. There he served as an accountant for the recreational funds for all New England units. After his Army service, he became a certified public accountant in 1959 and worked for KPMG Peat Marwick for several years, before becoming a partner there for 25 years. Mr. Ruopp was also a past president of the New Jersey Society of CPAs and remained active in the society throughout his life.
Mr. Ruopp was still an active CPA, attending professional development seminars up until last fall and continuing to do tax returns.
Mr. Ruopp and his family resided in Cranford, New Jersey, for more than 20 years and was active in First Presbyterian Church. Mr. Ruopp was an avid golfer and was fortunate enough to play some of the best courses in the country. He was also a Freemason and a member of Loyalty Lodge 33.
Shortly after retiring Mr. Ruopp and his wife, Joan, moved to Ocean Grove, New Jersey, year round. He was a member of St. Paul’s United Methodist Church. Previously they had lived in a tent and a cottage before finally purchasing a home on Surf Avenue.
Mr. Ruopp was an Ocean Grove Usher. In 2008 the couple moved to Greenbriar in Brick, where he was the secretary for Greenbriar Golf Club.
Mr. Ruopp cherished his winters in Briny Breezes, where he was a TV show host and active in the town’s nondenominational church as the treasurer and a soloist in services on Sunday.
He will always be remembered for his bubbly personality and love for the kindness in mankind. If he ever ran into someone who was less than pleasant or enthusiastic about something, it was quite a shock to him.
Sometimes people would say that when Mr. Ruopp walked down the boardwalk he would have absolutely no problem striking up a conversation with total strangers. This could be true of anyplace he went, really.
Mr. Ruopp is predeceased by his wife and is survived by daughter Paula, of Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, son Andrew and his wife, Susanne, of Union, New Jersey, son Joshua and his wife, Christine Ruopp, also of Mechanicsburg, nine grandchildren and two great-grandchildren, special friend Catherine Sheridan, and brothers Ronald H. and John A. Ruopp.
A memorial service will be held at a later date when pandemic restrictions ease.

— Obituary submitted by the family

OCEAN RIDGE — Cornelius “Neil” P. Mahon died Feb. 5 at his home in Ocean Ridge, surrounded by his family. He was 85.
Mr. Mahon was born on March 2, 1935, to Arthur and Mary Mahon in Brooklyn, New York, and grew up along with his two sisters (Mary Therese and Delia Rose) and a brother (Arthur) in the Glendale section of Queens. After graduating from Iona College, Mr. Mahon served as a lieutenant in the Marine Corps and subsequently moved back to New York City, where he met the woman who would become his wife, Patrice.
Throughout the early years of their marriage in New York, Mr. Mahon built his career in real estate — most notably at Huberth & Huberth Inc., where he was a partner and brokered the sale of a number of New York City’s iconic buildings. As his career excelled, he moved the family to the town of Chappaqua, New York.
Mr. Mahon loved to travel, play tennis and take long walks. As their children grew, Neil supported Patrice as she took leadership roles in their community and encouraged the children to expand their horizons, explore the world through international living and education, and grow their careers and families in his same spirit.
With their children grown, Neil and Patrice migrated in 1992 to Quechee, Vermont, where they spent many happy summers. Later in retirement, the couple became full-time residents of Ocean Ridge, where Neil loved to walk along the ocean.
Mr. Mahon served as a part-time legal arbitrator, part-time golf enthusiast, part-time travel and history buff, and full-time loving husband.
Always a quick wit and ready with a funny turn of phrase or joke, Mr. Mahon was known for his humor and sincere conversation and company. He will be sadly missed by all who were fortunate to know him.
Mr. Mahon was predeceased by his wife, Patrice, and is survived by his brother, Arthur, four children — Mary Pat, Steve, Cathie and Neil Jr. — and nine grandchildren.
Mr. Mahon’s family would like to thank Audrey Simpson and Taniah Dacosta for their dedicated service and care over the last two years.
Family and friends are invited to share their memories at www.scobeecombsbowden funeralhome.com/obituaries/Cornelius-Neil-Mahon. 

— Obituary submitted by the family

By Rich Pollack

Delray Beach police officers and other city staff members will spend much of the next six months ironing out the processes needed to implement a new panhandling ordinance while also communicating the specifics to people who may unknowingly be in violation.
The ordinance, passed last month by a 4-1 vote, makes it illegal to aggressively panhandle anywhere in the city and prohibits any type of panhandling after dark as well as in specific locations such as within 20 feet of the entrance to a commercial property or within 20 feet of an ATM.
While proponents of the ordinance point out that it is essentially a replacement for one on the books that was unlikely to stand up to a constitutional challenge, opponents fear the new rules will be detrimental to the city’s homeless population.
Commissioner Adam Frankel, who was one of the strongest proponents of the ordinance, believes it will reduce some of the intimidation residents and visitors may feel when someone approaches them and requests money or food.
“With the passage of this ordinance, people will feel safer at restaurants, bus stops and at intersections,” he said.
Frankel pointed out that a study showed that panhandling will still be acceptable in about 94% of the city, although not after dark.
During several hours over three days of presentations before the City Commission, Melbourne attorney Michael Kahn called on several business owners, police officers and other city staff members who told the commission how some panhandlers aggressively approach people and create health issues by performing bodily functions in public places.
The attorney — who specializes in these types of ordinances — said that the proposed ordinance is focused on people soliciting aggressively for money or food and is not targeting any specific group such as homeless people.
Frankel agreed. “This isn’t a homeless ordinance,” he said.
But commissioners also heard from people who left telephone messages voicing concern that the ordinance was indeed aimed at the city’s homeless population.
Speaking in person before the commission, Ezra Krieg — a longtime advocate for homeless people and chair of the city’s homeless task force — agreed with callers that homeless people in the city would suffer as a result of the ordinance.
“Nobody is in favor of aggressive, intimidating panhandling, but this ordinance is based on people’s perception not on performance,” he said later. “My concern is that this isn’t about people asking you for money, it’s about people who make you feel uncomfortable.”
Under the ordinance, those found in violation could be arrested and face as much as 60 days in jail or a fine of up to $500.
Frankel, however, believes that it is unlikely that many of the violators will be locked up.
He cited figures presented by City Attorney Lynn Gelin showing there were more than 1,100 calls for service regarding panhandling complaints and only 15 arrests in the last five years.
“It tells me that officers aren’t looking to arrest people,” Frankel said. “They’re trying to stop aggressive panhandling where people are uncomfortable.”
He said he is confident those charged with enforcing the law will focus on warnings and education initially and avoid making arrests whenever possible.
Prior to voting in favor of the ordinance, Vice Mayor Ryan Boylston questioned whether enough preparation and communication had been done with people the ordinance is likely to affect.
“I would be more comfortable if a plan were worked out and communicated before this goes into effect,” he said.
In the end, Boylston, Frankel and others on the commission agreed to a six-month grace period before the ordinance is fully enforced. Deputy Vice Mayor Shirley Johnson voted no.
“I think there’s still a lot of communication that needs to be done,” Boylston said.
Krieg said that although he doesn’t agree with the ordinance, he is willing to work with the city to help with communication and implementation of the regulations.
“I’m more than happy to work with the city and the people who are implementing this to make sure what I fear could happen doesn’t happen,” he said. Ú

Police Chief Hal Hutchins plans to retire in 2022, and Lt. Richard Jones will take over. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

By Dan Moffett

Ocean Ridge commissioners have endorsed a succession plan that calls for police Lt. Richard Jones to take over as chief for Hal Hutchins when he retires next year.
“It’s nice to have this kind of transition where you know the person and know the kind of job they’ll do,” Commissioner Phil Besler said during the town meeting March 1.
The commission unanimously agreed.
Jones, 40, joined the Ocean Ridge department in 2014. He is attending Barry University part time and is scheduled to earn a degree in public administration this spring. Jones has served as the No. 2 officer in the town’s department and filled in for Hutchins when needed.
“Chief Hutchins has been preparing Lt. Jones for the position of chief of police for the past couple of years,” Town Manager Tracey Stevens told commissioners, “and I agree with Chief Hutchins’ assessment of Lt. Jones’ abilities and ambition to lead the Police Department.”
Jones has been the lead investigator for internal reviews and worked to upgrade the town’s information technology system. He has experience in medical services oversight and construction project management — working in fields “most law enforcement professionals are not exposed to in their career,” he said.
Born and raised in Clewiston, Jones was an officer with the Clewiston Police Department and a deputy with the Glades County Sheriff’s Office for seven years before joining the Ocean Ridge department. He rose to the rank of major with the Glades sheriff and worked in Glades County Public Safety in emergency medical services.
Stevens said Ocean Ridge has created a culture of hiring from within and training successors for advancement. Jones has grown with the department, she said, and “exceeded all expectations in job performance and has excellent community relations.” 
Under the town charter, Stevens has the authority to hire the new chief without seeking commission approval. However, she said she brought Jones’ promotion to commissioners early “in order to gain consensus on our succession plan in the spirit of transparency and respect for the commission and the community as a whole.”
Jones is to take over on April 6, 2022, and earn $105,000 annually.
Hutchins, 59, became chief in 2015 after the forced resignation of Chris Yannuzzi. A native of Lake Worth, he has a 35-year career in law enforcement, which includes 24 years with the Palm Beach Police Department. Hutchins came to Ocean Ridge in 2005.