Actor Kevin James downsized a bit with this 18,906-square-foot home. Photo provided

By Christine Davis

Returning to Delray Beach but downsizing his domicile, actor Kevin James bought an 18,906-square-foot, six-bedroom oceanfront estate and guest house in the 300 block of North Ocean Boulevard. The King of Queens TV show actor paid $14 million, under his real name, Kevin Knipfing, according to public records dated Feb. 3.
In 2016, James sold his eight-bedroom, 26,000-square-foot oceanfront mansion at 502 N. Ocean Blvd. for $26.375 million. The seller in the recent transaction was N Ocean Capital 344 LLC, a Florida limited liability company linked to National Realty Investment Advisors.
Randall Stofft Architects with Stofft Ikasu Interiors completely renovated, redesigned and upgraded the estate. Amenities of the property include a resort-like T-shaped pool, a loggia with a summer kitchen and fireplace, entertainment lounge, wine cellar, covered terraces, a master suite comprising the third floor and a five-car garage.
Nicholas Malinosky of Douglas Elliman represented NRIA, and Jack Elkins of William Raveis represented James in the recent purchase.

Ray Miller, successor trustee of the EPC Residence Trust, and Jeffrey A. Levitetz, settlor of the EPC Residence Trust, sold the waterfront home at 5001 Egret Point Circle in Boca Raton’s Sanctuary neighborhood for $15.75 million. The buyer is Barry J. Shkolnik as trustee of the Romona Road Trust. The sale was recorded on Jan. 29.
Levitetz is chairman of Boca Raton-based Purity Wholesale Grocers. Shkolnik is an attorney at Nixon Peabody LLP in Chicago.
The seven-bedroom estate, with 21,607 square feet, sits on a one-acre lot. It includes a separate guest house, a pool, and 560 feet fronting the water on three sides, according to the listing, which was held by Carmen N. D’Angelo Jr., Gerard P. Liguori and Joseph G. Liguori of Premier Estate Properties.

Morgan Properties, a large national apartment owner, recently acquired a portfolio of 48 apartment communities and 14,414 units in 11 states for $1.75 billion. The Morgan Properties and Olayan America joint venture purchased the North Star Portfolio from STAR Real Estate Ventures. As part of this acquisition, Morgan Properties hired 400 new employees and, in the Boca Raton area, acquired 712 units including the Camino Real Apartments at 33 E. Camino Real.
The company plans to open a regional office in Boca Raton to serve its expansion in the southeast region.

Atlantis resident Amy Snook was installed as the Women’s Council of Realtors president for Florida for 2021 during its virtual and in-person midwinter convention in West Palm Beach.
Snook is a partner in the All About Florida Homes team of Lang Realty, along with partner Noreen Payne of Delray Beach. She has been practicing real estate and title insurance for 19 years.
Snook is a director of the Realtors Association of the Palm Beaches and Greater Fort Lauderdale, and a director of Florida Realtors.

John Campanola, an agent at New York Life’s South Florida general office, in February qualified as an Elite member, meaning he is recognized as one of the company’s leading retirement-solutions professionals. Campanola, a longtime Florida resident and a graduate of Leadership Delray, is involved in the Greater Delray Beach Chamber of Commerce on various committees and organizations. He is also chairman of the Boynton Business Professionals leads group.

Mindy King is now Florida Peninsula Insurance’s director of customer experience. The company is in Boca Raton. Previously, King was the director of customer experience for Thyssenkrupp Elevator as well as the director of customer insights and market intelligence at Tyco Integrated Security. King earned a bachelor of science degree from Palm Beach Atlantic University and an MBA from Nova Southeastern University.

Steven Chase, director at SafeRide America, a 10-year-old 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, has formed the Jordan Wachtell Foundation in Palm Beach County. The foundation was launched on Jan. 30 along with SafeRide Services, a designated driver for hire, in southeast Florida. That was the one-year anniversary of the death of Chase’s best friend, Jordan Wachtell, who was killed by a drunk driver.
George Anagnostou, owner of the Copperfish Kitchen restaurant at Boca Center, hosted the grand opening ceremony.
Chase gives this description of how SafeRide helps people get home after drinking alcohol on a night out: “Our professional driver gets in your car with you and drives, while the second SafeRide driver follows behind as a chase driver. While DUI-related deaths have been greatly reduced over the past two decades, even a single death that is preventable is a tragedy.
“In addition to alcohol, we now have to combat the negative impact of prescription drugs and driver distraction due to things like texting and driving.”
For more information, visit https://saferideamerica.org.  

A patent-pending video compression technology, developed by researchers from Florida Atlantic University’s College of Engineering and Computer Science, was recently acquired by Mitsubishi Electric Corp. The FAU research team includes Hari Kalva, Ph.D. and Borko Furht, Ph.D. They are working on the project with Robert J.L. Moore, president of IP Solutions, and Velibor Adzic, Ph.D., director of product development at Videopura LLC.
Compression technology is important for streaming high-quality video.
“The cutting-edge inventions developed by professors Kalva and Furht related to video compression technology have the potential to become essential patents for the new VVC standard,” said Stella Batalama, Ph.D., dean of FAU’s College of Engineering and Computer Science. “Over the next 20 years, we anticipate that this FAU-invented technology will be available on all devices with screens sold worldwide — from smartphones to tablets to autonomous vehicles.”

The Boca Raton Historical Society & Museum with Boca Raton Innovation Campus presents “Today’s Technology Scene & Expectations for the Future” at noon March 9. It is part of a free virtual series titled “Tech Talks: The Evolution of Tech & Innovation in Boca Raton.”
Panelists will include Daniel Cane of Modernizing Medicine, Andrew Duffell from FAU’s Research Park, and Angelo Bianco with Crocker Partners, owner of BRIC. The panel will be moderated by Jessica Del Vecchio, manager of economic development for the city of Boca Raton.
The 45-minute discussion can be viewed on BRIC’s channels on YouTube and Facebook.
Others underwriting the panel discussion are the Florida Department of State Division of Cultural Affairs, Palm Beach County Board of Commissioners, Cultural Council for Palm Beach County, and Discover the Palm Beaches.

The League of Women Voters of Palm Beach County is hosting a free discussion, “Women in Economics,” at noon March 17 via Zoom, with guest speaker Kelly L. Small-ridge, president and CEO of the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County.
Smallridge, who received the 2013 Governor’s Ambassador Medal in recognition of her work in creating jobs in the county, has landed relocations and expansions from companies such as United Technologies, Amazon, ADT, Pratt & Whitney, G4S, FedEx, Sikorsky Helicopters, Aldi, and TBC Corp.
Register for the webinar at https://lwvpbc.org/events.

The Greater Lantana Chamber of Commerce and the town are conducting an adopt-a-tree program in celebration of Lantana’s 100th anniversary. The goal is to plant 100 trees throughout Lantana’s parks and properties, enhancing public spaces while giving individuals, groups and organizations the opportunity to honor or memorialize their loved ones, friends and associates.
Adopting a tree costs $150, which includes installation and personalization of a plaque. 
To participate, visit www.lantanachamber.com/town-centennial.

In an open enrollment underway through April 30, Florida Prepaid College Savings Plans is offering five plans, starting at $45 per month, which are designed to help families maximize college savings and lock in the future costs of college. Every prepaid plan is guaranteed by the state, and a student has up to 10 years after high school graduation to use the plan. For more information, families can use the prepaid plan pricing tool at www.myfloridaprepaid.com.

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

By Jane Smith

 Delray Beach reclaimed water customers had their service restored on Oct. 8.

The system for customers living east of Interstate 95 was shut down for 1 week to allow the South Central Regional Wastewater Treatment plant to use the city’s 36-inch outfall pipe to the Atlantic Ocean.

The city apologized on its social media accounts for the inconvenience.

Rains soaked Delray Beach over the first October weekend, giving the city more than 5 inches of rain, according to South Florida Water Management District records.

Reclaimed water is treated wastewater that is suitable only for irrigation.

The last known time that the Wastewater Treatment plant had to use the outfall pipe was about 19 months ago. That’s when the plant had an “unknown upset.”

The wastewater treatment plant stopped discharging into the ocean in April 2009. The plant can still discharge treated wastewater from heavy rains, from testing its pumps and from “plant upsets.” 

Ocean outfall pipes can no longer be used by Dec. 31, 2025, according to state law. But the Wastewater Treatment plant will still be allowed to use the Delray Beach outfall pipe during wet weather conditions, according to Doug Levine, plant manager.

“The Board is working to expand the number of reuse customers and develop other disposal methods that are cost effective,” Levine wrote in an Oct. 8 email, “so the outfall pipe would not be required to be used during wet weather.”

By Jane Smith

A long-awaited forensic study of the reclaimed water system in Delray Beach was not turned in as expected on Sept. 30. The new target date has not been set.

"As a result of difficulties we have encountered with obtaining the email files, the report will take me a little longer to complete," wrote Fred Bloetscher in a Sept. 30 email to the city's Public Works director. "I estimate I will need about 10 days after I get the emails to complete the report."

In late April the city hired Public Utility Management Planning Services Inc. of Hollywood for $20,000. Missie Barletto, the Public Works Director, is assigned to monitor the contract.

The Public Utility Management firm is run by Fred Bloetscher, an associate dean at Florida Atlantic University's College of Engineering in Boca Raton. Bloetscher did not return phone calls or texts seeking comment on where his company was in the process of the forensic review.

The firm requested many documents that Delray Beach held on its more-than-a-decade-long reclaimed water program. The requests included: complete list of the backflow devices with columns of each address, photo, size and age; who did the work, whether an outside contractor was hired; who inspected the work; names of city employees involved in the project; and any emails between city staff and the contractors that may shed light on why were so many reclaimed water installations missing backflow preventers.

Public Utility Management “will attempt to engage in a conversation with the Florida Department of Health administrator for Palm Beach County to seek an acceptable solution,” Bloetscher wrote in the firm’s scope of services.

The Department of Health became involved on Jan. 2 when a South Ocean Boulevard resident called in to say she was not adequately informed of a cross-connection issue in December 2018. Cross connections happen when reclaimed water pipes are mistakenly connected to drinking water pipes.

That phone complaint led to the city shutting down its entire reclaimed water system on Feb. 4 to avoid a citywide boil water order. The city staff and outside contractors have visited each reclaimed water installation to verify that it has a backflow preventer device. Backflow preventers are a stopgap to prevent the drinking water from mixing with the reclaimed water.

The Department of Health sent the city a list of 13 possible violations in a July 1 warning letter. On July 22, city leaders including the new utilities director and the interim city manager met with Department of Health staff to review the possible violations and Delray Beach’s response.

The city is still waiting to hear from the state agency.

Reclaimed water is treated wastewater that is suitable only for lawn irrigation. Most residents of the barrier island, city parks, golf courses and master-planned communities west of the interstate use reclaimed water.

The lines were installed as part of a settlement that Delray Beach reached with state and federal regulators to stop sending raw sewage into the ocean. The city must stop its ocean discharges by the end of 2025.

By Jane Smith

Delray Beach told its reclaimed water customers living east of Interstate 95 that reclaimed water was not available starting Oct. 1.

The reason: heavy rains overnight on Sept. 30 forced the South Central Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant to use the city’s 36-inch outfall pipe to the Atlantic Ocean.

“We apologize for the inconvenience,” the city posted on Instagram.

Rains continued through the weekend, giving Delray Beach more than 5 inches of rain, according to South Florida Water Management District records.

“We will update this notice once the wastewater plant no longer has need of the outfall pipe and the reclaimed water becomes available again,” the city’s Instagram post read.

As of midday on Oct. 4, Delray Beach did not issue any updates.

The last known time that the wastewater treatment plant had to use the outfall pipe was about 19 months ago. That’s when the plant had an “unknown upset.”

The treatment plant stopped discharging into the ocean in April 2009. The plant can still discharge treated wastewater from heavy rains, from testing its pumps and from “plant upsets.” 

Ocean outfall pipes can no longer be used by Dec. 31, 2025, according to state law.

By Rich Pollack

Municipalities in southern Palm Beach County that are holding virtual meetings can continue to do so for another 30 days, but officials should be prepared to convene in person come Nov. 1.

An executive order signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis on Sept. 30 gives local governments a month to plan a transition from Zoom and similar technologies to face-to-face meetings.

A memo from the governor’s communications director makes it clear that it is unlikely there will be additional extensions. “Local government bodies should prepare to meet in person as required by Florida law beginning Nov. 1,  2020,” Frank Piccolo Jr. wrote.

For area towns and cities already conducting in-person meetings or hybrid meetings with some officials attending in person and others electronically -– including Ocean Ridge –- the extension will have little impact.

“When Governor DeSantis no longer allows virtual meetings, all commissioners will be required to attend in-person, and the public who wishes to make public comment will also need to attend in-person or submit written comments to the town clerk prior to the meeting,” said Ocean Ridge Town Manager Tracey Stevens.

But Highland Beach, Manalapan, Boca Raton and Delray Beach will be making adjustments to ensure they adhere to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention social distancing guidelines.

Boca Raton, for example, is considering holding council meetings in a larger city-owned space to make social distancing easier, while Highland Beach and Manalapan are making adjustments to commission chambers, including adding dividers between commissioners and requiring masks.

“We’ll be taking reasonable precautions,” said Highland Beach Town Manager Marshall Labadie, adding that the town is considering having commissioners attend meetings in person but residents attend by Zoom. “We’re moving closer to how it used to be but with CDC guidelines, it could be a little tricky.”

In Boynton Beach, where a hybrid system is used with the mayor at a government building but commissioners accessing remotely, an emergency ordinance passed unanimously on Sept. 30 giving commissioners an opportunity to invoke home rule and continue holding virtual meetings until December.

That could change, however, according to City Manager Lori LaVerriere.

“Both our meetings in October will be hybrids and we'll be evaluating it on a monthly basis,” she said.

By Rich Pollack

      Issues with the Delray Beach water utilities program, which has included cross contamination of drinking water with reclaimed water and not properly cleaned storage tanks, will now be scrutinized by the county’s Office of Inspector General.

      Inspector General John Carey, in a memo dated Oct. 2, informed Delray Beach’s interim City Manager Jennifer Alvarez that his office is beginning an investigation into compliance with Florida Department of Health reporting requirements and other related issues that could surface.

      “The investigation will focus on individual responsibilities and conduct in regard to established policies, ordinances, regulations, rules and statutes,” Carey wrote. “This will be done regarding the conduct of staff and officials in their records submissions and statements about water safety, quality and management.”

      Municipalities with water treatment facilities are required to submit regularly scheduled reports to the Florida Department of Health in order to demonstrate they have followed health and safety regulations. They are also required to undergo periodic inspections.

      The Florida Department of Health is investigating an issue Delray Beach had with reclaimed water commingling with drinking water. Earlier this month the Health Department advised the city that it is investigating a possible violation of rules requiring cleaning of water storage tanks every five years.

      Carey said that his office has been in contact with the Health Department and the two will coordinate the separate investigations.

      He said that while the Health Department investigation focuses on the actions of the city, his department will look at the role of individuals and make recommendations for corrective actions should they be needed.

      “We look at what are the standards, did they comply and if not what are the possible corrective actions,” Carey said.

      The department, according to Carey, will not go into specific recommendations, such as suggestions regarding personnel issues, but will focus instead on broader corrective actions, should they be needed.

      In the memo he said that the investigation will include, but is not limited to, interviews with individuals, an analysis of city records and an examination of related records kept by water quality organizations including the Department of Health.

     Jennifer Alvarez, the City's interim city manager said the City will work with the investigators.

     "Delray Beach is committed to working closely and openly with the OIG, as with the Department of Health, to ensure the matter is thoroughly reviewed and deficiencies are property addressed," she said.

     While the state Health Department and county inspector general examinations continue, Delray Beach officials have taken steps to ensure drinking water is safe. The city has spent more than $1 million to bring its reclaimed water system into compliance with state standards by inspecting every reclaimed water connection in the city.

      It has also cleaned or is in the process of cleaning water storage tanks throughout the city to bring them into compliance with state health and safety requirements.

Construction has started on a tunnel at 1940 S. Ocean Blvd. in Manalapan. As a result, State Road A1A is expected to be closed to through traffic starting Monday September 14^th at 7:00 am.  Reopening is expected Friday September 18^th at 5:00 p.m.  The road will be open to local traffic only.  Police will be stationed at the Inlet and at Town Hall to monitor traffic.

 SOURCE: Town of Manalapan

The iconic sea grape tunnels near the Atlantic Avenue pavilion likely will be spared from the chain saw, following an outcry from some Delray Beach residents. Conflicting environmental views and a wish to keep the beachscape character in place are the main issues. ABOVE: Elsewhere in the public beach dune, trimmed sea grapes soon will sprout branches and limbs. The trims kept with the decades-long belief that the sea grapes shade out other native plants that provide a more diverse habitat. BELOW: One of the tunnels. At the end of a 61/2-hour meeting on Aug. 18, one commissioner brought up a Beach Property Owners Association’s email that supported trimming all sea grapes. Vice Mayor Ryan Boylston and two other commissioners agreed to this, but the next day Boylston asked the commission to reconsider the height of sea grapes, which it plans to do Sept. 10. In February an Aptim Environmental study advised leaving the tall sea grapes uncut to provide habitat for migrating songbirds and a buffer from streetlights for sea turtles. — Jane Smith

By Jane Smith

Delray Beach city commissioners narrowly agreed on Aug. 18 to give themselves hefty pay raises.
They all said it was not the proper time to raise their pay in the middle of a pandemic. The vote was 3-2, with Vice Mayor Ryan Boylston and Commissioner Adam Frankel voting no.
“I don’t disagree it’s bad timing,” Mayor Shelly Petrolia said. “But if we don’t do this now, we will have to wait another 2.5 years.”
The raises will take effect after the March 2021 elections, according to the city charter. That means Petrolia, Boylston and Frankel would have to be re-elected to receive the new salaries.
The commission salary increased from $9,000 annually to $24,000. The mayor’s annual pay will go from $12,000 to $30,000.
Staff surveyed the annual salaries paid to elected officials in Boynton Beach and Boca Raton. Both cities pay their elected officials much more than Delray Beach does.
In Boynton Beach, commissioners are paid $20,000 a year, and the mayor’s annual salary is $24,000. In Boca Raton, council members receive $28,000 annually and the mayor makes $38,000.
Commissioner Juli Casale voted yes, as long as the pandemic situation eased at the beginning of next year.
Petrolia said they could vote to postpone the raises for six months if that was still the situation.
“The timing is bad,” Boylston said. “We are freezing raises, looking at layoffs.”
Interim City Manager Jennifer Alvarez said the city is not freezing raises. The city has a hiring freeze, she said.
Retired teacher Yvonne Odom told the commission “to vote your own conscience. That’s what you were elected to do.” Odom runs youth sports programs with her husband and is the grandmother of teen tennis star Coco Gauff.
“Make sure essential workers are paid well,” Odom said. “But I’m not in favor of cutting personnel.”
Frankel agreed with his fellow commissioners that they are “woefully underpaid” when he voted for the salary increase Aug. 11 on the first reading. He also said he wanted to think about it and changed his mind when voting Aug. 18.

There are no high-fives in Julie O’Brien’s kindergarten class at St. Vincent Ferrer School. Ditto for circle time and close encounters.
Students, teachers and staff don masks, classes are smaller and there’s social distancing — not the easiest concept to explain to 5-year-olds.
Despite many modifications, O’Brien is glad to return to the private Delray Beach Catholic school after more than five months.
Although students had plenty of resources for remote learning and she held frequent one-on-one Zoom sessions, it wasn’t an ideal learning environment and she missed the in-person interaction.
“The toughest part was that my son was home watching me give my time to other kids and he couldn’t play with me. It was very stressful trying to balance school and home life.”
But being back on campus presents other challenges.
“My biggest concern is the crying child. My first instinct is to get on my knees and swoop in for a hug,” says O’Brien, 43. “Human beings need to touch. It is something I am used to doling out in spades. I usually have someone on my lap and two right next to me. It’s going to be different, but I will explain everything in ways they can understand.”
Versatility is key, she says, including a mask with a clear strip over her mouth so students can see her pronounce words. “Teachers are nothing if not flexible and ingenious. We will make it work,” she says emphatically.
Her message to others? “Teachers are doing the very best that we can. As scared as people are to send their children back to school, I have my own worries about going back and having my son start kindergarten.”
But there is much to be grateful for: “I get to go to school and pray because I am in a Catholic school where we depend on each other, but we depend on God, too.”
— Linda Haase

The Rev. D. Brian Horgan of St. Lucy Catholic Church in Highland Beach has been on the front lines of war before as a chaplain in the Air Force early in his pastoral career. Now, with COVID-19, he feels like he’s in a war again.
The pandemic has changed how we worship God and the way we bury our loved ones, Horgan said. About 60% of parishioners attend socially distanced Mass each week, but funerals are a different story.
“Most funerals have been with just the funeral director and the deceased,” Horgan said. “It’s been challenging, but we can do tremendous work with the families at home.”
In this small parish, which has lost more than a dozen members of its congregation to the virus, goodbyes are by telephone, and even clergy can’t bridge that gap.
“Sometimes we get in and sometimes we don’t,” Horgan said. That means some don’t receive last rites, an important final sacrament that includes confession and absolution.
“It wipes away all your sins” before death, Horgan explained, and “it brings great comfort to the dying.”
Horgan can perform last rites weeks before a person dies or if someone is facing a serious medical procedure, but COVID usually arrives unexpectedly.
Loved ones’ not receiving that final Communion weighs heavily on the hearts of some families. But Horgan finds a way to comfort his parishioners. A priest isn’t needed for someone to be absolved of sins, he said, if he or she simply repents and asks forgiveness. “God is full of mercy and love.”
Horgan, who earned medals for his work during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2008, says COVID-19 is “a clever enemy shrouded in mystery.”
He senses an underlying fear that reminds him of war.
But “don’t be afraid. Fear is a ‘false experience appearing real,’” Horgan says, spelling out an acronym associated with the word. “I trust God and serving God’s people is the most important thing I do. Fear won’t hold me back.”
— Janis Fontaine

COVID-19 is far from done with Palm Beach County, but emergency room physician Dr. Bill Benda is less stressed than he was early on in the pandemic.
Doctors knew very little about the novel coronavirus or how to treat it in March. But the county’s stay-at-home lockdown slowed the contagion, buying them time to learn.
When the county eased restrictions and cases spiked this summer, Benda, who lives in the County Pocket near Briny Breezes, knew much more about how to manage the disease.
“When this first hit, we had no idea how dangerous this was and how contagious this was,” he said. “Now … we are much more experienced with how it works, so it is not nearly as stressful as it was in the early days.
“When something is unknown, it is scary. Now we don’t have that overarching fear we had initially.”
As the number of infected people mounts, Benda, 66, said doctors and hospitals are better able to cope.
Hospitals now have special units for COVID-19 patients, which take pressure off ICUs. Several treatment options are available for the seriously ill. Doctors better understand when a patient must be hospitalized or can be sent home to recover. 
The FAU associate professor estimates he works three to four 10-hour hospital shifts a week, supervising two residents and one four-year medical student per shift. He spends additional time on teaching and administrative responsibilities at FAU. He and the residents see about 30 patients each shift, of which about 20% have or are suspected to have COVID-19. Two of his residents fell ill, one gravely so.
The lack of adequate testing remains “a huge issue” that hinders patient care. “That is why we are in the mess we are today that almost no other country is in,” he said.
Benda’s advice: Follow epidemiologists’ instructions to avoid crowds, wear masks and practice social distancing. “Not following what they say is insane and it will lead to more disaster.”
— Mary Hladky

The threat of COVID-19 is always on Kevin Saxton’s mind, but the Delray Beach Fire Rescue battalion chief won’t let the highly contagious disease prevent him from fully serving the community.
“It’s something I think about all the time,” says Saxton, who is 38 and in his 17th year with the department. “I’m going to take the precautions I need to take, but I’m still going to do my job.”
He is responsible for the overall operations of the department’s six stations on the days when he is on shift. While he doesn’t respond to most calls, he remains available. He monitors the radio and makes sure those who do answer a call are doing what’s needed to adequately protect themselves and the rest of the crew from the disease.
“The virus has complicated our responses,” he said. “It takes us a little longer to get ready and there’s a lot more decontamination.”
Along with changing the way the department handles calls, the virus has affected how firefighters interact with one another when they’re not responding.
To minimize the spread of the virus, all are required to wear masks in the station while in common areas. And, instead of everyone eating at one long table, the shift is split by squad into two tables with everyone maintaining 6-foot separation.
“We’re just not spending as much time together,” Saxton says.
Even when they are on a call, firefighters and paramedics are maintaining a safe distance, especially on medical calls.
One member of the three-person crew will make contact with the caller and another will be available if needed. The third person remains in the truck.
“It’s one fewer person who is exposed,” Saxton says.
As shift supervisor, Saxton is vigilant to make sure everyone takes necessary precautions. “You want to make sure we don’t put our guard down,” he said.
— Rich Pollack

Sue Brown has undoubtedly encountered nearly every challenge in the restaurant business.
But COVID-19 was a game changer. Brown, the general manager of Oceano Kitchen in Lantana, had a lot more to worry about than inventory when the eatery had to halt in-person dining.
The Ocean Avenue restaurant shifted to takeout — for the first time. “We weren’t set up for it. It was a learning curve, but we figured it out pretty quickly,” says the Hypoluxo Island resident, who did not want to reveal her age.
Everything was uncertain, but staff was buoyed by customers checking in with encouraging words, homemade masks and even monetary donations.
“Our customers tell us how grateful they are that we are open. We are even more grateful to them for coming in.”
Dining on the open-air deck has resumed, but for Brown — along with other servers — things aren’t the same: Masks are stifling, cleaning is constant, and hands are washed repeatedly.
“We are like anyone else, just doing our jobs. We might be a little slower because we have to wash our hands more, so patience is a good thing,” she says.
“When we resumed dine-in it was a little nerve-racking, but I know the majority of my customers so there is a trust level,” she says. “As time went on, I got more comfortable with it. I feel safe. I trust my fellow workers and customers.”
The staff is conscious of health protocols when off-duty, she says. “We know if one of us goes down all of us go down. We are a team and in it together,” Brown says. “It’s been hard for everyone. But we still laugh a lot.”
Although some customers are comfortable only with takeout, Brown looks forward to the day when she’ll see them dining at one of her tables.
“When everybody feels comfortable coming back, then I will be happy.”
— Linda Haase

During the 20 years that Valerie Jacoby has been behind the counter of the Highland Beach Community Post Office, she’s gotten to know many of the residents.
Over the years, folks would come into the small-contract postal station, established in 1964 as a convenience for people who didn’t want to cross the bridge to Boca Raton, and catch up on what was happening around them.
Some, who might bump into neighbors, would stay for a few minutes talking about everything from the impertinent to the important.
“One of my co-workers used to compare it to Mayberry,” says Jacoby, 60.
Now, with COVID-19 as a backdrop, the atmosphere is more like that of a regular post office. Amid constant concerns about contagion, conversations have been converted to shorter chatter in an environment where safety is a top priority.
“It’s just a little more clinical,” says Jacoby, who worked for the U.S. Postal Service in Illinois for several years before moving to Florida.
Run by the town of Highland Beach, the post office behind Town Hall has offered residents — those wishing to buy stamps or mail packages — an alternative to visiting a larger, potentially more crowded postal station.
With the arrival of the virus, town leaders have made necessary changes and instituted precautionary measures while hoping to keep the post office open.
“They’ve really done a lot to keep everyone safe,” Jacoby says.
One of the most obvious changes has been a rearranging of the small lobby. A tempered glass partition separates customers from clerks and a pullout drawer makes it easier to mail a package.
Customers are required to wear masks and hours have been cut from a full day to 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
With just two customers allowed in the 500-square-foot building at a time and social distancing expected, the post office remains a safe convenience for residents and a safe place to work for Jacoby.
— Rich Pollack

When Michael Varesio joined the ranks of Shipt shoppers in January, he never anticipated a pandemic that would turn him into an essential worker.
It was overwhelming: The 47-year-old Boynton Beach resident worked 61 days straight, took a day off, then toiled 21 more days, frantically buying groceries for people who feared leaving their homes.
“Nobody was ready for this. The orders were insane. I felt bad if I didn’t take an order, I was worried someone wouldn’t be able to get groceries. I tried to do too much and had to cut back,” he admits.
“Low inventory made the job stressful. Toilet paper and paper towels were scarce. Then the bread aisle was empty for weeks. After that, flour was gone. I haven’t seen anything with the word Lysol on it for months,” says Varesio, a father of two. “I felt bad texting people every two seconds to update them. I didn’t know what they were doing. They might have been working or feeding the baby. Most said not to worry (if I was late), that they weren’t going anywhere, which made things easier.”
Although the workload decreased and inventory increased, risks linger.
“I’m aware of the possibilities of getting COVID and I take all the precautions and follow the rules to stay healthy. And after I put the groceries in the car, I sanitize my hands and clean my phone,” he explains.
The outpouring of appreciation is an enormous perk. From Ziploc bags filled with masks to generous tips to thoughtful handmade thank-you notes, customers’ gratefulness is heartwarming, Varesio says.
“The most surprising thing is the gratitude. I keep the thank-you notes. They mean so much,” he says.
“I’m putting myself at risk, but I know I am helping people. I am not a nurse or a doctor, but I know that I am helping others and it feels good. I’m making a difference during a tough time.”
— Linda Haase

The Delray Beach water treatment plant, a few blocks south of downtown, has not received a major upgrade since the early 1990s. The city says it plans to improve cleaning and other maintenance at the aging plant, watching for trouble more closely than ever before. Google map image

Related story: Utility director: ‘Safest reclaimed water system in country’ once all service is restored

By Rich Pollack and Jane Smith

One morning in late March residents throughout a large portion of Delray Beach woke up to find water coming out of their taps that just wasn’t right.
Some complained of a yellowish or reddish tint to the water while others complained of a strong odor.
Residents Reeve and Anne Bright noticed that even the ice coming out of their ice maker looked strange.
“There was black and brown stuff, like little pieces of dirt, that came out with it,” Reeve Bright said.
Concerned, the Brights threw away the ice. They now suspect the discoloration may have been the result of a series of system failures at Delray Beach’s water treatment facilities that resulted in what the industry refers to as a “slug” getting into the city water lines.
A “slug” is sediment that gathers at the bottom of storage tanks and is unintentionally released. It does not generally pose a health threat to those using the water, according to people in the water treatment industry.
“It’s not unhealthy, it’s just visually unacceptable,” says Chris Helfrich, Boca Raton’s director of utilities. “It’s not common, but it’s something that happens more than it’s advertised.”
Still, the slug that made it into Delray Beach’s drinking water on March 27 may have helped to bring attention to maintenance and operational issues plaguing Delray Beach’s aging water plant — which has not seen a major upgrade since the early 1990s.
Correspondence between members of the city’s Utilities Department and county health officials responsible for ensuring state regulations for safe drinking water are followed, as well as internal city documents, detail how a series of malfunctions and missteps led to the unwanted release of sediment in March.
These documents, along with reports filed by health inspectors, highlight maintenance issues that likely contributed to the release of the discolored water. These issues were a concern to regulators.
Since the appearance of the slug, the city has taken a series of steps to address a variety of issues, including long overdue cleaning or the scheduling of cleaning of groundwater storage tanks and repairing malfunctioning equipment.
In June, Hassan Hadjimiry came on board as Delray Beach’s utilities director, filling a spot that had been vacant for 14 months since the departure of Marjorie Craig in April 2019.
Hadjimiry, who had been deputy director for the Palm Beach County Water Utilities Department, is well respected by utility directors in Delray Beach’s neighboring communities.
With the departure earlier this year of the water plant manager and a supervisor, one of the city’s deputy directors of utilities has been given expanded oversight of the plant’s day-to-day operations.
“We’re watching the plant much, much more than ever before,” says Hadjimiry.
The city also has sent out notices and used social media to assure residents that the drinking water is safe. On its website, the city points out that the water is tested daily and assures compliance with all state safe drinking water regulations.
“The water we send out meets all state standards,” Hadjimiry said.

Sediment in the water
It was about 10:30 p.m. March 26 when a telemetry system, which uses an automated communication process to collect and send remote data, failed to forward real-time information about a storage tank abnormality to plant operators, according to information provided by the city.
A low-level shut-off system at the groundwater storage tank serving the city’s north side also failed to work properly, allowing water levels in the tank to drop to about 3 feet, far below the normal 7- to 12-foot level, according to the city.
When that occurred, sediment that accumulated at the bottom of the tank seeped into the drinking water.
The plant operator at the time noticed that the telemetry system was not working but didn’t visibly inspect the tank, according to Deputy Utilities Director Bryan Heller.
The problem was not noticed until 7 a.m. the next day when the day shift came in, and city utility leaders didn’t become aware of the issue until after residents began calling to complain about cloudy or discolored water, according to information obtained from the city.
The Utilities Department was able to move the water from the north storage tank to another tank and discharge it into a pond from there.
Heller said that senior utilities department managers were not notified of the incident shortly after it was discovered. He said that had the information been forwarded sooner, hydrants could have been flushed before the slug reached customers.
A notice was sent to residents of the north end of the city, who were told that the water was safe but not treated to the city’s color and taste standards. The city advised residents who continued to have problems to run their water for about 10 minutes and flush the system.
The sediment that entered into water lines was likely from an accumulation at the bottom of the storage tank of tiny particles of minerals found in water, particularly lime, which is used in the city’s lime softening treatment operation.
“There’s nothing in that tank that isn’t already in the water,” said Colin Groff, Boynton Beach’s assistant city manager for public services, who oversees water treatment operations.

Maintenance issues
What may have been an issue in Delray Beach, however, is the quantity of the sediment in the tank — which has a capacity of about 2 million gallons — and how long it had been there.
Under state Department of Environmental Protection regulations, groundwater storage tanks must be inspected and cleaned every five years. Yet in an April 20 memo to then-City Manager George Gretsas through an assistant city manager, Heller wrote that the slug may have been caused by noncompliance.
“The sediment was the result of the north storage tank having not been cleaned every five years as required by regulation,” Heller wrote in the memo, in which he recommended disciplinary action against then-water plant manager John Bullard.
In the memo, Heller also noted that two other water storage tanks at the main water plant did not appear to have been cleaned every five years.
The memo also makes reference to a failure of the water plant operations team to clean the clear well — a large tank below a series of filters that contains water as it flows through the treatment process. The clear well, however, is not subject to the same five-year inspection requirements as are water storage tanks.
“The tank inspection report for the clear well, dated May 12, 2016, specifically indicates the presence of ‘large accumulations of silt, sediment, and other debris. This accumulation of debris should be removed immediately to help prevent future water quality testing issues,’” Heller wrote. “When Bullard was questioned about the clear well sludge, he indicated it had not been cleaned since 1972.”
The city since has cleaned the north tank and has scheduled cleanings of the two south tanks at the end of this year or early next year. It also has scheduled the cleaning of the clear well, which is expected to take a week and should not interfere with service to residents.
Bullard, who started with the city in 1982 and became water treatment plant manager in 2000, resigned at the request of the city manager on May 6, according to Heller. A supervisor and operator involved in the incident both resigned on their own, Heller said.
Delray Beach utilities also made several corrections after a December 2019 state-mandated “sanitary survey” by the health department found 27 deficiencies in five areas. That number is considered high, according to utilities directors from other communities, but they say most of the deficiencies didn’t affect water quality issues.
Three of the deficiencies were considered significant. They included several wells not properly sealed, filter walls leaking and vents missing proper screens, city records show.
In a Feb. 13, 2020, memo, Heller addressed each of the issues and documented improvements to the three significant issues as well as all others, which ranged from labeling unmarked chemical storage areas to removing algae and bio-growth from exterior portions of the plant.
In neighboring communities, utilities keep regular maintenance schedules to ensure tanks are clean and sediment is removed. Boynton, for example, does not wait for the five-year intervals as required by state regulations to do maintenance on tanks.
“We clean our tanks when they need to be cleaned,” Groff said.
Both Boynton Beach and Boca Raton have been through major upgrades to their water treatment and distribution systems, with Boynton Beach spending about $55 million for a renovation and increased capacity in 2017 and Boca Raton spending about $20 million on a water system upgrade within the past five years.
Delray Beach has not done a major upgrade at its plant for more than two decades, but Hadjimiry says the department is planning significant improvements in the next year, including replacing major filters used in the lime softening process that are critical in assuring high water quality.
He said the department is also focused on preventive maintenance and building an inventory of spare parts.
Although an engineering study authorized by the City Commission in 2019 found that a new plant using reverse osmosis and nano-filter technology could be built for as much as $132 million, Hadjimiry says he is leaving the door open as to what should be done with the plant and is exploring all options.
“Right now we’re looking at determining what is the most we can do with what we have in order to get the best quality of water,” he said.