Il Circolo, The Italian Cultural Society, greeted guests and members at a lively luncheon enhanced by camaraderie, music and take-home gifts. It marked the start of the 2019-20 season. A highlight of the event was the attendance of five Florida Atlantic University students whose summer study program in Venice was supported by the nonprofit. ABOVE: (l-r) Sally Valenti, Virginia Longo and event Chairwoman Gloria Ciongoli. Photo provided

The Unicorn Children’s Foundation annual event coincided with the organization’s 25th anniversary and official rebrand launch. Unsung heroes were recognized for their efforts at building a better and more inclusive community for people with special needs. Nearly 100 nominations were received in 14 categories spotlighting excellence, integrity and passion in providing support and services for people with disabilities. ABOVE: (l-r) Amy Mann, Joselyne Gago, Erica Sonn, Michelle Yellin, Tom Lonardo, Sharon Alexander, Palm Beach County Commissioner Robert Weinroth, Angela Fisher, Juliette Ezagui, Marjorie Bernstein and Gregory Fried. Photo provided by Mitchell Zachs

Nearly 700 Kravis Center supporters celebrated the reopening of the performing arts center with a champagne toast and sweet treats. Taking place prior to the evening’s performance of ‘The Simon & Garfunkel Story,’ the event featured a wide array of desserts and drinks. ‘We have come a long way to improve and enhance our patrons’ experience here at the Kravis Center, and we owe it all to our donors, who are like family,’ CEO Judith Mitchell said. Annual Friends each contribute a yearly gift of $100 or more. LEFT: (l-r) Fabiola Brumley, Jeff Stoops and Mitchell. Photo provided by CAPEHART

By Mary Thurwachter

A judge has recommended that the Florida Commission on Ethics dismiss allegations of sexual harassment against Lantana Mayor David Stewart.

Administrative Law Judge Cathy M. Sellers, in her official Recommended Order to the Commission on Ethics filed on Dec. 16, wrote that Stewart did not violate ethics law.

Sellers presided over a full evidentiary hearing on the case in West Palm Beach on Sept. 24.

Stewart, 67, was accused of misusing his position to obtain a sexual benefit for himself and soliciting sex from a constituent based on an understanding his vote, official action or judgment would be influenced.

The Commission on Ethics is scheduled to take final action on the matter on March 6 in Tallahassee. But the panel, its website notes, "is limited in its ability to modify findings of the ALJ.”

In October 2018, the commission found probable cause to pursue both alleged violations.

“My attorney advised me that the administrative law judge has entered a favorable recommendation,” Stewart said. “I’m very grateful that the judge was able to see the truth. I’m hoping that the Commission on Ethics will concur and that my family and I can move on with our lives and I can focus on the needs of Lantana residents without these false allegations.”

The complaint was filed in January 2018 by Lantana resident Catherine Padilla, 55, who said the two had become friends when both attended meetings of the Hypoluxo-Lantana Kiwanis Club. The friendship took an objectionable turn in 2015, she claimed, when the two had lunch after a morning Kiwanis meeting, after which he drove her to a motel and propositioned her for sex. Padilla said she told him she “wasn’t interested” and that Stewart drove her back to her car.
Padilla said Stewart called her a week or two later and said he would guarantee her street would get speed tables, a safety measure for which she had lobbied, if she would have sex with him at the motel.
In August 2015, the Lantana Town Council voted in favor of the traffic-calming speed humps for Padilla’s street.

Stewart has consistently maintained that Padilla’s accusations were totally false and that he has never asked for, or accepted, anything in exchange for a vote.

Padilla said she had not received official word of the recommendation but was expecting to hear something by Christmastime.

“I never for a minute thought that this would be dismissed,” she said. She did not wish to comment further until she heard from the Commission on Ethics.

By Mary Hladky

Boca Raton soon will be home to a Virgin Trains station.

The City Council unanimously voted in favor of an agreement on Dec. 10 that allows construction of a one-story station and 455-space parking garage on city-owned land east of the Downtown Library that the for-profit rail company will lease for $1 per year.

“Tonight was a great win for Boca Raton,” Mayor Scott Singer said after the vote.

“I think it is phenomenal,” said Virgin Trains’ President Patrick Goddard. “Creating mobility is what we are all about.”

Virgin Trains wants to start construction in February or March with the station in operation by next December.

Residents jammed the City Council chambers and an overflow room to support the station or to urge council members not to act in haste and to demand more concessions from the express rail company. In all, 63 voiced their opinions over nearly four hours.

“It certainly is a game-changer for our city,” said Troy McLellan, CEO of the Boca Chamber. “The overwhelming support throughout the city is loud and clear.”

Jorge Pesquera, CEO of Discover the Palm Beaches, said having a train station in Boca Raton is like “winning the lottery.”

Many residents and key business groups and employers are thrilled by the prospect of a station, saying it will lure more companies to locate in the city, increase property values and draw visitors to the city’s cultural venues.

But residents of the Library Commons neighborhood located just north of the station site objected to a 4.5-story garage looming over their neighborhood and fear Virgin Trains eventually will damage the character of the area by developing adjacent city-owned and privately owned land.

Others voiced additional concerns, especially about the financial viability of Virgin Trains and the wisdom of the city leasing land to the passenger service for a nominal amount and kicking in $11.4 million for a parking garage.

“It is basically a giveaway to a private company,” said Manjunath Pendakur, a retired Florida Atlantic University professor.

Library Commons resident Charles Bennardini said Virgin Trains’ goal is to develop land near the station.

“They are interested in using your tax dollars to further their revenue interests,” he said.

In a concession to Library Commons residents, Virgin Trains agreed last month to push the garage 25 feet south, creating a 45-foot landscaped buffer between the neighborhood and the garage.

Virgin Trains initially wanted the city to donate to the company about 2.5 city-owned acres that it would develop, but has since backed off that request and placed development plans on ice for now.

Friends of the Boca Raton Library objected to the loss of some of the library’s surface parking and any multi-story development.

Virgin Trains will pay for the $25 million station and nearly $1.9 million for 64 garage spaces reserved for library patrons who will park for free. The city will foot the remaining $11.4 million cost to build the garage.

Virgin Trains will share 50 percent of garage revenues with the city.

The rail company also will pay up to $300,000 to relocate the Junior League of Boca Raton’s Community Garden, which will be displaced by the station and garage.

While Virgin Trains will lease 1.8 city-owned acres for the station and garage for $1 a year, the city considers it a land sale because of the length of the lease. The initial lease term is 29 years, but with renewals could total 89 years.

City code requires any sale or lease of city property be done at fair market value. There is an exception, however, for the sale or lease of property that would be of “significant economic benefit” to the city.

Virgin Trains has provided an economic impact study that says the station will contribute $15.5 million annually in economic benefits, including $10.9 million in money spent by visitors using the train to come to Boca Raton.

The rail company has long resisted adding stations along the Florida East Coast rail corridor, saying additional stops would slow train service to Orlando and Tampa. It currently has stations in Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach.

But that stance changed this year, and the company has won approvals for stations at PortMiami and Aventura. Those and a Boca Raton station will boost ridership by 2 million passengers, the company has said.

Virgin Trains, the rebranded name of Brightline, has drawn recent scrutiny for the number of people who have died on its tracks.

While all railroads operating in South Florida have struck people, Brightline is responsible for the most deaths, according to an analysis by the Associated Press.

None of the Virgin Trains deaths was caused by crew error or faulty equipment, according to federal reports. The majority have been suicides, while others involved people who tried to beat a train or ignored gates and warnings.

In early December, Goddard said the company would contribute $150,000 to support the 211 Palm Beach/Treasure Coast Helpline, a service for people with mental health issues.

That would be added to $500,000 in state funding that state Rep. Mike Caruso, R-Delray Beach, is seeking in a bill intended to reduce the number of suicides by train.

The Florida Department of Transportation also has announced it will spend $60 million to make safety improvements to more than 4,000 rail crossings over the next two years.

‘Marty’s Cube’ by sculptor Tony Rosenthal is in the entrance courtyard of Boca Raton Museum of Art at Mizner Park.

By Gretel Sarmiento

Dressed up in two trendy exhibitions, Boca Raton Museum of Art kicked off its 70th birthday party last month with the sound of music, pink balloons and improvisational dances.
And that was just the first week. Like a proper septuagenarian housing a young soul, the institution has no intention of slowing its pace — and dance moves — anytime soon.
“When the board of trustees and staff are in sync and there is a clear perspective of where you want to go, great things can happen,” said Director Irvin Lippman, who has led the museum since 2014. “Whether you are a 150-year-old institution or a 70-year-old institution, it really is just a matter of whether you are all rowing together.”
This must be the Olympic rowing team. The museum that sprouted out of Palmetto Park Road with two studio classrooms seven decades ago today enjoys 44,000 square feet of gallery space and welcomes more than 100,000 annual visitors to its Mizner Park location.
A smaller number attended Art & Community Day, the first in a series of events launching the new season, which includes the customary rich schedule of permanent and traveling exhibitions, lectures, tours and art classes. Museum staff greeted visitors and recorded their testimonials during the rainy daylong celebration in early November, at which fall exhibitions exploring nature and climate change were unveiled.
An anniversary gala dinner and dance is planned for Jan. 25 and will include a live auction, gift drawing and a raffle to support the museum’s programming.

The museum’s former location on Palmetto Park Road is home to its school of art.

The former location as seen in a 1964 clipping from The Boca Raton News. Photos provided by Boca Raton Museum of Art

At the debut event, a spontaneous dance by the FAU Repertory Dance Theatre Ensemble broke out within Tree of Knowledge. That’s the title of a dynamic, site-specific installation inspired by Pearl City, the historic African-American community across the street from the museum that is home to a commanding 100-year-old banyan tree.
From July through October, more than 350 volunteers twisted thousands of recycled newspapers now hanging like paper branches from the ceiling of the main gallery. The mastermind behind this handmade rainforest is sculptor and performance artist Maren Hassinger, who saw the natural landmark as a symbol of community, endurance and collaboration. This is the largest production of her career.
The California-born artist’s companion piece to Tree of Knowledge puts nature’s No. 1 enemy to good use with recycled plastic bags that adorn the gallery entrance hall. Incidentally, it looks like a party decorated with pink balloons. The shopping bags are inflated with human breath and carry love notes inside.
Love sends out an optimistic signal that echoes in the rest of the first floor. Clifford Ross: Waves responds.

Long before Greta Thunberg and the Paris Agreement issued their respective warnings about rising sea levels and global warming, there was Ross with a camera, a tether linking him to his assistant to keep him from floating away. The New York-born Ross, who abstains from cautious photography, spent years capturing waves up close during extreme weather conditions and while braving the ocean surf.
The fruit of his labor dances between abstraction and hyper-realism, aggression and gentleness. One look at the ferocity of the Wood Wave series and it’s clear nobody should try this at home.
The massive scale of these water columns amplifies the feeling of powerlessness. The choice of wood as printing surface adds foreign marks to pictures that already feel untamed, unpredictable. These are waves on steroids, and all we can do is stand in awe.
Their range of mood swings can be better appreciated in the adjacent gallery room housing a set of nine prints from 2009 collectively known as the Hurricane series.

Members of FAU’s Repertory Dance Theatre Ensemble perform during festivities marking the 70th anniversary of Boca Raton Museum of Art. An anniversary gala dinner and dance is planned for Jan. 25. Photo provided by Boca Raton Museum of Art

Helping art students
The two shows, running through March 1, will extend the museum’s birthday festivities well into the new year. They are the natural next steps in a succession of transformative evolutions that can be traced to the 1940s, when a modest exhibition organized by members of the Library Association hinted at the local artistic potential and interest in the fine arts.
This first civic group, united under the mission of opening a small library, fueled the creation of the Art Guild of Boca Raton in 1950, which eventually became the Boca Raton Museum. The city’s official cultural attaché has been fostering cultural exchanges between the local community and the rest of the world ever since.
The art school, situated in the museum’s original location, now offers more than 100 classes and its eight classrooms see nearly 3,000 students every year. The Artists Guild, as it’s currently known, is still active in a supporting capacity.
Boca Raton resident Farida Morris joined it last year at a particularly vulnerable time while she questioned whether or not to pursue her artistic career. She took a portrait painting class and attended art critique evening sessions where members bring artworks and receive group feedback.
Then something happened.
“I participated in the Artists Guild’s juried exhibit at ArtServe in Fort Lauderdale and received juror recognition for my digital photograph The Dress,” said Morris, whose membership includes signature-members-only exhibitions. “I think, overall, I got more knowledge and confidence as a developing artist by participating.”

Using technology
One of the biggest challenges cultural institutions face is the ongoing negotiation aimed at growing their fan base without alienating longtime museum-goers. Striking that balance is not only tricky, but essential. Boosting membership and support is crucial to a healthy financial state and gives a sound indication of community engagement.
Sandwiched between the Norton Museum of Art to the north and NSU Art Museum to the south, Boca Raton Museum seems particularly good at gauging the pros and cons of interactive exhibitions that trigger all the senses rather than the conventional flat experience. Admittedly, it’s a work in progress.
“The museum is a place where I can go to refresh my creativity, see different art media and just enjoy being around art, some of which I love and some of which I don’t,” said Marcia Lamel, a longtime museum member and current president of the Artists Guild.
Lamel joined the museum soon after moving to Boca Raton in 2002 and discovering it in a small space on Palmetto Park Road.
“I wasn’t very impressed, but I have been an artist all my life, so joining and supporting museums is important to me,” she said. “I have really enjoyed the museum’s exhibitions in the last few years. They are different and many are exciting.”
Technology has certainly helped captivate a more social media-oriented segment of the population with a fleeting attention span. Traditionalists might opine that the “pure” viewing experience has been sacrificed in favor of trendy things that should have no place in galleries (such as selfie sticks or cafés). Boca Raton Museum, on the other hand, has found a partner in technology.
Most recently, it acquired Ross’ Light Waves III installation consisting of an LED wall that plays six minutes of computer-generated footage. It’s stunning and sleek at once.
“We are ever vigilant that art is a form of communication. It is true that most visitors might spend only a few seconds in front of any work of art and take longer to photograph themselves,” said Lippman. “At least we are able to get visitors to realize that there is great joy in first ‘looking up’ rather than ‘looking down’ at one’s cellphone.”

Encouraging dialogue
Whereas older and larger institutions collect broadly and in depth, the Boca museum’s collections (mainly representative of 20th- and 21st-century art) are anchored on the principle of communication. This type of dialogue, epitomized by Jean Dubuffet’s paintings and African sculptures in the second-floor gallery, is one in which the museum takes pride and is not interested in trading. If anything, the latest round of capital improvements, which will include the expansion of retail space and the addition of a café next to the lobby, will reinforce this core value.
Upcoming exhibitions Phyllis Galembo: Maské and Eye to I: Self Portraits From the National Portrait Gallery, opening Jan. 28 and March 24, respectively, will further advance the conversation between past and modern art.
“It is great that there are museums that can present the visual history of civilizations,” said Lippman. “It is also important to have museums devoted to the art of our time.” 

If you go
What: Boca Raton
Museum of Art
Where: 501 Plaza Real
Hours: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday; 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Thursday; noon-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday; closed Mondays and holidays.
Admission: $12 for adults, $10 for seniors, free for children 12 and under and members.
Info: www.bocamuseum.org

Social media numbers
• The Boca museum joined Twitter in 2009, has 6,629 followers.
• It joined Facebook in 2010, has 13,599 followers.
• It joined Instagram in 2013, has 4,611 followers.

Also celebrating in 2020
• Norton Museum of Art turns 79.
• The NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale turns 62.
• Henry Morrison Flagler Museum turns 60.

Jacob Kosowsky, shown here just shy of his 18th birthday in 2015, was an outdoorsman who loved the ocean. He died in a car accident last year.

Couple’s $250,000 gift for Gumbo Limbo overlook reflects son’s sunny spirit

By Margie Plunkett

When you someday find yourself atop the new observation tower at Gumbo Limbo Nature Center, and the Intracoastal-to-ocean view inspires in you joy, the sensation of being alive and awe at the beauty of nature, you will be experiencing Jacob’s Outlook.
This is how Jacob Kosowsky’s parents hope to memorialize and share the spirit of their exuberant 21-year-old son, who was killed in a traffic accident a year ago last month. “We like to think that Jake would be helping people to think about conservation, beauty and the ocean,” said his father, Stephen Kosowsky.
Kosowsky and his wife, Sharilyn Jones, have pledged $250,000, half the sum needed to pay for an inclined elevator, or funicular, that will be part of the 40-foot tower once it’s been restored. A plaque with the name Jacob’s Outlook will be placed at the site in their son’s honor.

Jacob Kosowsky’s parents, Stephen Kosowsky and Sharilyn Jones, donated $250,000 to Gumbo Limbo Nature Center in memory of their son, Jacob. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

The donation kicked off an Oct. 1 campaign by Friends of Gumbo Limbo to raise $500,000 to Bring Back the Tower, according to Michele Peel, president of the Friends. The tower was closed to the public in 2015 and demolished after being deemed unsafe.
The funicular is essential to make the tower, which had stood for 30 years, compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The city of Boca Raton is proceeding on the design and anticipates getting something back by early this month, with construction possibly starting on the tower in early 2020, said Briann Harms, executive director of the Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District.
The funicular will mean “everybody can go up even if they can’t walk up it,” Jones said.

The Kosowsky family often visited Gumbo Limbo Nature Center when the children were small. A 6-year-old Jacob, far left, accompanied his aunt, uncle and cousins from San Diego. Family photos

The donation came about when the family was looking for a way to honor Jacob’s memory and his love of the sea. His parents and sister, Mia, liked the idea of Gumbo Limbo.
“All his friends — every kid that grows up in Boca — goes to Gumbo Limbo,” Jones said. “Our kids grew up going there, too.
“It was great for the community and it was more accessible to everyone who knew and loved Jake — because everybody can’t swim out to a coral reef. But they can go to Gumbo Limbo, and they can bring their family and friends,” Jones said.
Jacob Kosowsky grew up in Boca Raton, graduated from Boca Raton High in 2016 and was a student at Vanderbilt University — his sister started at Vanderbilt a year after he did.
His parents described him as demonstrative and generous of spirit. He was an outdoorsman who loved spearfishing, boating and all things about the ocean — he even had a turtle collection started when he was a boy. He was a high achiever, excelled in academics and pursued debate and Youth Court, among other activities.

Stephen, Jacob, Sharilyn and daughter Mia on New Year’s Eve 2017 in downtown Park City, Utah. Family photo

In the Kosowsky children’s younger years, they spent summers with their parents’ families in Hawaii, California and Utah — where Jacob learned to love skiing and hiking in the mountains as well. His family also regularly spent time in the Bahamas. He was returning from a fall-break hiking trip to Arches National Park in Utah when the traffic accident took his life.
Jacob had a special way of bringing people together who might not have otherwise gotten together — as does Mia, their mother said. At his celebration of life, Jones recalled, one of the speakers said, if you think of yourself as Jake’s best friend, please come up.
“Like 100 kids came, from elementary, middle school, high school, that he didn’t go to high school with, from college, some of his fraternity brothers, friends from school came down,” Jones said. “I think that speaks a lot about a young person when so many of their peers can say he’s my best friend.”
His legacy at Gumbo Limbo will allow him to touch many more people. At Jacob’s Outlook, he’ll just be “reminding us to slow down and enjoy it all — because he definitely did that,” said Jones. “To always remember what’s most important in life: family, nature and ultimately, love. That’s who he was.”

To donate, visit www.gumbolimbo.org/Bring-Back-The-Tower.

A developer offered $67.5 million to buy Ocean Strand, which extends across A1A. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

By Steve Plunkett

The Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District can’t sell the undeveloped Ocean Strand parcel, the district’s lawyers determined last month.
“The expressed intent under our special act is to acquire, operate and maintain beach and park property. Noticeably absent from our enumerated powers is the power to sell or to convey,” attorney Jacob Horowitz told commissioners Oct. 7. “We have the power to acquire; we do not have the legal authority to convey or otherwise sell.”
Municipalities and some special districts do have the power to sell property, Horowitz said. “We don’t have that authority under our special act,” he said.
Commissioners immediately directed their staff to notify developer Robert Comparato that they could not consider his unsolicited offer to buy Ocean Strand for $67.5 million. The 15-acre property straddles State Road A1A from the Atlantic to the Intracoastal Waterway.
“I can’t tell you how delighted I am to hear this,” said Commissioner Steve Engel, who in the past promised residents that the property would be sold only “over my dead body.”
Gabriel Banfi, a resident of Boca Towers adjacent to Ocean Strand, had first questioned whether the district could sell the property in September after he studied its enabling legislation.
“It doesn’t say anywhere that this board can sell property,” he repeated at the Oct. 7 meeting.
The district bought Ocean Strand in 1994 for $11.9 million.
In his Sept. 11 proposal, Comparato said he “holds or will hold” contracts to purchase 2500 and 2600 N. Ocean Blvd., two beachfront parcels that were denied variances this year by the Boca Raton City Council to build four-story residences.
Comparato proposed swapping the two parcels for Ocean Strand and giving the district $51.5 million — enough, he said, to build a new golf course, expand and renovate the Gumbo Limbo Nature Center, and create a new “Parks for All People” inside the city-owned Spanish River Park.
The developer planned to build a five-star 171-room hotel, 110 condominiums, 30 villas and 35 boat slips at Ocean Strand.
The deal would have allowed the district to “ensure that the 2500 property and the 2600 property will remain undeveloped,” Comparato’s offer said.
Horowitz’s pronouncement that the Beach and Park District cannot sell property seemed to undermine related proposals to possibly sell or lease a small part of the district’s planned Boca National Golf Course property to a hotel operator or even to sell the property to the city.
But Horowitz’s law partner, Sam Goren, backtracked on the definition of the district’s powers at the commission’s Oct. 21 meeting.
“We believe based on our review of the law that you cannot sell property. Whether or not you can convey property or have any governmental exchange of property is an open question. We limited our opinion strictly to sale,” Goren said.

By Rich Pollack

The sign proclaiming the large open space at the south end of Highland Beach to be the future location of Cam D. Milani Park is likely to remain there for at least another five years.
What will happen to the 5.6-acre property — and adjacent parcels to the north still owned by the Milani family — after that time is still up in the air.
Last month, Palm Beach County commissioners voted 4-3 to follow a staff recommendation to extend a legal agreement and delay breaking ground on the county-owned parcel until 2025.
In the interim, the county Parks and Recreation Department will begin legwork that will make it easier for the park — with beach access on the east side of State Road A1A and parking for up to 120 cars on the west side — to come out of the ground quickly once the extension expires.
That is not sitting well with nearby residents who for decades have argued that traffic and safety issues would abound with a park development.
“There’s absolutely no need for a park there,” said Doug Hillman, president of Boca Highland Beach Club and Marina, which is next to the planned park’s parking lot. “Highland Beach and Boca Highland have a major issue here. We need to begin developing a strategy now.”
Back in 1987, developer Cam D. Milani’s wife, Lucia, sold the property to the county for $3.9 million after his death with the caveat that it be used as a park and be named after him.
Legal wrangling, including a lawsuit filed by the town, blocked development. The settlement of the suit in 2010 delayed construction of the park for 10 years, with two five-year extensions available to the county.
During a County Commission meeting last month, Milani’s son, also Cam Milani, told county leaders that his mother sold the property to the county in order to honor her husband.
“I don’t think she imagined it would be 32 years before this happened and it sounds like it may be even a few years more,” he said.
County Commissioner Robert Weinroth, who represents the district that includes the property, was a strong opponent of the extension and of continuing to kick the can down the road.
“We should be giving the clear and unambiguous signal we are ready to move forward with a park,” he said.
Weinroth, who reported receiving $4,000 in contributions from the Milani family and business in his 2018 campaign, has said the county has an obligation to honor the family’s wishes.
“I don’t think we’re being fair to the Milani family,” he said.
In the end, commissioners agreed to start the ball rolling so development of the park can begin in five years.
“The intent during the five-year period is to do the design work so development of the park can move forward following this five-year extension,” county Parks and Recreation Director Eric Call said.
Weinroth said that could be acceptable.
“If that’s the way it goes, I won’t be thrilled but I’ll be happy it’s moving forward,” he said.
In addition to urging development of the park, Lucia Milani went to the Highland Beach Town Commission asking for a 20-year extension of a 30-year agreement that gives the family favorable zoning and height conditions on parcels they own north of the park site.
Under an agreement signed in 1995, the Milanis’ Highland Beach Holdings could build nine three-story townhouses on the west side of A1A with a height limit of 40 feet. The agreement also would allow for four units east of A1A.
The current height limit on those properties is 35 feet and new zoning for townhouses is six units per acre and for single-family 1.5 units per acre.
The two parcels owned by the Milani company on the west side of A1A total about .58 acres, according to town officials. The east property, Lucia Milani’s beachfront estate, is about .87 acres.
Although the current agreement doesn’t end for five years, Lucia Milani is asking the town to grant her the extension of the favorable zoning.
Milani said her request, which the commission discussed Oct. 3, was an indication that she did not plan to develop the property within the next five years but she stopped short of making that commitment.
That led some members of the commission to balk at the request.
“It would be selling an option for free,” said Vice Mayor Greg Babij. “In general, it’s not a good idea to sell an option for free.”
The commission asked its planning board to look deeper into the differences in land-use requirements and asked Town Manager Marshall Labadie to begin discussions with the Milani family. Ú

By Mary Hladky

Police Chief Dan Alexander is retiring effective Dec. 1 from the department he has led for the past 13 years and will move into the newly created position of director of school police for the Palm Beach County school district.
Alexander effectively will become the second in command at the district police department, reporting to Chief Frank Kitzerow.
School Board members unanimously approved his hiring on Oct. 16.
“It was very exciting to see we are getting another addition to our school police department with the appointment of Dan Alexander from Boca Raton,” said School Board Vice Chair Chuck Shaw. “It reemphasizes the quality of our department that we now have.”
City officials did not say how they would replace Alexander immediately after he announced his retirement and the School Board hired him. City Manager Leif Ahnell will outline the transition plan before Alexander leaves his job, according to city spokeswoman Anne Marie Van Casteren.
Alexander was not granting interviews in mid-October but could do so before he departs, Van Casteren said.
“Chief Alexander has led (our) outstanding police department for 13 years, leading to a low crime rate and consistent outstanding recognition and strong community support,” Mayor Scott Singer said in an email. “I look forward to continuing to work with Chief Alexander in his new role.”
The Boca Raton Police Department has 216 officers and 107 civilian employees. Starting police officer salaries were recently increased to $70,198.
Alexander, who is vested in the city’s executive pension plan, was brought in as police chief in 2006 to right the ship after officers denounced former Police Chief Andrew Scott with a 152-3 vote of no confidence.
The vote came after Scott ordered wealthy developer Greg Talbott released from jail. Police alleged that a drunken Talbott battered his wife, a restaurant manager and an off-duty police officer outside a restaurant.
The police union also complained of other improprieties by Scott, who resigned in 2005.
Alexander’s tenure as police chief marked his second tour of duty with the department. He served as a police captain and later as assistant chief from 1999 to 2002, leaving to become Cape Coral police chief.
His hiring by the school police department comes as it is growing rapidly, largely to meet the requirements of a state law that was enacted after the 2018 massacre of 17 students and staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. The law requires armed school safety officers to be assigned to every school.
The department will more than double in size by the end of this school year to have about 280 officers, Kitzerow has said.
Alexander’s responsibilities will include developing and implementing a comprehensive security plan for the school district, developing the department’s budget and coordinating with other government agencies, according to the school district.

By Steve Plunkett

Downtown’s combined Wildflower-Silver Palm park won’t have a planned floating wetlands area under the Palmetto Park Road bridge when it opens in 2021.
Kona Gray, a principal of consultant EDSA Inc., which is designing the park, told City Council members Oct. 21 that his team missed an application deadline for needed seagrass permits.
“In order to keep our project moving forward, that could happen at a separate date,” Gray said. “It’s not something that’s being precluded, it’s just not included in this particular presentation.”
The park in May lost proposed access steps on the north side of the bridge, a City Council request, when Palm Beach County insisted on including an elevator or ramps to make them ADA-compliant. Existing stairs on the south side are grandfathered in.
Gray reviewed features of the park that he had shown council members in May and showed new drawings of a “very clean and simple … contemporary” pavilion and restrooms.
“We wanted to go with something that would allow the park to be the star. It’s really not about the building, it’s about the place,” he said.
The renderings prompted a quick critique from resident Jo-Ann Landon.
“I really feel as though we ought to stay with the Mizner look. I know that’s very modern, but you know, Boca Raton has its reputation as being a Mizner area,” Landon said. “And I feel like I would like to see something that looks a little more Mediterranean, Spanish, but that’s my personal thought.”
Resident Margaret Fitzsimons criticized Gray’s plans for a hard-surface parking lot taking up almost half of the Wildflower site as a potential generator of heat and suggested grass parking instead. But Gray said that would deter or endanger women in high heels.
Council members Monica Mayotte and Andy Thomson both asked for more trash cans.
“And I would love to see the solar ones, the solar compacting ones,” Mayotte said.
“I’m not saying we have to be like Disneyland and have one every 30 feet, but I think a few more would do us good,” said Thomson, who kicked off his re-election campaign Oct. 16.
Council member Andrea O’Rourke and Mayor Scott Singer also held campaign kickoffs in October for the city election next March.
Council members also discussed holding a contest to name the park while still seeking a philanthropist who would take naming rights in exchange for the purchase of the old Maxwell’s Chophouse site, which cuts into the west side of the Wildflower parcel.
Gray expanded on a construction schedule he had given earlier, saying that work on the $6.8 million project would begin in late 2020 and finish 12 months later.
Deputy Mayor Jeremy Rodgers, who is in his final term on the council, urged Gray to move quickly.
“I’m only here till about March 2021. I would love to be there when this thing opens,” Rodgers said.
Singer also sought speed. “Run with it, run with it. It’s good, and let’s just get ’er done,” he said.
Planning began in April 2017 when Gray’s firm held an outreach session with city residents to develop a comprehensive waterfront park plan. EDSA presented its initial ideas to the council in February 2018, held another outreach session in September 2018 and two months later showed the council plans for connecting Silver Palm Park and the Wildflower parcel.
Boca Raton bought the 2.3-acre Wildflower site for $7.5 million in 2009 and negotiated for years to put a restaurant there. But a November 2017 voter initiative banned commercial uses of city-owned property along the Intracoastal Waterway. Ú

By Rich Pollack

In what could be seen as a well-crafted end run around the state’s transportation agency, the town is going straight to the Florida Legislature in hopes of getting additional funding for projects along State Road A1A.
Highland Beach officials have enlisted the aid of state Rep. Mike Caruso, R-Delray Beach, who is working on two bills that would send close to $1 million to the town if approved.
House Bill 2185 would provide about $200,000 for crosswalk lights, while House Bill 2159 would provide about $750,000 for drainage relief at 53 sites along A1A in the town.
State Sen. Kevin Rader, D-Boca Raton, has been working on Senate versions of the bills, according to town officials.
Town Commissioner Peggy Gossett-Seidman says that direct appropriations from the Legislature are not uncommon for larger municipalities but that the current requests are the first for Highland Beach.
Lighted crosswalks have long been a priority for Highland Beach residents and commissioners, and the town is making progress on plans to install embedded lights at several crosswalk locations.
Engineering studies have been done and plans are currently before the state Department of Transportation for approval, but agency officials have told Highland Beach that they are not willing to pay for lighted crosswalks.
The town estimated that about $400,000 would be needed for the entire project, but only has about half that amount is budgeted.
“We have plans for work that is greater than our budget permits,” Gossett-Seidman said. “We could certainly use more funding to do a more complete project.”
The fact that the town already has a plan for the crosswalks and is willing to put in the same amount it is requesting could be a plus, Gossett-Seidman said.
In its efforts to make crosswalks safer, Highland Beach earlier this year unveiled crosswalk flags at a test location in the south end of town. Those flags have received a positive reaction from residents, and now several other communities are asking for flags.
Town Manager Marshall Labadie said Highland Beach is working out the logistics and hopes to have flags available at other crosswalks in the near future.
Drainage along A1A has also been an issue in Highland Beach. Town officials had hoped that the Department of Transportation would cover the cost of improvements at all 53 sites identified in a study funded by the state.
That is no longer the case, Labadie said, with transportation officials saying they will fund some drainage issues during a major A1A resurfacing project in two or three years.
“They’re saying they’ll do some as necessitated by the road project but not all of them,” Labadie said.
The town is hoping the Legislature will step in to fill the funding gap so navigating the highway during or after storms is safer.
Gossett-Seidman believes the town’s prospects of receiving a direct appropriation from the Legislature are good, considering the projects are on a state road that benefits motorists and bicyclists from other communities as well as Highland Beach residents.
“I’ve been told we have a very good chance for funding because we have plans on the desk and we have partial funding,” she said

By Mary Hladky

Crocker Partners has curtailed its contentious legal battle with the city, dropping two lawsuits that sought to compel city officials to allow it to redevelop Midtown.
But Crocker Partners continues to pursue litigation that seeks $137.6 million in damages the developer and landowner claims it has sustained because Boca Raton illegally prevented the redevelopment.
By dismissing the two lawsuits, Crocker Partners has signaled that it is giving up its long-held ambition to transform the 300-acre Midtown, located east of the Town Center mall, into a $1 billion live-work-play area with as many as 2,500 residential units near offices, restaurants and shopping.
“After trying to work with City Council for four years, revitalizing Midtown is off the table — a tremendous missed opportunity for the city and the community,” Angelo Bianco, Crocker Partners’ managing partner, said in a statement issued three days after his company informed the court on Oct. 18 that it was dismissing the lawsuits.
“We are pleased that the Crocker entities have voluntarily dismissed two of their three pending Midtown lawsuits,” city spokeswoman Chrissy Gibson said in an email.
In an interview, Bianco said that after recovering the damages, he will be ready to move on and sell his company’s 67 acres in Midtown.
“We will focus all our attention on the (lawsuit) I feel most confident about,” he said. “When we win, we will get paid for the damages we suffered. At least my investors will get the money the city has taken from them.”
Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Howard Coates Jr.’s July 19 dismissal of Crocker Partners’ damages case played no role in his decision, Bianco said. Crocker Partners has since appealed the ruling to the 4th District Court of Appeal.
Rather, he said he recently reassessed the situation and determined that even if he won the lawsuits, Midtown redevelopment as he envisioned it would not happen.
Crocker Partners had sold its holdings in Midtown but reacquired them five years ago with an eye toward redeveloping an area in need of revitalization.
Bianco then teamed up with other landowners in the area, assembling 300 acres for the Midtown project.
But protracted negotiations with the city led nowhere, and the council has yet to decide whether to allow residential development in Midtown.
Even after a pivotal 2018 City Council vote that did not resolve the issue, Bianco said he still thought it would be possible to create a smaller version of the original project.
But other landowners drifted away, pursuing other plans for their properties. Bianco said Glades Plaza is under contract for sale and landowner Cypress Realty of Florida has put its property up for sale.
An official with Glades Plaza owner Trademark Property Co. declined comment, and Cypress Realty principal Nader Salour did not respond to an email.
“I realized the consortium of property owners is gone,” Bianco said. “It is all breaking apart. Why was I trying to get the relief I asked for (from the courts) when there is not going to be any Midtown development? It would be a waste of time and money.”
Crocker Partners is a longtime developer whose projects include iconic Mizner Park. Its holdings in Midtown include Boca Center, The Plaza and One Town Center — properties that Bianco said eventually would be sold.
The death knell for Midtown sounded on Jan. 23, 2018, when City Council members indefinitely postponed a vote on proposed land development regulations that would have allowed residential development in Midtown if certain conditions were met.
Instead, the council voted to have city staff develop a “small area plan” for Midtown, a decision that kicked final decisions at least a year down the road and badly frustrated Crocker Partners and other landowners.
The council eventually passed what city officials say are land development regulations on Jan. 8. They address improvements to streets, lighting, parking and landscaping, as well as building heights, setbacks and facades, but not residential development.
Crocker Partners’ now-dismissed first lawsuit asked a judge to compel the city to write land development regulations, which the city had said is now moot because it has done so.
The second, a Bert Harris Act case now on appeal, seeks the $137.6 million in damages on grounds the delay in enacting regulations created an impermissible building moratorium that took away Crocker Partners’ property rights.
In a July 19 ruling, Judge Coates sided with Boca Raton and against all of Crocker Partners’ legal arguments.
His order states that the Bert Harris Act provides compensation to property owners who lose existing or vested zoning rights, but not to property owners who do not receive new development rights. It also states that Crocker Partners retained the ability to build commercial, retail and office, as was allowed before and after the City Council passed new development regulations for Midtown.
The now-dismissed third lawsuit, filed March 27, claimed the city made misleading statements in public documents and violated the state’s Sunshine Law to prevent residential development in Midtown.
It also made the explosive allegation that city officials, including two or more unidentified City Council members, acted in secret to thwart Crocker Partners’ plans for Midtown.
In a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, city officials said Crocker Partners had made “scandalous” but unsupported allegations which “distract from the fact that Plaintiffs have not stated (and cannot state) a claim for a Sunshine Law violation.”

By Mary Hladky

Tri-Rail has long hoped to offer commuter rail service on the Florida East Coast Railway tracks that run through downtowns along the coast.
Officials of the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority, which operates Tri-Rail, know that stations along those tracks would be more convenient for many potential commuters eager to have an alternative to Interstate 95.
But as Tri-Rail has tried to make headway in offering service beyond its line on the CSX tracks farther west, Virgin Trains, formerly known as Brightline, moved in to offer sleek service between Miami and West Palm Beach.
Now Virgin Trains is adding three more stations along the FEC tracks.
In October, Miami-Dade County commissioners approved a new station at Port Miami and paying as much as $76 million to build the for-profit rail company a station in Aventura.
Virgin Trains is negotiating with Boca Raton officials to build a station east of the Downtown Library, and it appears a deal will be struck by year’s end. Officials in other cities are seeking additional stations.
That raises the question: Are Tri-Rail’s plans to create a Coastal Link commuter line on Virgin Trains’ tracks doomed?
Steven Abrams, SFRTA executive director, doesn’t think so.
“Two additional stations on the corridor do not constitute commuter rail that precludes Tri-Rail for a number of reasons,” he said. “There is still plenty of room for commuter rail service on that corridor.”
The reasons he cites include the high price of Virgin Trains tickets, the fact that Virgin Trains does not have, and probably never will have, enough stops to provide a true commuter rail service, and its trains now run at too infrequent intervals to be convenient for commuters.
Beyond that, he doesn’t think Virgin Trains wants to be a commuter rail service since its business plan is to carry passengers quickly to Orlando and Tampa. More stops would slow service for long-haul passengers.
“Every conversation I have had with them they have stated that they are not in business to run commuter rail,” Abrams said.
Jose Gonzalez, executive vice president of Virgin Trains’ parent company Florida East Coast Industries, told the Miami Herald in October that he expected Tri-Rail to pursue stations between Miami and Aventura.
“That is not our business model,” he said of more local stations requiring frequent train stops.
Aventura is attractive to Virgin Trains, he said, because it is home to the state’s largest mall and is in a densely populated area nearly midway between its Miami and Fort Lauderdale stations.
Similarly, a Boca Raton stop makes sense because the city is home to about half the corporate headquarters in Palm Beach County and the station would be nearly midway between the Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach stations, Virgin Trains officials have said.
Ticket prices could discourage ridership of those commuting to Miami, West Palm Beach and other cities for work.
A trip from Miami to Fort Lauderdale, for example, now costs $15 and a round-trip is $30, not including the cost of parking at Virgin Trains’ garages. A monthly pass costs $350.
That cost likely would be too high for many of the 4.2 million people who ride Tri-Rail each year. Abrams described it as “not a fare that is affordable for the everyday commuter.”
Tri-Rail has just announced its first fare increase in 10 years, effective Jan. 1. Even so, a monthly pass will cost $110, up from $100, with additional discounts available. A round-trip ticket between Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach will be $12.50, up from $9.70.
Parking is free at Tri-Rail stations.
Miami-Dade’s oversight board for the county’s transportation tax determined that an Aventura station probably would attract “fairly low” ridership at “extraordinarily high” fares compared with the price of mass transit, including Tri-Rail and Metrorail, the Miami Herald reported in October.
The board’s report did not dissuade Miami-Dade commissioners, who said mass transit options are sorely needed.
Abrams has taken steps to assure that Coastal Link, if it gets off the ground, would be able to use Virgin Trains stations.
He sent letters in September to officials in Boca Raton and Miami-Dade asking for that requirement in their agreements with Virgin Trains. Virgin Trains officials have agreed to let Coastal Link in.
Such agreements are in place at Virgin Trains’ stations in Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach, Abrams said.
But many obstacles must be overcome if Coastal Link is to become reality.
For starters, Tri-Rail must offer service to downtown Miami before it can expand north. That should happen soon.
The Virgin Trains station in downtown Miami includes a platform for Tri-Rail. But Tri-Rail can’t travel there until Virgin Trains completes federally required safety upgrades.
Tri-Rail had expected to offer service from the CSX tracks to downtown Miami by the end of this year, but that has been delayed even though Tri-Rail has completed the safety upgrades.
Coastal Link would have to pay Virgin Trains to use its tracks. While there have been talks, no deal has been struck. And Virgin Trains has not said how much it would charge the perpetually underfunded Tri-Rail.
Abrams would like to think that Tri-Rail will be able to absorb the cost. “Their executives have assured me their goal is not to ask for an access fee that is prohibitive for us being on” Virgin Trains’ tracks, he said.
Even if that is the case, providing commuter rail service will be expensive.
“It would be a costly undertaking and up to all parties to devise a way to pay for it,” Abrams said.
Tri-Rail, which now receives federal and state funding, would need more of both. It’s possible that cities also would have to pitch in. Rider fares now represent only a small portion of its revenues.
While the deal for the Aventura station is largely completed, with the station to be paid for by using revenue from a half-percent sales tax for transportation, Miami-Dade commissioners still plan to negotiate a potential subsidy to lower Virgin Trains fares to Aventura.
Boca Raton City Council members expect to meet again with Virgin Trains officials this month.
Virgin Trains has given the city a 54-page proposed draft agreement, which has launched negotiations between city staff and the rail company.
Council member Monica Mayotte said at an Oct. 7 workshop meeting that she had received emails from residents asking about the financial viability of Virgin Trains, and asked city staff to conduct a financial analysis “so we can get an idea of what the future looks like for them.”
The city has hired a consultant to do that review.
Unlike in Aventura, Virgin Trains would pay for the Boca Raton station. The city would pay for a parking garage.
The rail service would lease the train station and parking garage land from the city for a nominal amount. It also wants an option to buy the rest of the 4-acre city-owned site, but it has placed on hold for now development of that property so it can reach an agreement with the city quickly.

By Rich Pollack

A Delray Beach gun shop owner whose text let a friend who is charged with bilking a Highland Beach widow out of close to $3 million know investigators were looking for related records was charged last month with criminal disclosure of a subpoena.
Texts in which 34-year-old Michael R. Caruso Jr. of Boynton Beach also recommended his friend David Del Rio contact a well-known Palm Beach County defense attorney led to Caruso’s being named as a witness for prosecutors in the case against Del Rio.
In court records, investigators for the State Attorney’s Office say they went to the Delray Shooting Center in August 2018 armed with a subpoena for records related to Del Rio’s purchase of multiple firearms.
The investigator served a subpoena to Michael R. Caruso Sr. — co-owner of the business with his son — “along with a notice informing him not to disclose the existence of the request,” according to court records.
In March 2019, investigators were plowing through a cloned hard drive from a computer seized from Del Rio when they discovered text messages from Caruso’s phone number on the same day his father was served with the subpoena.
“The message stated: ‘Sooooo ummm I just had the state attorney in here asking about you,’” according to court records. A few minutes later came a text asking Del Rio if he was OK.
Caruso was then asked to call Del Rio.
In later texts, Caruso sent an email with contact information for criminal defense attorney Michael Salnick.
“He’s the real deal if you need it bro, good luck,” the message read, according to court records.
Salnick, who is now representing Caruso as well as Del Rio, said he believes the charges are “overkill.”
“He was just advising a friend and giving him a recommendation for an attorney,” Salnick said. “I don’t think there was ever any intent to prevent, impede or obstruct justice whatsoever.”
Caruso was booked into the Palm Beach County Jail on Oct. 11 and released on $3,000 bail later that day.
Del Rio, who was arrested in September 2018 and charged with multiple counts of grand theft, exploitation of the elderly, money laundering and fraudulent use of personal identification information, was released from jail on bond but remains under house arrest.
Detectives investigating the April 2018 slaying of Elizabeth “Betty” Cabral discovered millions of dollars had been siphoned from her accounts, with Del Rio accused of improperly receiving much of the money.
No charges have been filed in the death of Cabral, who was found inside her Highland Beach condominium with her throat cut after her car was found in Broward County and Highland Beach police were asked to check on her.
The homicide, only the second in Highland Beach history, remains open and under investigation. Ú

During its January visit to Boca Raton, John Bury told children about his World War II missions on a similar B-17. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Rich Pollack

Over nearly 15 years, John Bury had become very familiar with the Nine-0-Nine, a World War II vintage B-17G bomber that made annual visits to Boca Raton Airport as part of a nonprofit Wings of Freedom Tour.
The Highland Beach resident was the navigator on 28 missions of a similar “Flying Fortress” like the touring B-17 and enjoyed walking students and history buffs through the plane on display — even showing them where he sat during combat flights.
“I toured that plane so many times,” said Bury, 97, who flew in the restored aircraft three times. “I felt very attached to that plane.”
So when he learned that the Nine-0-Nine had crashed on Oct. 2 outside Hartford, Connecticut, Bury was shocked and saddened.
“When you think of the thousands of visitors here in Boca who have toured that plane over the years, it has to have been a shock to them too,” he said.
Seven of the three crew members and 10 passengers on board were killed when the B-17 crashed, including the pilot, Ernest “Mac” McCauley.

The ‘Nine-0-Nine’ bomber crashed Oct. 2 in Connecticut, killing seven occupants. Photo courtesy of IAFF

Bury and McCauley, 75, had gotten to know each other well and talked frequently when the B-17 and other vintage aircraft were in Boca.
“We talked a number of times about how sturdy and reliable it was,” Bury said.
The Massachusetts-based Collings Foundation, which puts on the Wings of Freedom tour, suspended all flights for the remainder of the year. What will happen after that is not certain, but foundation representatives say the tour could resume with some of the other planes.
“Our hope is to be able to start the tour again in Florida come January,” said Hunter Chaney, the foundation’s marketing director.
Among the other vintage planes that could be part of the tour are the smaller B-25 bomber, a P-51 escort warplane, a P-40 fighter jet and a B-24 Liberator, Chaney said.
The foundation’s 75-year-old B-17, which was one of the highlights of the Wings of Freedom tour when it came to South Florida, crashed shortly after taking off and attempting to return to Bradley International Airport.
Although the National Transportation Safety Board is continuing to investigate, its preliminary report indicates the plane had a problem with one of the engines and struck approach lights as it neared the airfield.
In South Florida, the Nine-0-Nine will be missed by Bury and the few other remaining WWII vets who came to Boca Raton Airport many times to admire it.
Bury recalled flying in the vintage aircraft during one of its recent tours and said he was a bit reluctant at first because of the memories it might bring back.
“Once we took off, it made me feel comfortable to be in such a reliable plane again,” he said. “It just brought us home safely all the time.” Ú

By Sallie James

HIGHLAND BEACH — E. Donald Morando was a devoted father, a World War II veteran and a mechanical engineer whose life was a tribute to the enduring appeal of chocolate and cherries.
The Highland Beach resident and longtime owner of the Queen Anne Candy Co. died on Oct. 15 after a lengthy illness. He was 94.
His wife, Betty, said he never lost his love for the sweet things in life. Born on June 20, 1925, he was the candy man until the end.
“He didn’t eat candy excessively, but he liked to test it,” she said, laughing. “I told him not to bring it home. I especially liked the pecan patties and the Caramellos. The Queen Anne chocolate-covered cherry is still alive and kicking.”
The two married in 1954 after meeting at medical device company Becton Dickinson in New Jersey, where they both worked. The couple began living seasonally in Highland Beach in the mid-1980s and moved there full-time about eight years ago.
The pair lived in Mexico City for the first three years of their marriage, where Mr. Morando worked for General Electric and invented a heat pump. He later got a job working for Quaker Oats in Chicago’s Merchandise Mart, but it didn’t last long “because he was a doer and was not meant to sit behind a desk,” his wife said.
Mr. Morando got into the candy-making business in 1969 when he and some business associates purchased a company called Fascination. In 1972 he bought the Queen Anne Candy Co. and merged the two candy businesses into one. Luden’s (of the cough drop fame) purchased Queen Anne in 1982, with Mr. Morando still at the helm. Mr. Morando got out of the candy business in 1984 when the Hershey Co. purchased Luden’s, Betty Morando said.
“He was in the business for 20 years or so. He was a mechanical engineer, so he could get a machine to make the candy faster and cheaper. He took the complete line of chocolate-covered cherries away from Brach’s,” she recalled.
Mr. Morando accomplished everything with the sight of just one eye. He lost an eye at age 18 when his Navy ship was struck by a torpedo. Betty Morando said his disability never slowed him a bit.
A graduate of the Stevens Institute of Technology, Mr. Morando had a degree in mechanical engineering and a master’s in business.
His technical savvy helped him automate, his wife said. And the ability to automate helped his business become more competitive.
“He invented things — a way to automate, rather than make it by hand, and in mass quantities. His mechanical engineering (degree) was in rocket science. It’s the machinery that makes it. He could make something, fix it and make it work (better),” Betty Morando said.
In 1984 he invented and patented an adapter for traditional egg cartons that would allow smaller candy pieces to fit snugly inside the cartons. In 2009, he patented a candy-making process that improved the shelf life of candies made from fresh fruit. The innovations were just a few examples of the ways he economized the candy-making business.
Their three children all worked at one time or another at the candy company.
Betty Morando said her husband was active until he fell ill with leukemia about five months ago. He had worked as a consultant until about two years ago, she noted.
Most recently Mr. Morando had helped advise an Orlando-based candy company on a piece of machinery that would help make its candy better, his wife said.
“He was happiest when he was thinking and creating and working on something that required research,” she said. “He wasn’t the type of man to go out and play golf all day, although he did play golf.”
Mr. Morando is survived by his wife, their three children, three grandchildren, one great-grandchild, a brother and several nieces and nephews.
Services were held on Oct. 18 at St. Lucy Catholic Church in Highland Beach. Burial was in the South Florida National Cemetery in Lake Worth Beach.

By Rich Pollack

For months, town residents who read an email from the Committee to Save Highland Beach had to wonder if tap water was safe to drink — or even bathe in.
Now, town officials, the state Department of Health and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency are confirming that Highland Beach’s water not only meets safety standards but far exceeds them.
Reports filed with the Florida Department of Health in Palm Beach County show lead in the water from 20 Highland Beach locations on Sept. 24 ranged between an undetectable amount of lead to 0.0083 milligrams of lead per liter. The EPA-allowed maximum guideline is 0.015.
The same report showed copper in tap water ranged from 0.0075 milligrams per liter to 0.28 milligrams depending on the location. The acceptable level is 1 milligram per liter.
The highest levels of lead and copper in Highland Beach’s water are lower than the maximum levels in most surrounding communities, in large part because the water is treated in a reverse osmosis plant that removes most elements and requires some elements to be added.
“There are no problems with our award-winning water,” Town Manager Marshall Labadie said.
Labadie and town staff have been scrambling for weeks to correct information put out in the Committee to Save Highland Beach email blasts.
“We were asked to solve a problem that never existed,” Labadie said.
The issue came to the forefront after John Ross, a frequent critic of the Town Commission and the author of the Committee to Save Highland Beach email blast, came back from up north and asked on a blog if others thought the water tasted funny.
“One person wrote in with the link to an EPA website,” said Ross, who then shared the information with those on his email list.
That site, the EPA Enforcement and Compliance History website, shows that Highland Beach had 12 consecutive quarters of water quality violations.
The website also showed that in 2017, the lead levels in Highland Beach’s water were at 0.092 milligrams per liter, more than six times the acceptable level of 0.015.
Ross urged residents not to drink the water, posting those results in his email blasts and in several others.
One email blast was signed off with “Keep Drinking Bottled Water.”
The town countered with an email blast a short time later of its own assuring residents the water is fine.
“Please know that there are no concerns with the quality of the water,” the email from Labadie said. “There are no violations or enforcement actions pending and it is absolutely safe to drink our water.”
After lots of digging, town officials were able to get to the bottom of the misleading information.
Results from the town water tests are passed on to the state Department of Health, which then provides the information to the EPA. In 2004, a report was never filed and that led to a violation. Apparently unaware of the violation, no one ever followed up to file a report.
As for the high count of lead in one of the readings on the website, Labadie said that was a transcription error.
“They put the copper results in the lead category,” he said.
The town has since contacted the EPA, and a red flag has been placed on the site explaining the error. The information will be corrected when the site is updated in January.
Ross has faced criticism from town leaders for putting out information that wasn’t accurate.
“To make people anxious about our water is like saying the Martians are coming,” Mayor Rhoda Zelniker said. “I drank our water for 19 years and I’m in good health.”
But Ross defends putting the information out. He says that data on a public website are available to anyone and that misinformation can have a negative effect on everything from reputation to health insurance rates.
Ross believes town officials should know what data about the town are available to the public and make sure the data are accurate.
“If not, someone is going to beat them to it, and in this case, they did,” he said. “If you’re being regulated, it’s important to know what information about you is being put out there.”

By Steve Plunkett

Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District commissioners parted ways — at least temporarily — with Art Koski, their former longtime lawyer and executive director, but said they would negotiate a new contract to keep him on as a consultant.
“I don’t see how we can just not have someone to fall back on like Mr. Koski,” District Chair Susan Vogelgesang said.
The 5-0 vote Oct. 21 to end Koski’s contract came five weeks after commissioners elevated facilities manager Melissa Dawson to be their “owner’s representative” on the planned Boca National golf course.
It’s the first time since 1978 that Koski has not held a job at the district. Koski, who shed his role as legal counsel in June 2018 and as executive director in January, was under contract to be project manager and construction manager of the golf course. He was paid $10,000 a month, the same amount he earned as executive director.
After several months of the arrangement, and after negotiations with the city on the golf course bogged down, District Vice Chair Erin Wright complained she wanted more information on how Koski spent his time.
At a July 15 meeting she opposed paying his invoice. “Sorry, I still haven’t, I haven’t received any kind of follow-up from Mr. Koski for the payment of his bill,” she said.
“It was emailed this morning at 6,” Koski responded.
Following a July 25 meeting the two had “an altercation” in the hallway, Executive Director Briann Harms said at the Oct. 21 meeting, offering no further details. Afterward she said “upsetting conversation” was a better description.
Wright made it clear her working relationship with Koski is over.
“I made the motion [to terminate his contract] because I don’t feel comfortable personally hiring Mr. Koski on as a consultant,” Wright said.
Commissioners told attorneys Sam Goren and Jacob Horowitz to draft a new agreement to make Koski a consultant and investigate what would constitute proper pay.
Horowitz said he, Harms, Wright and Koski met on Aug. 30 for an “open” and “candid” discussion of Koski’s role and relationship with the district. They all agreed at that point that Koski would give accounting time sheets for his work.
The new consulting contract will include a similar requirement.
Dawson’s designation as owner’s representative also came as a result of City Council pressure to have someone else oversee the golf course project. Commissioners said the terms of Koski’s new contract should dictate he reports to Harms.
“I think where the city has a problem, to be perfectly honest, is in dealing directly with Mr. Koski. And if we define his responsibilities so that he’s dealing only with us then I think we eliminate that problem,” Commissioner Steve Engel said.
Koski said the work he has done with the district “is just part of me.”
“I feel good as a lawyer that my opposition in the city of Boca Raton doesn’t like me. I think that I’ve done my job as we push back on a lot of things that have simply been unfair. And I hope that in the future you continue to do that, and vote your conscience, not vote for politics of the community,” he said.
Koski was paid $150,000 a year as the district’s lawyer. For a time he was lawyer, executive director and construction administrator for the De Hoernle Park sports fields, making $330,000 a year.
But because he was an outside contractor, he received no pension or health benefits. He also paid for his downtown law office and staff from his own pocket.

By Steve Plunkett

The impasse between the city and the Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District over the planned Boca National golf course showed few signs in October of abating.
Briann Harms, the district’s executive director, told commissioners at their Oct. 21 meeting that even though they abandoned a proposed 19.4% increase in property taxes Oct. 1 and adopted the previous year’s rate, “there is the potential still” to borrow money without city assistance to build the course.
Commissioner Craig Ehrnst agreed.
“I do think that we can obtain sufficient financing to do the east course at a minimum and possibly the west course over time,” he said. “But let’s see what they [City Council members] have to offer. … Right now I really don’t know.”
Ehrnst also said council members’ opposition to the golf course design by the Price/Fazio team will dissolve once they go through “the educational process we went through.”
Commissioner Robert Rollins said he would not mind listening to the council’s offer but worried about how soon the city would do the work.
“I really feel like it’s been mentioned before, whether it’s El Rio Park that took 35 years, whether it’s Wildflower that took 10 years to get going, whether it’s Woodlands where they’ve been talking about doing that park since I was on the parks and rec board 30 years ago,” Rollins said. “I hear what they’re saying is that they want to do this course, but what time frame?”
Commissioners voted to work with council members and see what their plan is and to obtain an independent credit rating, which Ehrnst said should be on par with Boca Raton’s AAA rating, to ease borrowing money.
They also looked ahead to their joint meeting with council members at 5:30 p.m. Nov. 12 at the city’s 6500 Building, at 6500 Congress Ave. Besides the golf course, they decided the agenda should include discussion of their partnership with the city and the status of contributions the district makes to Boca Raton’s Community Redevelopment Agency.
Meanwhile, council member Andy Thomson was watching the district’s meeting and especially the golf course discussion online.
“There was some kind of mixed messages, I would say, on how they anticipated the process working,” he reported at the next night’s council meeting, distributing a list of bullet points he wanted district commissioners to consider.
Thomson objected to letting the district have final say over any changes the city makes to the golf course plan.
“It wouldn’t make a lot of sense for the city to go down that road, hire an architect, come up with a design just to have some ultimate veto power there in the hands of the Beach and Park District,” he said. “If it’s our money and we’re building it, then it should be us who decides.”
Council member Monica Mayotte said she does not want to throw out everything Price/Fazio has done, calling it “a good starting point to figure out how do we tweak this.”
“You may have less bunkers, less water and things like that, but the general layout of the course I don’t think is going to change that much,” she said.
Golf teaching professional and city resident Rick Heard told council members that discarding the Price/Fazio design and starting over would be “a colossal waste of time and taxpayer money.”
The Beach and Park District has one regular meeting scheduled before the Nov. 12 joint session, on Nov. 4, that could include discussion of Thomson’s points. The council will meet for a workshop in the afternoon before that evening’s get-together.
Deputy Mayor Jeremy Rodgers said despite “some snarky comments” he had heard from Beach and Park commissioners, the two bodies are making progress.
“I see this being positive moving forward, and the only way it’s going to move forward is if it’s positive,” Rodgers said.
The Price/Fazio team has trimmed its cost estimate from $28 million to $15 million. Its original timetable had ground being broken last month with the new golf course opening for play next fall.

Thomson’s proposal

City Council member Andy Thomson’s proposal to build Boca National:
• City will undertake design and construction of entire golf course facility (east and west).
• City agrees with the general concepts of the most recent Price/Fazio plans, such as the facility’s elements and their general location, but retains the ability to hire its own golf course architects and contractors to design and construct the facility and to plan the facility’s overall design based on their professional input.
• City will endeavor to use, where appropriate, the work product and plans produced by Price/Fazio and will consider input from the Beach and Park District.
• City will finalize the design of and construct the golf facility with city funds.
• BPD will continue to pay the debt service on the purchase.
• City will manage the course and its programming with input from BPD.
• City and BPD will split profits/losses on facility once built.
• City will work expeditiously on the design so as to begin construction as early as possible but in no event absent extenuating circumstances later than (date TBD).
• The creation of a volunteer board to advise regarding the operation and programming of the golf facility once built.