By Steve Plunkett

The race to fill two seats on the Greater Boca Raton Beach & Park District Commission now pits municipal firefighters against their county brethren.
Local 2928 of the International Association of Fire Fighters, which represents firefighter/paramedics employed by Palm Beach County, endorsed incumbents Dennis Frisch and Earl Starkoff in October and gave $1,000 to each of their campaigns.
The money comes as Boca Raton firefighters and their union have poured hundreds of dollars into the war chests of challengers Erin Wright and Craig Ehrnst since the candidates began filing campaign finance reports in July.
Ehrnst and Wright also each received $500 from Flagler Alerts, the political arm of West Palm Beach’s firefighters union. Wright also got $1,000 from Florida Fire PAC, the political committee of the Florida Professional Firefighters union. That group lobbies Tallahassee for 175 fire-rescue departments across the state, including Boca Raton, West Palm Beach and Palm Beach County.
The motives of the city firefighters were mostly an unanswered question at an Aug. 11 debate sponsored by the BocaWatch citizen watchdog group, which has since endorsed the incumbents.
“As you look throughout the state, firefighters have family members, people close to them — it’s important to be involved in politics. It’s very important to have people who support you in politics,” said Wright, whose husband, Steven, is a city firefighter.
Ehrnst said the city firefighters asked him to run.
“They were the ones who brought the attention to me of the district,” Ehrnst said. “The concern primarily was the difficulty of communication between the city and the district, and that the district was micromanaging a lot of little details.”
The incumbents, however, talked of a conspiracy centered on Boca Raton’s proposed annexation of five neighborhoods just northwest of the city, which the district opposes until officials devise a way to expand the district’s borders to include newly annexed land.
Starkoff said the annexations would require additional staff at one or two Boca Raton fire stations.
“That means more jobs and promotions for city fire services,” Starkoff said.
Frisch said the annexations would have opposite effects on Boca Raton firefighters and county firefighters.
“That is why we’re seeing the play of the firefighters,” Frisch said.
Voters in Boca Raton and the remainder of the Beach & Park District west of the city will pick their two favorite candidates in the Nov. 8 general election.
City voters will also determine whether the city-owned Wildflower site should be reserved for public uses only.
All four Beach & Park District candidates have said if voters decide they want a park on the on the Intracoastal Waterway, the city and the district should work together on it. The city bought the 2.3-acre parcel, at the northwest base of the Palmetto Park Road bridge, for $7.5 million in 2009 and has been negotiating for years to put a restaurant there. But nearby residents mounted a petition drive and succeeded this summer in putting the question on the ballot.
The flow of contributions to Beach & Park District candidates slowed after the Aug. 30 primary, campaign finance reports show. Ehrnst, corporate treasurer at NCCI Holdings, led all the others in campaign cash before the primary with $10,030, and has raised $2,645 since. Five individual firefighters, the Greater Boca Raton Chamber of Commerce’s PAC and local architect Derek Vander Ploeg were among his donors.
Frisch, a podiatrist, reported receiving $4,725 since the primary, compared to $5,055 before. His contributors included former City Council member and fellow Rotarian Peter Baronoff, Beach & Park District commissioners Susan Vogelgesang and Steven Engel, and City Council candidate Andrea O’Rourke.
Wright, who owns a home inspection service with her husband, collected $3,190, down from $4,420 in the primary.
Starkoff, an IT services executive, raised $2,425, compared to $4,935 before the primary. His donations included $500 from city real estate baron James Batmasian and $500 from the Chamber of Commerce’s political committee.

When to vote
Early voting at the Boca Raton Downtown Library and other sites across the county ends at 7 p.m. Nov. 6. The Supervisor of Elections Office must receive absentee ballots by 7 p.m. on Election Day, Nov. 8.
Boca Raton voters will be electing two Beach & Park District commissioners in a runoff. Incumbents Dennis Frisch and Earl Starkoff face challengers Craig Ehrnst and Erin Wright, respectively.
They will also be voting on a referendum to determine if the city-owned Wildflower site should be reserved only for public uses. The city bought the 2.3-acre site for $7.5 million in 2009 and has been negotiating to put a restaurant there.
Precincts for the general election, which includes the presidential contest and a Palm Beach County vote on raising the sales tax to 7 cents, will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Election Day.

By Steve Plunkett

    The city plans to triple its number of boat launches in the Intracoastal Waterway by the end of 2019.
    City Council members told Jennifer Bistyga, Boca Raton’s coastal program manager, to pursue building two double boat ramps in central Rutherford Park along with one or two kayak launch areas, a restroom and 38 parking spaces for park visitors and boaters with trailers.
    They also said they want an elevated access bridge so kayaks and canoes have room beneath to navigate.
    “It’s exciting to see this [plan] finally get off dead-center,” Mayor Susan Haynie said.
    Bistyga estimated the four new boat ramps would cost $1.5 million, with Boca Raton and the Florida Inland Navigation District each contributing half. The city will pay perhaps an additional $1 million for the elevated bridge.
    Bistyga also will apply for permits to revive a 2011 plan to renovate Rutherford and Lake Wyman parks, but with a difference. Council members liked her idea of creating a coastal hammock habitat instead of a submerged seagrass basin that Golden Harbour neighbors just south of the park opposed.  
    Lenore Wachtel, who lives in the neighborhood, applauded the plan.
    “The more activity we get there, the less homeless there will be,” she said.
    The council made its decision at an Oct. 11 workshop. Bistyga also presented an option for four boat ramps at the northern end of Rutherford Park, but that location was close to residents and would allow only 24 parking spots, council members said.
    The four new boat ramps would augment the city’s double boat ramp at Silver Palm Park, which quickly fills to capacity on holidays and weekends. Boaters there pay $20 a day or $55 a year to launch vessels and park trailers.
    The Rutherford boat ramps will destroy .31 acres of mangroves and .09 acres of seagrass, which can be offset by other parts of the proposal, Bistyga said.
    The new plan may be bad news for the owner of 7.4 vacant acres at 3822 S. Ocean Blvd. in Highland Beach, just south of the Toscana condominium towers. Golden City Highland Beach LLC had offered up to $1 million to plant and maintain mangroves where the boat ramps will be to obtain mitigation credits from the state for a construction project. Bistyga said she would update the developer as the plan progresses.
At a Nov. 1 meeting of the Federation of Boca Raton Homeowner Associations, Bistyga assured the Golden Harbour neighbors that the area closest to them would become an upland coastal hammock.
“We would not be doing any submerging,” she said.

By Steve Plunkett

    The Greater Boca Raton Beach & Park District has all but given up on meeting with the City Council in 2016, but is looking forward to having a joint meeting Jan. 30.
    “We’ve made every effort to try to pull this together. This was our second round with the calendars, and we still have two people who haven’t responded,” District Chairman Robert Rollins said at the commission’s Oct. 17 meeting.
    “We held out hope, and they held out hope that we try to meet, and that’s … fine, so it didn’t work out,” Commissioner Earl Starkoff said.
    In August, Starkoff proposed having the meeting on Jan. 30 as well as get-togethers on May 15 and Oct. 2, 2017. Rollins went to the council’s Sept. 27 meeting to issue an invitation in person.
    “Knowing that everyone’s busy, we thought if we’d give you enough time our commission could get these scheduled,” he told council members, noting that the three dates do not conflict with any other city meetings. “With the amount of joint business that we have, we just want to get this on the agenda,” Rollins said. “We have some interesting topics that we’d like to discuss.”
    But Vice Mayor Michael Mullaugh could agree only to the January meeting, noting he will no longer be in office after the March city elections.
    The two boards have been trying to schedule a joint meeting since August 2015.
    Arthur Koski, the district’s interim executive director, told commissioners he would be meeting with Assistant City Manager Mike Woika to discuss a master agreement that would replace a handful of other pacts between the district and the city.
    “If something falls in their laps, [if] there’s a date in December that works … ” Rollins started to say.
    “Let’s do it — absolutely,” Starkoff interjected.
    Rollins said he was heartened by the meeting between Koski and Woika, the recent execution of a beach renourishment agreement and a budget process that went “very smoothly.”
    “I feel like … the last three months have been fruitful,” Rollins said.

By Sallie James

    One resident wanted the city to build outdoor pickleball courts. Another complained about crime, and a third grumbled about traffic.
    All three spoke last month at a town forum moderated by the city’s Community Advisory Panel, an entity tasked with collecting ideas on how to improve life in Boca Raton and reporting those findings to the City Council.
    Those in attendance deemed it a resounding success.
    “I thought it was good. It was relaxing and it wasn’t intimidating. At City Council meetings it is so formal,” said eight-year city resident Sarah Crew, who asked about cultural events. “I think this panel is a very good idea to be a liaison between citizens and government.”
    The city created the 11-member panel a year ago with the hope of tapping new ideas from residents who might feel more talkative in an informal setting. The Oct. 20 forum at the City Hall Annex marked the panel’s first community meeting. Nearly 30 residents attended.
    Longtime resident Raul Travieso, Boca Raton’s former assistant fire chief, said the venue was perfect to discuss the city’s need for more outdoor pickleball courts. As a volunteer ambassador for the USA Pickleball Association, he promotes the sport, which is played on a tennis court with a small paddle, a Wiffle ball and a net. When played, it resembles a combination of badminton, tennis and table tennis.
    “I’m just happy to get the opportunity to get the support of the panel,” Travieso said. “I think it’s wonderful. I’ll be here for other issues in the future.”
    Resident Alan Friederwitzer told panel members the city needs to do something about the rush-hour traffic that makes it difficult to get to classes at Florida Atlantic University.
    “The traffic we have in the city it is really insane,” he said.
    Friederwitzer suggested a flyover of some sort to alleviate the problem, only to learn that an Interstate 95 interchange at Spanish River Boulevard is slated to open in about 300 days.
    “I think that’s already being spoken to in a big way,” chuckled one panel member.
    Resident David Kohlberg advocated for less development.
    “There is a broad feeling — that is what I hear from pretty much everyone I talk to about it — [that we need] less greed and less economic growth,” and that there is “development for the sake of development,” Kohlberg said.
    Representatives from the American Red Cross and YMCA of Boca Raton also spoke at the event, telling the panel about their array of services.
    Resident Jo-Ann Landon, who lives near East Palmetto Park Road and Fourth Avenue, urged the city to consider the long-term effects of so much new construction downtown.
    “I think of the importance of green space,” Landon said. “It seems some of these projects being built are creating a wall [that stops eastern breezes] and I think it’s very important we think about these things. I think it’s important we work together to make a greener, friendlier city.”
    Panel member Jon Carter, the former student body president at Palm Beach State College and a college junior, dubbed the night a great success.
    “I think it was incredible being this was the first time we’ve held a meeting [with the public],” Carter said. “I think we had a good turnout and I think people had a lot to share.”
    City Council member Scott Singer said he thought the event went well.
    “I’m excited to see residents staying engaged,” said Singer, who has held his own series of town meetings for two years.
    Boca Raton Mayor Susan Haynie also attended. 

By Steve Plunkett

    The boardwalk at Gumbo Limbo Nature Center, closed since February 2015 after engineers warned it was near collapse, should be reopening this month.
    The Greater Boca Raton Beach & Park District approved a $45,500 last-minute change in construction plans earlier in the month to connect the first phase of the new boardwalk to the nature center’s main building. Otherwise, visitors would have had to exit the building and walk around to stairs near the parking lot.
Briann Harms, the district’s assistant director, said work should be finished in November, “hopefully by Thanksgiving.”
    The city has taken over management of the project and will oversee a second and third phase of construction. That work has not been put out to bid yet.
    Beach & Park Commissioner Dennis Frisch said he has heard complaints about ambient light reflecting off the glass of the big display tanks on the other side of the building.
    “I assume it’s reflected to keep the water cool enough so that we’re not cooking fish, but if there is a way we can put some kind of screen maybe behind it — it’s just something to look at to see if it’s truly a problem,” Frisch said at the district’s Oct. 5 meeting.
    Jim Miller, president of the Friends of Gumbo Limbo, agreed there was a problem and said changes are being made.
    “The original design, they put the lighting inside the tanks, and it’s not really what it should have been. You find surprises as you go,” Miller said.
    His group already has altered the lighting on one floor, he said. “And we’ve got the money and project all lined up; we’ve already placed some orders to put new lighting on the other three tanks.”
    The Friends also are ready to install exhibits around the tanks that will cut the reflections, Miller said.

By Sallie James

    For the second time in two years, the city is considering a one-year moratorium on the operation of medical marijuana treatment centers and dispensing organizations.
    No one from the public commented on the matter during the Oct. 25 public hearing. A second public hearing is scheduled for Nov. 8.
    The moratorium gives Boca Raton time to address possible land-development regulations should voters approve a Florida ballot measure Nov. 8 legalizing the use of medical marijuana. The same measure failed to get voters’ approval in 2014.
    The city is considering extending its previous one-year moratorium because of Boca Raton’s historical prohibition of marijuana use and cultivation. As a result, no existing land-development regulations in Boca Raton address its permitted use.
    A previous moratorium on operating medical marijuana treatment centers ended when the 2014 ballot measure failed, but the one for dispensing and cultivation facilities remains in effect until Nov. 10.
    Amendment 2 would allow doctors to prescribe marijuana to anyone with cancer, multiple sclerosis, glaucoma, hepatitis C, Lou Gehrig’s disease, HIV/AIDS, Parkinson’s, Crohn’s disease or other conditions for which they believe the medical use of marijuana “would likely outweigh the potential health risks for the patient.”
    Since 2014, the Florida Legislature has revised the definition of “dispensing organization” to include the transportation of cannabis and to include the use of “medical cannabis” for eligible patients with terminal conditions.
    City Council member Robert Weinroth clarified that the proposed moratorium would not affect distribution of cannabis to anyone in Boca Raton who had medical need.
    “Patients who live in this city would still have the availability. It just would not be dispensed in this city,” Weinroth said.

Volunteers from the Junior League of Boca Raton prepare for their monthly distribution of diapers on a recent Wednesday morning at their warehouse location, HCI Books in Deerfield Beach. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Sallie James

    The stories the people hear at the Junior League of Boca Raton Diaper Bank are often heartbreaking.
    There was the pregnant, unemployed 25-year-old mother of two who was desperate for help. A third child was due in less than two months and already she couldn’t afford the basics for her two little girls. Buying diapers for one more child was going to be difficult.
    The same was true for the Lake Worth farmworker with two young children and a third on the way. His family didn’t have enough money for food, let alone necessities such as diapers.
    He was terrified.
    Both families got help courtesy the Junior League, which runs the only diaper bank in Palm Beach and Broward counties.
    Keeping babies dry is what they are all about.
    “We [directly help] diaper well over 800 babies per month,” said Kirsten Stanley, league president, whose organization will have distributed 2 million diapers to local nonprofits by 2017 and assisted more than 166,000 children. “Many of us do not realize that one in three Palm Beach County families struggle to buy diapers.”
    The league’s diaper bank opened in 2011 and, after a slow start, now distributes about 70,000 diapers a month to 22 nonprofit agencies in Palm Beach and Broward counties. The agencies then dispense the diapers to families whose income is below the poverty line.
    The league receives donated diapers of varying sizes and brands by the truckload through the National Diaper Bank Network and foots the bill for delivery. Diapers also come from individual donations.
    The league distributes the diapers from a donated warehouse space in Deerfield Beach. And with the cost of diapers totaling more than $100 per month to keep infants and toddlers in the eight to 12 diapers they require daily, the need is dire.
    Just ask the social service agencies that rely on the diaper bank to help their clients.
    “We distribute over 2,000 diapers in a month and a half. We get a lot of requests from clients and we have a steady flow,” said Raquel Nicholson, an administrative assistant for Volunteer Health Services at the Florida Department of Health in Palm Beach County. “It has made a tremendous difference.”
    The diaper bank has been working with the Health Department for four years and the Health Department says demand just keeps growing.
    “They are pretty much always in need at our locations,” said Nicholson, referring to the Health Department clinics in West Palm Beach, Delray Beach and Lantana. “When we partnered with the diaper bank it was like a blessing in disguise. Prior to that we would try to solicit donations and purchase diapers for distribution. It was a lot of money and a lot of work.”
    When the diaper bank opened, it distributed only a few hundred diapers a month. That number has swelled to average around 53,500 a month, but has spiked to as high as 70,000.
    Stanley, the executive vice president of Meisner Electric, explained that a family’s inability to afford diapers can have a cascading effect: Families that can’t buy enough diapers change babies less often, leading to health problems and abuse risks.
    And without access to diapers, families can’t take advantage of free or low-cost day care programs, preventing parents from obtaining jobs and perpetuating a cycle of reliance on government aid, she said.
    “This dire situation is unknown to most of the community at large,” Stanley said. “When people learn the facts, it inspires action.”
    Trecia Hosein, director of program services for Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies in Broward County, said her agency distributes diapers to at least 800 people annually.
    “There is an incredible need for diapers,” Hosein said. “Diapers are very expensive. [The diaper bank] is an amazing assistance to us. We are very grateful.”
    Anyone interested in donating diapers to the diaper bank should contact the league at 620-2553.

A road crew lays asphalt in late October to restore a left-turn lane on East Palmetto Park Road for eastbound vehicles turning north onto Mizner Boulevard. A similar turn lane is being added at Fifth Avenue. City officials say the left-turn lanes will ease congestion. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

By Rich Pollack

    Responding to residents’ concerns, Highland Beach town officials are revamping the way the town’s codes are enforced and are close to bringing onboard a full-time code compliance officer.
    Earlier this year, town commissioners amended the budget to include the newly created position of code compliance officer. The job was posted and late last month, interim Town Manager Valerie Oakes interviewed four finalists for the position. They were selected from more than 100 applicants.  
    In addition to filling the new position, Oakes said she plans to implement changes to the code enforcement procedures that will lead to a more proactive focus.
    “We’re revitalizing the whole process to better address concerns of our residents,” she said. “They will see more monitoring of construction sites, with a real focus on safety.”
    The person selected to fill the code compliance officer position, posted with an annual salary range of $49,314 to $78,903, will report directly to the town manager, Oakes said.  
    “This is a positive step in the right direction,” said resident Peggy Gossett-Seidman, who has brought concerns about code enforcement issues to the town on numerous occasions. “This is long overdue and we’re thrilled that the town is taking this giant step forward.”
    In addition to complaints from residents, someone filed an anonymous complaint with the Palm Beach County Inspector General’s Office in July, contending that as many as 75 violations in one neighborhood were ignored during a three- to four-year period.  
    After reviewing the complaint, the inspector general’s office referred the matter back to the town.
    In a letter responding to the inspector general, Oakes noted that the commission has added the new position and also listed several steps taken to better ensure that building sites are more secure and that other issues brought forward by residents are addressed.
    Until recently, light code enforcement duties fell on the shoulders of the office manager in the town’s building department, who handled them on a part-time basis. The town’s building official also assisted.
    Oakes said when the part-time position was created during the end of the economic slowdown, there was not enough demand for a full-time code enforcement officer.
    As the economy improved, construction increased and so did the need for more code enforcement.
    “Within that time frame, construction picked up,” Oakes said.
    To meet the demand, the town earlier this year contracted a part-time code compliance officer. Commissioners, however, thought a full-time position was necessary.
    Oakes said she plans to have the town create a list of active construction sites that can be checked regularly. She also wants to make sure that the code compliance officer is visible to residents.
    “We’re going to be very proactive,” she said.
    Town Commissioner Rhoda Zelniker, who was a strong proponent of hiring a full-time code compliance officer, said safety and aesthetics need to be a priority.
    “We need someone who is hands on and will see to it that all codes are enforced,” she said. “We need a proactive person who isn’t waiting for someone to call.”

By Rich Pollack

    A plan to make improvements to Highland Beach’s 3-mile walking path — and spruce it up — may soon be coming off a shelf where it has sat for at least seven years.
    Town commissioners at a meeting Nov. 1 agreed to spend close to $30,000 to have a consulting firm come up with ideas and potential costs for improving the path — an asphalt ribbon that runs along the west side of State Road A1A for the town’s entire length.
    If the consultants and town officials can meet a tight schedule, the issue could be before voters in the March municipal elections.
    “This is one of our commission’s highest priorities,” interim Town Manager Valerie Oakes said.
    Plans to improve the walkway, which town maintenance crews often have to repair, have been in the town’s capital improvement plan for years but were shelved during the economic slowdown.
    In fact, the firm that will be making recommendations to the commission, Mathews Consulting, drafted a preliminary report for improvements in 2009.
    During budget hearings earlier this year, however, members of the current Town Commission decided to move forward with improvements.
    The town is asking the consultants to provide costs and design analysis for four options focused on walkway replacement materials including asphalt, concrete, decorative concrete at intersections, and concrete with decorative pavers at the intersections.
    The town is also interested in three possible options each for pathway lighting, street signposts as well as benches and trash cans. Town officials have said they would consider decorative lighting and street signs as one option to improve the walking path’s appeal.
    “We have to do this for the safety of the people who live here and while we’re doing that, let’s make it beautiful,” said Commissioner Rhoda Zelniker. “Highland Beach residents should have the safest and most beautiful walkway.”
    Public Works Director Ed Soper said the town puts a priority on maintaining the safety of the path and closely monitors conditions.
    Soper said replacing the asphalt with more durable concrete would reduce the need for constant maintenance and be more aesthetically pleasing.
    While there have been no discussions among commissioners about how the town would pay for the improvements, Finance Director Cale Curtis said the money could come out of town reserve funds, which were bolstered by $3.5 million several years ago by the sale of town property.
    The issue would still have to go to voters, however, since Highland Beach’s charter requires voter approval for any spending over $350,000 on a single project.
    “We will have to eventually replace the walking path,” Commissioner Lou Stern said. “Why not put in something that is convenient for people walking and for bicyclists that will also make our town a little more attractive?”

By Rich Pollack

    For many years, Highland Beach residents who subscribed to cable television service through Comcast could watch live Town Commission meetings and get relevant town information on their public access television station, Channel 99.
    Subscribers to AT&T U-verse, however, did not have access to the channel — until now.
    After more than two years of trying to resolve the issue, town officials last month announced that the public access station is now available to the growing number of residents who receive cable television service from AT&T.
    “There are many people who like to watch our meetings on television but couldn’t because they don’t subscribe to Comcast,” said Commissioner Lou Stern. “Now, they can.”
    Although archived commission meetings have been available online for several years and the meetings are streamed live, Stern said there are many residents who don’t have computers or who prefer seeing the meetings on a larger screen.
    In addition to watching commission meetings, viewers of Channel 99 can watch recordings of town board meetings and see important town information provided on a loop.  During the threat of Hurricane Matthew, for example, evacuation notices were posted on Channel 99. The channel also provides information to residents on how they can sign up for the Code Red emergency alert system.
    “This has been a priority for the town,” said interim Town Manager Valerie Oakes. “It’s important to provide information to all of our residents via every available platform.”

By Rich Pollack

HIGHLAND BEACH —Ed Neidich loved to make people laugh.
    A big man at 6 feet, 4 inches tall with a big heart, Mr. Neidich didn’t miss the chance to good-naturedly tease community leaders, whether he was speaking at a Highland Beach Town Commission meeting or serving on the board of his Braemer Isle condominium association.
    “Even when I was mad at him, he could still make me laugh,” said Joan Cox, Mr. Neidich’s fiancée. “He always made me laugh.”
    Mr. Neidich was joking with town leaders at a commission meeting in late September, just two days before he died on Sept. 29 of a heart attack. He was 64.
    “I was in shock,” said Highland Beach Commissioner Carl Feldman, a close friend.  “Everyone was in a state of shock — and denial. We couldn’t believe it. We thought this can’t be true, we had just seen him two days before.”
    A resident of Highland Beach for three years, Mr. Neidich grew up on Long Island and never shed his New York accent.
    A graduate of Hofstra Law School in Hempstead, N.Y., Mr. Neidich worked as a prosecutor for the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office. He was later appointed as public safety commissioner for the town of North Hempstead, a position he held for eight years.
    His interest in governance led him to become involved in his condominium association and in the town, resulting in his appointment to the town’s Board of Adjustment and Appeals.
    Mr. Neidich was always happy to offer legal advice to the town and to tap into his legal background when offering suggestions to commissioners.
    “Whenever a problem came up in town, he would always give us both sides,” Feldman said. “He was always impartial.”
    Mr. Neidich had expressed an interest in running for Town Commission in the upcoming March municipal elections.
    “He was a true town activist,” Feldman said.
    A lover of jazz — and good food — Mr. Neidich often visited the Arts Garage in Delray Beach and was a regular at a few local restaurants.
    “He loved ice cream,” said Cox, whom Mr. Neidich planned to marry before the end of the year.  
    He also loved people.
    “He was very friendly,” she said. “He would talk to anyone. Whenever Ed visited anywhere, people always remembered him.”
    In addition to Cox, Mr. Neidich is survived by an aunt and five cousins, all from New York.
    A graveside service was held for Mr. Neidich in Farmingdale, N.Y., early last month and later, a memorial service was held for friends and neighbors at the Braemer Isle condominium.
    “Ed always had a smile,” Feldman said. “He was such a great guy.”

A ruptured 6-inch water pipe flooded the road and shut down traffic on the Camino Real bridge in both directions for about 16 hours while work crews made repairs.
No residents were affected.
The water line, on the northeast side of Camino Real, broke shortly after 3 p.m. Oct 30. The city shut down traffic on the bridge because the repair work required trucks on Camino Real, said city spokeswoman Chrissy Gibson.
The bridge reopened to motorists around 7:30 a.m. Oct. 31.
The water line ruptured due to age.

— Sallie James

A portion of one wing, shown in the latest plan for Mizner 200. Rendering provided by GS4studios

By Mary Hladky

Facing sharp criticism from downtown residents and hearing a softer critique from a city board, the developer of the proposed Mizner 200 luxury condominium will make additional design changes in an effort to win city approval to begin construction.
 The Mizner 200 project began the approval process on Nov. 1 in a hearing before the city’s Community Appearance Board. A second review by the Planning and Zoning Board was originally planned for Nov. 3, but has since been delayed. City Council members, sitting as members of the Community Redevelopment Agency, will make the final decision on whether Mizner 200 can be built. That meeting had not been scheduled as of Nov. 1.
Downtown residents, most of whom live in the Townsend Place condos immediately south of the Mizner 200 property, blasted it for being too massive and not in keeping with the city’s Addison Mizner architectural style.
“Townsend Place is unequivocally opposed to the current project,” said condo board member Norman Waxman. “The project is inconsistent with the aesthetics and architecture of the Mizner style.”
The project, he said, “will block the residents’ view, sunlight and breeze.”
Townsend Place resident Barbara Stone, speaking on behalf of the BocaBeautiful group that wants downtown to maintain its charm, said Mizner 200 is “designed for the sole purpose of maximizing profits of the developer.”
CAB board members were less severe, but said the project’s design needs some tweaking.
They want to see more breaks in the façade, more shade trees along the pedestrian walkway, the addition of small “pocket” parks and less ornamentation.
Board members and the builder, Elad, agreed to a 30-day delay before the CAB votes. The developer and architects will return in two weeks to see if changes are in line with what the board wants.
After the meeting, the Mizner 200 team expressed confidence they can win over the CAB and downtown residents.
“These are minor adjustments to the design,” said architect Peter Stromberg, of Garcia Stromberg/GS4Studios. The board’s comments “are intelligent thoughts that will make the design more cohesive.”
“Everyone said they thought [the project] was doable,” said Mizner 200 attorney Bonnie Miskel.
First proposed more than two years ago by Elad, Mizner 200 has been redesigned four times as the developer attempted to assuage complaints.
The project is a rallying point for residents who fear downtown overdevelopment and loss of the city’s Mizner style.
A downtown development boom has increased their anxiety. Downtown activists have decried new projects, including the Mark at CityScape on Palmetto Park Road and the Via Mizner at Federal Highway and Camino Real, as both too big and visually unappealing.
City planning staff recommended approval of the 384-unit Mizner 200 last month, saying that the most recent iteration of the project complies with city rules.
The project, which would replace Mizner on the Green’s 246 rental units on nearly 9 acres along Southeast Mizner Boulevard, would be nine stories tall and more than 800 feet long.
In a “project narrative” submitted to the city in September, Miskel touted the project’s strengths and disputed residents’ complaints.
“Mizner 200 is an interpretation of the concepts found in the architecture of Addison Mizner,” she wrote.
Since Mizner 200 complies with the city’s development guidelines, it “has the right to exist as designed,” she said.
Mizner 200, she said, owns the property and therefore the views from it.
“These views are the rights of the property owner, not the adjacent structures,” Miskel said. “Yes, good design takes into account its surroundings and respects them, however, this does not require the project to diminish its own value to allow for adjacent properties to benefit from their own assumed rights.”
Miskel also noted that Elad listened to residents and neighbors, and changed the project’s design substantially. The building has been divided into three sections so it appears less massive. The south end of the project was redesigned and “does not obliterate ocean views and sunlight,” she wrote.
City planning staff found Mizner 200 does not exceed the 120-foot height limit for that part of downtown, provides sufficient open space, meets city requirements for parking spaces and will only slightly increase the amount of traffic in the area, Senior Planner Susan Lesser wrote in an evaluation.
“There are no issues with regard to the residential use proposed for the project, and as the building design incorporates creative interpretations of the Mizner tradition, staff believes that the project complies with an architectural design that is consistent with Ordinance 4035,” she wrote.
Mizner 200 also passed muster with the city’s urban design consultant, Calvin, Giordano & Associates. The consultant’s “final memorandum” on Mizner 200 said it complies with the city ordinance across the board.
Elad stunned downtown residents in September, 2014 when it unveiled plans for 500 luxury condos. The project’s four towers rising 30 stories well exceeded height limits and drew impassioned objections from downtown activists.
When that proposal proved to be a non-starter, Elad returned to the city with a new condo project called Sol-A-Mar, designed by the West Palm Beach architectural firm Garcia Stromberg/GS4Studios. But four of the seven buildings had 13 stories, again more than allowed.
In January, Elad submitted plans for Mizner 200 — this time in line with what the city allows. But in response to downtown activists’ complaints, those plans were revised last spring to make the project look less massive, reduce the square footage by about 10 percent, decrease the size of the units to an average of 2,000 square feet, increase setbacks and add more green space.

Florida fighting conch: This thick, shiny shell can reach just over 4 inches, and varies in color from milky white to amber to dark caramel. The inside is likely to be brown or deep purple.

Common nutmeg: The exterior of this sturdy shell is etched with vertical ribs and revolving grooves, creating a crosshatched texture. It can measure up to almost 2 inches and has a surface color of white, pale yellow or orange with blotchy, orangish-brown bands.

Florida prickly cockle: Slightly oval in shape, this shell has about 30 deeply chiseled ribs covered with scoop-shaped scales, giving it a prickly appearance. Its exterior is cream mottled with tan or purplish brown; its interior is salmon to reddish purple. It can measure up to 2.7 inches.

Shark’s eye: The color of this smooth, dome-shaped shell varies, but it is often grayish brown with a swirl of blue in the center that resembles an eye. The shell’s diameter can reach about 3 inches.

Common jingle: Translucent, with an irregular round shape, these shells are made almost entirely of mother-of-pearl. They measure 1 to 2 inches in diameter and can be found in a variety of colors, including white, silver-gray, yellow and orange.

Atlantic kitten paw: These thick, flat shells have six to 10 radial ribs that resemble the toe joints of a kitten’s paw. They are usually white to gray, except for their orange ribs, and can be just over 1 inch long.

Banded tulip: It has a softly rounded spindle shape and is noted for the distinct dark reddish brown spiral lines on its main body whorl, which is typically ivory or bluish gray with orange or gray splotches. The shell may reach a length of about 4 inches.

Eastern auger (aka common American auger): This elongated, cone-shaped shell can reach about 2.5 inches in length. In between each of its 15 or so whorls are beaded spiral bands. Colors may be tan, gray or off-white.

Ark shell: These rounded, thick, ribbed shells are among the most common whole shells on beaches. They are in a variety of species, ranging from 1 to 4.5 inches.

Stiff pen shell: This thin-walled, fan-shaped shell has 15 to 20 broad ribs with tubular spines. The shell can be up to 12 inches long.

Lettered olive: This glossy, cylindrical shell is covered with brown zigzag markings that look vaguely like letters of the alphabet. Shaped like an elongated olive, it can measure up to almost 3 inches in length and ranges in color from white (rare) to brownish gray.

Lightning whelk: This shell is easy to identify because, unlike most other marine snails, it has a left-handed opening. It can grow to 16 inches in length and is characteristically grayish-white, tan or creamy yellow, with young shells having brown vertical streaks that resemble lightning bolts.

Variable coquina: These diminutive, wedge-shaped shells come in a rainbow of glossy shades that are either solid or marked with concentric bands and rays. Measuring no more than 1 inch, they are also known as butterfly shells for the way they look when they open, with two halves joined by their hinge. 

Atlantic slipper snail: The underside of this shell has a white shelf with an indented edge that creates a slipper-like appearance. The shell’s apex is bent to one side, and its smooth exterior can be yellow, cream, brownish or gray, often with longitudinal streaks. It reaches up to 2.5 inches.

Keyhole urchin (or sand dollar): The sand dollar is not a shelled mollusk, but beachgoers love to find the white skeleton this sea urchin leaves behind after it dies.

ABOVE: Atlantic calico scallop (center, top row): Its surface has about 20 rounded radiating ribs and diverse color patterns. It can grow up to 3 inches. The two bright reddish-orange shells in the bottom row are scaly scallops. The two smaller shells in the top row are rough scallops. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Marie Puleo

    A small upstairs room of the Sandoway Discovery Center in Delray Beach holds a world-class collection of seashells that represents the lifelong passion of Albert and Ann Becker, a Wisconsin couple whose interest in shell collecting was sparked during a visit to Florida in 1953.
    Over the next 40 years, they traveled the world in pursuit of the finest specimens, and eventually collected and cataloged nearly 10,000 shells from places such as Australia, the Philippines, Japan, Africa and even Antarctica.
    The entire collection was donated to Sandoway in 2002 by the couple’s niece, and approximately 3,000 shells are on display.
    The Beckers journeyed the globe to find many of their The     
The Beckers journeyed to the far corners of the globe to find many of their jewels of the sea, but the beaches of Florida can also be a gold mine for shell collectors.
    The most famous spots are Sanibel and Captiva islands, off Florida’s southwest coast, which boast some of the best shelling in the United States.
    In Palm Beach County, there are numerous places that are excellent for shell hunting, such as Coral Cove Park on Jupiter Island, where more than 200 specimens reportedly have been found, including the prized paper nautilus and purple sea snail.
    To get the best results from your shelling expedition,  it’s important to remember that “it’s not just where you go, but when,” said research scientist and shell expert Dr. Blair Witherington, a native Floridian.
    “The best time to look for shells is at low tide, and after a storm,” he said. One of the best places to look for smaller shells is in the wrack line, where marine debris including kelp, seagrass and driftwood gets washed up on the beach by high tides.
 Beaches that are mechanically raked are poor places to find seashells, because everything is either turned under or hauled off.
Inlets, especially on the Atlantic Coast, are good places for shelling, and anywhere there is a reef right offshore. The Palm Beach Inlet and nearby Peanut Island can hold treasures like the Florida fighting conch, the alphabet cone or the Atlantic deer cowrie (one of the largest cowries in the world), which is often found in the summer after tropical storms and hurricanes.
    John D. MacArthur Beach State Park in North Palm Beach also should be at the top of the list, Witherington said.  
    “It’s by far my favorite place to look for shells in Palm Beach County,” he said. “Not because you find the most shells or the rarest shells, but because it’s an absolutely lovely place to visit.”
    In Martin County, on Jupiter Island, is Blowing Rocks Preserve.
    In Boca Raton, there are the beaches at Red Reef Park and Spanish River Park.
    If you want to travel farther south, head to Dr. Von D. Mizell-Eula Johnson State Park in Hollywood, off A1A, or Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park on Key Biscayne near Miami.
    While the collection of most empty seashells is permitted across the state, anyone who plans on taking living shells from the shoreline or water for personal use needs a permit from Florida’s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
    “You don’t want to collect any live animal,” cautions Jeanne L. Murphy, a wildlife biologist who teaches the Florida master naturalist program, developed by the University of Florida. “It’s just not sustainable.”
    Her advice for shell collectors is to notice everything and be inquisitive.
    “Make sure you have a positive impact when you’re out there,” said Murphy. “If you choose to pick up a couple of empty shells, you can also help out nature by taking some litter off the beach while you’re at it. And make sure you share your enthusiasm with others.”

Shells that can be found on the beaches in Palm Beach County and throughout Florida

Florida fighting conch: This thick, shiny shell can reach just over 4 inches, and varies in color from milky white to amber to dark caramel. The inside is likely to be brown or deep purple.

Common nutmeg: The exterior of this sturdy shell is etched with vertical ribs and revolving grooves, creating a crosshatched texture. It can measure up to almost 2 inches and has a surface color of white, pale yellow or orange with blotchy, orangish-brown bands.

Florida prickly cockle: Slightly oval in shape, this shell has about 30 deeply chiseled ribs covered with scoop-shaped scales, giving it a prickly appearance. Its exterior is cream mottled with tan or purplish brown; its interior is salmon to reddish purple. It can measure up to 2.7 inches.

Shark’s eye: The color of this smooth, dome-shaped shell varies, but it is often grayish brown with a swirl of blue in the center that resembles an eye. The shell’s diameter can reach about 3 inches.

Common jingle: Translucent, with an irregular round shape, these shells are made almost entirely of mother-of-pearl. They measure 1 to 2 inches in diameter and can be found in a variety of colors, including white, silver-gray, yellow and orange.

Atlantic kitten paw: These thick, flat shells have six to 10 radial ribs that resemble the toe joints of a kitten’s paw. They are usually white to gray, except for their orange ribs, and can be just over 1 inch long.

Banded tulip: It has a softly rounded spindle shape and is noted for the distinct dark reddish brown spiral lines on its main body whorl, which is typically ivory or bluish gray with orange or gray splotches. The shell may reach a length of about 4 inches.

Eastern auger (aka common American auger): This elongated, cone-shaped shell can reach about 2.5 inches in length. In between each of its 15 or so whorls are beaded spiral bands. Colors may be tan, gray or off-white.

Ark shell: These rounded, thick, ribbed shells are among the most common whole shells on beaches. They are in a variety of species, ranging from 1 to 4.5 inches.

Stiff pen shell: This thin-walled, fan-shaped shell has 15 to 20 broad ribs with tubular spines. The shell can be up to 12 inches long.

Lettered olive: This glossy, cylindrical shell is covered with brown zigzag markings that look vaguely like letters of the alphabet. Shaped like an elongated olive, it can measure up to almost 3 inches in length and ranges in color from white (rare) to brownish gray.

Lightning whelk: This shell is easy to identify because, unlike most other marine snails, it has a left-handed opening. It can grow to 16 inches in length and is characteristically grayish-white, tan or creamy yellow, with young shells having brown vertical streaks that resemble lightning bolts.

Variable coquina: These diminutive, wedge-shaped shells come in a rainbow of glossy shades that are either solid or marked with concentric bands and rays. Measuring no more than 1 inch, they are also known as butterfly shells for the way they look when they open, with two halves joined by their hinge. 

Atlantic slipper snail: The underside of this shell has a white shelf with an indented edge that creates a slipper-like appearance. The shell’s apex is bent to one side, and its smooth exterior can be yellow, cream, brownish or gray, often with longitudinal streaks. It reaches up to 2.5 inches.

Keyhole urchin (or sand dollar): The sand dollar is not a shelled mollusk, but beachgoers love to find the white skeleton this sea urchin leaves behind after it dies.

Resources
    • More information about shell collecting can be found in books in the Sandoway Discovery Center’s gift shop:
    Florida’s Seashells, A Beachcomber’s Guide, Blair and Dawn Witherington, $9.95.
    Shells of Florida: Atlantic Ocean & The Florida Keys, A Beachcomber’s Guide to Coastal Areas, Jeanne L. Murphy and Brian W. Lane, $7.95.
    Sandoway Discovery Center, 142 S. Ocean Blvd., Delray Beach, 274-7263, www.sandoway.org. Admission: $5 per person
    • The state parks mentioned in the article charge the following entrance fees: $4 for one person in a vehicle; $5, $6 or $8 for two to eight people in a vehicle, depending on the park; and $2 for anyone coming by bicycle or foot. Depending on the park, children under age 5 or 6 are free.
    • There’s no entrance fee for Coral Cove Park or for day use of Peanut Island. Blowing Rocks Preserve costs $2 per adult; for children age 12 or under it’s free. Red Reef Park and Spanish River Park charge no entrance fee, but there’s a parking fee of $16 on weekdays and $18 on weekends and holidays, for the whole day, and no charge for walkers or bicyclists.  

The Junior League of Boca Raton’s annual Woman Volunteer of the Year fund-raising luncheon is set for Nov. 18 at the Boca Raton Resort & Club. The league will recognize a long list of local volunteers:
 Melissa Bonaros, Rosemarie Brady, Anne Bright, Eileen Carlin, Traci Catto, Judi Donoff, Joan Englert, Susan Fedele, Donna Goray, Lauraleigh Gould, Arlene Herson, Courtney Hickey, Kim Jones, Rosemary Krieger, Maureen Mann, Rosie Martin, Laura McCutcheon, Saskia Meckman, Genevieve Menaged, Tabitha LeTourneau Meyerer, Susan Mullin, Elizabeth Parker, Mary Perper, Pamela Polani, Gayle Coleman Rader, Elise Repath, Charlotte Robinson, Tandy Robinson, Patricia Roseboom, Dr. Krista Rosenberg, Michelle Rubin, Robin Rubin, Robynne Ryals, Wendy Sadusky, Bonnie Scharf, Julie Clairmont Shide, Robin Siegal, Kirsten Stephenson, Dr. Marion Webster and Susan Whelchel.
***
Palm Beach Opera makes personnel changes
David Walker, most recently director of institutional advancement for the Palm Beach Opera, has been promoted to managing director. Rick Zullo has been hired as marketing and public relations manager, with Natalie Parker as individual-giving manager. Dennis Perry has filled the position of audience-services associate.
The appointments and promotions are geared toward securing both earned and contributed incomes and improving support for the opera’s programs.
“We are thrilled to welcome our new team members whose expertise and personable demeanor will greatly enhance Palm Beach Opera’s ability to continue strengthening our sustainability and growth, enhance our already extremely high level of artistic quality and programming, broaden our diverse and robust educational and outreach efforts and attract new audiences into our opera family,” Walker said.

***
Palm Beach Zoo receives $80,000 grant
Bank of America has stepped in as corporate sponsor of the award-winning Conservation Leadership Lecture Series at the Palm Beach Zoo & Conservation Society by giving an $80,000 grant that will cover two years of programming.
“We are so proud to support the conservation initiatives of Palm Beach Zoo,” said Stephanie Glavin, the bank’s Palm Beach County market manager of enterprise business and community engagement. “This partnership allows Bank of America the opportunity to partner with another green organization, and that is a huge win for educators and the environment.”
The money will enable the zoo to bring in environmental experts for in-depth conversations with attendees.
“Addressing global conservation efforts and wildlife issues speaks to the core of our mission and reason the Palm Beach Zoo & Conservation Society exists,” said Andrew Aiken, the nonprofit’s president and CEO. “We look forward to another exciting lineup of internationally acclaimed scientists, explorers and conservationists.”

***
211 HelpLine names new president
211 HelpLine has tapped a new talent for its top spot — Sharon L’Herrou, who will serve as the nonprofit’s president and CEO.
L’Herrou has furthered the mission of the organization’s Palm Beach/Treasure Coast chapter via her two-year role as vice president of operations. Her achievements include developing and maintaining relationships with key stakeholders, launching seven new initiatives and representing 211 HelpLine as a panelist and public speaker.
“211 HelpLine is an amazing organization that makes such a positive impact on the lives of so many people in need,” she said. “My goal is to ensure that 211 is here for people in crisis for years to come.”

***
George Snow Scholarship Fund creates new app
Students now can have instant-message conversations with any staff member of the George Snow Scholarship Fund — one of many features of the new Snow Family app.
The cellphone app also offers young scholarship recipients access to the fund’s Monday Motivational Message, social-media accounts and videos aimed at helping them stay on track with their educations.
“We have been working on this project for months, so it’s exciting to finally see it all come together,” said fund President Tim Snow. “We can’t wait for the students to start downloading the app so we can get their feedback. We want to keep adding features that will help us help them even more.”

To submit your event or listing, contact Amy Woods at flamywoods@bellsouth.net.

Sea of Love Soiree Chairwomen (l-r) Ann Heilakka, Jestena Boughton and Chris Davies. Photo provided

By Amy Woods

Sandoway Discovery  Center has set its sights on a $75,000 fundraising goal for its signature society event, the Sea of Love Soiree.
The goal is lofty — $15,000 higher than the amount brought in last year — but doable, said Co-Chairwoman Chris Davies.
“We hope to have a sellout crowd and some new faces,” Davies said. “We want to draw in a younger group.”
Proceeds will benefit the oceanfront Delray Beach environmental education preserve and its array of offerings, including beach walks, butterfly gardens, shark feedings, shell collections, school field trips and student-outreach programs, all of which unfold in a 1936 Colonial Revival home on the National Register of Historic Places.
“It’s the best party of the year,” Davies said. “It brings everybody together for a common cause.”
The Ocean Club of Florida in Ocean Ridge will serve as the venue for the elegant evening of dinner and dancing. A reception will kick off the night with a silent auction of more than 200 items ranging from gift cards to golf packages to spa treatments.
“We’ll have all kinds of exhibitions there that night so people can get a feel for what’s going on at the center,” Davies said, noting that Executive Director Danica Sanborn and Education Director Evan Orellana will attend the soiree to spread the message — and the mission — of the nonprofit. “It will be like bringing the center to the Ocean Club.”
Co-Chairwoman Ann Heilakka said proceeds will also help pay for salaries, as the center has tripled its education staff in the last two years to offer more school field trips and student-outreach programs.
“We want to support our educators,” Heilakka said. “I’m passionate about the need for hands-on science. I’m passionate about the ocean and the ocean habitat. And I just love helping kids.”
Many children who come to the center have never seen the ocean before, she said.
“We want them to see the ocean, and we want them to care about the ocean.” Heilakka said. “We want them to care about the coastal marine environment where we live. We want them to share our excitement.”

If You Go
What: Sea of Love Soiree
When: 6:30 p.m. Nov. 12 cocktails and silent auction, 7:30 p.m. dinner and dancing
Where: The Ocean Club of Florida, 6849 N. Ocean Blvd., Ocean Ridge
Cost: $165
Info: Call 274-7263 or visit sandoway.org

Theatre Lab, FAU’s professional theater company, showcased the completion of renovations to the intimate 99-seat Heckscher Stage, previewed the upcoming season and introduced the Matching Gift Challenge to raise private support for the creative space. ‘Theatre Lab offers our community sophisticated cultural experiences with professional actors, as well as innovative learning opportunities for students,’ benefactor Marta Batmasian said. ‘This endeavor puts Boca Raton at the forefront, along with major metropolitan cities, of places where communities are privileged to have sophisticated cultural and theatrical experiences.’ ABOVE: Marny Glasser and Francesca Daniels. Photo provided

The Boca Raton Historical Society & Museum’s festive fundraiser turned 5 this year and generated $22,000 — $6,000 more than in 2015. Guests enjoyed tours of local venues while sampling dinner-by-the-bite and specialty drinks at each stop — the Boca Children’s Museum, Clive Daniel Home, the Little Chalet and Waterstone Rum Bar & Grill. LEFT: (l-r) Fran Plotnick, Lauri Saunders, Julia Johnston and Karen Larka.
Photo provided