By Anne Geggis and Mary Kate Leming

A fishing outing turned tragic at Ocean Inlet Park in Ocean Ridge early Thursday, with multiple agencies rushing to respond to reports of a missing child presumed to have fallen into the water, only to recover his body hours later.

Authorities said the 8-year-old boy was fishing with his father when he disappeared from his side at about 6:30 a.m. 

The pair were fishing at Ocean Inlet Park, on the south jetty on the west side of the State Road A1A bridge over the Boynton Inlet,  which is also called the South Lake Worth Inlet, authorities said.

Family members react after the child's body was found. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

One of the pair turned to attend to some fishing equipment and when he looked up, his fishing companion was gone, said Capt. Tom Reyes of Palm Beach County Fire Rescue.

The 6900 block of North Ocean Boulevard (A1A) was briefly closed to traffic as the rescue effort involving dozens of first responders ramped up.

Officials said that at 10:39 am, the Boynton Beach Fire Rescue Dive Team found the child's body on the north side of the inlet. The Medical Examiner's Office is now investigating.

Divers, firefighters and police look along the north wall of the inlet for the missing boy. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

Multiple agencies, including the U.S. Border Patrol and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, responded to the inlet with divers, inflatable boats, Jet Skis and helicopters.

“We have numerous resources checking the waterways,” said Teri Barbera, a spokeswoman for Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw, as the effort got underway.

Reyes of Palm Beach County Fire Rescue said the search mission was declared a “recovery” operation at 7:55 a.m..

The jetty at Ocean Inlet Park is a popular place to fish — one of the few places in the county open to fishing 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Thursday morning, there was a strong current in the inlet with the outgoing tide, but the ocean was relatively calm.

Rescue efforts off the coast of Ocean Ridge included helicopters, Jet Skis, boats and divers. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

City Commission’s decision could add years to massive construction project

Atlantic Crossing wanted to use the existing parking lot (left) on the west side of Veterans Park as a staging area for its second phase. The project is immediately west of the parking lot. Developers would have replaced the existing lot with a new lot on the north side of the park (right), eliminating existing lawn bowling and shuffleboard courts. Eventually, as the rendering shows, developers planned to replace the existing parking lot with additional greenspace for the park. Google Maps and Edwards Co.

By Anne Geggis

Lawn bowling scored big Tuesday, winning a reprieve from plans to convert the area’s last remaining courts at Veterans Park into a parking lot to expedite the construction of a mammoth downtown development’s next phase.

A representative for the company developing Atlantic Crossing told the Delray Beach City Commission the mixed-use project could shorten its construction work by two years if the current parking lot for the downtown park on East Atlantic Avenue along the Intracoastal Waterway could be used as a construction staging area for four years.

Previous commissioners agreed with the plan, in theory, that would have redesigned the park and have it back in working condition after construction was finished — and also included a $1 million investment from the developer to improve the park. Those plans eventually would have converted the current parking area into additional greenspace.

“It does expedite the construction portion of this overall phase to completion by two years, which would reduce disruption to the neighborhood, and gets the benefits of the … added tax base on the tax rolls much quicker,” said attorney Bonnie Miskel, representing the developer, Edwards Cos. Atlantic Crossing opened its first phase in May 2023 after more than a decade of planning.

New commission changes direction

But, in what is probably the most dramatic reversal so far resulting from a new majority being elected to the commission dais earlier this year, the first look at concrete plans that would eradicate the area’s last lawn bowling courts for at least four years – along with less-used shuffleboard courts – got the thumbs-down from the commission.

Mayor Tom Carney voted against Atlantic Crossing’s plans for residential, retail and office space when he was on the commission in 2012. At the time, he said the Atlantic Avenue development east of Federal Highway that will take up several city blocks was too big. Twelve years later, he recalled that the commission majority agreed to it back then after getting certain promises.

“I was part of the original deal … part of the discussion that we're not going to be touching the park and I think that was kind of a sacred promise,” Carney said. “And I am going to stick with that. We are not going to touch the park and if it makes construction go a little longer. I'm very sorry.”

 Atlantis resident John Everett bowls during a match at Veterans Park as Richard Flater focuses on his own game. File photo, Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

A dozen lawn bowlers in the audience — all wearing the same white pullover shirts with their logo emblazoned on the breast — were ecstatic at the action.

“We’re very pleased,” said John Everett, 76, of Atlantis.

He picked the sport years ago as one he could play if he lives to 100, as it challenges eye-hand coordination as players try to hit a small, white ball using a weighted, slightly oblong, softball-sized bowling ball.

“I see a lot of honor in the commission,” Everett said.

Carney, Vice Mayor Juli Casale and Commissioner Tom Markert ran for commission seats promising to constrain overdevelopment’s effects on residents.

A missed opportunity?

Miskel, however, said the plan to use Veterans Park temporarily — and relocate the lawn bowling eventually — represented the best way to minimize the effects of construction on residents. Also, part of her presentation included slides showing parts of the park in poor condition.

This “minimizes the intermittent closure of area streets” – including Atlantic Avenue, northbound Federal Highway, Northeast Seventh Avenue and Northeast First Street – from “often shutting down, which happened with the first phase of that construction,” Miskel said.

Commissioner Rob Long supported the proposal.

“It feels like an offer that's being made by a developer to make a $1 million investment in our park and substantially mitigate the impact of an already approved project,” Long said. “ … We know from the construction of the first phase of this, it (the construction) really does impact residents in a substantial way.”

The Hampton Social (far left) and Le Colonial (far right) restaurants opened as part of Atlantic Crossing's first phase. They are at the northeast corner of Atlantic Avenue and Northeast Sixth Avenue (North Federal Highway) in downtown Delray Beach. File photo, Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

Past vs. future

Residents who spoke evoked the historic nature of the current complex, which opened in 1962, and Atlantic Crossing’s history that has involved the city giving up roadways and agreeing to increased height and density for the development. Resident Sandy Zeller, 80, noted that the city and Atlantic Crossing had been in a lawsuit and the settlement doesn’t mention changes to Veterans Park. Zeller is an executive board member of the Delray Beach Preservation Trust, which campaigned against the planned changes to the park.

“It does not allow Edwards to come back to the city seven years later (after the settlement) and say, ‘Oh, here's some more things that we want the city to give us,’” Zeller said. “This proposal was categorized by Edwards and Atlantic Crossing as a public-private partnership. This is not a public-private partnership. They're asking the city to give away valuable park land for private development.”

By Brian Biggane

Contract negotiations to build a new South Palm Beach Town Hall have come to a standstill over how much the architects will receive for project design and oversight, Town Attorney Ben Saver told the Town Council at its May meeting.

Moonlight Architecture, which was selected by the council to design and oversee construction of the long-awaited structure, is demanding 15% of the total cost of the project as its fee. With the total cost expected to be in the $3.5 million-to-$4 million range, that comes to $525,000 to $600,000.

“They’re pretty set on 15% of the total construction costs (as) a reasonable fee for their services,” Saver told the council. “It’s quite high.”

Saver said a calculator designed by the Florida Department of Management Services suggests the figure for a municipal building should be closer to 7.4%, or half the proposed rate.

Council member Elva Culbertson and Mayor Bonnie Fischer both said Moonlight may deserve increased compensation, suggesting Moonlight will be offering more than the typical architect/engineering firm.

“We’re getting a service that extends well beyond the construction,” said Culbertson, who was participating in her first council meeting since being appointed in April to fill a vacancy.

“What concerns me,” Fischer added, “is we’re doing this in SIPs (structurally insulated panels), and this architect is very familiar with SIPs. What we want in this town is something that’s very energy efficient, something to put us on the map, something green and very, very innovative.

“We’re working with people who really know what they’re talking about. At this stage, I would hate to start over again.”

When asked why contract numbers weren’t included in the process when Moonlight was selected from among four companies bidding for the contract earlier this year, Saver said Florida law demands the firm be selected before contract negotiations begin.

Saver said another problem was the details of the contract proposal he received from Moonlight. After sending a 17-page proposal, he said he received a response that ran 51 pages and used $7 million as the cost of the building. He said he had only received a proposal for a building in the $3.5 million-$4 million range two hours before the council meeting and had yet to study it in full.

“For a $3.5 million building, their proposal would be for conceptual design alone,” he said. When the council picked Moonlight, both sides agreed the town would save money because the firm would act as the owner’s rep in dealing with the construction firms hired to build the structure.

Saver said that proposal would cost $450 per square foot for a 7,778-square-foot building, which would put Moonlight’s fee at $500,000 for both design and oversight. Town Manager Jamie Titcomb said the $4 million total cost would be within the town’s budget.

Saver said he didn’t think Moonlight, which is based in Cincinnati but has promised oversight from a partner company based in Fort Lauderdale, has ever contracted with a Florida municipality, which might be a reason the 15% proposal seemed, at least to him, to be off base.

“Can it be 14-and-a-half?” Council member Monte Berendes asked.

“You can always ask,” Saver replied. He then added about the need to bring the numbers down, “I’ve already said that to them several times, and this is still what they’ve come back with. They’re coming back with how a contract works in the private world. So again, this has not been a typical negotiation.”

The council ultimately directed Saver to go back to Moonlight with a proposal that it would receive 10% of the total cost and report back at or before its June meeting. Fischer also indicated Eric Schuermann, who is Moonlight’s South Florida representative, will be invited to attend.

Drivers stunned by bills from private lots; new state law aims for clearer experience

By Charles Elmore and Anne Geggis

Drivers say they have been stunned by bills of $55, $90 or more from private parking lots in southern Palm Beach County, with some reporting they even got charged for rolling through without parking, records requested by The Coastal Star show.

“I’ve fallen victim,” Delray Beach Commissioner Rob Long said at a May 3 meeting of getting billed about $70 for parking on a movie trip.

“Yeah, it’s crazy,” Long said. “Even if you know Delray, it’s easy to fall into that trap by accident. These lots — they are predatory.”

State regulations limit what local governments can do about such concerns, but a new Florida law effective July 1 addresses what private parking lot signs must say, sets down rules for appeals and late fees, and establishes a 15-minute grace period for those just passing through.

Whether that quells the waves of complaints remains to be seen. Gripes about private lots in the region, including in Boca Raton and Delray Beach, join a growing pile of similar concerns statewide. 

The complaints take issue with systems that tout the convenience of paying by phone or other digital means but deliver charges, sometimes by windshield notices or conventional mail, that drivers say left them outraged.

The Florida Attorney General’s Office signed an “assurance of voluntary compliance” last year with at least one parking company operating in southern Palm Beach County, among other places, requiring a payment of $30,000 from the company, records show.

In Delray Beach, city officials have discussed ways to call the public’s attention to differences between city lots and private lots, which may have signs of different colors.

Complicating matters is that the same phone app may be used at some public and private lots.

“You know, we have to be mindful that unfortunately, we don’t have the ability to control predatory practices,” City Attorney Lynn Gelin said at the May 3 meeting. “We get the calls all the time because people do think that they are city lots.”

Professional Parking Management
The attorney general’s office agreement was with Professional Parking Management Corp., which has offices in Fort Lauderdale. Without admitting wrongdoing, the company agreed to pay $30,000 to the state for restitution to eligible consumers, documents show.

The agreement, signed Sept. 1, calls for the parking company not to engage in unfair or deceptive business practices and to disclose certain information on signs at the lot about what financial obligations drivers can face. The company also agreed not to call its fees a “ticket” or “citation” such as a governmental body might enforce.

Parking companies sometimes use license plate readers. These can generate photographic snaps that are incorporated into letters telling drivers they owe money, not unlike mail that consumers can get from agencies that run Florida’s Turnpike or other toll roads.  

Scores of complaints in the public record against Professional Parking Management in the last 18 months include several from drivers living or parking in southern Palm Beach County.

‘An attempt to intimidate’
James Cioffi of Lake Worth Beach said he parked at a lot in Boca Raton with no notice of a cost for parking that he could see. When he came back to his car, there was a “parking charge notice” saying he owed $55 to park and pay online.

Then he received a letter from Professional Parking Management saying he owed $90, he said.

“There is an attempt to intimidate stating they would tow my car and refer to collections,” he wrote in a complaint to the attorney general.

Sharron Feldman of Boynton Beach said she was charged $96.30 for parking in a lot in Delray Beach.

She drove through the lot but never parked there, she said.

“It is outrageous that this company can demand money for a service that we never used, threaten us with a collection agency, and force us to waste a good deal of time and energy on this matter,” she said.

Chase Krusbe of Jupiter said he parked in a garage in Delray Beach and thought he paid the parking charge when he left. Then he got notices saying he owed $96.75.

“They claim the charge is for ‘overstaying,’” he said. “I don’t know what that means. I parked. I paid. I left.”

Salvatore LaRusso of Wellington said he parked in a lot in Boca Raton, paid $10.55, but still got billed an additional $55. He asserted receipts showed he had not exceeded the paid time but he received warnings his car could be booted at the company’s managed lots if he did not pay up.

Laura Levine of Boca Raton said she parked in a handicapped spot in Delray Beach to accompany her 92-year-old mother at a restaurant gathering. She believed she paid correctly using a phone app because a response message said she was “done.”

Then came notification claiming she owed $55.

“I shouldn’t have to pay this ticket because the app didn’t work and I even tried to pay by other methods,” she said.

Catherine Valenzuela of Delray Beach said, “Professional Parking Management sent a notice of collection and is charging an excess amount of $90 for less than one hour.”

Company response
In a statement, PPM said it is committed to resolving such issues.

“Over the last year or so, we have significantly increased and enhanced our customer service functions and we feel that is helping parkers resolve issues they may have with the technology or process of parking and paying for parking in lots we work with,” the statement said. “We also feel that the new law and its requirements, most of which our company was already using as industry best practices, will also help make parking and the process of paying for parking easier on the driving public.”

The company said it provided “feedback to the legislature throughout the process” of crafting the new law.

PPM’s statement said, “The signage and grace period requirements in the law make it clear that if a parker disagrees with the posted rules and rates, they can leave without penalty.”

A complicated new law
Florida HB 271 passed in this year’s state legislative session and was approved by the governor April 5. It takes effect July 1.

Regarding signs at the private lot, it requires: “The signage must state that the property is not operated by a governmental entity, list the rates for parking charges for violating the rules of the property owner or operator, provide a working phone number and an e-mail address to receive inquiries and complaints, and provide notice of the grace period and appeal process provided by this section.”

Lots of signs, with lots of words, but not the cost to park. What’s a driver to do? A new state law that takes effect in July will require additional information be provided at privately owned parking lots, but it won’t make the signs that much easier to understand. Staff photos/The Coastal Star

Such signage may be regulated by city and county governments, the law says, though another section says local governments cannot ban such parking businesses or otherwise regulate their rules and rates.

Among other features of the new law, parking companies cannot sell the personal information of customers.

Lot operators must allow a 15-minute grace period without charges for someone who drives through but does not actually park. Many private lots do not have traditional gates, booths, attendants or payment kiosks, so it can be an unfamiliar or confusing setting for a number of folks.

Under the new law, late fees are not allowed until certain notice periods and appeals processes have been followed. Reading and understanding these can get a bit more complicated than the typical shopper might expect on a day of errands.

“An invoice for parking charges issued under this section must include a method to dispute and appeal the invoice by a party who believes they have received the invoice in error,” the text of HB 271 says. “Such dispute must be filed with the parking lot owner or operator within 15 days after the invoice is placed on the motor vehicle or after the postmarked date of the mailing of the invoice.”

In turn, the parking lot owner or operator will have five business days in which to render a decision on the dispute, the text says. The consumer then has 10 days to appeal the decision of the parking lot owner or operator.

The final call
“The appeal must be determined by a neutral third-party adjudicator with the authority to review and approve or deny the appeal,” the law says. “If the appeal is approved, the invoice shall be dismissed. If the appeal is denied, the party shall pay the original invoice within 15 days after the decision of the adjudicator.”

Republican Rep. Demi Busatta Cabrera of Coral Gables, a co-sponsor of the bill with Rep. Vicki Lopez (R-Miami-Dade County), said that, if there’s a dispute over fees, the legislation calls for the parking company to hire the third-party adjudicator to make the final call.

She said she didn’t see a need for the law to contain prescriptions about parking prices.

“Rep. Lopez and I worked to ensure the public is protected while also balancing private property rights, by allowing the market to dictate what the private companies charge and ensuring their practices are fair and not predatory,” Busatta Cabrera said. 

The question remains whether all this will clear up heartburn for drivers like Robin Rothman of Boynton Beach, who parked in a private lot in Delray Beach and saw a sign with a bar code for payment, Rothman reported in a complaint. After entering a license plate number and phone number, Rothman recounted being charged $19.80 by credit card.

Rothman received a letter saying $64.12 was due for nonpayment. Attempts to explain or resolve the situation led to frustration, Rothman reported.

“It is really sad when companies can take advantage of people outright and there is nothing we can do about it,” Rothman said.

Related: If disaster strikes, municipalities may need millions ready to spend  

Critically eroded beaches make coast more vulnerable as storm season arrives

Manalapan: Town to start committee to gather facts about what’s happening with beach

Hurricane season: June 1-Nov. 30
Here’s a look at what to expect based on this year’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) forecast.

How active a season?

There’s an 85% chance of an above-normal Atlantic hurricane season. An average season has 14 named storms, seven hurricanes and three major hurricanes. A separate Colorado State University forecast says there’s a 61% probability of a named storm striking within 50 miles of Palm Beach County, with a 34% probability of a hurricane hitting and a 15% probability of a major hurricane coming ashore.

How many storms?

NOAA estimates there will be 17 to 25 named storms, with eight to 13 becoming hurricanes, and four to seven being Category 3 or higher. These predictions are the highest ever for NOAA, which started issuing May forecasts and August updates in 1998.

What’s behind the prediction?

NOAA expects “near-record warm ocean temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean, development of La Niña conditions in the Pacific, reduced Atlantic trade winds and less wind shear, all of which tend to favor tropical storm formation.”

What are the storm names?

This year’s reserved names are Alberto, Beryl, Chris, Debby, Ernesto, Francine, Gordon, Helene, Isaac, Joyce, Kirk, Leslie, Milton, Nadine, Oscar, Patty, Rafael, Sara, Tony, Valerie and William.

What happened last year?

2023 was above-normal with 20 named storms (seven hurricanes), but only one hurricane — Idalia — made landfall in the U.S., striking near Keaton Beach in Florida’s Big Bend region.

How good are the predictions?

NOAA began using a new forecast model in 2023, which also helped improve predictions of storm intensity. The bad news? NOAA has actually under-predicted the number of named storms in three of the last four years.

Sources: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; Colorado State University Tropical Weather & Climate Research

Natalie Gauthier and Michael Crouteau from Quebec lounge by a cliff of sand in May just north of Boynton Beach Oceanfront Park. The erosion and dead vegetation reflect past storm damage. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

Related: Hurricane season: What to expect 

If disaster strikes, municipalities may need millions ready to spend  

Manalapan: Town to start committee to gather facts about what’s happening with beach

By Anne Geggis

No hurricane warnings, just high winds and rough waves left part of North County’s coast scraped of sand earlier this year, closing beaches, exposing pool pilings and upending backyard landscaping into the ocean.

It also aroused South County fears it could happen here — particularly in places facing erosion without the benefit of beach renourishment funding from state and federal sources.

With no public beaches west of the high tide line, Briny Breezes, Gulf Stream, Highland Beach and Manalapan must find their own solutions to the threat facing every piece of Florida that touches the ocean, because they are not entitled to the direct public funding that supports one of the state’s biggest tourism draws and a boon to local property values. South Palm Beach also has no public beach access, but the town was able to get some help with renourishment through an interlocal agreement with Palm Beach.

The state’s list of communities deemed to be facing “critical erosion” grows with every named storm and sometimes just rough weather.

A critically eroded area 3.3 miles south of the Lake Worth Inlet threatens properties in Ocean Ridge, Briny Breezes, Boynton Beach and Gulf Stream, in addition to Lantana

Municipal Beach Park, according to a July 2023 report from the state Department of Environmental Protection. The same report found that 2.9 miles in Delray Beach is critically eroded, threatening property, all its public beach and State Road A1A.

What the state classifies as “critical erosion” in Boca Raton — extending for 5 miles north of the Broward County line — threatens Spanish River Park, Red Reef Park, South Beach Park and South Inlet Park, as well as State Road A1A and private development, the report says.

“There’s a multimillion-cubic-yard deficit of sand that’s been built up over decades,” said Mike Jenkins, a senior principal engineer with Geosyntec Consultants, a global consulting and engineering firm.

Jupiter Inlet Colony beachfront homeowners suffered damage this past winter during an unexpected weather event. Photo provided by WPEC

Jenkins was on the scene at Jupiter Inlet Colony when unannounced weather there made national headlines for the way it carved up the backyards of multimillion-dollar homes and left 10-foot drop-offs from the dunes to the beach, according to news reports.

Jenkins estimates about 10,000 cubic yards of dunes — or nearly enough to fill three Olympic-sized swimming pools — eroded from the banks in the mid-February storm.

Beaches are, after all, dynamic landforms that shift for natural and human-induced reasons even as the state’s tourism industry is built on them.

Keeping beaches looking buff is important enough that the state in the last three years has allocated nearly $12 million to South County beach renourishment projects from the Lake Worth Inlet to Boca Raton. And municipalities must match most of that state share dollar for dollar.

Competing concerns
For those communities not entitled to publicly funded beach renourishment, though, the erosion draws the often-competing interests at play on the beach into sharp focus.

Among them:

Beach raking: Critics make much of how the state of Florida, by statute, does not endorse mechanical beach cleaning. Some municipalities require that beach rakers get local permits. Their practice is subject to scrutiny by the state DEP and turtle monitors who flag turtle nests to avoid.

Critics at a Manalapan workshop in May said their photos show the theory doesn’t always match the practice, particularly in areas where beach raking is left up to private landowners. And, even when beach raking is done by the book, some peer-reviewed literature suggests that it contributes to erosion.

Limiting blobs of blight: The season of brown clusters of seaweed, noted for their rotten-egg smell, is ramping up, and so is the demand to get rid of them.

The latest report from the University of South Florida shows in almost every monitored region, especially in the central Atlantic, sargassum amounts are in line with more abundant years’ measures. As larger amounts wash ashore, demand that sargassum be removed increases. Ironically, observers say it helps stop erosion.

Preserving sea turtle habitat: Shorter and shorter stretches of gently sloping beaches are leaving less room above the high-tide line for threatened and endangered sea turtles to deposit their egg clutches. What used to be 40 yards of sandy expanse along stretches of south Palm Beach County’s coast have shrunk, and turtles searching for a place to nest quickly run into 6-foot drop-offs, impossible for sea turtles to scale.

Keeping inlets dredged: Sand has historically been removed from the coastal system by dredging. The natural drift of sand along the shore is blocked by jetties, trapped in channels, or moved into ebb and flood shoals, according to literature from the state. Also, a sand transfer plant is in operation on the north side of the South Lake Worth Inlet, also known as the Boynton Beach Inlet. Critics are unhappy the plant is removing sand from Manalapan to benefit Ocean Ridge, the result of a settlement decades ago from a lawsuit brought by Ocean Ridge.

But officials for the county, which operates the plant, say it’s a necessary part of the system that compensates for the effect of the manmade inlet.

The visible effects
The effects of erosion stunned Michael Croteau, 62, and Natalie Gauthier, 53, visiting Ocean Ridge from Quebec for their customary two-month stint through May, they said.

“We were asking ourselves what happened,” said Gauthier, a nursing school teacher, looking at the escarpment near Boynton Beach Oceanfront Park that towered over the beach at a 90-degree angle.

Croteau said he’s been coming here for more than 30 years and he’s never seen it like this before. “I was shocked and disappointed,” Croteau said. “It’s ugly.”

Unlike Ocean Ridge, which was the beneficiary of a post-Hurricane Irma beach renourishment project in 2020, Manalapan is on the same list as Jupiter Inlet Colony without the benefit of getting state help to relieve the conditions chipping away at its coast.

A May 16 workshop brought together residents who want the town to improve its enforcement of beach raking rules, and perhaps ban the practice during turtle nesting season; representatives from the Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa, advocating for no new limits on when they can rake; and technical advisers including Jenkins.

“Why do a minority of people who like beach aesthetics have priority over the majority who want to protect the beaches, the sea turtles and the wildlife?” asked Dr. Peter Bonutti, Manalapan Town Commissioner Simone Bonutti’s husband.

Jamie Gavigan, a lawyer representing the Eau, said that the resort and spa has the same concern for sea turtles and the area’s other natural resources.

“We don’t need any more regulations,” he said, noting that continued beach cleaning is important for the facility to maintain its five-star rating. “Mechanical beach raking is already highly regulated by the state of Florida.”

The same issues arose in Highland Beach during 2018-2019. Some residents wanted beach raking limited to certain hours, others wanted the town to make it more uniform by taking it over, and still others thought the beach should be left in its natural state.

Ultimately, the town decided to leave regulating it to the state.

“There’s no easy answer to this,” said state Rep. Peggy Gossett-Seidman, who was then on the Highland Beach Town Commission.

Kim Jones, 68, of Ocean Ridge, who was a coastal engineer before retiring, said the problem lies in the way that the regulation is all done from desks and computers.

If people walked the beach, they’d see the raking vehicles’ tire tracks west of the high tide line, all the false crawls by nesting turtles who gave up and all the sand that’s blown away, she said.

“The mechanical cleaning is not being done responsibly because no one’s checking,” she said.

Jones has her own way of predicting how bad the storms are going to be this year: The sea turtles are shooting for higher ground than usual — anticipating pounding surf and high winds that would jeopardize their clutches and wash away more sand.

Jenkins held out some hope: The Palm Beach renourishment project means some of that sand will eventually drift south, to Manalapan, as sand usually does. “Sand is coming this way,” he said.

Manalapan might also take matters into its own hands and opt to build dunes as a town project, Jenkins suggested.

Homes like this one in Sanibel can withstand hurricanes, as seen following Hurricane Ian striking the Gulf Coast island city in 2022, but removing a mountain of debris is still costly. Photo provided

Related: Hurricane season: What to expect 

Critically eroded beaches make coast more vulnerable as storm season arrives

Manalapan: Town to start committee to gather facts about what’s happening with beach

 By Larry Barszewski

If a hurricane strikes South County this year, coastal communities can expect federal and state disaster relief to come to their assistance. But do they have enough money on hand to handle the emergency situations they’ll encounter before those outside dollars start flowing?

That’s a question local elected officials will have to determine as they begin budget discussions this month for a new fiscal year that begins Oct. 1. However, for most of this hurricane season, which runs from June 1 through Nov. 30, the die is cast.

Over the next four months, the amount of money available if an emergency occurs varies from less than $1 million in Briny Breezes to almost $88 million in Boca Raton. The local governments don’t guarantee most of those dollars will be available in the event of a disaster, only that they should be there as long as the governments don’t spend them on something else first.

Two Gulf Coast barrier island communities ravaged by Hurricane Ian in 2022 — Fort Myers Beach and Sanibel — had a mix of reserves they turned to in the hours and days after Ian struck.

Their takeaway: You can never have enough put aside, but you do need to have a kitty available.

Hurricane Ian in 2022 devastated oceanfront communities like Sanibel, requiring significant spending by local government before reimbursement from federal and state agencies arrived. Photo provided

“Following Ian, all the disaster reserves were immediately appropriated to ensure the city had the funds to pay employees (many were on call and working around the clock in the weeks following the storm) and to address immediate operational needs,” said Eric Jackson, Sanibel’s public information officer, responding in an email to questions from The Coastal Star.

“The reserve amount was adequate to guarantee cash flow to pay personnel and keep the city running following the storm,” Jackson said. “To fully meet the challenges of a disaster of this magnitude, no amount of attainable reserves would be sufficient for a local government.”

Most South Palm Beach County cities and towns have money they can tap, but only some have dollars specifically set aside for a disaster: $20.4 million in Boca Raton, $1.8 million in Highland Beach, $100,000 in Gulf Stream and, in Lantana, $750,000 in an insurance fund for damage not covered by other sources.

Instead, most plan to rely heavily on dollars in their budgets that aren’t set aside for any specific purpose, their undesignated fund balances. This money provides a budget cushion that can also be used to pay for other projects or priorities — be it a road construction project in Gulf Stream or water pipe replacements in Ocean Ridge.

“The town does not differentiate between cash reserves and hurricane emergency reserves,” Ocean Ridge Town Manager Lynne Ladner said. “In the event of a disaster such as a hurricane, all unassigned cash reserves are available to ensure that town operations can continue to operate and recovery efforts are not hindered by a lack of resources.”

One reason for not designating specific emergency reserves is that the “unassigned status gives the town maximum flexibility to meet emergency or unforeseen conditions as [they] arise,” South Palm Beach Town Manager Jamie Titcomb said. In addition, he said, each town department has some contingency funds that could be used for disaster items that specifically affect the given department.

Fort Myers Beach had several pots of money available when Ian came ashore on Sept. 28, 2022, just days before the city’s new budget year started. At that time, it had $2.6 million in reserves, with more than half designated for an emergency, said Nicole Berzin, the town’s public information officer.

“We do have an emergency fund, and it had a balance of $537,114. We had $1,060,000 of the general fund balance that had also been set aside for emergencies, and $600,000 of the general fund balance set aside as an operating reserve,” Berzin said. The budget that began Oct. 1, 2022, also had another $443,000 contingency in it that could be used for emergencies, she said.

“In addition to the above, the general fund did happen to have about $3.6 million reserved to be transferred to the capital fund in FY23 to support future capital projects. Although not specifically designated for emergencies, the cash intended for capital could be available to temporarily fund emergency expenditures until assistance was received, which is exactly what happened,” Berzin said.

Meanwhile, Sanibel had set aside $5.5 million in emergency reserves, which was put to use immediately, Jackson said. It restocked the emergency reserve level to $5.9 million in its current budget, Jackson said.

At the time Ian struck, Sanibel also had an undesignated reserve — recommended to equal about 17% of its operating budget — available for use if needed. That was another $4.5 million.

“While reimbursements take time, it is expected that 95% of the $5.5 million will be replenished — 90% from the federal government and 5% from the state. The remaining 5% is the responsibility of the city of Sanibel,” Jackson said. “There is nothing definitive on how quickly the city will receive the reimbursements.”

On South County coast
In South County, current undesignated reserves available in an emergency are around $13.5 million in Lantana, $7.3 million in Gulf Stream, $6 million in Ocean Ridge, $4.2 million in Manalapan, $950,000 in Briny Breezes and $630,000 in South Palm Beach, officials in those communities said.

“If we get a direct hit, obviously we would have to get into our fund balance,” Gulf Stream Town Manager Greg Dunham said. While that fund balance backs up the town’s current road and drainage construction project, Dunham said the balance is expected to be increasing, in part due to rising property values — and the Town Commission has also said it doesn’t want the balance to go below $4 million.

Highland Beach has $3.6 million available, with half made up of undesignated reserves and the other half specifically for a hurricane or other disaster, Town Manager Marshall Labadie said.

Larger South County municipalities also rely heavily on undesignated reserves. Besides Boca Raton’s $20.4 million set aside for a hurricane or other disasters, it has $67.5 million in undesignated fund balance it could tap into if needed, city spokeswoman Anne Marie Connolly said.

“While the city does not have a specific written policy regarding fund balance designations for emergency reserves, there is an aim to reserve approximately six weeks of operating costs for hurricane/disaster emergency reserve in the general fund,” Connolly said. Depending on the specific type of hurricane damage incurred, the city has reserves in other areas that might be used, such as for stormwater, water and wastewater infrastructure and operations, she said.

Delray Beach estimates it would have at least $44.7 million available in unassigned fund balance, while Boynton Beach has $11.8 million in reserves. However, while Delray Beach’s reserves equal about a quarter of its general fund budget, Boynton Beach’s figure is only about 10% of its operating budget, less than the 16.7% — or two months’ worth of operating expenses — recommended by the Government Finance Officers Association.

Keeping a larger fund balance is sometimes met with opposition from those who would prefer the dollars be used to reduce property taxes.

“The primary purpose of the unassigned fund balance is to serve as a guardrail for revenue instability, catastrophic events such as hurricanes and floods, and cash flow instability,” Delray Beach Chief Financial Officer Hugh Dunkley said. “The unassigned fund balance is also available for the City Commission to exercise its discretion to fund new programs and/or initiatives that were not included in the adopted budget for the fiscal year.”

In the final analysis, no community can completely handle by itself the financial impact of a direct hit.

Sanibel’s storm recovery cost, for instance, was well over the town’s entire $84 million FY 2023 budget, which was approved at about the same time Ian struck.

“Recognizing this challenge for the city (and other local governments), the state took over debris operations and directly paid for those services. Other significant state and FEMA assistance was also provided,” Jackson wrote in his email.

There are also financial hits that come down the road.

“The city lost 34% in taxable property values following the storm,” Jackson said. “The storm greatly impacted the city’s Capital Improvement Plan by eliminating improvement expenditures that were not considered essential and tied to public safety. Facility building expansions and technology improvement purchases were examples of planned projects that were shelved.”

By Anne Geggis

Delray Beach is getting ready to take on a whole lot more water — upgrading a 50-year-old barrier island pumping station to make it the city’s largest, able to pump almost five times its current capacity.

The $11 million upgrade to the Thomas Street Pumping Station, expected to start this fall, is being designed to handle a three-day storm so severe it’s only supposed to happen every 100 years. The upgrade, projected to be completed in 2026, will also be able to meet the 10- to 14-inch sea-level rise the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts for Florida’s East Coast in the next 30 years, according to city documents.

As it is now, the pumping station that protects a 50-acre drainage basin from flooding is reaching the end of its functional life and doesn’t have the capacity to clean stormwater discharge before it gets routed into the Intracoastal Waterway. At times, this station has stopped working and, in 2019, it landed on a list of the city’s 10 most urgent capital improvements.

First, though, the upgrade to stop flooding on beachside properties, including those on Thomas Street, Vista Del Mar Drive and parts of Andrews Avenue, is going to mean using some private property. Some of it is needed temporarily, some permanently, from the Ocean Breeze Estates subdivision along the Intracoastal, a couple of blocks north of Atlantic Avenue.

The City Commission on May 7 authorized City Manager Terrence Moore to offer the owner of 142 Seabreeze Ave. $179,500 for an easement to land at that address necessary for the upgraded pump station west of Seabreeze Avenue. The owner of 202 Seabreeze is going to get an offer of $139,750 for another easement, according to city documents.

If negotiations — which city documents say have been underway since 2021 — don’t pan out, the City Commission authorized eminent domain proceedings for the easements to begin because these easements serve a public purpose.

The entire properties have multimillion-dollar values. At 142 Seabreeze Ave., the property is valued at about $2.2 million, according to the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser’s Office. The 202 property is valued at $5.4 million.

The owner of the latter property, Terrance Shallenberger Jr. of Connellsville, Pennsylvania, said he’s aware the city wants an easement on his .3-acre property, but he doesn’t yet know the particulars.

An exchange of letters between the city and an attorney representing the property owners indicates that issues about aesthetics, the noise and how the new station may render key parts of their properties permanently unusable have not been resolved, it appears.

The city has budgeted $6 million for upgrading this pumping station so it’s capable of pumping 85,000 gallons of water per minute. The bulk of the remaining cost of the upgrade is coming from Florida Department of Environmental Protection grants that total $4.3 million, city officials said.

Such an upgrade will dwarf the capacity of the current Delray Beach station that can pump the most water. Atlantic Avenue’s station, located near Venetian Drive, can pump only 30,000 gallons per minute.

The city also plans to add a pumping station at Marine Way on the west side of the Intracoastal, south of Atlantic Avenue. When it’s finished, it’s going to be the second-largest pump station among the city’s eight stations, with a capacity to pump 60,000 gallons per minute.

This frame grab from video shot by Wavy Boats, an online video producer, shows the trash dumping. Two teenagers on the boat surrendered to law enforcement. Photo provided

By Mary Hladky

Boca Bash always is a wild event, but this year’s April 28 bacchanal on Lake Boca drew national and international attention when two teenagers attending it were captured on video dumping trash into the ocean.

The two boys, from Gulf Stream and Boynton Beach, turned themselves in after the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission charged them with causing pollution that can harm human or animal health, a third-degree felony. The Palm Beach County State Attorney’s Office will make final charging decisions.

The teens aged 15 and 16, whom The Coastal Star is not naming because they are juveniles, attend Oxbridge Academy in West Palm Beach and Boca Raton High School, according to the FWC’s arrest reports. They were identified by teachers at their schools and by other juveniles who were on the boat.

The incident was captured on video by Wavy Boats, which uses drones and zoom cameras to capture boats facing rough waters across Florida, and posted on social media platforms. The video became an instant hit.

The teens were on a boat named Halcyon out of Gulf Stream that carried about 13 young people, the FWC reports said.

The video shows that as the vessel exited the Boca Inlet in roiling waters, one teen left the helm, picked up a large basket and dumped its contents into the water. He then held the basket over his head, “pumping the basket up and down as if he was celebrating the dumping of the trash into the water,” the reports state.

The second boy followed suit, picking up a trash bin and dumping it. The basket and bin contained plastic water bottles, cans, beverage cartons, food bags and other items.

They then headed back to Boca Bash, an unsanctioned, loosely organized annual event that draws as many as 10,000 people and hundreds of boats on the last Sunday in April.

“The illegal dumping of trash into our marine environment is a serious crime,” FWC Chairman Rodney Barreto said in a news release. “Callous disregard for Florida’s environment will not be tolerated.”

In all, the FWC made 20 arrests largely on charges of boating under the influence or drug possession.

Boca Bash organizers immediately denounced the trash dumping.

“We cannot be more angered or disturbed by these actions,” they said on a Boca Bash Facebook page. “By no means do we believe this is a representation of the gathering. We implore and expect boaters to keep the waterways clean, uphold proper boating etiquette and follow state laws on the water.”

When FWC investigators spoke to the father of one of the boys, he said, “This is not a representation of who we are,” the arrest reports said.

“We take the responsibility of caring for our oceans and our community very seriously, and we are extremely saddened by what occurred last weekend at Boca Bash,” the parents of one of the teenagers said in a statement. “We want to extend our sincerest apologies to everyone who has been impacted and rightfully upset by what occurred.”

A spokeswoman for those parents said they were not granting interviews. Their son’s attorney did not respond to an email and a voicemail seeking additional information.

Juvenile court records are not made public, and a spokesman for the State Attorney’s Office said the office doesn’t comment on the outcome of juvenile cases. The office can choose to make a statement, but had not done so as of May 24.

The FWC takes the law enforcement lead for Boca Bash because Lake Boca, actually a wide section of the Intracoastal Waterway, falls under state jurisdiction. The Boca Raton Police Department and other law enforcement agencies assist its investigators.

By Anne Geggis
 
The proliferation of newer homes looming over the area’s more traditional style — a trend emerging throughout South County coastal communities — has the Ocean Ridge Town Commission looking for ways to encourage new, one-story homes.

Like other municipalities, Ocean Ridge is on the hunt for how to encourage new investment in the town while preserving its small-town charm. The issue was front and center at the commission’s May 13 workshop.

Commissioners hit on the idea of loosening some aspects of the town’s building code to encourage the low-rise look.

“If you want more one-story houses, you have to throw those people a bone … so how do you want to do that?” Mayor Geoff Pugh said. “Why not let the rear (of the house) encroach further into the setback and then put a deed restriction on (it) so they can’t, in five years, add a second story?”

It would mean loosening the town’s current minimum requirements for green space and impervious surfaces, Pugh explained. Side and front setbacks would stay the same, he proposed.

Vice Mayor Steven Coz agreed: “I like the concept. I wonder how it would actually work?”

Commissioner David Hutchins raised the question of how it might engender complaints if a lot slated for a new home abuts the rear of a neighbor’s home, but also said, “I think I like the solution.”

A consensus emerged to direct the Planning and Zoning Commission to propose loosening restrictions on a planned home’s footprint in return for a one-story promise.

Similar conversations are happening throughout South Palm Beach County. It’s because property owners paying sky-high prices for barrier island property are looking to maximize the amount of square footage under air conditioning they can stack on one lot. 

The resulting new look — big, boxy behemoths — has led to a chorus of complaints in Delray Beach, Gulf Stream and other municipalities.

Delray Beach earlier this year passed new regulations looking to curb sheer walls that extend to the second floor. Gulf Stream is conducting a “massing” study about what can be done. 

Coz credited former Mayor Ken Kaleel, now on the planning panel, with Ocean Ridge’s idea. Coz said the workshop was one of the most productive in the four years the commission has held them to hash out its long-term growth and development issues.

“If people are going to plunk down millions of dollars for land, they want to maximize their investment,” Coz said. “Our job is to figure out how to be fair to the homeowner and retain the quaintness of the town.”

Consensus for land acquisition — Negotiations are underway for Ocean Ridge to purchase three parcels. A consensus emerged at the May 6 commission meeting for Town Manager Lynne Ladner to proceed with talks about acquiring 6470 N. Ocean Blvd., located on the north side of Town Hall. It could be used to provide more Town Hall parking and park amenities. Two other “mangrove parcels” are also under discussion for purchase. Those two pieces of land near Town Hall are currently zoned for residential development and the town is seeking grants to help defray the cost of purchasing them.
 
Town manager gets cost-of-living increase — Town Manager Lynne Ladner received a 5% cost-of-living increase to bring her annual salary to $149,625. She might get another bump in pay this year, pending one-on-one commissioner meetings and the results of a study of what other town managers earn, it was decided at the May 6 commission meeting.
 
Town meeting announcements move from print to online — The commission unanimously agreed to stop putting its required public meeting notices in The Palm Beach Post and move to online announcements. Town Manager Lynne Ladner said that this will save money: The cost of putting in print advertisements for the budget hearings alone is a little more than the annual cost of publishing it online, she said. Legislation effective in 2023 allows local governments to advertise meetings online instead of in print media.

Street name stays — Whitney Way resident Franklin Hoet’s idea that his street should be named Hoet Way — due to how the current name confuses Google Maps because of all the similarly named drives, avenues and streets in Palm Beach County — was not a winning one with the Town Commission. Commissioners unanimously rejected it.
 
Unforgiven — Spencer Blank is buying 23 Coconut Lane and he’s cleaned up the issues that started accruing fines of $150 a day for 509 days starting Dec. 1, 2022, he told the Town Commission May 6. And he said the seller, James Cooksey, would be willing to drop his lawsuit against the town if the commission agreed the $85,000 in fines, administrative costs and interest would go the same way. The request was unanimously rejected.

— Anne Geggis

Proposed  historic district hits setback  — Delray Beach Mayor Tom Carney said at a May 3 goal-setting event he does not support making a nine-block stretch of Atlantic Avenue the city’s sixth historic district. 

Carney, who campaigned for election on preserving the city’s “Village by the Sea’’ image and reining in development, said the proposed district and its new rules for development are not the way to achieve that goal.

His view would mean a majority of the commission is against it. Commissioners Angela Burns and Rob Long both oppose requiring that any proposed changes to the avenue undergo additional review for their historic appropriateness.

The effort to make a new historic district has been underway since 2017. But Carney says he wants to find a middle ground that stops short of adding a review for historic appropriateness to new development.

“Everybody has the same idea that they want to keep the charm of Atlantic … and nobody wants to kill the golden goose,” Carney said, noting that most business owners there oppose the historic district. “I’m going to be the first to say I’m not sure that doing an actual historic district is the way to do it because it creates a whole level of regulatory burdens.”

Water credits run higher than expected — Water bill sticker shock that customers experienced in December and January due to malfunctioning city meter readers spread to the City Commission with the revelation that more than $571,000 worth of billing was forgiven because of the breakdown.

“I don’t see anywhere we’ve discussed giving credit adjustments of $571,000,” Mayor Tom Carney said at the commission’s May 7 meeting. That’s about 2.3% of the revenue the city budgeted to take in from the sale of water.

The commission in January agreed to credit customers who received erroneous bills, some of them as much as $5,700, according to then-Mayor Shelly Petrolia.

Vice Mayor Juli Casale noted that the city staff’s account of how many people were getting estimated bills instead of manually read ones has not been consistent since the alarm about the faulty billing emerged. At their May 21 meeting, commissioners were presented with an entire list of the credits that were given because the total amount of credits given exceeded the city manager’s spending authority. Casale voted against paying the credits.

“I’m really concerned about this whole situation,” she said.
 
New DDA board member resigns after being chosen — Damara Cohn, who owns Mangrove Realty downtown, got a nod at the May 7 City Commission meeting to take the place of Richard Burgess on the seven-member Downtown Development Authority board. But she never took her seat and resigned instead.

Days after the appointment, it was discovered that Cohn’s business lease does not include taxes that would qualify her to serve on the board. That lack of qualified residency was also an issue with Burgess and triggered his removal from the autonomous board that oversees marketing, business development and merchant promotion for the central business area.

The City Commission removed Burgess from the DDA board April 16 in the wake of the Palm Beach County Ethics Commission’s finding that Burgess lied about the location of his business on his application to get appointed.

DDA Executive Director Laura Simon said that the DDA intends to propose that the city change its rules so that applications to serve on the DDA board are separate from applications for other city advisory boards.

Meanwhile, court records show that Burgess filed suit May 2 against the city, looking for his removal from the DDA board to be quashed. His complaint alleges his removal was a “political witch hunt” that newly seated Commissioner Juli Casale orchestrated. 

Water treatment plant plans advance — Replacement of the city’s 72-year-old water treatment plant at 200 SW Sixth St. will start involving more than diagrams and signatures on contracts, with actual bricks and mortar construction starting in 2025. Completion is scheduled “by circa late 2027,” according to a May 10 memo from City Manager Terrence Moore.

Fire rescue employees being reassigned — The 22 Delray Beach Fire Rescue employees who had been providing Highland Beach’s fire rescue services will be absorbed into vacant positions in the department, according to a May 10 memo from City Manager Terrence Moore.

Highland Beach started its own fire rescue department May 1 and the Delray employees stationed there by interlocal agreement are being reassigned, as the city budget had 25 vacant fire rescue positions.

Wanting more control over costs and more services, Highland Beach became the first Palm Beach County community to start its own fire rescue department in 31 years.

Sunrise lovers get an extra hour — Metered parking along State Road A1A is now free until 9 a.m. on weekdays. Mayor Tom Carney proposed the extra hour of free parking along the beach — up from an 8 a.m. start — and it was quickly approved.  — Anne Geggis

Body-in-suitcases detective honored — Delray Beach Police Detective Mike Liberta was recognized as Detective/Investigator of the Year by the First Responders Appreciation Foundation at an event that drew more than 1,000 attendees at the organization’s annual awards banquet in May.

Liberta received the honor for his role in cracking the case involving suitcases containing body parts found along the Intracoastal Waterway last August.

The remains were later identified as those of Aydil Barbosa Fontes. Her husband, William Lowe, is accused of first-degree murder and abuse of a human body. His next court appearance is scheduled for August.

Liberta is scheduled for recognition in front of the City Commission June 4.

— Anne Geggis

By Anne Geggis

Less than 24 hours after an investigation concluded no evidence supported his accusation the city manager touched him inappropriately, Delray Beach Fire Rescue Chief Keith Tomey was terminated May 1 for “willful, insubordinate behavior” in numerous incidents.

City Manager Terrence Moore ended Tomey’s seven years of city employment “effective immediately,” replacing him with interim Fire Rescue Chief Kevin Green.

The letter firing Tomey principally cites the chief’s decision to allow on-duty firefighters to participate in the annual Guns ‘N Hoses charity softball game last November. It put Engine 112 out of service for more than four hours, Moore wrote.

“Your poor decision making could have endangered the lives of our residents and the public and created a risk of liability to the city,” Moore’s letter says.

That investigative report on the softball tournament came out as Tomey’s allegations of inappropriate touching by the city manager surfaced. A third-party investigator the city hired found there was no evidence that Moore touched Tomey inappropriately, however.

The softball game episode was one of a number of incidents that Moore said had forced him to question Tomey’s leadership and managerial skills.

Neither Tomey nor his attorney, Isidro Garcia, who sent the letter making the allegations of the city manager’s inappropriate touching, returned calls or emails seeking comment.

Garcia, however, told the Sun Sentinel that he intended to sue the city on Tomey’s behalf.

The allegations that Tomey made about the city manager were not cited in the firing letter. The investigative report did say no specific city policies were violated in Tomey’s involvement in the softball game. But investigator Christopher Bentley dinged Tomey for his “poor decision-making which ultimately resulted in inequities and liabilities for the city.”

The investigation into the charity softball tournament started when a firefighter in the game was injured and filed a workers compensation claim, Bentley’s report says.

Tomey had alleged, however, that the softball tournament would not have been investigated if Tomey hadn’t rebuffed Moore’s sexual advances in August 2022 as the two drove to and from an exhibition of city employee art, including Moore’s, at the Arts Garage. He said that Moore “rubbed up his thigh and just briefly made contact with his groin area,” according to a third-party investigator’s telling of Tomey’s allegations.

Moore wrote that Bentley, during his investigation into the softball tournament, noticed the same thing Moore had about Tomey’s attitude regarding city resources and official duties.

“[Bentley] remarked in his report your cavalier attitude regarding these serious concerns, something that I, too, have witnessed in my interactions with you when forced to address your issues in management, fiscal responsibility and accountability,” Moore wrote.

Tomey’s five-day suspension for failing to follow city policy after a Broward County accident in October 2022 involving his city vehicle was also included in Tomey’s contention he was being retaliated against. But city policy requires employees to take a drug test immediately following an accident whether they are at fault or not, which Tomey did not do until three days after the accident, Moore said in the termination letter. And Moore did not hear about the wreck until he received a request to approve a rental for Tomey. 

“I recall that during that disciplinary procedure you refused to acknowledge any wrongdoing …” Moore wrote. “This appears to be a pattern of willful, insubordinate behavior coupled with poor decision making that despite repeated counseling and a five-day suspension, has worsened.”

Moore cited another incident that occurred before the arts show allegations. In July 2022, Tomey distributed a memorandum that went to fire rescue personnel that disclosed the medical condition of an employee. The employee sent a “demand letter” and the city had to pay $25,000 to settle the claim, Moore said.

Tomey’s termination was effective immediately, according to Moore’s letter, and his health benefits continued through May. Tomey’s departure does not involve a financial settlement, a city spokeswoman said.

Since he was terminated “not in good standing,” there are no payouts, the spokeswoman said. Tomey had been earning an annual salary of $179,587.

Green, Tomey’s replacement, has been with the city’s Fire Rescue since 2012.

By Anne Geggis

A $1 million county study of what might replace the 75-year-old George Bush Boulevard bridge is underway and a state review awaits as the bridge’s replacement cost keeps rising.

The bridge — one of Delray Beach’s three spans across the Intracoastal Waterway — is experiencing “increased maintenance concerns and infrastructure failures,” according to county officials.

That’s a reference to when the bridge became a poster child for the country’s troubled infrastructure in 2022 when it was stuck in the upright position for two months because of equipment issues.

It’s operating correctly now, but the future is clear.

“Right now, that bridge definitely needs to be replaced,” David Ricks, Palm Beach County engineer, told county commissioners last November.

Still, the only certainty is the replacement’s rising cost.

In 2022, replacing the bridge was projected to cost $45 million but the latest cost estimate Ricks presented shows it would be more like $75 million to design and replace the bridge. The county’s five-year capital improvement plan shows no more money than the $1 million budgeted after this fiscal year through 2028.

“We’re definitely going to be looking at the state or federal level to help us with the cost of that,” Ricks said.

A U.S. Department of Transportation report in May found that the projected five-year increase in highway construction costs could mean that the $673 billion the federal government allocated for transportation projects — roads, bridges, transit, airports and rail — will buy only 60% of what was originally intended when it passed in 2021.

When the replacement happens to the George Bush Boulevard bridge, it will be a long time coming.

Hal Stern, president of the Beach Property Owners Association, said he’s not expecting that reconstruction anytime soon.

“The design phase could last as long as three years,” Stern said. “The challenge is that it’s such a low bridge. How can they raise the bridge without impacting the areas on either side of the bridge? It’s challenging.”

The Intracoastal bridges at Ocean Avenue in Boynton Beach, Ocean Avenue in Lantana, and in Lake Worth Beach were all reconstructed with higher spans over the years, according to the Delray Beach Historical Society.

Both Atlantic Avenue’s Intracoastal bridge, which was built in 1952, and the George Bush Boulevard bridge were designated local historic sites in 2000 by the City Commission.

Increasing bridge height can be fraught with complications, as can designating a bridge as a historic one.

“In Boca Raton, the Camino Real bridge was given historic status by the city in order to avoid making the bridge higher, which would have significantly changed access to the Boca Raton Club, the Royal Palm community and businesses east of that bridge,” Tom Warnke, archive coordinator at the Delray Beach Historical Society, wrote in an email.

Meanwhile, the Linton Boulevard span over the Intracoastal Waterway needs $20 million in repairs, Palm Beach County’s Ricks said.

By Steve Plunkett

The water level below the surface in Gulf Stream’s Core district is higher than anyone expected and stalled the onset of road work for weeks while the contractor sought an additional permit.

Residents were quick to notice that not much progress was being made.

“I see six guys here one day and nobody the next, and I’m just wondering … are they doing … what you expected to be done at this point or what?” Bob Burns, a past president of the Gulf Stream Civic Association, asked town commissioners at their May 14 meeting.

“We’ve had two or three residents call because they didn’t see an update on the website that they said we’re paying so much money for that’s supposed to be updated weekly,” added Town Clerk Renee Basel.

Construction was supposed to begin the week of April 22, but workers soon discovered how high the water table is.

That meant the town would need a “dewatering” permit from the South Florida Water Management District to pump water out of the way and a change in how the pipes would be put in.

“Typically water mains are installed about 3 feet below grade in dry conditions. We’re going to allow them to bring them up slightly, about a foot or so,” said Jockey Prinyavivatkul of Baxter and Woodman Consulting Engineers. “And then during the backfilling process we use flowable fill, which is a concrete material which can be excavated in the future.”

The schedule had already been changed to begin construction in the north end of the Core district, along Wright Way and Old School Road, instead of on Golfview Drive in the south because the north end is the lowest part of Gulf Stream and more susceptible to fall’s high king tides.

Adding to the high water table was a faulty check valve on an outflow pipe on Wright Way that was letting water come in from the Intracoastal Waterway instead of blocking it, Prinyavivatkul said.

“There’s definitely some issues going on that we are working with the contractor on. And hopefully once we begin to progress, basically the procedures of how they’re going to do the construction work will start to smooth out and the pace will increase,” he said.

But, he said, it usually takes the SFWMD a month or so to issue such a permit.

The town’s original permit was to increase the amount of stormwater runoff it can discharge into the Intracoastal.

Basel said she relayed concerns about updates on the website, corearearoadwork.com, and was told Baxter and Woodman had been waiting on the dewatering permit. An update with a photo was posted the next day, and the engineers promised weekly additions.

Demolition equipment tears apart the home at 2900 Avenue Au Soleil in mid-May. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Steve Plunkett

The new owner of 2900 Avenue Au Soleil has leveled the decrepit home on the Intracoastal Waterway and its detached, multi-vehicle garage, but had not completely demolished the structures by Memorial Day.

Assistant Town Attorney Trey Nazzaro said owner David Willens asked for extra time to finish the demolition after workers encountered huge blocks of concrete to remove.

“This has been a long-standing issue that’s going to result in significant improvement for Place Au Soleil,” Mayor Scott Morgan had said on April 14 as town commissioners approved an agreement to vacate easements that run the length of the property.

The legal maneuvers involved new owner Willens, former owner Bhavin Shah and his 2900 AAC LLC, the town and the Gulf Stream Golf Club, which also had easements on the parcel for an irrigation line from its well near the Place Au Soleil guardhouse to the Intracoastal.

“The contract purchaser, he is probably the only person happier than I am to get this finally approved,” Nazzaro said of Willens.

Shah and his group bought the property for $3.3 million in October 2021 and were the target of several code enforcement actions as the house fell into further disrepair. Willens, a lawyer who lives on the Intracoastal in Highland Beach and founded dental service company Sage Dental Management LLC, paid $5.15 million in April for the property, according to county property records.

The long driveway to 2900 Avenue Au Soleil opens up just behind the guardhouse at Federal Highway and weaves east behind nine homes on Orchid Lane and Avenue Au Soleil on one side, and seven homesites on Bluewater Cove on the other.

Bluewater Cove’s developer originally wanted to buy the parcel and incorporate it into its new subdivision. But Cary Glickstein, president of Ironstone Development Inc., said in 2021 that he had abandoned that idea partly because of the property’s “tortured” legal past.

The home’s previous owners, heirs of the late Anthony Turner, the first code enforcement target there, racked up $200,000 in fines. The Town Commission reduced the amount due in 2019 to $20,000 in an effort to get new owners for the property.

Shah later faced $200-a-day code enforcement fines for not keeping the principal building or the sea wall in acceptable condition. As part of the latest agreements, Willens will have the sea wall rebuilt and connect what will become the town’s main drinking water line to a line running under the Intracoastal.

Bluewater Cove, which has sold one of its planned 14 homes, built two others and is starting construction on four more, already installed an alternate main under the street it built to accommodate the drinking water line.

By Steve Plunkett

Gulf Stream has taken a $52,333 step toward flipping from Delray Beach to Boynton Beach for its drinking water.

Even without a formal agreement, town commissioners authorized spending that amount to pay for the engineering costs of extending a main water line from Seacrest Boulevard east along Gulfstream Boulevard almost to the FEC railway tracks.

Boynton Beach city commissioners approved a contract with their consulting engineers for the work on May 23. A second phase will cover the pipe from the railroad tracks to a connection point at Gulf Stream’s Place Au Soleil neighborhood.

Assistant Town Attorney Trey Nazzaro said Boynton Beach estimates both phases will cost Gulf Stream $1.8 million “with a wonderful swing of $1.3 to $2.3 million anticipated.”

The town will also have to pay a $400,000 “capacity facility fee,” he said.

Boynton Beach and Gulf Stream traded draft agreements about two months ago for a 25-year pact on drinking water. Boynton Beach already was the town’s backup supplier in case Delray Beach’s water system had a problem.

Delray has been the main supplier since at least 1976.

Boynton Beach officials drew up the details for the extra engineering work and then obtained a quote from consulting engineers Calvin, Giordano and Associates Inc.

“So, based on all those efforts, it’s pretty clear that they want to bring us on as a customer and generate some additional revenue,” Nazzaro said. “And then of course there will be cost savings to the town over time with some immediate benefits,” including higher water pressure at the tap.

Boynton is offering a rate of $3.75 per 1,000 gallons of water, slightly less than the $3.81 per 1,000 that Delray Beach is currently charging. But Delray plans to raise its rates to $4.49 in October and $5.20 the following year.

Delray, which is designing a new water plant, told Gulf Stream in April that it will stop providing the town with drinking water in June 2025.

Calvin, Giordano said the first phase of the work to connect Boynton Beach and Gulf Stream would be complete in July or August 2025, with the second phase being finished by the end of 2025.

“Countless hours have gone into these discussions with both Delray Beach and Boynton Beach officials, and once the timing becomes more certain, I know we can work amicably on a transition plan with both cities,” Nazzaro said.

The work will be done in conjunction with a road project on Gulfstream Boulevard, which separates Boynton Beach and Delray Beach. Both cities are sharing the cost of improving the road.

Town Manager Greg Dunham said he has begun discussions with Seacoast Bank on borrowing money to pay for the water main extension as well as an expected $5 million shortfall on Gulf Stream’s road and drainage improvement project.

The Florida League of Cities, which could link the town with low-interest loans, recommended he contact local banks first to see what rates are available.

Pick up your poop bags — Gulf Stream resident P.K. Murphy, who lives in the Core district, is concerned about poop bags being littered “all over the roads,” Town Clerk Renee Basel told Gulf Stream commissioners at their May meeting.

“She says they’re throwing them in yards. She said it’s getting unhealthy and she just wanted to know if there was anything that could be done about it. She said it’s never happened in all the years she’s lived here and now all of a sudden they’re everywhere,” Basel said.

Vice Mayor Tom Stanley said the town would send a note to residents. “Obviously it’s an extremely dog-friendly neighborhood,” he said. “We may have to do a little self-policing too.”

— Steve Plunkett

By Mary Thurwachter

Mat Forrest was a rock star with Lantana officials last year when he helped secure a $1.2 million appropriation from the state for the town’s water main replacement project.

Last month, the Town Council rewarded his efforts by renewing its $60,000 contract with Ballard Partners Inc., the state lobbying firm where Forrest works. The contract extends until Sept. 30, 2025.

During this year’s legislative session, Town Manager Brian Raducci said, Forrest was instrumental in the town’s submission of two projects totaling $2.5 million in state appropriation funding requests, though neither made it into the state’s 2024-2025 fiscal year budget. Forrest, who lives in West Palm Beach, said attempts to get state funding to Lantana this year were not successful because the $117 billion budget was a $2 billion reduction from the current fiscal year, which made it tough to get projects through for local governments.

“We did file two water projects and I think those are great projects. I think we continue to push them,” he told the council. “You did all the right things. You gave compelling reasons.

Next year, we’re going to really work on the grant side of things. I would like to file a few more projects for the town and kind of spread our options, perhaps looking in the parks area, possibly looking into things for public safety and of course, continuing in the water area.”

Mayor Karen Lythgoe said that other than the financing, Forrest is a contact for the town when “we need to get a hold of somebody in state office to put a case before them that we need some help to get some action, so it’s intangible as well as tangible with the money he brings back.”

Going forward, barring any major changes to the service requested or in terms of fees, the council also gave Raducci the ability to sign the agreements with Ballard Partners administratively without council discussion.

Demolition of Key West-style cottages on the north side of Ocean Avenue began in mid-May. Mayor Karen Lythgoe is optimistic that a developer will negotiate a long-term lease with the property owners. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Mary Thurwachter

Some of the tiny, colorful cottages on the north side of Ocean Avenue between Oak Street and Lake Drive in downtown Lantana have been around since the 1920s. The Key West-style bungalows have been home to an assortment of businesses, from restaurants and fruit stands to dress boutiques and real estate offices, but fell into disrepair, with many vacant for years.

The dilapidated buildings are part of history now. The bulldozing began in mid-May as town officials hope to develop the property owned by the sister-and-brother team of Marsha Stocker and Steven Handelsman. Their parents, the late Burt and Lovey Handelsman, previously owned the cottages, which are on four contiguous parcels of land.

“The town does have some significant code enforcement fines (more than $900,000) on the property and foreclosure authorization,” said Nicole Dritz, the town’s development services director. “The agreement between the town and the property owners includes the property owners’ demolishing the buildings, sodding the properties and actively pursuing redevelopment in good faith.”

Once the demo is finished and the site is sodded, that would put the properties into compliance in terms of code enforcement, she said.

“The town is prepared to work with the property owners on the fines, if/when the site is redeveloped into a project that benefits the downtown,” Dritz said. “We are working closely with their attorney and town staff is ready and willing to discuss preliminary or conceptual plans with potential developers.”

Mayor Karen Lythgoe is optimistic that a developer will express interest and will be able to negotiate a long-term lease with the property owners.

“Several of them have expressed interest so it remains to be seen,” she said. “I would love to see some restaurants and small shops to create a downtown. That will likely mean residences as well, due to the costs involved in development. And the master plan market study demonstrated the need for more housing in Lantana.”

Lythgoe said parking is an issue that will need some creative solutions, which is why the Town Council, at its visioning session, expressed openness to five-story buildings, if that addresses the situation. She said the town is “not expressly wanting that, but doesn’t want to turn away plans before the council can evaluate them. That got misinterpreted by some in the town.”

Less optimistic is Vice Mayor Mark Zeitler, who has adopted a wait-and-see attitude. He’s concerned that the owners are “not actually wanting to sell the property, and just leasing it may be a hurdle,” he said. “I don’t think we should get the five stories just because these people don’t want to sell their property, that they only want to lease it. I think we would be hurting the town more that way.”

Zeitler said he doesn’t expect anything to happen quickly, especially since the lease idea may hamper interest from developers who might prefer to own the property.