Protecting beaches from erosion is difficult enough, but extra steps are needed when man-made structures, such as the Boynton Inlet, block the natural southerly flow of sand. On the inlet’s Ocean Ridge side, rock groins have been placed to slow erosion, and an outfall pipe is designed to carry sand from the inlet’s transfer plant. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

Communities struggle to preserve beaches amid storms, shifting coastline

By John Pacenti

Ocean Ridge resident Betty Bingham had a bone to pick with the town’s neighbor to the north.

“I went to Manalapan the other day and it appears that they have gathered about 6 to 12 feet more beachfront,” Bingham said during public comment at Ocean Ridge’s Dec. 9 Town Commission meeting. “I was surprised at how much beach they had.”

Meanwhile, over at Manalapan, the opposite accusation surfaced in October. The general feeling was the sand transfer plant at the Boynton Inlet benefited Ocean Ridge and other towns to the south at Manalapan’s expense.

“They have no maximum amount that they can take from our beaches,” said Dr. Peter Bonutti — husband of Vice Mayor Simone Bonutti — at a meeting of Manalapan’s Beach Committee. Bonutti serves as the town’s liaison with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Palm Beach County on everything sand.

Beach erosion is a top-of-the-agenda concern from coastal Boca Raton to South Palm Beach, where shifting sands and passing storms continuously create the need for renourishment projects. Yet, beach renourishment is a Sisyphean prospect, an endless struggle, for Florida’s barrier island communities.

Related: Manalapan at odds with southern neighbors over sand transfer plant

Two South County inlets impact local beaches, blocking them from receiving sand that flows naturally from north to south. LEFT: Manalapan’s beach on the north side of the Boynton Inlet is wider than Ocean Ridge's to the south. A sand transfer plant offsets some of the loss that is due to the inlet. RIGHT: The Boca Raton Inlet is dredged regularly and the sand used to beef up the South Inlet Park beach, though the difference in beach widths north and south of the inlet is still noticeable. Google Maps

The Gold Coast
The granules of sand might as well be Krugerrands.

Tens of millions of federal, state and county dollars are poured into the beaches each year with full knowledge that the next drive-by hurricane or severe winter nor’easter can suck it all away over a bad weekend. Over the last 87 years, Florida has spent at least $1.9 billion on beach nourishment.

But it’s called Palm “Beach” County for a reason — a place where every other municipality follows suit. Nobody plops $50 million down on a palatial palace in Manalapan only to find nowhere to plant a beach umbrella.

On the other side of the economic equation, the public beaches in Lantana, Ocean Ridge, the County Pocket, Delray Beach and Boca Raton are part of Florida’s economic engine.

Tourists who come to the Sunshine State to loll oceanside pump $80 billion into the state’s annual gross domestic product, its GDP, according to the Army Corps — a big fan of beach renourishment projects.

The projects are a way of life for Palm Beach’s coastal municipalities — but each one is a snapshot in time, tiny pieces to a century-long puzzle. Town councils turn over, and town managers come and go.

“Human perspectives are short relative to geologic perspectives. The coast is changing over the course of decades and even centuries, but we have folks that may move in or out, or folks that aren’t familiar with what may have happened 30 years ago,” said Andy Studt, environmental program supervisor for the county’s coastal resource management.

Some recent work included the $5 million project in Ocean Ridge by the Army Corps in 2020. It replaced about 475,000 cubic yards of sand at Hammock Park and surrounding areas that had been lost to Hurricane Irma in 2017 and Hurricane Dorian in 2019.

Delray Beach is about to launch a $29 million renourishment project to maintain its world-renowned beach — a remarkable story of coastal engineering.

Boca Raton has $15.1 million in its beach restoration fund this year. Recently, the city partnered with Deerfield Beach to replace sand at Palm Beach County’s South Inlet Park.

South Palm Beach and Highland Beach, where beaches abut private land and are not eligible for government grants, are the Blanche DuBoises of coastal communities, relying on the kindness of strangers — those being the town of Palm Beach and Delray Beach.

Luckily, Palm Beach has an $18 million project to restore dunes at Phipps Ocean Park, and some of the sand is to be trucked to South Palm Beach — though it’s not clear how soon that will be.

Lantana, with its public beach, had considered being part of the agreement, but balked last year when the deal changed and the town would have to pay for the sand it was to receive — instead of getting free sand in exchange for providing a beach access point, one that Palm Beach no longer needs.

Farther south, Highland Beach benefits from all the beach nourishment done in Delray Beach, sand that over time filters south to the town’s shoreline.

Florida allocated $50 million in 2024 for beach renourishment, bringing the total state investment to over $550 million since 2019.

It’s a lot of taxpayer money, but the beaches are a magnet for tourists with money to spend. The state saw 34.6 million visitors in 2024 and wants to keep them coming back. But that’s not all.

“Beaches serve as natural barriers against storm surges and protect coastal infrastructure. The economic benefits of maintaining them often outweigh the costs,” said Landolf Rhode-Barbarigos, a coastal engineering expert with the University of Miami.

Shores take a beating
The bogeyman in beach renourishment is climate change.

Data shows a clear trend of increased intensity and frequency of larger storms —fueled by record-setting ocean temperatures — posing a threat to reefs that protect the coastline.

Predicted sea-level rise and a suspected change in the Gulf Stream current also pose longer-term threats.

“Last winter was a particularly rough, El Niño winter where we had consistent, strong winds, and we had more outreach from coastal municipalities across the county than we had had in 15 or 20 years because we were seeing similar types of damage,” Studt said.

Homes on Jupiter and Singer islands saw the beach erode right up to their back patios, sucking their backyards out to sea. And yet, there is no tipping of the hourglass here. A finite amount of sand exists in offshore borrow areas or inland mines.

The intervals between beach projects “will likely shrink and these projects will become more expensive as the borrow areas become less and less,” said Pepper Uchino, president of the Florida Shore & Beach Preservation Association in Tallahassee.

The armor of the coastline, Uchino explains, is supposed to be the barrier islands that change with the river of ocean sand moving — in South Florida — from north to south.

“Barrier islands, by their very definition are ethereal,” he said. “They’re not supposed to be in the same place over and over again.”

The barrier islands in South Palm Beach County are part of a coral ridge, making them more stable. But development has made barrier islands lose more of their ecological function and require artificial protection, Uchino said.

From the time of the first barrier island high-rises and mansions, the Army Corps did what it does: plumb Mother Nature. Inlets, jetties and cuts all have commercial reasons to exist, but disrupt the natural flow of the sand, Uchino said.

“As soon as any sort of development on a barrier island goes up, it has lost its ecological function and has gained a new function as some sort of economic engine,” Uchino said.

The Boynton Inlet plays a huge role in local beach erosion, disrupting the natural flow of sand from north to south. A transfer plant pumps sand from the north side of the cut to the south side, mitigating the sand blocked by the inlet that would have flowed to Ocean Ridge, Delray Beach and other municipalities to the south.

This 1973 photo shows the severity of beach erosion along State Road A1A in Delray Beach a block south of Atlantic Avenue. Delray Beach Historical Society

The Comeback Kid
Ocean Ridge Mayor Geoff Pugh remembers growing up in the area when Delray Beach didn’t have a beach.

“Delray, when I was in high school, when you parked and walked to the ocean there was no beach there. It literally went straight down to the ocean,” Pugh said. “That is how bad it was. And Palm Beach was like that, too. They had to rebuild.”

The impact of the Boynton Inlet, along with a series of hurricanes and storms, eroded Delray Beach’s shoreline right up to State Road A1A, and shrank the beaches of other communities south of the inlet. The town of Gulf Stream appealed for state and federal help in 1957. After that, the first beach renourishment projects started in the area.

Delray Beach has undergone 10 since 1973, placing 6 million cubic yards of sand along its 2.5 miles of coastline.

It has been a remarkable transformation, so much so that Delray Beach was named a Blue Flag beach destination in 2023 — an international honor that tells travelers the beach is renowned for its environmental, educational, safety and accessibility standards.

Delray Beach Mayor Tom Carney, who spearheaded a 2013 beach renourishment project during his first stint as the city’s mayor, says there is simply no choice but to preserve the city’s main attraction. The city is pitching in $9 million for the renourishment project starting in the fall.

“We still have high tides, we still have wind, we still have storms. We have a lot of natural conditions that affect the erosion of the beach, and there’s nothing we can do about it,”

Carney said. “I mean, would I love to get rid of hurricanes? Yeah, sure.”

The beach is “our economic driver,” Delray Beach Vice Mayor Juli Casale said.

“Beach renourishment is a controversial subject. It’s expensive. It’s not a permanent solution, and it can disturb the ecosystem,” she said. “However, if we do not renourish our beach it will likely erode due to natural forces.”

The success of Delray Beach is also a result of the city’s building up its dune system. Uchino said dunes can be a cost-efficient way to protect the coastline. A strong dune system could extend the effectiveness of renourishment projects, Uchino said.

“I would say that beach design has come a long way,” Uchino said. Dunes are designed to be sacrificial, he said.

“They look like they’re these big, permanent sand mounds but their whole purpose, in an engineered system, is to take that wave energy so it doesn’t reach whatever critical infrastructure.”

There are efforts to keep the sand in its place — even if it’s a lost cause in the long run.

And allowing natural detritus to build up on the beach, to create what is called the wrack, is effective but may not be wanted by a municipality for aesthetic reasons. Those perfectly raked beaches are the stuff of tourist posters.

 Beachgoers in Boca Raton last month enjoy South Inlet Park, which received major restoration in 2023 in a city partnership with Deerfield Beach. Boca Raton has $15.1 million in its 2025 beach restoration fund. The park is just south of the Boca Raton Inlet. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

The Boca experience
Boca Raton was recognized in 2023 with a Best Restored Beach Award from the American Shore and Beach Preservation Association for a multi-jurisdiction collaboration.

The city partnered with Deerfield Beach on a project that included replacing sand at South Inlet Park. It ended up extending the park beach by 100 feet — sand that eventually will make its way south to Deerfield Beach and points beyond. In addition, the inlet is dredged regularly and the sand used to beef up the beach to the south.

Boca Raton City Council member Marc Wigder said it’s important the municipalities don’t go it alone, that they realize the coast doesn’t stop at city limits.

“What I’ve learned is that it’s not just Boca that’s participating for the most part. It’s most of the cities and/or the county participating in the sections of the beaches that they own, and the fact that they’re all participating together is what’s so important,” Wigder said.

Just north in Highland Beach, where the sand is private, individual condo communities have been working to build up their dunes. In a 2023 beach restoration study, the town said it participated in a joint climate change resilience study as it mulled a $14 million project.

The Highland Beach shoreline retreated on average 1.2 feet annually — but it was worse on the south end of town. “The beach in the northern 1.85 miles of the town has benefited from repeated beach nourishments in Delray Beach,” according to the study’s summary.

Science to the rescue?
Another way to retain sand is breakwaters or artificial reefs. Associate Professor Rhode-Barbarigos of the University of Miami spearheaded the development of the SEAHIVE system — perforated, hexagonal concrete pieces that fit together like Legos.

SEAHIVE is designed to dissipate strong waves but also to allow marine life to thrive around it. The structure can be “tuned” to the particular coastline, he said. It can also be used right up against the coastline to create a living sea wall — an example can be found at Wahoo Bay park in Pompano Beach.

Carney is skeptical that an artificial reef system would work for Delray Beach.

“There’s a lot of science out there that says these artificial reefs and things do reduce the erosion effect, right? But I don’t know,” Carney said.

Ocean Ridge’s Pugh is open to breakwaters —structures built off the coast to absorb wave energy and protect shorelines — or artificial reefs. He said the 2020 project took an environmental toll, covering up patch reefs that have only recently re-emerged, he said.

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection required the town of Palm Beach in 2013 to build artificial reefs and coral nurseries to offset reef damage caused by 2003 and 2006 beach fills at Midtown Beach.

The county has also used groins — stone or concrete structures — to keep the sand in place. Groins — as well as a staccato of a dozen artificial reefs offshore — are south of the Boynton Inlet.

T-groins, breakwaters and sand renourishment can be the subject of resident backlash. Palm Beach County ended up paying $605,000 a judge awarded in 2023 for placing a breakwater in the Intracoastal Waterway just south of the Toscana condominiums in Highland Beach without the private property owner’s consent. It was sued by Golden City Highland Beach LLC.

In 2022, the county removed 750 tons of rock it had placed in the water there in 2015 — and it is still in court over how much it will have to pay to cover Golden City’s attorney fees.

Renourishment projects, like this 2017 one at South Inlet Park, are expensive, messy and put machinery and beach-goers at odds. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

Sand supply shrinking
And what about the sand? It’s not an endless supply and it has to be the right color, the right size, the right temperature. If not, it could affect the nesting and sexing of sea turtles— whose well-being depends on healthy Florida beaches.

“It’s not a shortage of sand. It’s a shortage of inexpensive sand,” Uchino said.

In 2019, Delray Beach commissioned a research vessel to look for borrow areas to dredge. Some communities have turned to trucking in sand from inland mines in places such as Clewiston. While Highland Beach’s report suggested trucking in sand, that would be up to individual oceanfront condominiums or single-family homes and not the town.

Studt, with the county, said beach renourishment is highly complex, having to take into account numerous regulations and requirements, habitat for sea turtles and other environmental concerns. The best solution, he said, remains “the placement of the highest quality sand we can get a hold of.”

But the fact is, Studt added, that near-shore sand resources are depleting, and interior sand mines are finite and very expensive to truck in. The future looks like more groins, breakwaters, artificial reefs and new technology.

“So I think in the long term, we’re going to be focused more and more on structures. We’ve seen tremendous benefit from the structures,” he said.

ABOVE: A sand transfer plant on the north side of the Boynton Inlet runs as sand accumulates along the jetty. BELOW: Sand and water pour out of the transfer pipe on the inlet’s south side. Photos by Tim Stepien and John Pacenti/The Coastal Star

Related: Money, sand and Mother Nature

By John Pacenti

In a long-standing dispute over beach erosion and sand management, Manalapan officials are questioning the effectiveness and fairness of the long-standing sand transfer plant near Ocean Inlet Park.

This disagreement highlights a broader issue facing coastal communities in Florida.

As weather intensifies and sea levels rise, the struggle to maintain beaches becomes increasingly complex and expensive.

The sand transfer station sucks sand from north of the Boynton Inlet, piping it underneath the inlet to an elevated spout on the other side.

A key beneficiary is Ocean Ridge, which went to court more than 30 years ago to keep the plant in operation — and to get it to send more sand the town’s way.

For Manalapan — which like all barrier island communities needs sand on its beaches — the sand transfer plant has become somewhat of a take-it-or-leave-it insult that sends sand to the southern communities.

“And the fact that sand transfer, the way they’re doing it, they’re not taking sand from the inlet and dredging out. They are taking sand from private beaches,” said Dr. Peter Bonutti, an orthopedic surgeon the town named as a liaison on beach erosion with Palm Beach County and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. He spoke at Manalapan’s Beach Committee meeting in October.

Town Manager Eric Marmer added, “They’re all beneficiaries. We potentially are not.”

He said Manalapan’s beach “was not in a good place.”

The balance of nature was upset when the Army Corps of Engineers redirected the St. Lucie River into the Intracoastal Waterway, building the C-44 Canal in 1928 to move polluted water from agriculture fields near Lake Okeechobee. Boynton Inlet was cut to drain the Intracoastal, also known as the Lake Worth Lagoon.

The sand transfer plant was constructed in 1937 to mitigate the interruption of natural sand flow caused by the man-made inlet.

The county’s renewal of the plant’s permit — which Manalapan has been asked to approve — is currently under review by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
Marmer and Mayor John Deese were set to meet with county officials on Jan. 23 to see if the sand transfer plant can feed the town’s beach as well. Marmer said state officials have also heard the town’s concerns.

Manalapan Commissioner Dwight Kulwin met for hours with the operator of the sand transfer station on a fact-finding mission. He said the operator told him that there is no evidence the sand transfer station is taking sand from Manalapan beaches.

“So, it’s not like if you block the sand here, then Manalapan’s beach will miraculously increase,” he said.

In a very real sense, this is déjà vu all over again.

Ocean Ridge filed suit against Manalapan in 1987, claiming the sand transfer plant wasn’t pumping enough sand southward and that Manalapan was stealing sand. A Palm Beach County judge agreed and ordered the county to increase the sand sent to Ocean Ridge — and added the two towns needed to work together.

In 2017, Manalapan also balked at signing off on the renewal of the permit for the sand transfer plant.

Bonutti, husband of Vice Mayor Simone Bonutti, said Manalapan again has concerns as it considers signing off on a new permit — such as the 410-foot curved jetty at the inlet.

He said his position hasn’t changed since October and that he has Army Corps data that confirms the damage to Manalapan beaches by the transfer plant and the inlet.

“The curved inlet is very problematic,” Bonutti said.

Bonutti recommended the town lobby the federal government to reassess the inlet. For instance, 30% of the year, federal documentation shows, the sand does not move north to south, he said.

The jetty’s original design was meant to keep sand from accumulating in the inlet, which would block the flow of the water from the Intracoastal.

The Brightline passenger train suffered significant damage in the Dec. 28 collision with a Delray Beach aerial ladder fire truck that was crossing the tracks downtown despite lowered crossing arms. At top is the escape hatch the train's engineer used to exit the train following the crash. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

Fire truck driver was subject of previous off-duty DUI inquiry

Ten fire rescue employees lack valid driver’s licenses

By John Pacenti

The suspended Delray Beach firefighter who was at the wheel of the aerial ladder truck when it was struck by a Brightline train had been investigated for DUI 11⁄2 years earlier when he ran his Jeep over a median and into a tree while off duty.

But a field sobriety test wasn’t conducted related to the Jeep accident, a breath test was determined to be impractical, a blood sample was never taken “due to lack of probable cause,” and no DUI charge was filed, according to a police report of the 2023 incident released Jan. 23 that referenced the driving under the influence investigation.

Information from that crash, now part of a separate police investigation, is getting new attention because of the Dec. 28 Brightline incident. Video of the train crash shows the enormous fire truck — operated by firefighter David Wyatt — maneuvering around a lowered railroad crossing gate before impact.

The collision took place on the Florida East Coast Railway tracks on Southeast First Street a block south of Atlantic Avenue in downtown Delray Beach.

Wyatt, Capt. Brian Fiorey and firefighter Joseph Fiumara III were taken to the Delray Medical Center as trauma alerts and have since been released. Palm Beach County says nine Brightline passengers were transported to the hospital.

Related: Editor's Note: Railroad crossing gates: Let’s cover all the lanes

Delray Beach firefighter David Wyatt was investigated for DUI in June 2023 after he ran his Jeep over a median and into a tree, according to a police report. His license was suspended in October 2023, but was later reinstated. Screenshot from police body cam video

The 2023 crash
Wyatt’s license was suspended in October 2023 when he failed to take a required class after being cited in June of that year for careless driving when he crashed into a tree on Atlantic Avenue near Swinton Avenue, court records show. The license remained suspended for two months and it is unknown if he continued to operate city-owned vehicles during that time.

The city on Jan. 23 released the police report and the body camera footage of the scene of the June 9, 2023, crash where Wyatt’s 2015 Jeep hit a tree around 10:22 p.m.

“Given the significant public interest in this matter, I believe releasing the body-worn camera footage from the 2023 citation is the right step toward providing a full and accurate account of the events,” said Delray Beach City Manager Terrence Moore. The Police Department is now conducting its own investigation about how that case was handled.

The city blurred out the images of Wyatt on the body camera video — 11 clips in all. The audio of the video is sporadic as officers on the scene choose not to activate sound.

Wyatt hit the tree in the median with enough force to deploy all his airbags, according to the police report written by Officer Nicholas Windsor. Wyatt was transported to Bethesda Hospital.

Windsor spoke to Wyatt in the emergency room triage area, noting his eyes were red but pupils were normal size and his speech wasn’t slurred. He informed Wyatt he was conducting a DUI investigation and read him his Miranda rights, the police report states.

Wyatt declined to answer any questions.

“I did not observe Wyatt standing under his own power. Wyatt was either sitting on the ground, lying on a stretcher or sitting in a wheelchair,” Windsor wrote.

Field sobriety tests were not conducted at the scene of the crash and Windsor said a breath test was impractical because Wyatt was being treated for over an hour at the hospital.

“I did not request Wyatt provide a blood sample due to the lack of probable cause,” the officer wrote.

Wyatt wasn’t charged with DUI.

A witness, who knew Wyatt, said he was traveling behind his friend’s Jeep, on Swinton. Wyatt made a right turn onto Atlantic, jumped the median and hit the tree.

“The witness did not provide any further information such as where Wyatt and he were traveling to or from and what Wyatt was doing prior to the crash,” Windsor wrote.

Multiple investigations
City Attorney Lynn Gelin at a Jan. 7 City Commission meeting said it was discovered that 10 current fire rescue employees did not have valid driving licenses. Officials have not said how many, if any, of those employees have been driving city vehicles without a valid license.

Years earlier, in a 2009 review under areas to improve, Wyatt was told to make certain to have a valid driver’s license kept current at all times after he allowed his to lapse.

At the time of the Brightline crash, Wyatt and all those aboard the fire truck had valid licenses.

Mayor Tom Carney said he called for the release of the body camera video. “Better to release it with transparency than to have everybody speculate about everything,” he said.

He didn’t want to comment on the report or the body camera video because he said the June 2023 crash is yet another subject of an internal investigation.

Vice Mayor Juli Casale commended the release of the report and video.

“Our city’s capability, impartiality and integrity are in question. Residents deserve answers,” she said.

Yet, she questioned the police narrative in the short-circuited DUI investigation, saying, “It leaves more questions than answers.”

As for the Brightline crash, the city earlier asked the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office to take over the lead investigation. Police Chief Russ Mager cited the “complexity of the crash, the multiple agencies involved, and the need for transparency.”

Besides the PBSO investigation, there are three internal Delray Beach investigations and an investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board.

Two of the internal investigations — regarding the train crash and some staff not having valid driver’s licenses — will be handled by the firm Johnson Jackson, the city announced on Jan. 23.

Measures taken
Fire Chief Ronald Martin on Jan. 3 placed two of the three staff members on the fire truck — Wyatt and Fiorey — on paid administrative leave, along with Assistant Chief Kevin Green and Division Chief Todd Lynch, pending an internal investigation to determine if policies were followed leading up to the crash.

In other developments:

• The city released dispatch audio and the 911 recordings, showing Battalion 111 responding to a call reporting smoke on the second story of the four-story condo complex at 365 SE Sixth Ave. However, another crew on the scene reported that all that was needed was ventilation because of burnt food. The dispatcher then informed other crews that Battalion 111 had been struck by a train.

• Gelin told elected officials at the Jan. 21 commission meeting not to publicly discuss the crash because of potential litigation and the pending investigations.

• The U.S. Department of Transportation notified Delray Beach it will review its quiet zone designation for train horns when approaching public crossings, Moore said in his Jan. 17 memo to commissioners.

• Knauf Group submitted a $70,000 bill for towing the damaged fire truck — left in three pieces after the crash, according to an email from Gelin to Moore. The company also cleaned up the downtown crash site.

• Chief Martin put all external programming and community engagement initiatives for the fire department on hiatus. The chief also announced cutbacks to overtime for special events and administrative staff.

Tensions with union
At the Jan. 7 commission meeting, Carney and fellow commissioners threw their support behind Martin after the firefighters union on Facebook attacked him over the suspensions.

Delray Beach Fire Fighters IAFF Local 1842 said that Martin failed to follow departmental policies — spelled out for employee discipline — by publicly sharing the names of those suspended.

“This public dissemination of information causes significant harm to the employees involved, damages their reputations, and undermines trust in the City’s internal processes,” the union posted on its Facebook page.

Martin issued a response, saying that he wanted to ensure that the investigations would be conducted with fairness toward the employees involved.

Casale told The Coastal Star, “Sadly we are seeing the effects of an all-powerful union that has built a lack of accountability into the fire union contract.”

Right now much of the focus is on Wyatt.

The adjudication for the 2023 ticket was withheld, and a two-month-old D-6 license suspension was lifted in December of that year after the court received verification that Wyatt had completed the required course. A D-6 is an indefinite suspension until certain conditions are met.

By having adjudication withheld, Wyatt did not get any points against his license that would lead to higher insurance rates. He paid $207 in fines and court costs.

Wyatt has also been cited for minor vehicular violations — such as speeding and having an expired tag — five times in Palm Beach County since 2004, records show.

The Center for Arts and Innovation was intended to replace Mizner Park’s amphitheater and surrounding area, but the deal died last month after a fundraising shortfall came to light. The center’s organizers said they would analyze alternate sites. Rendering provided

By Mary Hladky

When construction of a Boca Raton performing arts center was proposed in 2018, it seemed manifest destiny — exactly what the city needed to cement its status as a growing, culture-rich, economically strong place.

City Council members were gobsmacked when they saw the first conceptual plans presented by a consortium of city-based cultural organizations, even as they sought assurances that the city would not be burdened by the cost.

The project became the Center for Arts and Innovation, whose officials negotiated with the city for two years to hammer out a development agreement and the lease of city-owned land in Mizner Park. The council blessed the deals in 2022.

Another milestone came in 2023 when the renowned Renzo Piano Building Workshop, which accepts only two or three commissions a year, agreed to design the center. The new design was unveiled in May.

And then, over the last three months, it all came crashing down.

Facing a shortfall in donations, TCAI organizers asked city officials to amend the development agreement to give them more time to raise money.

Unable to persuade them to do so, TCAI terminated the agreement on Jan. 8. City officials acknowledged that the next day.

What comes next is not yet known.

Both sides have wished each other well, and left open the possibility of creating a new deal in the future if, in fact, either one will want to do that.

Priorities and possibilities

The city already has signaled that it is moving on.

In a Dec. 19 memo to council members, City Manager George Brown said drafting a new agreement would take months and would diminish the city’s focus on redeveloping the 30-acre downtown government campus to include a new City Hall and community center and the addition of residential, retail and office.

Brown described that effort as “the highest strategic priority of the city” that is backed by council members.

TCAI chief executive Andrea Virgin did not respond to requests for an interview. 

But in a Jan. 8 press release, the center said the termination “allows the Center to begin analyzing alternative sites to ensure its transformative vision becomes a reality.”

“Together with our donors and partners, we will bring this project to life — whether in Boca Raton or another site that also shares our aspirations for success,” Virgin said in the release.

Center officials also updated their website to say in part, “This step allows us to pause, realign, and strengthen the foundation for the future.”

Showing that TCAI remains a going concern, officials announced on Jan. 22 that Paul Block, the chairman and CEO of the investment banking firm Proteus Capital Associates, had joined the board of directors.

“Joining the Center for Arts and Innovation allows me to contribute to a vision that empowers creativity and ensures the arts remain a cornerstone of South Florida’s future,” he said in the announcement.

Republican state Rep. Mike Caruso, a TCAI booster, wrote a Jan. 22 op-ed in the Palm Beach Post that pressed city officials not to abandon TCAI.

“The Center will happen,” he wrote. “It will thrive and elevate whichever community it calls home. Will this cultural hub be the game-changer that puts Boca Raton on the map, or will another city benefit from this great opportunity?

“… To the leaders of Boca Raton: I urge you to be bold. See beyond immediate challenges and envision what this project can mean for our community, not just today but for future generations.”

How dispute came to head

From the beginning, city officials supported TCAI’s vision but insisted that the organization pay for its development and construction costs. They were willing, however, to lease city-owned land in Mizner Park for the project.

The development agreement agreed to by both the city and TCAI stipulated that full funding for construction, estimated then to be at least $101.6 million, had to be in place prior to the issuance of a building permit.

The agreement spelled out fundraising deadlines, requiring TCAI to raise 75% of the project’s hard construction costs within three years. TCAI met its first deadline in 2023.

But Virgin stunned and angered city officials on Oct. 21 when she told them that she would not raise the required amount for 2024.

TCAI needed to raise a total of $50.8 million, but donations came to only $32 million.

Some council members accused Virgin of withholding information she must have had months earlier even as she led them to believe that all was well.

Their concerns were elevated when they learned Virgin had paused fundraising in September, an apparent sign that she knew she would not meet the target.

“I was quite frankly shocked” by the shortfall, Mayor Scott Singer said at the time.

Brown, who negotiated the agreement while serving as deputy city manager, offered a harsh critique, saying he had met with center officials in early October and was not told fundraising was falling short.

“I am just disturbed by a lack of accountability, a lack of transparency, a lack of forthrightness and in this circumstance a lack of humility,” he said.

In explaining the shortfall, Virgin said she had not known that donors can need five to seven years to finalize donation commitments. Donors, she said, don’t want to be rushed into making commitments.

Had she known that, she said that she would have tried to negotiate a deal with the city allowing for that.

In an interview with The Coastal Star at the time, Virgin denied withholding information and denied making unequivocal promises to council members that the fundraising target would be met.

Since it wasn’t, both the city and TCAI could terminate the development agreement and lease of city land.

Virgin proposed a “realignment amendment” to change terms of the agreement. Even though the council rejected that idea, she submitted one on Nov. 25.

It proposed that full funding for construction not be required until the project was to be completed in 2032. The agreement, though, stipulated that TCAI had to raise the full amount before a building permit would be issued.

Brown concluded that TCAI’s proposed changes were unacceptable and placed the city at risk of ending up with an uncompleted building or a finished project without enough funds to start operations.

TCAI, Brown said in a memo to the City Council, had created “a totally new approach to funding obligations” that “creates significant additional risk for the city.”

Brown recommended that council members terminate the deal. TCAI beat them to the punch. 

Officials examine the scene where a tree trimmer died in a Jan. 28 incident involving a wood chipper at Ocean Ridge Town Hall. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

A worker was killed Jan. 28 in a wood-chipper while doing tree-trimming work at Ocean Ridge Town Hall.

The man was part of a crew trimming coconut palm trees on the north side of the building when the incident occurred. His identification is being withheld pending notification of next of kin in Mexico, police said.

Ocean Ridge police officers arrived at the scene and determined the man had been pulled into the machine and was killed.

In a statement, Town Manager Lynne Ladner said the tragedy happened at about 9:30 a.m. The crew, from contracted vendor Carlton Tree Service, started the work about 8 a.m.

“I’m devastated. This is a horrible loss of life,” Ladner said. She added that Boynton Beach Fire Rescue is providing grief counselors for town employees and the vendor’s staff.

Ladner also said representatives from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration had been contacted and were headed to the scene.

Boynton Beach police are assisting Ocean Ridge police in the investigation. OSHA and the Medical Examiner’s Office are also investigating, police said.

— Henry Fitzgerald

The crossing gates where the Brightline train and Delray Beach fire truck collided do not entirely block the traffic lanes, as they do at many other intersections. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

I didn’t think I would be using my first editorial for The Coastal Star to advocate for something that should be totally unnecessary.

Totally unnecessary, that is, if only you could trust people to use common sense.

But then a fire truck being driven by a professional plays a game of rushin’ roulette on Delray Beach’s downtown railroad tracks — tracks that just happened to be loaded with an oncoming express train — and trust gets tossed aside just as easily as that Brightline passenger train blasted apart the city’s aerial ladder truck.

Fortunately, no one died in the Dec. 28 crash.

We can shake our heads at someone thinking it’s a good idea to maneuver a vehicle around lowered railroad crossing arms, but when a fire truck is the thing taking that chance it becomes obvious something more is needed.

It’s still not clear what the city’s policy is when an in-service emergency vehicle comes upon lowered crossing gates. Is the driver supposed to wait for the gates to go up or is the driver given the option to proceed with caution depending on the situation?

And absent those gate arms rising, just how do you proceed with caution — how do you get yourself close enough to see if the tracks are clear without being far enough out onto the tracks to put yourself in danger if a train is barreling toward you?

If only Florida East Coast Railway had crossing-arm gates that could block all lanes of traffic on both sides of the tracks, to prevent drivers from making the potentially disastrous mistake of crossing the tracks too early.

Oh, that’s right, the FEC does have such crossing protections and there are many crossings with them right here in southern Palm Beach County. But the crossing at Southeast First Street where the crash occurred included a partial gate arm that only served to stop pedestrians. That arm was not long enough to block a vehicle that intentionally moves into the wrong lane so that it can get on the tracks and try to cross despite the lowered gates and the flashing, red warning lights.

Given what we’ve all seen — the Brightline video of the actual crash went viral and clearly showed the fire truck circumventing the lowered gate arms — it’s time for the FEC to eliminate that driver option and install gate arms at local crossings that block all lanes of traffic on both sides of the tracks when a train is coming.

Seconds matter in saving lives. But so do lowered railroad crossing arms.

— Larry Barszewski,
Editor

Tanise Cox (right) has worked at the Achievement Centers for Children & Families in Delray Beach since 1991. Her daughter Trenyce Cox, 21, now works there along with her mother. Photo provided

By Ron Hayes

Since 1969, the Achievement Centers for Children & Families in Delray Beach has given kids from low-income homes an education.

For 33 years, it has given Tanise Cox a living, and a life.

“My two boys, Denard and Denyveaux, were enrolled at the center in 1990, so I began volunteering,” she recalls, “and then, after I’d volunteered perhaps a year, Nancy Hurd, the CEO at the time, asked me if I wanted to work there.”

Cox was employed by a temp agency then, with unstable hours, no benefits, little future — and two small boys.

“I always wanted to work with kids,” she says, “so this was a blessing.”

On May 1, 1991, she arrived as a preschool teacher, helping children ages 3-5 learn to name colors and shapes, maybe even tie their shoes.

She shone, and soon advanced to curriculum specialist, helping to develop lesson plans and to ensure supplies were on hand to implement those plans.

She shone again, and was named a director, with a role in hiring.

In time, her success at the center was becoming a bit expensive. Her family had been living in a subsidized housing development, and as her salary grew, so did her rent.

Then Nancy Hurd arrived with another blessing.

“She told me about Habitat for Humanity,” Cox says.

Jimmy Carter did not help build her three-bedroom home off Swinton Avenue, but Cox does live in the city’s first Habitat house.

“To qualify, you have to put in 500 hours helping build Habitat homes,” she explains. “They call it sweat equity, so my house was ready for months before I could move in. I was working at ACCF during the week and then putting in long hours on Saturdays to make my 500 hours.”

She laughs at the memory. “I was on the roof, I was in the yard, I was doing everything.”

The Achievement Centers for Children & Families gave her a job, and then it helped her get a house.

By 2000, she was directing the agency’s after-school program, and three years later, another child arrived.

“When I was pregnant with Trenyce, I’d already been working at ACCF for 12 years,” she says.

Trenyce Cox is 21 now, and both mother and daughter joke that she was attending the center even before she was born. She kept right on, leaving when she was 18 after benefiting from the center’s entire curriculum.

“When Trenyce first went to public school, the kindergarten teacher said she was way ahead in her colors and numbers,” her mother says. “I made sure they knew she’d been to ACCF.”

Now Trenyce works there along with her mother. When she was a child, the center taught her to play drums, banging on painted plastic buckets.

Today, the kids have real drums, thanks to a generous donor, and Trenyce Cox is teaching a new generation to find the beat.

“The center really is a family,” she says. “Some of the counselors treat you like you’re their own children, and then you bond with other children, and that bond goes on for years.”

On May 1, Tanise Cox will have worked at the Achievement Centers for Children & Families for 34 years. She was 23 when she arrived; she is 57 now. Her boys are grown men, and her daughter is a student at Florida Atlantic University. She has grown and so has the center.

In 1969, it was a small child care service for working mothers, meeting in spaces donated by churches.

Today, it has a main campus and multiple programs at three sites in Delray Beach.

Four years ago, Cox moved from the after-school program to become director of facilities and fleet, overseeing maintenance and making sure the employees have had their physicals, and that drivers of ACCF’s four buses have their current chauffeur’s licenses.

One day, a child she had known while directing the after-school program returned as an adult and working for Island Air, the local firm that maintains the center’s air conditioning.

“And he remembered me,” Cox says. “They come back and hug me, and some have children here and tell me, ‘My baby’s here. Make sure you watch over my baby.’

“The Achievement Center has meant the world to me,” she says. “It’s meant homeowner help, a career, and an education for my kids. I’m not going anywhere. I’m done.

“I’m where I’m supposed to be.”

For more information about Achievement Centers for Children & Families, call 561-276-0520 or visit achievementcentersfl.org.

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Send a note to news@thecoastalstar.com or call 561-337-1553.

Aviation enthusiasts watch air traffic at the Boca Raton Airport from the new observation area. ABOVE (l-r): Jordan Cohen, his father, Cliff Cohen, and FAU student Victoria Czyszczon watch a Global 7500 take off to the north. With a 104-foot wingspan, it is the largest jet the airport can accommodate. Photos by Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Rich Pollack

The crackling voices coming over two loudspeakers at Boca Raton Airport’s new observation area hint at what is soon to come from out of the sky.

An air traffic controller sitting in the nearby tower gives a far-off pilot the green light to land a private jet, and soon the eyes of those gathered on the deck are focused upward searching for the plane weaving through the clouds.

Within minutes the large aircraft approaching from the north appears to be coming straight toward the small group of spectators as it touches down about a football field away.

The collective “wow” is muffled by the thundering jet engines.

“Just being able to come to something like this is pretty cool,” said Scott Goldstein, one of the first to visit the long-awaited observation area, which opened in January.

The deck is a magnet for people who find witnessing planes come and go magical but who have had to peer through fences or hide from security to do so. It offers a clear vantage point to see everything from large Gulfstream 650s with 100-foot wingspans to single-engine propeller planes and even a gyrocopter.

“This is a great spot,” said Lander Talbott. He and his fiancée, Aelin Shea, have come to the airport regularly to watch planes but have had to watch from a distant parking lot.

“Being able to listen to the air traffic controller talking to the pilots is cool, too.”

The observation area was dedicated on Jan. 28.

During a ribbon-cutting ceremony Jan. 28, airport Executive Director Clara Bennett said the observation deck was built with the community in mind.

“This is an opportunity for us to give back to the community that has supported the airport for 75 years,” she said.

Built on a 4-foot-high elevated mound, with ramps on either side forming a circle, the observation deck is unique in its design, according to the airport’s deputy director, Scott Kohut.

Along with the speakers that make it possible to eavesdrop on chatter between pilots and the tower, the deck has a covered area and four educational signs with information about the history of the airport, the native species that inhabit the surrounding area, aviation features of the airport, and descriptions of the types of aircraft that visitors will see.

Located on the east side of the airport next to the Boca Raton Airport Authority offices on Northwest 35th Street, the observation area is easily accessible from FAU Boulevard and includes ample parking. There is seating for up to 12 people and it is ADA accessible.

“The observation area is meant to provide additional ways of engaging with the community, telling the story of the airport, and inspiring interest in the field of aviation,” Kohut said. “It is also a great way for students interested in aviation and airports to learn more about the field.”

The area is also designed for people who just enjoy watching planes take flight, whether they are 5-year-olds waving to pilots or those who aspire to be in the cockpit.

“There is something awe-inspiring watching aircraft as they come and go,” Kohut said. “Airplanes are cool.”

The observation deck is a real draw for student pilots like Kyle Peterson, a high school junior who has been flying since before he could drive a car, and Jordan Cohen, who is also taking flying lessons and was at the airport along with his fiancée, Stephanie Kruchko, and two dogs one Sunday, and with his dad, Cliff, the next weekend.

“I love to watch airplanes and here you can hear the control tower. It’s awesome,” said Cohen, who got pointers from Jared Kulp, a flight instructor from Lynn University who had come to the deck to see the airport from a different vantage point and to witness the variety of aircraft on the runway.

Air traffic on the Sunday afternoon that Cohen and Kruchko visited was robust, with jets of different sizes, including those that can carry as many as 15 people, coming in or taking off about every five to 10 minutes.

Traffic is likely to almost double over the next few years — whenever President Donald Trump is at Mar-a-Lago, flight restrictions will mean that many non-commercial flights will have to land at airports other than those in West Palm Beach and Lantana.

The observation area was built at a cost of about $1 million and funded largely with federal grants.

“We hope that anyone with an interest in aviation stops by and learns more about the airport and general aviation, the history of the airport, and some of the unique aspects of the airport including some of the native species we share the field with,” Kohut said.

Main city center proposal story: Proposals present four visions for redeveloped city center

Other city center proposals: Namdar Group, Related Ross, RocaPoint Partners

Boca Raton City Center, Joint venture of Coconut Grove-based Terra and Frisbie Group of Palm Beach real estate developers

Boca Raton City Center was one of four firms that submitted a proposal to redevelop 30 acres of city-owned land around City Hall. The developer proposes a 99-year ground lease for the project, paying the city a total of nearly $1.5 billion, with three options for structuring rent payments. Developer states that the city would receive at least fair market value for the property. This chart is based on information provided to the city in advance of the City Council’s Jan. 27 meeting and may not include all later changes to the original submission.

Construction: To be built in three phases; first phase to include City Hall and community center

City Hall: Up to 100,000 square feet

Community center: 12,000 square feet

Police substation: 10,000 square feet

Retail: 84,790 square feet

Food and beverage: 71,800 square feet

Residential: 1,129 units, including workforce housing

Parking: Garage and surface parking; 265,758 square feet

Hotel: 150 rooms

Commercial: Office building, 250,000 square feet

Recreation and open space: A racket sports center, dog park, and many green spaces

Main city center proposal story: Proposals present four visions for redeveloped city center

Other city center proposals: Related Ross, RocaPoint Partners, Boca Raton City Center

Namdar Group, Great Neck, New York, with a Miami office, Real estate investment and development firm

Namdar Group was one of four firms that submitted a proposal to redevelop 30 acres of city-owned land around City Hall. The developer proposes a high-density project with the highest number of apartments, and is the only submission that includes a performing arts center. This chart is based on information provided to the city in advance of the City Council’s Jan. 27 meeting and may not include all later changes to the original submission.

City Hall: 170,000 square feet

Community center: 50,000 square feet

Police headquarters: (on-site): 235,000 square feet

Performing arts center: 50,000 square feet

Retail, restaurants and office: 250,000 square feet

Hotel: 180 rooms

Public parking: 1 million square feet

Residential: 8,015 units (total)

Affordable/workforce apartments: 3,206 units

Gathering space: Accommodates 300 people

Open, green space, and art: Amount unspecified

Synagogue (donated to community): 10,000 square feet

Main city center proposal story: Proposals present four visions for redeveloped city center

Other city center proposals: RocaPoint Partners, Namdar Group, Boca Raton City Center

Related Ross, West Palm Beach, Real estate developer

Related Ross was one of four firms that submitted a proposal to redevelop 30 acres of city-owned land around City Hall. The developer proposes leasing the 30-acre city-owned land for 99 years to develop and construct the project. City will retain ownership of the land and buildings on it when the ground lease expires. Developer states that the ground lease will be at fair market value, net of the cost of improvements to the property. This chart is based on information provided to the city in advance of the City Council’s Jan. 27 meeting and may not include all later changes to the original submission.

Civic space: 75,000 square feet

City Hall and community center: 75,000 square feet, subject to change

Police substation: Undetermined size

Retail, dining, entertainment: 235,000 square feet

Multifamily residential and townhouses: 650 units

Hotel: 400 rooms

Commercial: Three office buildings, 975,000 square feet

Open space: 5.8 acres, including for recreation and tennis courts

Editor’s note: No one can say our readers aren’t creative, as can be seen in this double tribute to The Coastal Star and retired Editor Mary Kate Leming. It’s to be read all the way across, top to bottom.— Bob Schwartz
Delray Beach

Main city center proposal story: Proposals present four visions for redeveloped city center

Other city center proposals: Boca Raton City Center, Namdar Group, Related Ross

RocaPoint Partners, Atlanta, Real estate investment and development firm

RocaPoint Partners was one of four firms that submitted a proposal to redevelop 30 acres of city-owned land around City Hall. The developer proposes building the government and civic buildings, but unlike other proposals, leaves open the possibility that one or more other developers would build other items included in its master plan. This chart is based on information provided to the city in advance of the City Council’s Jan. 27 meeting and may not include all later changes to the original submission.

Civic buildings and uses: Includes City Hall, community center, off-site police headquarters, on-site police substation, parking, and recreational and open space; 432,000 square feet

Apartments: Three buildings, 960 units

Condos: One building, 90 units

Retail: 145,000 square feet

Hotel: 155 rooms

Office: 115,000 square feet

Recreation and open space: 110,000 square feet

I am writing to emphasize the urgent need for blinking lights at pedestrian crossings along A1A in Ocean Ridge. This busy stretch of road, with its limited visibility, presents a significant danger to pedestrians.

Whether residents are out walking their dogs, jogging, or simply enjoying a stroll, the risk of accidents is far too high, especially during low-light hours or inclement weather.

Blinking lights at crossings would offer a crucial warning to drivers, making pedestrians more visible and helping to prevent avoidable collisions.

This simple yet effective solution has been successfully implemented in other communities with similar traffic concerns. It’s time for Ocean Ridge to prioritize pedestrian safety by adopting these lights at key crossing points.

With increasing vehicle and foot traffic in the area, this proactive measure would go a long way toward reducing risks and ensuring a safer environment for everyone.

— Victor Martel
Ocean Ridge

While I can appreciate the artistic and educational value in the recycling of the bottle caps picked up along the beach (Coastal Star, January 2025: Beach walker turns bottle caps into art), it should not escape acknowledgment that these are the result of a multitude of careless polluters of our beautiful beaches.

I, too, pick up trash not only on the beach but along the old road and A1A. It is disheartening to see how much trash pollutes our environment to the detriment of our water, flora and fauna.

— Martha Lowther,
Ocean Ridge

By Mary Hladky

Brightline soon will “reintroduce” a commuter pass after it discontinued one in June, a move that angered South Floridians who used that monthly pass to get reduced fares.

In a Jan. 10 announcement, the rail service said it expects to launch the new pass in March, but offered no cost specifics, saying only that it is “designed for the frequent traveler” and is “expected to save daily commuters money.”

Brightline, which has a station in Boca Raton, said that more information would be posted to its website, but did not say when that would happen.

The company eliminated three types of passes in June, including one aimed at commuters that offered 40 trips per month for $399, which worked out to $10 for a one-way trip and $20 for a round-trip.

Instead, it offered passengers a new 10-ride pass for $350 at the regular Smart fare or $550 at the Premium fare. So, the cost of a Smart fare one-way trip went up to $35, or $55 for Premium.

The announcement came after Brightline was awarded a $33.8 million Federal Railroad Administration Restoration and Enhancement grant that will allow it to increase the number of coaches on each train from five to seven to carry more passengers.

In canceling the initial commuter pass, Brightline de-prioritized riders who use the train as a commuter service in South Florida in favor of those making long-haul, and more profitable, trips to Orlando.

Once it has more coaches, Brightline will be able to accommodate at least some more commuters.

Brightline characterized its new commuter pass as a way to bridge the gap until a true commuter service can be offered on the Florida East Coast Railway tracks. Efforts to create such a service have been underway for many years but remain a distant dream.

Brightline’s long-haul ridership to and from Orlando has set records, but short-haul riders dropped from 112,423 for the month of November 2023 to 90,624 last November.

During the first 11 months of 2023, 1.6 million short-haul riders used Brightline, but that dropped to 1 million in the first 11 months of 2024, according to a Brightline passenger report.

A pair of up-and-coming Americans coming off impressive showings at the Australian Open will attempt to battle their way through qualifying to reach the main draw of the 2025 Delray Beach Open. Qualifying is Feb. 8-9 at the Delray Beach Stadium & Tennis Center.

Learner Tien, 19, won three matches in qualifying to reach the Australian Open’s main draw in January. He then won three more matches, including a five-set victory over No. 5 seed

Daniil Medvedev, to become the youngest man to reach the fourth round since Rafael Nadal in 2005.

Nishesh Basavareddy, also 19, was given a wild card into the main draw, then won the first set against 10-time Aussie champion Novak Djokovic before falling in four sets.

Two-time defending champion Taylor Fritz and Boca Raton resident Tommy Paul headline the ATP 250 event, which will be staged Feb. 10-16.

For tickets or more information, got to yellowtennisball.com.

— Brian Biggane

By John Pacenti

Delray Beach commissioners appeared to be ready to remove fluoride from the city’s drinking water, a practice that has been in place for 36 years but is now facing scrutiny amid concerns about potential health risks, such as lowering the mental acuity of children.

“I would support intelligence over fluoride teeth,” Commissioner Angela Burns said at the Jan. 7 meeting. “For those children that are underprivileged, I would prefer to have them be able to function in school and be able to function in the world that’s before them, and they can take care of their teeth some other way.”

Fluoridation for decades has been seen as a public health success, substantially reducing tooth decay. Yet, a comprehensive federal study confirmed previous findings that fluoride may be linked to lower IQ scores in children.

The study — published in JAMA Pediatrics on Jan. 6, the day before commissioners discussed the subject at their meeting — concluded there is a link between exposure levels of the additive and cognitive function.

State Surgeon General Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo, who has made numerous statements on vaccines that have been challenged by other medical professionals, in November recommended against water fluoridation due to neuropsychiatric risk.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services and who has made numerous suspect medical claims, is also opposed to the practice.

Kennedy said in November that Trump would advise municipalities to remove fluoride from public water.

The state Department of Health reports more than 70% of Floridians receive fluoridated water. Other Florida municipalities, such as Melbourne, have stopped the practice.

Commissioner Rob Long said the practice of adding fluoride to municipal water supplies may have outlived its usefulness.

“It seems a bit odd to me that the government is still in the business of tooth care through our utilities … even if there’s just a chance that that could be detrimental health-wise,” he said.

Utilities Director Hassan Hadjimiry presented a historical overview of water fluoridation, emphasizing its role in improving dental health, and noting the American Dental Association’s recommendation of putting fluoride in water.

He said the city is looking to spend $200,000 to revamp its fluoridation system and wanted guidance from the commission before taking on the task considering the new findings on IQ scores.

Fluoride is available in toothpaste and as an additive, Hadjimiry said. “It’s not like it was 67 years ago when it wasn’t available.”

Burns added that fewer people drink tap water these days anyway.

Mayor Tom Carney acknowledged the complexity of the issue, saying he wanted to make sure the commission had all the facts before making a final decision.

Neither Boynton Beach nor Boca Raton adds fluoride to the water supply, noted City Manager Terrence Moore.

“We have always taken our water quality very seriously in Delray Beach. This decision requires careful consideration of all aspects — the potential benefits and risks — to ensure we’re making the best choice for our residents’ health and well-being,” he said.

Vice Mayor Juli Casale said she knows local dentists want fluoride in the water but said she was open to learning more about the recent study. She told Carney, “It sounds like you’ve got three (votes). Take it out right now.”

“I’m not ready to take it out,” Carney responded. “I’d like to have some information.”

Moore directed Hadjimiry to find experts to come in and brief commissioners on the pros and cons of fluoridation in the modern age.

By John Pacenti

Delray Beach has launched a mobile app feature to help drivers find available parking spots downtown. The “My Delray Beach” app allows users to see a map of the city’s paid parking areas and view which spaces are currently open.

The parking feature on the app has been available since mid-December. There is a caveat: It works only for city-owned lots, not private ones. Also, the city’s lot by the railroad tracks at 25 NE Third Ave. is currently not incorporated into the system.

Public Works Director Missie Barletto called it a game-changer at the Jan. 7 City Commission meeting, saying that the feature “will help with people reducing the amount of time they drive around looking for parking spaces.”

The system is similar to the one used by Florida Atlantic University, Barletto said, where it has met with great success.

The app uses sensors installed to detect when a car has pulled in or out. This real-time data is then displayed on the app’s map, showing green for open spots and orange for occupied ones.

“It’s so simple and so easy to use,” Barletto told commissioners.

She said for parking lots there is one sensor that tells how many cars are going in and out. On-street parking has sensors for individual spaces.

The railroad lot proved troublesome, Barletto said, because it has numerous entrances and exits. “So we will be going out there and putting the individual parking sensors in the railroad parking lot as soon as we’re able to do that,” she said.

The My Delray app also allows residents to check out beach conditions, events, and obtain permitting, as well as information on the new Creative Arts School. It also allows residents to “report an issue” on building code violations, potholes, noise and other concerns.

New Manalapan Police Chief Jeff Rasor’s wife, Kimberly, pins his new badge to his uniform. Rasor previously served with Delray Beach police. John Pacenti/The Coastal Star

By John Pacenti

Manalapan celebrated the retirement of long-serving Police Chief Carmen Mattox and welcomed the arrival of new Police Chief Jeff Rasor at the Jan. 14 Town Commission meeting.

Mattox was honored with a Distinguished Service Award for his 23 years and 7 months of dedicated service to the Manalapan community.

Mayor John Deese praised Mattox’s tireless work ethic and commitment, noting, “I’m not kidding, 24 hours a day. If you call him and he’s there and he’ll answer, he’ll assist you, even if he’s up to North Carolina with his kids.”

Stepping into the job of Police Chief is Jeff Rasor, who brings more than 22 years of law enforcement experience, most recently serving as assistant chief of police operations in Delray Beach.

According to the city of Delray Beach’s website, Rasor started his career in the Miami Police Department before coming to Delray Beach in May 2002. As an officer, he created the Criminal Justice Academy at Atlantic Community High School.

Rasor was promoted to sergeant in 2009, to lieutenant in 2019, captain in 2021 and then to assistant chief the following year. He served in about every capacity as a police officer and supervisor in Delray Beach: overseeing community patrol, serving as a high school resource officer, and as a member of the Clean & Safe Downtown unit, among other positions.

He earned his criminal justice undergrad degree at Florida International University and earned a master’s degree at Florida Atlantic University in educational leadership.

In his remarks to the commission, Rasor emphasized his core beliefs in hard work and professionalism. “That’s what I’m bringing to the town of Manalapan, and that’s where I’m going to lead this department,” he stated.

Rasor’s spouse, Kimberly, pinned his new badge to his uniform. The Commission Chambers were filled with Delray Beach police officers in attendance, including Chief Russ Mager, to witness the passing of the torch.

Town Manager Eric Marmer voiced his excitement about the new leadership, stating, “I always say Manalapan deserves the best and with your selection, I really think we got the best, and I really look forward to working with you over your career here.”

The Coastal Star asked the 61-year-old Mattox what was his most vivid memory and he said when the town got battered by Hurricane Sandy in 2012. “All the sea walls were crashing down,” he said.

Mattox will retire to McIntosh, southeast of Gainesville. He is an avid bird hunter and he said he plans to spend some of his free time hunting quail.