A Palm Trail Grill crowd hails Tom Carney’s win in the mayoral race, to go with City Commission victories for Juli Casale and Tom Markert. ABOVE: (front, l-r) Tony Petrolia, Phil Pepe, Kelly Barrette and Casale; (back) departing Mayor Shelley Petrolia with her hand on Carney’s shoulder. Photos by Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

Departing mayor hails clean sweep by candidates she supported

Note: This story updates what was published immediately following the March 19 election.

By Anne Geggis

Delray Beach voters spurned a real estate-backed slate of candidates March 19 in choosing Tom Carney as their new mayor along with two new commissioners: one a first-time candidate and the other returning to the dais a year after losing a re-election bid.

The new mayor, a lawyer by trade, is expected to lead a new three-vote bloc with the commissioners elected: Tom Markert and Juli Casale. All underdogs to their top competitors in raising money for their campaigns, the trio promoted themselves together, urging voters to choose, “Tom, Tom and Juli.” They campaigned against what they called the city’s “overdevelopment” amid warnings that the city’s motto “Village by the Sea” was at risk.

Roughly 27% of the city’s 40,737 registered voters participated in the municipal election, based on the unofficial results.

Carney, 70, a former city commissioner who served as an interim mayor for two months in 2013, will replace term-limited Mayor Shelly Petrolia, who supported his candidacy.

Even though he received more than $60,000 less in campaign contributions, Carney defeated Vice Mayor Ryan Boylston, who raised more than $155,000 to lead all candidates.

Totals show Carney won nearly 52% of the vote to Boylston’s 38% and former Commissioner Shirley Johnson’s 10%.

At a celebration announced after the votes were tallied, Carney hailed a mandate for change when it comes to managing the city’s growth and spending.

“I’m incredibly honored and I’m even more incredibly humbled,” said Carney, who learned of his victory when he was awakened from dozing by a phone call from his wife, who was visiting England and told him the news. “I plan on stopping this overdevelopment, giving money back to the taxpayers and dealing with the traffic.”

The victory gathering at Palm Trail Grill, outside the city’s bustling downtown, drew two other newly elected commissioners. First-time political candidate and former Nielsen TV ratings executive Markert will replace term-limited Commissioner Adam Frankel, and former Commissioner Casale will move into the seat that Boylston is leaving due to term limits.

Markert, 66, won nearly 39% of the vote. He defeated former Commissioner Jim Chard, a former New York City municipal executive, and Tennille DeCoste, who was recently dismissed from her job as the city of Boynton Beach’s human resources director. Chard won nearly 37% of the vote and DeCoste was a distant third, winning 24%.

“The voters spoke loud and clear that they want change,” said Markert, who campaigned on addressing the traffic residents face on city streets and the need to replace the water treatment plant.

Casale, 55, a retired businesswoman who was defeated in her bid for re-election to the City Commission last year, won a seat against two candidates in the hunt for their first elected office. Casale garnered 42% of the votes to the 37% that Nick Coppola, a retired electrician, won and the 21% for Anneze Barthelemy, a social worker with a private consulting business.

“The message is people want good governing,” Casale said. “This is a big night.”

Petrolia, who supported the winning slate, also took part in the festivities at Palm Trail Grill, where Carney held his kickoff party and his recent 70th birthday party. She playfully pinned on the mayor a button from her previous campaign emblazoned with “Shelly.”

“It’s a great night — unbelievable, unbelievable,” she said. “The city made a decision. I feel like everything is going to be in good hands.”

Following the city elections in March 2023, a new voting bloc led by Boylston had coalesced on the dais and Petrolia found herself on the losing end of a number of votes.

During his election night watch party, mayoral candidate Ryan Boylston reacts to broadcast results showing his defeat.

Over at the Tin Roof, where Boylston had his downtown watch party adjacent to Coppola’s party, the first flash of results showed all of the precincts reporting. The crowd, at first, thought those results would be the early and mail-in votes.

But then reality set in.

“Look at that,” Boylston said, as he gazed up at the screens showing Carney’s substantial victory.

Days later, Boylston had a chance to reflect on his showing.

“On a personal level, I’m absolutely content with the results. My hope is that our city continues to embrace community input and can remain focused on the important subjects that really matter,” he said.

At the polls on Election Day, Lee Cohen, 30, who works in marketing, admitted to an unfamiliarity with the issues facing the city, since he’s only lived there five months. But he checked with his cousin, who has lived in Delray Beach much longer. 

His cousin recommended “Tom, Tom and Juli.”

“I love it,” Cohen said of Delray Beach. “I love that there’s so much to do. It has the vibrancy of a big city but with a small-town feel.”

Statewide reaction
The city’s mayoral election outcome was hailed by state Republicans right up to Gov. Ron DeSantis as a “flip” for a Republican in a Democratic stronghold. But that didn’t exactly fit with how Carney was elected after getting the endorsement of the sitting mayor — a Democrat.

Carney pointed out that the candidate slate he campaigned with had one candidate with no party affiliation in Markert and the other a registered Democrat in Casale.

He said the flyer that the Republican Party sent out to its members probably helped him (but not so much for fellow Republican Barthelemy, also promoted in the flyer). It helped level the playing field for how he was not invited to five Democrat-sponsored candidate forums, he said.

“I really appreciated the help,” Carney said of the flyer. “I was behind because of what the Democratic Party was doing in terms of alerting all their voters who the Democrats were” in the race.

In the future, he said, he’d like to see all the candidates get invited to all forums when they are spotlighting nonpartisan races, as has happened in the past. And there’s no doubt that including a Republican presidential primary vote on the same day was a factor in the amount of partisanship involved in the nonpartisan municipal races.

“I’m not getting into the definitions of what’s flipping or not flipping. … We ran a very good race and we reached out across all parties,” Carney said. “We had a letter that went out that was signed by Democrats, Republicans and independents, talking about why they were supporting me.”

Referendum fails
In another issue on the ballot, nearly 59% of the city’s voters rejected a proposed amendment that would have eliminated the city’s Board of Adjustment and streamlined its functions under the city’s planning board. The board considers appeals and variances to the city’s land development rules and will continue to do so, according to the vote.

Understanding our history is critical in today’s world.

Learning about the past helps us all to recognize our predecessors’ brilliant successes as well as their mistakes. Perhaps most important, we can identify the times when evil darkened the world and study how it was fought and how survivors made it to today.

Along our coast, most history celebrates the successes of the early pioneers: the hardy men who opened shops, established farms and delivered mail along the beach; the enterprising women who created libraries and organizations to support the foundation of local government.

When Henry Flagler stretched his railroad to Miami and agriculture took off, so did pockets of winter paradise: the parties of Palm Beach and polo fields of Gulf Stream.

A string of beautiful hotels rose south of Palm Beach to provide additional respite to Northerners — the Boynton Hotel on the beach in what is now Ocean Ridge, the old Seacrest and Colony hotels in Delray Beach, and of course, the original Cloisters at what is now The Boca Raton.

Maybe most beautiful of all was the oh-so-very-private Mizner-designed Gulf Stream Golf Club. The club celebrated its centennial in March with a week of golf and activities, including a black tie gala that spilled over into a glowing tent along the beach. Happy anniversary.

Exhibits currently at our South County historical societies carry that early history into the years of WWII and the 1960s. Years of innovation, war and social division. All on the home front.

A visit to the “Florida in World War II” exhibit at the Schmidt Boca Raton History Museum brings back memories to those remaining few who recall blacking out their windows and watching seekers of enemy submarines patrol the beach on horseback.

It also showcases the area’s involvement in what was then the new technology of radar. IBM came later.

In the Delray Beach Historical Society’s exhibit “Land of Sunshine & Dreams! Delray Beach: 1950s-1960s,” the growth and progress of the “Village by the Sea” is told while also uncovering a legacy of segregation and racism that, while no longer obvious, still hovers in 2024.

Boynton Beach celebrated the repeal of several old racist ordinances in February with a public parade and symbolic burning of the documents.

Boca Raton’s discriminatory ordinances disappeared quietly from the books in the 1990s. And although most of Delray Beach’s segregationist laws had been repealed in the 1960s, the city recently discovered a 1938 sundown law still on the books and is discussing its removal. All of these moves are to be applauded. Boynton Beach in particular deserves praise for bringing its divisive history into the light and publicly erasing these mistakes from the past. Far better than leaving them buried deep in microfiche. Now, more than ever, is the time to learn from our history.

— Mary Kate Leming, Executive Editor

Capt. Jo Wagenhals on the job in Pompano Beach. BELOW: Wagenhals wears a ‘tuxedo suit’ while taking part in lifesaving competitions around the state. Photos provided

By Anne Geggis

Ocean Rescue Capt. Jo Wagenhals had 18 miles to go on State Road A1A to her job saving lives on Pompano Beach when she found herself in the middle of an emergency in Gulf Stream.

With decades of experience and training, Wagenhals knew there was no time to gawk at the wreckage of bicycle parts and bodies revealed in the predawn light of Jan. 4. Her car was only seconds behind the southbound compact SUV that plowed into a pack of nine northbound cyclists.

Wagenhals, heading from her Lake Worth Beach home, quickly pulled over and was immediately drawn to one of the seven injured who wasn’t groaning in pain. Just a gurgling noise came from the cyclist covered in blood, she said.

“It’s kind of like when a baby’s born — when it cries, that’s a good thing and when it doesn’t cry, now we get to work,” she said.

There was no time to take in the sheer scope of the disaster: “You know what needs to be done and then you do it,” Wagenhals said.

What she did as the sun rose that morning meant the difference between living and dying for that cyclist, said Diego Rico, 37, of Coconut Creek, who was part of the cycling pack and was also hospitalized for treatment of trauma.

“She stopped the bleeding, started giving him CPR,” Rico said. “If it weren’t for her it only takes 3½ minutes to bleed out” from an artery “and it took five or six minutes for the first responders to get there.”

Based on the counter on a cyclist’s camera and 911 calls, it’s estimated Wagenhals was working on the patient within two minutes.

“She saved him,” Rico said.

That cyclist — the most severely injured patient and a father of three — was released from the hospital in late February. Having suffered a brain injury, he’s still on the road to recovery, with no end in sight, Rico said.

But no one died.

Delray Beach Fire Rescue officials praised Wagenhals in writing for her compassion and professionalism. Her boss, Pompano Beach Fire Chief Steve Hudson, said: “I am very proud of the efforts and quick reaction of Capt. Wagenhals and am pleased to see the lifesaving work of our ocean rescue lifeguards receive recognition.”

Wagenhals, 51, says her involvement was just happenstance — as has happened in other emergencies. One Christmas Eve she chanced to see a man in a motorized wheelchair struck while barreling across the street without the help of a traffic signal or a crosswalk, and was ready to render first aid.

“I’m no hero,” Wagenhals said. “It’s what we do.”

It also highlights how today’s lifeguards are ready to handle almost every emergency. For an agency to get certification from the U.S. Lifesaving Association, as most South Florida ocean rescue agencies do, lifeguards must have earned credentials as emergency medical technicians.

Running on the sand to train for her college soccer team at Florida Atlantic University sent Wagenhals, a 1991 graduate of Spanish River High School in Boca Raton, into her lifelong profession.

She was sold on the sand, sun and salty air.

“I thought, ‘Man, I could do that,’” Wagenhals said.

Her first lifeguarding experience was in Boynton Beach. She was later hired full-time in Delray Beach, where she was named the Florida Beach Patrol Chiefs Association lifeguard of the year for 2004. She was there for 11 years before going to Pompano Beach.

Wagenhals said she has come to dread holidays as magnets for disaster. One Mother’s Day involved a child buried in the sand, she recalls. On Thanksgiving 2012, she was part of Pompano Beach’s rescue team responding to an overturned vessel that threw 23 people in the water and resulted in one woman’s death.

“You don’t forget those calls,” Wagenhals said.

She insists it’s not just an individual effort that saves trauma patients’ lives. Uniform training had her working seamlessly with a bevy of agencies at the Gulf Stream crash site, she said.

Plus, it helped that the patient could get a whole blood transfusion at the scene, Wagenhals said.

“There’s a whole lot of things that went right,” she said.

NOMINATE SOMEONE TO BE A COASTAL STAR
Send a note to news@thecoastalstar.com or call 561-337-1553.

A recent incident on A1A in South Palm Beach has cast a spotlight on a grave issue that demands our immediate attention. An elderly citizen was struck and killed by a vehicle, a tragedy compounded by the driver’s decision to flee the scene. The subsequent comments from local law enforcement suggest that had the driver remained, they might have faced no penalty, as the victim was not in a crosswalk at the time of the accident.

This rationale is deeply troubling. It implies that pedestrians are at fault for their own injuries or death if they are not within the confines of a crosswalk. Yet, in South Palm Beach, where the median age is 67.6 years and many residents face mobility challenges, the lack of crosswalks is not just an inconvenience — it’s a life-threatening oversight.

Consider the message this sends: Without crosswalks, our community’s most vulnerable members are left unprotected, their safety seemingly less important than traffic flow.

The comparison to a squashed iguana, unable to use a crosswalk, is a stark and unsettling metaphor for the disregard shown to human life in these circumstances.

We must confront the reality that our current infrastructure and legal framework do not adequately protect our citizens. The absence of crosswalks not only endangers lives, but also strips away legal protections from victims and their families.

It’s a situation that cannot be allowed to persist.

The question of why we need crosswalks is not one of logistics but of moral imperative. We need them to safeguard our residents, to preserve the dignity and rights of pedestrians, and to ensure that no one else suffers a similar fate. The implementation details — how many crosswalks we need, where they should be placed — are secondary to the fundamental need for their existence.

Until we address this issue, every pedestrian in South Palm Beach is at risk, their legal standing no better than that of an iguana. It’s a harsh reality that we must change.

Let’s come together as a community to demand the safety measures we desperately need. Let’s ensure that the tragic loss of life on A1A is not in vain but serves as a catalyst for positive change.

In closing, remember this: The next time you cross the street in South Palm Beach, the law views you as little more than a jaywalker, regardless of where you cross.

It’s a sobering thought, one that should spur us to action. We owe it to ourselves and to future generations to create a safer, more just community for all.

— Rafael Piñeiro
South Palm Beach

As you may already know, the Gulf Stream School has applied through the town of Gulf Stream to have an amendment approved that would allow them to enroll 50 more students at the school.

Fifty more students means 50 more cars twice per day as most of their students are from outside the neighborhood. This is an area that is already extremely crowded with cars and will soon be undergoing Core roadway construction.

To make matters worse, the George Bush Boulevard bridge will soon undergo rebuilding for two to four years, A1A will be resurfaced and the Ocean Avenue bridge will also have work done.

These will result in a traffic nightmare and construction gridlock for our quiet, peaceful town. A meeting is scheduled on April 12 at 9 a.m. at the Gulf Stream Town Hall.

Residents must speak up to protect our community and sanity! If you would like to electronically add your name to the petition to stop the school amendment, please go to Change.org, online at https://chng.it/2JDJFZKDnM.

— John Arscott
Gulf Stream

As a resident of Ocean Ridge, I feel compelled to address a persistent issue plaguing our community this season: overflowing garbage cans. The situation has become increasingly problematic, particularly along Old Ocean Boulevard, where pedestrians navigate around overflowing trash receptacles while cars maneuver through the congestion. Weekends exacerbate the problem as beachgoers contribute to the overflow with their refuse, resulting in a disconcerting scene on Monday mornings.

Despite numerous complaints voiced at town meetings, little has been done to address the issue. Blame has been shifted to individuals crossing the bridge, limitations of third-party vendors, and even unwarranted concerns about workman’s compensation claims preventing our Public Works Department from intervening effectively.

The consequence is not only unsightly but also unsanitary, attracting pests and wildlife to the area.

It is imperative that we prioritize practical solutions over costly excuses. I advocate for reverting the responsibility of monitoring and emptying the trash cans back to our capable Public Works Department, who can manage the task efficiently on a daily basis.

With only two out of eight trash cans routinely overflowing, the solution is well within reach. Let’s empower our Public Works team to uphold the cleanliness of our community.

Ocean Ridge residents deserve better — we deserve actionable solutions, not endless excuses.

— Victor Martel
Ocean Ridge

By Steve Plunkett

Briny Breezes’ efforts to fix its drainage system to minimize future flooding received a boost in March when the federal government awarded the town $1.38 million to install new stormwater pumps.

“Residents of Briny Breezes have often faced the devastating impacts of floods, causing permanent damage to their residences and their property, and at times putting their safety at risk. The new stormwater pumps will help keep drain systems working properly and prevent future flooding,” U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel said in announcing the grant.

The money was included in the $1.2 trillion package of spending bills that President Joe Biden signed March 23 to avoid a federal government shutdown.

Town Manager Bill Thrasher said Briny Breezes will have to provide a local match of roughly $350,000 to get the federal dollars. He then expects to use the combined $1.75 million to secure an equal match from the Resilient Florida fund, or about $3.5 million in all for the new stormwater system.

The town originally applied for $2.7 million, about twice what the federal government approved, Thrasher said.

With his eyes set on securing a total $7.2 million from Resilient Florida, to be evenly matched by the town and to pay for the stormwater system and raising the town’s sea walls along the Intracoastal Waterway, Thrasher was reluctant to say much about the federal money.

“It is still way too early for this type of questioning,” he said.

A Flooding Adaptation Plan completed in April 2021 made several recommendations, including installing a multi-pump drainage system, pumping station and discharge pipes to help eliminate flooding of the roadways and prevent damage to personal property and homes.

Briny Breezes’ consultants are currently busy producing construction drawings for the project.

In a report to the Town Council on March 28 on how the budget for next year was shaping up, Thrasher said he would recommend holding property taxes at the same rate as this year, $3.75 per $1,000 of taxable valuation, provided the co-op corporation agrees to fund 70% of police and fire rescue services like it is now.

At the start of the meeting, Council President Liz Loper called for a moment of silence to mark the passing of resident Ira Friedman, a longtime member of the Planning & Zoning Board who continued to bring the council ideas for improving the town.

“He always had something to say, always had a smile on his face. He was Ira,” Loper said. “Ira’s (woodcarving) creations were legendary throughout the town of Briny, and we will miss him so much.”

Related: Special Report: Condo costs: A sudden storm

South Palm Beach — Southgate

Highland Beach — Coronado 

Boca Raton — Mayfair

By Rich Pollack

A few South Florida state legislators are quietly working on creating a “condo caucus” to consider future legislation aimed at addressing myriad issues facing condominiums, including those outlined a month ago in a special report by The Coastal Star.

While details are still being worked out, the proposed bipartisan caucus will include representatives from house districts that contain an abundance of condominiums.

State Rep. Peggy Gossett-Seidman of Boca Raton says plans are in their early stages. She thinks the caucus members can have greater impact by working together on pressing issues.

Those issues include condominium governance and financial challenges due to rising insurance premiums and strict legislation requiring inspections and potentially costly renovations ­— as well as mandating reserve funds to address future projects. The laws are a reaction to the collapse of Champlain Towers South in 2021 in Miami-Dade County.

A caucus is an informal group of legislators created to share expertise and ideas prior to formulating and filing bills. Traditionally, legislation created through the caucus process navigates the Legislature more easily because nuances are fine-tuned and details are ironed out, according to Gossett-Seidman and state Rep. Mike Caruso, whose district includes much of coastal Palm Beach County.

“You can focus on the issues of that caucus and create legislation that addresses those issues,” Caruso said.

He said the caucus likely will receive input from condo residents and listen to their concerns.

“We’re going to know what these condos are facing and get ideas on what they think needs to be fixed,” he said.

Rising costs are likely to be a major topic of discussion.

In its special report, The Coastal Star looked at the cumulative impact that rising insurance premiums and mandates for structural integrity recertification and reserve funds is having on coastal condominium residents in southern Palm Beach County.

The report detailed how the multiple factors combined into what some labeled a tsunami, forcing condo boards to raise maintenance fees and impose special assessments to levels that are driving longtime unit owners to consider fleeing their homes.

Condo owners in one Highland Beach building are facing an assessment of more than $200,000 per unit. Many condo boards can’t find insurance that will cover the full replacement cost of their buildings.

With mandated costs expected to continue rising, in part because of the requirement to have enough money in reserves to cover replacement of critical items once they meet the end of their useful lives, some condo leaders are hoping the state can help out.

In a letter to Gossett-Seidman, the president of the Beach Condo Association of Boca Raton, Highland Beach and Delray Beach asked for help in getting the state to create a long-term low-interest loan fund that would provide financial relief for residents.

“We cannot help but believe that if we got hit with a category 4 or 5 storm that the state and cities would be here aiding,” wrote Emily Gentile, who sent copies of the letter to Florida House Speaker Paul Renner as well as the mayors of Boca Raton, Highland Beach and Delray Beach.

For condo residents on fixed incomes, “they can no longer afford to stay or pay,” she wrote.

Gentile, who included copies of The Coastal Star report with her letter, acknowledged that the state has made progress in assisting condos. During this year’s session, House representatives unanimously approved a bill that would create the My Safe Florida Condominium Program, which would provide condos within 15 miles of the ocean with up to $175,000 for roof, door and window improvement projects.

Legislators have set aside $30 million for the pilot project, which has already passed the state Senate and awaits the governor’s signature.

Gossett-Seidman says the caucus will tackle issues head-on but that no immediate miracle solution exists.

By Anne Geggis

Palm Beach County will continue to put out Manalapan’s fires and provide emergency hospital rides via ambulance, the Town Commission decided.

Palm Beach County Fire Rescue won the 10-year contract to provide service to South County’s smallest coastal municipality at its March 26 commission meeting. Commissioners opted for continuing the town’s current contract instead of switching to Boynton Beach Fire Rescue.

Palm Beach County has been providing fire rescue services to Manalapan since 1997 and commissioners decided to stay with that despite Boynton Beach’s lower price and more extensive rescue watercraft located in closer proximity to Manalapan. The county’s individual rescue watercraft are in Lantana and must be brought in by trailer to Boynton Beach and launched from there to reach Manalapan.

Palm Beach County, however, has more specialists in its department and the highest rating from the independent organization that evaluates fire rescue departments nationwide.

The rating from the Insurance Services Office affects insurance rates, which should mean lower rates for Manalapan property owners.

In a last-ditch effort, after the motion to approve Palm Beach County’s fire rescue proposal was made and seconded, Boynton Beach Fire Chief Hugh Bruder called his department the “Bentley” of fire rescue departments.

Manalapan staff approached him to make a proposal, he said.

“When time means life or death, Boynton Beach Fire Rescue has a two-minute average faster response time,” Bruder said. “Boynton Beach Fire Rescue has one of the largest marine capabilities in South Florida, which is especially important for the large amount of waterfront property and people in Manalapan.”

And, he added, the contract with Boynton Beach would add up to about $3 million less than what the county is charging over the 10-year life of the contract.

Palm Beach County Fire Rescue officials were late to the meeting and not there to offer any counterpoints, but Bruder’s comments did not spur any further discussion on the commission.

Palm Beach County Fire Rescue Chief Patrick Kennedy, who arrived later in the meeting, said he was glad that his department could plan on another 10 years of serving Manalapan. It will mean finding a way to expand the current facility at Town Hall to meet the industry standard of four responders to each rig.

“We’re going to be working with the town to make that happen,” Kennedy said.

The county’s fire rescue contract is a continuation of its current terms, starting at $2.1 million and set to rise according to the taxable value of South Palm Beach’s property, reflecting how Manalapan’s terms for fire rescue services are connected to the town a half-mile north of Manalapan Town Hall. The utilities credit for the county’s use of town facilities that Manalapan can apply to its fire rescue bill will increase from $8,000 to $25,000 annually, however.

The conversation at the March 16 town workshop indicated a strong desire for continuity, as the commission has five new commissioners who have joined since December because new state financial disclosure requirements prompted resignations. Town Manager Linda Stumpf is also expected to retire in September after 14 years in her position.

“I realize that there is a value proposition here,” Mayor John Deese said, alluding to Boynton’s lower price and the staff and commission turnover. “I just think it would be wise and important for us to strongly consider staying in a relationship with Palm Beach County.”

Had Manalapan opted to switch to Boynton Beach, the county would have been faced with a conundrum because the Manalapan fire station supports service to Lantana and South Palm Beach.

Asked before the vote what plans Palm Beach County Fire Rescue had in place if Manalapan switched, a spokeswoman released a statement from the fire chief.

“It is Palm Beach County Fire Rescue’s intent to continue delivering excellent service to the barrier islands (Manalapan & South Palm),” the prepared statement from Kennedy read. “Our goal is to continue working with the Town of Manalapan to find ways to accommodate increased staffing.”

New commissioners sworn in — Mayor John Deese was sworn in, along with four other commissioners who came on board after five commissioners resigned rather than comply with new state financial disclosure requirements for elected municipal officials.

Deese had already been on the commission but moved to the mayor’s chair after Stewart Satter’s resignation. He bemoaned the effect of the law in his first comments as mayor.

“That’s an issue that we’re still concerned about … it was a real challenge that we lost almost all of our commission,” he said.

Joining him in the swearing in were Commissioners Elliot Bonner, Orla Imbesi and Dwight Kulwin, all starting new terms. Commissioner Cindy McMackin also took the oath of office for a term that lasts until March 2025. Another new appointee to the commission, David Knobel, had already been sworn in for his term that continues until March 2025.

IT check-up passed — Manalapan’s town information technology got a check-up from the Palm Beach County Office of Inspector General and was largely found up to the mark in preventing hacks. However, the report said the town needed written policies for assuring only a limited number of employees had network access, on disposing of and sanitizing data, and on responding to a cybersecurity incident. Town officials addressed those gaps during the review process, the report said.

Municipal government’s vulnerability to hackers has emerged as a concern in recent years as ransomware attacks have held city systems hostage. In 2019, for example, Riviera Beach had to pay $600,000 in bitcoin to unblock city computer systems.

— Anne Geggis

By Anne Geggis

Mayor Shelly Petrolia’s service to the city has gotten her sued personally, put her at the helm during multiple city manager firings, never won her the support of the city’s real estate establishment — yet made her popular enough that her preferred successor is taking her seat.

Her last regular City Commission meeting March 5, wrapping up 11 years on the dais (the last six as mayor), was no time to start getting sentimental.

When Vice Mayor Ryan Boylston commented at the end of the meeting about how he had crawled into a pit to shadow a city worker, the mayor raised concerns about the liability the city could have faced had something happened to him. And that had Boylston bristling.

“To throw shade in our last meeting on something that was so valuable to me …” Boylston said in disbelief.

“I am not throwing shade,” Petrolia retorted.

It turned out to be Boylston’s last regular meeting on the commission as well, although he wouldn’t find that out until March 19 when he lost a mayoral bid that Petrolia’s pick Tom Carney won.

All in all, the woman Boylston wanted to replace — and who regularly landed on the opposing side of Boylston in commission votes — has presided over many fireworks. She was term-limited from running for reelection.

Counting interim city managers, Delray Beach has gone through eight managers in the past 11 years. Petrolia chalks that up to her wanting the best for Delray Beach.

Also, Petrolia led controversial efforts to put the Community Redevelopment Agency under the City Commission’s direct control and end the lease with the Old School Square

Center for the Arts. What happens with the management of Old School Square’s cultural arts programming is one of the cliffhangers Petrolia leaves for the new leadership to decide.

“She might be one of the most naturally talented elected officials I’ve ever seen,” said

Joy Howell, who worked in communications for the Gore-Lieberman presidential ticket in 2000, before becoming a close observer of Delray Beach politics in 2015.

With rights to say that she voted to lower taxes for nine years and against Atlantic Crossing, Petrolia is going out with the full slate of candidates she supported elected with convincing margins.

Commissioner Adam Frankel, who is leaving the dais after being elected five times, was often on the other side of the votes Petrolia cast.

“She was always passionate and stuck to her beliefs and while sometimes she and I disagreed she … never wavered from the positions that she thought were best for the city,” he said at the March 28 organizational meeting.

For now, Petrolia is not saying what her next move in politics is going to be, but she will point to what she thinks was her crowning achievement in office: getting Delray’s downtown through the COVID-19 epidemic with minimal damage.

“There wasn’t any manual to tell you how to do that,” Petrolia said.

She said she’s hoping her lasting gift to the city is that no one feels the way she did when she entered politics.

“One of the reasons that I came to get involved in politics was that I had lost faith in my government,” Petrolia said.

By Anne Geggis

A newcomer to the Ocean Ridge Town Commission — who happens to be a relative newcomer to the town — was the top vote-getter March 19 in a four-person race for three seats on the dais.

Voters were asked to choose three candidates and Ainar Aijala Jr., who filled a vacancy on the commission in January, won nearly 30% of the 1,206 votes cast among four candidates. Mayor Geoff Pugh drew 28% support and Commissioner David Hutchins — another recent appointee to the commission — garnered 27%. Nick Arsali, 68, a retired engineer, was a distant fourth with 15% of the vote.

The two top finishers will serve full three-year terms and Hutchins, 75, a retired airline pilot, will serve a two-year unexpired term.

Aijala, 67, who was sunburned from consecutive days campaigning at the polls, said he thinks his message resonated with voters.

“I’m really thrilled to continue as a commissioner for three years,” said Aijala, a retired Deloitte executive.

Ocean Ridge is facing challenges regarding how much improvement in handling water and sewage the town of 2,000 can afford.

Aijala said that although he’s owned a home in Ocean Ridge for just six years, and not had a role on the town’s governance committees, his executive experience was enough to win voters over.

“I think the residents looked at the challenges facing the town going forward and felt that me being here six years and not for 26 years is not relevant,” he said in a comparison with other candidates. “I think they felt that my background could bring a skill to the table.”

Hutchins said his conversations with voters as he campaigned left him with the impression that most are happy with the way the town is running. Still, replacing the town’s old water pipes is rising to the top of his priority list.

“I believe the figure to change out all the pipes would be prohibitive,” Hutchins said. “We have to work it into the budget as we can.”

The election follows a year of turmoil in Town Hall. Two commissioners resigned in early 2023 following a split vote on making then-acting Town Manager Lynne Ladner’s position permanent.

They were replaced by two others who resigned at the end of the year, one citing the state’s new financial disclosure requirements for elected municipal officials. The town’s police chief also resigned in 2023 to go to Gulf Stream.

Pugh, 61, who will have served 20 years on the commission by the time he ends his new term, said that he aims to keep things running steady.

“I think we have a good team and hopefully everything will be nice and quiet,” Pugh said.

Pugh, who owns a pool business, has presided over meetings as mayor the past year.

He will continue to do so. At its April 1 organizational meeting, the commission unanimously chose to re-up Mayor Pugh and Vice Mayor Steve Coz to their positions for another year. Town Clerk Kelly Avery announced the results of the secret balloting to applause from the crowd.

No to hate crimes — The recent rise of antisemitic acts on American soil following the eruption of violence in the Middle East prompted the Town Commission to reaffirm that all people should live free of discrimination, intimidation, threats and fear.

The March 4 resolution passed unanimously without comment, but resident Peter Wolf rose to thank the commission for its stand.

“The issue in the resolution is something that I thought in this day and age would never have to be discussed and yet it is something that must be discussed in my opinion,” Wolf said.

Beach trash piling up — The sight of trash spilling out of garbage receptacles at the beach has some town commissioners wanting to get rid of the contractor hired to take care of it.

Vice Mayor Steven Coz recounted at the March 4 meeting seeing a tarp, a broken board and a chair at one receptacle near his house one recent Saturday. “So there’s a mountain of trash,” he said. “I go down on Monday night and figure the guy will have come on Monday. No, he didn’t.  (That means) he didn’t pick up on Saturday, he doesn’t pick up on Sunday and he didn’t pick up on Monday.”

Town Manager Lynne Ladner said Ocean Ridge contracts with Cayco Landscaping of Oakland Park for the service. Commissioners said they would leave it up to her to see that the trash collection from the public receptacles improves.

Turtle Beach condo sign drama — The results of a Jan. 9 magistrate hearing regarding beach “No Trespassing” signs erected by the Turtle Beach of Ocean Ridge Condominium Association have been delayed as town officials plan to inspect the current setup and consider the association’s application for a sign permit.

Water pipe replacement contract approved — The first 3,000 linear feet of water piping are set to be replaced in the north end of town as the Town Commission at its April 1 meeting awarded a $2.5 million contract to Foster Marine to do the work. It’s the first chunk of 71,000 linear feet of pipe that the town plans on replacing.

— Anne Geggis

Some Democrats turned away because of confusion at polls

By Mary Thurwachter

Soon after the polls closed in Lantana on March 19, incumbent Mayor Karen Lythgoe joined friends at Lantana Pizza to celebrate her 653-385 win over newcomer George Velazquez.

“I’m relieved and I’m grateful that I get to keep working on what we’ve been working on,” Lythgoe, 64, said of the Town Council. “The five of us have got momentum going that I think is phenomenal. I think the town needs what we’re doing, we know what we’re doing, and I’m honored to be able to continue to be a part of it.”

She said she hadn’t slept for 24 hours and would be going home soon.

“I tossed and turned all night long and got up at 3:30 a.m. to start the day even though the alarm was set for 4:15 a.m.,” she said.

Lythgoe was sworn in during the March 25 Town Council meeting.

Election Day did not go without some chaos.

A handful of Democrats were turned away from voting in Lantana, as poll workers were apparently confused that registered voters of all stripes could cast a ballot in the nonpartisan mayoral election.

Lantana Town Clerk Kathleen Dominguez reports that six voters were turned away at the polls and a handful of others who initially were told they couldn’t vote were caught before they left the polling station and allowed to vote.

It’s not known how many of the six that left unable to vote returned later and were able to cast a ballot, Dominguez said.

An official with the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Office said one voter called the Department of State in Tallahassee to complain.

Dominguez said the confusion appeared to be confined to two polling places — Maddock Park and Lantana Recreation Center.

Nonetheless, the complaint prompted Elections Supervisor Wendy Sartory Link to send out a notification to all the Lantana precincts clarifying that although there was not a Democratic presidential primary, Democrats were eligible to vote in municipal, nonpartisan election and should be given nonpartisan ballots. Link also came to town to help sort things out, Lythgoe said.

“There was some confusion either with the training or the field clerk,” Lythgoe said. “I am a registered Democrat and when I went to get my ballot for the mayoral race they had to converse and figure out if I was allowed to vote.”

Anne Geggis contributed to this story.

The Institute for Regional Conservation recently held an ecological restoration event at Atlantic Dunes Park in Delray Beach, which focused on coastal conservation education and invasive plant removal. With funding and support from the city of Delray Beach, more than 2,000 cubic feet of invasive Brazilian pepper, as well as snake plant and carrotwood throughout the park, were removed in under three hours. 

It also held an ecological restoration event at Red Reef Park in Boca Raton. A group of 24 volunteers and the institute’s staff worked to restore beach-dune and coastal-strand habitat within the park. With funds and support from the city of Boca Raton, 90 plants were restored. Included were 23 native coastal species such as the inkberry, beach clustervine and sea lavender.

To learn about other volunteer events ahead, check out the institute’s website at www.regionalconservation.org/ircs/Events.asp.

By Steve Plunkett

Monthly garbage bills went up 22.6% on April 1 for back or side-door pickup at single-family homes and could rise even more in six months.

The rates for multi-family containerized service jumped 44.4%.

Waste Management Inc. of Florida, the company that has been hauling Gulf Stream’s trash since at least 1997, wanted to raise rates 62% at first for single-family homes, but agreed to the smaller increase while the town seeks a lower-cost alternative.

“They are eye-popping numbers,” Town Commissioner Michael Greene said.

“I understand prices have gone up in the last five years, it’s a different climate than it was then, but yeah, that’s tough,” Commissioner Rob Canfield said.

Town Manager Greg Dunham had hoped for an outcome more like what happened in 2019, when Waste Management sought a five-year contract extension at a 26% increase plus an annual cost adjustment tied to the “Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Water and Sewer and Trash Collection Services.”

The town hired Mitch Kessler of Kessler Consulting and negotiated a 6% increase for the five years with annual increases tied to the specialized index.

But this time, with the contract expiring March 31, Waste Management reached out in December and offered the town a 62% increase from its current $37.86 per month for residential collection to $61.34, or a less-expensive curbside pickup option for the next five years. The commission decided to continue to provide back door/side door collection and use Kessler Consulting to negotiate a lower cost increase.

More recently Waste Management offered a six-month contract extension at a rate of $46.43, a 22.6% increase.

Dunham said the town and consultant Kessler had a call with its Waste Management representative, Barbara Herrera, and her supervisor, Lisa McNeight, to get either a 12-month extension at a 10% increase to allow for continued negotiations, or a more reasonable increase for the entire five-year renewal.

But McNeight “outright refused” to negotiate on either topic, stating that the 62% increase was the only and final number, citing cost increases related to the COVID-19 pandemic, waste hauling industry and driver pay, Dunham said.

McNeight justified the 62% cost increase by stating that the dollar figure itself was low, “only a few dollars a week,” Dunham said she told the town’s representatives. The proposed 62% increase would cost residents an additional $281.76 per year, he said.

That left Gulf Stream only two options: a six-month extension at a rate of $46.43, a 22.6% increase, or a five-year extension at a rate of $61.34, a 62% increase. Commissioners on March 8 chose the shorter term.

“If Waste Management is not willing to negotiate then we should put it out to bid,” Mayor Scott Morgan said.

Core area resident Joe Hardiman asks a question about flooding during an informational session last month at Gulf Stream School. He and other residents posed more than a half hour’s worth of questions to town and construction project officials. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

By Steve Plunkett

The much-anticipated plan to rid Gulf Stream’s Core area of stormwater flooding and pooling in the streets kicks off in earnest on April 24 and will work its way across the neighborhood through December of next year.

“It’s going to be inconvenient for a year and a half at least. But in the end it’s going to be worth it. It’s going to really improve the quality of life and the aesthetics of our town,”

Mayor Scott Morgan told about 70 residents who attended an informational meeting last month.

Silvio Rubi of Roadway Construction LLC said his crews will arrive in Gulf Stream on April 22 for some initial activity with “clearing and grubbing” operations to begin two days later on Golfview Drive west of Polo Drive. Clearing is the removal of vegetation, trees, rocks and other debris from the construction area, including landscaping, while grubbing is the removal of roots and stumps left behind after the clearing procedure.

The team will go door to door to see whether homeowners want to move shrubbery elsewhere on their properties instead of having it bulldozed away.

The $13 million Core project is divided into two phases of work. The first phase is Polo Drive and streets west of Polo and will continue until next February. Then construction shifts to phase two, the streets east of Polo.

Morgan said this is year six of the town’s 10-year capital improvement program.

“This is really the important year. This is what we have saved our money for. We have for 10 years been building up our reserves so we can pay for this particular project,” he said.

The age of the town’s water lines prompted the overall project. Town commissioners decided that if they were going to tear up the streets to replace the pipes, they might as well put down new asphalt, Morgan said.

“The water lines in the Core neighborhood district are very old, 50 to 60 years old, well past their life expectancy, and they need to be replaced well before anything untoward were to occur,” he said.

The project will also regrade the streets to better channel stormwater toward outfalls, and it will add curbs in strategic locations and 2-foot-wide “valley gutters” throughout the town.

Baxter and Woodman Consulting Engineers have set up a hotline for residents to lodge complaints (855-228-3436) and plan to create a website to track progress (www.CoreAreaRoadwork.com). The website also will be accessible from the town’s website (www.gulf-stream.org).

“So any concerns you might possibly have will come directly to my office, and then I will immediately get on top of what the problem is. And you will get it resolved as soon as possible,” said Rick Chipman, the construction project manager for Baxter and Woodman.

“We’re going to coordinate all the time with all the residents to make sure all your needs are being fulfilled.”

But, he said, “We need to be blunt and let you know that construction of this project will disrupt your normal daily transportation and other activities, but it’s not going to prevent you from doing anything. … So hang in there. … I know you’re going to be very happy with the project.”

Construction schedule

2024
April 22: Initial mobilization
April 24: Phase one begins at Golfview Drive with clearing and grubbing
May 3: Removal of existing drainage begins on Polo Drive
June 17: Water main and stormwater installation begins on Polo Drive
July 2: Clearing and grubbing at Palm Way
Aug. 21: Clearing and grubbing at Banyan Road
Nov. 6: Clearing and grubbing at Wright Way
Dec. 11: Clearing and grubbing at Old School Road

2025
Feb. 16: Phase one is substantially complete
Feb. 17: Phase two initial mobilization
Feb. 20: Phase two begins at Gulfstream Road and Golfview Drive with clearing and grubbing
Feb. 27: Water main and stormwater installation begins on Gulfstream Road
March 20: Clearing and grubbing at Middle Road
April 17: Clearing and grubbing at Lakeview Drive
June 15: Clearing and grubbing at Banyan Road
July 16: Clearing and grubbing at Oleander Way
Sept. 2: Clearing and grubbing at Bermuda Way
Oct. 14: Phase two is substantially complete
Oct. 15: Final asphalt placement begins on total project
Dec. 13: Project complete

By Anne Geggis

Allegations that Delray Beach’s city manager fondled the leg of the city’s fire chief as the two drove to an art exhibit in August 2022 has spurred a city investigation, according to a letter that surfaced despite the city saying it is exempt from disclosure.

City Manager Terrence Moore and Chief Keith Tomey could not be reached for comment to discuss the contents of the letter from Tomey’s attorney, which The Palm Beach Post posted online without identifying its source.

The letter said Moore “began to rub the inside of Tomey’s left thigh up to the groin area,” as he drove the two to the Arts Garage to view an exhibit of works by city employees.

Despite Tomey’s recoil from that touch the first time, Moore did the same thing on the way back to the office, prompting Tomey to say, “stop it,” the letter says.

After that, the letter alleges, Moore retaliated against Tomey in a series of incidents over the last two years.

City commissioners received the letter detailing the unwanted touching and resulting retaliation days before the March 19 municipal election. The day after the election, which saw a new commission majority elected, departing Mayor Shelly Petrolia called a special commission meeting to authorize the city’s lawyer to appoint a special investigator to look into the alleged incidents and retaliation.

The city has hired Brooke Ehrlich, a Fort Lauderdale lawyer, to investigate the matter.

The letter that prompted the commission to act with all due haste was exempt from public disclosure, according to City Attorney Lynn Gelin.

The letter contends that Gelin received a report of the incident around the art show — an exhibit that included artwork by Moore and “risque” nudes done by Moore’s assistant — immediately after it happened.

Report on chief
On March 28, the Post published an article identifying what prompted the meeting and who was involved. It was published online soon after a report about how Tomey’s department allowed on-duty personnel to participate in a November 2023 charity softball event was completed and available for public inspection.

The city’s report investigating the charity softball game noted that Tomey, a 33-year fire service employee, received marginal ratings for accountability in his 2023 performance evaluation and called it “poor decision-making” on Tomey’s part that allowed firefighters to participate in the game while on duty.

Although the decision did not violate any specific city policies, it resulted in injury to one of the players, a worker’s compensation claim and compromised fire operations, according to the city report.

The letter with allegations against Moore that the commissioners received on March 15 also alleged that the city’s investigation into the charity softball game is just one part of the retaliation Tomey suffered for rebuffing Moore’s advances in the car.

The letter also says Tomey was experiencing retaliation for rebuffing Moore when Moore suspended him for five days following a car accident that Tomey was involved in and neglected to report to Moore.

“My client received a five-day suspension without pay for reasons that he does not understand except his belief that it is retaliatory,” says the letter from Isidro Garcia, a West Palm Beach attorney.

The letter also says that in 2022 Moore called Tomey in for a meeting at which Moore was “very upset” about Tomey promoting a Delray Beach fire captain to division chief of logistics. Moore asked him to demote the new division chief but Tomey refused, it says.

By Brian Biggane

Ever since a pedestrian was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver while crossing State Road A1A near the Barclay condominium in November, South Palm Beach residents have actively pursued new safety measures ranging from crosswalks and caution signs to a reduced speed limit.

Those efforts have paid off, with the Florida Department of Transportation announcing that by April 11 the town speed limit will be reduced from 35 mph to 30 mph. In addition, 12 safety signs will be installed: six “share the road” signs and six signs warning that bicyclists are present.

Most of the new 30-mph speed limit signs were up by the end of March.

Engineer Jonathan Overton, who runs the regional FDOT office out of Pompano Beach, said the changes were directly due to a Jan. 29 workshop attended by a near-capacity crowd at Town Hall.

Residents didn’t get everything they wanted. They told Overton repeatedly that the town needs a crosswalk to help pedestrians better navigate the highway.

Instead, Overton has suggested officials ask the town of Lantana to run a sidewalk from the north end of its public beach to A1A so FDOT could put a crosswalk there, near South

Palm Beach’s southern border. But the resulting crosswalk would be only 800 feet north of a crosswalk that already exists at the intersection of A1A and Ocean Avenue. It would be about a quarter-mile away from where Hatixhe Laiqi, 73, a Barclay resident, was struck and killed Nov. 10 while crossing A1A.

“I’m not sure if we will ask Lantana to do that,” Mayor Bonnie Fischer said, “and even if they agree it’s still a long walk to get there for a lot of our residents.”

Since there is no public beach access in the town, Overton said, there is nowhere on the east side of the road to which he can run a crosswalk. While some residents suggested putting a sidewalk on the east side of A1A, Overton said that would be a detailed project involving the state and Palm Beach County and take a minimum of five years to complete.

On the speed limit change, Overton said driveways at the north end of town are spaced relatively far apart, prompting those drivers heading north to speed up as they leave town. But coming into town from the north the driveways come closer together and traffic on the adjacent sidewalk on the west side of A1A typically picks up.

“So, it was a good idea that those two traffic adjustments could be made,” he said, “the signing and the speed limit.”

Manalapan similarly requested a drop in its speed limit in early 2023, from 35 mph to 25 mph, but it was rejected by FDOT after the state completed a study that didn’t support a lower speed limit there.

Sales tax extension supported — The Town Council voted its support for a Palm Beach County voter referendum to extend the county’s one-cent sales surtax to fund local infrastructure projects through 2036. The county’s extra penny tax is expected to end in 2025 and county commissioners have indicated they don’t plan on calling for a referendum to extend the tax.

Backup generator sought — A measure to solicit bids for a new lift station generator has been rescinded by the Town Council. Town Manager Jamie Titcomb said he’s working toward having a backup generator available in case the current one fails.

Town awaits Town Hall costs — Titcomb said he anticipated receiving budget figures from Moonlight Architecture, which has been selected to construct the new Town Hall and community center, in the near future.

— Brian Biggane