Phone updates, portable wireless service and golf-cart rides make best of bad situation

By Steve Plunkett

Weekly updates online for the Core district’s 20-month road, water main and drainage project were not enough. Now Gulf Stream has become a concierge, giving almost-daily reports — by phone — to affected residents.

“We started kind of on a weekly basis, but as it turns out even a week is too long,” Town Manager Greg Dunham told town commissioners on Sept. 13. “So we have meetings over at the public works building at 8 o’clock in the morning with the contractors, myself and (Public Works Director Anthony Beltran), and that is so we can report back to (Town Clerk Renee Basel) what is actually happening on that one day because things change almost on a daily basis.”

Residents are also ferried by golf cart between their homes and Town Hall when they park there to avoid the construction on their streets.

“I know I’ve personally taken some people that were walking and with the golf cart just picked them up,” Dunham said.

The coordination is not always smooth. Basel alerted Commissioner Joan Orthwein and her neighbors on Palm Way “that certain things were going to be occurring on that day and they didn’t happen,” Dunham said. “So we had residents who had moved their cars including Mrs. Orthwein and there was no need for them to do it.”

Orthwein is the canary in the construction coal mine, making sure fellow commissioners are well aware of the problems Core residents face.

“I just want everyone to realize how bad this is,” she said.

Wright Way and Old School Road were the first streets that contractor Roadway Construction LLC began tearing up in late April. Since then, Orthwein has missed a delivery of a rug and chairs and had her weekly pool and lawn service crews turned away.

The overall construction project particularly affects “finger” streets that lead off Polo Drive to dead ends at the Intracoastal Waterway. The streets will be closed to traffic for three roughly two-week periods with indefinite waits in between. The first period is for installing new water mains, the second is to install new drainage and the third is laying asphalt.

Basel calls each homeowner to say what to expect.

“I had one guy today; he has a dog walker. He’s not here but he has a dog walker so he needs to get to his house. So he’s going to park here (at Town Hall). I got his dog walker’s name, he’s going to park here, we’re going to take him over to the house so he can walk the dog.”

The town also has obtained portable wireless devices that residents can pick up at Town Hall if their internet line is cut during construction. Each device can provide 5G speeds to up to 32 other devices.

“You’ll be able to take care of homework or business work or watch TV or whatever you need to do,” Police Chief Richard Jones said.

The accommodations for residents pleased Mayor Scott Morgan. “That’s as good as we can do, it seems to me,” he said.

Dunham said construction crews were installing water services and drainage on Polo Drive in mid-September and should be finished with the first lift of asphalt on Wright Way and Old School in early October.

“I think they’re about caught up with the time that they lost (waiting for a state permit) because they pulled in three and four crews. So that wasn’t the original plan for them to be working in so many different locations. I think they’re doing a good job,” Dunham said.

Commissioners decided at the meeting to continue to let lawn and pool service and delivery teams operate until 6 p.m. weekdays after the Roadway crews leave, usually around 4 or 4:30, on streets with active construction. The additional services can also be scheduled for Saturdays until the roadwork is completed, again only for affected homes.

“I just want to try to keep everyone as happy as we can. That’s all,” Orthwein said.

Commissioners also authorized buying a $17,604 golf cart, the last big purchase of fiscal year 2024, which ended Sept. 30.

The four-place cart has rear seats that face forward, is American-made and comes with a solid warranty “rather than buying something that was kind of a Chinese knockoff,” said Jones, who researched the purchase.

The cart was a necessary expense, Dunham said.

“We have only two golf carts. One of them probably by the end of this construction period will need to go out in that pile of trash that’s created by the work itself,” he said.

By Steve Plunkett

Delray Beach has started eminent domain proceedings against the neighbors immediately north and south of its Thomas Street stormwater pumping station so workers will have room to take the facility apart, construct an expanded facility and store parts and equipment.

The properties at 142 and 202 Seabreeze Ave. have backyards opening to the Intracoastal Waterway. The city is seeking permanent easements on both parcels. It is also seeking a temporary easement at 142 Seabreeze to move the home’s air conditioning and swimming pool pump equipment out of the work zone.

Two resolutions adopted July 9 state the City Commission finds the easements necessary and authorizes the eminent domain proceedings.

Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Maxine Cheesman scheduled an Oct. 31 hearing on the city’s lawsuit at the county courthouse in West Palm Beach.

The Thomas Street station is responsible for pumping stormwater for a 50-acre drainage basin that includes Thomas Street, Vista Del Mar Drive and part of Andrews Avenue and Lowry Street, the city says. It calls the station “a vital lifeline for approximately 800 residents.”

Delray Beach proposes giving Terrance Shallenberger Jr., who owns 202 Seabreeze Ave., $111,800 compensation for the easement, down 20% from the $139,750 that the City Commission authorized as its top offer in May.

Ann and Fred Glaize III, owners of 142 Seabreeze Ave., would get $154,200 under the proposal, down 14% from the commission’s May offer of $179,500.

The city and the property owners have been negotiating the easements for some time. Stumbling points were concerns about aesthetics, the noise and how the new pumps may render parts of their properties unusable.

Manalapan Mayor John Deese and Vice Mayor Simone Bonutti flank retiring Town Manager Linda Stumpf at her last commission meeting. In back are (l-r) former Mayor Keith Waters, Kevin Stumpf and Bob Kirkland. The commission presented Linda Stumpf with an award, well-wishes and thanks. John Pacenti/The Coastal Star

The Manalapan Town Commission at its Sept. 24 meeting approved the contract for its new town manager, Eric Marmer.

Marmer replaces Linda Stumpf, who retired after serving 14 years in the position. The commission agreed to hire Marmer in October 2023 as assistant town manager, with the plan for him to replace Stumpf when she left.

Before coming to Manalapan, Marmer served as human resources and risk management director in Highland Beach. His new three-year contract calls for a $170,000 annual salary.

When asked about his appointment, Marmer said he believes he is the right person at a pivotal moment for Manalapan, given the significant investment through residential property enhancements and upgrades to the Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa.

He recalls spending holidays in Manalapan.

“It’s especially meaningful to lead a community that I have been coming to since I was a kid,” he said. “As the town evolves, there is a need for fresh, innovative ideas to address future challenges.”

— John Pacenti

Briny Breezes Building Official Deborah Nutter and Town Council President Liz Loper talk with Judith Kraft at a public meeting on the maps. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Kathleen Kernicky

Judith Kraft has watched the flooding worsen since she moved to Briny Breezes in 2003.

Now even a heavy rainstorm or king tides require Kraft to move her car down the block and away from the rising water on her street.

“I live by the dip in the road. It’s like a big pool in front of my house,” said Kraft, whose mobile home is about halfway between the ocean and State Road A1A.

Kraft’s home is one of 5,800 Palm Beach County coastal parcels being added to special flood hazard areas in the new flood maps issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. About 900 parcels will be downgraded from high-risk to low-risk zones when the new maps take effect Dec. 20.

Residents in the high-risk zones (those beginning with letters A or V) who hold a federally backed mortgage are required to purchase flood insurance.

The new maps will also affect more than 16,000 parcels in Palm Beach County — most east of Interstate 95 — where the base flood elevation will increase by one foot to six feet or more.

Those residents will have to elevate their homes if they want to rebuild or undertake major renovations. Under Florida law, the lowest floor of a building must be at least one foot higher than the base flood elevation.

Kraft, a retiree on a fixed income, attended the first of three public meetings held by FEMA in the county in September to get answers. She worries about the higher cost of flood insurance and whether she will be safe in her home. She currently pays $372 per year for flood insurance, a figure she expects to go up. “I’m on a very tight budget,” she said.

While the impact of the new maps and the cost of flood insurance vary by location and specific parcels, FEMA’s message is clear: Every property is in a flood zone, and everyone is at risk.

About 40% of all federal insurance claims occur outside a high-risk area. Just one inch of water inside a house can cause $25,000 in property damage, according to the Palm Beach County Planning, Zoning and Building Department.

“Low risk doesn’t mean no risk,” said Crystal Paulk-Buchanan, FEMA risk communications specialist. “Ultimately, these maps are important for people to get a true understanding of their individual risk and be able to protect their lives and their property.

“This is an opportunity to look at these maps before they become effective and consider getting flood insurance, even if you’re not in a high-risk area. That is the best way to protect the financial investment of your home. If there is a flooding event, people with insurance recover and get back to normal more quickly.’’

FEMA currently issues 128,737 flood insurance policies in Palm Beach County. Of those, 87,895 fall within high-risk special flood hazard areas.

The cost of flood insurance varies by property and location. An average cost can range from $724 per year for property between Military Trail and El Rio Canal in Boca Raton, to an average of $1,377 per year for Delray Beach property between Dixie Highway and the Atlantic Ocean.

Homeowners’ insurance does not cover storm damage caused by flooding, which is defined as rising water caused by storm surges, overflowing rivers, streams, lakes and other water sources.

The new flood maps are based on a nine-year FEMA study focusing on coastal zones nationwide. New technology and modeling were used to update old data that dated back to 1979.

“The confidence level and the amount of detail the current maps are depicting is much stronger because we have much better science behind it,” said Kristen Martinenza, FEMA risk analysis branch chief.

Representatives from FEMA as well as Boca Raton, Boynton Beach, Briny Breezes, Delray Beach, Highland Beach, Hypoluxo, Ocean Ridge and Palm Beach County attended the meeting. Among their biggest concerns: Making sure residents are aware of the new maps and flood zones.

“People need to know if they’re going to be affected,” said Michael Griffin, development services supervisor for the city of Boynton Beach. Those who don’t have insurance and live in high-risk zones should purchase it before the December deadline, when the new building elevation requirements take effect.

“In a nutshell, the flood risk for every resident is changing because all the flood maps are changing,” said Madison Brown, development permit manager for the city of Delray Beach. “Some flood risks are increasing while some risks are decreasing. Everyone potentially could see a change.”

For more information, visit FEMA.gov. For information about flood insurance, visit floodsmart.gov or call the FEMA Insurance Exchange at 877-336-2627. To find your flood zone, visit pbc.gov/pzb and click New FEMA Flood Maps.

By John Pacenti

The Delray Beach City Commission is wrestling with how to spend $253,000 from a nationwide opioid settlement — and the steady stream of money expected from the settlement in the future.

After directing the city manager in July to form an advisory committee, the commission at a Sept. 10 workshop directed staff to recommend how the money will be allocated.

The committee proposal hasn’t been abandoned. It will presumably make recommendations in the future as the city continues to receive money from the $50 billion settlement.

Mayor Tom Carney said at the Aug. 19 commission meeting he needed more information on how the money could be used and proposed the workshop.

A thorny issue — and one South Florida addiction treatment advocates oppose — is whether municipalities can utilize settlement funds for programs already funded. The money supplanted would go back into the general fund and be used for issues other than addiction.

Vice Mayor Juli Casale has said commissioners should recommend to staff their thoughts on how the money should be spent. She reiterated her position at the workshop.

“Some of this is also about efficiency, and we keep on sitting up here and pushing our responsibilities off to committees when we’re the ultimate decider. It shouldn’t be this complicated,” she said.

Assistant City Manager Jeff Oris told commissioners he could get with city staff to recommend how to spend the money that is on hand. Simultaneously, he would create the advisory committee, which would include representatives from the police and fire departments and professionals.

Opioid manufacturers and distributors, such as Walgreens, reached the $50 billion settlement in January 2022. Palm Beach County’s portion is $122 million, of which $25 million has been distributed.

Casale said at the August meeting that Delray Beach has received $253,000 so far.

Lissa Franklin, executive director of the Delray Beach Drug Task Force, said she wants the money to be allocated to the Police Department’s C.A.R.E.S. — Community Advocacy Response Education Service — a program where a mental health expert reaches out to addicts on the street, offering resources.

She also said money for a grief counselor to help families navigate the loss of a loved one to addiction is badly needed.

“Whatever they decide needs to benefit not only the people who live along Ocean Boulevard but also the people who live within the Set,” said Franklin, referring to the historically Black community in the heart of Delray Beach.

Maureen Kielian chairs the Behavioral Health, Substance Abuse and Co-Occurring Disorders Advisory Committee for Palm Beach County. She said in June municipalities should allow the county to decide how the settlement money is used.

“It’s best if we put all of our money together to have the best outcomes and the most impactful changes in abating this epidemic,” she said. “Why would Palm Beach Gardens, for instance, want to open an ASU (Addiction Stabilization Unit)? They can’t afford to, whereas we could do it and service these folks.”

By Rich Pollack

Condo associations in coastal south Palm Beach County and their residents could soon see a temporary reprieve from costly, state-mandated deadlines if Florida legislators meet before the end of the year and revisit legislation some say was passed too quickly.

Following the lead of Gov. Ron DeSantis, a couple of local state representatives say something must be done soon to ease the burden of legislation that was quickly passed in the wake of the June 2021 collapse of the Champlain Towers condo in Surfside.

“We did the best we could under duress and now it’s time to revisit it,” says state Rep. Peggy Gossett-Seidman. “We need to create a new set of guidelines and timelines.”

In addition to addressing the looming deadlines, Gossett-Seidman and Rep. Mike Caruso say there might be a limited amount of money available to help condo associations through another round of the My Safe Florida Condo program, which was piloted with $30 million last year, to help with hardening against hurricanes.

They also believe that it might be possible to get Florida’s Division of Condominiums involved in helping association leaders navigate a complicated set of regulations and to help eliminate rampant confusion.

“We took an 80-year-old problem and tried to fix it in a year and a half,” Caruso said. “Now tens of thousands of fixed-income seniors may be at risk of being homeless due to large assessments from condo boards.”

While there has been some skepticism among leaders in the Republican-dominated legislature that lawmakers could be brought back to Tallahassee before the end of the year,

Republicans Gossett-Seidman and Caruso are optimistic.

The two have been discussing the issue all summer with their mostly Republican counterparts whose districts include many condominiums, said Gossett-Seidman, who represents Highland Beach and Boca Raton.

Perhaps the biggest challenges facing condominium associations stem from two pieces of legislation enacted after the Surfside collapse.

“We might have reached too far in our attempts to safeguard Floridians,” said Caruso, whose district includes South Palm Beach, Lantana and most of Manalapan.

Both pieces of legislation have deadlines at the end of the year.

One requires buildings over three stories that are more than 40 years old to complete milestone inspections that examine structural integrity.

Required repairs from those inspections have proved costly and have led to increased assessments for many buildings already wrestling with astronomical insurance rate increases.

One fix Caruso said he would like to see is a prioritization of repairs so that condos would have more time to fix problems that are not considered urgent.

The other challenging legislative mandate is that condo associations each complete a reserve study by the end of 2024. That study looks at projections of when repairs will need to be done on major items — a roof repair, for example — and how much it will cost.

Associations that don’t already have all the reserve funds to cover those costs will be required to include those items in their 2026 budgets and have at least a portion of that money set aside before the end of that year.

For example, if a condominium roof will need to be replaced in five years at a cost of $1 million, the association will need to have at least $250,000 set aside for the project by the end of 2026 and then collect at least $250,000 a year for the remaining three years until the replacement is needed.

Caruso says that could translate into assessments that crush seniors on fixed incomes, and it needs to be changed.

“The laws have got to be adjusted because people just can’t get the money available in these time frames,” said Emily Gentile, president of the Beach Condo Association of Boca Raton, Highland Beach and Delray Beach.

Although the ideas that are surfacing are welcome, Gentile would like to see the state provide low-interest loans to residents and associations to help cover the costs.

“An older building with people who bought into it to retire is going to need money because its residents don’t have money to rebuild the building,” she said.

Low-interest loans from the state are unlikely because of the large amount of money that would be required, which Caruso says the state doesn’t have.

Instead, he is suggesting an increase in the My Safe Florida Condo funding to as much as $500,000 for repairs beyond hardening.

Caruso and Gossett-Seidman say that getting the state Division of Condominiums involved to support condos could help eliminate some of the confusion boards face.

“Right now there’s nowhere for condo boards to go if they have an issue, questions, worries or misunderstandings,” Gossett-Seidman said.

By John Pacenti

The Manalapan Town Commission on Sept. 24 passed a $19.2 million budget for fiscal year 2025, which began Oct. 1, carrying over the same tax rate as the previous year.

However, because property values increased 5.7% over the last year, there will be a slight increase in taxes for homesteaded residents in the wealthy enclave.

The average home in Manalapan is worth $4.2 million, according to Zillow.com. Using a tax rate of $3.00 for $1,000 of taxable value, a homesteaded property worth $4 million last year will pay $360 more in town property taxes.

Under state law, homesteaded property values cannot go up more than 3% each year.

For properties not homesteaded — commercial, rental and second homes — a property worth $4 million a year ago will pay up to $1,200 more in town taxes, as the annual taxable property value cap for those properties is 10%.

Fire rescue services have the biggest impact on the new budget, increasing $189,902. Manalapan has an interlocal agreement with Palm Beach County to provide firefighters and paramedics.

The budget includes funds for 24/7 security guard coverage at the entrance to Point Manalapan, but the commission debated whether to try to save taxpayers money by having the guards no longer carry firearms.

Town Manager Eric Marmer said a new vendor, Florida Protection & Consulting, has been chosen for the five-year contract at the guardhouse. Armed guards would cost Manalapan $1,104,000, while unarmed guards cost $884,200 — a saving of nearly $220,000.

“Describe a scenario where we would want a guard to need a gun, to have a gun, to use a gun,” Commissioner Cindy McMackin asked Town Attorney Keith Davis.

Other commissioners worried that if a guard used a firearm the town could be held liable.

“If something happened — while the contract will certainly have indemnification language — make no mistake we will be dragged into that,” Davis said.

Former Mayor Keith Waters, during public comments, said there was a method to the madness of arming the guards — and it had nothing to do with the guns.

“The armed guards provide us with a different caliber of personnel,” Waters said. “You have to go through that training.”

The commission then voted, at the suggestion of Commissioner Elliot Bonner, to approach the vendor to see if it was amenable to allowing the town to try out the unarmed option but be able to switch to the armed option if it desires to do so in the future.

By Mary Thurwachter

The last couple of years have brought a steady stream of residents to Town Council meetings with complaints about Lantana’s green, yellow or dingy water.

Some lamented the olive-green water that filled their swimming pools. One woman arrived to present the mayor with a cookie tin full of yellow water. Another said her Invisalign trays had turned yellowy from tap water. There was even a complaint from a pet owner who resorted to bottled water after her doggie turned up his snoot at the tap water.

Officials assured them that Lantana’s water was, despite its hue, clean.

But now, after millions have been spent to update the water treatment plant, the tide has turned, and taxpayers, including the mayor, are singing a different tune.

“My water’s clean,” said a happy Mayor Karen Lythgoe at the Sept. 23 meeting. “It’s clear,” she corrected herself. “It was always clean, now it’s clear.”

Community advocate Media Beverly of Hypoluxo Island sent a text to Town Manager Brian Raducci conveying her appreciation.

“What happened?” Beverly wrote sarcastically. “I sorely miss seeing the brown stains in my white sinks now that our water is clear. On behalf of everyone who contacted me with the good news, thank you for finally getting it done after all these years.”

The road to water clarity has been long and costly.

Eddie Crockett, public services director, says the drinking water has always been safe and that the clarity of the water is not related to the quality. It has always met all state and federal requirements.

The clarity has come as the town continues to work on the water treatment plant, which was last refurbished in 2003.

A plant filter and media replacement project began in 2021 with an original budget of $1.24 million. Supply chain issues slowed the progress. Once the project started, consultants and engineers quickly realized that it was more involved than initially anticipated. As a result, an additional $1.26 million was included in the town’s fiscal year 2023 budget for the project.

This year in February, the town approved about $2.4 million for the replacement of the filters and rehabilitating three verified vessels. “There are five vessels: two ion and three anion (negatively charged),” Crockett said in September. “One of the anion vessels is being rehabilitated and there are two of the ions that control the color of the water.”

The filters are making all the difference. The vessels that hold the filters have also been rehabilitated.

“We have all that under control, as you have witnessed,” Crockett said. “We now have three ion vessels which control the hardness and they need additional rehab.” 

“It has made a marked improvement, and we have seen a marked decrease in complaints,” Raducci said.

Crockett said he hoped to have the project complete by the end of the year.

Town secures LEED designation — Town Council members congratulated Development Services Director Nicole Dritz and other staff for their efforts in achieving a silver LEED designation for the town.

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design is a green building-rating system. The silver certification level indicates that a project has surpassed the basic LEED requirements, achieving more than 50% of the available points. The designation was officially made on Sept. 17.

Besides bragging rights, the distinction can help the town attract new businesses and grant money, Dritz said. The town received points for, among other things, having walkable parks and EV charging stations, and banning balloon releases.

Leadership Lantana returns — Natalie Stolbach, president of the Greater Lantana Chamber of Commerce, and Lee Bersch, the executive director, appeared before the Town Council in September to promote the return of the chamber’s Leadership Lantana program after a break during the pandemic.

“It’s all about firsthand experiences and behind-the-scenes access,” Stolbach said. “You’ll get an intimate look at how all facets of our community work and the challenges they face.”

Rates are reasonable compared with similar programs in other municipalities, Bersch said.

For more details or to register, call 561-585-8664. 

Council reappoints planning commissioner — Michelle Donahue was reappointed to a three-year term on the planning commission. Donahue lives on Hypoluxo Island and was the lone candidate after Steven J. Madson, who has worked in the telecommunications industry for more than 40 years, withdrew his application before the vote. Donahue is a Realtor and a history buff.

— Mary Thurwachter

Aside from scattered power outages, downed tree limbs and beach erosion, south Palm Beach County survived Hurricane Helene with minimal impact. ABOVE: (l-r) Donna Johnson makes a mock Weather Channel video of her brothers Eddie Catapane and John Catapane as they vacation from Long Island at Berkshire by the Sea. The video was for friends in New York, amid severe beach erosion and pelting wind and rain from the passing storm. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Mary Hladky

A 26-year-old woman has pleaded guilty to five charges stemming from a 2021 fatal hit-and-run crash along North Ocean Boulevard in Boca Raton that claimed the life of a New York federal judge.

Nastasia Snape was sentenced on Sept. 26 to four years in state prison followed by 26 years of probation by Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Caroline Shepherd for leaving the scene of a crash causing death, vehicular homicide, DUI causing serious bodily injury, leaving the scene of a crash causing injury and leaving the scene of an accident causing damage, court records state.

Snape, who lived in North Lauderdale at the time, was driving northbound on State Road A1A in a red Honda when she crossed the southbound lane and continued onto the sidewalk near the Spanish River Boulevard intersection, striking 75-year-old Sandra Feuerstein, according to a Boca Raton Police Department arrest report.

Feuerstein, who was nominated to the federal bench in 2003 by President George W. Bush and served on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, later died at Delray Medical Center.

Snape drove off at high speed, and hit a 6-year-old boy as he was crossing Ocean Boulevard in the crosswalk at Spanish River Boulevard. The boy suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was released from Delray Medical Center, Boca Raton police said.

Snape’s vehicle crashed at the intersection of Southeast 10th Street and northbound Federal Highway in Delray Beach.

A Delray Beach police officer at the scene said Snape at first appeared to be unconscious, but then began to convulse. Once inside an ambulance, she screamed and fought with medics, stating she was “Harry Potter.” Snape’s last name is the same as Severus Snape, a prominent character in the Harry Potter books.

Among her possessions were containers labeled “THC Cannabis” and a synthetic drug called “T salts,” which the arrest report stated is known to cause excited delirium. As a condition of probation, Snape must make a $6,000 donation within the first two years of probation to the Feuerstein scholarship fund at the Cardozo School of Law, and a $500 donation each month to the fund beginning in the third year of probation and ending when probation is completed.

Feuerstein was a graduate of Yeshiva University’s Cardozo law school.

Snape also must attend DUI school and have a substance abuse evaluation, with successful completion of any recommended treatment.

News of Feuerstein’s death deeply saddened members of New York’s legal community.

“Judge Feuerstein was a treasured member of our Eastern District bench,” District Court Executive Eugene Corcoran said in a statement at the time. “Her eccentric style and warm personality lit up the courtroom. She will be missed by her colleagues and litigants alike.”

Delray Beach’s new fire rescue chief comes from Louisiana but is no stranger to Florida, previously serving in the fire department in Fort Myers Beach for two decades.

Ronald Martin will start on Oct. 7, taking over a department still in turmoil after the city fired its last chief, Keith Tomey, in May for allowing on-duty firefighters to participate in a charity softball game. The participation put an engine out of service for more than four hours. Also, one of the firefighters got hurt during the game and sought worker’s compensation.

Tomey filed suit in June claiming he was fired because City Manager Terrence Moore made unwanted sexual advances toward him. An investigation found no evidence to support the accusation.

On Sept. 20, Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Carolyn Bell denied the city’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit.
Since Tomey’s dismissal, Kevin Green has served as interim chief. Moore thanked Green for his “invaluable service and support” in his statement announcing Martin’s hiring.

Vice Mayor Juli Casale said the city manager is looking for new leadership in the department.

“I think the general understanding is the interim chief is winding down his career. I think Mr. Moore wants somebody who will come in and address some of the long-standing issues in that department,” she said.

Martin most recently served as chief of safety for the Louisiana Office of the State Fire Marshal. Before taking that position in November 2023, Martin served as the Fort Myers Beach Fire Control District fire chief/district manager, moving up through the ranks. He resigned for personal reasons in March 2023.

— John Pacenti

Finance chief leaves after 2½ years — Delray Beach Chief Financial Officer Hugh Dunkley was leaving to take a job “out of municipal government” in waste management, he confirmed after the Sept. 10 City Commission workshop.

“I consider it an opportunity for advancement,” Dunkley said.

His last day on the job was Sept. 20. Laura Thezine, the city’s assistant finance director, is running the department in the interim.

Before coming to Delray Beach as chief financial officer in March 2022, Dunkley held similar positions at Tequesta and Deerfield Beach.

Vice Mayor Juli Casale said she liked Dunkley personally and is sad to see him go, but she did have some issues with the Finance Department.

“There have been different things that have happened that I thought were, let’s say, not necessarily amazing. I’ve asked for an audit of the Finance Department,” said Casale, who ran as a fiscal hawk in the election in March.

More money for beach sand — Delray Beach has secured an additional $9.7 million from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to help in its upcoming beach renourishment, the city manager told commissioners in his Sept. 13 information letter.

The money is in addition to the $3.8 million the state previously committed, according to a Sept. 10 email from Public Works Director Missie Barletto to City Manager Terrence Moore.

The federal government has pledged $11.2 million to the project, while Palm Beach County has said it will contribute $3.78 million.

In total, $28.5 million has been secured for the project, expected to take place next year, Moore told commissioners in his memo.

Manager gets pay boost — The City Commission voted unanimously Oct. 1 to give City Manager Terrence Moore a 3.5% merit raise. The increase is related to a 3.5 out 5 aggregate score on his evaluation by the five commissioners.

The raise, roughly $8,380, brings Moore’s salary to $247,809.

Moore was graded in 16 areas, including leadership, decision-making, and his relationship with the commission. “I gave Mr. Moore a very high score,” Commissioner Rob Long said. “He has risen to the occasion.”

Mayor Tom Carney said he approved of the 3.5% raise but said he has had issues with Moore, such as on his failure to provide more details about the proposed budget. Carney said he feels Moore understands his expectations better now.

Moore’s biggest critic on the commission, Vice Mayor Juli Casale, said she gave the city manager a score below 3.0. However, she met with Moore in the last week and said she was hopeful her concerns — which she didn’t elucidate upon — will be addressed.

— John Pacenti

By Brian Biggane

The South Palm Beach Town Council addressed its lingering vacancy at its September meeting, but it’s likely to be some time before a fifth member is added.

Vice Mayor Monte Berendes said near the end of the meeting that the vacancy — in place already for six months — should be addressed at the October meeting. That suggestion produced another from Mayor Bonnie Fischer: that the town hold a special election rather than rely on the council to make an appointment.

Fischer was not aware that the Town Charter does not allow council members to be chosen by a special election, so the onus still falls on the four current council members to make that decision. The alternative is to leave the seat open until the next regular election, which doesn’t occur until March 2026, when the current unexpired term is set to end.

Town Manager Jamie Titcomb said the situation has become awkward since the terms of council members were extended from two to four years.

The council lost two members in the past year, the first in December when Robert Gottlieb resigned because of health concerns and an unwillingness to release more details of his financial situation, which was part of a new state mandate for all elected municipal officials. That requirement has since been put on hold statewide due to a court challenge of its constitutionality.

Three candidates were interviewed to replace Gottlieb, and after the council tied 2-2 at its February meeting, Elvadianne Culbertson won the seat on a 3-1 vote in March when Ray McMillan switched his vote to her.

That prompted former Vice Mayor Bill LeRoy to resign, citing health reasons, leaving the council again with four members. Jennifer Lesh, who had been nominated by LeRoy and garnered the other two votes in the initial runoff, was no longer interested in a seat on the council. A third candidate at the time, Arnelle Ossendryver, withdrew from consideration to care for her ailing mother.

The council agreed unanimously to table a decision on a fifth member indefinitely; Berendes’ raising of the question in September means it will be on the agenda at the council’s October meeting.

“It’s an interesting case because when you only have four members on the council the calculus is different,” Titcomb said. “Two people can block anything, (while) it normally takes three to approve or disapprove. We have a lot of things coming up, and if they have a 2-2 vote a tie is a fail in the calculus.

“Based on my conversations with the vice mayor, he would rather see us with a full contingent of council members. But to get that they have to follow their own (charter).”

Berendes said he won’t be adamant about filling the vacancy right away.

“Tell me the rules and I can play the game,” he said. “I’m OK with four, but optics would be better if we have five.”

Berendes said he went into the September meeting expecting to have the vacancy filled by the end of the October meeting.

“I didn’t know we had to do it the way it is; I thought we could just put it on the docket and (make the decision) the next month, but I guess not.”

It would take longer than that to enlist applicants, for example.

Berendes said word around town is that someone has “put their hat in the ring” for the vacancy, though he wouldn’t name names. He said the laid-back nature of the town, which has no retail or commercial entities but has been working for years toward building a new Town Hall and community center, has instilled a sense of apathy among residents.

“Everything seems to be working, so there’s no sense screwing up what works,” he said.

As for the decisions coming on the Town Hall project such as hiring contractors and finding an alternate space for town employees when construction gets underway, Berendes said the situation won’t be urgent for some time.

“It’s not going to happen for a while,” he said. “I would hope we break ground in the spring and hopefully they can finish by the next spring. It’s gone on too long, but it’s a small enough building it shouldn’t take a year to build.”

Budget passed, tax rate set — Helped in great part by a 10% increase in property values, the Town Council passed a $2.412 million budget at its final budget hearing on Sept. 16.

The council has agreed to keep the property tax rate at $3.40 for each $1,000 of taxable value, the same as the one in place for the past year.

The town’s largest expenditure of $1.136 million is for public safety, as reflected by the town’s contract with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office. That represents only a 2% increase over a year ago.

Online permitting — The Building Department reported its new registration module and ability to pay and upload paperwork are up and running after several months of work.

Discussions on new Town Hall — The four members of the Town Council held one-on-one talks with representatives of CPZ Architects to exchange information on the Town Hall project. A meeting between the architects and town residents is in the works, but a date and time have not been set.

One-student bus stop — PBSO Sgt. Mark Garrison reported that a bus-stop traffic post has been set up for the one student in town taking a bus to attend public school. One citation was issued in August for failure to stop for a school bus.

— Brian Biggane

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly listed the approved tax rate and the increase in property values in South Palm Beach. The approved property tax rate is $3.40 for each $1,000 of taxable value. Property values increased 10% in the town this year.

By Mary Thurwachter

An interlocal agreement to add sand to the beaches in Palm Beach, South Palm Beach and Lantana this winter may be losing one municipality: Lantana.

It’s all about money.

When the dune restoration was hatched a few years ago, South Palm Beach, which has no public beach, agreed to pay for sand to be placed on Lantana’s beach in exchange for sand truck access via the town’s Dorothy Rissler Lane. A new plan will have dump trucks coming across Lake Worth Beach’s shoreline, south of the pier. As a result, Lantana beach access is no longer needed and because of that, Lantana would need to pay for the sand it would receive.

Lantana Mayor Karen Lythgoe says she doesn’t have an estimate for how much it would cost, but “it would be quite high.” She said the town “has a number of projects in flight this year so that would have to be incorporated into our visioning session in the future.” 

Town Manager Brian Raducci “is exploring a potential opportunity, but it’s not gone further than that,” she said.

One council member, Lynn “Doc” Moorhouse, shared his thoughts on the change in plans at the Sept. 23 town meeting — and he wasn’t liking it.

“There’s going to be some beach restoration money that they’re going to be asking us for and it’s not going to be there because they’re wanting us to pay for something that they said was going to be free earlier,” Moorhouse said, “and that’s putting a burden on our town manager.

“I don’t want it to reflect in any bad light that we’re not willing to pay. It was supposed to be free. We were going to work with Palm Beach. We were going to let them use the beach, let them do all their stuff and we were going to get free sand.

“Not happening,” Moorhouse continued. “I don’t believe our town has the money to just go yippie-ki-yay. … I just want the public to know why we aren’t joining the beach project. Well, it was free before and now it’s not. This is stupid stuff. You don’t have to like it. You don’t have to like me. But that’s dumb, in my opinion.”

Raducci, in his report for September, didn’t rule out the town’s involvement.

“The Town of Palm Beach is now requesting reimbursement from the Town for sand costs only and is obtaining estimates for sand rates and quantities needed,” he wrote. “Since the sand was originally going to be provided in exchange for Dorothy Rissler access (which is no longer required), they will seek funds from Palm Beach County’s ERM (Environmental Resources Management) for sand placement in the Town.

“We are currently evaluating the need for a new interlocal agreement to proceed if the project is financially feasible for the Town.”

The project is expected to begin this winter and sand would come from a stockpile in Phipps Ocean Park in Palm Beach.

By Mary Thurwachter

After two public hearings in September, the Lantana Town Council adopted a $29.5 million total budget with the same tax rate as last year — $3.75 per $1,000 of assessed taxable value.

Property tax revenues are estimated at $6.95 million. That’s an increase of $538,000 from last year and makes up 39.4% of the town’s anticipated revenues. The taxes are used to support the town’s $17.8 million operating budget, which covers the day-to-day costs of government. The town’s total budget also includes its water and sewer fund and stormwater improvement fund.

In presenting the budget, Town Manager Brian Raducci said Lantana “continues to be financially healthy and stable due to a fiscally conservative approach in maintaining its operations.”

The general fund’s reserves are $15.9 million, which is about 96% of the FY 2025 operating budget that took effect Oct. 1 and exceeds the town’s adopted fund balance policy, which includes reserve funds for emergencies, according to Finance Director Stephen Kaplan.

In accordance with priorities set during a council visioning session in April, the town will spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to maintain infrastructure, including $250,000 to put hurricane windows on Town Hall.

Residents can expect more twinkling lights around Town Hall this Christmas, thanks to a beautification project that will cost $30,000 for holiday decorations and another $20,000 for lighting to support holiday decorations around Greynolds Circle.

Other beautification efforts include $20,000 for landscaping and trash receptacles throughout town and $20,000 toward benches, landscaping and trash receptacles in parks.

Another priority will involve supporting the library, with $19,000 for books, computers and carpet panels. The library will be adding a full-time community engagement and outreach coordinator and adding 14 hours to a part-time staffer to permit Saturday hours.

Police are due to get new firearms and three SUVs, two new laptops for road patrol and money for license plate reading cameras.

Town employees will receive 4% cost-of-living raises and could get merit raises of up to 5% based on annual evaluations.

Lantana’s budget is broken down into three categories, including 67% for personnel, 26% for operating expenses and 7% for capital projects. The town has no debt.

Ocean Ridge resident Rich Mascolo has been pouring his efforts into volunteer work at the Soup Kitchen of Boynton Beach since his retirement. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

The fact that 12% of Palm Beach County residents live below the poverty line probably doesn’t come as a shock to most people. But Ocean Ridge resident Rich Mascolo has a statistic that is more of an eye opener.

“There’s an acronym that’s come about called ALICE households, which stands for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed, which identifies all the people who have a hard time making ends meet,” said Mascolo. That’s 32% of the population.

“These are people that if the car breaks down, they get a rent increase, the spouse loses their job or they have a big medical emergency, they’re in really tough straits,” he says.

One place they may turn for help is the Soup Kitchen, just off Boynton Beach Boulevard west of Florida’s Turnpike.

Mascolo, 70, a retired marketing and communications expert who in years past has been lauded for his work with the YMCA, has more recently turned some of his philanthropic efforts to the Soup Kitchen. The nonprofit is the No. 1 daily distributor of meals and groceries in Palm Beach County and possibly in all of South Florida, according to Mascolo.

“In the last two years since the pandemic, the Soup Kitchen’s demand has grown 40%, from 1,000 hot meals a day to 1,400,” Mascolo said.

Having only six full-time employees means the operation relies on volunteers, but Mascolo said those six employees “could run a master class in volunteer-driven organizations.”

Unlike other charities that have their “guests,” as the Soup Kitchen calls them, line up in cars and do a drive-through pickup, the organization has people park, enter the building and not only pick up meals but also receive a box filled with supplies such as chicken and vegetables to hold them longer.

“It’s remarkable how it works,” Mascolo said.

Donations come from grocery stores such as Publix and restaurants, but also resorts such as the Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa. Feeding South Florida, another nonprofit, helps make many of the connections.

Mascolo’s career in marketing has helped the Soup Kitchen get the word out as it embarks on its inaugural fundraising drive.

“They’ve punched so far above their weight class in terms of community impact, so we’re trying to sort of take their seat at the big philanthropic table of Palm Beach County,” he said. “Because they are there, and people need to know they are there.”

Mascolo, who has served on the board of the South County YMCA for the past nine years and the board of the Soup Kitchen for seven months, enjoys playing guitar, going to concerts and taking beach walks with his wife of 16 years, Bebe.

— Brian Biggane

Q: Where did you grow up and go to school? How do you think that has influenced you?
A: My wife, Bebe, and I grew up on Long Island. We were high school sweethearts. I was lucky, growing up there was wonderful: near the water, almost idyllic. Then for college, I went to Penn in West Philadelphia, where I quickly saw that other people’s lives — especially in the inner city — were very different from mine. Where my wife and I grew up was pretty insular; I didn’t have a lot of exposure to how the less fortunate lived, what people had and most notably didn’t have. I grew up wanting for very little, and there were people living within a few blocks of this university that had very little. It was a shock to me.
 
Q: What professions have you worked in? What accomplishments are you most proud of?
A: I had a double major in marketing and anthropology at Penn, and obviously took the right career path with marketing and communications. I was a senior executive at a global ad agency, Grey, in New York City, that is one of the largest in the world. I then founded a consulting firm that served prominent Fortune 500 companies such as IBM, General Motors, Coca-Cola. The kind of work I was doing was attractive to the big agencies. I was working directly with the people at what you would call the top of the house: CEOs, CFOs. I later sold that firm to a different global ad conglomerate.  

Q: What advice do you have for a young person seeking a career today?
A: One’s first job is likely not a career. But do the best job you can, no matter how mundane, and good things will come your way. And secondly, smarts and background don’t make you a success. Focus and drive do.

Q: How did you choose to make your home in Ocean Ridge?
A: Bebe knew people who lived in the area and we had visited many times. So, when we became empty-nesters in 2013, we were happy to move down and make a life in Ocean Ridge. We still spend our summers with family in New York.

Q: What is your favorite part about living in Ocean Ridge?
A: It runs along A1A, so of course it’s beautiful. But it’s the neighborliness that stands out most to me. That’s great.

Q: What book are you reading now?
A: I’m rereading To Kill a Mockingbird. In addition to being a classic, it’s a parable about the need to protect our community’s most vulnerable. That’s become an important theme for me, especially later in life. 
  
Q: What music do you listen to when you want to relax? When you want to be inspired?
A: To relax, I usually listen to jazz and to be inspired, it’s classical. But as an aging boomer, I’m also a diehard rock ’n’ roll fan. I’ve even been to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. We planned to spend an hour or so there and we were there several hours. It’s fantastic. As for groups, the usual ones like the Allman Brothers, of course the Beatles, and the Who.   

Q: Have you had mentors in your life? Individuals who have inspired your life decisions?
A: It would have to be my parents. It’s a cliché but true. They were teachers. My mom taught K-6 and my dad was a high school teacher, then superintendent of schools. It’s like the movie My Cousin Vinny. My uncle was a teacher (awarded Teacher of the Year by Bill Clinton) and my aunt was a superstar reading teacher who shaped the New York state curriculum. They wanted to help everyone. I was the black sheep that went into advertising. 

Q: If your life story were to be made into a movie, who would play you?
A: Matt Damon. Not the megawatt action hero in The Bourne Identity but the introspective, problem-solving Matt Damon from The Martian. 

Q: Who/what makes you laugh?
A: I love the New Yorker magazine cartoons, but I’m a total sucker for silly humor, especially if it’s a little edgy. The TV show Modern Family was one of my faves.

By John Pacenti

While art classes are set to start in November at the Crest Theatre, the theater itself remains somewhere between a modest work in progress and the problematic house in the movie The Money Pit.

The latest concern is whether its balcony is unsafe.

“We have not done a structural analysis on that balcony to see exactly how sound it is,” Public Works Director Missie Barletto said at the Sept. 16 City Commission meeting. “So we will be doing that.”

Commissioner Tom Markert had asked for an update on the renovation of the theater, which turns 100 next year.

Originally a high school auditorium, the “enchanting” 323-seat venue will eventually provide a boutique-style entertainment experience, the city says. It’s been dark since at least 2021.

“It needs sprucing up. It needs new carpet and paint inside the theater. We need to look at the electrical consoles and the dimmers and the rigging inside the theater,” Barletto said.

One contractor estimated the work would cost $5 million, while another said it would be $3 million, she said.

There will also be costs associated with rigging and the electrical room — the connectivity for the theater, Barletto said. It’s specialized work and getting the rigging company to assess the Crest has taken more time than originally thought.

“There’s one company statewide that does it and there’s a number of historic theaters that are actually under renovation right now,” Barletto said.

A contractor is expected to be in place by May, Barletto said, “at which point we’ll be coming back to you and seeking some funds.”

The city last year budgeted $1.2 million for renovations, primarily to the building’s classrooms and kitchen space.

Delray Beach got into the theater business when former Mayor Shelly Petrolia and then-Commissioners Juli Casale and Shirley Johnson voted to end the lease in 2021 with the nonprofit that ran Old School Square — the theater, the museum, and the outdoor concert venue downtown at Swinton and Atlantic avenues.

Petrolia said Old School Square Center for the Arts had not been forthcoming with its finances.

The decision opened up the San Andreas Fault. There was a lawsuit and countersuit. Commissioners Rob Long and Angela Burns came into office opposing the canceling of the lease.

The commission had decided to turn over operations to the Downtown Development Authority only to give back control of the theater to city staff.

Old School Square Center for the Arts ended up taking out equipment, lighting and other things that make theaters operate when it left the premises, said Vice Mayor Casale, who voted to oust the nonprofit during her first stint as commissioner.

Mayor Tom Carney has said he wants to monetize the Crest for the city.

In that respect, classrooms in the building for art classes are set to start in November. Photos shown to the commission by Barletto displayed glossy lacquered wood floors and drawing desks — called art horses — ready for students.

The city’s communication department has relocated to the Crest with Director Gina Carter heading up the creative arts school project by basically doing at least two jobs at present.

Casale said the Windmill Theater Company had inquired about using the Crest to do a Christmas show, “but, obviously, if you don’t think it’s structurally sound, that’s a no.”

“Well, the balcony portion, I don’t know that it is ‘not’ structurally sound, but I also don’t know that it is,” Barletto said. “So we would err on the side of caution for that, for sure.”

The commission remains gung-ho on the Crest. “I just want to get it finished. So then we all have an opportunity up here to decide what the next step is going to be. And it sounds like you’re on course,” Carney said.

Markert is focusing on the bird in the hand: the art school — which he said got a deal on its furniture.

“I’ve been over there and I’ve seen it and it looks great,” he said.

The home in The Money Pit, by the way, was absolutely stunning when completed, even if it nearly cost Tom Hanks’ character his sanity.