Plastic netting surrounds the historic Australian pine trees that line A1A in Gulf Stream to ensure that workers installing a water main do not damage the roots. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

By Steve Plunkett

The town will ask a federal judge to order AT&T to finish putting its lines underground after the telecommunications giant walked off the job in May.
The contract dispute could add another year to the overall project, which started in 2013. AT&T wants more than $1 million to complete the job; Gulf Stream says it owes only $400,000.
Joanne O’Connor, an attorney for the town, showed town commissioners a draft lawsuit at their June 12 meeting. Commissioners unanimously agreed to file suit.
“I don’t think we have any alternative but to follow this advice and get a lawsuit filed as soon as possible,” Mayor Scott Morgan said.
Robert Wright, a Tallahassee lawyer who specializes in utilities, will assist the legal action. O’Connor said the lawsuit will be filed in the U.S. District Court in part to get action more quickly.
“We can’t get the lawsuit done over the summer. But compared to being in state court where this could take three to five years, if we file imminently … generally they set trial dates one year out,” O’Connor said.
Wright agreed to discount his legal fees to $250 an hour.
Town officials, surprised by AT&T’s demand for more money, are continuing to ask the company for more details to explain the higher cost. Comcast, which also put its lines underground, said it encountered nothing in the field to make its job more costly, Assistant Town Attorney Trey Nazzaro said.
Morgan said AT&T put its lines underground in the southern half of town for $160,000 and now wants $1.2 million for the northern half, “a striking difference,” he said.

In other business:
• Foster Marine Contractors began installing a new water main along State Road A1A on June 8. The $1.9 million project will force traffic detours into town at times. Residents close to the work will receive an informational flyer 24 hours ahead of time and can call 888-267-0321 with concerns.
• Commissioners gave Chet Snavely permission to demolish the decrepit house at 2775 Avenue Au Soleil and sod the lot. Snavely, who is also president of the Place Au Soleil Homeowners Association, bought the house for $400,000 after the heirs of deceased homeowner Richard Lavoie paid Gulf Stream $125,000 in code enforcement liens. Ú

DELRAY BEACH: A group of about 100 gathered May 31 at Veterans Park to peacefully protest the killing of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, while he was in the custody of a white Minneapolis police officer. By the end of June the protests had largely stopped in South County. They were peaceful, according to police. Photos by Tim Stepien and Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

DELRAY BEACH: As Dan Allen and Mary Adams joined dozens of others at a May 6 protest in Delray Beach, they started talking, realized they shared many of the same concerns, and decided to start dating. He has lived in a variety of places, including Boca Raton, she in Boynton Beach. Ten days later they were planning a vacation together. ‘We have been talking every day; can’t believe it, it never happens this way,’ Allen says.

BOCA RATON: A group of nearly 400 people, including supportive police officers, marched from 100 NW Second Ave. to Federal Highway on June 6 in a peaceful protest.

BOCA RATON: Nearly 120 people rallied in front of the Boca Raton Police Station on June 22 to demonstrate their support for law enforcement and President Donald Trump’s administration.

BOYNTON BEACH: On May 31, dozens of protesters gathered around the city, including this group that traversed the Ocean Avenue bridge into Ocean Ridge a few times. The sign paraphrases Martin Luther King Jr.: ‘It’s not the violence of few that scares us, it’s the silence of the many.’

By Rich Pollack

June is normally when real estate professionals — who help connect sellers and buyers of luxury homes along South Florida’s coast — can relax a little and catch their breath.
This was not a normal June, however, and instead of kicking back, many real estate professionals went into July working overtime as the residential home market kicked back up.
“This has been the busiest June we’ve had in my 17-year real estate career,” said Nick Malinosky, executive director of luxury sales for Douglas Elliman Real Estate. “I’m three times busier than I would normally be this time of year.”
The driving force behind this seeming real estate boom — with increased demand for rentals as well as condo and single-family home sales — may be COVID-19.
Pent-up demand in the real estate market, which all but dried up early in the pandemic, combined with people’s desires to flee urban areas hit hard by the virus, made for busy phones in local real estate offices.
“I’ve never seen it like this,” said Steven Presson of the Corcoran Group, who specializes in coastal homes in South Palm Beach County. “Every day I’m seeing homes that were on the market for a long time being sold.”
In Palm Beach County, there were 138 closed sales of homes over $1 million in March, down 25% from the previous year, and only 93 in April, down 37% from April 2019.
But from May 1 through late June there were about 250 closed sales of homes over $1 million. That’s still down from the 392 similar sales during the same period last year, or 36%, but it shows that a recovery is taking place. “The fact that we’re that close and that high considering the pandemic is indicative of how quickly we’ve recovered,” said Jarrod Lowe, president of the Broward, Palm Beaches and St. Lucie Realtors. “It’s a testament to how much of a thriving market we’re in.”
Lowe said the trend crosses all aspects of the residential home-buying market in Palm Beach County. “The residential market is just on fire,” he said.

Rentals also heating up

Demand also is high for rental properties, especially from residents of the Northeast and the Chicago area. Demand began growing soon after the number of coronavirus cases began rapidly increasing in those areas, according to agents.
“We started getting an incredible amount of calls from people looking for rental properties,” Malinosky said.
That helped push the price of rental units up — in some cases dramatically.
To illustrate the point, Presson highlights a coastal home that rented for $25,000 a month for three months. Normally, he said, that same home would have rented for about $10,000 a month during the same time period. Even higher offers came in after the first offer had been accepted.
Real estate agents will tell you that the market could be even hotter were it not for some unexpected obstacles.
“Our biggest problem right now is low inventory,” says Patricia Towle, a sales associate at Sotheby’s International Realty in Palm Beach who sees the market on track to make a strong come back. “Sellers pulled their homes off the market because of uncertainty.”
Buyers were a little nervous as well.
Towle says she had a buyer who put in an offer on a home prior to the pandemic but pulled it once conditions deteriorated.
The buyer stayed in touch with her and came back after the slowdown with the same offer on the table with no conditions and a quick closing.
Towle, who specializes in Point Manalapan and Hypoluxo Island, said that in mid-March there had been seven closings and three sales pending. After a lull in activity during April and May, sales picked back up, with 12 closings by mid-June.
One area where there’s not as much activity as there is with single-family homes is in the condo and townhouse market — with restrictions brought on by the pandemic having a lot to do with that.

Condo buyer frustrated

Many condo associations, according to Malinosky, didn’t allow showings, while others restricted access so that even after a unit was purchased the new buyer could not move in right away.
That proved to be frustrating for 84-year-old Tom Carr, who closed on a condo in Highland Beach on March 9 but discovered two days later that the condo association would not allow his furniture to be delivered.
“The virus made it impossible for me to move in,” he said.
Carr, who had to be out of his nearby rental unit by the end of April, ended up living in a neighbor’s apartment and overseeing some repairs while the neighbor was away. He was able to move into his new condo in mid-June, with all of the deliveries coming in one day.
Another challenge for those selling condominiums and townhouses has been travel restrictions and a reluctance of prospective buyers to fly in.
To get around that problem, some agents have been offering virtual tours and have seen units sold without the buyers’ ever stepping foot inside.
Malinosky says there were still quite a few sales in the condo market as well as inquiries, and he foresees improvement as restrictions are loosened. “The demand is there,” he said.
The demand is especially high, he believes, for spacious condos where residents can work from home, perhaps with a window view of the ocean.
Privacy is also an issue, with some buyers looking for units that come with a private elevator and even private pools.
When it comes down to it, what buyers of both condos and single-family homes are looking for is the same thing — the Florida lifestyle.
“People are figuring that if they’re going to be anywhere, they would rather be in Florida,” said Malinosky, adding that some see it as a more open and safer environment.
It doesn’t hurt, either, that taxes in Florida are more affordable than those in many parts of the Northeast.
Presson says a lot of buyers he’s seeing these days are people who have been indecisive about moving to Florida.
“COVID pushed them off the fence,” he said.

By Dan Moffett

Town Manager Robert Kellogg had plenty of good news to report about the financial health of South Palm Beach during the Town Council’s meeting on June 9.
Kellogg told council members that the town’s taxable value has skyrocketed 21.7% this year over last, far more than any other municipality in Palm Beach County.
Two reasons for the surge: the $70 million luxury condominium building, 3550 South Ocean, has finally come onto the tax rolls. And so has developer Frank McKinney’s five-bedroom, five-bath single-family home at 3492 S. Ocean Blvd., currently on the market for $13.9 million.
The net result is a $78 million jump in taxable value for the town, from $361.5 million in 2019 to $439.6 million in 2020, according to the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser’s Office.
But wait. Council members have more good news as they begin to deliberate next year’s budget.
The town is projected to save about $200,000 this year because it has merged its Police Department with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office. Moreover, cash reserves are healthy, too, because money that for years was set aside to pay for an expensive beach stabilization project won’t be needed. That beach plan fell apart last year and has been replaced with a far less costly sand dune replacement project.
“This is the best it’s ever looked,” said Mayor Bonnie Fischer, who has served on the council since 2011. “What we do with the revenue will be determined during a budget workshop as a decision by everybody.”
The continuing budget issue facing the council is whether to repair or replace the aging Town Hall building. Officials have wrestled with a decision on that for the past three years, going through a number of false starts and aborted plans over how much to spend and how far to go in upgrading the building.
“It’s a live wire,” said Fischer, who said she expects the debate to begin anew as the council begins deliberating this summer on a budget for the 2020-2021 fiscal year.
One thing the mayor has already promised from the new tax windfall, however: “We will be able to buy more masks,” she said with a laugh.
The council intends to continue distributing free face masks to residents as long as the COVID-19 pandemic threat remains, she said.
In other business, the council unanimously approved a contract with The MS Factor Inc., a West Palm Beach public relations and advertising firm, to improve communication services between the government and residents.
Fischer said she wants the town to have a stronger internet presence and be able to inform residents quickly during emergency situations with text messages and emails.
“We hope to see improvements on our website and how we get information out to our residents,” Fischer said.
Vice Mayor Robert Gottlieb has argued for months that the town should use social media and the internet to get more people involved in government and civic activities.
The contract with MS Factor calls for paying the company on an hourly basis for specific assignments the council approves. The MS Factor is a partnership between former state Rep. Sharon Merchant and marketing specialist Valerie Staggs. Merchant’s firm has done work for West Palm Beach, Palm Beach and Boynton Beach, as well as the Florida Department of Transportation.

By Dan Moffett

Manalapan can move forward with a plan to improve water delivery to its oceanfront homes after the Town Commission approved two ordinances that will allow an easement for pipeline construction across property owned by Commissioner Hank Siemon.
One ordinance removes the requirement that homes be built before docks are added as accessories. The change means that Siemon can get his dock construction underway before completing his new residence at 1660 Lands End Road.
The other ordinance removes the requirement that the town’s Architectural Commission must review dock projects. Both passed unanimously on June 23.
Because the positioning of Siemon’s dock can now be laid out and approved, the town can determine its easement space and begin work on installing the pipe that will significantly increase water flow to homes along the ocean.
In January, the commission approved a variance to code that allows Siemon to build a dock some 30 feet farther out into the Intracoastal than existing limits. Some neighbors and two former mayors objected to allowing the exception.
Commissioner Stewart Satter commended Siemon for working with the town to get the water project going.
“He’s doing us a favor,” Satter said. “He’s not trying to pull a fast one. He’s trying to cooperate with the town because that dock needs to go in before the water line.”
Mayor Keith Waters said the commission has been talking about improving its water delivery for 15 years, and Siemon’s willingness to work with the commission is making it possible.
“We asked him. He didn’t ask us,” Waters said. “We asked him to go ahead and move forward because we need that dock in place.”

In other business:
• Manalapan commissioners are facing some hard choices as they begin deliberations in July on the town’s 2020-2021 budget. Tax revenues are down and expenses are rising.
Property tax valuations are essentially flat year-over-year, up only 1.5%, the lowest increase in Palm Beach County. Several Manalapan property owners petitioned the value adjustment board and had their valuations decreased, Town Manager Linda Stumpf said. Meanwhile, next door in South Palm Beach, valuations are up almost 22%, the highest in the county, which will take a toll on Manalapan.
The town and South Palm are connected in a package deal with the county for fire-rescue services. The big jump in South Palm valuations means both municipalities will have to pay the county significantly more this year.
Also, the COVID-19 pandemic has crippled business at Plaza del Mar and Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa, reducing tax streams to the town. Manalapan’s county and state tax receipts are down, too.
On the expense side, personnel costs keep rising, the Police Department has expanded and an ambitious multiyear, multimillion-dollar septic-to-sewer conversion project looms on the horizon.
“We’re working really hard to bring in the budget and make some cuts to it so hopefully we can absorb the reduction and not increase the tax rate,” Stumpf said. “But I can’t say for sure if I’ll be able to do that.”
• The commission unanimously approved an ordinance that allows the placement of liens on properties with unpaid water service charges. Until passing the law, the town had little means of enforcing collection of delinquent water bills, Stumpf said.
• Manalapan is claiming a first for the town. Because of COVID-19 restrictions that have closed Town Hall, video of the commission meeting on June 23 was streamed live via Zoom on YouTube.
“This is the first in the history of the town that we’ve had a video Town Commission meeting,” Waters said, smiling. “We are the astronauts of the future for town government.”

Appraiser likes 5.9% growth as county awaits impact of pandemic

By Mary Hladky

The taxable value of Palm Beach County properties has increased for the ninth year in a row, although the rate of growth continued a multiyear trend of slowing down.
The numbers, however, do not reflect any impact from the coronavirus pandemic since they are based on market conditions as of Jan. 1.
Countywide taxable property values jumped 5.9% from 2019 to 2020, down from last year’s 6.2%, according to the 2020 preliminary tax roll that the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser’s Office submitted to the state.
The total taxable value of countywide properties is $210.3 billion, up from $198.9 billion last year.
The total market value of countywide properties increased to $288.6 billion from $277.6 billion in 2019.
New construction added to the tax rolls totaled $3 billion, up from $2.6 billion in 2019.
The taxable value rise “is very healthy,” said Property Appraiser Dorothy Jacks. “It is not too high and not too low.”
It is too early to predict what impact COVID-19 will have on next year’s values, Jacks said, but she expects hotels, non-essential retail and restaurants will take a hit.
“A lot of that property is a tenant-landlord relationship,” she said. “If tenants don’t return, or tenants ask for some dispensation from their rent for a period of time, all that impacts the owner’s income. Their income will be reduced.”
As of mid-June, she had not seen an impact on the residential market. “But what it will be over the next six months is the real rub. We are just not sure if there is going to be a larger recession that will cause a decline in residential.”
So far, signs are hopeful.

Lots of Realtors report people from New York and the surrounds are looking, maybe making decisions to move up retirement, or work from home. A lot of people have ties to this area. They may choose to move on their plans sooner rather than later. That helps the market, Jacks said.
Since 70% of the county’s taxable value comes from residential, a solid residential market would offset commercial market losses, she said.
Despite the pandemic, the Palm Beach County median home sales price was holding steady at $365,000 as of May, Jarrod Lowe, president of the Broward, Palm Beaches and St. Lucie Realtors, announced on June 22.
That’s virtually the same as last year. Yet the median sale price usually increases year over year. Last year’s increase was 3.1%.
But Lowe was upbeat.
“Most would assume that the market would be derailed after the past few months, but this just goes to show how resilient our county is,” he said. “If you are looking to sell, there are also fewer competing properties right now and fewer days on market.”
Closed sales decreased by 47% because many closings were postponed due to the coronavirus, he said, adding that he expects to see the market begin to normalize this summer.
Like last year, new apartment complexes, hotels and warehouses bolstered the rise in new construction.
Boca Raton’s taxable property value, which increased $1.1 billion from last year’s $25 billion, continues to outpace every other city in the county. The city’s value rate was up 4.75%, compared with 4.9% last year.
“We are continuing to see robust investment and steady growth in our assessed values,” Mayor Scott Singer said in an email. “Even with the COVID-19 downturn, residential properties are selling briskly and we are seeing even more interest from people and companies from other states.”
Delray Beach’s taxable value jumped 7.6%, up from last year’s 6.6%. Boynton Beach’s value increased by 6.8%, down from 7.4% in 2019.
Delray Beach added $225.6 million in new construction to its tax roll, narrowly besting Boca Raton’s $223.7 million.
High-value redevelopment projects in the city’s eastern communities and downtown added to the tax roll, said Anthea Gianniotes, Delray Beach’s development services director.
“We are growing like crazy,” she said. “A lot of this is a realization of a lot of the hard work that went into revitalizing our downtown over the last 20 years. We have created a beautiful downtown.”
Gianniotes said next year’s new construction numbers would be strong as well, as the iPic theater building, Ray Hotel and portions of the Atlantic Crossing project will be added to the tax roll.
The overall taxable value percentage growth leader in south Palm Beach County was South Palm Beach, which jumped a whopping 21.7%.
Town Manager Robert Kellogg attributed that to the addition to the tax roll of 3550 South Ocean, a seven-story oceanfront luxury condo, as well as a new single-family home on the ocean.
That’s a one-year boon for the town, as Kellogg said he does not expect any new construction to take place in the foreseeable future.
Property values increased by 11.1% in Briny Breezes, 2.8% in Gulf Stream, 2.5% in Highland Beach, 6.8% in Lantana, 1.5% in Manalapan, and 4.8% in Ocean Ridge.
The largest Boca Raton projects added to the tax roll this year were a new $57 million headquarters for prison and immigrant detention center operator GEO Group at 4955 Technology Way, new construction at Cade Boca Raton apartments at 950 Broken Sound Parkway NW, and a six-bedroom, nine-bathroom mansion at 1160 Royal Palm Way.
Delray Beach’s largest were the 66-condo 111 First Delray Beach at 111 SE First Ave., the Aloft Hotel at 202 SE Fifth Ave., and a Courtyard Marriott at 135 SE Sixth Ave.
Boynton Beach’s biggest were the 324-unit Pacifica apartment complex at 1080 Audace Ave., The Club at Boynton Beach assisted living facility at 623 S. Federal Highway, and an Aldi supermarket at 3452 W. Boynton Beach Blvd.
Local governments use the taxable value numbers to calculate how much property tax money they can expect in the coming year so they can set their annual budgets and 2020-2021 tax rates.
The overall increase in taxable values was welcome news for municipal leaders since a decline would have meant less tax revenue coming in and forced difficult budget decisions.
But as the coronavirus pandemic continues, cities will see a decrease in other expected income, including sales tax revenue. As of late June, it was not yet clear how big those losses would be.

LETTERS:
The Coastal Star welcomes letters to the editor about issues of interest in the community. These are subject to editing and must include your name, address and phone number. Preferred length is 200-500 words. Send email to news@thecoastalstar.com.

By Mary Thurwachter

During Lantana’s first budget workshop on June 8, Mayor Dave Stewart warned residents that the upcoming budget years would be very challenging.
“Property taxes will bring in about $4 million,” he said. “What it costs to run the town from A to Z for everything we do is about $19-$20 million. Your property taxes are very necessary, but they are only about 20% of what it costs to do all the services.”
Other money comes from gas tax revenue, sales tax sharing and revenue sharing from the state.
“The state last I heard, with its almost $90 billion budget, was projecting a $5 billion deficit, and that trickles down to everybody,” Stewart said. “Our sales tax receipts are projected to be considerably less — people aren’t buying in the same manner they were before the virus. And of course, with fewer people driving, there’s less gas being purchased. It’s a good thing to have some reserves, because things are going to be very, very tough.”
Stewart is proud that the town has built up a healthy $9 million in reserves, something he says took 20 years. The account had just $600,000 when Stewart took office in 2000.
“It’s a good thing I’ve been a little cheapskate with spending all these years,” he said.
Finance Director Stephen Kaplan, in presenting the budget, said property values increased by $78 million, or 6.9%, to $1.21 billion for the coming fiscal year. That number includes $14.4 million in new construction.
Property taxes, using the same $3.5 tax rate as the current fiscal year, would bring in $4.05 million. Total revenue projections are for $12.4 million, an increase of $229,000 compared with the current budget.
Kaplan said the town projects receiving $80,000 in federal Community Development Block grants.
The town is planning to give employees a 1.5% cost-of-living raise and possible merit raises up to 5% based on annual evaluations.
Pension costs are projected at 39.51% of wages for sworn police officers at a cost of $932,000. Pension costs for other employees are 7% of wages with a matching program of up to 2%. The total cost for this is $325,000.
Health and dental insurance are expected to increase 20% each for a total cost of $1,720,000.
Money the town receives from the penny sales tax surcharge, an estimated $785,500, is earmarked for projects such as a launch deck at Sportsman’s Park ($9,000), beach walkway rails ($120,000), playground relocation and upgrade at Bicentennial Park ($120,000) and paving projects ($450,000).
The budget calls for adding a dispatcher and a detective to the Police Department; and reclassifying and promoting several positions in the finance and development services departments.
Also on the expenditure list is increasing part-time staff hours at the library and spending $15,000 for books. The library is due for massive renovations and expansion, much of which was covered in the current budget and from donations. The remaining $300,000 will come out of reserves.
The town is looking into costs associated with body cameras for police at the mayor’s suggestion.
“I know we’ve had this discussion before, but when you see all that we see on TV, that officer from the sidewalk, I really think — and you know how I am about spending money — maybe we should spend money for body cameras to protect ourselves,” Stewart said. “I know that’s a controversial thing.”
Kaplan says the town expected to receive certified taxable values from the county’s property appraiser on July 1.
A second budget workshop is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. July 13 — the same night a proposed tax rate will be set. There will also be two public hearings on the budget in September.

Briny Breezes resident Ann Carmody receives a COVID-19 nasal swab test from Palm Beach County Health Department nurse practitioner Guerlyne Estime during the one-day testing June 16. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

By Dan Moffett

It lasts about 10 seconds, demands some careful nasal navigation and nearly always leads to a snotty, yet relatively happy ending.
People are really happy to get it over.
As of the summer of 2020, testing remains the most effective weapon in the fight against the growing COVID-19 pandemic.
On June 16, a steady stream of residents and neighbors came to the Palm Beach County Health Department’s medical truck parked outside the Briny Breezes Clubhouse to be tested for coronavirus infection.
“It’s a little uncomfortable,” said Briny resident Nancy Signorielli. “But, you know what? It’s something we should do to protect ourselves and to protect everybody else.”
The truck with a half-dozen county health care workers and hundreds of nose swabs spent seven hours administering the free tests to anyone willing. By day’s end, 151 people had been tested.
Town Council President Sue Thaler arranged to bring the mobile unit to Briny. She heard complaints from a few residents who thought that it was unnecessary because the town has had no confirmed COVID-19 cases. Testing is how to keep it that way, the skeptics were told.
“We have a fair number of people who find it difficult to get to the other testing sites,” Thaler said. “I heard they had the unit in other towns. I called right away and asked, can you bring it to Briny?”
Thaler said she showed up when the truck opened at 9 a.m. to be first in line. “There were already people here waiting to be tested,” she said.
The unit has the capacity to test about 300 people a day, said Wendy Shields, a member of the county crew who was soon to graduate with a degree in health care management from South University in West Palm Beach.
“The line moves pretty fast,” Shields said. “We’ve been to Boynton Beach, Palm Springs, Lantana and Lake Worth — all around the area.”
No news is good news when it comes to COVID-19 tests. If your results are negative, you will hear nothing from the Health Department. If the test comes back positive, then the department will contact you in three to four days.
Brinyites James and Brenda Dooley were among the first to be tested.
“It’s like they told us — uncomfortable but not at all painful,” James said.
“There is no pain involved,” said Brenda. “It was nice of the county to set this up for us.”
Longtime County Pocket resident Stuart Malin walked over to take advantage of the testing next door. Thaler put the word out to neighboring communities, and people from Ocean Ridge, Lantana and West Palm Beach came to the Briny test site.
“What they told us was right,” Briny resident Peter Theodoroff said after exiting the swab tent. “It’s uncomfortable but bearable. I’ve had many worse operations than this.”
Ann Carmody rose from the test seat laughing. “I wasn’t screaming,” she said.
Having lived in Briny for 31 years, Carmody, 85, has witnessed her share of crises, natural and manmade, local and global. But 2020 is a year unlike any other in the last three decades.
“I’ve seen a lot, but never a world like this,” she said. “Isn’t it awful?”

Crowds that gather on the Ocean Avenue Bridge and its fishing pier helped leaders decide to postpone this year’s fireworks in Lantana. 2019 photo by Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

By Mary Thurwachter

Lantana reversed course during the June 22 Town Council meeting, postponing its Fourth of July fireworks show. Until then, the town had planned to have the pyrotechnics display from a barge in the Intracoastal Waterway next to Bicentennial Park but without the traditional celebration in the park.
With the coronavirus pandemic lurking, one by one towns and cities up and down the coastline have been putting the kibosh on fireworks.
Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Deerfield Beach, Boynton Beach, Lake Worth Beach and North Palm Beach canceled or postponed fireworks and other Independence Day gatherings for fear of community spread of COVID-19. Like cities nationwide, they have been advised by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention not to hold events with large crowds.
Since March, council members in Lantana said they wanted the $30,000 Zambelli fireworks show to go on, even if the party in the park wouldn’t be part of it. Residents were being encouraged to watch from their homes. All town parks in the vicinity — including Sportsman’s Park across the street from Bicentennial; Lyman Kayak Park just around the corner; and the beach, a short hike over the bridge — would be closed, blocked off with police officers standing guard.
Then on June 29, Palm Beach County Mayor Dave Kerner announced that all beaches — including Lantana’s — would be closed for the July 4 weekend, as well.
Before making the decision to postpone fireworks, Lantana officials were asking people not to cram together to watch the show from the bridge — or anywhere.
But Police Chief Sean Scheller said keeping people off the bridge — historically a favorite spot for watching the fireworks — would be a problem. He said he was concerned about crowd control.
He wasn’t the only one worried about unruly crowds. Dave Arm, president of the Lantana Chamber of Commerce, begged the Town Council to cancel the fireworks. He said he feared mayhem on East Ocean Avenue, the town’s downtown restaurant and shopping district.
“Considering what’s going on in the country, where people are using different circumstances as an excuse to make trouble, I don’t want to see windows broken from my member businesses on Ocean Avenue,” Arm said. “I don’t want to see people hurt. And I don’t want to see Lantana in the national news because we were stupid enough to have fireworks.”
Arm said it would be “insane and irresponsible” to have fireworks this year.
Council member Malcolm Balfour, who made the motion to postpone fireworks until a later date — perhaps New Year’s Eve or next April for the town’s centennial celebration — said he thought fireworks should not be held, especially with the number of COVID-19 cases steadily increasing.
Vice Mayor Lynn Moorhouse said he couldn’t second the motion for postponement — the thought of it made him sad, he said — but inevitably he voted in favor of delaying fireworks, as did all council members.

Fireworks a go in WPB

One city you can find fireworks is West Palm Beach. The Flagler event at the waterfront will not happen this year. Instead, fireworks will be launched from two different and undisclosed north and south locations so as many people as possible can see them.
Residents are encouraged to have a “POP” — a party on the porch. The city created a series of videos to help patriots party at home. Content includes how-to videos for recipes, decorations and games.
While many will be able to see the fireworks from their homes, anyone can watch by tuning into WPBF 25. Through a special partnership, the Hearst Television-owned ABC affiliate will broadcast the fireworks live to everyone in the station’s viewing area. Hubbard Radio’s seven West Palm Beach stations will broadcast fireworks music in concert with the event.
West Palm Beach Mayor Keith James said that, while Fourth of July plans might look a little different, they are no less significant for the city. “In fact, I’d say they are more significant this year than in years past,” James said. “We are celebrating the culmination of 125 years strong and pushing through this pandemic together.”
Residents and others from the area are encouraged to partake in a full afternoon of at-home entertainment, with the 15-minute show as the grand finale. Before the fireworks show begins, residents are encouraged to support local businesses by ordering takeout through West Palm Beach Eats, a restaurant delivery service, and stage their POPs. The DIY Event Guide (www.wpb.org/government/community-events/diy-event-guide) content will help people host their own events, using common and inexpensive household items. The videos were released on June 14. People are encouraged to post pictures and videos of their POPs to social media, using #WPBTogether, to join the virtual DIY Fourth of July celebration.

Other holiday plans

Delray Beach: Although the city canceled its fireworks display on the beach and Atlantic Avenue festivities leading up to the main event, some family-friendly festivities remain. They include: adorning houses and yards with red, white and blue decorations to compete for the Most Patriotic House honor; submitting favorite patriotic family or pet photos, and family recipes for the Fourth of July Digital Scrapbook; and joining the first virtual Independence Day Parade on July 4. For more ideas, visit www.delraybeachfl.gov/our-city/things-to-do/4th-of-july.
Boca Raton: The Recreation Services Department will present “Red, White & Blue in Boca,” a weeklong virtual celebration ending on July 4, on the Boca Raton Recreation social media pages and the city’s YouTube channel. 
 “In lieu of our annual Fabulous Fourth of July Celebration, we will be celebrating virtually as a community all week long,” said Monika Amar, community events coordinator. “Families are welcome to join in on any of the activities to create their own fabulous and festive Fourth of July holiday from home.”
Throughout the week, several patriotic-themed videos will be posted, including how-tos, festive craft and game ideas to do at home, backyard grilling tips, recipe and drink tutorials and much more. A few of the features include: the Children’s Science Explorium with a fireworks experiment; Mizner Park’s Cielito Artisan Pops with a patriotic popsicle demo; Tomasso’s with a patriotic pizza how-to; and blogger Heather McMechan from Local Mom Scoop with a recipe for making a Star Spangled Watermelon Salad with your kids. 
For details, follow Boca Raton Recreation on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Boynton Beach: The city postponed its fireworks celebration, which was supposed to include city centennial-related events during the day. The fireworks will be rescheduled when Zambelli, the fireworks supplier, has time to suggest options to the City Commission. Stay tuned.
Lake Worth Beach: The city postponed its Fourth of July fireworks and celebration until Labor Day.

Members of the staff of Cornell Institute for Rehabilitation Medicine at Bethesda Hospital in Boynton Beach. Photos provided

Stories from pandemic are being preserved for posterity

By Ron Hayes

On July 3, 1918, a Boca Raton pioneer named Frank Chesebro made a brief notation in his diary: “Got out egg plant seed,” he wrote. “Buried a boy named Rogers in cemetery.”
Three days later, he made another notation:
“Buried second Rogers boy. Got out pepper seed. Picked pines.”
The cemetery was a single acre then, situated at what is now an entrance to the Royal Palm Yacht & Country Club, just across the roundabout from the Boca Raton Resort & Club.
We know Frank Chesebro had donated that acre in 1916. We know John E. Rogers was only 10 years old when he died, and we know his brother, Jasper H., was 8.
But we don’t know what killed them.
Could it have been the Spanish flu pandemic, which appeared that spring and would claim about 50 million lives, including as many as 800,000 in the U.S., before subsiding the following summer?
“We’ve always wondered,” says Susan Gillis, curator at the Boca Raton Historical Society & Museum. “Could they have died of the Spanish flu? But we haven’t been able to document that.”
Now, a century later, another pandemic is sweeping away lives throughout the world. This time, area curators and archivists want to make sure that people 100 years from now will know what life was like for us during the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020.
In addition to the Boca Raton Historical Society, the Boynton Beach City Library and Delray Beach Historical Society are asking residents to share memories, photos and other memorabilia of their lives under quarantine.
“We’ve been getting a lot of photos, a donation of face masks, and student submissions from the schools,” says Patricia Fiorillo, the assistant curator at the Boca Raton Historical Society, who’s leading its campaign. “We’ve had a lot of photos of graduation signs in front of houses. I’d like one of those signs.”
A fourth-grader named Jacob took the lockdown with grown-up patience.
“My cousin Chris graduated,” Jacob wrote, “so we celebrated at our house. Quarantine changed our lives but there is still joy to spread; we’re in this together.”

At the Boynton Beach City Library, archivist-librarian Georgen Charnes wants residents to know they don’t have to be a doctor on the front lines of the virus or an ICU nurse to have a story worth saving.
“We tend to think of history as famous people or wealthy people,” Charnes says, “but it’s the stories of ordinary people that give people in the future a sense of what life was really like now.”
Hudson Hilburn arrived in Fort Pierce on April 8, a healthy baby girl born during an unhealthy time.
“This is not how I expected to bring a baby into the world,” Julia Christy Hilburn wrote the Boynton library’s project. “I pictured a waiting room full of family all anxiously awaiting Patrick to tell them Hudson has arrived and how much she weighs.
“Instead we asked a friendly neighbor to FaceTime so my grandma could see her first great-grandchild. Instead, we nervously told everyone we were headed home only to tell them they couldn’t stop by.”

 Kenya Spear of Delray Beach shows her crocheting.

Winnie Edwards, executive director of the Delray Beach Historical Society, began soliciting donations in early March.
“When you’re researching things like an old hurricane, you go to mainly the newspapers, but it’s really hard to find those personal stories unless somebody wrote them down. With this pandemic happening in our lifetimes, I know everybody’s got stuff on their phone, and I thought we’d better collect it now.”
So far, Edwards reports, she’s gathered more than 100 contributions, including this optimistic essay from Kenya Spear of North Swinton Avenue.
“I swim about four times weekly, participate in Yoga/Meditation at The Delray Beach Library on Atlantic Avenue. (Now, I meditate here, at home alone, and some times do Yoga, but it is not the same as being in a group.)
“I miss volunteering at The Arts Garage and at The Boca Raton Library Bookstore, tutoring children, helping with their reading and math, playing cards with friends, visiting The Norton Museum, walking in the park near Lake Ida Road.
“Amazingly, I now have time and finally, patience and I have rediscovered an old favorite passion, crocheting. It is tremendously relaxing, rewarding. And I feel accomplished, productive. I look at my completed items and know that I am blessed. I have options. I am thankful. I am safe and alive.”
Someday, Edwards hopes, she will work with commercial photographer Matt Sturgess of 4th Avenue Photography to turn the videos, photos and poetry into a documentary. But like the other archivists, she has put no deadline on submissions.
The history hasn’t ended because the pandemic hasn’t ended, and so the collecting continues.
Someday soon, they hope, the COVID-19 pandemic will become, like the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918, history.
And this time, that history will have been preserved.

Delray’s Jim Chard in mango season.

The Rogers boys did not stay in Frank Chesebro’s cemetery. When Addison Mizner began to build his resort, the cemetery was moved to 10 acres on the northeast corner of Second Avenue and 16th Street. And in 1943, they were moved again, to the present cemetery on Southwest Fourth Avenue. Their graves are still there.
Did they die of the Spanish flu?
Perhaps. But in 1918, the entire state of Florida had fewer than 1 million residents, and fewer than 1,000 deaths were reported statewide.
“Palm Beach County was not super densely populated, so there was a lot of space between people in 1918,” Patricia Fiorillo of the Boca Raton Historical Society said. “Social distancing wasn’t that hard back then.”

How to contribute
• Boca Raton Historical Society: Send submissions to research@bocahistory.org with the subject line “Letters to the Future,” or mail to the Boca Raton Historical Society & Museum, 71 N. Federal Highway, Boca Raton, FL 33432.
• Boynton Beach City Library: Go to boynton-beach.org/library/share-your-covid-19-stories for instruction and links.
• Delray Beach Historical Society: Email video diaries, essays, poems, photos and artwork to info@delraybeachhistory.org

Intense rains the weekend of May 25 flooded many of the town’s roads, including Briny Breezes Boulevard.
Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

By Dan Moffett

A healthy 11.1% rise in taxable property value means the Briny Breezes Town Council will have more revenue to work with as it takes on several important projects during the next budget year.
Town Manager William Thrasher told the council during a budget workshop on June 25 that the Palm Beach County property appraiser has assessed the town’s valuation at $59.7 million, up from last year’s $53.8 million, the fourth-largest percentage increase among the county’s 39 municipalities.
That’s the good news. The challenging news is that Briny has some bills to pay.
Most notable among them is the cost of doing major maintenance work on the town’s seven lift stations. The pumping units are essential to moving stormwater out of the town and into the sewage collection system.

Thrasher said the lift stations will need an extensive overhaul after many years of service, and they are needed more than ever now because of the new Gulf Stream Views development in the County Pocket that is straining the area’s drainage capability.
“The estimated cost for each lift station is $11,000, somewhere in that range,” Thrasher said, citing evaluations from Harvel Utility Construction, the town’s contractor. “These things are really essential. It’s kind of scary if something malfunctions.”
Thrasher recommended using a $25,000 surplus from last year’s budget to begin overhauling the stations. Council members agreed, and said they wanted to try to complete work on two stations per year until all were restored.
Other significant expenses include $30,000 for a Tallahassee lobbyist to help bring state grant money to Briny and $8,500 to complete work on changes to the town’s charter and put them on the ballot in March 2021.
On Thrasher’s recommendation, the council approved a 9.2% raise to $32,500 a year for Town Clerk Sandi DuBose, who oversees building permit processing. Council President Sue Thaler suggested setting money aside to give Thrasher a raise, but he rejected the idea, saying he didn’t need one and the budget was too tight. The manager, who earns $37,500 a year in the part-time position, told the council to give his raise to the town’s staff instead.
“You help me when you help them,” said Thrasher, who with DuBose started working for the town in January.
Briny will again be capped at the statutory tax maximum of $10 per $1,000 of homeowners’ property value. The town receives about 36% of the cost for fire-rescue and police services from the Briny corporation — an annual total of roughly $417,350 goes to Boynton Beach for fire-rescue and $192,300 to Ocean Ridge for police.

In other business, Bobby Jurovaty, chair of the town’s charter review committee, told the council during its regular meeting on June 25 that he expects the panel’s work to be done by September.
Jurovaty said the goal is to make changes “that are cost-effective and improve the town’s ability to function.”
Since its incorporation as a municipality in 1963, Briny has operated without a formal town charter, relying instead on a hodgepodge collection of resolutions, ordinances and amendments.
The review committee hopes to update existing rules, procedures and definitions and send the revisions to the voters for approval in the March election.

By Jane Smith

Delray Beach commissioners decided unanimously June 16 to rehire the previous internal auditor on an as-needed basis.
Julia Davidyan, who resigned in January, will be paid $160 an hour and junior accountants in her firm, JMD Premier Group Inc., will receive $80 an hour.
City voters overwhelmingly said in a March 2016 referendum they wanted an internal auditor. It took more than two years for the city to hire one. The internal auditor reports directly to the commission, as do the city manager and city attorney.
Davidyan played a lead role when her investigation found the prior city manager had engaged in “unprofessional and arguably unethical” actions. She testified at a special commission meeting held March 1, 2019, that led to the firing of Mark Lauzier.
But in early June, two city commissioners did not think Delray Beach needed an internal auditor. Vice Mayor Ryan Boylston and Commissioner Adam Frankel wanted to have a workshop to discuss the need for one.
“We have a new city manager who is getting his team in place, then we were hit by the pandemic,” Boylston said at the June 2 meeting.
But Commissioner Juli Casale wanted to move forward.
Davidyan’s “audit plan for fiscal year 2019 found we were high risk in four areas: information technology, finance, purchasing, and parks and recreation,” Casale said June 2. “Everyone will know what she is doing.”
The June 2 vote was split, 3-2, with Boylston and Frankel voting no.
Then-City Manager George Gretsas entered the fray when he met individually with commissioners to try to convince them an internal auditor was not needed.
The main reason, according to his PowerPoint, was that city department heads had at most three years’ experience in their positions.
On two slides, he questioned whether the internal auditor was “an in-house assassin.”

Lisa Marie Browne, standing in front of a mural inside Dreyfoos School of the Arts, fell in love with the mission of the school. Her involvement grew to the point that she now chairs its foundation. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Brian Biggane

An invitation to a Dreyfoos School of the Arts luncheon 15 years ago proved to be more than an eye-opener for coastal Boca Raton resident Lisa Marie Browne. It was a revelation.
“The last board chairman, Simon Offit, invited me and he told me how successful these students were and how hard they work,” said Browne, who was recently named to succeed Offit as board chair of the Dreyfoos Foundation.
“At the luncheon a girl named Ariel, who weighed about 98 pounds, got up and belted out these songs from Broadway,” Browne recalled. “And then two pianists sat down and played side-by-side and I couldn’t believe what I was experiencing. I found myself sitting there saying, ‘These are students. These are students.’”
Browne was so intrigued she asked to take a tour of the school, after which she was invited to serve on the board. A few years later she became vice chair, a position she held 10 times prior to succeeding Offit, who retired after serving as chairman for 23 years.
“At the time Louis was about 9, and I found myself getting more and more involved,” Browne said of her son. “It was, ‘OK, you’re having an event, I’ll do this. You need someone to tutor, I’ll do that.’”
Her observations made her admiration for the school grow.
“I learned how hard the students work, and how they come from every walk of life imaginable. From the student whose mom is bagging groceries at Publix, to ones coming from other countries — we even had students we took care of during hurricanes. It’s a great public high school.”
Browne’s loyalty to the program was tested a few years ago. She was involved with the Fort Lauderdale Museum of Art, had close friends in Broward County and was considering a move to get closer to both.
“But I have to live in Palm Beach County to be on the board,” she said of Dreyfoos. “Ultimately I knew if I moved that would no longer be the case. So, it played into my decision to stay.”
Browne, 60, is the single mother of Louis, now 24, an aspiring actor living in Manhattan.
Dreyfoos is not her only passion. A trip to Florence, Italy, years ago introduced her to the Uffizi Gallery art museum and she’s been closely connected ever since. Today, she serves as executive director of Friends of the Uffizi Gallery, a U.S.-based nonprofit whose mission is one of art conservation, historic preservation and education.
An opera lover, she is a lifetime member of the Florida Grand Opera. She is also a member of the Highland Beach chapter of UNICO, the largest Italian-American service organization in the country. In February she accompanied six friends on a three-week trip to Australia and New Zealand.
“I enjoy experiencing firsthand new customs and cultures,” Browne said. “This time we were extremely lucky, to make it back before our country shut down” because of the coronavirus.
— Brian Biggane

Q: Where did you grow up and go to school? How do you think that has influenced you?
A: I grew up in the small peninsula town of Bayonne, New Jersey, and attended Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic School in a community dominated by Italian-Americans.  It was there that I developed my lust for travel.
In the 1980s, I moved to Boca Raton and attended Florida Atlantic University, earning a B.S. in developmental psychology.  During an art therapy master’s course I was invited to join a docent program at the Fort Lauderdale Museum of Art, which changed my course of study to this day.  I was enchanted with the arts and how art reveals history, both past and present. I have been supporting and teaching the arts on a daily basis ever since.

Q: What professions have you worked in?
A: My very first work experience was at Burger King … my dad called me the Burger Queen. I then worked in business in different office positions. My favorite position found me 14 years ago when I was asked to become the executive director of the Friends of the Uffizi Gallery, a 501(c)(3) U.S.-sanctioned organization created in Palm Beach County supporting the preservation of the artwork in the Uffizi in Florence, Italy.

Q: What professional accomplishments are you most proud of?
A: Laocoön and His Sons was a monumental yearlong onsite restoration at the Uffizi Gallery set behind a plexiglass barrier allowing museum visitors to see the restorers at work. Leonardo Da Vinci’s Adoration of the Magi was a 6-year-long restoration project that at completion revealed never-before-seen areas on the masterwork.
In 2019 my friends and family supported the Uffizi’s newest room, The Titian Room, featuring the Venus of Urbino.

Q: What advice do you have for a young person seeking a career today?
A: Never be afraid to embrace a second chance.

Q: How did you choose to make your home in coastal Boca Raton?
A: I remember vividly the first time I entered Boca Raton via A1A from Deerfield Beach.  The street screamed out to me as the asphalt changed from black to white upon entry. I was enchanted at that moment and still today I am thankful to be a Boca Raton resident. 

Q: What is your favorite part about living in coastal Boca Raton?
A: The sunshine and easy access to everything — especially the beach, parks, the turtles, the Boca Raton Museum of Art, the proximity to airports and the smiles on the face of every tourist that enters our magical world.

Q: What book are you reading now?
A: I am reading Art in Renaissance Italy for an art and architecture class I am taking online. 
The “Crazy Rich Asians” series was my last fun read, so much so that I read it twice. Historical fictions are my all-time favorites.

Q: What music do you listen to when you want to relax? When you want to be inspired?
A: Andrea Bocelli for relaxation and soulful pop for inspiration.

Q: Have you had mentors in your life? Individuals who have inspired your life decisions?
A: Yes, I was blessed with strong, intelligent and kind parents as my first mentors.  One girlfriend that inspired me was my friend Davey, who is now in heaven.  Davey’s wisdom was worth writing in books. During a crisis she traveled to Florence, Italy, to study art.  Years later, I mimicked her therapy during my own change in life. Studying art history in Italy for me was life-changing.

Q: If your life story were to be made into a movie, who would play you?
A: Julianna Margulies. She’s someone I admire as an actress.

The new Fire Station No. 1. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

By Jane Smith

Boynton Beach held a soft opening of its new Fire Station 1 on June 3. As part of the city’s Public Art program, a mural featuring a collage of photos of the city’s fire rescue staff had been installed in the station’s lobby windows the day before, facing Northeast First Avenue.
Elected leaders, development partners and the media joined the walk-through of the new station, as mural artist Lynn Doyal enthused about her first public art project.
The next day, the mural was removed.
The reason? The mural was altered from what had initially been approved by the city’s Arts Commission. The faces of two Black ex-fire-rescue leaders had been whitewashed and made indistinguishable. Photos of the altered mural were posted on Twitter and Facebook starting on the afternoon of June 3.
The altered mural created an uproar in the community at the same time as widespread unrest over race and policing followed the May 25 death of George Floyd, a Black man who died while in the custody of Minneapolis police.
In Boynton Beach, Black people make up nearly 32% of the population, according to the July 2019 U.S. Census estimates.
Retired Deputy Chief Latosha Clemons, whose mural images were altered, grew up in and still lives in Boynton Beach. She and local Black church leaders say her legacy as the city’s first Black woman firefighter was erased.
“I sincerely apologize this occurred and will take every measure necessary to ensure this never happens again,” wrote Lori LaVerriere, city manager, in a public apology issued late June 4. “Please understand that this unfortunate incident is not indicative of our values.”
At the Arts Commission’s June 11 meeting, members agreed to reinstall the mural they approved in November, restoring Clemons’ image.
But the controversy led LaVerriere to fire Debby Coles-Dobay, the Public Art director, and seek the resignation of Fire Chief Matthew Petty on June 6. Both former staffers are white.
Still, the Black community was outraged.
Rae Whitely, spokesman for the Boynton Coalition of Clergy, said someone sent him photos of the doctored mural on the morning of June 4.
“I was upset because I know Latosha personally, knew her passion for the job and firefighting,” Whitely said. “Throughout history there were examples of Black history being erased. Here, it was happening in our backyard.”
Whitely immediately called Woodrow Hay, a Black city commissioner for District 2, where the new fire station sits. Hay promised to do something, according to Whitely.
As the clergy spokesman, Whitely sent the city a massive public records request on June 8.
“It doesn’t make sense,” Whitely said. “A lot of people are wondering: What is the full story? We are not jumping to conclusions. We want to know what happened.”
For Clemons, her emotions ranged from shock when she first saw photos of the altered mural to hurt to disrespect to outrage.
“I was on the committee that created the artwork,” she said at a June 17 news conference held outside her West Palm Beach attorney’s office.
She explained how she came to be a Boynton Beach firefighter. Back in 1995, she met with the city’s first Black fire chief, Floyd Jordan. He stood 6 feet 7 inches, and Clemons’ height is barely over 5 feet.
“‘Chief, think I have what it takes to do the job?’ He rose from his chair. He takes hold of my shoulder and says, ‘Latosha, you can do this,’” she said.
When Clemons saw photos of the altered mural, she felt bad for herself and the Black girls in Boynton Beach.
“I had a sense of pride as the first and only Black female in the department. It was bigger than me. It was for the whole community to be able to walk by the mural,” she said. “The hopes and dreams are shattered of the young girls.”
She wants to know why it happened and who made the changes. She also wants to see a thorough investigation. Clemons and her attorney, Nicole Hunt Jackson, filed a public records request with Boynton Beach to find the answers.
“We’re reviewing all of our options,” Hunt Jackson said, when asked if Clemons was planning to sue.
Clemons did not apply to be the chief after Glenn Joseph left that position in late November. As the city’s second Black fire chief, his face also was whitewashed. He did not respond to numerous phone messages seeking comment.
Little information has been revealed about why the mural was modified, and many questions remain.

The top half of the image shows the altered portion of the mural and the bottom shows the photo used by the artist.
Photo provided

At its November meeting, the city Arts Commission members approved a mural called Community Heartbeat. The mural is a collage of firefighters in action and at city events with a red heartbeat line running through. Doyal was paid $7,500 for her work.
Commission member Clovis Moodie, who is Jamaican American, wanted to ensure the photos represented the city’s culture and diversity.
The members did not see the altered mural that was installed.
Coles-Dobay, the fired Public Art manager, wrote in a June 4 email to the city manager that the mural was modified in April at the direction of Petty and Fire Marshal Kathy Cline.
Cline was also a participant in the April 20-23 emails with Petty and Coles-Dobay about the mural changes, but Cline’s role was not described.
Cline referred questions to the new Assistant City Manager Kathy Matos. Matos sent the questions to the city spokeswoman, who declined to explain Cline’s role in the altered mural.
On June 19, Coles-Dobay told The Coastal Star that senior fire rescue staff assured her the city manager would approve the changes.
Petty did not return cellphone messages.
Matos said she heard that retired Fire Chief Joseph did not want to be in the restored mural. Nicole Banks, the assistant Public Art manager, will contact the current and former firefighters who appear in the mural, in case they change their minds about wanting to be in it.
The results will be given to the Arts Commission members at their July 9 meeting.
At the City Commission meeting on June 16, LaVerriere announced that Ray Carter, retired fire chief, has agreed to lead the Fire Department for the rest of the year.
“That will allow us to do a nationwide search,” she said.
The commission had received numerous emails in support of Coles-Dobay’s contribution to the city’s Art in Public Places program and her professional role as a mentor to artists locally and internationally, Mayor Steven Grant said.
“Please reconsider her firing,” said artist Barb Lentz, who owns the ArtSea Living Studio in Boynton Beach. Lentz was one of 13 artists who spoke at the webinar-style meeting.
Despite the pleas, the commission supported the city manager’s decision to fire Coles-Dobay and seek the resignation of Petty.
“Two prominent Black individuals were removed. One still lives in District 2 and has family here. I am offended,” Commissioner Christina Romelus said at the June 16 meeting. “I’m grateful for the work of Coles-Dobay in helping put us on the map for the arts. But erasing and defacing people is not an excuse.” Romelus is Haitian American.
“Debby Coles-Dobay became a close friend of mine when I entered the political world in 2007,” Commissioner Hay said. “It still boggles my mind — what was she thinking that this would not come out?”
The new fire station is part of the city’s ambitious Town Square project, estimated to cost $250 million. The city’s estimated share is $118 million. The station began operating on June 10 and provides service in east Boynton Beach and the barrier island towns of Ocean Ridge and Briny Breezes.
The city has announced that the new City Hall and Library building will open on July 7.

On May 25, Liz Loper photographs the muddy waters that flowed into her home on Winthrop Lane for multiple days. Photos by Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

May storms turned into floodwaters in some parts of the county. Especially hard hit were the County Pocket and Briny Breezes.

By May 29, the waters on Winthrop had receded, but not disappeared as state Rep. Mike Caruso and County Commissioner Gregg Weiss toured the area and sought input from a dozen of the neighbors.

‘This is Palm Beach County and we should not have homes underwater,’ Caruso said.

On June 24, Caruso sent a letter to the Palm Beach County administrator requesting a meeting to clarify road ownership and discuss health and public safety in the County Pocket.

Mary Ford, manager and employee of Vince Canning Shoes for over 14 years, helps Judy Uhrman, a customer of seven years, try on shoes during a going-out-of-business sale. The family’s store Tootsies remains across the street. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Christine Davis 

Mark and LaRonda Denkler, owners of longtime family-run Atlantic Avenue store Vince Canning Shoes, announced that it was closing in June.
The Denklers have owned the store since 1994, buying it from Mark’s uncle, Vince Canning Jr., when he retired. Canning took the reins from his father, Vince Sr., in 1957, and Vince Sr. bought the shoe store in 1952.
“It was a timing thing,” Mark said. “The lease came up. We still have the lease on Tootsies just across the street, which we bought in 2015.” That shoe store will continue to operate with the best selections from both stores.
In 2015, the Denklers decided they could run both stores in the 300 block of East Atlantic and share staff. Tootsies carried styles with a more contemporary vibe, such as 3-inch heels, a little different from the more “mature, sensible shoes” that Vince Canning sold, Mark said. “But once we figured out what the market was, we don’t have 3-inch heels anymore.” It’s the 1.5-inch heel that appeals, he’s learned.
In addition to the lease’s ending, “we really didn’t want to fight the coronavirus slowdown,” he said. “We missed out on our two biggest months and we were overstocked in both stores. We got caught with tons of inventory.”
Nonetheless, it’s sad to see Vince Canning close, he said. “It’s a family legacy. My family has owned it since 1952. We tell our customers — they are sad, too —  that Tootsies will have a lot of the brands that they liked. We’ve taken the best of both stores, molding them into a shoe store to service our clients.”
Remaining shoes from Vince Canning are being sold at a discount at Tootsies. Employees at Tootsies wear masks or face shields; surfaces are sprayed clean; employees wash their hands often; and customers are limited to 20 at a time. “We are trying to operate as safely as we can for our customers and ourselves,” Mark said.

Other nearby retail businesses in Delray Beach that closed when their leases were up include Fresh Produce and Shining Through. Two new restaurants are Hawkers Asian Street Fare, 640 E. Atlantic Ave., and End of the Ave., 1155 E. Atlantic Ave. A Blast from the Past moved to 812 E. Atlantic Ave. and Johnnie Brown’s, 301 E. Atlantic Ave., reopened after renovations.
“The downtown is currently still in a reopening phase based on the current order,” said Laura Simon, executive director of the Delray Beach Downtown Development Authority. “We have several businesses that have not renewed their leases — some based on timing and others related to closure due to the pandemic. The vacancy rate is still very low considering the situation, and rests at 7%, which is where we normally hover.”

U.S. Construction is proposing its second oceanfront condo project in Delray Beach. The city’s Site Plan Review and Appearance Board on June 24 approved plans for Echelon at 1625 S. Ocean Blvd. A subsidiary of U.S. Construction, 1625 South Ocean LLC, purchased the 1.17-acre site for $12.3 million in January from the owners association of the Delray South Shore Club. The 15-unit timeshare would be demolished to make way for construction.

Plans for Echelon received preliminary approval from Delray Beach in June. The proposed three-story condominium will have 14 units and be just south of Atlantic Dunes Park. Rendering provided

The three-story Echelon will have 14 units ranging from 2,745 to 3,543 square feet, each with three bedrooms. The development will have a pool deck facing the ocean, a fitness center and 35 parking spaces, two underground for each unit and seven for guests. There will be a 24-hour concierge.
Prices have not been announced, but condos at Ocean Delray, which National Realty Investment Advisors and U.S. Construction are building nearby at the former Wright by the Sea, are listed from $5.7 million to $9 million.
The site is a block north of Linton Boulevard and just south of Atlantic Dunes Park. Part of the project is east of the Coastal Construction Control Line and will need approval to build from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, city staff said.
Four former timeshare owners unhappy with losing Delray South Shore are continuing a lawsuit seeking to unwind the sale.

The 10,154-square-foot waterfront home owned by Lars Nilsen at 1428 N. Ocean Blvd., Gulf Stream, sold for $10.5 million to Matthew H. Peltz, a board member of Wendy’s Co. The sale was recorded June 9.
The seller, a real estate investor from Norway, was represented by Candace Friis of the Corcoran Group. Devin Kay of Douglas Elliman represented the buyer. Nilsen paid $8.7 million for the property in 2008, and then built a new home situated on 1.87 acres, with highlights that include a home theater, a gym, a massage room, a guesthouse and a dock. 

Crocker Partners, a company that owns, operates and develops office and mixed-use projects, donated 1,500 square feet of space at its Boca Raton Innovation Campus to The Junior League of Boca Raton’s diaper bank, which serves 5,000 children annually and has distributed over 4 million diapers since 2011.
“This incredibly generous gift will help us provide diapers to local families in need, enabling babies and toddlers to attend day care, thus allowing their parents to go to work,” said Cristy Stewart-Harfmann, president of the Junior League.
Crocker Partners’ Angelo Bianco, managing partner, and Giana Pacinelli, marketing director, were instrumental in arranging the lease and partnership agreement in May.

The diaper bank recently distributed 100,000 diapers to 19 nonprofits that help needy people.
Typically, the group distributes 600,000 diapers each year, but the demand has grown because of the economic repercussions of the coronavirus. Some of the diapers were secured through the organization’s Amazon wish list and some were made possible through monetary donations.
Some 280,000 diapers were donated by the National Diaper Bank Network, to which the league belongs. All My Sons Moving & Storage delivered them.
“We are glad we were able to help with this large shipment that will in turn be delivered to so many families in need during these challenging times,” said Jameson Olsen, the company’s director of marketing and business development.
To donate diapers, email diaperbank@jlbr.org and a volunteer will pick up the donation. Or use the Junior League’s Amazon wish list and have diapers shipped directly to the organization’s headquarters. The link for the wish list is  http://a.co/6hoQI8P.

The Senada Adzem team of Douglas Elliman recently delivered more than 1,000 washable children’s masks and several infrared thermometers to Florence Fuller Child Development Centers in Boca Raton, which reopened its doors June 1.
Adzem’s team turned to a second nonprofit, one based in Bosnia and Herzegovina, for assistance with its contribution to Florence Fuller. Adzem commissioned the Association of Persons with Cerebral Palsy and Dystrophy in Goražde to produce the face masks for children of different ages. The nonprofit employs family members of patients with cerebral palsy and dystrophy.

National Council on Compensation Insurance recently donated almost three tons of food to Boca Helping Hands, which is seeing an average of 2,025 new families and individuals needing food services each day. Its pantry bag distribution has risen from 150–180 bags per day to more than 230, and it now serves an average of 324 meals per day — double what the organization usually serves.
NCCI employees recommend and select the charities that the company supports each year through the NCCI Cares program, which has helped many charities near the company’s Boca Raton headquarters.
The program also has generated community support that included more than $460,000 raised in the last two years for the United Way of Palm Beach County; more than $15,000 donated to Aid to Victims of Domestic Abuse; more than $20,000 raised to support hurricane relief efforts; 263 pairs of shoes donated to children in need; and care packages totaling 260-plus pounds sent to Kids’ Chance of Florida scholarship recipients.

 A Delray Beach-based company, Safe Space Scan Technologies, recently made available its new infrared temperature scanning technology. It complies with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention standards for business reopenings.
The 3S07T scanner, which features proprietary technology, is FCC certified and can scan for elevated temperature and mask compliance in less than one second. People without masks and/or with elevated body temperatures will receive audio alerts, as will business or building management. The Safe Space Scanner sells for $1,499.
For more information, visit www.safespacescan.com or call 888-819-7226. 

Steve Plunkett contributed to this column.
Send business news to Christine Davis at cdavis9797@gmail.com. 

By Steve Plunkett

Boynton Beach has wrested the lead from Boca Raton as South County's coronavirus hotspot, with 669 cases reported as of June 4.

Boca Raton has 660 cases, while Delray Beach has 518 reports.

By Mary Hladky

Former Boca Raton Mayor Susan Haynie’s trial on public corruption charges has been postponed until Sept. 21 due to disruptions caused by COVID-19.

Prosecutor Brian Fernandes and Bruce Zimet, Haynie’s criminal defense lawyer, agreed to cancel a scheduled July 20 trial and to set the new trial date because the pandemic has made it difficult to complete pretrial discovery. They also were concerned that not enough potential jurors would be available in July. Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Jeffrey Gillen agreed to the new trial date on May 28.

A March trial date also was postponed.

Haynie was arrested on April 24, 2018, on charges of official misconduct, perjury, misuse of public office and failure to disclose voting conflicts. She faces more than 20 years in prison.

Prosecutors contend that Haynie, 64, used her position on the City Council to vote on six matters that financially benefited James Batmasian, the city’s largest downtown commercial landowner, and failed to disclose income she had received from him.

Haynie has pleaded not guilty to the charges. Zimet has repeatedly said she will not accept a plea deal.

Then-Gov. Rick Scott suspended Haynie from office, but she never resigned. Her option to reclaim the mayor's post ended March 31 after Boca Raton voters elected Scott Singer, who was elevated from deputy mayor to replace Haynie during her suspension, to a full term as mayor succeeding her.

By Jane Smith

The city’s reclaimed water program, spawned in 2006 with the intent to stop the spewing of millions of gallons of wastewater into the ocean each year, was haunted from the beginning by mismanagement and lack of oversight, City Manager George Gretsas said on May 5.

“There was negligence and a lot of things that should not have happened,” Gretsas told Delray Beach city commissioners at their virtual meeting. “The mismanagement is very clear. There was a decade of it … lack of contractor oversight. No records were kept. It was a real problem for us as we’re trying to fix it.”

If Gretsas had to give the program a grade, he said it would be D-minus, and only that because it was well intentioned. Delray Beach shut down the system Feb. 4 to avoid a citywide boil-water order that the Florida Department of Health wanted amid an investigation into complaints that reclaimed water had mixed with drinking water.

The city is turning on the reclaimed water in phases with approval from the health department. Of the city’s 1,236 reclaimed water customers, 72% have that service restored, Gretsas said May 19. Another 15% are awaiting some type of property owner action, according to Gretsas. An additional 13% are awaiting inspection.

Thirty barrier island homes were found to have the reclaimed lines installed closer than 3 feet to the drinking water lines, according to an April 29 city email to state health officials. A 3-foot distance between pipes is required by Florida Department of Environmental Protection rules. The city wants to restore the reclaimed water now and move those pipes later. Local DOH leaders were mulling whether to allow that as of mid-May.

Once the system is restored, all violations will be forwarded to the local health department legal team, Steve Garcia, a DOH environmental supervisor, wrote in a May 11 email.

The reclaimed water lines provide partly treated wastewater meant solely for lawn watering. The lines were installed as part of a settlement that Delray Beach reached with state and federal regulators to stop sending raw sewage into the ocean.

The city must reuse 3.85 million gallons a day by 2025, according to the settlement. Its current level is 2.85 million gallons daily.
Most of the city’s water customers on the barrier island have reclaimed water service for lawn irrigation. The golf courses, city parks and facilities and master-metered communities west of the interstate also use reclaimed water.

On April 22, the city found its first crossed connection under the current investigation, according to DOH emails. Crossed connections happen when the drinking water lines are mistakenly connected to the reclaimed water lines. The DOH insisted the city issue a boil-water order for the 30-unit condominium, Ocean Place at 120 S. Ocean Blvd.

“I remember my wife boiling pots of water,” said Bob Victorin, an Ocean Place resident and Beach Property Owners’ Association president.

The condominiums were approved to use potable water for the irrigation system for 90 days while the property manager locates and corrects plumbing issues, Missie Barletto, assistant Public Works director, wrote in a May 18 email. “Once the repair has been completed, the condominium property will be returned to reclaimed water for irrigation.”

Debbie Lynott, who lives on Miramar Drive, said she noticed residents using old-fashioned sprinklers to water their lawns in February. Her reclaimed water lines were not installed until early April. Her service was turned on April 30, according to the city. “I’m used to being forgotten,” she said. “My house is the only home on Miramar between Gleason Street and Venetian Drive.”

Former Mayor Cary Glickstein wrote in a May 11 email to The Coastal Star that he was not told of any problems when he was in office from 2013 to 2018. “Further, neither I nor my commission colleagues were made aware of any system functionality problems during any public meetings.”

Glickstein, who lives on Waterway Lane, as of May 11 was among those waiting for his reclaimed water to be restored.

Current Mayor Shelly Petrolia said, “I’m hoping this is a one- and only-time debacle. The system has to be revamped. We need to figure out who is responsible, including for the backflow devices — the homeowner or the city.”

Even so, the city’s delayed response caused frustration.

In mid-April, after the reclaimed water system was restored along Del Haven Drive, the city failed to open all valves. That forced Ken MacNamee to spend time checking his sprinkler system, checking the circuit breaker and finally opening the meter pit where he discovered the closed valve. He borrowed a plumbing tool from a neighbor to open the valve.

“This is just another gaffe in this drawn-out debacle,” MacNamee wrote in an April 20 email.

Residents on Del Haven and four streets north were the first on the barrier island to see their reclaimed water restored, on April 17. Their systems were activated in late 2018. Gretsas, who started as city manager on Jan. 6, received a letter on Feb. 4 requiring the city to issue a boil-water order citywide.

The Florida DOH had received a complaint Jan. 2 about cross connections between drinking and reclaimed water. Christine Ferrigan, an inspector with the Utilities Department, provided notes to the investigation showing how the program was mismanaged from the start.

Gretsas, though, persuaded the DOH leaders to agree that the city would shut off its reclaimed water citywide to investigate. He wanted to avoid the boil-water order, which would have forced the hospital and restaurants to comply.

The city had to hire a contractor to create a database showing the locations of the drinking water and reclaimed water meters and the presence and types of backflow preventers on the drinking water systems.

City staff discovered that 237 reclaimed water customers citywide didn’t have backflow preventers, Gretsas said March 2.
The devices are an extra layer of protection against the mixing of reclaimed and drinking water.

“We were not doing the types of things that need to be done in asset management,” Gretsas said. “We just didn’t know where the devices were.”

That lack of information was evident in a spreadsheet the city sent to the DOH on March 6. It had many blank spaces, lacking dates when the reclaimed water was first connected, when the backflow devices were installed and when they were reinspected.

In addition, Delray Beach went with backflow preventers that have a 5-year lifespan because they were cheaper, Gretsas said city staffers told him.

But that should change soon with new management, he said.

Hassan Hadjimiry will start June 2 as the city’s water utilities director.

Gretsas said he did a national search and found the best candidate nearby. Hadjimiry retired May 5 from the county as its deputy director of water utilities.

Hadjimiry, who started with the county in 1982, was named as the Water Reuse Person of the Year in 2009. The Florida Water Environment Association has given the statewide award annually since 2004.

Once Hadjimiry starts work, city commissioners will have options put before them.

They can select the types of backflow preventers, an inspection and replacement program or, if they prefer, go to injecting the reclaimed water underground — which would be more costly, Gretsas said.

The commissioners also will hear about the costs of fixing the system. They include paying overtime for city staff, hiring contractors and consultants, adding new backflow devices, and providing water and a crew to irrigate lawns while the reclaimed water system was down. The amount spent since Feb. 4 was not available.

Delray Beach has hired a company run by Fred Bloetscher, a Florida Atlantic University associate dean in the engineering department, to investigate the reclaimed water program, Gretsas said.

To the city’s reclaimed water customers, Gretsas said, “I’m sorry this happened and sorry it went on for a decade.”

By Steve Plunkett

Businessman and magazine publisher Richard Lucibella has lost his courtroom quest to be cleared of all charges resulting from a backyard dustup with police in 2016 when he was the town’s vice mayor.

The 4th District Court of Appeal affirmed without comment Lucibella’s February 2019 conviction of misdemeanor battery on Ocean Ridge police Officer Richard Ermeri.

The appellate judges delivered comparatively swift justice, issuing a “per curiam affirmed” on April 16, just seven weeks after oral arguments. The court’s website advises that a panel can take up to six months to reach a decision. Despite losing his appeal Lucibella, 66, hailed the overall case as a win. During his criminal trial he was found not guilty of two felonies: resisting arrest with violence and battery on a law enforcement officer.

“In the end, I’ll settle for 99% vindication, for now,” he said.

The charges stemmed from an Oct. 22, 2016, confrontation in Lucibella’s backyard as police investigated reports of gunfire phoned in to 911. During a face-off Lucibella poked Ermeri with his finger through the officer’s bulletproof vest, “a forceful poke,” Ermeri, who has since been promoted to sergeant, testified at the original trial.

Leonard Feuer, Lucibella’s appellate lawyer, told the judicial panel on Feb. 25 that Lucibella had a right to defend himself after Ermeri, Officer Nubia Plesnik and Sgt. William Hallahan showed up.

“I’m not seeing this show of force” by the police, Judge Alan Forst said. “Clearly they weren’t invited in, but they didn’t come in with guns blazing.”

Senior Assistant Attorney General Melynda Melear, representing the state, told the judges that Lucibella “walked into” Ermeri’s extended arms before he was arrested.

“It was the defendant who provoked the aggression in the first place,” she said.

Feuer filed a motion on April 27, a Monday, asking the court to rehear the case, issue a written opinion and certify it as “an issue of great public importance.” The judges denied the request the following Friday.

Lucibella criticized the decision.

“In order to issue an opinion, the 4th DCA needed to rule on the legality of these officers entering my property. They chose to kick that down the road by not issuing a written opinion,” Lucibella said.

“Regardless, the (Circuit Court) jury found the officers to be acting outside their authority — that’s why they ruled my actions as simple battery vs. the original charge of battery on a law enforcement officer.”

Lucibella, who is chief executive of an “accountable care organization” for doctors and publishes a magazine for gun aficionados, is still the target of a civil lawsuit by Plesnik that accuses him of battery and negligence. His lawyers in that case have scheduled a deposition of Ermeri in June.