By Steve Plunkett

The first of Bluewater Cove’s two Intracoastal Waterway lots will be home to a single-story 6,343-square-foot Georgian-style residence.

Gulf Stream town commissioners approved the site plan for the house at their Aug. 9 meeting after considering what people on the opposite side of the Intracoastal might say.

“I think this one has a pretty significant impact on the neighbors especially since I received some comments that some of the neighbors thought they were going to be looking at a FIND area for the rest of their lives from the east side,” Vice Mayor Tom Stanley said.

The land that is now Bluewater Cove on the west side of the Intracoastal was previously owned by the Florida Inland Navigation District, which swapped its waterfront acreage with the Gulf Stream Golf Club, which then sold the property to the developer of the street. FIND commonly keeps its land undeveloped to use as storage sites for dredging the waterway.

Before commissioners could approve the house’s plan, they passed an ordinance allowing front-entry features on any one-story home to be 16 feet high instead of 14. The architects for the Bluewater Cove residence said they would have to reduce the slope of the roof, making the overall structure unattractive, poorly scaled and not truly Georgian design, if forced to build at the lower level.

The new home will have four bedrooms, a club room, a three-vehicle garage opening to the side, and in another first for the street, a circular driveway to the front door. The house faces a turning circle at the end of the cul-de-sac.

Commissioner Michael Greene questioned the amount of hardscape at the front of the house. “It just seems like it could be more greenery in the front of the property,” he said.

Landscape architect Louis Vlahos said some of the plan’s drawings omitted plantings to show more of the house, and that the specimen tree shown in the driveway island will grow to be 18 to 20 feet tall, “almost twice the size.”

The drawing also lacked two large oaks at the front, he said.

“I think it’s attractive,” Mayor Scott Morgan said. “Our main concern is the view from the east, and I think by maintaining a single-story home with a large portico for the setback of your glass doors, I think you’ve achieved that.”

Also approved was a variance for 555 Pelican Lane allowing a dock into the Intracoastal to be rebuilt at an angle to the sea wall instead of parallel. The original dock dated to 1951 and needed to be replaced after the equally old sea wall was redone. It also was 4 inches wider than the maximum allowed 5 feet.

Lawyer Tom Murphy, representing property owner Susannah Scott-Barnes, said the dock cannot be seen by any other member of the community.

“This is really not a variance for relief in order to therefore do something new but rather a variance to preserve what is old, and … what is old in Gulf Stream is good,” Murphy said.

By Steve Plunkett

Gulf Stream’s road and drainage improvement project continues to be plagued by unexpected conditions — the latest by underground utilities being buried less deep than usual.

“Typically, utilities of power, Comcast, things like that going across roadways are 2 feet or greater below pavement,” Jockey Prinyavivatkul of Baxter and Woodman Consulting

Engineers told town commissioners Aug. 9. “Your cable (TV) and telephone cables are a little bit more shallow.”

The same situation happened with Florida Power & Light Co.’s underground electric lines.

“FPL runs 4 feet typically, but when they go into residential and they don’t have the room to directional-bore at 4 feet, they compensate,” said Anthony Beltran, the town’s public works director.

It’s all too close for contractor Roadway Construction LLC to use a tilling machine to prepare a street for asphalt. Instead, it will have to dig down to the utility conduits, cover them with 5½ inches of base rock to protect them from the weight of traffic, then fill in the trench and compact the soil. The dirt that is removed must also be hauled away.

And that means a change order to the construction contract. The commission approved two, along with a budget adjustment, for a total change of up to $977,305.

One is a $95,691 order to do the necessary extra work on Wright Way and Old School Road. Commissioners also approved spending up to $704,228 more on the base rock alternative as the project moves forward, without the need for the engineer and contractor to return to commission chambers.

“The big number is a worst-case scenario. At least it gives us the funding in place that we can move forward efficiently,” said Rick Chipman, the construction project manager for Baxter and Woodman.

“We do not anticipate the entire amount being used,” Prinyavivatkul said.

Commissioners also approved a $177,386 change order for widening parts of Banyan and Gulfstream roads, Lakeview Drive and all of Old School Road, from 18 feet to 20 feet to match the Core’s other streets.

Meanwhile, construction workers have been deployed to a handful of other areas to keep busy while waiting for money to be authorized.

“We don’t want them to be not coming in to work and not having any work to do,” Town Manager Greg Dunham said.

Roadway planned to spend the weeks of Aug. 26 and Sept. 3 preparing Wright Way and Old School Road for paving.

‘Radical’ solution to quorum issue saves budget from loss

By Jane Musgrave

Manalapan has a new town commissioner and she’s the same as the old one.

Commissioner Cindy McMackin was sworn in at the town’s Aug. 9 meeting, replacing, well, herself.

A confluence of unrelated events put McMackin in the strange position of resigning her post in July only to be reappointed the next month.

The idea, which Town Attorney Keith Davis described as “radical,” was the town’s unconventional way to avoid blowing a nearly $300,000 hole in its proposed $9.1 million budget.

“It’s unprecedented,” Assistant Town Manager Eric Marmer said at the July 23 meeting as town officials struggled to come up with a solution to avert the financial shortfall. “I’ve never experienced this.”

The potentially budget-busting situation can be blamed, in part, on a botched computer update that cybersecurity company CrowdStrike sent out on July 19 that had global repercussions. The flawed Microsoft Windows update caused the biggest technology outage in history. It wreaked havoc on all business sectors, including hospitals, financial institutions and, notable for Manalapan, air travel.

The timing, for Manalapan, was particularly problematic.

July is the month all governments in Florida must meet to set a proposed tax rate for the upcoming fiscal year. Unlike other meetings, which can be attended via Zoom, state law requires elected officials to be physically present to vote at the rate-setting hearing.

Some of Manalapan’s elected officials head out of town in the summer, returning only for mandatory meetings.

So, when the computer glitch immediately grounded 4,000 flights and caused chaos in the skies for days, two town commissioners who planned to attend the July 23 meeting to set the proposed tax rate got stranded, while a third was out of state with no plans to be at the meeting in person.

“I’ve checked. Nobody’s getting out of here for three, four or five days,” said Commissioner Dwight Kulwin, who was in Massachusetts and only able to attend the July meeting by phone.

Commissioner Orla Imbesi was also stuck in the unable-to-fly zone. McMackin was in Montana and wasn’t planning to return until Aug. 8.

With only three commissioners at the meeting, the town didn’t have its needed four-member quorum. That meant, according to the Town Charter, no vote could be taken.

But the clock was ticking. Under Florida law, the tentative tax rate had to be sent to the Palm Beach County property appraiser by Aug. 4, although officials at the appraiser’s office asked that the rates be submitted by July 31.

If they violated the law, commissioners couldn’t impose the property tax rate of $3.00 per $1,000 of assessed valuation they needed to fund the budget in the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1. Instead, by law, they would be limited to the rolled-back rate of $2.8486 per $1,000, which would leave the town’s planned budget $291,000 short.

The lower rolled-back rate would generate the same amount of taxes as last year from existing properties because property values have increased. But town officials had hoped to keep the same $3.00 per $1,000 of value rate as they had approved last year and use the extra money for services.

“We’re going to have to operate the town on donations,” Marmer said as town officials debated a possible solution.

Ultimately, attorney Davis came up with the unorthodox plan. If one of the commissioners resigned immediately, the commission would need only three to make a quorum and the tax rate could be set.

McMackin volunteered. “I’m probably the prime person to resign,” said McMackin, who also attended the meeting by phone. “I’m just here to help the town basically. Whatever works best for the town, I’m completely willing to do.”

So, she resigned.

The three commissioners at the July meeting — Simone Bonutti, Elliot Bonner and David Knobel — approved keeping the rate the same as last year’s. Residents can comment on the spending plan during hearings on Sept. 18 and 24, after which a final tax rate and budget will be approved.

In August, McMackin returned to town and was reappointed.

While Mayor John Deese and Kulwin voiced concerns that the opening would cause a flurry of interest and wannabe commissioners would be upset when McMackin was reappointed, Town Manager Linda Stumpf said their fears were unfounded.

“I don’t think they’re going to be banging down my door,” said Stumpf, who last year had to find five new commissioners to replace four who chose to resign rather than file new, more detailed, state-required financial disclosure reports —and a fifth needed when Deese moved into the vacated mayor’s position.

Stumpf’s prediction was correct. Aside from McMackin, only one other person sought the post. Davis told commissioners that they couldn’t just automatically reinstate McMackin.

They had to make it an open process. 

Decade-long Manalapan resident Jerry Jacobson said he applied in response to a mass email the town sent out.

“I was just trying to help out,” said Jacobson, who is a lawyer and holds a doctorate degree in medicine.

He said he didn’t know why the seat was vacant. When told the odd story, he laughed.

“Sounds like politics,” Jacobson said. “There’s no way else to describe it.”

By Anne Geggis

When she steps down as Manalapan’s town manager at the end of this month, Linda Stumpf will go out in much the same way she’s led the smallest of the South County coastal municipalities: efficiently and without much fanfare.

The two-decade town employee (nearly 14 years as manager, the balance as finance director) has issued the edict that no retirement party will be held to mark the occasion.

Still, her staying power stands out in a time when most municipal managers don’t last more than a few years.

“I would put her down as one of the top town managers I’ve had the pleasure to know,” said South Palm Beach Mayor Bonnie Fischer, who tried to woo Stumpf to come north to her town from Manalapan.

The Town Commission is planning to give Stumpf a $25,000 going-away gift, which it expects to include in the new budget that will be voted on this month.

“We hope everyone will support that as part of a thank you to her for her 22 years of service to Manalapan,” Mayor John Deese said at the commission’s July 23 meeting. “It’s not necessarily a normal precedent for the town, but it’s also not a normal precedent to have someone serve the town for 22 years.”

He described the payout as “good and fair.”

At a March meeting of the Town Commission, Stumpf praised the addition of Eric Marmer as assistant town manager. He will assume her duties at her retirement. She also made a rare statement about her ongoing medical issues, which in recent years have meant she used a wheelchair in dealing with a chronic illness.

“I’ve been sitting in this chair for over a year,” she said. She’s still working at recovery, going to occupational and physical therapy sessions.

“So, my legs … the atrophy is there and I have to build it back,” she said.

Stumpf is leaving after overseeing some seismic change in Manalapan. The transformation has occurred without a lot of metaphoric storms — even if there were hurricanes to manage and, more recently, the sudden resignation last year of all but two members of the seven-member Town Commission because of a new state law requiring fuller disclosure of elected officials’ assets.

The property value of the town, which covers about .45 square miles of land, has nearly doubled in the time Stumpf has been a part of Manalapan’s operations — expanding from $635 million in 2003 ($1.19 billion when calculated in 2024 dollars) to its current taxable value of $2.24 billion.

Per square mile, Manalapan is among the most valuable in South Palm Beach County. Boynton Beach, for example, is 35 times Manalapan’s size in land mass, but its taxable value is only about four times greater than Manalapan’s.

Stumpf is credited with shepherding the development of the only Publix located on the South County barrier islands. The store opened in 2016 with Publix officials calling it a store unlike any other in the country.

“People were afraid it was going to cause too much traffic,” Fischer said. “But the end result … everybody loves it.”

Tracey Stevens, who worked in neighboring Ocean Ridge from 2016 to 2022 as town clerk and then town manager, has served on committees with Stumpf and collaborated as officials in neighboring towns.

“Whenever we had a police issue or a hurricane issue, we always came together and worked together for the betterment of the communities,” said Stevens, who is now Haverhill’s town manager.

Stumpf, Stevens said, brought an authoritative, no-nonsense manner to the proceedings.

“She really knew what she was talking about,” Stevens recalled of their collaboration.

Jane Musgrave contributed to this story.

By Jane Musgrave

The town of Manalapan could be getting a refurbished fire station and possibly a revamped Town Hall.

A tentative plan to launch what would be one of the most expensive projects in town history was spurred by changes in fire rules, such as those that require additional firefighters to work each shift, said Assistant Town Manager Eric Marmer.

But, he said, the fire station, which is attached to the administrative complex, isn’t the only part of the building that needs work. The 43-year-old building has been plagued by roof leaks. While modernizing the fire station, it makes sense to address other problems, he said.

“It’s not a huge rush,” Marmer said. “We’re going to slowly roll through the process and see where we’re at.”

In about a month, the town plans to advertise for proposals from firms to review better ways of utilizing existing space. Then an architect would be hired to come up with proposals and cost estimates. Finally, a construction manager would be hired.

Since Palm Beach County Fire Rescue uses the station to serve town residents, Marmer said the county would pick up some of the costs. It is likely a bond issue would be needed to fund construction.

“It’s a long-term project,” he said. “It is a big project but a worthy one.”

By John Pacenti

Ocean Ridge commissioners and Town Manager Lynne Ladner wrestled over her proposed salary increases for staff, with the manager saying the employees had been left behind while raises were given to police officers over the last two years.

“I don’t believe that it is equitable to make such substantial increases to the base salaries of individuals in the Police Department when you do not consider equitable base salary increases for all other employees,” Ladner said at the commission’s Aug. 5 budget workshop.

Commissioner Carolyn Cassidy pushed back on new increases, saying, “I’m not feeling like everyone’s on the same page in terms of looking out for the taxpayer’s best interest.”

In the end, commissioners approved a 3% cost-of-living raise and an average 3% merit increase based on performance for 12 non-police administrators and staff. This past year they received one-time bonuses not added to their base salaries.

The town is just starting negotiations with the police union regarding any salary increase for the town’s 16 police officers. 

The pay increases could still be tweaked as the $10.4 million proposed budget is finalized this month.

The discussion of the salary increase proposal came after a consultant presented to commissioners a compensation and classification study of non-police employees. Ocean Ridge taxpayers paid $14,000 for the report, which found that the town salaries were in the “realm of market competitiveness.”

Yet, Brian Wolfe of Evergreen Solutions said some employees resented having to do tasks outside their job descriptions and there was a split among staff.

“There is some tension, or at least an inference of tension, between two primary groups of employees in the town: the Police Department and everybody else,” Wolfe said. 

Ladner told commissioners in a memo she aimed to bring administrative staff salaries back to the “midpoint.”

She proposed significant raises to seven positions:  

• Police chief ($130,095 to $140,000, 7.6% increase)
• Public works supervisor ($90,956 to $99,286, 9.2% increase)
• Town clerk ($90,956 to $99,286, 9.2% increase)
• Deputy town clerk ($55,125 to $61,988, 12.4% increase)
• Building clerk ($55,125 to $61,988, 12.4% increase)
• Dispatch manager ($102,000 to $108,500, 6.4% increase)
• Senior police dispatcher $74,425 to $80,000, 7.5% increase).

The increases would have added more than $52,000 to the proposed annual budget — or .5%.  

Ladner might as well have proposed building a super-collider in town as the commission vigorously opposed her proposal. 

“This comes back to you,” Cassidy told Ladner. “You’re not feeling that it’s equitable, and then that is what you are sharing with staff. And we are looking at this report that we spent a considerable amount of money on, saying that we are equitable with the market.”

Ladner told Cassidy to put herself in the shoes of staff who have been passed over for significant raises. “What is the motivation to put in evenings and weekends when employees do not feel valued? He (Wolfe) quite clearly told you that the employees feel that there is a discrepancy.”

In an unusual twist, Mayor Geoff Pugh turned to Clerk Kelly Avery and asked her if she works nights and weekends.

“I used to,” Avery responded. “Not since the last budget. My job is getting done but at a slower pace.”

Again, Cassidy lit into Ladner. 

“It comes down to morale, too,” she said. “You were very upset last year because you didn’t feel it was equitable, and now we’re going right back to where we were. And if that’s the message that all staff is getting, then of course people don’t want to work any extra.”

Base salaries for police officers have increased by $10,000 since 2023, Ladner said.

The mayor said it was unfair to compare raises between police and other staff. “Well, see, that’s the problem,” Pugh said. “There’s a fundamental difference. One employee carries a gun and puts his life on the line, the other does not.”

Commissioner Steve Coz — with the police chief and clerk bookending the dais — then drove the discussion on providing staff with a 3% COLA and a 3% merit raise. The commissioners quickly came to a consensus — though Cassidy said it was important if necessary to revisit the raises as the budget process plays on.

Ladner didn’t go away completely defeated. 

She turned to getting approval for an increase of pay ranges for some positions so current staff wouldn’t top out in the town’s salary structure and not even receive COLA or merit raises.

The commission approved her proposal for new salary ranges, which will allow her to bump up Police Chief Scott McClure’s salary to $140,000 annually — a figure that the commissioners had just rejected.

By John Pacenti

Ocean Ridge Town Manager Lynne Ladner made the same mistake this year in preparing the budget as the one that led to the town’s inadvertently violating state law last year, Commissioner Carolyn Cassidy said at the Aug. 5 commission budget meeting.

The meeting had already been contentious with Cassidy and Ladner locking horns over staff salaries. Then Cassidy said Ladner was again using net values of property rather than gross values as the state requires to determine property taxes to be collected. The right figures were presented at the meeting, however.

The town in December was forced to call a special meeting to approve its budget and tax rate again after it was determined the wrong figures were used in publishing advertisements notifying residents of the FY 2024 rate and budget. Florida revenue officials determined the town “to be in violation of the law.”

The correction led to $58,738 more in tax revenue.

Ladner has proposed the same tax rate as last year at $5.40 per $1,000 of taxable value.

When Ladner sent out the information to commissioners, Cassidy said she again included net values, not gross values, in calculating taxes.  The commissioner said she corrected Ladner twice but the manager “was a bit defensive about it.”

“I’m worried about the mistakes and the errors and the defensiveness,” Cassidy said. “So it’s just a great frustration.”

That’s when Commissioner David Hutchins — who had been largely quiet through the workshop — said, “May I make a suggestion? You’ve said it three times. We get it. You’re pissed off. Why don’t we just lower it a little bit and move on?”

Ladner, when asked about Cassidy’s comments on Aug. 14, said she has a good working relationship with the commissioner.

“There are times where we don’t see eye-to-eye,” Ladner said.

By Mary Thurwachter

Some good news on the beach front. The long-awaited project to add sand could begin as soon as January. South Palm Beach Mayor Bonnie Fischer made that announcement during a Town Council meeting on Aug. 13.

“I spoke to Public Works Director H. Paul Brazil of Palm Beach and he’s starting the dune restoration project probably in January,” she said. “One hurdle they have to get through is to get permission from Lake Worth Beach in order to get access for the heavy equipment to come down south of Lake Worth’s beach to get to South Palm Beach.

“If this is accomplished, and we get the project going, I was told they will not charge South Palm Beach anything for placing the sand. All we have to pay for is the sand, and I thought that was very generous.”

Fischer said she would be in close contact with Palm Beach and find out more as January approaches.

The first phase of the town of Palm Beach dune restoration project was completed in May 2021 for $739,000.

The second phase has been planned for several years, the result of an interlocal agreement among Palm Beach, South Palm Beach and Lantana. Since South Palm Beach has no public beach, truck access had previously been planned by way of Lantana’s public beach. But the latest proposal would utilize Lake Worth Beach for that purpose.

Trucks will likely transport the sand from a stockpile at Phipps Ocean Park.

Lantana has yet to decide if it will participate in the project, but its town manager, Brian Raducci, is optimistic.

“Assuming it is economically feasible for the town of Lantana, it is my hope to be able to participate in this exciting and important project and bring about this vital beach improvement to our residents and visitor,” he said.

Since the current plan is to use Lake Worth Beach for access, Raducci said “they should not need beach access through Dorothy Rissler (Lane) as originally planned.”
Raducci, like Fischer, is awaiting an estimate of what should be expected for a unit rate for sand and an estimate of the quantity that each would need based on current conditions.

“Everything will be based on how much dry beach they have to work with in both the town of South Palm Beach and Lantana,” Raducci said.

Raducci said Lantana did not anticipate reimbursing the town of Palm Beach for the cost of the sand; that was originally proposed in exchange for the use of Dorothy Rissler Lane for access, “which apparently is no longer needed.”

“They are going to reach out to Palm Beach County ERM to see if they have any funds available to help place sand in Lantana,” he said. “Once that is all worked out, we would need to enter into a new interlocal agreement in order to move forward.”

Town manager reviewed — Town Manager Jamie Titcomb received positive remarks from Town Council members as part of his annual evaluation on Aug. 12. Unlike previous managers, Titcomb, who earns $82 per hour, is part-time and limited to 25 hours a week. His two-year contract expires in June of next year.

Council members rated him in various administrative categories from one to five, with five being the strongest. His overall scores from the four council members ranged from four to five.

Mayor Bonnie Fischer called for better communication and said Titcomb needed to do a better job of keeping the council apprised of details, such as the new people that are working in Town Hall.

Fischer also wanted to know how the manager was doing with hours, since early on he was spending more time at work than his contract allowed.

“I’m pretty much staying within my cap,” Titcomb answered. “There are some weeks when the sewer main breaks, or I have to come in after hours for something, that can bump my hours. But averaging out, I think I’m in pretty good shape.”

Titcomb thanked the council for the good scores and said he would take to heart the areas for improvement. The review won’t affect his salary but is a condition of his contract.

Virtual attendance allowed — The council voted to amend town law to allow its members, as well as members of town boards, to occasionally attend meetings virtually, by phone or other digital means. However, a quorum must be established in person, according to Town Attorney Ben Saver.

The amendment, Saver said, puts into words what is already the practice. No definition was given for what “occasionally” meant.

Even though the Town Council was reduced to four members after the resignation of former Vice Mayor Bill LeRoy in April — and the council is choosing to leave the seat vacant until the 2026 elections rather than fill it as the Town Charter provides — it still takes three council members to make a quorum.

Council member Ray McMillan, who attended the Aug. 13 meeting by phone, wanted to know if virtual attendance had any effect on salaries. Saver said it did not. Members receive $600 a month, with the exception of the mayor, who is paid $1,000.

Deputy honored again — Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Deputy Donna Korb was recognized as Deputy of the Month after her lifesaving efforts involving a resident who cut her left arm while moving a glass tabletop in her condo. Korb arrived at Southgate Condominiums on May 21 ahead of paramedics and applied a tourniquet to stop the bleeding.

When paramedics arrived, they applied another tourniquet and administered additional care.

“Deputy Korb’s quick action was instrumental in the lifesaving effort,” said Sgt. Mark Garrison, who made the presentation.

In May, Korb was honored after rescuing a 68-year-old swimmer who struggled to stay afloat off the shores of South Palm Beach.

New Community Affairs board member appointed — Elenora Levin was appointed to serve a two-year term on the Community Affairs Advisory Board. Levin, who lives in the Barclay Condominiums, has held leadership roles at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and St. John’s University in New York and has experience in grant writing. In her application, Levin said she has a strong ability to take initiative and make decisions based on facts.

— Mary Thurwachter

By Mary Thurwachter

South Palm Beach residents can expect the budget for FY 2025 to look much like this year’s with the same — or possibly slightly lower — tax rate. So said Town Manager Jamie Titcomb, who discussed the proposed budget during a workshop on Aug. 12.

While all the numbers were not yet ready to be plugged into the document, Titcomb said he was proposing to keep the same rate as this year — $3.40 per $1,000 of taxable value.

The current valuation of the town is up 10% over last year and using the $3.40 rate, based on usual calculations, would generate an additional $192,722 in revenue.

Any extra money, the town manager suggested, would go in a contingency fund to take care of transitional expenses connected to building a new Town Hall.

In July, the council signed a design contract for the new governmental center with CPZ Architects of Fort Lauderdale.

During a special meeting with staff and the architect’s representative on Aug. 29, the council unanimously voted to adopt the proposed first phase of the architectural program.

“Starting the following week and into the coming weeks, we will begin implementation of scheduled one-on-one meetings with council members for their input and priorities with the architects and their team,” Titcomb said. “We are anticipating scheduling of community input meetings to follow shortly thereafter. We will also begin to initiate ancillary site studies, surveys, and geotechnical phases necessary for design conditions affected by site configuration requirements.”

Update reports will be given at most every Town Council meeting going forward, Titcomb said. “Everyone is excited and motivated to get the project started and progressing efficiently.”

The new building will cost about $4 million, but the town won’t have to borrow or raise money for it.

“You guys collectively with previous councils have been very prudent and conservative and had foresight to put away money over time, which is in our investment accounts,” Titcomb told the council.

One of the largest expenses in the $2.7 million budget is the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office contract, which is increasing 2% for an additional cost of $22,279. The total cost for the contract will be $1,136,223.

Budget hearings are set for 5:01 p.m. Sept. 9 and Sept. 16 and the town could lower the property tax rate as late as the second hearing.

But at least one council member, Vice Mayor Monte Berendes, said that while lowering the rate sounds “wonderful,” it may not be the best idea this year. It was a switch for

Berendes, who in July had said it might be “a good year to give the residents a break” on their taxes.

“With the building going up and our expenses, I don’t think we can afford doing that,” he said at the August meeting. “I don’t think lowering it would make that much of a differ-ence.”

Ocean Ridge Police Chief Scott McClure (right) and Lt. Aaron Tobin talk with longtime resident Edith Behm before escorting her and other residents out of the Briny Breezes Town Council meeting last month. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

Residents agitated by news removed for disrupting meeting

By Steve Plunkett

Briny Breezes has qualified for a $7.2 million grant from the state to upgrade its stormwater drainage system and raise its sea walls.

The Town Council authorized Mayor Ted Gross to formally accept the grant as well as a $1.4 million federal grant at its Aug. 22 meeting, but the council had to take a recess, directing police to ask several opponents of the grants to leave after they disrupted the meeting.

Hanna Tillotson, grants administrator for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Resilient Florida program, alerted Town Manager Bill Thrasher three days before the meeting that the money would soon be available.

“The Program will be providing you with a formal notice of grant award and next steps, but DEP wanted to provide you with this notice of grant award in order to secure the Town’s federal grant funding award for this project,” she wrote.

Thrasher said he wanted Gross authorized to sign the paperwork ahead of time so the council would not have to schedule a special meeting to do so.

In a note to corporation shareholders, Michael Gallacher, general manager of Briny Breezes Inc., and Susan Brannen, board president, hailed the “incredibly positive news” as “a huge step in the right direction.”

While Briny Breezes has to come up with matching dollars to receive either grant, Thrasher said he and the town’s consultants are optimistic that still more grant money will be available.

“Our objective is that it won’t cost one penny to any resident. That’s the objective,” Thrasher said to the handful of doubters who attended the meeting. “Is it possible? Is it a realistic objective? I want you to listen to me. It is 100% possible. And your negativity is not helping anything whatsoever.”

The opponents in the audience said they did not want to be saddled with paying back grants, that the grant items were added to the council’s agenda the day before the meeting, and that the decision to accept them should be put to a vote of the residents.

“You were not even elected. You were appointed,” resident James Arena complained.

At one point the opponents of the grants grew rowdy. Council President Liz Loper loudly hammered her gavel on the dais and declared a recess. Police asked some to leave for being disruptive.

Gross was also appointed as the council’s liaison to lobby County Commissioner Marci Woodward for possible financial assistance on the sea wall work, a role previously taken by Mayor Gene Adams, who resigned last year.

“I did work with Commissioner Woodward for a little bit on that and it is the opportunity to get money back to pay for the grants,” Adams said at the meeting.

The town was awarded the $1.4 million “pre-disaster mitigation” grant in March but then had to complete a complicated application process by June 28 to get it.

Thrasher said he will recommend using $3.5 million of the state and federal grants on the drainage work. He hopes to use the remainder and find an additional $7.2 million for the sea wall construction.

He and consultants Brizaga Inc. and Engenuity Group Inc. have been working for more than three years to identify the effects of sea level rise on aging sea walls and to find money to fix them. A Flooding Adaptation Plan in 2021 recommended installing a multi-pump drainage system, pumping station and discharge pipes to help eliminate road flooding and prevent damage to personal property and homes.

By Steve Plunkett

Briny Breezes is taking steps to clarify that fires on the beach are banned during turtle nesting season and require a permit from November through February.

After inconclusive discussions on April 25, May 23 and July 25 followed by a somewhat heated hour-long workshop on Aug. 15, town aldermen on Aug. 22 approved on first reading an update to the town’s ordinances on sea turtles, artificial lighting and fires on the beach.

“This ordinance has had a fairly robust history to this point,” Town Attorney Keith Davis said as he started the Aug. 22 conversation.

If approved on a second reading, the changes will allow amber, orange or red lights, which sea turtles cannot see, to be visible from the beach instead of insisting only that lights be shielded or aimed away from the sand. The dates of sea turtle nesting season will be corrected to say March 1 to Oct. 31. The code will prohibit fires on the beach during nesting season and require a town permit at other times of the year. Permits will not be needed for small enclosed fires or propane-generated fires, although rubbish fires will be banned.

“You’ll be happy to hear that I’ve read through and I like it the way that it is. I think it represents everything that we ended up discussing,” Mayor Ted Gross said.

The idea of updating the ordinance began in February when Michael Gallacher, general manager of Briny Breezes Inc., asked if a permit would be necessary to build a bonfire on the beach. Davis and colleague Trey Nazzaro quickly noticed that the town code incorrectly said turtle nesting season started on April 1 and devised some other suggested changes.

When the changes were presented at the workshop session, Gross was the strongest critic.

“One of the things that we talked over and over again is about the color scheme that renders the light safe for turtles,” he said then.

“In the memorandum that the lawyers sent us, we can add that to the ordinance,” Council President Liz Loper said.

“Frankly I thought that’s what we were having them do. I thought we’d come to this meeting with that already done,” Gross responded. “I’m kind of baffled because I thought when we came to this meeting we’d be discussing it in the form we had already discussed. But it looks like we’re going all the way back to stage one. … We’ve done this five or four times. Why is this never updated?”

Even with a permit at the right time of the year, someone would not be able to light a bonfire on the beach if it was a “no burn” day, Police Chief Scott McClure said. He said his department would check with Palm Beach County on the day of the planned fire to see if weather conditions would allow it.

The proposed ordinances will return to the council for a second reading at a future meeting.

Dr. Tatyana Nektalova set up her dermatology practice in Plaza del Mar after realizing that barrier island residents had to cross the bridge and drive a ways to receive this service. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

One of the nicest perks dermatologist Tatyana Nektalova has found since her move from New York City to South Palm Beach two years ago has been the difference in her commute.

“In New York it was an hour on the Long Island Expressway into Manhattan,’’ the skin doctor said. “Now it’s a 10-minute walk. It’s the best part of my day. I love it.”

A former chief resident of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital, Nektalova, 35, left her practice in Tribeca during the coronavirus pandemic when businesses closed for several months. She decided to relocate to coastal Palm Beach County, where she realized the barrier islands were lacking any dermatology facility.

“I had been looking in Boca, Palm Beach, West Palm Beach when I was walking past this shop (in Plaza Del Mar) and didn’t realize we had missed it,” she said. “It was zoned for retail, so it wasn’t coming up in our searches.”

Nektalova resolved that issue by presenting her case to officials from the town of Manalapan, who opted to make an exception. Then the real work began as she set about establishing her practice, Dermatology & Aesthetics of Palm Beach.

“I got the approval from the commission in January (2023) and signed the lease in March. Then I had to find an architect who understood our vision, and then the construction to build a 2,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art office with everything in terms of cutting-edge treatments.”

While waiting for it to open, which happened this past April, Nektalova signed up to provide concierge services, seeing more than 100 patients. That has helped her establish a client base that has continued to grow, albeit slowly, during the off-season.

“The whole practice has been built through word of mouth, no advertising or marketing,” she said. “I’ve been super grateful to the community. I’m trying to fill a very big unmet need.”

Nektalova says she had a severe skin condition called polymorphous light eruption while growing up.

“This itchy, and sometimes painful, rash would emerge with sun exposure,” she said. “Each summer, I was the kid that was restricted to swimming outdoors after dusk and was forced to always wear an oversized T-shirt and wide-brimmed hat to protect my skin. This experience profoundly shaped my life, giving me a window into what my patients are going through, especially the little ones.”

Recognized by her peers as one of New York’s “Super Doctors” yearly from 2019 to 2022, Nektalova also established a mentorship program with impressive results. Invited several years ago to speak at an event for aspiring medical students, she connected afterward with several of them.

“One of my mentees is now a dermatology resident at my alma mater, Mount Sinai Hospital, and we’ve published a paper together. I’ve been able to connect her with the chairman of Mount Sinai Hospital, who got her involved in research, and I’ve tried to keep in touch and be helpful when I can,” Nektalova said.

“Many of my students are now physicians’ assistants, nurses, nurse practitioners, so I really enjoy taking on that role and getting involved, so it’s not just a job where they’re handing me a scalpel. I want them to learn, I want them to be engaged, get hands-on experience, which is as good as it gets.”

She hopes to establish a similar program with students in the Palm Beach area.

Driving around the area with its beaches, Nektalova said she is sometimes alarmed at how casually people can respond to the dangers of the sun’s rays.

“You can enjoy daily activities, you can go to the beach, you can go for a walk or run; you just have to do them safely,” she said. “Sun protection is important: wearing sunscreen, a hat, glasses, SPF-protected clothing, and avoiding peak hours.

“I don’t think dermatologists want to scare people,” she said. “They just want them to be a little bit wiser in their decisions.”

— 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 Brooklyn, New York, within a Bukharan Jewish family that fled the Soviet Union as refugees in the early 1990s. This background influenced my perspective and aspirations, instilling in me a pursuit of the American dream and an unwavering emphasis on education. 
The challenges my family faced taught me resilience, which became crucial as I navigated the rigorous academic demands of the Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education.
This accelerated bachelor of science-doctor of medicine program not only honed my commitment to excellence but also reinforced the values of hard work instilled by my immigrant experience.
Medicine, both noble and compassionate, naturally became the pinnacle of profession for me. 

Q: What professions have you worked in? What professional accomplishments are you most proud of?
A: Over the past decade, I have worked as a physician, specializing in medical, cosmetic and surgical dermatology. My training at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, where I served as chief resident, laid a strong foundation for my career. I previously practiced in SoHo, Tribeca and the Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan, caring for adults and children. 
I am most proud of founding Dermatology & Aesthetics of Palm Beach, a concierge dermatology practice at Plaza Del Mar in Manalapan. My goal with this venture is to build a practice where I can develop deep connections with my patients and offer unparalleled personalized care. I strive to make every person feel seen and be heard, which I believe is central to the essence of medicine and human experience. 

Q: What advice do you have for a young person seeking a career today?
A: Focus on being of service to others. Finding fulfillment and gratification often comes from making a positive impact on people’s lives. Follow your internal compass, the place where your personality aligns with your soul’s purpose, and you will not miss. 

Q: How did you choose to make your home in South Palm Beach?
A: Like many New Yorkers, I escaped to Palm Beach County during the pandemic and am happy to now call it home. 

Q: What is your favorite part about living in South Palm Beach?
A: My walk to work. The palm trees, ocean breeze and sunshine ground me. 

Q: What book are you reading now?
A: I am an avid reader. The book I am currently reading, for the second time, is Man’s Search for Meaning, by Viktor Frankl. Profound and compelling, it drives the following message home: “When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.” 

Q: What music do you listen to when you want to relax? When you want to be inspired?
A: Andrea Bocelli’s voice can be incredibly soothing. I was lucky to attend one of his most special events at Madison Square Garden, where he performed with his son and daughter. Frank Sinatra’s My Way tells the story of self-determination and inspires confidence in all people. 

Q: Have you had mentors in your life? Individuals who have inspired your life decisions?
A: My parents, Svetlana and Daniel. They moved to this country with nothing. Without the ability to formulate a single sentence in English, my father got his first job as a tailor by walking into a local dry cleaner with only a thimble in his pocket, and knowledge of the work he was certain his hands could do. He is now the head tailor for major Hollywood films and television series. My mother, who started out as a medical assistant for a cardiologist, is now the assistant nurse manager of a surgical intensive care unit at a Level 1 trauma center. They are the definition of the American dream and, above all else, good people. 

Q: If your life story were to be made into a movie, who would play you?
A: Penelope Cruz. She is deep, authentic, and has reinvented herself over and over again. 

Q: Who/what makes you laugh?
A: My nephew, Benjamin. He is 5 years old. Even when he is misbehaving, you can’t help but smile.

The stump of a royal palm tree on one side of Federal Highway with four healthy ones on the other side of the road. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

By John Pacenti

Delray Beach Mayor Tom Carney sees the ghosts of dead palm trees. But Carney is not the kid in The Sixth Sense. Everyone else can see the stumps, as well.

Carney said residents have grown so used to his complaining about the cut-down royal palm trees on Federal Highway and Atlantic Avenue that they started calling it his “stump speech.”

The city on Sept. 4 planned to begin the process of replacing the eyesores. The first step is for a crew to grind down the stumps and remove the root balls of some 30 trees, Parks Director Sam Metott said.

The palm trees were cut down over the years because they were dying from disease or just old age. Some got hit by cars, Metott said.

“This is something that the mayor really was pushing,” Metott said. “It’s just taken us some time to get the budget allocated and then the purchasing process completed with quotes and bids from the vendors.”

Metott said the stump-grinding will cost taxpayers $25,000.

The issue of the tree stumps bubbled up during public comments at the Aug. 19 City Commission meeting when Mary McCarty, a former Delray Beach and Palm Beach County commissioner, said she has been “nagging” Carney since he came into office about the stumps.

“It sends a message that we don’t care about our town,” McCarty said.

Carney and McCarty said that diseased stumps are just as contagious as diseased trees.

Florida’s palms — not just royals — have been besieged by a bacterial disease for more than a decade, spread by tiny, winged insects commonly known as treehoppers.

McCarty urged the city to employ an arborist so that when the trees are replaced, they are properly taken care of.

City Manager Terrence Moore said in his Aug. 30 newsletter that the city will “develop a landscape plan that will offer specific guidance for palm tree care, removal, and replacement.”

McCarty urged the elected officials and the city manager not to be cheap with the replacements.

“We need to have them replaced with real royal palms,” she said. “I know they’re expensive, but you got … to put it in the budget, four or five of them a year, or some kind of plan.”

Metott couldn’t quote a dollar figure on how much it would cost to replace 30 royal palms. Homeguide.com puts the average price of a fully grown royal palm at between $450 and $650 — with installation extra — but McCarty said the city might be able to get a bulk deal.

The royal palm — Roystonea regia — is generally considered to be one of the most beautiful and is a cultural icon in Cuba and the namesake of a village in Palm Beach County.

Another option would be to plant baby or juvenile royal palms — but Metott said municipalities have learned residents aren’t fans of that plan. It takes 20 years for a royal palm to reach maturity.

“People don’t like putting in the smaller ones because it looks small and not grand and it takes years, but it’s very hard and very expensive to plant fully grown royal palms,” he said.

By Mary Thurwachter

It’s been 10 years since 72 acres of state-owned land — once home to the A.G. Holley state tuberculosis hospital — was sold to developers to build Water Tower Commons, the largest development in Lantana’s history.

While construction was slow to begin at the site on Lantana Road between Andrew Redding Road and North Eighth Street, it has since been populated with hundreds of snazzy residential apartments as well as commercial buildings such as Aldi, Wawa, Chick-fil-A and El Car Wash.

New to the mix are Dunkin’, which opened recently, and two restaurants about to open: Panda Express, a casual Chinese eatery, and Carl’s Jr., an American fast-food burger chain.

Another business, Fifth Third Bank, is under construction.

“When new tenants come in, they look to update the master signage program,” said Nicole Dritz, Lantana’s development director.

To that end, they brought in planner Sandra Megrue and her team from Urban Design Studios, Water Tower’s architectural firm, to address the Town Council on Aug. 12.

“The signage program has already been approved,” Dritz said, “but tenants are requesting a few changes.” For example, Dunkin’ wanted to have twice as many signs as the two it is allowed to have.

Council members held off on approving Dunkin’s request for four signs, but they did like the one that reads “Lantana Runs on Dunkin’.” Dritz said her staff would meet with owners of the coffee and donut shop to discuss a compromise and bring back a proposal later.

The council did approve signs proposed for Panda Express and Carl’s Jr.

Two other Water Tower Commons variances brought forward by Megrue won council approval. One had to do with the landscape plan, in particular a change in some trees planted beside the car wash to better block the view from neighboring houses; another was asking to reconfigure the drive-through lanes at Panda Express and Carl’s Jr.

Megrue said Carl’s Jr. will have outdoor seating, Panda Express will not.

Although it was not part of the variances requested, Vice Mayor Pro Tem Kem Mason was concerned about the noise made by the blowers at the car wash.

“The town manager, Mr. Raducci, and I were both at the very end of the blower and it’s really loud and I was wondering if there’s anything neighborly we could do,” Mason asked, referring to Brian Raducci. “If you’re that house,” the one closest to the car wash, “I think your property value just sunk a lot.”

Mason said the car wash mufflers aren’t doing enough to buffer the noise. He asked if perhaps a sound barrier wall could be put up or vegetation added at the very end where the blowers are located and where cars drive out.

“It’s just not acceptable for the people that live there,” he said.

Hunter Monsour of Lantana Development Company, part of Megrue’s team of experts, told Mason he would go with him to the car wash to inspect the mufflers to see if anything could be done.

“Maybe nothing can be done, but we have to at least try,” Mason said.

Reading tutors sought — Library director Kristine Kreidler said the town has teamed up with the Literacy Coalition of Palm Beach County to offer tutoring this fall between 3:30 and 5:30 p.m. Thursdays at the library.

“We do need volunteers and have applications,” Kreidler said.

The job does require training.

“The relationship between the students and the tutor is very important, so it does require a commitment as well,” she said.

For more information, call 561-540-5740 or email librarystaff@lantana.org

Stormwater and flooding program — The Town Council voted to establish a comprehensive Stormwater and Flooding Improvement Program.

This was the town’s way of addressing the increasing challenges posed by stormwater runoff and flooding within the coastal community and outlines a proactive approach to mitigating flooding risks by implementing strategies that reduce the runoff and improve drainage infrastructure.

Fence height limit modified — Fences in the public zoning district have been limited to 8 feet but will be allowed to be 10 feet tall, thanks to a modification of town rules. The Town Council was spurred to make the change after the planning commission recommended it. This modification was requested as a result of town staff’s application for a building permit for new fencing at the town’s tennis courts.

— Mary Thurwachter

By Jane Musgrave

A week before Florida officials ignited a firestorm when plans surfaced for a golf course at Jonathan Dickinson State Park, Boynton Beach took steps to make sure Harvey E. Oyer Jr. Park will never be developed.

The move, which brought sighs of relief from dozens of commercial and recreational boaters, came even though there were no plans to develop the 8-acre waterfront park on Federal Highway that is named after a former city mayor, commissioner and pioneer who died in 2010.

“There was never any developer who came through to the city inquiring about developing the park,” City Manager Dan Dugger said after the Aug. 20 City Commission meeting.

Commissioners agreed that a restrictive covenant should be placed on the land to close a loophole that would have allowed the commercial use — or sale — of the park, which has a boat ramp that provides access to the Atlantic Ocean.

“We have used it for many years and will continue to use it for many years,” Vice Mayor Aimee Kelley told the dozens of boaters who crowded into the meeting. “We want to protect the park in perpetuity.”

Commercial development, including hotels and restaurants, would be prohibited under the proposal commissioners tentatively embraced. However, commissioners and boaters agreed a tackle shop would be a welcome addition.

If boaters forget ice, bait or other supplies, they have to leave the park to stock up, said Commissioner Thomas Turkin.

“It would be the same way we service the golf course with a private vendor … or the beach,” he said. “The fishing community deserves the same access.”

Turkin said he suggested that a restrictive covenant be placed on the park after Dugger alerted him that there was nothing that would block most of the park from being turned over to a private developer.

Part of it would be protected because the city accepted a $125,000 grant from the Florida Inland Navigation District to build a dock at the park for the police and fire departments. As part of the grant approval process, the city agreed to keep that part of the park in public hands, Dugger said.

While doing research for the grant, Dugger said it became clear that there was nothing to protect other parts of the park from development.

Dugger noted that the need for the restriction was starkly illustrated in the days after the meeting when the Florida Department of Environmental Protection acknowledged it was considering plans to let a private group build a 600-acre golf course on the 10,500-acre Jonathan Dickinson State Park, just over the Palm Beach County line in Martin County.

Faced with intense opposition from park lovers, environmentalists and lawmakers, the group withdrew its plans. But, as part of the state’s 2024-2025 Great Outdoors Initiative, development, including hotels and pickleball courts, is being considered in other state parks.

The commission has already recognized the need to protect city parks, Dugger said. In 2023, the commission prohibited development in a passive park next to Leisureville and did the same for Meadows Park.

He “wouldn’t be surprised” if more get the same protection.

Commissioners said they want to make sure the covenant remains in place. A unanimous vote of the commission should be required to lift the restriction, Turkin said.

Boynton resident Susan Oyer, who is the daughter of Harvey Oyer, said more protection was needed. She suggested that a referendum be required.

Turkin and Commissioners Angela Cruz and Woodrow Hay supported Oyer’s idea. “You should decide, not the people sitting up here,” Hay said.

Kelley sided with City Attorney Shawna Lamb, who said she didn’t think the matter could be decided by referendum. She promised to do additional research before the commission votes on a measure that would prohibit the development of the park.

Mayor Ty Penserga was absent.

The vote will probably come in November or December, Dugger said.

Turkin urged city residents to remain vigilant. “Do not lose sight and make sure you pay attention,” he told those who filled the commission chambers. “Because if you don’t pay attention, things like this will happen.”

By John Pacenti

Could there be peace in Mudville? 

There seems to be at least a detente between the East Boynton Beach Little League and the city of Boynton Beach. Meanwhile, the league’s players keep bringing home trophies, leaving the drama to the adults.

August, though, started with a new episode of “How the Little League Turns,” when the city severed its contract with the Little League, saying it violated its 2022 contract by failing to pay to be the city’s baseball provider at the sports facility on Woolbright Road. 

The Aug. 8 letter did not say how much the Little League owed the city: “Accordingly, the termination of the agreement will not affect your right to continue to request permits for the use of Little League Park through the Recreation Parks Department. However, a fee will be required to continue to use the park.”

The letter came two days after the Boynton Beach City Commission met in closed session with its lawyer to discuss the litigation the Little League brought against the city for greenlighting the renovation of the field used by the league’s most senior team — thus forcing it to use fields elsewhere in the city.

Then on Aug. 20, the clouds parted and the two frenemies made peace. Commissioners mentioned the barrage of emails they’ve received on the issue. The Little League asked parents to stand down on attacks — through email or social media — against the city.

In an email the Little League sent out to families, it said negotiations were fruitful in regards to field use “and a long-term partnership.” The Little League said it has confirmed its permit requests for the fall season and that the city has committed $1 million toward T-ball fields and park repairs.

The Little League said a “new sports provider agreement” will be forged to protect field use and future involvement of the Little League in any planned renovations of baseball facilities.

The two sides mutually buried a much-hated proposal to build a 17,000-square-foot indoor facility at Little League Park. 

And, most important, city commissioners at their Sept. 3 meeting recognized the EBBLL’s 11-and-under All-Stars for their state championship this year. 

“The city is committed to EBBLL long-term and wants to support us,” the email to parents and coaches went on. “These are truly wonderful events in the first step towards resolving this long-fought battle.”

The Little League then directed “everyone to discontinue any public/social media/or email campaigns against the city as we know many rumors are flying around.”

At the Aug. 20 commission meeting, City Manager Dan Dugger said the city would sign a new sports provider agreement when the Little League drops its lawsuit.

Dugger read the email from the Little League to parents and coaches.

“A lot of misinformation was definitely out there,” Dugger said. “We were able to clear up a lot of that misinformation, and we made some real progress.”

He said one false rumor was that he personally would benefit from the indoor facility and aimed to privatize the fields. “I can tell you honestly that was a complete lie,” Dugger said. “There were also allegations I got a kickback of a blue Camaro or Corvette.”

City Commissioner Thomas Turkin seemed to still be bothered by the rumors, asking City Attorney Shawna Lamb if Dugger had the authority to make unilateral decisions on the use of the fields. She told him the city manager does not.

Earlier this year, parents and players blasted the commission over the renovation of the biggest field — which now has synthetic turf. They were also upset over the proposed indoor facility, clashing with the sports agent working to build it.

However, the fields have a storied history in the city. The team of 10- to 12-year-olds reached the 2003 Little League World Series. Then, when Hurricane Wilma devastated the fields in 2005, ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition renovated them for the television show.

By Tao Woolfe

While celebrating its 15th year in business, The Coastal Star received 13 awards for excellence from the Florida Press Association, a nod to the paper’s reporters, photographers, and artists who are showing how the paper endures.

“These are difficult times for practicing journalism, but The Coastal Star continues to hang tough, and with the strength and depth of our team — and our business partners — we keep looking forward,” Mary Kate Leming, the paper’s executive editor, said at the beginning of 2024.

The monthly newspaper — which was competing in an awards division dominated by the state’s largest weekly publications­ — won five first-place awards this year, four second-place awards, and four third-place awards for writing, photos and graphics.

The awards, from the 2024 Florida Press Association Weekly Newspaper Contest, were announced in July.

One of the first-place winners was a profile by Brian Biggane of tennis star Coco Gauff’s grandmother — Delray Beach resident Yvonne Odom — who watched the young athlete become a U.S. Open champion.

Biggane used the tournament backdrop to portray the “almost legendary” status the Odom/Gauff family has achieved in Delray Beach since the 1950s. Odom, for example, was the first Black student to integrate Seacrest (now Atlantic) High, in 1961.

Reporter Ron Hayes took home a first-place award for his story about the sartorial splendor of John Jackson, a longtime staffer at Harbour’s Edge luxury senior living community in Delray Beach.

“Relaxing at a table outside the Edgewater dining room before his 5 p.m. shift, he sports a suit so red it almost could make Santa jealous, a black dress shirt, red-and-black plaid socks, a white necktie and white boutonniere,” Hayes wrote.

Hayes also won a first-prize award for an obituary he wrote about Vin Dinanath, longtime owner of Gulfstream Texaco — the only gas station along State Road A1A in the 47 miles between Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale.

Reporters Rich Pollack and Jane Musgrave won a first-place award for a breaking news story about how the execution of Duane Eugene Owen for two brutal murders — including that of teen Karen Slattery while babysitting in Delray Beach — would not make the pain go away for the victims’ families.

Besides the families’ pain, the piece explored the crimes and examined the psychology of the murderer through the lens of his own horrific childhood.

Pollack also received a first-place award for a column he wrote about some of the best birdwatching spots in Palm Beach County. With a little patience and binoculars, people can spot some of the rarest of birds— such as a red-legged thrush and La Sagra’s flycatcher — in coastal hammocks and nature preserves, he wrote.

A second-place award went to local photographers Peter Cross and Susan Wasserman, who provided photos for Pollack’s story on birding destinations.

Photographer Tim Stepien won a second-place award for a feature photo depicting people finding inspiration on the beach at sunrise.

The Coastal Star staff scooped up second-place awards for an arts season preview supplement and in “general excellence” for the March, April and October editions. The same editions earned a third-place honor for graphic design.

Reporter Sallie James won a third-place award for an obituary about Doug Baumgarten, the longtime dockmaster of Briny Breezes.

Third-place awards also went to reporter Joe Capozzi for a story about a bicyclist who gave up riding along State Road A1A after a debilitating collision with a truck; and to reporters Charles Elmore, Larry Barszewski and Steve Plunkett for in-depth reporting about how the state’s new financial disclosure requirements were leading some elected council and commission members to give up their seats rather than comply.

“I am so very proud of the work done by everyone for The Coastal Star,” Leming, the executive editor, wrote in her award announcement memo. “Fifteen years and still going strong!”

By Rich Pollack

DELRAY BEACH — Roy Simon loved Delray Beach.

A Delray native and a descendent of one of the community’s first families, Mr. Simon had a passion for his hometown. That energy charged much of his work and focused his vision on ideas that define Delray Beach even today.

An architect whose blueprints underlay notable Delray Beach buildings and numerous homes, Mr. Simon was at his drawing board for 65 years and was putting plans together until shortly before his Aug. 14 death. He was 93.

“My dad was a visionary,” said his daughter, Laura Simon. “He could see the potential of the city and believed in it. He believed Delray was special and could always be better.”

Mr. Simon’s dedication to the community helped make it easy for others to share his vision.

“When Roy Simon talked, people listened because what he said wasn’t about personal gain, it was always about the betterment of the community,” said Mark Denkler, a longtime downtown business owner who along with his wife hired Mr. Simon to help with plans for a 1939 home he is renovating. “He was devoted to the town.”

Born in the family home — he never went into the hospital until a few weeks before his death — Mr. Simon was one of four brothers who attended Delray Beach Elementary School and Delray Beach High School. He graduated in 1948, went on to receive degrees from Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, and later served as a captain in the U.S. Air Force before returning home.

One of the founders of the Delray Beach Historical Society, Mr. Simon was among the leading voices advocating for the preservation of the buildings that made up his elementary and high schools and that eventually became Old School Square.

That was just one of many community efforts he stood behind.

“My dad was involved in everything,” Laura Simon said. “I don’t know how he did it.”

Mr. Simon is credited with creating the Delray Beach Gladiola Fest, which evolved into the Delray Affair.

In a 2022 conversation with The Coastal Star, Mr. Simon recalled how the idea was born after he saw a street festival while visiting relatives in Winter Park. “I came home and said, ‘We ought to have this in Delray,’” he said.

Mr. Simon was also one of the driving forces behind efforts to keep the state from widening Atlantic Avenue, thus helping the downtown to blossom.

“My dad always saw the potential, not just that moment, but bigger,” Laura Simon said. “Maybe that comes from his architectural background.”

It was Mr. Simon who stepped up in 2011 to help organize Delray Beach’s centennial celebration after realizing that little was being done to mark the occasion.

Mr. Simon was active in several community service organizations including Rotary and Lions Club. He was involved in the Little League and served two terms as president of the Delray Beach Chamber of Commerce.

“Delray is a community and Roy was one of the community torch bearers,” Denkler said.

Mr. Simon was the founder of the Delray Beach Downtown Development Authority that his daughter now leads.

He served on a couple of city boards and ran once unsuccessfully for what was then the Delray Beach City Council, but found that he was better behind the scenes.

“He was the quintessential Delray guy,” Laura Simon said.

Mr. Simon was a lifelong member of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, where he served as chalice bearer, acolyte and on the vestry.

Throughout his lifetime, Mr. Simon was known for his kindness and for being the gentleman in the room.

“He was that guy,” Laura Simon said. “He always cared and would always see the good in everyone. He was a gentle giant. He was just 6-foot but he always seemed bigger.”

A devoted family man, Mr. Simon was married to his wife, Beth, for more than 60 years until her death last year. He is survived by his three children, Michael (Charlene), Laura (Sven Mautner) and Christopher (Claudia); three granddaughters, four grandsons and five great-grandchildren.

A funeral service was held on Aug. 25 at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. A military burial followed at the Delray Beach Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks for donations to St. Paul’s Episcopal Church or the Delray Beach Historical Society.