By Janis Fontaine

The year 2020.

It rolls off our tongues, the symbol of perfect visual acuity. So, a year with that moniker should be a great year, right?

We asked clergy members how they feel about 2020 and for their best advice for starting the new year on the right foot:

Andy Hagen, pastor for Advent Life Ministries in Boca Raton, said he thought about the idea of the year 2020 and 20/20 vision a few years ago. “That it’s supposed to be perfect vision. I tried to imagine what 2020 would be like.” Hagen realized the futility of trying to predict the future, knowing God has his own ideas about that, and just kept moving forward.

Now he says, “The thing I’m loving as we enter 2020 is people are being more kind and more generous. Saturday I flew to the Bahamas with Bob Stark, a (retired) local businessman who is a pilot and owns his own plane. He wanted to help but didn’t know how, so he contacted me. I reached out to the congregation, and we flew 200 backpacks filled with toys donated by our church family to tiny Moore’s Island in Stark’s twin Cessna. No reindeer required.”

More and more, Hagen says he’s being asked to connect people who want to help with people who need help. “I’m a goodwill broker,” he said.

Rabbi Ruvi New is the spiritual leader and director of Chabad of East Boca and the editor of Inside Out magazine, which focuses on Jewish thought and philosophy. He says his congregation is excited about the new year because it’s also Chabad’s 20th anniversary and there’s a lot to celebrate.

“Now we’re the boutique Chabad,” New said. An upgraded space to handle the growing congregation and a new façade drawn from the eight entries to the sacred city of Jerusalem give Chabad “an opportunity to up our impact,” New says.
“There’s a significance to different decades; they should represent a paradigm shift, a time to see things in a new way. It’s a new chapter.”

Ask yourself, New says, if you are merely existing or are you living? Challenging yourself to grow is a sign of life. “The Hebrew term for year is shana but the word also means change. Ask ‘How am I different than I was last year?’ But don’t waste time or space worrying about things that will never happen or with your eyes focused on the rearview mirror. Only cars should have rearview mirrors. Be in the now.”

New says that every day you wake up is God’s saying, “I need you in the world.”

Jane Faysash of the Southern Palm Zen Group (www.floridazen.com) is a Buddhist pupil and teacher, and she facilitates the monthly Interfaith Café in Delray Beach. It’s a meeting of people of all faiths who come together to hear expert speakers and discuss spiritual issues.

Faysash says one path to a happy future begins with meditation. Most people spend their lives in hyper-drive and can’t imagine “doing nothing” for 30 minutes a day, so Faysash says, start small.

“Start by sitting quietly for five minutes every day. Pay attention to what arises.” If nothing else, Faysash says, “Meditation will help you know yourself better.

Faysash says one reason people fail to keep their New Year’s resolutions is they set goals too high. Mammoth goals lead to frustration and failure. Break them down into manageable pieces, like that adage about eating an elephant: “One bite at a time.”
“Do something, just one small thing, toward your goal every day,” Faysash says. “A new year is a chance to start over. Find a community of people with the same intention or goal for support.”

Josh Broide, the outreach rabbi at Boca Raton Synagogue and director of the Center for Jewish Engagement at the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County, also feels optimistic.

“I think 2020 will be a year where we can do better as a community. People are grateful and want to do great things, but anything we choose to do should start by taking a good look in the mirror.”

Broide is concerned that we’re not following the most basic life law: the Golden Rule. “We need more civility in our dealings with one another and we need to be better listeners. We need to stop retaliatory abuse — you hurt me, I’ll hurt you — because it spirals out of control. We need to be the bigger person.”

Broide is committed to spreading an enthusiastic message: “I can’t wait for 2020! I’m hoping it will bring good things.”

Rabbi Leibel Stolik of Chabad of South Palm Beach was philosophical: “Building on the concept that 2020 are the numbers that represent perfect visual acuity, if we train our emotional and spiritual vision to be more accepting, generous and empathetic, we are guaranteed a more peaceful and successful year. Recognizing God’s hand in the big and small parts of our lives allows us to shake off aggravation and despair.”

Wendy Tobias, associate pastor at St. Joseph’s Episcopal Church, says she’s approaching 2020 by saying yes. Yes to love, yes to God’s presence in her life, yes to community and yes to “creation care,” a worldwide ministry that educates, inspires and mobilizes Christians to care for God’s creation and be stewards of the planet by fighting pollution.

“The earth is a great gift and we should be caring for it,” Tobias said.

Say yes to the community by looking for the helpers, people who are lifting up others, and joining them. “The closer the connection between us, the closer we are to God. And the closer we are to God, the stronger our connection to each other,” Tobias said.
Say yes to kindness. “You’ve heard people ask, ‘Do you want to be right or do you want to be happy?’ It takes a lot of courage to choose the kinder path.”

Tobias says if you look around, you’ll see people doing amazing things. It starts with your attitude.

“My mother forbade us from using the word ‘hate’ in our house. She said there was already enough hate in the world. Start the new year by removing the word ‘hate’ from your vocabulary and say yes to love.”

Janis Fontaine writes about people of faith, their congregations, causes and events. Contact her at janisfontaine@outlook.com.

About 200 parishioners gathered last month to dedicate the Nativity scene at St. Lucy Catholic Church in Highland Beach. The figures included a removable Jesus that could be placed in the manger on Christmas Eve. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

By Janis Fontaine

As cars whizzed by on A1A, about 200 parishioners from St. Lucy Catholic Church in Highland Beach gathered after dark for the big reveal of the new life-size Nativity scene. After Father Brian Horgan blessed the manger scene, someone flipped a switch and the characters came to life, with “oohs” and “aahs” all around.

The 12 full-color fiberglass figures featured the one thing the Nativity team demanded: a removable Jesus. The custom is to leave the manger empty until midnight Christmas Eve, when the baby is placed in the scene.

“We didn’t want one with the baby Jesus bolted to the cradle,” Jeannette Schmitz said.

Schmitz is the church’s director of family ministry and social outreach and was part of the volunteer team assigned to finding a suitable holy family for the knolls in front of St. Lucy. It took almost a year.

Finally, at www.catholicsupply.com for just under $10,000, the team found the “72-inch Heaven’s Majesty 12 Piece Full Nativity Set — Life Size.” Schmitz said the volunteers took a special collection for the Nativity over the summer, so the church budget didn’t have to kick in a dime. She found out that a Nativity scene “is very important to a lot of people.”

The tableau features Mary and Joseph, the three wise men, a shepherd carrying a lamb, a sheep, an ox and a donkey, and the angel of the Lord watching over the whole scene. The angel’s wings are gold and almost 7 feet tall. The detail is quite stunning. “We liked the beautiful faces and expressions,” Schmitz said.

After the lighting, parishioners gathered in Fellowship Hall for the annual Feast of St. Lucy, the church’s patron saint. The church served prime rib and snapper and au gratin potatoes.

The lighted display got immediate attention, Schmitz said. “People are stopping to take photos.”

The essence of St. Lucy, whose name means light, is light. A light in the world leading the way for Christians today just as the light of the North Star led the wise men to Bethlehem so long ago.

St. Lucy Catholic Church is at 3510 S. Ocean Blvd.

Author to speak at Unity on living better life

Dennis Merritt Jones, author of The Art of Abundance — Ten Rules for a Prosperous Life, released in 2018, will speak at services at Unity of Delray Beach on Jan. 12. This book and Jones’ two previous books — The Art of Uncertainty — How to Live in the Mystery of Life and Love It and The Art of Being — 101 Ways to Practice Purpose in Your Life — were recipients of Nautilus Awards (“Better Books for a Better World”). He offers free downloadable study guides for the books on his website.

Jones will speak about The Art of Uncertainty at the 9:15 and 11 a.m. services and will present a workshop from 1 to 3:30 p.m. to explore “Practicing the Power of Presence.”

Unity of Delray Beach is at 101 NW 22nd St. Call Unity at 276-5796 or visit www.DennisMerrittJones.com.

Human trafficking expert to speak at St. Lucy

The second annual Human Trafficking Luncheon will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Jan. 28 at St. Lucy Catholic Church in Highland Beach.

The keynote speaker is Liza Smoker, an attorney and managing director of the Human Trafficking Academy at St. Thomas School of Law. She graduated from FSU with degrees in multinational business and real estate and law.

Smoker was selected as one of 60 presidential leadership scholars in 2019 for her “leadership growth potential” and “personal leadership projects aimed at improving civic engagement or social good,” and Place of Hope will honor Smoker with its first Illumination Award.

Proceeds from the luncheon will benefit Place of Hope’s human trafficking prevention and education programs. The programs include screenings of a documentary on human trafficking in South Florida and presentations to community, corporate, civic and religious groups. Experts agree the best weapon against this epidemic is education.

Tickets to the luncheon are $55. Sponsorships are available.

For tickets or information, visit www.placeofhoperinker.org/humantraffickingluncheon.

Interfaith conference to address bigotry

JAM & ALL is an organization of Jews, Muslims, Christians and people of all other faiths or no faith who come together to discuss important issues.

On Feb. 1 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., JAM will host a conference called “Transforming Bigotry and Hate: From Awareness to Action,” led by keynote speaker Arno Michaelis at the Lynn College of Nursing at FAU Boca Raton, 777 Glades Road.

Michaelis used to be a white supremacist, and he will share what drew him to white supremacy and what led to his transformation away from it.

Also part of the conference is “Managing Your Prejudices” by Gail Price-Wise, president of the Florida Center for Cultural Competence.

Tickets, which include a box lunch, are $25 in advance at www.eventbrite.com. Tickets will be $30 at the door. The conference is free for FAU students with ID. For more information, call 289-4621 or 251-5336.

For more about JAM & ALL, visit jamandallinterfaith.net.

Seventh-grader Evangeline Price placed second and eighth-grader Olivia Robbins placed first, earning awards from Principal Vikki Delgado. Photo provided

Forty students competed for two spots to represent the school in the Southeastern Florida Scripps district spelling bee, set for March 10 in Boca Raton. The winner of the district bee will have the opportunity to compete at the regional level.

Delray Beach’s Seagate Hotel hosted about 20 children who got to meet Santa, his wife and helpers. Photos provided

By Janis Fontaine

On Dec. 12, as it has every year for the last six years, the Seagate Hotel & Spa in Delray Beach hosted kindergartners and first-graders from the Achievement Centers for Children & Families and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Palm Beach County for a Santa Claus meet-and-greet. The children enjoyed rides on the Seagate Trolley, a party with cookies, crafts and carols with Mrs. Claus, and gift bags stuffed with goodies to take home.

And look at Santa! This was no hired-off-Craigslist figure. E. Anthony Wilson, CEO of Seagate Hospitality Group, played the jolly man and Carie Cody, the hotel’s retail manager, was Mrs. Claus.

Wilson left town on Santa’s heels, but we reached him by email: “One of my favorite Christmas traditions that I look forward to every year is getting the opportunity to dress up as Santa for an annual holiday children’s event. All kids should experience the joy of meeting Santa and I’m honored to be able to provide that experience.

“There’s only one thing better than supporting the Achievement Centers and the Boys and Girls Clubs, and that’s seeing smiles on the children’s faces when they meet Santa face-to-face. It’s the little things that make this holiday season so special.”
Way to go, Mr. Wilson!

Bahamian Christmas breakfast for kids

In Boynton Beach, a party for displaced Bahamians meant gifts such as new dresses for Zaniah Maycock, 10, and her sister Leah, 3.

Most kids look forward to Christmas with unbridled glee, but for children who lost everything to Hurricane Dorian when it devastated the northern Bahamas in early September, a bountiful Christmas didn’t seem possible. But through the efforts of Sandy Collier, who owns Hey, Sandy PR, and Bethan Whitely, founder of Children’s Oasis International, dozens of kids received a happy — and delicious — Christmas.

On Dec. 14, families gathered at the New Disciples Worship Center in Boynton Beach for an authentic Bahamian breakfast. Volunteers served Bahamian favorites outside under tents in perfect South Florida weather. Nothing like the weather that brought Shanterica Bain and her three kids to Boynton Beach.

Bain says she and her children nearly perished in the storm. As the water rose around them, Bain and her fiancé, John Comet, took their three children (the youngest just 4 months old) plus four nieces and nephews to a shelter in their van. But the doors of the shelter were locked up tight, and the screeching winds and stinging rain prevented anyone inside from hearing their calls for help.
Cellphone service on Grand Bahama had been out all night, but Bain got through. Comet carried each of the kids, the oldest 14, one by one, to the side door.

The next day, Bain and the kids were evacuated, but Comet stayed behind.

Bain is grateful for the help she and her family have received and says the kids are happy and excelling in school, which is important to her. But she doesn’t want to go back to the Bahamas.

She says the experience has been harder, mentally and emotionally, on her than the kids, who have bounced back. But the jovial spirits of the volunteers who served special dishes from home lifted her spirits.

“We cooked all night,” Collier said. Dishes included stewed conch, corned beef, steamed tuna, broiled grouper, chicken souse, yellow and white grits, johnnycake and potato bread. The deep-fryer bubbled nonstop and the pans of deliciousness just kept coming.

Collier got help from the crew from Funky Fritters, including owner Brandon Mervil, and Mini Meals on Wheels founder Christina Dixon Wells. The food was paid for by West Palm Beach attorneys Michael Pike, of the firm Pike & Lustig, and Tayson Gaines.
After breakfast, the kids listened to a Christmas story read by Whitely while the gifts were readied. Then each child was called up personally to receive his or her present. Each actually got two gifts: one to open then and one for Christmas morning.

The one thing that didn’t go as planned, Collier said, was “11 children who weren’t registered didn’t receive anything, but we told them we’d fix that.”

For more info, call Hey, Sandy PR at 386-5262 or email heysandypr@gmail.com. For more information about COI, visit www.childrensoasisinternational.com.

Help needed to assemble packages for rescued kids

Volunteers are needed for the Child Rescue Coalition’s Blankets and Bear Hugs Community Day, which takes place from 2 to 4 p.m. Jan. 25. Tickets are $25.

Carly Yoost, founder and CEO of the Boca Raton-based CRC, wrote that since she founded the coalition in 2013, it has been involved in the arrests of thousands of suspects and has helped rescue hundreds of children. The coalition has done it with Child Protection System technology, which tracks predators who are sharing child porn online.

Experts say millions of images are shared and traded online every day. The CRC works with child exploitation investigators, police officers, digital forensic experts, prosecutors and child welfare agencies, and uses corporate and private philanthropy to apprehend and convict abusers and rescue children.

When that happens, child victims can take a bit of comfort from care packages that include a teddy bear and a soft blanket, a coloring book and crayons. Police officers stock their patrol cars just in case.

On Blankets and Bear Hugs Community Day, volunteers of all ages are invited to join law enforcement to assemble teddy bear care packages. The event will include a presentation about the CRC’s work and how you can keep your kids safe online. All ages are welcome.

For more information, email events@childrescuecoalition.org or call 208-9000.

New color schemes and settings help to create a more open feel in the dining rooms. Photo provided

By Brian Biggane

Nearly 200 people were entertained by the Palm Beach Pipers bagpipe ensemble and a five-piece band as St. Andrews Club of Delray Beach celebrated the completion of its expansive renovation project on Dec. 6.

President Henry Blackiston made a short speech and presided over a ribbon-cutting ceremony before the bagpipe ensemble, respecting the Scottish tradition of St. Andrews, led attendees inside the clubhouse and up the stairs to the refurbished ballroom.
“It was really spectacular,” General Manager Robert Grassi said.

Blackiston presented gifts to members who had been involved in planning for the project, which began in November 2018. Permits were secured in April, construction started in May and the job was completed in late November.

Grassi said the goal of the renovations was to meet members’ requests to bring a “more airy atmosphere” and more of a Florida feel to the facility. “The dining rooms are yellow, gold and white, and each room has a distinctive color combination with the wallpaper, so they blend nicely,” he said. “The members wanted more casual dining and more bars, so we built a huge bar downstairs and we have more casual space. There’s also a beautiful porch that looks out on the ocean.”

The renovations were more than cosmetic. They included new furniture throughout, improved lighting and an upgraded sound system. Also updated were the software, wiring and phone systems.

“It was a massive renovation because we took everything in need of an update and addressed it,” Grassi said.

The goal going forward is to offer more diversity in the dining area and attract more members by broadening the club’s target market. While the club has typically cut back on activities during summer months, Grassi said the plan now is to be open year-round except for September.

“We’re a family-friendly club,” Grassi declared. “The most family-friendly club on A1A.”

A heated, scenic saltwater pool with spa is perfectly framed by the spacious terrace overlooking the Intracoastal Waterway and grounds.

The residence offers five bedrooms, five full and two half baths with more than 11,000 total square feet. Meticulously maintained to include special upgrades and improvements by the owner, this property has impact windows and doors, whole house generator, Control4 technology, elevator, six air-conditioning zones, central vacuum, two large hot water heaters, two gas fireplaces, storage and four-car air-conditioned garage.

The covered loggia overlooks the pool and waterway and has a summer kitchen with dining area.

A custom 40,000-pound boat lift made by No Profile is part of the 99 feet of water frontage. The lift measures 20 by 60 feet.

The home has a paneled library with a fireplace, a paneled billiards room, a chef’s kitchen with butler’s pantry, wine cellar, ground floor laundry and substantial storage.

A home theater has a 120-inch screen and hidden projector, stadium seating, custom lights and controls.

All en suite bedrooms are accessed via the grand staircase or elevator. The master wing is a luxurious retreat with sitting room, a morning bar, a private balcony and dual master baths. Upstairs has its own laundry facilities as well.

A soaring gold-leaf ceiling, Biltmore Estate-inspired chandelier and stone fireplace are interior custom touches in the formal living room. A solid wall of windows overlooks the waterway.

Offered at $6,995,000. Contact Nick Malinosky, Douglas Elliman, 900 E. Atlantic Avenue, Suite 1, Delray Beach, 561-306-4597, nicholas.malinosky@elliman.com

The 10th annual ‘It’s a Wonderful Run’ 5K race drew 440 registered participants ages 4-89. Seventy-eight volunteers prepped hot pancake meals in the cafeteria for the well-conditioned field. ABOVE: The school’s cheer team added Santa to its lineup at the event. (l-r) Gabriella Jones, Raina Demarest, Maya Maczynsk, Santa, Ashley Fernandez and Hannah Fiore. Photo provided

By Sallie James

When it comes to fast and furious, Brightline — Florida’s neon-yellow passenger express train service — has proved to be the deadliest train system per mile in America.
According to an Associated Press analysis of Federal Railroad Administration records for the nation’s 821 railroads, 41 people have been killed by Brightline trains since July 2017, when someone died during a railroad test run.
Brightline’s death rate — of more than one person per month since it began operating — equals about one death per every 29,000 miles the trains have traveled, the study showed.
“This is something we obsess about. … It’s tragic,” Brightline President Patrick Goddard told the AP. “There is nothing we want more than for that number to go to zero.”
Brightline, soon to be Virgin Trains, said it planned to match any amount provided in a $500,000 appropriations request in a bill from state Rep. Mike Caruso, R-Delray Beach, aimed at suicide prevention. The money would go to the 211 Palm Beach/Treasure Coast Helpline.
Tri-Rail’s commuter service had one death about every 110,000 miles, the AP reported. Most other urban passenger lines average about 100,000 miles per fatality, some many times that, the AP said.
British billionaire Richard Branson of the Virgin Group announced last year a partnership with Brightline that included putting the Virgin name on the trains. Virgin Group owns less than 2% of the rail company, according to regulatory filings.
Brightline runs about 17 trains each way daily between Miami and West Palm Beach and plans to expand another 170 miles to Orlando by 2022. The trains speed up to 79 mph through some of the state’s most-densely populated areas.
The Federal Railroad Administration said U.S. trains strike more than 800 people annually, with an average of about 2.5 daily. About 500 are suspected suicides.
Michael Hicks, Brightline media relations director, called the incidents “tragic” but “all the result of deliberate, unlawful actions to ignore warning signs or safety barriers.”
“The vast majority of incidents involving our trains have been suicides or are drug related. We have and will continue to take a leadership role in raising awareness for rail safety and mental health issues in our community,” Hicks said.
“We are rolling out innovative new technologies at crossings and putting in place fencing and landscaping to serve as barriers and reminders to stay off the tracks. ... We have run thousands of safety PSAs, distributed thousands of safety materials, worked with local law enforcement and schools,” he said.
“Most importantly we implore people to stay off the tracks and to treat rail safety warnings no different than red lights or stop signs.”

This south-facing image shows Dixie Highway on the left and a vegetative buffer between the proposed parking garage and the Library Commons neighborhood on the right. Rendering provided

Related Story: Brightline tries to deal with nation’s worst death rate on tracks

By Mary Hladky

Negotiations between the city and Virgin Trains USA on a Boca Raton station are moving ahead at breakneck speed, with the City Council expected to vote Dec. 10 on a final deal.
Under an aggressive schedule requested by Virgin Trains, the council would have voted on Nov. 26. But council members and Virgin Trains officials on Nov. 12 agreed to delay a final public hearing for two weeks to give city staff more time to finalize an agreement and to avoid casting a vote in Thanksgiving week when interested residents might be unable to attend.
Even with the delay, the prospect that an agreement could be wrapped up less than five months after Virgin Trains notified the city it wanted to build a station in the downtown is stunning, considering the city approval process for other projects has sometimes dragged on for years.
All signs point to City Council approval. The city’s Planning and Zoning Board on Nov. 21 unanimously voted in favor of recommending that the City Council approve leasing city-owned land to Virgin Trains for the station and a parking garage. A vote on the station and garage site plan will come later.
“I see nothing but good coming out of this train station,” said board member Larry Cellon.
Four days later at a council workshop meeting, Virgin Trains made two concessions intended to soften criticism from residents who live due north of the station and garage site and to make its proposed agreement more financially attractive to the council.
“Thank you for listening to our residents and making the accommodations,” council member Monica Mayotte told Virgin Trains officials.
Virgin Trains is in a hurry, putting pressure on City Council members who badly want a station. The for-profit rail company wants to start construction in March, with the station in operation by the end of 2020.

City presses on two details
Council members have not objected to the main provisions of the most recent draft agreement submitted by Virgin Trains. Those include a long-term lease of 1.8 acres to the rail company for $1 a year and the city’s paying most of the $13.9 million cost of building a parking garage.
Virgin Trains will pay for the $25 million station on the site east of the Downtown Library and has pushed off into the future its contentious plans to develop about 2 adjacent acres of city-owned land.
Council members pressed for further negotiations on only two matters: They want a 50% share of the parking garage revenues and a minor revision to the garage location so there is a greater buffer between it and the Library Commons neighborhood north of the garage.
Brian Kronberg, Virgin Trains’ vice president for development, agreed at the Nov. 25 workshop meeting to split the garage revenues, but did not specify the amount.
While Library Commons residents and Friends of the Boca Raton Library don’t object to the station, they want the 4.5-story parking garage moved so it doesn’t loom over their neighborhood.
City Council members signaled no interest in a big change to Virgin Trains’ proposed garage location. The majority suggested moving the garage 20 feet south, which would provide a bigger buffer space for Library Commons but still leave land available for potential future development.
Virgin Trains on Nov. 25 agreed to push it 25 feet south. With that, and an existing 20-foot city easement that has a sidewalk and landscaping, there would be a 45-foot buffer between the garage and the neighborhood.
The change will have minimal impact on the number of garage parking spaces. Dedicated free spaces will be set aside for library patrons and they will continue to have no-cost surface parking. The garage also will be available to Virgin Trains passengers and the public.
The parking garage would cost nearly $14 million to build, according to Virgin Trains. The city would pay $12 million and Virgin Trains would pay $1.9 million to cover the cost of the dedicated library parking.
The station is supported by many city residents, including those who commute to work, and key institutions such as Florida Atlantic University, Boca Chamber and the Boca Raton Resort & Club.

Critics claim ‘surrender’
Library Commons residents and Friends of the Boca Raton Library are the main opponents, objecting to a garage so near the library and neighborhood and what they believe is the eventual certainty of multistory residential and commercial development on their doorstep.
At City Council meetings on Nov. 12 and 13, several residents contended that since Virgin Trains wants a station in Boca Raton, the city has leverage to get concessions but isn’t using it.
Manjunath Pendakur, a retired FAU professor, questioned why the city is “giving land away” for $1 a year.
“We shouldn’t be subsidizing this thing,” said another resident.
Library Commons resident Adam Rosenzweig proposed an alternative parking garage location that would place it immediately west of the station, moving it away from his neighborhood while preserving much of the library’s parking lot and green space. His concept would eliminate any future development on the site.
The city’s talks with Virgin Trains are not a negotiation, he said, but rather “a full-blown surrender.”
“We thought we would hear a lot of tough questions from the dais. We didn’t hear any,” said Library Commons resident and attorney Bill Gelin, who said the station and garage are currently positioned in a way that allows maximum development on the city property.
“You didn’t even ask them to come back with an alternate drawing (for the garage). … Why are you so married to their design?” he asked.
Even though Virgin Trains has put development on hold, Library Commons residents and Friends of the Boca Raton Library see it as inevitable since the company has developed property near its stations in Miami and West Palm Beach.
Their concerns were heightened when word spread recently that two privately owned parcels located south of the station site are in escrow. They believe Virgin Trains is acquiring the properties, but evidence presented to The Coastal Star does not show an obvious link to the rail company.
Even so, private property owners have said Virgin Trains has approached them about selling their property, although none who spoke with the newspaper said they had sold as of mid-November.
That raises the possibility that development could extend beyond the city-owned land that has been the subject of negotiations.
Asked about the two parcels, Ben Porritt, Virgin Trains’ senior vice president for corporate affairs, said in an email, “I have nothing to offer you at this time on the properties.” 

Viability questioned
One issue the City Council has barely addressed is Virgin Trains’ economic viability. Some residents fear the company could go out of business, and a consultant’s report to the city wasn’t reassuring.
Although ridership and revenue are increasing, both fall below projections, according to the report by Colliers International. A total of 2.1 million riders were projected in 2019, but Virgin Trains was on track to have only 934,000.
Virgin Trains is adding stations at PortMiami, Aventura and probably Boca Raton, which the company says will increase ridership by 2 million passengers once the stations are in operation.
In 2018, its first year of operations, Virgin Trains lost $117 million on $10 million in total revenue. The company is expected to earn $20.4 million in 2019, or only 26% of its revenue projection, the report says.
Mayotte, who requested the financial data, asked if Virgin Trains has adequate funding to build and operate a Boca Raton station.
A company official told her that Virgin Trains closed on $1.75 billion in private activity bonds in April. In a news release, the company said that with the closing, it has enough money to lay rail tracks from West Palm Beach to Orlando. The construction is expected to be completed in 2022.
The draft agreement between the city and the rail company states that the city may terminate the lease for the station and parking garage land if Virgin Trains discontinues service or if service diminishes substantially.

Land request set aside
When Virgin Trains informed city officials in July that it wanted to build a station in the downtown, it asked for the donation of about 4 acres east and south of the library.
Virgin Trains would develop those portions of the land not used for a station and garage. Company officials offered no concrete plans, but said it could include high-rise residential, retail, office and hotel.
Since then, Virgin Trains has backed off the land donation request. In September, it asked for an option to buy a portion of the land at fair market value for a transit-oriented development.
But that idea complicated efforts to reach a quick agreement with the city. So Virgin Trains said it would put aside development plans for now.
Most recently, Virgin Trains is seeking a right of first refusal if the city decides to sell the property that the company eventually wants to develop after Dec. 31, 2024. The city would not sell it before then.
While the rail company would lease the land it wants for the station and parking garage for $1 a year, the city considers it a land sale because of the length of the lease. The initial lease term is 29 years, but with renewals could total 89 years.
City code requires any sale or lease of city property be done at fair market value. There is an exception, however, for the sale or lease of property that would be of “significant economic benefit” to the city.
Virgin Trains has provided an economic impact study that says the station would contribute $15.5 million annually in economic benefits, including $10.9 million in money spent by visitors using Virgin Trains to come to Boca Raton.
Virgin Trains has agreed to spend as much as $300,000 to relocate the Junior League of Boca Raton’s Community Garden, which will be displaced by the station.
City officials think they have found the perfect spot for it in the southeast area of Meadows Park at 1300 NW Eighth St. While it is not in the downtown, council members were told that the Junior League likes the location because it has ample parking, room for expansion and is pesticide-free.
Virgin Trains had asked the city to fund an elevated pedestrian bridge over Dixie Highway so that people can walk from the station across the busy roadway into the downtown. The company has since said it would help the city get grants to finance the bridge.

By Jane Smith

Josie’s Ristorante will have to leave its Riverwalk Plaza location by Nov. 30, 2026, when its lease ends, according to documents filed with the Palm Beach County clerk’s office.
The Boynton Beach restaurant, which opened in 1992, has a strong following on the barrier island for its traditional Italian cuisine.
Until the lease ends, Josie’s will share a valet operation with the nearby Prime Catch restaurant. That eatery owns the land and building at the southwestern base of the Woolbright Road bridge over the Intracoastal Waterway.
“We want to be good neighbors,” said Luke Therien, whose family opened Prime Catch in 2004.
Prime Catch struck a deal in March 2018 with Isram Realty, owner of the Riverwalk Plaza. In exchange for about .3 acres of waterfront land that Prime Catch owned, it will be guaranteed to exclusively keep 50 shared parking spaces after Josie’s lease ends. Isram also agreed not to rent Josie’s site to another sit-down restaurant.
Josie’s owners could not be reached for comment, and a representive at the restaurant declined to comment.
Isram recently filed plans with Boynton Beach showing how it could build a 10-story, U-shaped apartment complex.
Josie’s will become a free-standing building after demolition of the Winn-Dixie structure starts in mid-December, said Baruch Cohen, Isram’s chief operating officer.
Isram has not decided what to do with the building when Josie’s lease ends, Cohen said. He did not know whether there would be space for Josie’s at another location in Riverwalk.
On Nov. 5, the Boynton Beach City Commission approved the project’s plat.
The Hallandale-based company paid $9.5 million for the aging shopping center in March 2011. The Winn-Dixie grocery in the nearly 10-acre plaza closed in January 2015.
That closing allowed Isram to make plans to redevelop the center into a complex that includes apartments, stating the change was a better use of the waterfront land.
In January 2017, a previous City Commission approved the 326-unit project despite residents’ objections to the height and mass at the base of the bridge.
Throughout 2019, Isram has worked on erecting two buildings along Federal Highway, which will house a Chipotle’s fast-casual restaurant and another tenant.
Isram renovated another building in the plaza housing a Walgreens drugstore, Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft store, Sushi Simon restaurant and Bond Street Ale and Coffee.
The two restaurants were renting space in the Winn-Dixie building.
At the same time, Isram had to update the underground utilities, fix the drainage for the complex and raise the parking lot, creating driving challenges for customers and diners.
Now, that work is moving into the area in front of Josie’s and Prime Catch.
Work will be done in two phases, Cohen said. The north part will be shut down first, then the southern part.
Therien expects that area to be ripped up for the next three months. Workers will install upgraded lines for water, sewer, storm water, electrical and natural gas.
The big thing will be the installation of an exfiltration trench that must sit above the water table. The parking lot will be raised 1.5 to 2 feet to accommodate the trench storing runoff, according to the city.
The trenches allow the runoff to ooze through a filter of rocks and enter the groundwater system. Excess water would flow out to the Intracoastal.
During the parking lot renovation, Prime Catch closed for about six weeks starting in September to remodel the interior and exterior.
“The first thing we did was to change the layout,” said Therien, whose family also owns the waterfront Banana Boat restaurant in Boynton Beach. “When you walked into the restaurant, you faced a wall. Now, you can see the waterfront.
“It’s lighter and brighter with more windows.”

Nancy Hurd was a teacher at the start and then the CEO. She retired in 2013. Photo provided

Related Story: ‘Havana Nights’ raises $1.6 million for nonprofits

By Charles Elmore

In 1969, a moon landing, a raucous music festival near Woodstock, New York, and the Vietnam War dominated the news. Tucked into South Florida newspapers that fall: mention of a “pilot project” in Delray Beach to educate children of working parents who could not otherwise afford preschool.
The program set out to cap parent fees at $2 a week and relied on community donations to keep the doors open, recalled Nancy Hurd. She was hired as a teacher and social worker fresh out of Michigan State University in that founding year for $100 a week. 
“I remember watching Neil Armstrong come down the ladder to the surface of the moon and thinking, ‘What a time to be alive,’ ” Hurd said.
While it was exciting to help launch a project, she didn’t quite imagine she would become its CEO and work there until she retired in 2013, she said.
But what would eventually become known as the Achievement Centers for Children and Families had a way of grabbing people. It pulled them into its orbit. 
It celebrates a 50th anniversary in 2019 with a legacy built on thousands of individual stories. Teachers. Donors. Volunteers. Parents. And students like Wendy Fleuridor, now 33.
“It’s really the reason I am who I am and do what I do,” Fleuridor said.
By her own account, she went from being a kid at risk of falling behind right out of the educational starting gate to a track standout and cheerleader and honor student. She graduated from Florida State University and then took an advanced degree in physical therapy, the field that employs her now.
At her house, “there were times when the lights were cut off. The water was cut off.”
Her parents came from Haiti. They spoke Creole and “couldn’t really help me with homework,” she said.
Both parents worked, sometimes more than one job at a time in hotel maintenance, restaurants or botanical nurseries.
At 3 years old, she entered a place that offered not just an introduction to subjects such as reading, writing and math but, as she saw it, fun. She wanted to go. The kids got meals. They played music and games. Gifts materialized on occasions like birthdays and Christmas.
“It’s where I learned English,” Fleuridor said.

Wendy Fleuridor was a student at age 3 and now belongs to the parents board. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

Like those of many other people associated with the Achievement Centers, hers is a multigenerational story. She serves on the parents board, and her son Diyari, 5, recently graduated from the preschool program. He even gave a talk about Benjamin Banneker, the African-American author, surveyor and naturalist, she said.
“He gave a speech and shockingly, he knew it,” Fleuridor said. “He really blossomed by coming here.”
Today Achievement Centers serves about 900 children annually at three Delray Beach locations: the main Nancy K. Hurd Campus at 555 NW Fourth St., plus programs at Village Academy and Pine Grove Elementary.
The nonprofit organization runs toddler, preschool and after-school programs, teen and summer camps, and initiatives that help families connect with resources to help them manage budgets and build stability.
It regularly draws top-tier accreditation scores, and its foundation maintains a four-star or highest rating from Charity Navigator.
It serves 243,000 free meals a year.
CEO Stephanie Seibel credits “the entire Achievement Centers community — from the people that work here, to the children that play here, the people that make this place run behind the scenes, the boards that govern, the parents and families that entrust us, the teens that keep things lively, our donors that support us, our volunteers — all of them.  It’s truly a special place.”
One of those volunteers is Michael Katz, 64. He said he retired from a career in the retail business among other ventures and wanted to do something meaningful. 
He said he realized he was no trained educator when he started, and tried to take his cues from the teachers and the students themselves.
When learning letters of the alphabet, for example, some kids responded well when working in pairs and competing to see who could get the right answer first, Katz discovered. They made it a game.
“For these kids it means the world,” he said. “It gives them a foundation. It gives them confidence. When they go to kindergarten they feel like ‘I can do this.’ I’m proud to be volunteering and have a connection to it.”
Tanise Cox, the senior director of out-of-school operations, said, “It’s a good feeling to have parents and students come back to share stories and tell us how they appreciate what we did.”
Ninety-eight percent of Achievement Centers’ early-learning graduates who attended at least 70% of the time meet or exceed kindergarten readiness as measured by the Bracken School Readiness Assessment, officials say. Nearly a quarter are rated advanced or very advanced.
That kind of performance helped win trust and accreditation at a host of agencies. These days, about half of the group’s $4.5 million annual budget comes from government grants and programs such as Head Start, Seibel said. The rest comes from parent fees and private fundraising. Achievement Centers is the lead beneficiary of a charity poker tournament at the Boca Raton Resort & Club that raised $1.6 million in November, for example.

Modest beginnings
But before Achievement Centers became “a homegrown program at the top of its game,” Hurd said, its future was anything but obvious.
“There was no road map when we started,” Hurd said, with no mandatory kindergarten in Florida and few regulations for preschool education. “This was a cottage industry run largely in churches and people’s homes. We started out very modest, very small.”

ABOVE: Children danced at a holiday party in 1974 at one of the churches that hosted programs in the early years. BELOW: Groundbreaking at the current Achievement Centers site in 1985. Photos provided

Founded as Community Child Care Center of Delray Beach, it welcomed an initial batch of 20 students in donated Sunday school classrooms, soon to be followed by another group at a second church.
Over time, the scope expanded to older children in after-school programs, which included computer education, music, dance, art, homework assistance, hands-on science experiments and learning African drums.
“We formed our own drum line and the older children got really good,” Hurd said. “They livened up many a parade and fundraiser.”
Another activity gave instruction in meditation and calming skills.
“We really tried to stay on the cutting edge with everything that made learning a joy,” Hurd said.
By 1974, host churches were rebuilding and reorganizing and could no longer house the enterprise. Some residents expressed concerns about a proposed move to a house at 215 SE First Ave. on the grounds the center would bring too much traffic and noise. Initially the plan was denied by a city planning and zoning board. A sympathetic City Commission finally approved the project.
Eventually, the support of key members of the business community and elected leaders paved the way for the construction of a complex on Northwest Fourth Street.
“It’s a legacy for this city,” Hurd said. “It’s certainly to their credit they supported us when we didn’t have two nickels to rub together.”
One goal that has not changed is keeping parent fees affordable.
Achievement Centers officials say they provide a scholarship rate for toddlers and preschoolers at $70 per week and $30 per week for after-school.
Families that qualify for what are termed government scholarships may pay as little as $5 per week. Head Start families pay nothing, officials said.
That’s a far cry from what commercial providers charge, making it possible for mothers in particular to adapt to big changes in the American economy.
In 1969, women made up 37.8% of the workforce, according the U.S. Department of Labor. Five decades later, it is just under 48%.
Unemployment levels have been running below 4% in Palm Beach County, well within what economists typically consider “full employment.” That suggests the economy is not only absorbing those workers in its stride but in fact relying on them to function at full steam.
“As people began to see how successful it was, I would tell potential donors the parents now are taxpayers and not tax-drainers,” Hurd said. “They’re working one and sometimes two jobs. Our children are now going into school ahead of the curve instead of behind. And we keep them there.”
Sometimes moon shots work out. Fleuridor, the former student and now a working mother, needs little convincing that Achievement Centers proved to be a success story and a source of pride in her hometown.
“I’m very grateful,” she said. 

Bobby Julien, CEO of the Kolter Group, and Sala Brown, his executive assistant, enjoy a comedy skit that was part of the poker extravaganza. Julien came up with the idea when he served on the Achievement Centers board. At left is Tarun Bhalla, Kolter’s IT chief. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

Related Story: A place to thrive for kids — As it turns 50, Achievement Centers ‘at top of its game’

By Charles Elmore

The price to get in started at $6,000 a seat. Dress was chic Havana evening attire. Live music, dinner and a cocktail reception set the stage for a poker tournament of epic proportions at the Boca Raton Resort & Club.
Lest anyone be shocked — shocked! — to find gambling going on here, the proceeds went to charities offering preschool and after-school education, meals, help learning to read and a host of other services.
The Havana Nights Poker Charity Tournament delivered its biggest jackpot yet, more than $1.6 million, for Achievement Centers for Children and Families in Delray Beach and other nonprofits in its latest incarnation Nov. 7.

Dan Economos and his brother Nicholas Jr. (far right) are part of the charity event that raised one of the largest single-night amounts in county history. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

More than 130 businesses sponsored the participants.
Fellow organizers said the concept goes back to a suggestion from Bobby Julien, chief executive officer of the Kolter Group, a real estate development firm based in Delray Beach. Julien, a former Achievement Centers board member, wondered if there might be a different route to raise money instead of, say, a golf tournament or formal dinner. He said he heard about a similar event in another market and thought it might offer an entertaining twist.
“I don’t like wearing a black tie,” Julien said, stepping outside the Cathedral Room at the Boca Raton Resort & Club as the din of festivities hummed inside. “I liked the idea of something more casual.”
Michael Neal, chief executive officer of Kast Construction in West Palm Beach and a former board member at Achievement Centers himself, remembered that Julien even had an idea for the venue.
“He said, ‘Let’s do it at the Boca Resort,’ ” Neal said. “Boom. Home run.”

A record night of giving
Charity watchers said the total amount raised ranks among the largest single-night events in a county with a history of big-ticket largess.
A February gala in Palm Beach raised a reported $1.5 million for Boys & Girls Clubs of Palm Beach County. Also early in 2019, the Palm Beach Zoo & Conservation Society raised $1.75 million at its annual Tropical Safari Gala, according to published reports.
“Palm Beach County is recognized as one of Florida’s most philanthropic counties,” said Bradley Hurlburt, president and CEO of the Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties. “We are very fortunate to live in a community where people understand the importance and are committed to giving back to those in need throughout the year.”
The focus of the poker event is on nonprofits based in the communities they serve, Julien said: “We want to serve grass-roots charities.”
The total this year surpassed anything else seen in the four times the event has been staged, with planning and preparation taking as long as two to three years between galas, according to organizers. The 2016 event raised more than $1 million, a spokesman said.
The leading beneficiary is Achievement Centers, which is celebrating its 50-year anniversary of providing preschool and after-school care and education, among other programs.
“This is incredible,” said Stephanie Seibel, chief executive officer at Achievement Centers, sporting a fedora for the occasion. “The people on our boards are so willing to jump in and help. People are there for the right reasons.”
The event provides the single largest source of private-sector donations for her organization, Seibel said.
Precise contributions were still being tallied, but more than a dozen charities will benefit in all, organizers said. One of them is Literacy Coalition of Palm Beach County, whose chief executive, Kristin Calder, was in attendance as well.
“It really is wonderful to be the recipient of the generosity flowing this evening,” Calder said.
Why do it? A place like Achievement Centers “steals your heart,” Neal said.
Julien said, “A lot of people need help. We love giving back.”

Helen Babione has lived in Boca for almost 60 years and says she enjoys working with people who need help, especially children and older adults. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Margie Plunkett

Helen Babione has spent nearly 60 years in Boca Raton, reaching out to help people through her church, community organizations and the Babione-Kraeer Funeral Home that her husband, now deceased, had founded.
Babione, 90, was recently honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the annual Women of Distinction Breakfast of Soroptimist International Boca Raton/Deerfield Beach. She has been a member of the Soroptimists for about 50 years — the same for both the Boca Raton Woman’s Club and Debbie-Rand Memorial Service League.
“I’ve been very blessed by having good friends who help me out,” Babione said. “I don’t do much. I get all the credit — my friends do all the work. And that’s the truth.”
The list of organizations and programs where she has made an impact is long, including the Rotary, Kiwanis and the Caridad Center. She is a founding member of Horses and the Handicapped and Twin Palms Center for the Disabled, and has often co-chaired the Go Pink Luncheon at Boca Raton Regional Hospital. She’s also active in programs with her church, St. Joan of Arc.
“I like to work with children and people who need real help,” Babione said, as well as with older people.
She added that working within a club, “you can get so much more done and don’t have the attention on yourself.” But that doesn’t mean she’s escaped the spotlight: “People give me attention all the time. They spoil me,” Babione said.
She also thinks it’s important for everybody to do something to help, pointing out that she’s not wealthy, nor do you have to be wealthy to give. “Somebody told me years ago: The small money we need to keep the toilet running. The big money we need for the buildings,” Babione said.
Babione’s late husband, Robert, was born in Lake Worth. Helen, who lived in Ohio, would travel to Lake Worth for part of the year to live with her brother, who had moved here for health reasons, and to waitress at a local eatery. There, she met Robert, who made deliveries to the restaurant. Helen came down permanently from Ohio in the late 1940s. “I feel more like a Florida person than an Ohio person,” she says. The couple spent some time in Washington when Robert was in the service, and in Texas where he went to school to become a funeral director. They moved back to Lake Worth, Robert started the funeral home in Boca Raton, and in 1960, they settled in Boca.
They had seven children: Kathryn Babione Rogers, Phyllis Babione Haggerty and Ashley, Paul and Jean Babione. Two of their grown children, Robert Jr. and Mary Babione Veccia, have passed away. Helen has a total of 23 grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Her entire family, with the exception of one grandchild, lives in Palm Beach County.
Today, Helen is a consultant at the funeral home and stops by often, especially to greet and grieve with people she knows and introduce them to the funeral director. “I still enjoy helping the people. I feel like it helps them, and if it helps them, I want to be there to do it.”
Keeping busy at charitable work in addition to helping at the funeral home is a plus for Babione, as well as those she supports. “I’ve been very fortunate as far as I’m concerned. I really appreciate doing it, too. It keeps my mind going better. It keeps me happier to know different people,” she said.
With the length of time she has been in Boca Raton, Babione mentions that she is “blessed to know a lot of different types of people.”
What she has also learned from meeting so many: “Everybody has a gift. No matter who they are, they have their own personal gift that I enjoy getting to know.”

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

A family trip to Spain took me out of the Florida heat and into the chill of a more northern November. Luckily there were paellas and tapas, plus plenty of churros and chocolate and vino tinto to keep us warm. As we soaked in the art and history of the major cities, we watched as holiday lights were being strung across streets and throughout urban parks.
We departed just a few days before they were to be lit and surely now fill the evenings with wonder.
The trip reminded me that December is a month filled with lights, and the cool weather and decorations abroad put me in a holiday mood. So, I’m braced for the whirlwind of friends and family and all the maddening preparations and exhausting cleanup.
Bring it on.
I’m also ready to simply enjoy the lights: the spiral-wound palm trees along A1A, the twinkling Christmas trees in parks and windows and the flickering candles on friends’ menorahs.
Even the stars shining before dawn and the moon rising to illuminate the night bring about a meditative tranquility.
My hope is that as you partake in all of the December festivities, you too are able to stop and consider the calming influence of lights.
It’s this calm we may all need to survive the coming month.
So, as holiday chaos ramps up, my wish for everyone is to have a sparkling holiday season filled with peace and hope — and, of course, nights brimming with the magic of light.
Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and, from Spain, Feliz Navidad.

Mary Kate Leming,
Editor

By Mary Hladky

After seven years of discussion, the City Council has dropped plans to create a Business Improvement District to pay for a shuttle system that would transport people around the downtown.
The B.I.D. would have been financed by downtown businesses, offices, hotels and apartment buildings that would be assessed a fee based on the taxable value of their properties and their proximity to shuttle stops.
But when surveyed in October, those who would pay the fee did not support it. They generally liked the idea, but not if they had to bear the cost.
“They think it is a good idea, but they are not willing to pay for it,” consultant Marie York of York Solutions in Jupiter said at the Nov. 25 Community Redevelopment Agency meeting. “Some saw the advantage of having a shuttle, but they thought as a whole the city should pay for it.”
The fee wasn’t the only concern. Objectors thought shuttles would not attract riders.
They questioned the need for shuttles. As more people use ride-hailing services, they can get to their downtown destinations without using a shuttle.
They also didn’t think shuttles would increase their revenues or lease values.
If shuttles were implemented, they wanted upscale vehicles, not typical trolleys.
There was so little interest in the idea that very few people attended meetings held to solicit input.
Council member Andrea O’Rourke called the attendance “abysmal.”
Since the B.I.D. concept attracted no support, Peg Anderson, who chaired the B.I.D. committee, announced the death of the idea at the CRA meeting.
“This is kind of a B.I.D. farewell,” she said.
The city likely will have to come up with Plan B.
Virgin Trains, which wants a Boca Raton station, has asked the city to provide a shuttle system to ferry train riders from the station to various locations in the city.
Although that is not part of current negotiations between the city and Virgin Trains, the subject seems certain to come up again.
City staff members already have explored the cost of contracting with a company to provide free rides in electric vehicles. They gave top ranking to Freebee, which is now operating in Delray Beach, Coral Gables, Fort Lauderdale and other cities.
But the service doesn’t come cheap. Service just in the downtown would be $333,590 a year. If the service area were expanded to include more neighborhoods and the beach, the cost would rise to $616,805 a year.
Council members balked at those numbers in September, and started talking about subsidizing the use of ride-hailing services such as Uber and Lyft.
Deputy City Manager Mike Woika told council members that transportation agencies and cities are setting up subsidized partnerships with ride-hailing companies.
Jupiter did this to reduce the number of impaired drivers on the road. The city offers a $15 dollar Uber voucher for use during specific times and dates during the holidays.
Wilton Manors in Broward County offers a $5 discount on Uber and Lyft rides ending in the city on Friday and Saturday nights and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Wednesdays.
Council members agreed that the city should try this as a pilot project.
“I think this is a way to get going for a lot less than other options,” said Deputy Mayor Jeremy Rodgers.
They suggested various times to implement this, such as during New Year’s Eve, or at city events such as the holiday parade and tree-lighting.
Mayor Scott Singer wanted all ride-hailing companies to be able to participate.
Woika will report back on the cost.

Moon phases and weather patterns combined to create high tides and wild waves in November. ABOVE: A surfer catches a ride off the beach at the north end of Spanish River Park in Boca Raton on Nov. 18. A winter-like storm off the Carolinas brought rolling surf to South Florida. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star
BELOW: A king tide driven by the high seas and a new moon floods the parking lot of the Banana Boat in Boynton Beach the same day. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Mary Hladky

Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District commissioners have reluctantly given in to City Council pressure to allow the city to take over the Boca National golf course project and to request proposals from golf course architects with the aim of seeing if the city can get a better price or design.
While district commissioners were willing to let the city construct and fund Boca National, they told City Council members at a Nov. 12 joint district-council meeting that they wanted the city to stick with the golf course plan created by the Nick Price/Tom Fazio design team or to allow the district veto power over any alternate design the city selects.
They contended that the city’s objection to the cost of the Price/Fazio design is now moot because it has been reduced from $28 million to $13.4 million, with certain features of the plan to be phased in over time.
District commissioners chafed at the idea of essentially starting over on the golf course design.
“If you want (to request proposals), you are entitled to do that if you spend your own funds for that,” said Commissioner Robert Rollins, noting the district spent nearly $1 million on its own selection process.
“I think you will find that the time wasn’t as well spent … because Price/Fazio will come out on top with the design. You won’t see much difference in cost.”
“We know it is a good design,” said Vice Chair Erin Wright, drawing applause from the audience. “I don’t know why we would reinvent the wheel and spend more time and taxpayer money to do another go-through.”
The district is entitled to approve any new design, several commissioners said, because it paid $24 million for the land.
“If it is going to be our money, it is going to be our design,” countered City Council member Andy Thomson, who has taken the lead on negotiations with the district.
“Let’s take one more step to confirm this is the best plan,” he said, referring to the request for proposals.
The problem for district commissioners is that they don’t have enough money to do the project on their own because, under pressure from the City Council, they recently abandoned a proposed 19.4% property tax increase.
Faced with that reality, commissioners eventually gave up their effort to convince City Council members that they should have the authority to approve any new golf course design. Even so, that debate has not been permanently put to rest.
Mayor Scott Singer at one point suggested the city could give the district $10 million and the district could put in additional funds to complete the course on its own.
“We held the millage rate,” Rollins said. “Now we don’t have the money to contribute that we would have had if the millage rate increased.”
Executive Director Briann Harms confirmed the district is badly strapped for cash.
“We would not be able to commit millions of dollars to the golf course,” she said.
Commissioner Steven Engel expressed his frustration at a Nov. 18 district meeting.
“Since the city had backed us into a corner … we had no choice,” he said. “It is distasteful to me … to go to the city and say ‘it is all yours, guys.’ I don’t see any other way out.”
A short time later, Engel again showed his discontent.
“I would like our (legal) counsel to look into what procedures are necessary to follow for the dissolution of the Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District,” he said, stunning other commissioners into momentary silence.
“If the city feels they don’t need us, that we are just there to be their whipping boys, fine, we don’t need to be around.”
No commissioner seconded Engel’s motion, and the idea was dropped.
Even though the city is now in charge, the future of the golf course is far from settled.
Thomson said he expects the process for requesting proposals to take three to six months. District Chair Susan Vogelgesang thinks it will take six months or longer.
The Price/Fazio team will be able to participate.
But first, the city will draft an interlocal agreement that will specify the city’s and the district’s roles and responsibilities for the golf course project.
If the district doesn’t like the terms of the agreement and a compromise can’t be reached, the two sides could be at an impasse once again. The city might not be able to move forward with the request for proposals if the two sides are at loggerheads over the interlocal agreement, Thomson said.
Other key issues remain unresolved, such as whether the city and district will share profits and losses on the golf course once it is built.
Thomson said that if commissioners were satisfied with the final agreement and the design of the course, they may decide to take a role in operating the golf course.
For now, the district is waiting to see what the city comes up with. Commissioners will then meet to discuss it.
“If the (interlocal agreement) is not fair and balanced, let’s be quick to say ‘no, thanks,’ ” Commissioner Craig Ehrnst said at the Nov. 18 meeting.
City Manager Leif Ahnell asked council members for direction on what they want included in the interlocal agreement at a Nov. 13 City Council meeting.
Council members deflected to city staff. Thomson asked that staff report back to the council at its Dec. 9 meeting.
The next joint meeting of the council and district is set for Jan. 27.

By Mary Hladky

When Art Koski asked that an agreement to keep him working as a consultant for the Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District be pulled from the Nov. 18 commission agenda, it appeared he had severed ties with the district for good.
District chair Susan Vogelgesang and Commissoner Robert Rollins praised Koski for his 40 years of service when interviewed after the meeting.
Vogelgesang said she “cried my eyes out” over his departure. “I rely on him an awful lot on history and guidance. … It just makes me sad. I had a very good relationship with him.”
“I feel I have lost a part of my soul with Art leaving the district,” Rollins said. “His vision helped direct the district to the facilities we do have. He provided great counsel to us over the years.”
But when contacted, Koski said he is not necessarily gone yet. The agreement was pulled from the agenda at his request “because I had not made up my mind,” he said.
Koski said he is still in the process of deciding and “I will make the announcement in the proper forum.”
Told of Koski’s comments, Vogelgesang said that when he asked to take the matter off the agenda, she had thought he no longer wanted a role with the district.
If Koski wanted to work as a consultant and outlined the scope of his duties that district commissioners would accept, “I would welcome him to stay on,” she said.
The former district executive director’s consultant contract to be project manager and construction manager of the Boca National golf course ended on Nov. 1. He was paid $10,000 a month, the same amount he earned as executive director.
But the golf course is in limbo as the city and district disagree on how the project should proceed. Most recently, the city has taken over the project and intends to request proposals from golf course architects in the hopes of getting a better price or design.
The district was negotiating a new contract with Koski when he seemingly pulled the plug.
Rollins said Koski had proposed being compensated at an hourly rate of $275 with a $7,500 retainer.
Koski likely would return to the district if he had the full support of commissioners, he said.
But district Vice Chair Erin Wright has said she doesn’t feel comfortable working with Koski as a consultant and has questioned his invoices.
Commissioner Steven Engel said he had “some issues” with what Koski had proposed.
He wanted to make sure Koski did not have any direct dealings with the city because of friction between him and city officials. Engel wanted Koski to act only with the express authorization of the board through Executive Director Briann Harms. Engel also had concerns about Koski’s proposed hourly rate.
Koski started working for the district in 1978. He shed his role as legal counsel in June 2018 and as executive director in January.
He was paid $150,000 a year as the district’s lawyer. For a time, he was lawyer, executive director and construction administrator for the De Hoernle Park sports fields, making $330,000 a year.

By Rich Pollack

For months Highland Beach commissioners have been trying to come up with rules for parking on the town’s side streets, only to discover roadblocks standing in the way of workable solutions.
The challenge is how to make it possible for guests of residents and for service providers such as plumbers and landscapers to park on the narrow streets without creating problems for residents.
There also is the question of what to do with cars parked by out-of-town residents heading to the beach through private-access points.
“You have to really think about parking here in Highland Beach because we don’t have a lot of room for extra parking on the side streets,” Town Manager Marshall Labadie said.
During a meeting last month, commissioners agreed that overnight street parking should continue to be prohibited, but they stalled when it came to deciding what to do about on-street daytime parking.
Ideas they kicked around included prohibiting street parking completely, issuing parking permits, and perhaps implementing a plan in which vehicles would be allowed only on the north side of the streets during certain days of the week and on the south side other days.
In the end, commissioners asked Labadie and Police Chief Craig Hartmann to go back and look at the issue and return with ideas on how best to address it.
“One of the things we have to determine is if there are some reasonable accommodations for service providers during the daytime hours when there is not a legal parking place available,” Labadie said.
Hartmann said he and his department hope to resolve one problem — beach parking by nonresidents on side streets — by limiting nearby beach access.
The chief said he is working with one condominium association that has private open access to the beach to ensure that the walkway is limited only to residents and their guests.
There is no public access to the beach in Highland Beach.
In its effort to solve the parking problem, the town sent a letter to residents on the side streets this summer asking for feedback on solutions outlined in a proposed parking ordinance.
Under those proposals, a commercial vehicle would be allowed to park on the paved portion of a street when the operator is engaged in deliveries, lawn maintenance or other related activities as long as the street wasn’t blocked.
Other provisions of the proposed ordinance would limit parking on non-paved portions of private property — essentially the grass — and prohibit all commercial vehicle parking from 6 p.m. to 8 a.m.
Responses ranged from leaving the parking rules the way they are to prohibiting all on-street parking except for commercial vehicles for a short term.
The town leaders discussed and considered comments from residents, but because they were so wide ranging decided to seek more input from staff.
Commissioners hope to hear back from Labadie and Hartmann this month.
“The idea is to get some codes in place and then ask everyone to use common sense,” Commissioner Peggy Gossett-Seidman said.

Presented during a ceremony at City Hall on Nov. 20, Boca Raton’s annual Landscape Excellence Awards recognized seven properties. The award criteria included tree canopy, proper pruning, variety, color and texture, as well as how the property is fertilized, irrigated and maintained.
The winners were selected by the Boca Raton Beautification Committee, whose goal is to make Boca Raton the “most beautiful city in America.” Recipients were Por La Mar Park, 789 Palm Ave., in the city-park category; St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church, 100 NE Mizner Blvd., place-of-worship category; Boca City Walk, 33 SE Eighth St., residential high-density category; Library Commons Apartments, 24-74 NW Seventh St., residential medium-density property category; the Sanctuary, which won in residential low-density gated property; Build Masters, 2420 NW First Ave., industrial small-property category; and the building at 1700 NW Second Ave., small commercial-property category.
The all-volunteer Beautification Committee, founded in 1983, first funded landscaping at South Federal Highway and Royal Palm Way. From this small project grew an effort that today includes 5 million square feet of landscaped medians and right of way throughout the city.

— Deborah S. Hartz-Seeley