The day after the Manalapan commission meeting on April 24, much of the south and east sides of the water tank had been concealed by a planting of areca palms. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

By Dan Moffett

For two years, Manalapan officials have been trying to get a Publix built at the town’s Plaza del Mar, and the residents of La Coquille Villas next door have had plenty to say about the plan.
They have commented on the color palette for the Publix facade. They have offered tasteful font options for signage.
They have weighed in on the proper lumen limits for lighting and on environmentally sound choices for landscape buffers.
With the Publix scheduled to open in June, La Coquille residents figured every design detail had been taken care of.
The last thing they expected was to wake up one morning and see a shiny 20-foot metal can looming over their tennis courts.
It turns out the water distribution system at the 30-year-old plaza doesn’t generate enough pressure to meet fire suppression safety standards.
In order for the Publix to comply with fire codes and get inspectors’ approval to open, workers had to hastily construct a water storage tank to raise the pressure to acceptable levels.
And the corrugated steel structure could be there for two or three years, officials say, until the town can upgrade the distribution system and replace pumps for the plaza.
Town Manager Linda Stumpf said the plan was for Kitson & Partners, the plaza’s landlord, to plant dozens of 25-foot palm trees along the property’s southern boundary to conceal the 20-foot tank. Much of that was done by the day after the April 24 Town Commission meeting.
“What I would have much preferred is a short version of that [tank] versus a tall version of that,” Mayor Keith Waters said during the meeting. “We want to make sure that it is not visible in any way, shape or form.”
Waters said the town will try to have the tank painted — color palette to be determined — to make it less visible and promised that the commission would make sure the camouflage efforts satisfy residents.
Herb Newman, a longtime La Coquille homeowner, told commissioners that he and his neighbors understand that their property abuts the back of a shopping mall, and they don’t mind that. Newman said, as far as he is concerned, the tank can stay there forever — as long as he doesn’t know it’s there.
“We want assurance that when development is done, that we do not see the back of Publix and we do not see the water tank,” Newman said. He told the mayor La Coquille wants no more surprises.
Waters said the tank would soon disappear from view.
“Our job is to represent the community, and we’ve heard loud and clear that this is not acceptable,” he said. “So we are not going to rest until everyone is OK with this.”

By Steve Plunkett

The town has enough money to replace its worst water mains and rebuild frequently flooded streets without raising taxes or borrowing money.
With help from Town Commissioner Paul Lyons, Gulf Stream finance administrator Rebecca Tew developed a 10-year budget for the capital improvement project that will leave residents with $4.9 million in reserves after the work is completed, down only about $580,000 from an expected $5.5 million cushion this fiscal year.
Mayor Scott Morgan called the numbers “eye-opening.”
“I talk to residents all the time, and the main concern with this project is the fear of assessments and additional financial responsibilities,” Morgan said.
The plan calls for work to be done in five phases, with the town taking a year to develop construction designs and get permits, then having the work done the following May through November.
First to be tackled would be the northern core area: Bermuda Lane from Sea Road to the south end, Gulf Stream Road from Sea Road to Banyan Road, Old School Road from Gulfstream Road to the cul-de-sac, Oleander Way from Banyan to the north end, Polo Drive from Old School to Banyan, Wright Way from Old School to the cul-de-sac, Sea Road from Ocean Boulevard to Gulfstream Road, North County Road from Ocean to Sea Road, and Banyan from Ocean to the cul-de-sac. The work would be designed in 2019 and constructed in 2020.
The 2021-22 cycle would cover Place au Soleil repaving on Tangerine Way, Emerald Row, Orchid Lane, Indigo Point, Canary Walk, Cardinal Circle and Avenue Au Soleil.
In 2023-24 the project would shift back to the southern core, with work on Oleander Way, Polo Drive, Lakeview Drive, Middle Road, Golfview Drive, Gulfstream Road and Palm Way.
The remainder of replacing the water main along State Road A1A would come in 2025-26; repairs to Hidden Harbour and Pelican Lane would end the project in 2027-28.
Tew told commissioners at their April 13 meeting that she split the core work into two phases with the Place au Soleil work in between to let money build up for the southern core area rather than borrow money or raise taxes to do the core first, then Place au Soleil.
“We thought, why do that if your town doesn’t have to do that,” Tew said. “It just made more sense to break those projects out and kind of give us … two years to recover.”
Commissioner Joan Orthwein agreed. “Why would you borrow it if you have it?” she asked.
The finance plan, which commissioners took home to review, assumes that Gulf Stream will keep property taxes at the rollback rate through 2028 and that inflation will be 3 percent each year. It also includes money for new police cars, replacement computers and other routine capital expenses.
Morgan was relieved.
“I was always under the impression that this was going to require direct borrowing or a bond issue — the sums were so high. But the way you are budgeting it and staging it, monies are collected in-house and can be used over time,” Morgan said.
Mathews Consulting engineer Joe Kenney told commissioners in March that the water mains and streets would cost $10 million to fix. Another firm had estimated $8 million in 2012. The pipes are approaching the end of their 50-year service life. Improved technology means the replacement pipes should last 100 years.

By Jane Smith

Coastal residents who live near the FEC tracks will have until at least late June to continue listening to loud train horns from Brightline passenger trains and FEC freight trains.
In mid-April, Brightline said its subcontractor was diverted to Miami to complete safety upgrades before its train station would open there. That news meant the quiet zone work was delayed in five South County cities: Lantana, Hypoluxo, Boynton Beach, Delray Beach and Boca Raton.
Brightline simulated service, testing without passengers, began in late April between Fort Lauderdale and Miami.
The quiet zone construction can include quad gates or a raised median between travel lanes to improve safety at the crossings. The county’s Transportation Planning Agency is paying for the construction. Individual cities will have to cover the maintenance costs.
Once safety features are installed, the cities can petition the Federal Railroad Administration about their intent to install quiet zones. Federal officials then need 21 days to review the plans and decide whether the safety upgrades are sufficient to allow train operators to stop blasting their horns at the crossings.
“During that time, final inspections take place and warning signs are posted at crossings to indicate that trains do not blow their horns,” said Malissa Booth, spokeswoman for the county TPA.
Brightline officials had promised last summer that the quiet zone work would be finished before the express passenger service started.
But in January, Brightline service began between West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale at speeds up to 79 mph in Palm Beach County. In mid-April, the quiet zone work was finished in West Palm Beach. That city then applied to the federal agency for quiet zone approval and allowing the trains not to blast the horns when traveling to the West Palm Beach station.
“It is important for the public to understand that quiet zones replace the routine blowing of train horns,” Booth said. “Conductors always have the option to blow horns as they deem necessary. There still may be occasional train horns.”
Since Brightline passenger service began, four Palm Beach County people have been killed by the trains. Two men, one in Delray Beach and one in West Palm Beach, were deemed suicides. Another woman was killed trying to beat the train across the tracks in Boynton Beach; a male cyclist also was killed in Boynton Beach after he rode around the down crossing gates.
Brightline runs 22 passenger trains daily between West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale in both directions starting at 6 a.m. Freight trains run along the Florida East Coast railway primarily at night. South County coastal residents who live near the FEC tracks often complain about the loud horns.
In downtown Delray Beach, the city is trying to balance the safety needs of Atlantic Avenue visitors with the noise level endured by downtown condo and apartment dwellers.
Delray Beach Mayor Shelly Petrolia favors petitioning the federal agency to install quiet zones. Too many residents live in condos and apartments downtown for the city to ignore their noise complaints, she said.

As part of its research of U.S. 1, the Transportation Planning Agency held walking workshops in Boca Raton and other cities. File photo by Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Rich Pollack

After more than a year of study and hours of research, the Palm Beach Transportation Planning Agency has come up with a draft report for improvements to 42 miles of U.S. Highway 1 in Palm Beach County.
The 176-page report focuses on roadway improvements that can make travel along the corridor safer for pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists. It also focuses on creating a branded express bus service that would be safe and convenient for people using public transportation.
“Our core goal was to improve the corridor for all users and make it safer,” said Valerie Neilson, the Transportation Planning Agency’s deputy director for multimodal development and the project manager.
The draft of the U.S.-1 Multimodal Corridor Study, scheduled to be presented to the agency’s board this month, includes dozens of recommendations for improvements that could be implemented by the Florida Department of Transportation. The agency also makes improvement recommendations to municipalities along the route.
A blueprint of sorts, the plan is just one of the first steps in a long process that would include reviews by other agencies and could take several years before many of the most extensive recommendations could be implemented.
“We need to do further analysis,” Neilson said.
In looking at roadway improvements along the corridor, the staff members and consultants behind the report recommend changes such as connecting sidewalks in areas where there are gaps and creating bike lanes where they don’t exist. The report also looked at areas where landscaping could provide shade for pedestrians as well as those using public transportation.
In some cases, the study recommends reducing speed limits to enhance safety and in other instances recommends reconfiguring roads to make room for bike paths and walkways.
On the stretch of U.S. 1 from Camino Real to Southeast Mizner Boulevard in south Boca Raton, for example, the study’s authors recommend the roadway be narrowed from six lanes to four lanes to make room for on-street parking and a protected bike lane. In coming up with the recommendation, the team considered many factors, including projected traffic volumes along the roadway in 2040.
In some areas, the team does not recommend lane changes but does suggest narrowing landscaped or green areas to add two-way bike paths on either side of the roadway.
In some cases, the report recommends that bike paths be buffered from traffic by a structure or barrier.
In areas where lanes would be reduced — including sections of U.S. 1 in Hypoluxo and Lantana — approval from local municipalities would be required, in addition to consent from FDOT.
Neilson said while the study was being conducted, the team found areas where improvements could be made that were outside the FDOT right of way, which is the area under study. In those cases the FDOT is making recommendations to the local municipality.
For example, one recommendation to the city of Delray Beach for a portion of the road near Linton Boulevard would be to add trees and landscaping for additional pedestrian comfort.
In looking at public transportation, the report’s authors took comfort and health factors and convenience into consideration when recommending where bus stops along the rapid transit system’s line would be.
Locating a bus stop near a grocery store, for example, would add convenience and perhaps safety for those who use public transportation.
The report also concluded that well-connected bicycle, walking, and transit safety and comfort features can contribute to increased rates of physical activity, which has multiple benefits.
Neilson said after the report is presented to the board, coordination with other government agencies and organizations will continue, as will additional analysis.
To view the report or find out more, visit www.palmbeachtpa.org/us1

By Dan Moffett

It seems certain that 2017 was a record-breaking year for calls from Ocean Ridge to the Boynton Beach Fire Rescue Department.
Just how big a record is not quite so certain.
Boynton Beach Fire Chief Glenn Joseph says his department responded to 292 calls for service from Ocean Ridge last year, a whopping 88 percent increase over the 155 calls in 2016.
Police Chief Hal Hutchins, Ocean Ridge’s top public safety official, thinks that number might be a bit high. Hutchins says his count for Boynton responses to the town last year is 202, a still-robust increase of 30 percent over the previous year.
Why the difference? Town Manager Jamie Titcomb believes there may have been “a change in methodology” in record-keeping when Joseph took over the department two years ago. Hutchins thinks it could be that some Briny Breezes numbers may have gotten swept into Ocean Ridge’s account when Boynton took over policing the mobile home community in late 2016.
No matter, because whether it’s 292 or 202 or something in between, service calls from Ocean Ridge were unusually high. Consider the numbers from the previous three years were 133 (2014), 145 (2015) and 155 (2016). No other South County coastal community has seen a similar rise.
Hutchins says after studying the statistics he found reasons for the increase.
“In review, I did see a pattern of response to a few addresses for multiple medical calls, as well as an increased fire and elevator alarm response to two condo properties, which would have caused a spike in calls for the year,” he said.
Typically in South Florida, nearly 70 percent of the calls to fire departments are for emergency medical services. Fire calls, especially those to significant fires, make up a relatively small percentage of requests for assistance.
Joseph, 55, who was born in Castries, St. Lucia, immigrated to Florida when he was 13 and grew up in Belle Glade. He is a 29-year veteran of the Boca Raton Fire Department who holds a bachelor’s degree from Palm Beach Atlantic University and a master’s in emergency planning and administration from Lynn University.
Joseph says he has confidence in the accuracy of his numbers but believes the 292 “may be an anomaly” that will fall back into place over time.
“It’s something we’ll be tracking,” he said. “The number that’s really important is response time — about 41/2 minutes.”
That’s one statistic first responders on both sides of the bridge can celebrate. Three years ago, the average response time from Boynton to Ocean Ridge was 6 minutes, 19 seconds.

By Dan Moffett and Jane Smith

With a 3-2 vote, Boynton Beach city commissioners approved exploring the possibility of opening Oceanfront Park to some level of dog use.
“I’d like to see some middle ground,” said Mayor Steven Grant, who cast a deciding vote at the city’s May 1 meeting. “Saying dogs get zero days a year doesn’t make sense to me.”
Grant says he wants staff to draft a proposal for limited use of the beach by dogs on a trial basis and to bring it back to the commission at its next meeting.
Commissioners Joe Casello and Justin Katz sided with Grant. Vice Mayor Christina Romelus and Commissioner Mack McCray opposed the idea.
“I love my dog but I would not force my dog on anyone,” Romelus said.
Grant said whatever the city ultimately decides to do, it will need Ocean Ridge’s help to do it. And Ocean Ridge, which polices the beach, has made it clear to Boynton Beach that the town’s ordinances prohibit dogs and that is not going to change, City Attorney James Cherof said.
“It’s our beach,” Casello said. “Ocean Ridge can’t tell us what to do.”
Katz said a “well-crafted program” could work and was worth trying at least on a temporary basis. He also was persuaded by the results of an online survey.
Boynton Recreation & Parks Chairwoman Betty Pierce-Roe presented the findings of the advisory board and the results from a resident’s survey about allowing dogs on the beach.
In late March, the advisory board members recommended against allowing dogs at Oceanfront Park.
They voted 5-1 after reviewing the results of a residents’ survey where nearly 70 percent were for allowing dogs on the beach during select days and hours. About 56 percent of the survey takers wanted the dogs to be leashed. Close to 900 people responded to the unscientific survey posted on the city’s website. 
“Our beach is not the right place to have it,” said Charles Kanter, a board member who made the motion. He said the short length of the beach — 960 feet — does not provide enough space for a dog park. The residents’ survey did not specify the beach length available for dogs.
A dog owner, board member Christina Johnson wanted to allow dogs at Oceanfront Park.
“Not that many residents would buy the permits,” she said.
Casello raised the topic in August after taking his dog, Charlie, a Cairn terrier, to the dog beach in Jupiter.
“He really loves it,” Casello said last year.
At Jupiter’s Dog Beach, no permits are required for the 2.5-mile stretch of beach. Lately, Jupiter’s vice mayor has talked about decreasing the beach portion where dogs are allowed.
In December, Grant asked the city’s Parks Advisory Board to poll residents about allowing dogs on the beach at Oceanfront Park.
The park, while owned by Boynton Beach, sits within the town of Ocean Ridge. That arrangement led to an October meeting between Boynton Beach city management and their Ocean Ridge counterparts. The message from Ocean Ridge was clear: Its laws do not allow animals on the public beach. Private beach owners, though, could allow dogs.
Boynton Beach staff delivered that message in December. Even so, Casello wanted to proceed with creating a dog beach at Oceanfront Park.

Workers with Caltran Engineering Group finish mounting a pair of cameras on light poles just east of the Ocean Avenue Bridge in Ocean Ridge. The cameras will be used in a study of vehicle, bicycle and foot traffic. Jerry Lower/ The Coastal Star

By Rich Pollack

The Florida Department of Transportation wants to know how safe South Florida bridges are for pedestrians and bicyclists so it can begin planning improvements for bridges with the biggest needs first.
Recently, contractors working with FDOT installed cameras on the Ocean Avenue bridge over the Intracoastal Waterway between Boynton Beach and Ocean Ridge to measure pedestrian, bicycle and vehicle usage. FDOT is also taking inventory of pedestrian and bicycle amenities such as sidewalks and bike lanes.
It will then compile the information from the Ocean Avenue project with information collected at 78 other bridges over the Intracoastal in a five-county region stretching from Broward County north to Indian River County.
That data will then be used to determine which bridges should be considered first for pedestrian- and bicycle-safety improvements and which improvements should be applied to which location, according to Thomas Miller, a bicycle and pedestrian safety program specialist for FDOT.
The improvements, Miller said, will be broken down into short-term, mid-term and long-term enhancement.
“Short-term improvements may include installing new or additional pavement markings, and installing new or additional signs,” Miller said.
Long-term projects, for example, could include modifications to existing sidewalks or installing plates over grates on bridges that are difficult for bicycles to cross.
Many of the decisions on what improvements will be made where will depend on an analysis of each bridge to determine whether it can handle additional weight or has space for other improvements.
The project, Miller said, is the result of concerns expressed by residents regarding the safety of bicyclists and pedestrians on bridges over the Intracoastal.
Data collection should wrap up this month; and some short-term improvements could be implemented before the end of the year, Miller said. Mid- to long-term improvements could be incorporated into a five-year work program as schedules and resources allow.

By Jane Smith

City commissioners unanimously agreed to install themselves as their Community Redevelopment Agency board members.
The May 1 vote was a formality. The real work will begin May 7 when the commission meets as the CRA board. That’s when they will vote on the CRA agenda that includes a proposal by Redevelopment Management Associates.
The Pompano Beach-based firm is the CRA’s development consultant for three West Atlantic Avenue blocks. RMA was started by Chris Brown, the first executive director of the Delray Beach CRA. Its employees include Diane Colonna, the CRA’s second executive director.
On May 1, five Delray Beach residents, including two former CRA board members, spoke on the topic with two for and two against the takeover.
Alice Finst asked, “How will it fit together if the commission is the same as the CRA board?”
Former CRA Chairwoman Annette Gray, who is for an independent CRA board, said, “As an individual who chose to volunteer, I didn’t do it for the accolades, but my reputation was tarnished” when the board was dissolved over claims of irresponsible spending.
“As a commission, you set the budget and then told the CRA how it should be spent,” Gray said. “We were required to pay for the nonprofits and give $2.5 million to Old School Square.”
In late April, Mayor Shelly Petrolia sent a letter to Gray thanking her for the CRA service.
Alan Schlossberg praised the commission.
“You really are responsible for the money,” he said.
The CRA has $19.5 million in tax dollars to spend on eliminating slum and blight this financial year in an area that includes Atlantic Avenue, east of Interstate 95. When budget carryovers are included, the CRA has about $28 million.
The City Commissioners were expected to take up the CRA issue at their goal-setting workshop in late April. Because they would not have taken a second vote by the time of that workshop, the city attorney advised that they could talk only about their aspirations of how the CRA should function.
“We ran out of time,” Petrolia said. “We decided it was better to discuss the CRA functions at a commission workshop on May 8.” The discussion then could include whether to expand the CRA board with two citizen members.
At the end of the goal-setting session, the CRA’s first May meeting date was changed from May 10 to May 7 to accommodate Deputy Vice Mayor Shirley Johnson. She will be out of town on May 10 and wanted to participate in the first CRA meeting with the commissioners as board members. The takeover was her idea.
Johnson is frustrated at the slow pace of development in The Set, formerly the Northwest and Southwest neighborhoods, while properties east of Swinton Avenue are thriving.
“Thirty-two years ago promises were made that parts of the city would be rebuilt,” Johnson said April 3. “There’s been no demonstrable development on West Atlantic.”
At the April 17 commission meeting when the first vote on the CRA takeover took place, two women residents spoke against it.
Ernestine Halliday, who lives in The Set, said, “I feel that disposing of the CRA board was a disadvantage to our community.”
Yvonne Odom, a retired educator who lives west of the interstate and runs various youth sports programs for kids living in The Set, asked the commission to reconsider its vote.
“That’s an award-winning CRA. They did everything they were supposed to because they have a lot of money,” she said.
On May 1, ex-CRA board member Daniel Rose said he agreed with the takeover.
He asked the commissioners to wait until the status of the three West Atlantic blocks was decided before deciding to add two citizen board members.
On May 7, Equity Delray will make another pitch for developing the three blocks.

By Emily J. Minor and Steve Plunkett

The trial of former Ocean Ridge Vice Mayor Richard Lucibella will be scheduled a fifth time because Lucibella’s defense attorney, Marc Shiner, has a torn calf muscle.
Lucibella, who appeared in court April 25 but stayed seated and silent during a brief hearing before Circuit Judge Meenu Sasser, will come back May 24 to see if a new trial date can be set. It depends, Shiner law partner Heidi Perlet said, on Shiner’s recovery.
“Naturally, I’m really disappointed,” Lucibella said after the hearing. “All I’ve asked for the past 18 months is my day in court. But my attorney’s well-being has to take precedence for now.”
The jury trial, most recently set to start April 30, stems from charges filed after police came to Lucibella’s Ocean Ridge home around 9:30 p.m. Oct. 22, 2016, to investigate the sound of gunfire.
Three police officers found the vice mayor, who later resigned, and former Ocean Ridge police Lt. Steven Wohlfiel, who later was fired, sitting outside on Lucibella’s back patio.
Officers later said the two men were drinking and that, when they first approached, they saw one of the men with a .40-caliber Glock pistol. Neither man has admitted to firing a gun that night.
The police visit quickly escalated into a contentious confrontation that put Lucibella on the ground in handcuffs. That scuffle, claims Lucibella’s legal team, left the former Ocean Ridge official with broken ribs and an injured eye. But one of the responding officers claims she was the one injured, and she’s suing Lucibella.
Refusing any plea deal from the State Attorney’s Office, Lucibella is going to trial on felony charges of battery on a law enforcement officer and resisting an officer with violence. He also faces one misdemeanor count of using a firearm while under the influence of alcohol.
When he and Perlet went to Sasser on Feb. 20, the soonest the judge could schedule his trial was April 30, almost 10 weeks later.
His first trial date was April 10, 2017. That was postponed to the following July, then October, then this April and now, perhaps, June or July.

By Jane Smith

Delray Beach’s fireworks will be set off from a barge offshore from the municipal beach this Fourth of July, City Manager Mark Lauzier said last month. The pyrotechnic show will no longer take place on the beach, as was done in recent years.
Lauzier planned to take the $30,000 barge rental cost from his contingency fund to safeguard Fourth of July attendees and the dunes on the beach from raining fireworks debris.
“It’s about risk to life, limb and public property,” Lauzier said in an email.
When he was working for the city of Pompano Beach, fireworks were set off on the municipal fishing pier. In 1994, the year before he started working there, a technician was killed when a fireworks shell exploded early and “blew apart the fishing pier,” Lauzier said. “It turned a festive celebration into a tragedy.”
Delray Beach used a barge through 2011, when barge rental rates skyrocketed. Most were in the Gulf of Mexico to help clean up the massive 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, according to news reports.
From 2012 to 2017, Delray Beach leaders used the city beach as a base for the fireworks display to save money.
In mid-April, the City Commission agreed to pay $38,000 to its Delray Beach Marketing Cooperative for the Fourth of July fireworks, deployed by Zambelli Fireworks of Boca Raton. Daily beach walkers appreciate that a barge will be used again in Delray Beach.
“Shooting them off from the beach takes up too much of the city’s beach for days,” said Chris Heffernan, a barrier island resident who runs on the beach daily.
Delray Beach used a barge as a fireworks platform for decades, Heffernan said. “It was much nicer … safer,” he said.
The city manager agrees.
“The beach is not as wide as it needs to be for full pyrotechnic displays,” Lauzier said. “Even moving people away from the display area has risk and would allow only ‘close proximity’ fireworks.”
Mayor Shelly Petrolia concurs.
“The farther away the fireworks are from people, the safer it will be,” she said.
Petrolia said the barge could work well for Fourth of July fireworks because the seas are often calmer in the summer months.
Lauzier hopes the barge will be a suitable platform for the fireworks and the rental cost will become part of the general budget.
“I think our public safety chiefs will agree that it’s better to be safer than sorry,” he said, “and the safety is worth the increased cost.”

Jessie O’Neill, author of The Golden Ghetto, grew up in Gulf Stream and lives in coastal Delray Beach. Her grandfather served as U.S. defense secretary. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

Jessie O’Neill gained some measure of celebrity after her book, The Golden Ghetto: The Psychology of Affluence, was published in 1996, and an even greater one when affluence was used as a defense for murder in a 2013 trial in Texas.
O’Neill, who has an oceanfront residence near the Delray Beach Club, knows about affluence.
Her grandfather Charles Erwin Wilson was the president of General Motors as well as secretary of defense under President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Nepotism was common in those days, so Wilson gave each of his six children a car dealership. Her father, Phil Hoyle, wound up with Hoyle Cadillac, a Delray Beach fixture for many years.
Going to the best schools and living a privileged life made O’Neill something of an expert on the subject, and when she was looking for a topic for her master’s thesis, she related her past to her adviser at Goddard College, Ellen Cole.
“We talked about my grandfather’s family, the six children, and how I had watched the destruction that wealth had brought into the different families, and how it wasn’t spoken about,” O’Neill said. “Money was always a god, nobody speaks bad about money, and more is always better, how people buy out of the consequences of their behavior with money, all sorts of things. So she said, ‘There’s your thesis and there’s your book.’ ”
O’Neill became in demand for counseling and speaking, and traveled extensively until the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks tempered that demand. “So I took that time to do more one-on-one counseling, either by phone or in person, and less traveling,” she said,
Affluenza made national headlines in 2013 when the lawyer for Ethan Couch, who had killed four people in a car accident in Texas, used it as his defense. O’Neill, 68, never testified at trial but was often interviewed on TV as an expert on affluenza.
“I never said it was a defense for murder,” she said. “I’m sure affluenza had a lot to do with it: He was drunk, there was poor parenting, there was entitlement issues, all the stuff that’s part of affluenza. But even rich kids know the difference between right and wrong.”
O’Neill most recently gave a lecture on affluenza at the Children’s Services Council of Palm Beach.
— 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 Gulf Stream and went to Gulf Stream School when it was just a couple of converted polo stables. The school was originally created to accommodate the children of the polo players who came down from up North for the season. There were only a handful of us who attended full-time. Full-time was Oct. 15 through May 15, with a month off at Christmas and spring break.  I had a horse we kept next door at the stables, which I rode before and after school.
Attending a small school taught me the value of one-on-one relationships, and it certainly allowed me the luxury of a great deal of individual attention from my teachers. Growing up in Florida in the ’50s and ’60s, surrounded by nature and sunshine, has given me a lifelong appreciation for nature and the outdoors.
I graduated high school in 1967 from what was then called Palm Beach Private and is now Palm Beach Day School. I spent two years at Rollins College, then transferred to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where I graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1971. I received my master’s degree in psychology and counseling from Goddard College in 1990. My master’s thesis was “The Psychology of Affluence,” which became the basis for my book, The Golden Ghetto: The Psychology of Affluence, published by Hazelden in 1996.

Q: What professions have you worked in? What professional accomplishments are you most proud of?
A: I have had many jobs, but only one profession. In 1993, three other professionals in psychology and I opened the Acacia Clinic, a full psychiatric service clinic in Milwaukee, where I lived with my two daughters. I worked as a counselor there for several years before my book came out. I hit the road speaking, counseling and doing workshops all based on the term “affluenza,” which I defined in my book.  
I had much more than my allotted 15 minutes of fame, appearing on many television talk shows (Oprah, 20/20, Inside Edition, etc.) and news shows (CBS, NBC, etc.), doing hundreds of radio interviews and traveling the world working with individuals, families and organizations on the psychology of money, affluenza, and how it affects our relationships, personal and professional.
I am very proud of my work. My driving force has always been to help people, to make a difference in the world. I hope and believe that I have touched the lives of many people in a positive way. I believe I have, and continue to achieve my mission.

Q: What advice do you have for a young person seeking a career today?
A: My advice would be simple: Follow your heart. Whatever makes your heart sing will get you out of bed in the morning to take on another day. As I look at children with affluence, there’s not a money motivator. So when money isn’t motivating a young person, that person has to find out what is their mission, what makes them want to get out of bed. It tends to take children of affluence a longer time to find what path they want to follow.
In terms of an everyday person, what’s changed is there’s this student debt hanging over kids, which is a real problem. So young people are starting to look at other avenues. Maybe going to college isn’t the be-all, end-all. Going to a trade school, opening a coffee shop, something that allows them to make a living but not a four- or eight-year education that’s going to cost them for the rest of their lives. I see a shift in that.

Q: How did you choose to make your home in Delray Beach?
A: I have come back here from various places all over the country. My father, Phil Hoyle, was the first Cadillac and Oldsmobile dealer in Delray. He opened Hoyle Cadillac and Oldsmobile in 1951 and built the core of the building which houses Ed Morse Cadillac now.  I am happily semi-retired in our not-so-little-anymore Village by the Sea. I spend my days painting, swimming and playing canasta. Both my daughters and my two grandchildren live here. I am truly blessed.

Q: What do you enjoy most about living in Delray Beach?
A: I love the weather, and I’m fortunate enough to live on the ocean, so I get to look at the ocean every day. The beach. I’m retired, and there are a lot of people down here my age, so even though I’m single there’s no lack of social things to do. I enjoy that, and I enjoy the fact I’m not sloshing through the snow to get there. I enjoy playing cards, and my second career, if you want to call it that, is as an artist. I spend a lot of time painting. I used to have a little studio where I painted and had a few little openings, but it was never a gallery. I’m not that good. But it’s fun.

Q: What book are you reading now?
A: I read a lot of whodunits, mysteries, and half the time I don’t remember the name after I’ve finished. It’s not like I’m reading for a great, higher purpose. One I’ve read lately is The Road Less Traveled and Beyond, by Scott Peck. It’s a psychology book. Also, Living a Life of Value, a composite by several authors who have added value to their lives and then shared their stories.

Q: What music do you listen to when you need inspiration? When you want to relax?
A: I listen to a lot of Il Divo, four tenors that sing a sort of pop opera. I also listen to other tenors on Pandora, but they just waft out into the ether. I like harmony a lot. And I like country western for that reason. I like Reba McEntire and Carrie Underwood, and on the male side Blake Shelton. It’s kind of an odd duo, but country western also has a lot of harmony. Country western is more for when I’m painting, and Il Divo is more for relaxing.

Q: Do you have a favorite quote?
A: “That which does not kill you, makes you stronger,” by Friedrich Nietzsche.  I also like “There is no there there,” by Gertrude Stein. In therapy people have the misconception that they’re going to be better in six months or a year. We do that in life, too; there’s this endless belief that some day we’re going to get there. And the truth is there is no there. It’s a process and one day the process ends. It isn’t so much a destination.

Q: Do you have a mentor? A person who has inspired your life decisions?
A: I had many great teachers and mentors along the way, each encouraging and guiding me in their own way. One was an English teacher at Rollins who encouraged me to transfer to UNC and study creative writing at a “real” school. Teachers at UNC who saw talent when I saw none and showed me the beauty of learning and the joy of achievement.
Also, my adviser at Goddard College, Ellen Cole, who cared enough to hear my life story and help me realize my mission lay within that story.
And my aunt Betty Hunt was a guiding beacon of sanity and love. She showed me what compassion and dedication were and stood by my side at all times. I miss her to this day.

Q: If your life was made into a movie, who should play you?
A: Meryl Streep. Not sure why, except I like her!

By Steve Plunkett

Without any fanfare, Gulf Stream has leapt from being a three-digit hamlet, population-wise, to a robust four-digit seaside burb.
The latest figures from the University of Florida’s Bureau of Economic and Business Research, for 2017, show the town has 1,001 residents. A year earlier it said Gulf Stream residents numbered 998.
“We’re just taking off,” Town Manager Greg Dunham joked.
The town’s official website still broadcasts the 2013 population estimate: 974. Since the 2010 census Gulf Stream’s populace has swelled by 215 new folks, or 27 percent, UF said.
The bulk of the growth, about 150 people, came with the 2011 annexation of 16.6 acres on the north side of town. Since then, the 43-unit 4001 North Ocean condominium and accompanying villas west of State Road A1A have been built, and the former Spence estate was subdivided into six-home Harbor View Estates.
Dunham said revenue sharing and grants are based on road miles and per-capita income levels, not population, so being in the four digits was not particularly momentous.
“It didn’t raise my attention,” Dunham said.
Other South County population figures for April 1, 2017, were South Palm Beach with 1,400 residents (up 42 since 2010), Manalapan with 421 (up 15), Ocean Ridge with 1,812 (up 26), Briny Breezes with 422 (down 179), and Highland Beach with 3,609 (up 70).
After the figures were released, Briny Breezes Town Manager Dale Sugerman persuaded the UF bureau to go with the higher 2010 census count of 601 residents.
Among larger South County municipalities, Lantana tallied 10,797 residents (up 374 since 2010), Boynton Beach had 73,992 (up 5,775), Delray Beach had 65,804 (up 5,282), and Boca Raton had 91,797 (up 7,405).
Palm Beach County’s total population was 1,414,144 people, up 94,010 or 7.1 percent from 2010.
Estimates for April 2018 will be released at the end of the year.

Boynton’s CRA voted 4-1 to pay for sailfish logos as part of the state’s upgrade of Federal. Photo illustration provided

By Jane Smith

Boynton Beach will beautify five key intersections along Federal Highway with city logos that feature a sailfish.
The state Department of Transportation is paying to redo Federal Highway. But Boynton Beach will pay for the cosmetic upgrades such as the logos.
City commissioners, sitting as the Community Redevelopment Agency board, agreed by a 4-1 vote to pay for the logos at Gateway, Martin Luther King Jr. and Boynton Beach boulevards, Ocean Avenue and Woolbright Road.
“Staff is bringing this to you because state DOT is paying to resurface the road and add pedestrian and bike lanes,” CRA director Michael Simon said at the board’s April 10 meeting. “We don’t have any other option with DOT. We are not doing the work on our own.”
Materials have not yet been selected, but board member Joe Casello was concerned that the logos would fade over time under the harsh South Florida sun. He thinks the money could be better spent in the district and voted against the expense.
Mayor Steven Grant said he wants to know which direction the sailfish should point as drivers on Federal Highway see them.
“I think on Ocean, the sailfish should be pointed to the beach,” said Susan Oyer, a fifth-generation resident and member of the city’s Planning and Development Board.
Simon told the agency board members that they must decide whether they want to pay to add the logos, estimated to cost about $55,000 per intersection. The amount includes a 20 percent contingency fee for cost overruns.
The design details — such as the colors, the orientation of the sailfish and materials used to create the street logos — will be presented at a future meeting, said Thuy Shutt, assistant agency director.

LEFT: Professional quality Har-Tru tennis courts are just part of the draw at the Delray Beach Club. Coastal Star file photo
RIGHT: Children are a major part of the summer membership focus at the St. Andrews Club. Photo provided

By Brian Biggane

As spring unfolds and many of their full-time members head north, several area clubs open their doors for summer memberships.
For some, such as the Delray Beach Club, it’s a way to keep members engaged with dining, beach and pool activities with a more limited — but still busy — schedule.
For others, such as St. Andrews Club, it’s a means of raising additional revenue while potentially attracting future full-time applicants for membership.
The Royal Palm Yacht Club and the Boca Raton Resort and Club do not offer summer memberships.
Most summer memberships run from May 1 to Oct. 31 and are available only to applicants who are sponsored by one or more voting members. Applicants typically face a waiting period of 14-30 days for approval. Here’s a closer look at the clubs that responded to our request for summer membership information:

Delray Beach Club
2001 S. Ocean Blvd., Delray Beach, 278-6226
Membership Director Diane Roberts said summer programs are nothing new at the iconic club in south Delray, having existed prior to her arrival nearly 25 years ago.
“We don’t curtail our programs that much from the season,” Roberts said. “We have a theme party every month, along with a full run of kids’ activities and camps.”
The club offers a 3.5-acre oceanfront beach, an expansive pool and activities that include canasta events on Wednesdays, known alternatively as “Cocktails and Canasta,” “Girlfriend Canasta” and “Classic Canasta.”
Other activities include bridge games, a book club, art club, theater trips, luncheons, lectures, musical entertainment, holiday theme dinner parties and cabaret night.
Four Har-Tru tennis courts are available, two on property and two off property, with lessons from a professional.
Food and beverage service is available outside Tuesday through Thursday and inside on the weekends. The club is open Mondays but no food is served.
“We’ll be capping our membership at 90 this year,” Roberts said. The club had 87 summer members last year. “We’re just as busy in the summer nowadays as we are in season.”

St. Andrews Club
4475 N. Ocean Blvd., Delray Beach, 272-5050
After attracting 25 families to its inaugural summer membership program a year ago, St. Andrews has set a goal of 50 this year.
“We think our programming is a lot stronger than a lot of other clubs,” General Manager Robert Grassi said. “So we’re doing independent, large events. We’re going to have a surf camp and a lifeguard camp.”
Children are a focus of the various St. Andrews programs. The club produced a book at the end of last summer featuring color displays of kids involved in activities ranging from observing turtle hatchlings to golf and tennis to pool activities.
“We want to get them out to do a new activity or sport and get the phone out of their face,” Grassi said.
St. Andrews offers more facilities than most, including an 18-hole par-3 golf course, tennis and croquet courts, a fitness center, and pool and beach access.
Golf pro Amy Carver plans to do a variety of kids’ clinics along with a “Nine and Dine” program for adults.
“If you have kids just getting introduced to golf you can’t spend the whole day on the course,” Carver said. “They need time to work on basic skills, so we’ll do that in the mornings, have lunch and go play in the afternoon.”
Highlights of the dining schedule include Grillin’ and Chillin’ on Wednesdays and a pizza/pasta night on Fridays, with a snack bar on weekends.
The club is also stressing responsibility for the environment, as evidenced by the April release of 200 butterflies and the donation of an ATV to Sea Turtle Adventures, which monitors nests along the beach.

Seagate Beach Club
400 Seasage Drive, Delray Beach, 665-4800
GM William Sander reported that this will be the 10th year of summer memberships since the club reopened in 2009.
This is the third year that Seagate offers access to the Seagate Country Club. Golf memberships began May 1 but the Beach Club won’t open until June 1 due to a renovation project involving the replacement of the roof, redoing the upstairs dining room, new pavers on the pool deck, painting the pool and installing new bathrooms.

The Little Club
100 Little Club Road, Gulf Stream, 278-1010
The 18-hole par-3 golf course, a croquet court and dining are the highlights of a summer membership at The Little Club.
Membership liaison Marilyn Wobeser said the fee schedule is reduced in the summer months.
Summer members pay a dining room service fee but are not obligated to spend a minimum amount for food. Also, members pay no greens fees, though cart fees remain and guests are also charged greens fees.
The clubhouse closes down throughout August while the golf course shuts down for two weeks at that time. “We’ve always been able to generate new members from our summer program,” Wobeser said.

Colony Cabana Club
1801 S. Ocean Blvd., Delray Beach, 276-4065
Owner Jestena Boughton said the club’s membership has topped out but the club, which features 250 feet of beach and a 25-meter pool, will continue its usual summer programs.
“We have a plunge pool that’s cool in the summer and warm in winter, we serve lunch from 12 to 2 for club members and their guests and have parties on full-moon nights,” Boughton said. “We don’t have a bar, but encourage bringing food and drinks on the nights we have parties.”
The club has nearly 30 beach cabanas that feature a community shower, and Boughton said members make the most of that feature in the summer.
“Our members love us,” Boughton said. “We’re as full as we can get.”

By Dan Moffett

For many years, police in Briny Breezes diplomatically looked the other way when a golf cart zipped down the sidewalk on A1A or drove the wrong way down a one-way street.
Those days are ending — and soon.
The Boynton Beach Police Department has told the town it has no choice but to start enforcing state statutes, and that means some serious changes for the roughly 130 golf cart owners in the town.
Soon, if you are operating a golf cart that is “street legal” — one converted to comply with state standards for a modified low-speed vehicle — you essentially are driving a small Ford or Chevy. Police will require you to follow the same rules of the road that would apply to the family car.
 If you own a cart that looks like it just came off the golf course and hasn’t been modified for street use (no headlights, seat belts, turn signals, state registration etc.), then your options for operating it legally in Briny will be extremely limited. In fact, there’s virtually nowhere in the town you can go, except on the internal private streets, without risking a violation.
One critical warning to all golf cart operators comes from Boynton Police Capt. Chris Yannuzzi: “Operating a golf cart along A1A has been illegal. Whether you’re going straight across A1A or up and down the sidewalk, it doesn’t matter.”
Yannuzzi says officers will immediately begin an education campaign to inform residents about the rules for golf carts and the penalties for violations. For the short term, police will issue warnings. Later, officers will write citations that have fines.
“We really did try the best we could to figure out some kind of compromise,” Yannuzzi said during the Town Council meeting on April 26. “Unfortunately that did not happen.”
Town Manager Dale Sugerman said he spent the last three months trying unsuccessfully to negotiate a solution with Florida Department of Transportation officials.
“No matter how hard we looked at the issue of changing directions of internal streets,” Sugerman said, “that would never result in all golf carts being able to completely avoid using at least a portion of the sidewalk on SR A1A.”
That sidewalk has become an insurmountable problem. It is state property and governed by the FDOT. It is 5 feet wide and designed for pedestrians only. The town would have to expand the sidewalk to 8 feet to get FDOT’s blessing to allow both pedestrians and golf carts to use it.
With an 8-foot sidewalk, FDOT would be willing to install a golf cart crossing at the intersection of Cordova Avenue and A1A, the essential link needed to make cart travel feasible in the town.
But widening the sidewalk would cost Briny hundreds of thousands of dollars, Sugerman said, because utility lines would have to be moved and perhaps even new FPL power poles would need to be installed. The state isn’t willing to share the cost.
“There is no FDOT funding to widen the sidewalk,” Sugerman said, “as the FDOT sidewalk is meant for pedestrians and not for golf carts.”
Council President Sue Thaler said there is no timetable for when police will switch from the education campaign to enforcement.
In other business, council members have a busy agenda set for May 17. Beginning at 3 p.m., they will hold a special meeting to discuss proposals for providing legal services to the town, then at 4 p.m. they will join corporate board members for a workshop on preparations for the hurricane season.
Thaler says current Town Attorney John Skrandel and five law firms have submitted proposals to handle the town’s legal work.

By Dan Moffett

South Palm Beach Town Council members have given unanimous preliminary approval to an ordinance that will allow police to cite and fine dog owners who take their pets on the beach.
The town already has on its books an ordinance that prohibits dogs on the beach, but it empowers police only to issue warnings. The new ordinance paves the way for developing a schedule of fines and procedures for dealing with violators.
Town Attorney Carolyn Ansay told the council on April 24 that ordinance would apply to “types of violations that are deemed uncorrectable.” Unlike violations of building codes that the town can enforce through a process of inspections, hearings, fines and corrections, people who take dogs on the beach pose a problem that cannot be reversed and that demands immediate enforcement.
“You have an ordinance for warnings,” Ansay said. “This takes it to the next level.”
Once cited, offending dog owners will have the right to appeal to a town code enforcement board or a magistrate, then ultimately the circuit court.
“This is definitely necessary,” said newly seated Councilman Bill LeRoy. “There’s no point having an ordinance if you can’t enforce it.”
Mary Wallace, who lives in the Palm Beach Windemere condo building just north of Lantana Municipal Beach, said irresponsible dog owners have become a recurring problem on her beach.
“At any given time, there are dogs out there,” Wallace said. “The dogs run free. We’ve had pit bulls around kids. It’s been going on for quite some time.”
Mayor Bonnie Fischer said the council will decide how much to fine violators after the ordinance comes up for final approval on June 12. It will take until June for the second reading of the new law to be properly advertised. The council is changing its monthly meeting date to the second Tuesday of each month, beginning at 7 p.m. May 8.
In other business, South Palm Beach will hold its annual Memorial Day program and cookout from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. May 28 at Town Hall. The event will feature tributes to veterans and active-duty military personnel. Shane’s Rib Shack of Royal Palm Beach will handle the catering. The event is free and open to residents and their families.

By Jane Smith and Dan Moffett

The almost 2-acre oceanfront parcel that once housed the Pelican Apartments along the former Dog Beach in the County Pocket will soon be home to Gulf Stream Views.
The property sale for the luxury townhome project is expected to close in mid-May, said real estate broker Steven Presson. It has been on the market for $6.895 million since last June.
“An investment group is coming down from the Northeast and looking to build 14 oceanfront townhomes,” Presson said.
The complex will sit on the west side of Old Ocean Boulevard, just south of Briny Breezes. Each townhome will have three stories, a driveway and a garage, according to plans submitted to the town of Briny Breezes. The townhomes will range in size from 3,351 to 3,386 square feet.
Seven townhomes will sit on each side of an access road, the plans show. The proposed complex has two buildings with three units each on the western part of the property and four buildings with two units each on the eastern side. The main entrance into Gulf Stream Views will be from Old Ocean Boulevard on the east side of the complex.
“I believe this will prove to be a valuable project that will not only enhance the Briny Breezes area,” Presson said, “but increase property values for all.”
Briny Breezes became involved because the soon-to-be owner needs town permission to make a cut into Briny Breezes Boulevard on the northern edge of the project to connect to Boynton Beach water lines, Town Manager Dale Sugerman said at the April 26 Town Council meeting.
The council may take up the request at its May 24 meeting.
The project’s owner received a tentative go-ahead from the county Department of Planning, Zoning & Building, subject to approval by the state Department of Environmental Protection.
Two of Gulf Stream Views’ townhomes and parts of two others sit east of the state’s Coastal Construction Control Line. If past approvals of buildings proposed within the CCCL are any indication, the state will approve the Gulf Stream Views complex.
The city of Boynton Beach must approve the water and sewer plans.
Presson declined to comment further until after the sale closes. The property’s current owner, David Rinker, could not be reached for comment.
More than 14 years ago, the parcel abutted a section of Palm Beach County beach that was used informally as a dog beach, attracting dogs and their owners from surrounding communities and as far away as Broward County.
In July 2004, some nearby residents complained to Palm Beach County commissioners. They unanimously closed county parks and beaches to dogs.
Mike Smollon, a retired Boynton Beach fire lieutenant who lives south of the proposed Gulf Stream Views in the County Pocket, wonders how long the complex will take to complete.
“It will help our property values,” he said, “but it will increase our traffic.”
Of the land sitting empty next to the ocean, Smollon said the sale “was bound to happen. It’s a valuable piece of property that couldn’t sit vacant forever.”
Neighbor Marie Chapman hopes the new owners will reach out to the residents in the area and show their renderings.
“Key West-style of architecture will fit in with us,” she said, “but not industrial style.” Chapman also is concerned about how Gulf Stream Views will deal with its drainage plans. “Right now, it’s open land. When they build on it, that’s less land that will be available for drainage,” she said.
The homes south of the parcel are at a lower elevation and the streets usually flood with the summer downpours, she said.
“I’m excited to see what will go there,” Chapman said.

By Mary Thurwachter

John Park didn’t appear before the Lantana Town Council on April 9 to squeal about tax increases or garbage pickup. He just wants to keep his mini pig.
Park, who has a home on South 11th Street, said he received a code violation after his pet mini pig escaped his backyard and was found snoozing in the front yard with the family dog.
“Our back gate blew open and the pig got outside, and it just so happened that at the time code enforcement was driving by,” Park said. “They saw the pig and the dog just laying on the front yard. We were found to be in violation. I didn’t have a neighbor report us.
“The pig is potty-trained. It lives inside the house with us. It knows its name. It’s pretty much the same thing as a dog.”
He asked if the law could be amended or changed to allow him to keep his pig. The ordinance prohibiting pigs really has more to do with livestock than personal pets, he argued.
Park found sympathetic ears from council members, who agreed to discuss the matter further and have the town attorney, Max Lohman, draft language to modify the town code as it pertains to domestic animals.
“We don’t want chickens, hens and goats running around the neighborhood. I got that,” council member Lynn Moorhouse said. “I’d like to see us at least talk about it.”
Council member Phil Aridas agreed. “People have pigs for pets. They’re great pets. They’re cute,” he said.
“Smarter than most people,” Moorhouse added.
“I’m pro pig, Mr. Mayor,” council member Malcolm Balfour chimed in.
“I’m all in favor of having a discussion of reasonable restrictions,” said Vice Mayor Ed Shropshire.
Before Lohman begins drafting an ordinance, Mayor Dave Stewart asked Town Manager Deborah Manzo to poll residents to gauge their feelings on the issue. “We want the best for all the residents. Not too strict. Not too lenient.”
The matter is on the May 14 agenda.
In the meantime, Park’s little piggy stays home.

By Mary Thurwachter

The annual cost of garbage collection in Lantana is jumping from $700,000 to almost a million dollars.
The Town Council last month approved a contract with Republic Services Inc., the same company that has handled the town’s garbage pickup for five years.
“The total annual increased cost is $270,700,” said Town Manager Deborah Manzo. “Monthly rate for curbside would increase from $20.01 to $26.60 and containerized service would increase from $11.49 to $17.16.”  
The service will be pretty much the same as what the town has been receiving, but “Republic Services will be providing new [garbage cans] for curbside service,” she said. After five years, the town would own the containers.
Council member Phil Aridas said garbage cans tend to be ugly and he wants the new ones to be camo colored. “It’s patriotic,” he said. “I think it would really look cool and would be a neat thing for the town and show respect for our servicemen.” Joanne Stanley, the local representative for Republic Services, said she would look into the camo request but made no promises. “In my 25 years, I’ve never seen a camo container,” she said.
Mayor Dave Stewart wanted to know why the costs were soaring.
“Your residents are requiring good service, and so in order to provide those resources for you, we have to make sure we have enough money to do that,” said Stanley.
Manzo said that when Republic began working with the town five years ago, the firm didn’t have a full picture of what Lantana needed, since the town had been doing its own garbage collection previously. Republic was “having to pay an additional $30,000 to $40,000 every year and extra cost for disposals,” Manzo said.
Bryant Thornton, director of operations for Republic, said equipment is very expensive, as are operating costs and health care.
“We value your partnership and our relationship with the council, but these costs are significant for us,” Thornton said.
The town made it clear it values the partnership, and council members had praise for Stanley’s work ethic and availability when they have questions or concerns. But the mayor wondered if the new contract, with a promise of improved service, would make a difference in terms of the complaints he receives.
“So, this will eliminate the 6 a.m. calls I’m getting while sitting on my porch about the recycle bins and the glass on the road, and the coconuts that didn’t get picked up?” he asked.
“Yes, sir,” Stanley answered.
The five-year contract goes into effect at the end of May. In other action, the council approved plans for renovations to the McDonald’s restaurant at 1450 W. Lantana Road. A second drive-through lane, new landscaping and changes in the signage are included in the plan.

By Jane Smith

The Riverwalk Plaza owner is going through the approval process to donate 5.7 acres of mangroves, promised in March 2017, to Boynton Beach.
To make the donation, Isram Realty of Hallandale submitted a permit application in December to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, a federal agency that regulates land fronting the Intracoastal Waterway. The stated purpose of the permit was for “construction of a waterfront multifamily residence.”
The Corps mailed notices about the application to six nearby property owners in late January. Isram Realty is one of the six. But four of the remaining five said they never received the notice.
The lack of information has increased the tension between waterfront residents and Isram.
“We had to state the highest and best use of the land, that’s why it says ‘waterfront multifamily residence’ on the permit application,” said Shaul Rikman, Isram founder. “Maybe in 50 years, it could be developed.”
The mangrove parcel carries a multifamily zoning with a height limit of four stories or 45 feet, according to Michael Rumpf, the city’s planning and zoning director. He also said the city has not received any plans for the site.
“Nothing has changed [about the donated mangroves] since March 21, 2017,” said Rikman. “We are giving the city exactly what we promised.”
Isram plans to hold onto an adjacent interior 3.2-acre parcel along Federal Highway for construction staging of its proposed 10-story apartment complex in Riverwalk Plaza.
The Corps technically ended public comment for the application on Feb. 16, said Nakeir Nobles, Corps spokeswoman in Jacksonville. But the Corps can accept comments up until the time it makes a decision on the permit application, she said.
That date is not known, she said. The Corps is waiting on responses from the National Marine Fisheries, the Habitat Conservation Division, the Environmental Protection Agency and possibly the Corps’ regulatory archaeologist for potential historic property concerns, Nobles said.
“We are also awaiting the applicant’s response to a request for additional information,” she said.
Luke Therien, whose family owns the Prime Catch restaurant in Riverwalk Plaza, was on the notice list, but his company did not receive the notice. After reviewing Isram’s permit application on the Corps website, Therien said, “It seems reasonable to me. This is private property and Isram paid to get this property.
“I guess that the only thing one could argue is to work within the existing zoning codes.”
The mangrove donation was orchestrated by Commissioner Justin Katz as a way to make the project more palatable to the residents of the Seagate of Gulfstream condominiums. The 55-and-older community sits south of the mangroves.
Katz envisioned a boardwalk through the mangroves, ending at the northern border of Seagate.
But its residents don’t want a walkway, even if it is gated, because they can’t control who comes through, said Terry Owens, president of the Seagate condo board. They’re concerned about liability of their two waterfront swimming pools and break-ins, he said.
Seagate used to have an entrance into the mangroves to allow residents to go bird-watching, Owens said. But it is now locked because the condo community experienced break-ins, he said.
The board did not receive a written notice of the application, according to Owens. “Rikman came in late February to the Seagate clubhouse and talked generally about his plans to the Boynton Intracoastal Group meeting,” he said.
Deborah Corvey, co-owner of Boynton Billiards, and Steve Marouf, owner of the Troy’s Bar-Be-Que building on Federal Highway, said they also did not receive notices. Both properties are west of the parcels. The owner of the adjacent McDonald’s branch could not be reached.
After the mangroves are donated, Boynton Beach would maintain them, said Andrew Mack, the city’s development director. “This is similar to the existing mangrove park the city currently maintains,” he said. That park is along the Intracoastal Waterway just north of Boynton Beach Boulevard.
The Riverwalk project secured six extra stories after the city created transit-oriented development nodes at certain intersections along Federal Highway. City planners want to have the density to prepare for an anticipated Tri-Rail Coastal Link commuter line stop on the Florida East Coast train tracks. The Brightline express passenger rail uses the tracks but does not have a stop in the city.
Nearby residents had wanted only four stories for the former Winn-Dixie parcel. That was what had been allowed in the original zoning. Riverwalk Plaza sits at the southwestern base of the Woolbright Road bridge to the barrier island.