Paige Kornblue Hunter and her husband, Andrew Hunter, will chair the Rhinestone Cowboy Ball, a Feb. 29 event for the George Snow Scholarship Fund. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Margie Plunkett

She brings a lot of Boca Raton.
He brings a lot of Texas.
Together they seem perfect to serve as honorary chairs of Boca’s 2020 Rhinestone Cowboy Ball, a Feb. 29 fundraiser for the George Snow Scholarship Fund.
Paige Kornblue Hunter, former WPTV NewsChannel 5 anchor and reporter, and her husband, Andrew Hunter, are the Boca Raton residents chairing the event, whose theme is Boots and Bling.
Paige will also be the emcee.
Andrew commutes to Dallas for a four-day stint each week at the oil and gas company Guidon Energy, where he is a drilling adviser and managing partner.
In addition to having a presence in different states, the two devote time to their family, many charities, their children’s school and their careers.
Ask them how they get it all done, and Andrew will answer. “We live life to the fullest.”
Paige adds, “We don’t sit much.”
A Boca Raton native, Paige, 39, went to St. Andrew’s School and received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan. Her first job out of college was at a TV station in Lake Charles, Louisiana. After that, she returned to Palm Beach County to work at WPTV.
Andrew, 37, is from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and received a degree in petroleum engineering from Louisiana State University.
The two got together seven or eight years after Paige had returned to Palm Beach County. She was invited back to Lake Charles by a friend who did the weather there. The weather friend was married to a good friend of Andrew’s. That couple set up a Mardi Gras ball blind date for Paige and Andrew, who at the time was working on an offshore oil rig. Andrew picked up Paige at the airport and they headed to the ball. Before long they were engaged.
Paige took a break from TV news at WPTV, and the couple settled in Dallas. They were married in 2011 at the Boca Raton Resort & Club, where Paige’s parents were married in 1975 — and where the Rhinestone Cowboy Ball is being held this year. They lived full-time in Dallas, fixed up a home and had three children there.
They moved back to Boca Raton in 2015. The catalyst for the move was that Paige’s mother, Andrea Berry Kornblue, was battling cancer. “We came back to help her in the fight,” Paige said. Mrs. Kornblue, who died in 2018, was a longtime member of the Junior League and volunteered with many organizations.
The Hunters stayed in Boca Raton, swayed by the lifestyle. “We love it,” said Andrew. “The lifestyle’s so good, especially with kids, that it’s worth it to commute. We have three days a week on the beach with the family.”
Paige is a member of the Junior League and volunteers for organizations such as Boca Raton Regional Hospital, Food for the Poor, American Heart Association and the American Cancer Society. She and Andrew got involved in 2008 with the George Snow Scholarship Fund, which since its inception in 1982 has awarded more than $12 million in educational grants.
Paige’s father, Dr. Edwin Kornblue, who was the first dentist in Boca Raton, knew George Snow, she said.
Andrew is president of the Dallas Fort Worth Chapter of the American Association of Drilling Engineers, an organization that has granted $560,000 in scholarships to engineering students across the country.
Meanwhile, Paige wants to put writing back in her life and by Feb. 1 will have launched her own website and blog. “I miss the writing, getting out there and telling some stories,” she said. Her website will be www.PaigeKornblue.com.
The Hunters have three children: Maya Blue, 7, and twins Clay and Cody, 5. They attend the A.D. Henderson University School at Florida Atlantic University, where Paige is a room mom for both classes and Andrew is on the school board.
Other family members are also nearby. Both Paige’s father and Andrew’s father, Chuck Hunter, are in Boca Raton.
Family and friends are the most important thing in their lives, Andrew said. “We have a very diverse and wonderful group of friends around us. We both like to socialize and surround ourselves with great people.”
Said Paige: “We both like to have fun and live for the day.”

If You Go
What: 2020 Rhinestone Cowboy Ball
Benefits: George Snow Scholarship Fund, one of the largest foundations to offer scholarships to students in South Florida
When: 6 p.m. Feb. 29
Where: Boca Raton Resort & Club, 501 E. Camino Real, Boca Raton
Tickets: Start at $250
Info: 561-347-6799 or www.scholarship.org/events-2/#CB

I’m happy to report that we’re making progress with reducing the use of plastics in the distribution of The Coastal Star.
Beginning next month, we are partnering with Publix Super Markets to improve the delivery of newspapers in the northern third of our circulation area.
If you live in a single-family home in Manalapan or on Hypoluxo Island, you’ll begin receiving your paper in the mail in March. Same goes for readers in Ocean Ridge who live north of Woolbright Road.
By switching to mail delivery we’ll be able to reduce the number of plastic sleeves we throw into driveways and eliminate delivery of wet newsprint.
In some neighborhoods it means that police officers and property managers won’t have to pick up and discard copies when residents are away.
The mailed editions of the newspaper will feature monthly promotional materials from Publix. These same editions will be hand-delivered (as usual) to the condos and townhomes in this geographic area — including South Palm Beach.
There shouldn’t be any delay in delivery. If all goes well, we’ll still get you your newspaper on the first weekend of the month.
We’re excited about this sponsored mail delivery of The Coastal Star.
We hope you enjoy the upgrade to our delivery system, as we look forward — over time — to expanding the practice to the rest of our delivery area.
Please thank Publix for helping us reduce the amount of plastic we’re using along our environmentally fragile coast.
And if you have questions or concerns, do contact our publisher, Jerry Lower, at publisher@thecoastalstar.com.

— Mary Kate Leming,
Editor

By Steve Plunkett

Town officials are considering some quick short-term fixes to prevent ruts from forming along and water from ponding on roadways in the core area.
Gulf Stream is in its second year of a 10-year capital improvement plan to replace water mains and rebuild streets. This year’s work focuses on the water main along the northern section of State Road A1A.
But Town Manager Greg Dunham alerted town commissioners at their Jan. 10 meeting that Gulf Stream’s engineering consultant is developing a plan to tackle minor drainage and pavement edge repairs this year.
“You all know about the areas where ponding and rutting alongside the road have been occurring,” Dunham said.
The problem areas are on Polo and Lakeview drives and Gulfstream, Old School and Banyan roads.
Mayor Scott Morgan embraced the idea.
“It seems wise to try to address the issue of very narrow roads, particularly Gulfstream, and water pooling at Polo if it can be done relatively inexpensively and relatively quickly,” the mayor said. “We feel that expanding Gulfstream Road, particularly on the east side going all the way up, putting a curb down on Lakeview and addressing this Polo piling of water because of the elevated drainage area will make a significant difference to the town quickly and pretty inexpensively.”
Dunham said possible solutions are adding curbs at corners and expanding pavement a foot or so “to prevent rutting from parked vehicles or cars running off the edge of the pavement.”
Other fixes could include putting a stone or rock shoulder along a street’s edge, cutting a swale and resodding it to direct runoff away from the road, removing grass in front of drainage inlets and inlet aprons, and adjusting drainage inlet tops and gates or saw-cutting and raising the road where settlement has occurred.
“One of the best examples of that is the big inlet down at Old School and Polo that always has water ponding around it that can’t get into it,” Dunham said. “So one way to address that is to take the lid off, actually cut the box and lower it so the water can get into it.”
Commissioner Paul Lyons, who lives on Polo, said he was “very much in favor” of the proposal, which engineering consultant Baxter & Woodman will flesh out for the commission’s Feb. 14 meeting.
Planning for the reconstruction of Polo, Gulfstream and other core roads is scheduled for fiscal 2021 in the capital improvement plan with reconstruction work done in fiscal 2022.
Commissioners also discussed a white SUV that is parked almost year-round on a town right of way along Polo Drive. Rather than draw up an ordinance to regulate overnight parking, they directed Dunham to contact the property owner to try to resolve the issue.

The ordinance, which is up for a final vote Feb. 3, would limit artificial turf to back and side yards and ban it in front yards such as here on A1A. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

By Dan Moffett

The long-running sports dispute over whether natural grass or artificial turf is the better surface has spread into Ocean Ridge.
But the town’s debate isn’t about games. It’s about front yards.
While updating Ocean Ridge’s building codes last year, officials decided to restrict the use of plastic grass to ensure aesthetic standards were maintained.
The result was an ordinance that came before the Town Commission for a first reading Jan. 6 that lays down some tough and detailed rules for installing synthetic yard surface.
Specifically, Town Attorney Brian Shutt, who wrote the ordinance with the help of the Planning and Zoning Commission, says the law “provides that synthetic turf would only be allowed in the rear or side yards, not to exceed 25% and not visible from the public right of way. Synthetic turf would be allowed in between brick pavers, not to exceed 4 inches in width, and would not be counted toward the 25% maximum amount.”
Shutt said he also “added language to provide that with existing yards with artificial turf, the turf will be allowed to remain until it is repaired or replaced in an amount that is greater than 50% of the total.”
There is also a sunset clause that requires the homeowner to replace the turf after 10 years. Most artificial surfaces are under warranty for between six and eight years, officials say, so the reasoning is the surface won’t last 10 years anyway.
Commissioners approved the ordinance on a 3-1 vote with Mayor Steve Coz on the losing side and Commissioner Phil Besler absent. The ordinance comes up for final approval on Feb. 3.
Coz argued that the new rules were an intrusion on homeowners’ rights. He said the town should at least allow artificial turf on front yards if it is screened from the street by hedges, walls or landscaping. Coz said the turf would also help the town’s drainage problems by reducing the use of sprinklers.
“I do not agree with this ordinance whatsoever,” the mayor said. “If we pass this, what’s next? I don’t particularly like the look of artificial turf, but it’s a private property issue for me.”
Ric Carey, a planning and zoning commissioner, said the panel worked on the ordinance for months and examined other communities’ laws, some of which were more restrictive.
Carey said the intent was to preserve for Ocean Ridge “the lushness of it, the verdant nature, the sense that it’s a coastal paradise. We didn’t feel artificial turf met that criteria.”
John Zessin just installed synthetic grass at his Old Ocean Boulevard home and it has drawn compliments from neighbors and commissioners. Zessin thinks turf is a good solution for yards close to the ocean where salt and sand make it difficult to grow natural grass.
Moreover, he told commissioners, contrary to perceptions, turf is an environmentally sound solution. After all, it requires no water, pesticides or herbicides, and needs no mowing by machines that pollute the air with exhaust. Also, Zessin said, his lawn is made from recycled plastic.
“At what point does this overreach stop?” he asked, imploring the commission not to inflict invasive rules on homeowners.
Commissioner Kristine de Haseth, in strongly supporting the ordinance, said she would be willing to make it even more restrictive.
“This is a community character issue,” she said.

As a resident of Ocean Ridge for the past five years, I have attended five Town Commission meetings, four regarding my building a home and the fifth to defend what I have built.
And while my purpose for attending the Jan. 6 meeting was to provide my perspective on the environmental benefits of artificial turf near the ocean, what I experienced was more abhorrent than the uninformed review of my building project. Perhaps the parallel of the town overreach of “permitting” my project (Planning and Zoning’s architectural condemnation of my home) should be fully expected — because the leader advocating limits on artificial turf was none other than the P&Z.
In the vote to determine whether Ocean Ridge would allow artificial turf to be installed on future projects, the P&Z made two presentations, neither of which had scientific basis for their recommendation to ban it — not even an admission that artificial turf eliminates a number of environmental concerns, such as fertilizers, pesticides, lawn mower emissions, grass clippings or water usage.
No, their concern was purely aesthetic: They didn’t like the way it looked.
And while a debate can be had about the look of artificial turf, the true issue at hand is your commissioners’ belief that they should control what residents do with their private property. In voting that artificial turf could be used on no more than 25% of your total property, town commissioners have taken the right to control 75% of your private property. You can determine what you do to 25% of your property, but get to pay Ocean Ridge 100% when property taxes are due.
So what else does this council get to determine? Future agenda items are sure to include elimination of palm trees, color of grass allowed, strain of grass allowed, house color choices, approved architectural design and of course, banning of Big Gulps.
Every resident of Ocean Ridge should be concerned about the direction of our elected officials, regardless of where you stand on this issue. Your concern should be the loss of your personal freedom and property rights in Ocean Ridge.
Feb. 3 is residents’ last chance to speak up before the council ramrods this ordinance through. Please attend to voice your concerns.
— John Zessin,
Ocean Ridge

At 6 p.m. on Feb. 3, the Ocean Ridge Town Commission will vote on final adoption of an ordinance severely limiting waterless lawns, an ordinance that will significantly impact the private property rights of every Ocean Ridge landowner. Please come and participate in the discussion: It affects you. 
If Ocean Ridge property owners want to preserve their property rights, Feb. 3 will be the time to come and speak!
— Peter Hoe Burling,
Ocean Ridge

Lantana has had many projects and enhancements completed in 2019. Several water mains have been replaced throughout the town to increase water flow and pressure in many neighborhoods. Numerous streets have been repaved.
On our great beach, the bathrooms have been renovated and a deck has been added to the oceanfront pavilion.
Lantana’s town events were a great success, including Movie Nights at the Beach, an Easter Egg Hunt, Fourth of July Celebration, Haunted Nature Preserve and Winterfest, to name a few.
For the 20th consecutive year, the town was awarded a certificate for excellence in financial reporting from the Government Finance Officers Association. We were also proud to receive an award from the Florida Urban Forestry Council for Tree City USA.
Looking ahead, Lantana will continue its focus on projects to improve and beautify the town, including sidewalk improvements, repaving and restriping of roads, improvements to the Lantana Municipal Beach including an ADA accessible ramp, interior renovations to the library and improving town-owned property. FDOT is resurfacing South Dixie Highway and the town will be planting four landscape islands.
Lantana strives to be responsive to the needs of our residents and to make decisions based on what is good for all in the long term. The Town Council and staff continue to work together toward maintaining public safety and enhancing the quality of life here.
It has been an honor to serve as your mayor for the last 19 years and, in 2020, I will continue the momentum of previous years in striving to make Lantana a great place to live, work and play.
— David J. Stewart,
Lantana mayor

A1A in Manalapan was closed from the Boynton Inlet to Plaza del Mar for more than a hour on Jan. 2 as the Palm Beach County Fire Department responded with 12 units, 24 firefighters and command staff to a report of smoke at a home in the 1100 block of South Ocean Boulevard. The source of the smoke was an unknown electrical malfunction, the department said. No fire was found. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

By Dan Moffett

Manalapan resident Hank Siemon came to the Town Commission and asked for an exception to building codes so that he can put an unusually long dock behind the home he intends to build on the vacant Intracoastal lot he owns.
Because Siemon is also a sitting town commissioner, and because some of his neighbors objected, the request came with its share of complications before the commission approved it.
Siemon recused himself and left the dais during 90 minutes of discussion at the Jan. 28 commission meeting.
His engineer, William Stoddard, explained Siemon’s problem: He owns a 40-foot boat and the channel along the east side of Point Manalapan on Lands End Road isn’t deep enough unless his dock extends well beyond the code’s maximum limit of 55 feet.
In order to safely navigate his vessel in and out, Siemon needs a dock to extend out 85 feet, Stoddard said. Not getting the variance to build out an extra 30 feet would deny Siemon the use of the boat, Stoddard said, creating an unfair hardship — a criterion for code exceptions — that the town should not allow.
Siemon’s next-door neighbors, Barry and Sigrun Haase, oppose the variance. Their attorney, Jason Mankoff, called Siemon’s request “a self-created hardship.”
Mankoff’s remedy? Buy a smaller boat.
“Owning a big boat is not justification for a variance,” he said. “All the other owners have to deal with the same depth. It’s not a hardship. It’s an inconvenience.”
Mankoff said Siemon was “trying to shift any blockage of his view” to the Haases.
Another neighbor, former Mayor Basil Diamond, also opposed the variance. Diamond said the limit was set at 55 feet to keep navigation lanes open in the shallow channel, and said Siemon had “the wrong boat” for the property.
“If we give variances to everybody,” Diamond said, “then you don’t have a code.”
Further complicating the dispute are plans to install a new water main line through an easement across Siemon’s lot at 1660 Lands End Road.
Commissioner Clark Appleby sided with Siemon. Appleby said boaters have had to adjust to “high tides and low tides that have gotten more dramatic” in recent years and the request for a longer dock is reasonable.
“Having a 30-foot extension is not going to have a huge impact on either neighbor’s view, north and south,” he said.
Mayor Keith Waters said the code allows 55-foot docks or docks that extend into 3 feet of water. For Siemon to get his boat into 3 feet, the dock has to go out 85 feet, Waters said.
“If a resident cannot reach 3 feet of water,” Waters said, “that’s the milestone by which a variance can be requested.”
Commissioners decided that the proposed dock would not obstruct navigation channels. They voted unanimously to grant Siemon the variance.
“I think it’s important everybody understands this,” Waters said after the vote. “This body does not make decisions based on friendships. It makes decisions on what this town is supposed to be doing and what we’re supposed to be doing representing this town.”

By Steve Plunkett

Attorneys for Richard Lucibella and the state of Florida will square off for oral arguments before the 4th District Court of Appeal on Feb. 25.
Lucibella, now 66, is appealing his conviction of misdemeanor battery on Ocean Ridge police Officer Richard Ermeri during an October 2016 altercation in his oceanfront backyard. Ermeri and other town police went to the then-vice mayor’s house after residents reported hearing gunfire in the neighborhood.
The opposing attorneys, Senior Assistant Attorney General Melynda Melear for the state and Leonard Feuer for Lucibella, will each get 15 minutes to present their side to a panel of three judges.
“After the judges confer, a decision is made, and an opinion may be written,” says the West Palm Beach court’s website. “Each case presents its own issues and difficulties; in most cases the decision is made within 180 days from the conference.”
Ermeri, fellow Officer Nubia Plesnik and Sgt. William Hallahan went to Lucibella’s backyard while investigating the 911 calls about gunshots; a scuffle ensued.
In his trial last February, Lucibella was found not guilty of resisting arrest with violence and not guilty of felony battery on a law enforcement officer but guilty of simple battery. He was ordered to pay $675 in court costs.
He wants the appellate judges to vacate his conviction and order Circuit Judge Daliah Weiss to enter a judgment of acquittal or give him a new trial. Melear asks that the 4th District Court of Appeal affirm Lucibella’s Feb. 21 conviction.
Feuer and Melear will present sharply different views of what happened in Lucibella’s backyard.
Feuer, for example, says Ermeri caused the first instance of violence in this case “by grabbing Lucibella’s shoulders to obstruct his entry into his home or prevent him from obtaining a drink.”
Melear, on the other hand, says Lucibella “poked the officer forcefully in the chest while threatening him” after “he first walked aggressively into the officer’s extended hands and grabbed him by the neck.”

By Jane Smith

Sand lost to 2017’s Hurricane Irma on the beaches of Ocean Ridge/Boynton Beach, south Delray Beach and north Boca Raton will be restored starting about Feb. 5.
The projects will be paid for using federal tax dollars authorized by Congress in June under the Flood Control and Coastal Emergencies Act. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will oversee the work.
The approximate cost for restoring the Ocean Ridge/Boynton Beach and Delray Beach sand is $13.7 million, according to the Army Corps. Those three beaches will receive nearly 800,000 cubic yards of sand, equal to the amount needed to fill about 250 Olympic-size swimming pools.
The work will be divided into two parts: Delray Beach and then Ocean Ridge/Boynton Beach. Each will take about 30 days to finish, working around the clock.
“Ocean Ridge will follow Delray. It should get going the first week of March and again wrap up in roughly 30 days or four weeks,” David Ruderman, Army Corps spokesman in the Jacksonville office, wrote in a Jan. 10 email to The Coastal Star. “These dates and timelines may slip forward or backward depending on the weather and mechanical/technical issues, but that is the plan.”
Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co. of Oak Brook, Illinois, will dredge the sand offshore and then coat the southern coast of Delray Beach, from Casuarina Road to the city line with Highland Beach.
In Boynton Beach, heavy equipment will be stationed at Oceanfront Park. That beach, about 1,000 feet long, will receive extra sand.
The contractor also will restore about 3,000 feet north of Oceanfront Park and about 2,000 feet south of it. Both parcels belong to Ocean Ridge.
A second contractor, Weeks Marine Inc. of Covington, Louisiana, won the $12.8 million contract for the Boca Raton work. Staging will begin in mid-February with the project to be complete no later than April 30, Ruderman said.
The same Great Lakes dredge hired to restore sand in Jupiter will float down the coast to restore the Delray and Boynton/Ocean Ridge beaches. It can’t move in rough seas, said Tracy Logue, coastal geologist with the Palm Beach County Environmental Resources Management department.
Once sea turtle nesting season begins March 1, extra steps are required, Logue said. These include hourly nesting surveys, relocation of or the creation of safe zones for nests affected by construction, and limited lighting at night.
The last step is intended to avoid excessive illumination of the water’s surface while meeting federal standards for construction lighting at night.
“Weather and sea conditions have a lot to do with how fast the work can be done,” said Christine Perretta, whose D.B. Ecological Services monitors sea turtle nests in that Boynton Beach/Ocean Ridge area.
She expects to be called to a pre-construction meeting in mid-February to review the plan for dealing with sea turtle nests.
Leatherback turtles can nest in months outside the traditional nesting season of March 1 to Oct. 31, she said.
“They usually allow work on the beach in the early part of the nesting season. The peak begins May 15, then all work on the beach must cease,” Perretta said.
The monitoring will occur at night if there’s nesting activity, Perretta said. “Monitors will be allowed to move the eggs out of the construction area or create a safe area around the nest that the construction equipment won’t disturb.”

By Jane Smith

Ocean One, a development that Boynton Beach approved nearly three years ago, has received a one-year extension of taxpayer incentives from a reluctant Community Redevelopment Agency board.
Without the extension, the approximately $4.1 million of taxpayer money would have expired on Jan. 16.
“We are all disappointed,” said investor Davis Camalier, who has owned the property since early 1999.
The CRA board members voted unanimously on Jan. 6 to extend the taxpayer incentives for one year, with a six-month update on the progress of finding buyers or investors.
Ocean One already has received development extensions from the city to March 2, 2023, because of governor-declared emergencies for the opioid and zika crises, red tide along the coast and various hurricanes. These declarations allow developers to extend their project timelines.
The approximately 3.5-acre parcel sits at the northeast corner of Federal Highway and Ocean Avenue. The first phase of the project is planned to be an eight-story residential complex with 231 apartments on Federal Highway, just south of Boynton Beach Boulevard.
As part of the incentive approval, the developer also will build 8,765 square feet of retail space on the ground floor, create 50 public parking spaces, construct the complex to green-building standards, hold a job fair and make a diligent effort to hire city residents and contractors for the construction. The incentive money is to be spread over eight years.
To square off the lower portion of the 3.0-acre parcel in 2015, Ocean One requested a CRA-owned sliver of approximately half an acre that borders Boynton Beach Boulevard. But Ocean One wasn’t willing to pay much for that land.
“We have been taken advantage of,” said Christina Romelus, a CRA board member. “We sold the (half-acre) for $10 and have watched property values increase.”
The half-acre piece is now valued at $532,613 by the county property appraiser. At the time of the sale in December 2015, that land was appraised at $480,000.
In exchange for the land at a nominal fee, Ocean One had agreed to build a public plaza by Jan. 20, 2021.
“We are not asking for an extension of the public plaza timeline,” said Bonnie Miskel, Camalier’s attorney. She did not say when the public plaza would be built.
Prudential Life Insurance had been on board to underwrite the 231-unit apartment project but then pulled out, Miskel said.
“In April, my client entertained the idea of selling the property through Newmark Knight Frank Florida,” she said. The Boca Raton firm put together a glossy, four-color multipage guidebook on the property and the apartment market in downtown Boynton Beach.
About 1,300 packages went out and “three serious buyers are negotiating with my client,” Miskel told the board. She declined to reveal the amount spent on the marketing.
The would-be buyers all asked that the taxpayer incentives be extended because downtown Boynton Beach apartment rents are lower than those in Delray Beach and West Palm Beach, Camalier said, though the construction costs are the same.
“I want to keep the communications open between us,” Camalier said.
Romelus thanked him for that statement. “I didn’t know that you were marketing the property,” she said.
Romelus said that residents of the adjacent Casa Costa and Marina Village developments “are looking at your property and saying why isn’t anything happening.”
“They are my constituents. They flood my inbox with emails. I need you to understand that and to be more transparent.”

Councilman Edward Shropshire awaits a decision from the Lantana Town Council on Jan. 22 on whether it would appeal a judge’s ruling that kept him on the ballot. Beside him is a Lantana resident, Catherine Phillips Padilla. Tim Stepien /The Coastal Star

By Mary Thurwachter

Mark Allen Zeitler, a candidate for the Group 3 seat on the Lantana Town Council, got what seemed to be celebratory news on Jan. 15. He was informed by town staff that the man he thought would be his opponent, council member Edward Shropshire, had not qualified for re-election. That meant Zeitler, who did qualify for election, would automatically fill the position when Shropshire’s first term expires in March.
But Zeitler didn’t rush to pop open the champagne — a wise decision as it turned out, because that news, as he had suspected, was too good to be true.
“I’m a wait-and-see person,” said Zeitler, 63. “I knew he was going to court,” which is exactly what Shropshire did. The town, Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Wendy Link and Zeitler were named as defendants.
Less than a week later, a circuit judge ruled that Shropshire, 67, could remain on the ballot, despite the fact he had not turned in the petitions from registered voters necessary to qualify.
Shropshire said he believed he had qualified after he turned in the certificate of qualification given by Link’s office to Nicole Dritz, the town clerk, before the Dec. 13 qualifying date and that she did not tell him otherwise. Dritz had two jobs at the time — clerk and development services director, a job to which she had been appointed after Dave Thatcher left in November. She now is no longer the clerk.
The snafu leading up to the ruling began after an anonymous concerned citizen made a public records request to look at the Lantana candidates’ qualifying documents and discovered that three of the four candidates (Philip J. Aridas and Karen Lythgoe for the Group 4 seat, and Zeitler for the Group 3 seat) had filed all necessary paperwork. Shropshire’s documents were missing petitions from registered voters, although he did have a certification from the Supervisor of Elections Office saying that he had the petitions and they had been verified.
After the citizen brought this discovery to the attention of the town clerk, Shropshire was told that his name would not appear on the ballot. And Zeitler was informed he won by default.
In Circuit Court, Judge James Martz ruled in Shropshire’s favor.
During an emergency Town Council meeting on Jan. 22, Town Attorney Max Lohman announced the judge’s decision and asked council members (minus Shropshire, who recused himself for obvious reasons) whether they wanted to appeal. Based on Lohman’s recommendation, they voted not to appeal.
Lohman said that by “enforcing the code and getting the result from the court … the town removed any specter of appearing that the town administration favored an incumbent. We did the same thing we’d have done if it was anybody else.”
Dritz’s telling the candidate he was good to go “was a mistake that could have been significant, but for the court’s ruling,” as Zeitler would then have been named winner.
It’s noteworthy, Lohman said, “that the opponent (Zeitler), also named in the case, did not attend any of the hearings and did not have legal counsel attend any of the hearings. So, at this point, it seems to me appealing the case would almost be as if we were pressing forward that individual’s interest. … I think the result of the court still preserves the interest of the public and the town.”
Zeitler, a political newcomer, said he got last- minute notification for the initial hearing on Jan. 17, and wasn’t able to be there for work reasons and didn’t have time to determine whether he needed counsel. He hadn’t done anything wrong, he said, and didn’t know what he could add to the proceedings. He did, however, suspend his campaign, held up on ordering lawn signs and stopped taking political contributions.
The judge, Lohman said, doesn’t believe that this ruling in any way favors Shropshire. “He did acquire the petitions and in all aspects other than physically submitting them to the clerk, met all the requirements and qualifications.”
The clerk is not responsible for correcting errors in paperwork, Lohman said, but the clerk is responsible for verifying that candidates have submitted all the required documents before informing them that they qualified.
When Mayor David Stewart asked Lohman whether the town was setting a precedent by voting not to appeal, Lohman said, “No, sir, it does not.”
The identity of the concerned citizen was not revealed. No logs are kept of people who come to view public records. “Under law … you are not permitted to require their name, to ask them why they want to see it or anything of that nature,” Lohman said.
After the emergency meeting, Shropshire said he was pleased with the result. He said he thought the county’s certificate of qualification was all he had to turn in to the clerk. “All I really wanted was that the people of Lantana had a chance to decide,” he said.
Zeitler said he was OK with the outcome, too. “This way the voters will decide,” he said.
But regarding correctly filing qualification documents, Zeitler said of Shropshire, “Everybody else got it right and he has been through this before. Makes you wonder about his competence.” The election is March 17.

By Mary Hladky

Frustrated municipal officials are pressing state legislators to give them the power to regulate the use of plastic bags and Styrofoam containers.
They want to take action to protect the environment, but a 2008 state law prevents them from enacting local laws that would discourage or stop residents from using products that do not fully biodegrade and kill sea animals that ingest them.
The effort was launched in October by the Town of Palm Beach, which banned single-use plastic bags and Styrofoam containers in June but was forced to reverse course in August after an appellate court upheld the state law.
The town repealed its ban after receiving a letter from the Florida Retail Federation and the Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association noting the court ruling and warning of a possible lawsuit.
Town officials now are seeking support for a recently introduced state Senate bill and companion House bill that would repeal measures in the state law that prevent local governments from regulating single-use plastic bags and polystyrene, best known by the brand name Styrofoam.
The Town Council passed a resolution in October asking the Legislature to vote in favor of the bills, started a petition on change.org seeking support for the bills, and enlisted Thomas Bradford, former town manager of Palm Beach and Tequesta, to drum up support from legislators and other cities, towns and counties.
“It is not a partisan issue,” Bradford said. “It is about doing something for the environment.”
But it is also yet another attempt by local governments to take back control of matters now regulated by the Legislature. Local officials maintain the Legislature is stripping them of governing powers that are enshrined in the state constitution and known as “home rule.”
“There is a larger issue. It is the attack on home rule and the limitations that have been placed on cities from enacting regulations we feel are appropriate to our individual, specific needs,” said Palm Beach Deputy Town Manager Jay Boodheshwar.
“Having a one-size-fits-all policy is not appropriate,” he said. “The plastic ban is just one example.”
Boca Raton, at the urging of City Council member Monica Mayotte, passed a resolution similar to Palm Beach’s on Jan. 14, a day after hearing passionate presentations about the harms caused by plastics from representatives of Oceana, an ocean conservation advocacy organization, and the Surfrider Foundation, which advocates for oceans and beaches.
The nonprofit Boca Save Our Beaches urged residents to tell council members they support the resolution.
“This is first and foremost a home rule issue,” Mayotte said. “This is the first step.”
Delray Beach passed a resolution in November, Gulf Stream passed one in December and Ocean Ridge in January.
“We’re not supporting the Town of Palm Beach’s efforts at prohibiting plastic straws or plastic bags or anything like that,” said Gulf Stream Town Manager Greg Dunham. “We’re just supporting Palm Beach’s efforts at overturning the state’s preemption of towns and cities to do that on their own.”
“The state chips away at (home rule) every chance they can,” Gulf Stream Mayor Scott Morgan said. “We need to protect our own ability to make our own ordinances, respond to our own residents. …”
Bradford doesn’t know how many other cities and towns have passed resolutions because they often do not let him know when they do. But he thinks there is significant support for the effort.
“These state legislators think they know what the local constituents want, when in reality it is the cities and counties that know,” he said.
Local governments have been fighting to regain home rule for years, but every year more bills are filed that would preempt them from taking action on issues of local concern.
“It is an issue every single year. It is the same thing this year,” said Richard Radcliffe, executive director of the Palm Beach County League of Cities. “It is always ‘we know better than you.’ There are things that need to be done on a local level.”
A January report by Integrity Florida, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research institute, said the trend began in 1987 when the Legislature passed a law that prohibited local regulation of firearms.
“Since the 1987 firearms law, the appetite of the Florida Legislature to preempt local actions has grown enormously,” the report states.
From the 2017 though the 2019 legislative sessions, 119 bills were filed that contain some form of preemption, although only 11 of them became law.
The number increased each year, with 36 bills filed in 2017, 38 in 2018 and 45 in 2019. One month before the bill filing deadline for the 2020 legislative session, which began in mid-January, 16 bills had been filed, running the gamut of issues.
It is clear “there is a concerted and strategic effort in the Florida Legislature to strip local government of its power to act on a wide variety of issues,” the report states.
One of those is the regulation of vacation rentals that for years have drawn complaints from neighbors about out-of-control parties, loud noise and traffic.
The Legislature has been hostile to allowing local governments to set rules for them. In 2011, lawmakers prohibited cities from regulating short-term vacation rentals. In 2014, the Legislature relented a bit, allowing local governments a small amount of control.
Since then, more bills have been introduced to take away local government authority. While those bills stalled, new ones have been filed this year that would prevent local governments from enacting any regulations.
Garnering much attention last year, the Legislature banned local governments from regulating vegetable gardens on residential property.
Even if this year’s effort by local governments to regulate single-use plastic bags and Styrofoam does not succeed, the issue is not likely to go away.
Coastal cities and towns are keenly aware of the harm caused by plastics that break up but do not biodegrade in landfills, rivers and the ocean.
Sea birds, fish, turtles and other marine life ingest it and die. Or they get tangled up in the plastics, leaving them unable to eat or swim.
A report from the World Economic Forum and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation said that by 2050 the oceans will contain more plastic trash than fish by weight if nothing is done.
The Gumbo Limbo Nature Center in Boca Raton drew national attention in October when it posted a photo on Facebook that went viral of a baby turtle that died after washing ashore. A necropsy found that the hatchling had ingested 104 small pieces of plastic.
From the standpoint of local governments, the one bright spot in the battle over local control came last year when Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed a bill that would have blocked them from banning single-use plastic straws.
Delray Beach is among the cities that have since enacted plastic straw bans. The ban, effective Jan. 1, imposes a $100 fine for the first offense. Hospitals, nursing homes, schools and private use are exempt.
“In fact, the Florida Department of Environmental Regulation has encouraged Florida residents, schools and businesses to reduce plastic straw use,” DeSantis wrote. “Under these circumstances, the state should simply allow local communities to address the issue through the political process. Citizens who oppose plastic straw ordinances can seek recourse by electing people who share their views.”

Jane Smith and Steve Plunkett contributed to this story.

By Dan Moffett

A month into the new year and a new decade, Briny Breezes has a new administrative staff in place at Town Hall.
Council members approved resolutions appointing William Thrasher as town manager and Sandi DuBose as deputy clerk during the Jan. 23 town meeting.
Thrasher is no stranger to Brinyites, having worked for 21 years as manager of neighboring Gulf Stream. He retired three years ago, but was lured back by Briny’s part-time position that will enable him to split time between homes in Boynton Beach and Andrews, North Carolina.
“It’s very feasible in this day and age with electronics to work remotely,” Thrasher said of his plan to work from North Carolina during the summer months when the town’s business slows. “I feel I can accomplish the task.”
Thrasher told the council during a December interview that “management concepts seem to be universal” and what made him successful for two decades in Gulf Stream is likely to be effective in Briny.
“I’ll keep my eye out for projects but I believe there’ll be a time period where I’ll have to learn this community better,” he said of his short-term approach. “I’ve got to get to know the residents and how they might think and analyze things.”
A little over a year after leaving Gulf Stream, Thrasher served a three-month stint as Highland Beach’s interim town manager while commissioners searched for a permanent replacement to Valerie Oakes. Before coming to Gulf Stream, Thrasher worked as financial director of Pahokee, and his experience with budgets is another reason council members approved his hiring. His annual salary is $37,500.
DuBose, a Delray Beach resident, takes over as Briny’s part-time clerk after working four years as clerk for the city of West Palm Beach golf advisory committee. She also spent nine years as an administrative assistant for the city of Lake Worth.
A native of Austin, Texas, DuBose was the council’s choice from dozens of applicants who applied through indeed.com. The clerk job pays $22 an hour.
The two Briny positions came open last fall when Manager Dale Sugerman and Clerk Maya Coffield announced they were resigning, citing a growing workload and inadequate pay.
In other business, the council voted unanimously to hire consultant Erin Deady to help the town win approval of its comprehensive plan amendments from the state.
Town Attorney Keith Davis said state officials want changes to the plan that reflect Briny’s vulnerability to flooding and assess the potential consequences of rising seas. Davis said failure to comply would put the town at risk of losing grant money that could go toward flood mitigation.
Davis recommended Deady, a certified planner and attorney with an environmental law practice in Delray Beach, to “shepherd the plan through” the state requirements. The council approved paying Deady up to $6,000 for the work.

By Dan Moffett

After nearly six years of legal conflict over the fate of an Ocean Ridge lagoon, residents of the Wellington Arms Condominium and developer William Swaim might be close to ending hostilities.
Both sides agreed to a settlement last year during court-ordered mediation, and their lawyers are trying to work out the complicated details of an easement agreement that would allow the residents to use their docks and access the waterway behind their condos.
Details of the settlement have not been disclosed, and neither Wellington Arms residents nor their attorney responded to requests for comment.
Swaim’s Waterfront ICW Properties owns two lots in the lagoon — submerged land he claims reaches under the condominium’s boat docks. The developer has demanded the condo owners remove their docks, so he can build single-family homes, and filed suit against the Wellington Arms in 2015.
Swaim, in an email sent to The Coastal Star, said the dispute with the condominium was “amicably settled” in the mediation, and he cited a subsequent court ruling last summer that upheld his ownership claims to the lagoon land.
“Last July we prevailed in a four-day trial against the State of Florida quieting title to all our property in Ocean Ridge,” he wrote.
In that trial, Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Donald Hafele ruled that the mangrove-rich lagoon was largely man-made and was not navigable in its original state some 180 years ago. That decision recognized Swaim’s lots as buildable land that isn’t protected as sovereign by state statutes.
Hafele’s ruling against the state has a potentially significant impact on other cases Swaim has pending, one of them a suit against the Town of Ocean Ridge in which he seeks easement access to his lots across property the town owns behind the Town Hall building.
From the outset, Swaim has asserted that the lagoon is not a pristine natural wetland but rather a construction project by the Army Corps of Engineers, which dredged out the area decades ago for mosquito control.
Hafele relied on so-called “ancient documents” — arcane surveys and maps — from the 19th century to determine that the lagoon was largely a creation of man, not of nature. At the time Florida became a state in 1845, records show that the lagoon was not a navigable waterway, the court found.
“The 1872 Official Township Plat was made prior to any of the man-made changes shown in this record, is the only survey or sketch in the record supported by detailed field notes, and was made by surveyors who were directed by the federal government to identify and meander navigable water bodies,” Hafele wrote in his opinion.
“The absence of any indication of a water body anywhere near the location of the disputed property, and the absence of meander information with regard thereto, creates a significant hurdle for the (state) to overcome.”
The state is appealing Hafele’s ruling.
Last August, a mediation session between Swaim and the town failed to resolve their dispute over the right-of-way access behind Town Hall. None of the current town commissioners was in office when the lawsuit began.
The town’s public position has been a wait-and-see approach that deferred action to the state and its South Florida Water Management District, as well as the Army Corps of Engineers, which have not granted Swaim permits to build. Commissioners have said that, without permits, the request for the right of way is essentially moot.
Residents and environmentalists have been horrified at the thought of someone ripping out mangroves and trucking in fill to turn the wildlife-rich lagoon into a construction site and another Florida development.
Swaim has maintained all along that he is a developer who wants to “follow the process.”
“Nothing will be done without permits,” he has said, “and anything that needs to be complied with will be complied with.”

The second phase of the beach master plan was finished in early January, including this amber-colored lighting along the promenade sidewalk. The lights, which are shielded from the beach side to protect sea turtles, are on timers and most go off at 10 p.m. But the lights near the Atlantic Avenue pavilion are on until 2 a.m. Minor fixes to the second phase will be complete by mid-February, said Gina Carter, Delray Beach spokeswoman. The $3.7 million project included nautical fencing to protect the dunes; the promenade lighting between Harbor Drive and Casuarina Road; and six renovated crosswalks. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Mary Thurwachter

Measures paving the way for an apartment complex at the Kmart Shopping Center narrowly won approval at the Jan. 13 Town Council meeting.
Another close vote came last September, when the owners of the 18.6-acre site at the northwest corner of Hypoluxo Road and South Dixie Highway received initial approval to change the town’s future land use map from commercial to mixed-use development. That day, the ordinance passed after its first reading by a 3-2 vote, with council members Lynn Moorhouse and Ed Shropshire voting no.
At that time, Kmart, which anchors the shopping strip, hadn’t revealed plans to close. But after Christmas, the store announced it would shut its doors Feb. 17.
The council, after the second reading in January, voted 3-2 (with Moorhouse and Shropshire again voting no) to change the land use map from commercial to mixed-use development. On a first reading the council approved a zoning change for the property as well. That vote was 4-1, with Shropshire the lone dissenter.
“I’m concerned about density,” Shropshire said. “This project is not appropriate for this area. I can’t be in favor of it.”
But Lantana Mayor Dave Stewart worried what would happen without some kind of update for the worn shopping center, built in the mid-1970s.
“I look at the alternative of what happens when Kmart is gone and it sits there,” Stewart said of the empty store. “This is what bothers me. It’s zoned commercial and you just don’t know what can come in there.”
Stewart said he would rather give the shopping center owners “a shot to have a presentation of some sort that’s going to be palatable to everybody. I’m just going to tell you: It’s not going to be 200 units. That’s not part of what I envision. I don’t envision everything else. I need to see the details. But this is the first step to get the car off the assembly line.”
While council members made it clear they do not favor a 200-plus apartment complex, they were open to considering plans smaller in scope and density. A site plan has not yet been put forward, although preliminary drawings that had been shared at a neighborhood meeting were shown to the council on Jan. 13.
“We can’t submit for a site plan unless we get these approvals,” said Cushla Talbut, an attorney from Greenberg Traurig representing the center’s landlord, Lantana SDC LLC. “We have had a neighborhood meeting on Nov. 12 where we shared some initial site plan concept renderings. But that’s all we’ve done at this point.”
The idea, Talbut said, is to “take the Kmart parcel and to redevelop it to multifamily residential, while doing some updates to the commercial facades where the Winn-Dixie is and where the Lantana Pizza shopping center is located.”
The preliminary plan for the Kmart section of the parcel shows five four-story residential buildings with 209 units and elevators, Talbut said. The drawings also show a clubhouse, pool and 508 parking spaces.
“The other component to this is the update to the commercial facade,” Talbut said, showing before and after images of the Subway along Hypoluxo Road and the middle area of the center, south of Kmart. “These would have very modern, clean lines and a neutral palette for a kind of coastal beachy feel that goes with the town of Lantana,” she said.
Attorney Ryan Bailine of Greenberg Traurig, also rep-resenting the center’s landlord, said drawings were shown because “we thought that our initial architectural concepts, specifically the new facades and how we would bring back the commercial component, were really, really good. We thought that staff as well as the residents would like the reconceptualized commercial component and that’s why we felt that we put our best foot forward from a design perspective, so you all had an idea what we’re looking at.”
Council members expressed worries about traffic congestion at the proposed development.
“You’re going to have to come up with some creative way to move traffic around,” Stewart told developers. He also said he didn’t want to see the strip mall follow in the footsteps of other once-vibrant shopping centers in the county built in the 1960s and 1970s.
“I will not support anything that is not top shelf and I feel is going to be good for the residents of Lantana now and in 40 years,” Stewart said.

In other news, the town welcomed a new clerk, Kathleen Dominguez, a Florida native and Lantana resident who worked for the town of Palm Beach for five years, most recently as town clerk.
She has a bachelor’s in public communications from Florida Atlantic University and is a certified municipal clerk.
Dominguez, 38, is married, the mother of a 3-year-old, and has two schnauzers.
“My husband and I purchased our home in Lantana in August 2013,” she said. “We love the laid-back feel of the town, the parks and our safe quiet neighborhood.”

By Jane Smith

Boynton Beach Fire Station 1 won’t be finished until March 31, city commissioners heard at their Jan. 21 meeting.
The reason for the setback of about five weeks is delayed delivery of an elevator and impact windows.
Only three companies nationally build elevators, said Colin Groff, assistant city manager in charge of Town Square. Every project that is more than one story needs an elevator, and with the national building boom there is a shortage, he said.
The fire station sits on Northeast First Street and will serve northeastern Boynton Beach and the barrier island towns of Ocean Ridge and Briny Breezes.
City commissioners and other officials are eager to see Town Square finished.
They are hoping the $250 million project creates a downtown — with a mix of municipal buildings, a cultural center with a banquet hall, a museum, apartment buildings, a hotel and parks. The city’s estimated share is $118 million.
The roughly 16-acre site is bounded by Boynton Beach Boulevard on the north, Northeast First Street on the east, Southeast Second Avenue on the south and Seacrest Boulevard on the west.
The combination city hall and library building is scheduled for completion June 22, Mark Hefferin said at the commission meeting. Hefferin runs E2L Real Estate Solutions, the development company that oversees construction of the civic buildings.
“We are racing to have the city ready for the centennial celebrations on July 4,” Hefferin said. Boynton Beach plans to celebrate 100 years on Independence Day.
The renovation of the cultural center in the historic high school also is delayed because of the elevator delivery problem, Groff said. It won’t be finished until late March.

Garages also delayed
Commissioners also received an update from the private developer that is building parking garages on the south and north sides to serve city workers, city hall patrons and visitors.
The south garage won’t be ready until November, said John Markey, head of JKM Developers of Boca Raton.
“The buck stops with me,” he said. He explained that his company had difficulty getting construction costs from contractors last year. “Without that set of numbers, no lender was willing to close on the loan,” Markey said.
The garage construction won’t start until early March, he said. The delay means two buildings — the cultural center and combination city hall and library — will open without adequate parking.
Markey plans to offer temporary parking in the lot just east of the Schoolhouse Children’s Museum. His firm bought the lot from the city to build apartments on it.
Some commissioners thanked Markey for his candor. But they seemed resigned to the delays and complications.
Groff said delays are bound to occur with a big project. Most were built into the schedule, he said.
Markey’s firm will have to provide temporary parking, according to its contract with the city, Groff said.

By Sallie James

DELRAY BEACH — Longtime Delray Beach resident and construction executive Armand Burton Mouw, a former city commissioner and community activist known for his upstanding character, died Jan. 11 not long after a cancer diagnosis. He was 92.
The Delray Beach pioneer founded the premier home-building construction company of Hawkins & Mouw Inc. in February 1956. The company morphed into Mouw Associates Inc., a name associated with many signature projects, including construction of the $90 million Bethesda West Hospital in Boynton Beach. Mr. Mouw also helped pave the way for the creation of the city’s historic district, which includes Old School Square Cultural Arts Center.
“He was a man with a gracious heart and a strong intellect. He was a man’s man, faithful to his God, and a hard worker. He loved his community and his family,” said the Very Rev. Bernard J. Pecaro, rector at St. Martin Episcopal Church in Pompano Beach, who became friends with Mr. Mouw in 1990.
The two met at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Delray Beach, where Mr. Mouw served on the vestry and attended worship regularly. At the time, Pecaro was a single father and a Navy reservist who was a new assistant rector at the church. A year later in 1991, when Pecaro was called to active duty at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, Mr. Mouw and his wife, Catherine, cared for Pecaro’s 14-year-old daughter for about six months.
“They did a wonderful job,” Pecaro recalled. Later, when Pecaro decided to remarry, Mr. Mouw stood as best man in his wedding. Their friendship was cemented forever.
“He was a close friend and counsel to me. He was a very wise man. I will miss him,” Pecaro said.
Mouw Associates controller Robin Watkins remembered the company owner as a kind man with a tireless work ethic whose name was synonymous with honesty and integrity. The snowbird loved his job and came into work for several hours a day when in town, despite his advanced age, until April when his health began to fail, she said.
“He was the kind of person if you got into trouble, he would absolutely give you a second chance,” Watkins said. “He was so respected in the community and loved by so many people.”
Mr. Mouw was born on Sept. 13, 1927, in West Palm Beach. He attended Colgate and Western Michigan colleges, ultimately earning a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the University of Florida in 1949.
He married his first wife, Audrey, in 1951 and they had four sons: Joseph, Gregory, Michael and Richard, who goes by Rick and is now president of Mouw Associates.
The pair later divorced. He married Catherine in 1977 and the couple adopted a son, Andrew. Mr. Mouw had a sixth “unofficial son,” Paul, whom he also considered family.
Mr. Mouw served in the Navy in 1945-1946 and the Army from 1950 to 1952, where he worked as a mathematician alongside German V-2 rocket scientists.
Mr. Mouw also served as national director of the Associated General Contractors of America in Washington, D.C. He was named the Florida East Coast AGC president in 1973.
He received numerous awards and recognitions for the work he did for contractors in Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, receiving the Distinguished Builder award in 1992. He was inducted into the Construction Hall of Fame at the University of Florida.
He was also very civic-minded. Mr. Mouw was elected to the Delray Beach City Commission in November 1990 and served until March 1993 at a time when the city was gearing up for major redevelopment.
“He was a very visionary person, the great voice of reason,” said former Delray Beach Mayor Tom Lynch, who held office from 1990 to 1996. “I convinced him to run for the City Commission. It was at a time when we were going through a lot of financial issues and union issues. He did a great job.”
Lynch said the two met in 1985 when the city formed a Community Redevelopment Agency to address blight. Mr. Mouw served on the CRA board four years, he said.
City activist Frances Bourque recalled the staunch support she got from Mr. Mouw when she started work on what would eventually become the Old School Square Cultural Arts Center.
“He thought it was a beautiful fit for the city. He was a genuinely good-to-the-core human being. I will miss him forever,” she said.
Rick Mouw said his father’s life was grounded in integrity. He recalled searching for old contracts for past projects dating to the ’60s and ’70s and being unable to find them. When he asked where the paperwork was, Mr. Mouw told him there was none.
“It was all done by handshake during a time where a handshake was as good as a contract,” Rick Mouw said.
“He was strict but fair. He had a big heart. Everyone was equal until you proved otherwise. He was open to everyone.”
The devoted family man was proud that his construction company employed three generations of Mouws: He, Rick and grandson John had all worked together.
“He was brilliant, but he was kind and he did not ever make you feel that you were not the one who was brilliant,” Bourque recalled.
Mr. Mouw is survived by his wife, Catherine, five sons and numerous grandchildren. Services were held on Jan. 18 at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be sent to the hospice Trustbridge of West Palm Beach.