Traditional beach renourishment techniques do not work well with the rocky hard bottom partially visible in this 2017 image of South Palm Beach. The neighboring towns of Lantana and Manalapan to the south are concerned that groins would prevent sand from making its natural migration to their beaches. The Coastal Star/Google Map

By Dan Moffett

For nearly 13 years, Palm Beach County and South Palm Beach have worked together on a controversial plan to use a network of concrete groins to relieve the town’s chronic beach erosion problems.
They spent $1.7 million and devoted countless hours to the joint venture, consulting with scientists and engineers, lobbying politicians and state officials, and twisting the arms of skeptical residents and neighbors.
Now, months before construction of the groins was scheduled to begin, it appears the project is dead in the water.
On Feb. 5, the county sent a letter to the state Department of Environmental Protection officially withdrawing a request for the permits needed to move forward. County environmental managers say the project has grown too expensive to make sense anymore.
“We have determined that the project is cost prohibitive,” said Michael Stahl, deputy director of the county’s Environmental Resources Management department.
What was envisioned as a $10 million plan a decade ago has ballooned now to something closer to $25 million, Stahl said. Though the state has promised to cover half the cost, the new estimate is a deal breaker for the county, which would have to pay 30 percent, and for South Palm Beach, which would owe the remaining 20 percent.
Still, the county and Mayor Bonnie Fischer say they would continue to negotiate in an effort to persuade the DEP to take a more favorable view of the project.
Fischer said the town was “exploring other options” but no decisions are at hand. “We’re never going to quit. We’ll keep fighting for our beach.”
Stahl told the South Palm Beach Town Council on Feb. 12 that the DEP has made two new permit requirements that will be virtually impossible for the county and town to afford.
Because the groins might do environmental harm to the rocky hard bottom that runs along the South Palm Beach shoreline, the state is requiring the construction of an artificial reef covering close to 8 acres offshore to mitigate any damage. That alone would cost millions.
Perhaps more daunting and more expensive, however, is the long-term requirement to keep neighbors happy.
The town of Manalapan threatened to sue the county and South Palm Beach to stop the project and was joined in the mounting legal offensive by the Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa. The opponents believe the groins would interrupt the natural north-to-south flow of sand and cause erosion of Manalapan’s beaches.
Because of Manalapan’s complaints and threats, the state wanted the county and South Palm Beach to commit to repairing potential beach damage south of the town. Stahl said the newly conceived state standard for claiming damage is relatively generous: Any public or private entity with a beach less than 45 feet can make a case for sand replenishment, and the county and South Palm would be on the hook for that.
“This is a condition that could result in perpetual placement of sand,” Stahl said. “It gives anyone the right to order a survey and demand corrective action.”
The potential legal liability for South Palm Beach could bankrupt the town, officials say.
Manalapan Mayor Keith Waters, who said for months he was committed to “taking any means necessary” to stop the project, said the town had to protect its beaches.
“We didn’t have a choice,” Waters said after the Feb. 26 Town Commission meeting. “We got specific reaction from the entire community, from the Eau and from people on the ocean. They felt that it was going to have just an immediate impact on their beach.”
Waters said his town tried to negotiate with South Palm Beach and the county but was unable to find a solution or dissuade the project’s supporters from moving forward.
Threatening to sue was the only option, he said.
Town, county left reeling
“I know it’s not easy for anybody to take this news,” said Deborah Drum, the county’s environmental resources director. “We don’t take it lightly. We’ve all invested a lot of time and resources and funds to get to this point. This isn’t where we wanted to end up.”
As for a Plan B for South Palm Beach? There isn’t one.
Because of the rocky bottom along the town’s five-eighths-mile shoreline, traditional sand renourishment techniques do not work. Stahl said the county made a half-dozen attempts between 2003 and 2009 to haul in sand and place it on the town’s beach, but with nothing to hold it in place, the wave action washed it away within months.
The county also wanted to protect Lantana Municipal Beach, the public access sandwiched between South Palm Beach and Manalapan. The town of Lantana was essentially a silent partner in the county’s plan, with no financial requirements because of its public beach access.
After Hurricane Wilma tore up the shoreline in 2005, officials turned to stabilization with groins as a last resort that might hold sand and protect not only the beach but condominium sea walls — and, in the face of sea rise, the condominiums themselves.
“Everybody has to understand that we’re dealing with a dynamic medium,” said Fischer. “You’re talking about looking at a beach project over 12 years.”
South Palm has a “continuously wet beach,” she said, and issues that are truly unique. Fischer said just as the storms and tides would come and wash sand in and out of the beachfront, the DEP seemed to shift positions constantly.
“There were a lot of stipulations and roadblocks, and meanwhile everything (on the beach) is changing every day,” Fischer said. “The county was constantly inundated with requests for additional information. ... This has been a highly regulated issue.”
To date, the county has spent a little over $1.3 million on studies and permit applications for the project, and South Palm has paid about $330,000. The number of staff hours invested in the effort is incalculable.

By Steve Plunkett

Letters of support from Ocean Ridge mayors, neighbors and business acquaintances seeking leniency for Richard Lucibella also exposed a lack of support for the police officers who went to his home and for the subsequent media coverage.
The onetime vice mayor, 65, will spend no time behind bars or under probation for a 2016 backyard altercation with Ocean Ridge police. Instead he paid $675 in court costs.
“Simply put, Rich is a wonderful, kind and good- hearted person. He is deserving of your mercy,” former Mayor Ken Kaleel wrote Circuit Judge Daliah Weiss.
But, Kaleel added, “He has been wrongly vilified by the press and by those who do not know the facts or [are] unwilling to listen. Rich and his family has suffered enough the past few years just by virtue of the travesty of the situation.”
Mayor Steve Coz, who testified that an unimpaired Lucibella did not even finish a “splash of scotch” at a party an hour before the incident, wrote, “I consider the entire arrest and trial of Mr. Lucibella as an uncalled for series of events that already has punished him needlessly for two and a half years.”
Coz’s wife, Valerie Virga, wrote that Lucibella and girlfriend Barbara Ceuleers “have been put through enough punishment and stress already for events that the facts and a jury found did not rise to the level of felonies. And I question whether it even rises to the level of any misdemeanor.”
Added Osprey Drive neighbors Jean and Peter Burling: “We believe as taxpayers that the legal proceeding in your court, and the evening events that led up to it, should have been avoided, and easily could have been had two of the officers present acted in a more professional manner.”
West Palm Beach lawyer Rikki Lober Bagatell, who said she knows Lucibella from his health care business, said “the treatment that he received by the police and the charges that were filed against him were totally disproportionate to what he deserved.”
Not every letter criticized the police and the justice system. Former Mayor Jim Bonfiglio told the judge that Lucibella helped Hurricane Maria victims in Puerto Rico, which he hoped would “shed some light as to Mr. Lucibella’s character.”
Former Mayor Geoff Pugh said he could always count on Lucibella to tell the truth. “Whether or not the truth could be a detriment to himself he never wavered off that fact,” Pugh wrote.

Former Police Lt. Steven Wohlfiel (l-r), Richard Lucibella and his girlfriend, Barbara Ceuleers, and his attorneys, Heidi Perlet and Marc Shiner, leave the courthouse after Lucibella’s sentencing hearing. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

Related Story: Current and former mayors, neighbors urged judicial leniency for Lucibella

By Steve Plunkett

Onetime Vice Mayor Richard Lucibella walked out of the Palm Beach County Courthouse after his trial with his bank account $675 lighter and with a dark cloud over his head gone.
The felony case against the Ocean Ridge resident, which lingered in the criminal justice system for 27 months, resolved itself Feb. 21 in comparatively short order:
• Prosecutors called five witnesses to testify; defense attorneys also called five.
• The jury, seated Jan. 28, a Monday, spent barely five hours — including lunch the following Friday — in reaching its verdict: not guilty of felony battery on a law enforcement officer or resisting arrest with violence, but guilty of misdemeanor battery.
• In a 10-minute sentencing hearing Feb. 21, Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Daliah Weiss upheld the verdict and ordered Lucibella to pay $675 in court fees and ordered no jail time.
“I am going to adjudicate you guilty of the misdemeanor battery. I’m going to impose standard fines and court costs,” Weiss said as the crowded courtroom erupted in applause.
Contacted days after the sentencing, Lucibella declined to say what he might do next and suggested asking The Palm Beach Post.
“I’ve learned that you guys [at The Coastal Star] have a story line that you stick to and the facts sometimes just get in the way. Until that changes, no comment,” he said.
At the sentencing, defense attorney Marc Shiner told the judge the “sticking point” of the case “has always been [possibly] paying out the money” to arresting Officer Nubia Plesnik, who is suing Lucibella in civil court, alleging he battered her during the Oct. 22, 2016, arrest.
“My client under no way, shape or form is ever going to pay her any money. That’s why we actually had the trial, to be honest with the court,” Shiner told Weiss.
The felony charges stemmed from a confrontation in Lucibella’s beachfront backyard. Police went to his home after getting calls to 911 about “shots fired.” Officers confiscated a .40-caliber handgun and found five spent shell casings on the patio.
An ensuing scuffle left Lucibella, then 63, handcuffed on the ground with fractured ribs and a cut over his eye. Plesnik and Officer Richard Ermeri both complained of aches and pain afterward and went to an urgent care clinic.
Assistant State Attorney Danielle Grundt and Chief Assistant State Attorney Craig Williams called to the witness stand Ocean Ridge resident Sherri Feinstein and David Castello, who was in town visiting his mother, to have them describe the gunfire they heard.
Ermeri, Plesnik and since-retired Sgt. William Hallahan, who also responded that night, told jurors how, in Ermeri’s words, Lucibella was “vulgar, argumentative, aggressive and belligerent” as they investigated. “He was definitely putting up a fight,” Ermeri said.
Ermeri testified that Lucibella poked him in the chest, “a forceful poke — like that,” he said, thumping his police body armor with a finger three or four times.
Shiner and co-defense counsel Heidi Perlet pointed out inconsistencies in the officers’ testimony, such as when Ermeri said the backyard gate was approximately 20 feet from Lucibella’s patio while in a pretrial deposition he said 45 feet.
Witnesses for the defense were Barbara Ceuleers, Lucibella’s longtime girlfriend; Ocean Ridge Mayor Steve Coz, who said Lucibella was not intoxicated about an hour before the altercation; a doctor who treated Ermeri that night; friend and then-Police Lt. Steven Wohlfiel, who was on the patio with Lucibella during the incident; and Lucibella himself.
Ceuleers and Lucibella both painted the officers as the aggressors.
“I was screaming at them to get off him, they were killing him,” Ceuleers testified.
Lucibella said before he was taken to the ground, he persisted in trying to get an alcoholic drink to regain some control over the escalating situation.
“In hindsight I think it was world-class stupid,” he testified.
Lucibella also said Ermeri taunted him after he’d been handcuffed, flexing his neck from side to side like a prizefighter in the ring.
Current and former Ocean Ridge mayors sent Weiss glowing letters of support on Lucibella’s behalf.
“I do not know if you are aware that after Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, Mr. Lucibella personally flew desperately needed supplies to the ravaged citizens of the island at his own cost,” Coz wrote. “Do not punish Mr. Lucibella further for what can only be described as a night of blunders, not crimes.”
Former Mayors Jim Bonfiglio, Geoff Pugh and Ken Kaleel also wrote the judge, urging her to be lenient, as did former Town Clerk Karen Hancsak, close Ocean Ridge neighbors, and bankers and doctors who know Lucibella from his work in the health care industry.
Prosecutor Grundt told Weiss that Lucibella “has never been in trouble before” and that probation would serve no purpose.
Lucibella and Shiner both said they were happy with the jury’s findings Feb. 1.
“I’m pleased with the verdict, very pleased,” Lucibella said. Shiner said Lucibella’s suing the town over his arrest has “been an option since day one.”
The misdemeanor battery could have resulted in up to a year in jail with a $1,000 fine. Each felony charge carried a potential sentence of five years in prison.
Originally Lucibella was also charged with firing a weapon while intoxicated, a misdemeanor. But prosecutors dropped that count on the trial’s first day, undercutting Lucibella’s planned defense that he was never given a blood-alcohol or firearms test.
Not having a felony conviction on his record allows Lucibella to get back his license for a federal firearms dealership and a concealed weapons permit; it also lets him run for public office again, Shiner said.

The New Florida Follies performs last month at Spanish River High School in Boca Raton, which will be the site of two more shows, on March 24 and 31. Some women in the troupe dance into their 80s and beyond. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Ron Hayes

Just think of all the clichés we embrace in trying to slow down time.
“You’re as young as you feel!” we tell ourselves.
“Age is just a number!” we say.
“Eighty is the new 60!” we hope.
Now meet two Highland Beach hoofers who believe you’re as young as you dance.
Marlene Perlstein, 81, and Jo Schlags, 85, tap, kick, shimmy and strut like they feel about 22 and age is just a chorus line.
And they’re not alone.
At 1:15 p.m. on Feb. 17, Perlstein, Schlags and 32 other women aged 55 to 95 in nearly identical blond wigs stood in the backstage shadows at the Countess de Hoernle Theatre at Spanish River High School, stretching, bending, twisting, turning and straining to touch the rafters. Warming up.
“Reach ’em!” their artistic director, Cheryl Steinthal, demanded. “Reach ’em!”

In 45 minutes, that curtain will part and the New Florida Follies will break into “Fascinating Rhythms, 2019.”
The New Florida Follies is a reincarnation of the Original Florida Follies, founded in 2000 by Cathy Dooley, the owner of a Margate dance academy.
By the time Dooley retired at 89 in 2015, the nonprofit dance troupe had raised more than $825,000 for children’s charities, including Family Central in West Palm Beach and the Children’s Diagnostic & Treatment Center in Fort Lauderdale, which will also benefit from this year’s five shows.
“We’re the older generation taking care of the younger generation,” says Emily Adams, the group’s president.
Five of the dancers are former Rockettes and most have danced professionally.
“We have one woman who’s 95,” Perlstein says. “She doesn’t do much dancing, but she’s up there. And we have a 90-year-old who does a split on stage. They applaud when she goes down, and they applaud even louder when she gets back up.”
The 95-year-old is Vivian Jeffers of Deerfield Beach.
“I used to race walk, now I do Zumba,” she will tell you. “I had a cancer scare a while back and I never missed a rehearsal.”
The 90-year-old is Cindy Trinder of Tamarac, who began dancing after high school in Oklahoma City and joined the Follies in 2006 as a mere 77-year-old. Thirteen years later, she’s still drawing applause with her show-stopping splits.
“I used to do acrobatics, but I had a little accident and lost the split,” she says. “I got the split back, but now I exercise twice a week and do some yoga when I have the time.”
Perlstein started dance lessons in Brooklyn. She was 3.
“Miss Frances and Miss Syd,” she remembers. “They had a neighborhood dance studio, and I was always a ham. My mother was a knitting instructress and I would come into the store and make everyone stop and see my latest routine.”
When she was in high school, the family moved to a chicken farm in Toms River, N.J., and she danced with Dave Rugoff and his Merry Makers. “We got paid,” she says, “once in a while.”
She married Morty, had three children, they became grandparents to five — and she never stopped dancing. In 2015, she joined the Follies.
“When I found out about the Florida Follies, I was so excited because there’s not a lot of opportunities for women our age to perform,” she says. “We go out and greet the audience after the show and they all say, ‘You make us feel so good.’”
Schlags grew up in suburban Detroit, where her mother would close her beauty salon, pack a lunch and take her and her brother into the city for lessons.
By 16 she was dancing with the Civic Light Opera of Detroit. She worked state fairs and club dates with the Miriam Sage Dancers and hit the big time in her 20s, dancing at the fabled Latin Quarter nightclub in Manhattan.
In 2001, she and her husband, Harvey, arrived in Highland Beach, the parents of two daughters and grandparents of twins. Widowed in 2010, she joined the Florida Follies and hasn’t missed a season since.
“I had a right hip replacement last June 4,” Schlags says, “and I was back with my walker in August, watching and taking notes, learning the routines. Then my right heel started hurting, so I went to rehearsals with my boot on. Everybody said, ‘You’re crazy,’ but now I’m back.”
She smiled. “I love the spotlight.”
Now it’s 2 p.m., and the spotlight is about to hit her.
Out front, about 450 men and women are patiently waiting, a crowd from the Follies’ generation. Their treasured dancers are Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly, not Mick Jagger and Michael Jackson. Some have parked their walkers and wheelchairs against the side walls, and this is the moment at last.
This is why these 34 women have driven to Coral Springs for rehearsals twice a week. This is why they raised $50,000 to buy the costumes and rent the theater. This is —
Showtime!
Recorded music fills the hall, the curtain parts, the spotlight shines and a chorus line of glittering costumes, hot pink feathers and sparkling smiles kicks off to George Gershwin’s Fascinating Rhythm.
Marlene Perlstein taps her way through That’s How Rhythm Was Born, 78 years after she took her first lesson.
Jo Schlags dances A Salute to the Ziegfeld Follies so smoothly you’d never guess that she used a walker not long ago.
Shall We Dance is a salute to the six Follies girls who are 80 and over. Vivian Jeffers, 95, doesn’t dance, but she stands surrounded by her colleagues, dressed like the Statue of Liberty with torch — and head — held high.
And then Cindy Trinder steps forward to do her split.
The crowd applauds when she goes down, and they applaud even louder when she gets back up.
Out in the audience, Frank Rock of Boynton Beach is seeing the Florida Follies for the first time. A licensed massage therapist, he’s come to watch one of his clients, Nadine Alperin, 64, of Lake Worth.
“I’m just proud to know her,” Rock says. “They have amazing timing and their rhythm is amazing. Especially because of their —” He pauses, frowns, searches for an acceptable word. “Their seniorness.”
Two hours later, these old hoofers with young hearts have frolicked through 11 numbers, with Suzi and Steve Cruz, a singing couple, and the Flashback Four, a doo-wop group, providing the entertainment during costume changes.
The finale is another Gershwin tune, and by now the title is obvious.
I Got Rhythm.
Indeed they do. They got fascinatin’, toe-tappin’, high-kickin’, age-defyin’ rhythm.
The New Florida Follies have two more shows to go, March 24 and 31, and after the curtain falls on their final show, Cheryl Steinthal will give her dancers a month off. But by the end of April they’ll be back in Coral Springs again, twice a week, rehearsing for the New Florida Follies 2020.
Marlene Perlstein and Jo Schlags intend to be there.
“I have osteoarthritis in my left knee,” Perlstein says, “and when I thought I might not be able to dance I was very upset. But I take Advil. I would really miss a lot in my life if I couldn’t dance anymore.”
Schlags, too.
“My kids keep saying, ‘When will you quit?’ And I say ‘Next year.’ But I never do.”
And Cindy Trinder vows to keep performing her nonagenarian splits.
“I’ll keep dancing until I die, until something stops me,” she says.
“I’m not afraid of dying, but I want to feel good while I’m here.”

Artistic director Cheryl Steinthal will hold auditions for dancers in April. Applicants need not have worked professionally, but must have experience in tap and/or jazz styles. For info, call 305-596-7394 or email www.newfloridafollies@gmail.com.

If You Go
When: New Florida Follies, 2 p.m. March 24 and 31.
Where: Countess de Hoernle Theatre at Spanish River High School, 5100 Jog Road, Boca Raton.
Tickets: $30 each, available by calling 305-596-7394, or at newfloridafollies.yapsody.com.

Debra Ghostine of Hypoluxo Island takes on volunteer opportunities like athletic events. She pitched softball in her youth and plays tennis and golf. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Stephen Moore

Volunteering and athletics are big parts of Debra Ghostine’s life. In fact, she approaches every volunteer assignment like an athletic competition — working hard and doing the best she can to get the best possible results.
And she excels at both.
For the second consecutive year, Ghostine is co-chair of the Love of Literacy Luncheon hosted by the Literacy Coalition of Palm Beach County. It takes place March 14 at the Cohen Pavilion at the Kravis Center. The program, presented by Bank of America, will feature New York Times bestselling author Jacquelyn Mitchard as the guest speaker.
“We love it when people are passionate about literacy,” Ghostine said, “and Jacquelyn Mitchard is that type of person.”
If this event, the Literacy Coalition’s largest fundraiser, needed any more accreditation, Mitchard brings it. She has written 12 novels for adults and seven for young adults. The Deep End of the Ocean was part of Oprah’s Winfrey’s first book club list, in 1996, and was made into a motion picture starring Michelle Pfeiffer.
With 600 people to attract to the event and sponsors and donations to secure, along with raffle gifts and auction prizes to collect, Ghostine’s work is detailed and time-consuming.
“She really knows what she is doing,” said co-chair Bernadette O’Grady, program director at WPTV. “Debra is so easy. She is up for anything. She is not intimidated to call people and ask for donations. She is a go-to, get-it-done mom. She must have a time machine because she is always on the go, go, go.”
It seems as if Ghostine, 54, has always been on the go, go, go. Growing up in New Hampshire, she was a hot-shot softball pitcher for her state-champion high school team. She signed a scholarship to pitch for New Hampshire College, where she majored in business administration.
Now Ghostine, her retired husband, Paul, son, Joseph, 14, daughter, Sarah, 12, and two rescued dogs, Bella and Lucky, live an active, sporting life on Hypoluxo Island.
“Summers always revolve around outdoor activities,’’ Ghostine said. “Water skiing, tubing, fishing, boating to the Bahamas. And of course, there is tennis. I am the co-captain of our recreational tennis team at the Ocean Club. And yes, I also play golf.”
Ghostine’s crusade for civic duty has trickled down to her children. Joseph and Sarah, students at the Gulf Stream School, have started a nonprofit organization called Bones and Me, which donates money to rescue and shelter dogs.
“They are really into it,” Ghostine said. “They have around 8,500 followers on Instagram and Facebook and are looking to go nationwide. We are looking forward to growing and trying to support as many shelters as we can. My kids do not like the idea of dogs not being cared for and not getting homes.”
Her children’s school also receives the benefit of Ghostine’s expertise. She is on the board of directors at Gulf Stream School, in charge of marketing, trustees and events.
But all other volunteer gigs have been on hold lately since she has been busy with the 28th annual Love of Literacy Luncheon.
“It can be almost a year-round job,” she said. “We are always thinking about it and talking about it.”
Her support system is well intact. Literacy Coalition CEO Kristin Calder sees to that.
“I met her through the Gulf Stream School about seven or eight years ago,” Calder said. “And she worked with us on a Literacy Coalition program. I remember she was always volunteering for jobs that nobody else wanted. She was incredible.
“This luncheon is a great place to showcase what we are doing, and it is great to have someone as gracious and friendly and pleasant and cordial as Debra running it.”

If You Go
What: Love of Literacy Luncheon
When: Registration begins at 11 a.m. March 14
Where: Kravis Center’s Cohen Pavilion
Tickets: Start at $150
Info: 279-9103 or www.literacypbc.org

$378 million to keep a city above water. $45 million for renovations along A1A. $25 million to keep sand on the beach. These are a few of the dramatic numbers we’ve seen discussed in our coastal area recently.
The cost of updating our aging infrastructure is not going to be cheap. Retaining paradise is about to get expensive.
Thankfully, taxpayers in Palm Beach County voted in 2017 for an extra 1-cent sales tax. A portion of that revenue will be returned to municipalities over a 10-year period. The money is earmarked for infrastructure: roads, sewers, water lines, fire stations and more.
This will help — a little.
Much of the coastal area was developed more than a half century ago, so we shouldn’t be surprised if roads need repairing or water systems need revamping.
And we shouldn’t be surprised to learn that some of the barrier island land is sinking, or that rising seas contribute to crumbling roadways, bulkheads and seawalls.
And more than ever before, each hurricane season we wait for the “big one” to find out if we have enough of a buffer on the beach to keep buildings from being compromised. We also wait to see if storm surge will overwhelm our water and wastewater systems.
Although the latest proposed price tags for sustainability are eye-popping, remember that our coastline communities account for 16 percent of the property value of Palm Beach County. We have the wealth to protect us from future disaster — if we are willing to spend now for tomorrow.
Fixing infrastructure will not be sexy. It’s likely to be messy as repairs are made. Still, our elected officials need to be unafraid to explore ambitious solutions to our growing infrastructure problems.
In this fiscally conservative area it’s going to be tough to convince everyone of the value of spending for solutions we may not see in our lifetime, but it will be necessary.
Residents in Highland Beach, Ocean Ridge and South Palm Beach have an opportunity on March 12 to elect candidates with the best skills and ability to navigate this increasingly complex and expensive road to the future. Please vote.

— Mary Kate Leming,
Editor

By Jane Smith

The Woolbright Road Bridge over the Intracoastal Waterway should be open to all marine traffic sometime before March 4, according to Barry Meve, Palm Beach County bridge superintendent.
The bridge spans were locked down on Feb. 18 after defects were found in some bolts. The eastern half of the double-span bridge reopened Feb. 21, Meve said. That allows 90 percent of the marine traffic to get through, he said.
“The Woolbright Bridge has a 20-foot clearance, allowing many vessels to pass by underneath it,” Meve said.
The county is in charge of the Woolbright Bridge, which connects Boynton Beach with Ocean Ridge.
In nearby Delray Beach, state transportation workers found defective bolts and other issues with the Atlantic Avenue bridge in late January.
The state then tested all Intracoastal bridges along Florida’s east coast using ultrasonic equipment that can detect defects not apparent in a visual inspection, Meve said.
Five of the 32 bolts in the frame of the Woolbright Road drawbridge were found to be defective, he said. The frame attaches the spans to the fixed piers.
Even the spare bolts were tested and one was found to be defective, according to Meve. That meant the molds used to cast the bolts could have defects, he said.
The four good spare bolts were used to replace the defective bolts, allowing the eastern half to reopen on Feb. 21, Meve said.
The western portion had to wait until the new bolts were made in Miami, Meve said.
The closing to marine traffic will not affect vessels traveling to the Palm Beach International Boat Show, March 28 through 31, said Chuck Collins, executive director of Marine Industries Association of Palm Beach County.
Boats and yachts usually motor up the Intracoastal from Fort Lauderdale the week before, said Collins, whose group owns the boat show in West Palm Beach. The vessels are docked on the eastern side of the Lake Worth Lagoon with the Intracoastal Waterway as a navigable channel in the center.

By Arden Moore, Mary Thurwachter and Rich Pollack

Neighbors, family members, longtime clients and anyone else who knew veterinarian Ken Simmons rarely were at a loss for words to describe him. He stood 6-foot-8, but his attitude and actions stood out even more.
They talked about his unyielding compassion for pets, his reputation for innovation and most of all, his determination to get the best out of life every day. These traits were shared by Alice, his wife of nearly 33 years.
On the afternoon of Feb. 1, Ken, 62, and Alice Simmons, 59, of Hypoluxo Island, loaded up their 1979 Piper Lance II single-engine aircraft with supplies and their golden retrievers, Lily and Bailey, bound for their favorite and frequent destination, Great Guana Cay in the Bahamas, where they had a waterfront getaway home. But 15 minutes after leaving the Palm Beach County Park Airport in Lantana with Ken as the pilot, the plane plunged into the Atlantic Ocean.
Despite intense search efforts by the U.S. Coast Guard, Federal Aviation Administration and U.S. Air Traffic Control, the plane had yet to be recovered almost a month later.
While no one can say for certain what caused the aircraft to go down, there’s a good chance weather was a factor.
According to a preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board, the plane was cleared to higher altitudes to avoid areas of heavy rain but veered from its assigned headings.
After being questioned about that, Simmons told the air traffic control tower that his autopilot “had kicked off” and that “the winds are really weird up here.”
He apparently tried to maneuver around the storm cells and later told the controller, “I don’t know what’s going on up here. I’m working on instruments . . . acting really goofy here.”
The controller advised him to try to maintain an altitude of 6,000 feet and said it “looks like you are getting pushed up in the air drafts.”
Simmons did not reply and there was no further communication. Radar showed the plane rapidly descending and then disappearing off the screen in heavy storms about 15 minutes after it took off.
Downdrafts — or microbursts — are one of the biggest threats associated with thunderstorms, said Richard McSpadden, executive director of the Air Safety Institute of the AOPA, a pilots and aircraft owners association.
McSpadden speculated that Simmons might have ultimately encountered a downdraft.
“Downdrafts can be so severe that they impair your ability to have enough control to overcome them. They push your airplane down like an elevator,” McSpadden said.
The NTSB will investigate further, but it could take months or even years before the results are finalized.

Making the world better
What is certain is that Palm Beach County and beyond lost a couple who shared a lifelong mission to make this a better planet for all, including pets.
“What I remember most is the simple kindness, his gentle words, his caring about my K9 partner Sabre and the thousands of other dogs and cats who came through his doors,” said Bob Burnell, a retired police officer who operates Sit Means Sit dog training in Boynton Beach.
Burnell and his wife, Eileen, first met Dr. Simmons 17 years ago late at night at the Simmons Animal Hospital in Greenacres when their two Akitas got into an altercation that required sutures.
“He stitched up the little one and sent us home with some antibiotics,” recalled Bob Burnell. “He called the next day to see how she was. That was the kind of veterinarian he was.”
And, on the day Sabre suddenly collapsed on a walk and died, Burnell was devastated, but police policy mandated that a necropsy be performed.
“Dr. Ken knew I was upset about having my partner cut apart,” Burnell said. “He spoke gently, kindly, on how he was going to perform this with limited surgery. I could not speak to anyone because I was so devastated. Dr. Ken spent hours on the phone explaining to Eileen, my wife, about what happened, about the tumor on K9 Sabre’s heart, how it took that moment to burst and how Sabre went quickly.”

Alice Simmons, wearing a black crown, is surrounded by friends, including Lyn Tate (first row, fourth from left), at her 50th birthday party at the Simmons home on Great Guana Cay. Ken Simmons had flown her friends there to surprise her. Photo provided by Lyn Tate

J.J. McDonough, a friend and neighbor, flew often with Dr. Simmons to the Bahamas and said his friend was a good pilot. They enjoyed fishing and diving on these trips.
“The guy just attacked life with such tenacity,” McDonough said. “I never really met anyone who just tackled everything — his personal life, his professional life, everything that way. Every time he would go to the Bahamas, he would bring certain vaccinations and things to assist the dog community in Marsh Harbour, which he didn’t have to do and he did it on his own dime. He gave his time and energy in a lot of different ways.”

Ken Simmons visits the dog day care at his animal hospital in Greenacres in 2013. He sold the hospital when he retired a few years ago. Coastal Star file photo

McDonough said beyond Simmons’ work as a veterinarian, he helped implement a business curriculum in the veterinary school at the University of Florida, after he found that interns who worked for him lacked business knowledge. When he sold his business, Simmons helped found Healthy Aquatics Marine Institute, a not-for-profit on a mission for coral conservation through education, research and restoration. He remained active with the institute in retirement.

Not the sort to give up
And he got the most out of everything he took on.
“I remember we were in Abaco and he went free diving on his own one morning out in the reef,” McDonough said. “He speared a couple fish and, on the way back, he had a small reef shark that was after his fish. The first rule of spear fishing in the Bahamas is if you shoot a fish, you usually leave the location you’re at. You don’t stay, because typically there’s a larger fish and typically that fish is a shark that is close by, because the Bahamas are very sharky.  
“This small reef shark was after the couple fish that he got and he was trying to fight off this shark not once, but essentially for his whole swim back to shore. The reef was probably 200-300 yards out when he swam back. He probably had to attempt to mitigate this issue with this shark for probably 10 minutes. Most people would just get rid of the fish, give the shark your fish. But he wasn’t going to do that. He was not that type of guy. He wasn’t going to give up the fish.”
Rob Martin, a veterinarian who operates the Colonial Animal Hospital in Boynton Beach, said, “He was a terrific guy who was very innovative. The use of technology in veterinary medicine was very important to him. I also understand his draw to the Bahamas as we take our boat there.”
Rich Anderson, executive director and CEO of the Peggy Adams Rescue League in West Palm Beach, credits Ken and Alice Simmons for aiding not only family pets, but also homeless ones at shelters.
“The dedication to animals by Ken and Alice Simmons is well known, and as advocates for police dogs, they were probably second to none,” said Anderson. “We will be forever grateful to them. Thousands of abandoned and homeless pets were saved and got the second chances they needed thanks to Ken and Alice.”
Alice met Ken, a graduate of Lake Worth High, while both were attending the University of Florida; they married in 1986. She served as the director of business and operations for the Simmons Hospital for decades and is credited with helping its success and expansion.
Before they sold the practice and retired a few years ago, they expanded it to make it a one-stop place for pet care and activities with the addition of the Barkers Hotel, the Purrington Inn, plus the swimming pools and lounge areas for dogs being boarded or attending day care.

Active in the community
Alice was an active volunteer with Best Buddies and could often be seen during the day running with her dogs throughout her neighborhood.
Lyn Tate and her husband, Rock, were neighbors and friends, too.
“She was compassionate and kind and found the best in everyone,” said Lyn Tate about Alice. “She adored her two sons, Chris and Matthew. She loved the outdoors, paddle boarding, kayaking with her beautiful dogs.”
Lyn Tate was among friends whom Ken Simmons flew to Guana Cay to surprise Alice on her 50th birthday almost 10 years ago.
“I just found the wine glass and bagged sea glass that was our party favor,” Tate said. “It put a smile on my face, as Alice loved to collect sea glass in Guana.”
Ken Simmons served as the Tate family’s veterinarian for more than a decade. Rock Jr. worked for Ken during the summers while in high school and in college.
“Ken saved our dog, Queenie, from an autoimmune disease and she managed to live five more years under Ken’s care,” Tate added.
Many speak about Ken’s efforts in 2013 to try to save the life of a retired K9 officer named Drake, a German shepherd, who had been shot five times during a home invasion. Dr. Simmons was able to stabilize Drake, but knew he needed more specialized care. He quickly loaded up Drake in his plane and flew him to a veterinary specialist at UF. Drake did not survive his wounds.
Dr. Simmons memorialized Drake by hiring artist Jocelyn Russell to create a life-sized bronze sculpture of Drake at his veterinary hospital. The base also contains the inscribed names of service dogs across the country who were killed in the line of duty or who died of natural causes.
On Feb. 11, the Lantana Town Council called for a silent moment of prayer to honor Ken and Alice Simmons.
Mayor David Stewart, also a neighbor, said, “It’s just a sad situation. Let us remember Ken and Alice, their parents, the two sons, neighbors and friends and the many animals who were their friends.”
The couple are survived by their sons, Christopher (Amanda) Simmons and Matthew Simmons; Ken’s mother, Lorraine Simmons; Ken’s siblings, Kathleen (Patrick) Day, Dale (Marian) Simmons and Patrice Antony; and Alice’s siblings, Barbara (Dale) Buzz; Suzanne (Steve) Hurst, Rita (Joe) Sammarco, Patricia (Mark) Dobson and Dennis (Lisette) McCormick.
A celebration of life took place Feb. 16. In lieu of flowers, the Simmons and McCormick families ask that donations be made to the Coral Restoration Foundation to honor Ken and Alice Simmons. Details are available at www.coralrestoration.org/donate.

By Shelly Petrolia

“Florida’s New Sweet Spot” is how the Wall Street Journal described Delray Beach in a headline. The article went on to describe three perfect days in our city, noting it had been transformed and “now has a distinctly different vibe.”
That vibe can be observed in the mix of creative people in Pineapple Grove and felt in special places of cultural significance, like newly renovated Cornell Museum. You can watch the vibe in motion at the drum circle or listen to it at a concert on the grounds of Old School Square. You can visit the Historical Society or walk the five designated historic districts in Delray to soak up vibrations from Delray’s past.
Visitors strolling our charming tree-lined downtown, with institutions like Hand’s Stationery, The Colony Hotel and Huber Drugs on the same blocks with hip new stores and hangouts like Urban Outfitters, Capital One Cafe and Subculture Coffee, experience the Delray vibe. And the nightly sing-alongs at Johnnie Brown’s as the train rumbles by are part of the Delray lore visitors take home.
In my capacity as mayor, I often wrestle with how to guide the city forward and yet stay true to Delray’s “distinctly different vibe” that has garnered our city so much recent national attention. I believe elected officials must be faithful and responsible stewards of the city, respectful of the decades of hard work before them. And in my case, a preservationist at heart.   
But Delray faces many challenges, and it’s going to take the cooperation of the entire village — elected officials, stakeholders, business owners and residents — to keep Delray from becoming indistinguishable from so many other South Florida cities.  
We see developments encompassing whole blocks threatening to canyon-ize certain streets in Delray. Our historic districts are now targets of inappropriate development, despite their restrictive zoning. There was a recent challenge to the three-story height restriction for buildings on Atlantic Avenue, and a proposal for bike lanes on historic Swinton Avenue almost caused 150 trees to disappear.
And the list goes on.  We win some battles, and lose others, but this is how the charm of the city is slowly eroded.
In the near future, the Northwest/Southwest neighborhood will finally be developed — a huge undertaking to finally unite West Atlantic and create a project that honors the historic home of our African-American community. This is an exciting opportunity, but we must remain vigilant that this project hits all the marks.  
Delray has such an engaged citizenry: They are the guiding force who often sound the first alarm that something is not in keeping with Delray’s authenticity. 
If the City Commission does its part, we can shape the future of our city instead of having it shaped for us. Let’s keep the vibe going.

Shelly Petrolia is mayor of Delray Beach.

As a longtime Fortune 500 senior executive and business owner, I knew the right location was critical when we moved here from New Jersey as full-time residents. My husband, Roy, and I selected Ocean Ridge after looking carefully at several small coastal towns, finding the town well-run and the engagement of the citizenry and sense of community very apparent.
That level of management takes work, and I have recently learned that the town manager, Jamie Titcomb, who is responsible for many of the key town projects, will be leaving his role in March. This creates a gap in the town management that will take some time to fill properly with a seasoned candidate.
This is a cause for concern. When I have attended the Town Commission meetings of late it is apparent that it takes experience, knowledge of town needs and how to ensure our safety and well-being. Steve Coz, who has a high level of experience and has consistently represented the town’s best interests, is up for re-election in March. His experience would be very helpful during the transition period. This will be critical, as a poorly managed transition could result in lost opportunities for improvement and likely cost taxpayers money.
So often people do not exercise their critical right to vote.
Why does this matter in a small town like ours? Because we need to ensure that this beautiful town that we love remains a safe and good place for ourselves and our loved ones.
Show up to vote on March 12.

— Janet Schijns
Ocean Ridge

In a few days it will once again be election day here in Ocean Ridge. As I hope we all recognize, there are three candidates running for two seats on the Town Commission. Qualified voters will have two votes to cast, two chances to shape the future for our town.
During the last town campaign, some people in Ocean Ridge advocated for “bullet voting,” the tactic of casting a ballot for only one person even when two positions are open. The purpose of “bullet voting” is to give one’s favored candidate a vote, while denying votes to other candidates.
To my way of thinking, it is a destructive stratagem, a negative way of pursuing one’s civic duty. The town needs two commissioners, not just one, and I hope people in Ocean Ridge will exercise their right to vote completely. 
This is an important election after all, and it would be great to know that the town has the two best new commissioners, when all is said and done.

— Peter Hoe Burling
Ocean Ridge

By Jane Smith

When local TV stations look for scenes of tidal flooding, Delray Beach is the poster child, city commissioners heard on Feb. 12.
That set the stage for a stormwater consultant’s report stating the city will need to spend $378.2 million to keep homes, offices and restaurants safe from flooding caused by higher tides, storm surge, heavy rains and sea-level rise.
That multimillion-dollar price tag astonished the commissioners. “How are we going to manage a $300 million endeavor in little Delray Beach?” Mayor Shelly Petrolia asked.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency requires cities to update a stormwater master plan every five years to allow property owners to get reductions in flood insurance rates. The consultant had been retained by the Public Works department to prepare the plan update.
The price tag in the report covers only the 13 most flood-prone areas of Delray Beach. Other parts of the city would be addressed later, said Jeff Needle, the city’s stormwater engineer.
Two of the flood-prone areas are west of Interstate 95. The remaining 11 sit along both sides of the Intracoastal Waterway.
Fixes for Marine Way, which floods several times a year, were not included in the total amount because the road is part of a separate project, Needle said.
Delray Beach is trying to determine who owns Marine Way and acquire the easements. The estimated $2.8 million needed remains in the current year’s capital budget.
Even so, the road is among the 14 flood-prone areas listed by the consultant, Alex Vazquez of A.D.A. Engineering.
Of the 11 Intracoastal locations with price tags in the report, the Tropic Isles neighborhood was the most expensive at $157.2 million.
It sits on the west side of the Intracoastal south of Linton Boulevard. The fixes include new outfall pipes that have back-flow prevention devices to stop tidal water from flowing in, lined stormwater pipes to prevent groundwater intrusion and raised roads.
The lowest amount needed was $6.4 million for a portion of Southeast Seventh Avenue, south of Southeast Seventh Street.
A small section of Atlantic Avenue east of the Intracoastal was included in an area that needs about $28 million in fixes.
Delray Beach last updated its stormwater master plan in 2000, Needle said.
Commissioners were so overwhelmed as Vazquez showed various hydrologic models and higher-level math equations that they were content to approve the stormwater master plan that same day.
But commissioners decided to wait until June to prioritize the stormwater projects when they discuss the city’s capital budget.
On Feb. 12, the commission also declined to discuss a sea wall ordinance without specifying a return date.
Needle said most of the sea walls along the Intracoastal Waterway will need to be replaced or raised. Delray Beach owns less than 1 mile of sea walls. The remaining 29 miles of sea walls are held privately.
The city will have to coordinate with the private property owners, Needle said, creating the need for an ordinance.
Petrolia asked the city staff to send the stormwater report to U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel. The congresswoman called a forum of mayors and city managers in her district on Feb. 11 to ask what their needs are. She was just appointed to the appropriations committee in the U.S. House.
At that meeting, Petrolia asked for money to raise roads. The stormwater plan, she said, will bolster that request.
In other action on Feb. 12, the commission:
• Decided to keep the start of its regular meetings at 4 p.m., despite several people saying that start time doesn’t allow working people to attend. The mayor and Deputy Vice Mayor Shirley Johnson wanted to push the start time later, but they were outnumbered by three commissioners. The commission will revisit the start times in six months.
• Formally approved Lynn Gelin as city attorney. Her salary will be $195,000.

A hatchling green turtle makes its way into the surf. Green turtles typically nest every other year. Photo provided

By Rich Pollack

At first glance, the dramatic drop in the number of sea turtle nests along the Palm Beach County coastline during the 2018 nesting season appears alarming.
Overall, the number of turtle nests on beaches from Boca Raton to Tequesta dropped about 33 percent — from 39,715 to 26,458 — according to numbers compiled by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Those numbers, however, don’t tell the whole story because they are skewed by an expected drop in the number of green sea turtle nests — with 2018 seeing close to 12,000 fewer green turtle nests than the year before.
Because the pattern for decades has shown that the number of green turtle nests on Florida beaches alternates from extreme lows one year to extreme highs the following year, local turtle researchers are unconcerned by the drop and predict high numbers this year.
“We’re expecting a busy green nesting season,” said David Anderson, sea turtle conservation coordinator for the Gumbo Limbo Nature Center in Boca Raton.
Remove the drop in green sea turtle nests from the equation and it appears the 2018 season did not have a lot of surprises. There were only about 1,300 fewer nests last year in Palm Beach County than in 2017, if you don’t include the green turtle nests.
“If you look at it overall, it was about an average year,” said Kelly Martin, a senior environmental analyst for the Palm Beach County Department of Environmental Resources Management.
Though there were large amounts of sargassum seaweed on the beaches, and some red tides, neither seemed to have much visible impact on nesting or on the number of eggs that hatched in 2018.
Along with the drop in green turtle nests, there was a slight decline in the number of loggerhead turtle nests on county beaches, from 26,245 in 2017 to 24,876 last year. Again, the drop didn’t set off alarm bells, in part because most species of sea turtles nest every two to three years.
“Loggerhead numbers seemed pretty normal,” said Luciano Soares, assistant research scientist for the FWC’s marine turtle program.
There was actually a significant increase in the number of leatherback turtle nests in 2018, with 305 nests compared with 207 in 2017.
In the southern portion of the county, South Palm Beach had an increase in the number of loggerheads, to 1,432 nests in 2018 from 1,352 in 2017. Delray Beach also saw a slight rise, with the number of loggerhead nests increasing from 252 to 271.
Many communities saw increases in leatherback nests, with Boca Raton reporting 18 nests — up from five in 2017 — and Highland Beach reporting seven, up from three the previous year.
In Highland Beach, turtles came ashore to nest 1,825 times, with 955 staying to nest and 870 false crawls. The close to 50-50 ratio is common, according to Barbara James, who coordinates the sea turtle program in the town.
There were some positive signs when it came to hatch rates in 2018 as well.
During an inventory of 645 nests in Highland Beach there was evidence that more than 50,600 hatchlings left their shells, about 75 percent of the overall eggs.
In Boca Raton, the hatch rate was slightly lower at 65 percent, but that was an increase from 58 percent in 2017 and a low of 38 percent in 2016.
Sand temperature and rain, Anderson said, play a large role in those numbers. If the sand is too hot and there’s no rain to cool it down, the egg could be destroyed.
While the hatch rate appeared good in 2018, it’s difficult to know how many hatchlings made it to the ocean or were strong enough to survive once they made it to the water.
Some hatchlings did get caught in the sargassum, Anderson said, with a few rescued by people. Still, some of those young turtles may have used up energy they needed to survive in the ocean while struggling to get past the seaweed.
On its website the FWC says that only about one in 1,000 turtles survives to adulthood, because of predation from birds, crabs and other animals, as well as dehydration if they don’t make it to ocean quickly.
One interesting phenomenon in 2018 was the discovery of sea turtle nests in places that had never seen them before. One Kemp’s ridley nest was discovered as far north as New York.
Could climate change be responsible for a bit of a northern migration, as well as for what seems to be a longer nesting season, which officially begins this month?
That’s a big topic among researchers, who haven’t come to any conclusions yet, local experts say.
Palm Beach County’s Martin points out that the largest concentration of leatherback turtle nests used to be found in Palm Beach County.
Now there are more nests in Martin County than here.
“Climate change could drive turtles to high latitudes,” said Soares, “but not as far north as New York.”
That turtle, researchers say, maybe just got lost.

Sea turtle nesting totals

Boca Raton
2017 – 1,071
2018 – 723
Highland Beach
2017 – 1,829
2018 – 955
Delray Beach
2017 – 304
2018 – 278
Gulf Stream
2017 – 806
2018 – 448
Gulf Stream Park
2017 – 68
2018 – 53
Ocean Ridge (includes Briny Breezes)
2017 – 710
2018 – 638
Manalapan
2017 – 2,013
2018 – 1,071
South Palm Beach
2017 – 1,503
2018 – 1,465
Green turtle nests
2017 – 1,860
2018 – 134

Total nests,
Palm Beach County
2017 – 39,715
2018 – 26,458
Green turtle nests,
countywide
2017 – 13,263
2018 – 1,277

By Steve Plunkett

Town officials are poised to create time limits between 16 and 30 months on future new construction in Gulf Stream.
The new rules, which town commissioners will consider on final reading in March, come after unhappiness at the slow progress at 3140 Polo Drive, an 8,560-square-foot house that passed the three-year mark of building activity in February.
The pending ordinance notes that “lingering construction projects have a negative impact on the health, safety and welfare of town residents.”
The clock will start when a building permit is issued, and the allowable time is based on square footage. Trey Nazzaro, Gulf Stream’s staff attorney, looked at all home construction in town for the past eight years and at Palm Beach’s rules to develop the sliding scale.
Projects up to 3,999 square feet must finish in 16 months; those 6,000 to 10,000 square feet will get 24 months. Anything larger will get 30 months.
“In all the projects dating back to 2011 only one dragged on significantly longer than the proposed schedule. There were, I think, three or four that were one month over,” Nazzaro said.
Extra time can be granted by the Town Commission “for good cause.” Commissioners have the option to impose a fee for additional days, perhaps 10 cents a square foot, Nazzaro said.
Commissioner Paul Lyons wanted to make sure homeowners and contractors received a schedule of fees. “A lot of people get instructions more clearly if they understand the consequences of failure,” he said.
Commissioners also had a lively discussion on a separate proposal to limit time between demolition of a house and the commencement of rebuilding. Nazzaro suggested 30 days, but Vice Mayor Tom Stanley said 90 days was more realistic.
And Commissioner Joan Orthwein said it might be time to shorten the winter ban on construction from six months to five.
Commissioners will review a revised proposal in March.
In other business on Feb. 8:
• Police Chief Edward Allen introduced the town’s newest police officer, Allen O’Neal, who comes to Gulf Stream after five years in Manalapan and 26 years in Riviera Beach.
“We look forward to seeing you around town,” Mayor Scott Morgan said. “It’s a small town and we get to know our police officers.”
• Commissioners agreed to reduce a $200,000 lien on a house at 2900 Avenue Au Soleil to $20,000. The lien started accruing in November 2006 for code violations; property owner Anthony Turner died the following August. His estate, which disputed the validity of the lien, was unable to sell the property with the $200,000 cloud over it, commissioners were told.
As part of the settlement, the estate promised to make the property comply with code within six months.

Richard Granara takes the oath of office after his appointment to the Manalapan Town Commission. He will serve the year remaining on the term of Monica Oberting, who moved away from town. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

By Dan Moffett

Manalapan commissioners are exploring the possibility of buying the vacant BB&T Bank building at the northeast corner of Plaza del Mar as a new home for the town’s expanded Police Department.
Town Manager Linda Stumpf told the commission during its Feb. 26 meeting that the property, covering roughly two-thirds of an acre, went on the market for about $1.6 million after the branch closed and BB&T merged with SunTrust Banks, Inc.
Commissioners unanimously agreed to seek two appraisals for the property to consider whether negotiating a deal makes sense.
“I’m interested at the right price,” Vice Mayor Peter Isaac said.
A service station stood on the site decades ago, raising the possibility that old gasoline tanks or other environmental problems may be lurking beneath.
The two appraisals are a first step, Town Attorney Keith Davis said, and then commissioners can seek more information as part of due diligence if they decide to proceed with negotiations.
Manalapan expanded its Police Department from eight full-time officers to 12 last year as part of a response to a series of auto thefts. The department also moved its dispatch center from the guard shack on Point Manalapan to Town Hall. A move to the bank site could help provide the space to relieve the department’s growing pains, officials said.
Stumpf said she hoped to have the appraisals for the commission’s review within weeks.
In other business:
• Palm Beach developer Jeff Greene wants to flip the housing pattern on State Road A1A at Manalapan’s southern entrance.
Greene owns the three lots that are adjacent to Boynton Beach Inlet and divided by the road, with a house on the west side of the thoroughfare. He wants to build three new homes on the eastern, oceanfront side of the properties and use the western lots for docks, decks and cabanas.
Greene’s attorney, Ken Kaleel, said the change is logical because “the land mass is greater to the east than to the west.”
A zoning change would affect only seven lots in the town, Kaleel said, and the other owners in the small zone support the move. He said the plan would enhance the “arrival view” when people enter the town from the south.
The commission voted 4-1 to refer the proposal to the town’s Zoning Commission for review. Commissioner Jack Doyle voted against the referral, arguing that new construction on the east side needs sea walls, which the state no longer permits.
“We’re supposed to be forward looking,” Doyle said. “I’m talking about a future disaster here.”
Mayor Keith Waters said even if the town decides to change its code, Greene’s plan would still need state approval to go forward, which could take many months.
“This is a marathon,” Waters said. “It’s not going to happen in one or two meetings, I promise you.”
• Commissioners unanimously approved the appointment of Richard Granara to serve out the year remaining on Monica Oberting’s commission seat, which represents the Point. Oberting, who joined the commission in 2017, sold her home and moved out of Manalapan recently.
Waters said Granara has a background in real estate and construction, “a great deal of experience” that will help the commission. Granara has served on the town’s Zoning Commission for four years.
It was the last commission meeting for Isaac, who after six years on the panel became the first elected official in the town’s history to be ousted because of the term limits voters approved in 2013.
Isaac will be replaced this month by Stewart Satter, who qualified for the at-large seat in the March 12 election and was unopposed.

By Steve Plunkett

A federal lawsuit filed against Boca Raton has coastal communities scurrying to update their websites before they too wind up in court.
Juan Carlos Gil, a legally blind resident of Miami who has sued roughly 200 governments, stores and restaurants over access to information on the internet, added Boca Raton to his list of defendants Jan. 7.
Gil went to myboca.us in September to educate himself “on the quality of life and governmental functioning” in Boca Raton, his suit said. He quickly realized that PDFs on the website did not interface with “screen reader software” that visually impaired people use.
That’s a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Gil said.
“This exclusion resulted in plaintiff suffering from feelings of segregation, rejection and isolation as plaintiff was left excluded from participating in the community programs, services and activities offered by the city of Boca Raton in a manner equal to that afforded to others who are not similarly disabled,” the suit said.
Boca Raton posted a notice online Feb. 15 saying that it is reviewing its website to make sure documents, forms and information meet accessibility standards.
“During this renovation period, we will be assessing the content on the site, removing documents that are not compliant, and removing links to some external sites and resources,” the notice said. “Many of these documents will be remediated and reposted as staff and resources are available to update documents.”
One of the first apparent changes was to the online City Council agendas. Those for the Feb. 25 and 26 meetings had no links to PDFs of the backup information on various items. Backup material was linked to the Feb. 11 and 12 meetings.
Boca Raton is hardly alone in trying to cope with how it gets information distributed over the web. Gulf Stream, which became the poster child for municipalities facing lawsuits over public records starting in 2013, spent $1,800 in January to make its website more ADA-compliant after hearing about the Boca Raton lawsuit.
Changes included boosting the contrast on webpages to ensure their compatibility with digital readers.
“We feel like we’ve made a very good-faith effort to be ADA-compliant,” said town finance officer Rebecca Tew, who heard about Boca Raton’s lawsuit at the January meeting of the local chapter of the Florida Government Finance Officers Association.
Tew and Gulf Stream’s executive assistant, Renee Rowan Basel, also signed up for three days of website training in April.
Meanwhile, the Greater Boca Raton Beach & Park District was finishing a $42,000 upgrade of its webpages.
Chrissy Gibson, Boca Raton’s chief spokeswoman, said the city was preparing a request for bids to see how much it will cost to update web documents. Converting just the 326-page city budget for 2018 cost $2,000, she said. Gil’s lawsuit seeks screen-reader versions of the budgets for 2017, 2016 and 2015 “and all City Commission agendas and backup for 2018, 2017 and 2016,” as well as “the many other documents” online.
Boca Raton has also hired the Florida Institute of Government at Florida Atlantic University to train city staff on how to create ADA-compatible documents.
How long it will take to convert the old PDFs has not been determined. In the meantime, “I’d be happy to meet with someone and read a document to them,” Gibson said.
Gibson and Tew both said no resident has ever complained to them about website accessibility.
Gil’s lawsuit against Winn-Dixie stores in 2017, which resulted in the grocery chain’s paying almost $109,000 for Gil’s attorney fees and costs, opened the floodgates on ADA website complaints.
The number of ADA web lawsuits filed in federal courts nationwide jumped from fewer than 200 in 2016 to almost 1,200 last year, according to the Florida League of Cities. Florida is the second-most sued state.
Gil settled an ADA lawsuit with the Palm Beach County Clerk and Comptroller’s Office in September for $9,500, The Palm Beach Post reported.
In June the Palm Beach County Commission paid $15,000 to settle litigation with Eddie Sierra, a deaf Miami man who has filed more than 30 ADA lawsuits demanding that online government videos include closed-captioning, The Post said. The same month the Palm Beach County School Board settled a suit with Sierra for $15,000. Boca Raton in August paid Sierra $11,000 for his attorney fees, it said.
Elsewhere, Delray Beach took minutes, agendas and videos offline in October while it revamped its website. A new website, delraybeachfl.gov, went live in January.
Since December, Delray Beach streams only its City Commission regular meetings and Community Redevelopment Agency workshop and regular meetings. Meeting videos with captions are posted later.
In January, commissioners asked that their workshops be streamed. Previously, the city streamed all commission, CRA and advisory board meetings.
Boynton Beach does not stream its meetings but uploads videos to YouTube, which provides closed-captions.
Lantana no longer puts recordings of its meetings online because of ADA concerns.
Highland Beach briefly stopped streaming meetings last summer, then hired sign-language interpreters to help hearing-impaired website visitors.

Jane Smith and Mary Thurwachter contributed to this story.

By Jane Smith

When Javaro Sims becomes Delray Beach police chief in May, he will be the city’s first black police chief.
City Manager Mark Lauzier announced his decision at the Feb. 12 City Commission workshop where fellow officers packed the first three rows of the chambers.
“After an in-depth process in which Sims and Assistant Chief Maria Olsen tried out for the police chief’s job, I offered the job to Sims,” Lauzier said. “He has the support of the department, the command staff and the community.”
According to the latest census estimates, minorities accounted for 37.9 percent of the population in Delray Beach, 36.5 percent in Boynton Beach and 25 percent in Palm Beach County. Boynton Beach also recently named a black police chief.
In January, Lauzier set up a special phone line for residents and city employees to provide input on the police chief selection. He said he would take the calls and listen to the voicemails.
The current chief, Jeff Goldman, became acting assistant city manager in August, allowing for Olsen and Sims to spend some time in the chief’s chair. Goldman returned to the chief’s position on Feb. 11. He will retire in May and then Sims will become chief.
Lauzier said he was impressed with Sims’ “one-community philosophy” that states when one neighborhood is hurting, the whole city is affected.
Deputy Vice Mayor Shirley Johnson, who lives in the Northwest neighborhood, was pleased that the announcement came during Black History Month.
Sims, 58, was hired by the department in 1992 after spending four years as a teacher. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Florida A&M University and a master’s in criminal justice from Lynn University.
As Sims rose through the ranks in the Police Department, he supervised the Community Policing Unit, the Street-level Narcotics Unit, the West Atlantic Avenue Task Force, the Community Response Division, the Criminal Investigations Division, the Support Services Division, the Community Patrol Division and, as assistant chief, the Special Services Bureau.
He graduated from the FBI National Academy in June 2014.
Olsen, 55, was hired by the department in 2014, following her retirement after 32 years with the West Palm Beach Police Department.
She will remain assistant police chief in Delray Beach.

By Dan Moffett

Several dozen condo residents from southern Ocean Ridge jammed Town Hall on Feb. 4 to make their case to the Town Commission for an A1A crosswalk.
They pretty much had the commissioners at hello.
Town Manager Jamie Titcomb told the group that the commission has intended to appeal to the state Department of Transportation for a crosswalk since debating the matter during last summer’s budget workshops.
Titcomb said commissioners decided to wait until peak tourist season to seek a required traffic study, however, so that state officials would see the strongest evidence of the need for a safe way to cross what has become an increasingly busy road.
With minimal discussion, the commission voted 5-0 to spend about $5,000 on the engineering study needed to make the crosswalk request to FDOT, which owns A1A and must approve all changes to it.
“Something for you to consider is that, under DOT standards, we can’t just build a crosswalk to nowhere,” Titcomb said.
Commissioners will have to decide on a location that allows public access on both sides of the road. A possible spot could be along the Crown Colony Club development, roughly across from Fayette Drive.
Several Crown Colony residents spoke in support of the plan.
“What we’re waiting for is an accident to happen,” said Sal Masarof, who said crossing the road has gotten more dangerous over the years — especially for disabled residents — with increasing traffic levels.
Results of the traffic study should be available in weeks, but it likely will take months before the town hears definitively from the state.
In other business:
• During a special meeting on Jan. 30, commissioners approved appointing Town Clerk Tracey Stevens as acting town manager, beginning March 18, when Titcomb is resigning to manage Loxahatchee Groves.
The vote was 4-0 to give Stevens the job for a 180-day period. Mayor Steve Coz was absent and did not vote because he was called as a witness in the trial of former Vice Mayor Richard Lucibella.
“I appreciate your confidence,” Stevens said, “and I’m excited about the opportunity.”
Police Chief Hal Hutchins also had sought the interim manager’s job, and commissioners considered splitting duties between him and Stevens. But ultimately they chose the clerk, who joined the Ocean Ridge staff three years ago after holding similar positions in Melbourne Beach and several municipalities in Maine.
The commission has unanimously approved the hiring of Kathie Gatewood as assistant clerk/administrative assistant to bolster the town staff. Gatewood has a background in retail management and a bachelor’s degree from Hodges University in Naples.
Coz said he supported selecting Stevens, saying she has done a “fabulous job” as clerk and her familiarity with the town was an important asset. He said after Stevens’ six-month period as acting manager, “We’ll take an evaluation of the situation.”
Loxahatchee Groves, an upstart municipality in western Palm Beach County, has a relationship with Titcomb that goes back 13 years to when he helped guide the community through the incorporation process.
• The Florida Department of Environmental Protection has awarded a $72,000 grant to an alliance of Palm Beach County coastal communities that is studying the potential effects of sea level rise.
Representatives of the communities have been meeting for months to discuss ways to prepare for looming environmental changes. Vice Mayor Don MaGruder has represented Ocean Ridge in the group, which also includes Boca Raton, Boynton Beach, Delray Beach, Highland Beach, Lake Worth and Lantana.
The state grant will help the participants assess vulnerabilities in infrastructure, study the barrier islands, collect data and promote public awareness about sea rise.

By Dan Moffett

Three commission candidates in Ocean Ridge found a lot of common ground when they squared off against each other during an hourlong election forum, sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Palm Beach County on Feb. 7.
They all opposed sober homes, supermajority approval requirements and raising taxes. They all supported term limits, a proactive approach to sea rise and maintaining Ocean Ridge’s special quality of life.
An area of potential disagreement surfaced concerning how to deal with street flooding and the impact of rising seas. Political newcomers Susan Hurlburt and John Lipscomb say they are open to the idea of raising street levels, if engineers endorse it. But Steve Coz, the incumbent mayor, is soundly opposed.
“I just don’t see how that works practically,” Coz said. “It’s just not a solution.”
Coz said raising the level of some roads will mean residents hit a hump as they exit their driveways. He said the town recently changed its building rules and now requires new construction projects to start 18 inches higher.
“If we’re raising home elevations 18 inches,” Coz said, “imagine going through town and raising roads 18 inches.”
Coz said the town has completed drainage improvements for some neighborhoods, in particular Inlet Cay, and residents are “extremely happy” with the results. The work included repairs and maintenance to stormwater lines.
Hurlburt, for years a historic preservation advocate in Delray Beach, said that besides following the guidance of engineers, the town should pay attention to what other cities are doing and learning about rising seas.
“Miami and the Keys are putting big money into studies looking for different ways to address this situation,” she said. The message for Ocean Ridge: “It’s coming and it’s better to be proactive.”
Lipscomb, an entrepreneur and real estate agent originally from St. Louis, said there is no time like the present for infrastructure improvements. “It’s cheaper to do it now than to do it later,” he said.
Lipscomb said the town will have to deal with the long-term prospect of eliminating septic tanks and connecting with the Boynton Beach sewer system. He said it likely would make sense to “raise the roads and raise the sidewalks” while overhauling the sewers.
Lipscomb broke with his rivals by saying he could support spending public money to help condo associations upgrade their sewer systems. Coz and Hurlburt are against the idea, saying taxpayer dollars shouldn’t go to private entities.
All three support the proposed charter amendment on the ballot that would impose term limits on town commissioners. Hurlburt said the limits “are like a double-edge sword” in that, while they advance wider participation, they also may push qualified officials out of office.
Coz said the proposed amendment strikes the right balance because it puts a three-term limit on commissioners but allows them to run again after sitting out a year.
All three candidates oppose requiring a supermajority vote of four commissioners to approve high-density construction projects. The idea came up during last year’s charter review but commissioners voted it down.
“I’ve never understood the supermajority argument,” Lipscomb said.
The commission has to be “ahead of the game,” Hurlburt said, “and you don’t need a supermajority to do that.” Coz argued that a supermajority rule would give too much power to a minority of two commissioners.
Two seats will be contested in the March 12 election. The top vote-getter will serve until 2022, and the second-highest will finish the year left on the term of former Mayor Jim Bonfiglio, who resigned last year and unsuccessfully ran for the state Legislature.

By Dan Moffett

Besides filling two commission seats in the March 12 municipal election, Ocean Ridge voters will have to decide the fate of four proposed amendments to the town’s charter, the document that dictates government rules and procedures.
Probably the most contentious proposal contains a provision that imposes term limits on commissioners. If it’s approved, a commissioner would be restricted to three consecutive three-year terms, and then be required to sit out a year before running for the commission again.
Another proposed amendment governs the power of the town manager. The manager would have the authority to hire and fire employees without commission approval — except for the police chief position, over which commissioners would retain control. The proposal also removes the requirement that suspended police officers receive hearings.
The rules for selecting a mayor and vice mayor and filling commission vacancies under certain circumstances are addressed in another proposal. The amendment would also require a minimum 12 hours’ notice for special meetings.
A fourth amendment deals with housekeeping issues throughout the charter, cleaning up spelling errors and removing language that is no longer relevant.
The proposals are the result of months of deliberation last year by the town’s charter review committee, chaired by former Commissioner Zoanne Hennigan. Other committee members were former Mayors Geoff Pugh and Ken Kaleel, former Commissioner Terry Brown and Polly Joa.

Official Ballot Language
Town of Ocean Ridge
Charter Amendment Questions

QUESTION 1: Shall Ocean Ridge amend its Charter to address various housekeeping and administrative issues relating to qualifying periods, forfeiture of office, commencement date of Commission terms, date of Election, qualification of electors, form of ballots and correcting spelling errors?

QUESTION 2: Shall Ocean Ridge amend its Charter to clarify Town Managers are not required to be residents; modify the votes required to appoint, remove or compensate Town Managers; provide the Town Manager with authority to hire and remove employees, without confirmation or appeal by or to the Commission, but requiring Commission approval for termination of the Police Chief, and delete the requirement that a suspended Police employee is entitled to a Town Manager hearing

QUESTION 3: Shall Ocean Ridge amend its Charter to modify the selection of Mayor and Vice-Mayor; to modify Commission vacancies, forfeiture of office, the filling of vacancies and to add a provision on suspension from office; to increase Special Meeting minimum notice requirements; and to provide that three affirmative votes, by the Commission, are required for any approval?

QUESTION 4: Shall Ocean Ridge amend its Charter to provide that a Commissioner may not serve more than three consecutive terms, of three years each, unless there is, at a minimum, a period of one year at the end of a term in which the person does not serve as a Commissioner?