In between the National Hurricane Center’s every-three-hour updates, I grew anxious thinking what it would mean for our area to have the eye wall of a Category 4 or 5 Hurricane Irma blow directly up the I-95 corridor.
    “If the eye passes east of the lake, we leave. If it goes west, we stay.”
    That was the thin piece of logic I held to as we rushed through storm preparations. My husband was determined to stay regardless of the path. He’d laid the groundwork for survival — over the years we’ve hardened our 1950s-era house with a new roof, impact glass and accordion shutters. As a career photojournalist, he’d seen the aftermath of tornadoes and hurricanes, and he refused to get stuck in evacuation traffic jams. Plus, he had a generator and a chainsaw. He didn’t plan to bolt.
    I was the worrier. I had visions of our life forever altered by the storm.
    When you own a business and a Category 5 hurricane is heading in your direction, you tend to pace the floors and think through myriad scenarios of what could force you to wrap up loose ends, lock the doors and move on. Sadly, for many small-business owners across Texas, Florida and the Caribbean those nightmare scenarios are happening now. We are grateful to have avoided the life-changing situations so many others are now facing.
    We were lucky. Once our staff regained power and internet access, we were able to get back to business. Thankfully, so were our partners — our advertisers. We are grateful the residents and businesses in our slice of paradise survived with little more than power loss and tree damage.
    Will I stay on the island the next time a hurricane heads our way? I can’t say for sure, but I learned it will take a lot more than Irma to keep us from publishing a newspaper.
    And it will take more than a frivolous lawsuit from a prominent developer to keep us from reporting on stories in our community. A week prior to Irma’s arrival we received notice that Hudson Holdings LLC and Steven Michael had filed a $60 million libel suit against our publication.
    We were stunned. After the storm passed, our attorney talked with their attorney and we then had a reporter contact this same attorney for comment.
    The following week the case was dismissed without explanation.
    This was unexpected, but not a surprise. We stand by our reporting and believe the suit was nothing more than an attempt to intimidate and harass our publication.  

     In today’s world, litigation has become a standard tool of intimidation, and a yoke of so-called “fake news’’ has been placed around the necks of all news organizations no matter how small. This increases our commitment to getting the facts right and maintaining the trust of our community.  
    As professional journalists we work hard to lay the groundwork for survival each and every time we go to press. That’s our responsibility. We don’t plan to bolt.

— Mary Kate Leming, Editor

By Ron Hayes

    Hurricane Irma spared Palm Beach County the worst it could do, and the county’s sea turtle nests seem to have been spared its worst as well.
    “In general, the beach was in better shape than we expected,” said Kirt Rusenko, the marine conservationist at Gumbo Limbo Nature Center who monitors nesting turtles along Boca Raton’s coast.
    “We lost about 80 nests and 96 nests survived the storm and are still on the beach,” he said. “Pretty decent, considering past storms. Right now we’re monitoring the remaining nests, which so far are hatching out right on schedule.”
    As of the week after the storm, Rusenko had counted 1,071 nests on Boca beaches — 767 loggerhead nests, 299 green turtle nests and five leatherback nests.
    “There was about 2 feet of sand blown into the dunes, which helps the dunes a lot. Not a whole lot of erosion.” Rusenko said.
    In the full 2016 season, from March 1 to Oct. 31, a total of 767 nests was counted in the same 5-mile stretch, from Highland Beach south to the Broward County line.
    In Ocean Ridge, the county’s Environmental Resources Management department tallied 582 as of late September — 492 loggerheads, 88 greens and two leatherbacks. The total count last year was 637, according to Kelly Martin, the department’s environmental analyst.
    Jackie Kingston, who holds a permit to monitor nesting on the 3-mile stretch from Pelican Lane in Delray Beach to Adams Road in Ocean Ridge, estimated that her team of volunteers has counted more than 700 loggerhead nests this season, more than 500 green turtle nests and five leatherback nests. If that number holds, Kingston said, it would mark a 10-year high. When Irma arrived, about 300 nests were on her stretch of beach, Kingston said, but though the storm destroyed about 100 of those nests, the rest were still healthy.
    The total number of turtle nests in the county won’t be released by the state Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission until early November. During the 2016 season, 35,851 nests were tallied along the county’s coast — 33,892 loggerhead nests, 1,582 greens and 377 leatherback, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission report.

By Jane Smith
    
    If you aren’t drinking the water, don’t use it.
    Delray Beach utilities officials sent that command via email, social media and its CodeRed app about 10:20 p.m. on Sept. 10. Banned uses included bathing, toilet flushing and dish washing.
    Hurricane Irma’s winds were still lashing Delray Beach, toppling trees that brought down 140 power lines. The city lost power at 70 percent of its 129 sewage pumping stations. It had portable generators for only 30 stations.
    Most of Delray’s water customers also lost power. Less than half of its residents had signed on for alerts from CodeRed, an emergency application that works on smartphones.
    As a result, the sewage flows remained the same, said Neal deJesus, interim city manager. He spoke at a special City Commission meeting Sept. 13 to update commissioners on Irma’s damage.
    He called the lift station problem “the Achilles’ heel” of the storm.
    “Staff did an incredible job moving the generators from station to station,” deJesus said. “Even though the public was asked to please conserve, that didn’t work. Each pump station is at near normal use for this time of year.”
    He approved an emergency purchase of 20 generators for $2.2 million. “When the power comes up, no one wants to give up their generators,” deJesus said.
    Commissioners said the city needs a better way of communicating with its residents and business owners during emergency situations. They’ll devote part of the regularly scheduled Oct. 10 workshop to that discussion.
    That might be a notice in water bills asking customers to sign up for CodeRed alerts, Commissioner Shelly Petrolia said at the Sept. 13 meeting. She and fellow commissioners thanked the staff for working so hard to avoid a public health emergency.
    At the meeting, Petrolia asked why the problem had not happened in the past.
    “We had major power outages with this storm,” deJesus said. “The downed power lines were not just between the poles, but between the transformers.”
    By the special meeting on the Wednesday of the week after Irma, city officials had changed their message from a command to a request for water conservation.
    Although notifying water customers was not required, it was called “prudent to alert water users of a potential problem,” said Tim O’Connor, spokesman for the Florida Department of Health in Palm Beach County.

In Boca and Boynton
    The cities of Boynton Beach and Boca Raton also lost power at their sewage pumping stations, a typical situation during tropical storms and hurricanes.
    “Prior to the storm we asked residents to conserve water by limiting use and flushing and to turn off irrigation systems,” said Chrissy Gibson, Boca Raton spokeswoman.
    The city has approximately 300 lift stations and lost power to 80 percent of them during the storm, Gibson said.
    Boca Raton staff worked around the clock to move the various generators and rotate them, she said. “We had enough to keep the system running, even with 80 percent out of power,” she said.
    In Boynton Beach, the city lost power to about 70 percent of its sewage pumping stations, said Colin Groff, assistant city manager and former utilities director.
    But unlike Delray Beach, Boynton Beach didn’t ask its water customers to restrict water consumption. The city uses a combination of fixed, portable and diesel generators as backup power, Groff said.
    During Irma, the city had two or three spills of between 10 to 15 gallons of sewage each, Groff said, when Irma’s winds were high and it was not safe for workers to be outside. The city reported them to the state Department of Environmental Protection, but they did not appear in the database. “It might not have met their threshold,” he said.
    Under rules that went into effect in July, utility operators are required to report sewage spills less than 1,000 gallons to the DEP or health department within 24 hours, according to Jill Margolius, local DEP spokeswoman.
    Spills over 1,000 gallons, which may threaten the environment or public health, must be reported immediately to a 24-hour hotline.
    As of Sept. 14, 22 of Florida’s 67 counties reported sewage spills, a combined total of 28 million gallons of treated and raw sewage, according to the DEP database. The amount is likely higher because some reports did not contain amounts.
    The same day, Delray Beach reported less than 1,000 gallons of sewage had bubbled up from a storm drain in the Rainberry Bay community near Congress Avenue and Lake Ida Road, according to the DEP database.
    All Delray Beach water users were supposed to follow the restrictions, deJesus said.

Restaurants opened
    Caffe Luna Rosa reopened its oceanside restaurant Sept. 11, the same day Irma winds diminished in Delray Beach.
    For the next three days, the eatery served a limited menu, used generators to power the coolers, didn’t serve water, cooked on a gas stove and used disposable plates and cups, said Fran Marincola, co-owner of the restaurant.
    Mixed drinks do not need water, he said.
    The following day, Sept. 12, more restaurants opened in Delray Beach, including Subculture Coffee Roasters.
    “We didn’t know about the water use restrictions,” said Jenniffer Woo, food manager. “We were never contacted.”
    “We are all about conserving water so we would have been happy to comply,” she said.

By Jane Smith
    
    Hurricane Irma’s winds delayed the beach promenade construction in Delray Beach by at least two weeks, according to the project manager. The new expected completion is by Thanksgiving.
    The contractor removed construction equipment from the promenade just after Labor Day to prepare for Irma. Work resumed Sept. 18, said Missie Barletto, project manager.
    About half of the newly planted shade trees and coconut palms toppled, she said. Many were replanted; others that couldn’t be saved will be replaced.
Delray’s beach promenade work is now concentrating on the north end, Barletto said.
    For safety reasons, the city asks residents and visitors to enter the beach at the designated entrances: across from the Sandoway parking lot on the south end, at the main pavilion at Atlantic Avenue and at the Thomas Street entrance on the north end.
The $3.1 million project includes solar-powered smart meters, a tricolored sidewalk, new benches, showers, water fountains, bike and surfboard racks, and trash containers.
    In addition, the city’s parks department purchased mobility mats that sit atop the sand to help wheelchair users access the beach, Barletto said. One set will be placed near the main pavilion at Atlantic Avenue. The mats roll down to the water line, allowing wheelchair users to enjoy the beach. Boca Raton purchased the mobility mats in 2015 for two of its city beaches.
    The city has added a third Downtown Trolley route for those choosing to park in the city garages. For questions about parking during the construction, call Jorge Alarcon at 243-7000, Ext. 4112.

Eugene and Maureen Garrett found refuge and a card game at the Highland Beach Library. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Ron Hayes

    In the days after Hurricane Irma left air conditioners silent, reading lamps dark and cellphones feeble, refugees from sweltering homes found comfort in secular sanctuaries some had never visited before.
    Our public libraries.
    They came for books to pass the time, and a light to read them by. They came for the gloriously cooled air, electrical outlets to fortify their phones, Wi-Fi to touch the outside world. And they came for more unusual reasons, too.
    “We had one lady come in this morning to blow-dry her hair in the restroom,” Lois Albertson, director of the Highland Beach Public Library, said on the Thursday after the storm.
    Not far away, Eugene and Maureen Garrett sat in the sunny reading area, but they were not reading. They were playing yet another round of 500 Rummy.
    “My husband’s winning because I’m so tired I’m making mistakes,” Maureen Garrett said, and then she smiled. “But it’s cool here. It’s great.”
    The power died in the Garretts’ Bel Lido Isle home about 6 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 10. Now it’s 3 p.m. Thursday. With the storm approaching the previous Friday night, the couple had abandoned Highland Beach for a Hilton Garden Inn on Congress Avenue and stayed until Sunday, when the power died there, too.
    “So we came home,” Mrs. Garrett said. “No sense paying for a hotel room when they don’t have power, either. Now we just ride around all day and stop at restaurants.”
    Wednesday they drove down to Coral Springs in search of another hotel with power, but couldn’t find one. Thursday morning they charged their phone at Another Broken Egg Cafe over breakfast, drove around some more, and then had lunch at Renzo’s Cafe in Boca Raton. Now they’ve been playing 500 Rummy — for the past two hours.
    “We also brought Scrabble and snacks,” she added, “nuts and raisins. But I’m just exhausted.”
    Across from the checkout desk, a large cooler of Nestle’s bottled water waited, courtesy of the Police Department and free for the taking.
    Free water was a big attraction at the Boynton Beach City Library, too.
    “When we opened on Tuesday, it was like a mad rush to get in and fill up water bottles at our fountain,” said Karen Abramson, the library’s administrative assistant. “Little empty plastic bottles and jugs and a line at the fountain between the men’s and ladies’ rooms. We opened at 9 a.m., and they were waiting outside the door.”
    All week long, all the teen and children’s computers were taken, Abramson said, and so were all the charging stations.
    “And you should see our DVD collection,” she added. “It’s almost gone. People borrowed everything before the storm.”
    Librarians printed out coloring pages, brought out toys for the children and games for the teens, and that morning all the chairs were filled.
    “A supervisor from another library came by and used our facilities,” Abramson confided proudly, but wouldn’t name names.
    A week after the hurricane, the parking lot of the Delray Beach Public Library became a makeshift dining room as community organizations served hot meals and water to hundreds still recovering from the storm. The event was the culmination of a week in which librarians saw many unfamiliar faces.
    “We’ve had people here this week who’ve never been in the library before,” Director Karen Ronald reported. “Some hadn’t spoken to family since the storm. Hopefully they’ll become regular users.”
    Upstairs, the library’s 40 computers were almost always in use, said reference librarian Alyson Walzer, usually with people trying to connect with family. And downstairs the circulation desk was bathed in gratitude.
    “I’ve had about 50 people thanking us for being open,” said library assistant Jane Weiss. “That makes us feel good, because we’re hot and tired, too.”
    Flipping through magazines were Lisha Sutton and her grandmother Mattie Brown, a lifelong resident who was 10 when the infamous 1928 hurricane struck Belle Glade.
    “I love it here!” Brown gushed. “I love it! I love it! It’s nice and cool in here. My home is like a heater.”
    Not far away, Christina Wood worked on her laptop. A freelance writer and editor, she had brought her work to the library for the past two days.
    “I’m working,” she said. “I downloaded about 500 emails today. Most of it’s spam, but still. I’m in and out of here regularly, and I’ll be here every day until my power comes back.”
    She shrugged. “Where else am I going to go?”

By Noreen Marcus

    A developer sued The Coastal Star alleging libel and then abruptly dropped the lawsuit a month later.
    The suit filed Aug. 30 in Palm Beach Circuit Court by Hudson Holdings and its principal Steven Michael claimed the newspaper defamed both of them through a false connection to criminal activity. Editor Mary Kate Leming and reporter Jane Smith were named as individual defendants.
    The suit seeking $40 million in actual damages and $20 million in punitive damages was assigned to Judge David French.
    Developer Michael wants to build a 4.4-acre, mixed-use project at Swinton and Atlantic avenues, at the south end of the Old School Square Historic Arts District in Delray Beach.
    The project, known as Midtown Delray Beach, is on hold. The city’s Historic Preservation Board rejected the developer’s site plan and Hudson submitted a revised plan on Sept. 6.
    On Sept. 28, Michael’s lawyer Scott Weires filed a two-paragraph “notice of voluntary dismissal” that doesn’t give a reason for dropping the lawsuit.
    Reached the next day, Michael said, “We just wanted to have accurate reporting and we’re not interested in being in any litigation with the newspaper or anybody. We just wanted honest reporting and we hope in the future that’s what will happen.”
    Robert Rivas, attorney for The Coastal Star, denied that his client published false information. He had planned to file a complaint that Michael’s lawsuit violated Florida’s anti-SLAPP law. An illegal “strategic lawsuit against public participation” — or SLAPP suit — is one that aims to silence critics engaged in a democratic process.
    “Hudson Holdings is trying to intimidate and frighten the opposition,” said Rivas, of Sachs Sax Caplan in Tallahassee, before the suit was withdrawn. “The Coastal Star story was accurate and did not link Hudson Holdings to any criminal activity.”
    The crux of the dispute was an August Coastal Star story about Michael’s proposed Midtown project. In addition to reporting on the project’s status, the story included background on Midtown and another Michael project, the Gulfstream Hotel in Lake Worth.
    Under the sub-headline “Midtown ensnared in sober home action,” the story stated that “Midtown became entangled with the Palm Beach County State Attorney’s Office’s Sober Homes Task Force” last fall. It says that brothers Bryan and Patrick Norquist “were arrested on patient-brokering charges” and states that two addresses were listed on the arrest document — “20 S. Swinton Ave., the headquarters for Hudson Holdings, and 48 SE First Ave.”
    The story also had Michael’s response: “Michael said he knew about the sober home on Southeast First Avenue, but denied that any recovery operation was run out of the Hudson Holdings headquarters. He also said he’s losing rental income since the sober home on Southeast First Avenue was forced to close.”
    Michael’s attorney Weires, of Murdoch Weires & Neuman in Boca Raton, disputed Rivas’s SLAPP suit characterization.
    “The main claim is about the association of a developer of a project in Delray Beach and criminal activity in the area,” he said days before dropping the lawsuit. “I can’t imagine why they would be reporting on criminal activity within the same story about a developer’s efforts to gain approval for a beneficial project.”
    The complaint stated that the Delray Beach Preservation Trust is trying to block the Midtown project by winning a National Register of Historic Places designation for the district that includes the project site. The “frustrated” trust enlisted the media “to influence public opinion against Hudson and its Midtown project,” according to the complaint.
    Rivas said Michael couldn’t sue the trust directly so he sued the newspaper, apparently thinking, “Here’s somebody we can SLAPP and the existence of this lawsuit will intimidate everybody.”
    JoAnn Peart, president of the trust, said she doesn’t know enough about the law to comment on whether Michael filed a SLAPP suit. “But I hope that they are not just trying to intimidate preservation groups and the media from covering our point of view because they have certainly used local media almost as advertising for their project.
    “I think The Coastal Star was acting responsibly in printing all the information about the history of Hudson Holdings because it’s asking for waivers and variances and being allowed to do things you’re not normally allowed to do in historic districts,” Peart said. “It’s important that the public be aware of this.”

By Jane Smith

    The Community Redevelopment Agency board members agreed in late September to purchase the 91-year-old Boynton Woman’s Club building even after hearing the inspection results: The building has termites and needs a new roof.
    The $110,000 sales price is a good deal for the agency, whose board members also sit as Boynton Beach city commissioners. The agency staff had the historic building appraised in May, when it was valued at $2.4 million.
    “There are no major surprises,” said Michael Simon, executive director of the agency. The board agreed to purchase the building in an “as is” condition, with $200,000 for the needed maintenance available in the current financial year budget.
    The club will use the money to continue its 40-year-old scholarship program for high school seniors.
    The building was designed by famed architect Addison Mizner.
    In 1925, Boynton Woman’s Club members had used $35,000 from Maj. Nathan Boynton’s heirs to construct the two-story building with hardwood floors, French windows and doors and curved arches. The next year, the structure opened and serves as an example of the Mediterranean Revival style of architecture with original wrought iron work.
    The 16,262-square-foot building is on the National Register of Historic Places and the city’s register of historic places.

By Jane Smith
    
    Medical marijuana dispensaries are banned from opening in the city limits, Delray Beach city commissioners decided at the end of September.
    Acknowledging Florida voters who overwhelmingly approved the state ballot question on medical marijuana last November, Commissioner Mitch Katz persuaded his fellow commissioners to revisit the decision in one year. They unanimously agreed.
    A majority of Delray Beach voters also voted in favor of medical marijuana sales.
    State legislators tied the city’s hands when they said local governments could regulate the dispensaries with only the same rules placed on pharmacies, City Attorney Max Lohman said. That means no limits on the number or where they can operate.
    Marijuana sales are still illegal on the federal level, making all dispensary sales cash-based, he said. “They can’t accept credit or debit cards,” he said. Lohman also pointed out issues with the unregulated dosage strength of medical marijuana.
    The city’s two public safety chiefs spoke out against the dispensaries when asked their opinion by the mayor.
    “They harden the buildings to avoid robberies, which makes it harder for us to enter,” Police Chief Jeff Goldman said. “It adds another issue to our being able to protect the public.”
    Acting Fire Chief Keith Tomey said the dispensaries would likely lead to an increase in calls for fire-rescue staff.
    “We are the poster child for irresponsible prescribing of opioids,” Mayor Cary Glickstein said. “Will there be irresponsible prescribing of medical marijuana?”
    Delray Beach staff will watch to see how nearby cities of Boynton Beach and Lake Worth handle the dispensaries, along with the county.
    Boynton Beach tried to regulate the location of the dispensaries before the state Legislature determined its rules in June. Then, in August, the City Commission on a 3-2 vote decided not to ban the dispensaries.
    Lake Worth did not try to regulate the dispensaries, and two have plans to open there along Dixie Highway.
    Boca Raton in late September tentatively passed an ordinance that permanently bans medical marijuana dispensaries from operating in the city.         

    The tentative ban passed just weeks before a yearlong moratorium on medical marijuana treatment centers and dispensing organizations expires in November. The moratorium was instituted in November 2016 for the second time in two years so City Council members could review related land development regulations.
    The county waited for the state to issue its rules and is working on an ordinance that would allow the dispensaries to operate in the areas outside city limits.
    Delray Beach is taking a watch-and-wait approach.
    “The commission can always adopt it at a later point when it sees the problems with it,” Glickstein said. Ú

    Sallie James contributed to this story.

By Jane Smith

    Marine Way residents in Delray Beach are bracing for more seasonal flooding from the autumn king tides. Water can be knee-deep in some areas.
    The Delray Beach streets prone to flooding sit next to the Intracoastal Waterway. The king tides are predicted for 10 a.m. Oct. 7 and 10:50 a.m. Oct. 8, according to the Tides & Currents section of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration website.
    King tides is the nonscientific term for the highest tides of the year, according to the NOAA website. The king tides will occur again at 8:41 a.m. Nov. 5 and 9:32 a.m. Nov. 6.
    The public marina, south of Marine Way, also is prone to flooding, along with low spots on the barrier island, near Casuarina Road and the Intracoastal.  In Veterans Park, on the north side of Atlantic Avenue from Marine Way, Delray Beach is upgrading sea walls and replacing docks.
    The city’s Community Redevelopment Agency is paying for the work, which  includes raising the sea walls to 20 inches and making them level for the 400-foot length of public sea wall to the Atlantic Avenue bridge. That work should wrap up by the end of the year.
    Design work for the bridge’s south side will begin next year.
    Separately, a citywide study assessing the vulnerability of sea walls along the Intracoastal will start soon. Delray Beach has 19 miles of sea walls along the Intracoastal, and a small fraction are public, according to Jeffrey Needle, the city’s stormwater engineer.

By Steve Plunkett

    Interstate 95’s new northbound exit ramp to Spanish River Boulevard is open.
    The ramp, which begins after vehicles have passed under Spanish River Boulevard and then loops south, brings drivers to new signals at the entrance of Florida Atlantic University.
    Motorists began using the ramp Sept. 26, said Andi Pacini, spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Transportation’s $69 million interchange project, and more ramps will open this month.
     “We are targeting an October open for the new southbound ramp movements, weather permitting,” Pacini said. Construction crews have been working on the interchange since January 2014. The Spanish River connection will be Boca Raton’s fifth entrance/exit on I-95.
    Inclement weather added seven weeks to the construction schedule before Hurricane Irma hit.
    Farther north, improvements to the interchange at Woolbright Road in Boynton Beach also lag. Although the southbound exit ramp at Woolbright Road from I-95 reopened fully Sept. 21, on Sept. 20, Florida Department of Transportation workers noticed erosion from Irma’s rains and closed the westbound exit lane.
    The Woolbright Road project is one of five interchange projects that are ongoing. Work there was supposed to be finished in December, but the bad weather from Irma likely will delay the deadline.
    “Current contract time runs through November of this year, but we expect that date will be extended due to holidays and weather days,” Pacini said.
    — Jane Smith contributed to this story

By Dan Moffett

    Manalapan commissioners hope to voice their objections to the South Palm Beach groin project during a scheduled meeting with county officials on Oct. 24.
    The commissioners expect the project’s managers to attend the town’s regularly scheduled 9:30 a.m. meeting and participate in a question-and-answer session about the $5 million plan to install a network of seven concrete groins north of the town to stabilize South Palm’s beaches.
    There is near unanimous opposition to the idea in Manalapan.
    Mayor Keith Waters has pledged to fight it “tooth and nail,” the commissioners have unanimously agreed with the mayor, and finding a resident who thinks groins are a good idea is as unlikely as finding support for a refinery on A1A.
    Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa has lawyered up and is threatening to go to court to block the project, and Waters and the commissioners are next in line.
    Their unifying fear is that the groins will interrupt the natural southward flow of sand and divert it from nourishing Manalapan’s beaches.
    County project managers are expected to try to persuade the commission that the groins in South Palm Beach would be nothing like those installed in Deerfield Beach in the 1960s. Deerfield’s southern neighbor, Hillsboro Beach, has blamed those 56 concrete structures for destroying its coastline and stealing untold tons of sand over the past five decades. Hillsboro is suing Deerfield, seeking to recover millions in damages.
    The county’s beach stabilization project, roughly 10 years in the making, is a joint venture, with South Palm Beach paying about 20 percent of the construction cost, the county 30 percent through tourism taxes, and the state and federal governments covering another 50 percent.
    County managers are applying for the necessary permits to get the project going by the November 2018 target date.
    In other business, members of the Palm Beach County Police Benevolent Association have voted to approve a new three-year contract with the town that includes a provision for a 3 percent pay increase retroactive to October 2016 and a retirement contribution plan. Going forward, officers are to receive annual pay hikes of 3 percent, 3.5 percent and 4 percent.
    Police Chief Carmen Mattox said the agreement — which ends a year of impasse in negotiations that wound up in arbitration — “will improve morale.”
    Town Manager Linda Stumpf said the contract “is very fair and it’s generous.”  
    Waters said the agreement has already improved relations between the commission and department.
    “I can tell you I’ve been stopped by every policeman, from the chief all the way down to the people on the street, saying thanks to the commission,” the mayor said during a budget workshop. “They are very much aware   that we’re trying to work with them.”

Gulf Stream resident Charles Carlino styled Sole Surfer on a friend and fellow Marine with post-traumatic stress disorder. The play will be staged on Veterans Day. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Mary Thurwachter

    Charles Carlino met Joseph Gianni as neighbors in East Hampton in the mid-1990s. The former Marines shared a passion for surfing and got to know each other well over the next two decades.
    Carlino, who lives in Gulf Stream, was a weapons trainer in Camp Lejeune, N.C., during the Vietnam War and never served overseas.
    Gianni’s military journey was much more harrowing.
    “He is a decorated war hero,” Carlino said of his friend, who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of his tour of duty in Vietnam.
    “He’s such an extraordinary, peaceful human being to have seen what he saw, the amount of deaths,” Carlino said of Gianni, a former defense attorney.
    Gianni’s story became the subject of Carlino’s book Camp Hero and is told through the main character in his play Sole Surfer, which will be staged Nov. 11, Veterans Day, at the Kravis Center’s Rinker Playhouse.
    “Vietnam veterans are very humble,” Carlino said. “They are peace-oriented, not war-oriented. That’s the kind of character Joseph A. Gianni is.”
    Carlino said he captured his friend’s stories in his mind and in his soul.
    “There wasn’t a pad or a laptop,” he explained. “It was just his soul merging with mine, how he processed all of this and how gentle he is considering all he has been through. He lives with PTSD.”
    With the play, Carlino said, he’s accomplished in a light, comical delivery a way of engaging audience members that gives them an emotional experience relatable to all people who have suffered any kind of abuse. The one-hour play received high praise from the audience when it debuted in 2014 at the Stonzek Theatre at the Lake Worth Playhouse.
    “You’re engaged in laughter and, all of a sudden, you’re off on a ride that takes the story in a very unique direction,” Carlino said. “You’re onboard with it because you’re him.
    “Most people feel for the veterans and love them but want to do it from a distance,” said Carlino, 70. “They don’t want to get near these people because it’s really dark. With this play, it’s almost like a boot camp story where as you enter the theater you’re engaged. The play starts very gentle. I think I’ve created an emotional experience that only special stories can engage.”
    Carlino advanced his career in computer technology and built a boutique systems firm but always had an interest in writing and the theater.
    “Having lived in New York City for over 55 years, I viewed an abundant amount of theater,” he said. “The Broadway scene was great for taking clients, but I lived for off-Broadway, black box theater.”
    Today, he has his own theater company, Roadshow Productions (www.roadshow productions.net), dedicated to the presentation of original works for the stage.
    “As a producer/playwright, with my talented, professional staff, we self-produce and promote plays and musicals where originality, experimentation and traditional theater coexist,” Carlino said.
    “We welcome all who wish to play in our sandbox and live by the simple credo: Art matters.”

— Mary Thurwachter

Q. Where did you grow up and go to school? How do you think that has influenced you?
A. Rosedale in Queens, N.Y.  I spent my childhood stuck in that medieval place, cut off from civilization. I felt I was a worthless young individual — a disappointment to my family, my teachers, my church and assured by all I was destined to fail. Raised on a steady diet of ridicule and limitation, I learned at a young age how to nourish myself. I was bullied. My right to life was the fight to exist.

Q. What professions have you worked in? What professional accomplishments are you most proud of?
A.  I had to give up my first meaningful job at Dean Witter brokerage house in New York as a trainee in the data processing department, to join the United States Marines in 1967 at the height of the Vietnam War.  When I returned home, I was able to secure a job in the computer technology field, moving my way up to systems manager at the age of 25.
    During the summer of 1975, I was in a bad motorcycle accident which almost took my life. Instead, it changed my life for the better. I left the computer field and went on a life’s journey, experiencing personal and artistic growth, creating my future. I was able to develop natural talents in areas such as interior and space design, restaurant and cabaret, black box theater, brownstone renovation and author of the Guide for Safe Surgery. I wrote it with two other associates, one an orthopedic surgeon, to assist patients to be proactive about their surgery.
    There were times when I drove a taxi and bartended to make ends meet. Ultimately, I returned to the computer technology field where I made my ultimate success, building a small boutique systems firm, Lorin Technology.
    After 50 years in New York City, I settled in Florida.
    I am most proud of the production of my play, Sole Surfer.

Q. What advice do you have for a young person selecting a career today?
A. Never place money before excellence of performance. Find your passion, then search out a career that can teach you and lead you to that passion. Perseverance is the true master to success. Never give up. Stay the path. Let no one tell you you can’t succeed. Create realistic goals and approach them in a superhuman manner. Remember, the tougher things become, the closer you are to your success. Competition is not the enemy, it’s God testing your will to rise above. Celebrate each success and failure, as they are all part of your ultimate destiny.

Q. How did you choose to make your home in Gulf Stream?
A. Having lived in West Palm Beach previously, I became acquainted with the small town of Gulf Stream. This tiny enclave captured my eye from the first instant. With its small, private streets and mix of cozy-styled homes, I was drawn in by its beauty.

Q. What is your favorite part about living in Gulf Stream?
A. The residents are made up of many different backgrounds,  yet all share a neighborly quest for good clean living. It’s a relaxed, safe and natural style of living, rich in the quality of contemporary neighborhood life. People here are friendly, helpful and most of all respectful of one another.

Q. What music do you listen to when you need inspiration? When you want to relax?
A. My father being a true jazz musician, I was brought up on the sounds of all the jazz greats. I guess you might call me a jazz buff and I even owned a speakeasy back in Park Slope, Brooklyn.
    My wife, Anna, and I share a passion in Latin music, and have danced our way through the many fine venues of our community. However, if you visit our home, you will be embraced by the soothing sounds of Zen and other inspirational music. This same music is background to my play.

Q. Do you have a favorite quote that inspires your decisions?
A. “Behind every successful man is a great woman.” I am married to a great woman, rich in heart and soul. I believe that two is better than one — if it is a healthy two. Anna has brought a balance to my life, supporting and even applauding my work.

Q. Have you had mentors in your life?
A. I have been blessed with many great mentors, people that possess a healthy balance to life and have made great impact on my successes and taught me how to grow and embrace my failures. A name that stands out is the pastor Joel Osteen. Others, such as Joyce Meyer, Don Miguel Ruiz and Deepak Chopra, stand out as beacons to spiritual enlightenment.

Q. If your life story were made into a movie, whom would you want to play you?
A. One of my favorite actors, Gerard Butler, who starred in the movie Chasing Mavericks. I admire the real-life manner he brings to his roles.

Q. Who/what makes you laugh?
A. Jackie Gleason. I can still recall many lines from The Honeymooners.  It just feels like home, the way we grew up, our parents, the times.  I find myself writing pieces today that sound just as those from over 50 years ago, with that special delivery that only Gleason can deliver, totally relatable and a bit ridiculous, but so funny.

If You Go
What: Sole Surfer, written by Charles Carlino. The one-act, two-actor drama with narration is directed by Selma Hazouri. The lead character is played by Bryan Wohlust and the narrator is Richard Forbes.
Where: Rinker Playhouse at the Kravis Center, 701 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach
When: 7:30 p.m. Nov. 11
Tickets: $32
Info: 832-7469; www.kravis.org

By Mary Thurwachter

    The Lantana Police Department has moved to new headquarters at 901 N. Eighth St., off Lantana Road next to the new sports complex.
    The new digs are in a state-owned building once home to the Department of Juvenile Justice and used for training police officers and sheriff’s deputies for the past several years. The town has a lease on the 10,000-square-foot building through 2048, and put aside $95,000 last April for repairs to the DJJ building. The state Legislature awarded Lantana another $500,000 for repairs.
    “The town’s $95,000 turned into $500,000,” Mayor Dave Stewart told Town Council members at their Sept. 25 meeting, when Town Manager Deborah Manzo announced news of the move. An official opening celebration will be held later. The new location put police near Water Tower Commons, a retail and residential complex being developed on the former A.G. Holley property on Lantana Road east of Interstate 95.
    Manzo said the previous police buildings at 500 Greynolds Circle weren’t large enough and will house other town departments.
    In other news, the council:
    • Voted for a tax rate of $3.50 per $1,000 of assessed property value, a 15 percent increase over the rollback rate of 3.03. Only three residents attended the public hearing for the budget on Sept. 25, and no one voiced opposition. Lantana had kept the tax rate at $3.24 for the past 10 years.
    Stewart cast the lone dissenting vote for the tax increase, saying he didn’t feel it was necessary with property tax revenues up $182,866, plus income from the penny sales tax increase ($560,000) and new development at Aura Seaside and Water Tower Commons on the horizon. But other council members argued that the town looked shabby and needed more money for code enforcement.
    • Honored Finance Director Stephen Kaplan and his staff after the town received a Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for the 20th consecutive year.

By Jane Smith
    
    Commissioners in late September selected three candidates to interview to become their next city manager. One dropped out the next day.
    A public reception will be held on Oct. 9 where community members can meet the two candidates in an informal setting, said W.D. Higginbotham Jr., senior vice president of The Mercer Group, hired to do the candidate search.
    Meeting the community is important for any city manager, Higginbotham said. “A lot can be seen by the way the candidates interact with the community and commissioners in an informal setting,” he said. The public reception will be held from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the Delray Beach Municipal Golf Course clubhouse, 2200 Highland Ave.
    The commission interviews will take place at 5 p.m. Oct. 10, when the Delray Beach City Commission will meet to pick a city manager.
    No one from a Florida city applied.
    Commissioners were not pleased with the overall quality of the candidates. They said they wanted a larger pool of candidates. Delray Beach Mayor Cary Glickstein insisted they need only one person — one who has a strong financial background and people skills.
    The prospective candidates watched several commission meetings, Higginbotham said. They saw micromanaging by the commission, bickering between commissioners and other negative issues, he said.
    “I told them it’s not going to be a walk in the park,” he said, even though the salary of at least $200,000 is tantalizing. Delray Beach has an estimated population of 68,676.
    The mayor also said, “We have an election in the town in March where three seats are up.”
    Some prospective candidates might feel uneasy about the possibility of the bosses changing in a few months, he said.
    The two candidates are:
    Edward Collins — The chief operating officer at Civil Service Inc., a private engineering firm in Lehi, Utah. Lehi has an estimated population of 63,999.
    Mark Lauzier — An assistant city manager in Tacoma, Wash. Tacoma has a population estimated at 210,381.
    The candidate who declined to be considered was David Niemeyer, village manager of Tinley Park, Ill. He was added to the interview list on the suggestion of Vice Mayor Jim Chard.

By Jane Smith

    The iPic luxury theater owner took on a joint venture developer partner back in May but never announced it. Some city leaders say the partnership makes sense because iPic is a theater owner and not a mixed-use developer. Others see it as part of the secrecy that has dogged the project since December 2013.
    “As this project will be logistically difficult for an experienced developer, I was pleased to learn iPic had partnered with an experienced urban, infill developer to execute the approved plan,” said Delray Beach Mayor Cary Glickstein.
    “Those that are surprised by this either don’t understand the construction and development business or the complexities of this project,” he said.         

    When complete in 2019, the iPic complex will have 497 luxury seats in eight screening rooms with a total of 44,979 square feet and a 42,446-square-foot office building where iPic has agreed to move its corporate headquarters and occupy 20,000 square feet for five years.
    The development also will include 7,847 square feet of retail space and a multilevel garage with 326 spaces, providing a minimum of 90 public spaces. The project sits just south of Atlantic Avenue, between Southeast Fourth and Fifth avenues.
    “I can’t wait to go to the movies in my own town,” Glickstein said.
    Samuels & Associates, based in Boston, is iPic’s developer partner. Samuels’ website lists examples of its current projects, including the Van Ness complex in the Fenway neighborhood of Boston. The complex has 172 luxury apartments, 237,000 square feet of office space and 200,000 square feet of retail space, including a City Target store.
    That iPic teamed with Samuels without mentioning the plan irritated Delray Beach resident James Quillian.
    He and his wife own two units in a three-building co-op project immediately south of the new iPic. The Quillians don’t live there, but they own the units as investments.
    The Quillians along with the other co-op owners met with a Butters Construction representative and someone from iPic, just after the property was purchased from Delray’s Community Redevelopment Agency.
    “We wanted a barrier or some kind of wall to prevent construction workers from walking through our property,” Quillian said.
    The co-op owners thought they had a deal, until the demolition started. When they returned, they were told about the joint venture and a new person to contact.
    “Our feelings are hurt,” Quillian said. “They played us like they played the city and the CRA.”
    The former CRA executive director insisted that nearby property owners did not have to be notified of the deal.
    In December 2013, iPic agreed to pay $3.6 million to the CRA for 1.6 acres. The theater owner paid $2.3 million for an additional .14 acre nearby, called the Martini property. The sale was finalized in April.

Public offering planned         

    iPic plans to do an initial public offering this fall to raise $30 million to $50 million.
    The luxury theater company operates 121 screens in 10 states with five theaters under construction.
    iPic’s largest shareholders include Australia’s largest publicly traded entertainment company, Village Roadshow, and the Retirement Systems of Alabama, according to the Banq brokerage website.

By Dan Moffett

    Briny Breezes moved a step closer to hiring the first town manager in its history when the Town Council on Sept. 28 gave preliminary approval to an ordinance creating the position.
    “We’re in desperate need of administrative help,” said Alderman Bobby Jurovaty. “We can’t keep putting this off.”
    The ordinance provides a broad description of an employee who would assist council members in handling administrative duties and implementing town policies, Council President Sue Thaler said.
    “We have not advertised it yet, but we have four people already interested in the position,” Thaler said.
    Town Attorney John Skrandel said specific terms of the manager’s contract would be approved through resolutions by the council as part of the hiring process. Thaler said the council envisions the new position as a part-time job, with the manager working less than 35 hours a week and earning around $40,000 a year, without benefits. The money for the hiring is included in this year’s budget.
    Skrandel said it would be possible to hire an independent contractor to fill the position, a move that would allow the town more flexibility of scheduling and avoid overtime pay requirements. The ordinance passed on a 3-0 vote by Jurovaty, Thaler and Allen “Chick” Behringer. Christina Adams and James McCormick were absent.
    The proposed new law is scheduled to come up for a second reading and final vote on approval during the next council meeting on Oct. 26.
    In other business:
    • The council scheduled a workshop beginning at 4 p.m. Oct. 10 to consider applications for legal services and potential Local Mitigation Strategy projects for state and federal grants. LMS projects are plans by a local government that are designed to reduce or eliminate risks to people and property from natural disasters and some manmade problems. Mayor Jack Lee and resident Keith Black volunteered to develop a list of possible projects in Briny that could be eligible for grant money.        

    Council members decided in August to advertise for legal services applicants who might replace Skrandel. The deadline for applying was pushed back a week because of Hurricane Irma. Thaler said the council will review the applicants for the town attorney job during the Oct. 10 workshop.

By Dan Moffett

    Those rusted and ragged shade sails lining the parking lot at Boynton Beach Oceanfront Park are soon to give way to aluminum solar canopies as part of Florida Power & Light’s growing campaign to promote clean energy across the state.
    “The sails have been a nightmare problem for us,” Jeff Livergood, Boynton’s director of public works and engineering, told the Ocean Ridge Town Commission on Oct. 2. “The canopies will help educate people about solar power and also provide more shade.”
    The sails have cost Boynton Beach about $25,000 a year to maintain because of corrosion to poles and wind damage to fabric. The two new canopies will pay for themselves, each generating 200 kilowatts of power for FPL and $4,000 annually for Boynton Beach that the company will pay to rent the space. FPL handles all maintenance during the 20-year lease agreement.
    The Ocean Ridge commission unanimously approved the canopy plan — approval Boynton Beach and FPL needed to receive the required state permits to begin construction.
    FPL has already installed a solar tree on the lower level of the park, near the Turtle Cafe, that can charge residents’ cellphones and provide park and area information on screens. The trees cost between $22,000 and $32,000.
    FPL engineers say the canopy structures are built to withstand the 170-mph winds of a Category 5 hurricane. Livergood said the canopies can be adapted to charge electric cars, if demand warrants. The project’s canopies slant 18 feet to 14 feet tall, and cost nearly $1 million each. In all, about 22 parking spaces will be covered.
    FPL is spreading them throughout South Florida as part of its Solar Now program that asks customers to pay $9 more each month to help promote public use of solar power. More than 450 Boynton residents are enrolled in the program.
    Solar canopies are currently in use at the West Palm Beach Zoo, and at parks in Naples and Palm City, as well as the Young at Art Museum in Davie. Pompano Beach just approved several canopy projects for public buildings.
   In other business:
    • In its continuing battle against noise in neighborhoods, the commission on Sept. 26 unanimously approved an ordinance restricting the hours of construction and lawn work.
    The ordinance prohibits construction and lawn maintenance work from 6 p.m. to 8 a.m. on weekdays and allows them only from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays. Construction and lawn work are not allowed on Sundays and certain federal holidays. The ordinance provides exemptions for emergency repairs — for air conditioning units, water heaters or essential services such as plumbing and electrical — and for hurricane preparation.
    The Planning & Zoning Commission recommended the changes, and Chairman Jerry Goray said the panel had no shortage of opinions on what hours should be restricted. Mayor Geoff Pugh said the ordinance is a compromise of opinions that the commissioners can always adjust later if residents find the time limits unacceptable.

Apartments and town homes would be part of a development that extends between Third Street and the railroad tracks.

SOURCE: City of Boynton Beach 

By Jane Smith
    
    The Villages at East Ocean Avenue project has finally been approved after two years of wending its way through the Boynton Beach approval process.
    “It’s been a long two years for all of us,” Bradley Miller, the project’s land planner, said after city commissioners finished several mostly unanimous votes at their Sept. 19 meeting.        

    Miller represents Boca Raton lawyer Arthur D’Almeida, who assembled the parcels over nearly 15 years. D’Almeida set up limited liability corporations to buy individual pieces, paying about $3.9 million.
    The Villages project straddles Ocean Avenue and has two parcels containing slightly more than 5 acres. The project sits next to the FEC Railway tracks, possible home to a future Tri-Rail Coastal Link station.
    Boynton Beach commissioners gave his corporations another .7 acre in abandoned alleyways as part of their approval in September.
    Miller said it would take about one year to complete the design and permitting process. His client likely would seek a developer partner with construction experience to enter into a joint venture.
    “With an approved project, you get more attention,” Miller said.
    On the north parcel, fronting Boynton Beach Boulevard, an eight-story apartment building is planned with 336 units of various sizes from 700-square-foot studios to three-bedroom, two-bath units with up to 1,530 square feet. The majority of the apartments, 181, will have two bedrooms and two baths.
    The building along Ocean Avenue will be three stories, a design feature requested by residents and approved by the commission during discussions earlier in the year. Architect Juan Caycedo said, “The whole idea is to create a village-like project, respecting the scale the residents wanted and keeping it pedestrian friendly.”
    But that design didn’t sit well with at least one resident.
    “The design looks really contemporary to me,” said Cindy Falco-Dicorrado, a member of the city’s Art Commission. “I see a large building with square lines. It seems like the stepsister to the Town Square.”
    Caycedo insisted his design would fit well with Town Square. The 16-acre project, which includes public buildings and private uses, will sit west of the Villages.
    “The design looks square to me,” Falco-Dicorrado said. “But I am an artist and I respect your design.”
    The proposed complex will have a two-story fitness center that fronts Boynton Beach Boulevard with room for spin classes and a cyber café, Miller said.
    He also said it will have a pedestrian zone along its perimeter with up to 18.5-foot-wide sidewalks, 17,000 square feet of walking space and three public plazas.
    The main entrance for the Villages will be on Northeast Third Street, Miller said. That plaza will be 4,400 square feet.
    The secondary entrance on Boynton Beach Boulevard will have a 1,350-square-foot plaza. The Ocean Avenue plaza was upgraded by 400 square feet to have 2,150 square feet.
    The Villages will have 79 trees, required by the city. Seventy-two will be shade trees, the majority cathedral live oaks. Alexander palms will be used as accents around the swimming pool on the project’s north side.
    The complex will have a 644-space parking garage on the north parcel, with three spaces of street parking available on Boynton Beach Boulevard, 11 on Northeast Third Street and five on Ocean Avenue, Miller said.
    Apartment residents won’t be allowed to park their vehicles on the first floor and part of the second floor of the garage, Miller said. But he declined to be more specific about how many spaces would be available for the public.
    D’Almeida bought the southern lots from the heirs of Bob Katz, a Boynton Beach real estate investor who died in 2006. Katz was a client of D’Almeida.
    Three pieces on the north were purchased from the heirs of Harvey Oyer Jr., a former Boynton Beach mayor.
    Resident Susan Oyer, whose family extended a mortgage to the D’Almeida corporation, asked about train station access. She also wanted to know how “green” the project would be: Would it have solar panels on the rooftops, would it use reflective paints for the exterior and would it have electric car chargers in the garage?
    A new member of the Boynton Beach Planning and Development Board, Oyer had to step down from the dais when the Villages project came before the board in August. While she couldn’t vote on the project because her family would benefit from its success, she could still ask questions about it.
    The Tri-Rail Coastal Link commuter line is in the planning stages; construction is at least five years away.
    Along the railroad tracks, the project’s eastern pedestrian path will be fenced for safety and security reasons, Miller said. The fence will prevent people from crossing over the tracks and the project won’t have apartment doors on the first floor to provide security for the residents, he said.
    “People will be able to walk up to Boynton Beach Boulevard or down to Ocean Avenue to the train station,” Miller said.
    As to the paint colors and solar panels on the roofs, they will be considered, said architect Caycedo. “The need for electric car chargers will be market driven,” he said.
When the retail space on Boynton Beach Boulevard was discussed, the vote split the commission. Vice Mayor Justin Katz and Commissioner Mack McCray wanted the property owner to stick with the plan to put in retailers there.
    But Mayor Steven Grant and commissioners Joe Casello and Christina Romelus wanted to give the land owner an option. If no one wanted to rent, then the space could be converted into live/work units with the renter having a business tax receipt from the city. Artists and designers were mentioned as likely renters, Miller said.
    For the southern parcel, about 1.8 acres fronting Ocean Avenue, the complex would contain 30 apartments and five townhomes along Southeast Third Street. Each townhome would have a two-car garage, Miller said.
    Along Ocean Avenue, the complex would have ground floor retail space and stand three stories tall, about 35 feet. Along Southeast Third, the complex would have a building that stretches to five stories. The townhouses would be in a separate, three-story building. Each unit would have three bedrooms and three baths.
    “I like this design,” Falco-Dicorrado said.

By Dan Moffett

    Brad Biggs’ 11-year relationship with South Palm Beach ended abruptly Sept. 25 when the town attorney submitted his resignation, saying he had lost the support of some council members.
    “Some council persons now do not believe that I am the person they would desire to provide legal services for the town and they are unwilling or unable to accept such counsel from me,” Biggs wrote in a resignation letter. “I believe that ultimately, the only thing an attorney really can offer is wise and considered legal counsel.”
    Biggs said he needed the “full backing of every council member” to do his job, and without it, the only choice was resignation.
    “He’s been with us through thick and thin for 11 years,” said Vice Mayor Robert Gottlieb. “That was a real shocker.”
    Actually, it wasn’t that much of a shocker.
    Biggs had been pleading with the council for two years to approve a new contract for his services, and the council repeatedly ignored the request or postponed considering it. The attorney had been working on what was little more than a month-to-month handshake agreement since 2015.
     Meanwhile, Councilwoman Stella Gaddy Jordan emerged as Biggs’ harshest critic on the council, faulting him for not advocating strongly enough for the town on the 3550 S. Ocean project at the old Palm Beach Oceanfront Inn site.
    Jordan also criticized Biggs for not being accessible enough and not ensuring council meetings were run in an orderly manner.
    “I honestly have no idea what she’s talking about,” Biggs said at one point during the dispute. He told the council:  “I very much feel kind of bullied.”
    The attorney offered to work out of Town Hall to improve accessibility and agreed to run a workshop on Robert’s Rules of Order to educate the council on meeting protocols. Neither action materialized, and instead Jordan encouraged the council to advertise for legal services and consider replacing Biggs.
    Last spring, the attorney lost his staunchest supporter on the council with the sudden death of then Vice Mayor Joe Flagello, who had described Biggs’ job performance as “outstanding.”
    Mayor Bonnie Fischer said the council will move quickly to find an interim replacement for Biggs and then fill the position permanently.
    It has been a stormy period for relations with high-level staff.
    In late 2014, the town hired Jim Pascale of Princeton, N.J., to fill the town manager opening. Six months later he resigned after philosophical disputes with the council that included whether South Palm Beach should continue to exist as an incorporated municipality.
    The town went about six months without a manager until Bob Vitas, a former Key West city manager, was hired in November 2015. Vitas, 60, has complained repeatedly in recent months that the town’s charter requires that the council review his contract and performance each year — consideration that includes possible merit raises,  benefits and perks such as car allowance. But that hasn’t happened, so Vitas is working under a contract the town may have breached.
    Vitas’ relationship with the town may be sealed at the council’s Oct. 24 meeting. On Sept. 28, council members approved a budget for 2018 — but excluded dealing with the manager’s pay issues. The council plans to take that up at the October meeting, and Jordan says she wants to settle her difference of opinions over compensation with Vitas then “once and for all.”
    Kevin Hill, a resident of Palmsea condominiums, told council members he was concerned about losing experienced employees the town needs to oversee big projects that might be coming, including the possible renovation of the Town Hall, the 3550 S. Ocean development and beach stabilization.
    “I think you guys really need to pay attention to what you’re doing,” Hill said. “If you have a mass exodus of employees, the town could be in trouble. I don’t know what’s going on, but you need to take care of these people.”

By Steve Plunkett

    Former Ocean Ridge Vice Mayor Richard Lucibella will sue the town and at least one of the officers who arrested him in an October 2016 shooting incident at his home, one of his lawyers told a Palm Beach County circuit judge.
    Lucibella believes, “among other claims,” that Officer Nubia Plesnik “used unnecessary force, that he was wrongfully arrested, that he was injured, and that as a result of his wrongful arrest he was divested of his business interests and forced to resign from his government position,” lawyer Laurie Adams says in a document filed in the civil case Plesnik brought against him.
    But Lucibella said the statement was primarily a counterclaim to Plesnik’s lawsuit.
    “To date, I have not consulted with any attorney regarding taking action against the town,” he said.
    Lucibella, who is set to go on trial this month on felony charges of resisting arrest with violence and battery on a law enforcement officer, asked that Plesnik’s lawsuit be postponed until the criminal trial is over.
    Lucibella has pleaded not guilty to both felony charges and a third, misdemeanor charge of using a firearm while under the influence of alcohol. Judge Charles Burton has blocked off four weeks for the criminal trial, which is scheduled to begin Oct. 23.
    Plesnik, fellow Officer Richard Ermeri and Sgt. William Hallahan went to Lucibella’s home last Oct. 22 after neighbors reported hearing gunshots. They confiscated a .40-caliber handgun and found five spent shell casings on the backyard patio.
    Lt. Steven Wohlfiel, their supervisor, was with Lucibella, and both men were “obviously intoxicated,” the officers said. Police later determined the confiscated handgun belonged to Wohlfiel.
    Plesnik’s lawsuit against Lucibella claims he intentionally pushed and injured her. Her lawyer said she can perform all her duties as a police officer but continues to feel pain in her shoulder.
    Lucibella has a $10 million insurance policy for personal liability protection. He resigned as vice mayor and town commissioner in December.
    The lawsuit put Lucibella in a legal Catch-22 situation, defense lawyer Adams said. If it were to proceed, Lucibella would want to use his Fifth Amendment privilege to not jeopardize the criminal case.
    But under court rules, he must file his counterclaims against Plesnik when he first responds to her lawsuit, and making a counterclaim would allow her lawyers to compel him to answer questions.
    “Essentially, the defendant is placed in the position of choosing between two constitutional rights,” Adams wrote.
    Circuit Judge Cymonie Rowe had not ruled on the postponement request prior to The Coastal Star’s deadline.
    Lucibella’s criminal defense attorney, Marc Shiner, has previously said that his client was wrongfully arrested.