By Jane Smith

    Delray Beach, which had three lawyers on its five-member City Commission, will lose that majority with the March 14 election.
    No lawyers are running for two open seats.
    Vice Mayor Jordana Jarjura, general counsel at Gulf Building in Fort Lauderdale, changed her mind about running for re-election.
    “As a newlywed, having married during my time in office and with starting my position as a general counsel, I need to balance my personal and professional lives with my service as a commissioner,” Jarjura wrote in a late January email to her supporters.  
    She called the commission’s inability to appoint a fifth commissioner to replace Al Jacquet a low point. Jacquet, also a lawyer, resigned his seat Nov. 8 after being elected as a state representative.
    On March 14, Delray Beach voters will select two, three-year commissioners from among candidates with a variety of backgrounds and financial support. The city does not hold a runoff election if a candidate fails to reach 50 percent plus one. The candidate with the most votes wins. Voting is citywide, even though the seats are for two districts.
    For Seat 2, Harvard-educated Jim Chard had both public and private sector working experience in the Northeast before he retired to Delray Beach.
    He has served on the Congress Avenue Task Force, the city’s Site Plan Review and Appearance Board and the city’s steering committee for its comprehensive plan rewrite. If he’s elected, Chard will have to step down from SPRAB and the comprehensive plan steering committee.
    He called himself the “intern emeritus” at a candidate forum, sponsored by the Beach Property Owners Association on Feb. 22.
    For the barrier island, he told the forum that the dunes on the east and crumbling seawalls on the west are its most pressing issues, along with cleanliness of the beach, lack of parking and proliferation of sober homes throughout the city.
    He raised $36,095 as of Feb. 10, the latest campaign contribution report available. That amount, which includes a $10,000 candidate loan, puts Chard at the top of the candidates for money raised.
    His contributors read like a who’s-who of Delray Beach: $1,000 from Scott Porten, $500 from Bob Victorin and $250 from Andy Katz, all three executives of the BPOA; $1,000 from Woo Creative, whose owner, Ryan Boylston, is chairman of the city’s Downtown Development Authority and an owner of the Delray Newspaper, which endorsed Chard; $500 from Jeff Perlman, a former Delray Beach mayor who is an owner of the Delray Newspaper and an employee of Carl DeSantis, who still has a stake in the Atlantic Crossing project; and $250 from Reginald Cox & Associates, the architectural firm owned by the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency chairman. His campaign treasurer, Jim Smith, donated $100.
    Chard’s closest financial competitor is Kelly Barrette, a relative newcomer to Delray Beach. She raised $15,995, including a $4,000 personal loan. She and her husband, Jack, moved to Delray Beach five years ago.
    Barrette, who graduated from Tufts University, became immersed in Delray Beach and started a Facebook page called TakeBackDelrayBeach. She wants to stop the proliferation of unregulated sober homes and incompatible development in the city.
    She also told the candidate forum that parking is a big challenge during the season and flooding along the Intracoastal Waterway needs to be addressed.
    Her contributors include Anthony Petrolia, husband of current City Commissioner Shelly Petrolia, who donated $100, and Commissioner Mitch Katz, who gave $100; Kristine de Haseth, executive director of the Florida Coalition for Preservation, donated $100; Price Patton, a retired news editor and founding partner of The Coastal Star, gave $500; and Smith, Chard’s treasurer, donated $100.
    Two other candidates who were born in Haiti are the other challengers for Seat 2.
    Anneze Barthelemy holds a master’s degree in social work from Barry University and has worked with the state Department of Children & Families. She told the candidate forum that the city needs representation from the African- and Haitian-American communities.
    The biggest challenge she sees is the growth of the city. During the season, the city is overwhelmed with tourists, making it difficult for full-time residents to move around the city, she told the candidate forum. She also said Delray’s roads and alleys need to be safe and that the beach should be preserved.
    Her father, Otes, retired after 25 years from his job with the city’s Parks and Recreation Department.
    She has led several mission trips to Haiti and is working on her dissertation in theology.
    Barthelemy has raised $2,480 for her campaign, including $1,050 in personal loans.
    The last competitor, Richard Alteus, has a public safety background, according to his campaign website. He said the city’s top issues are unregulated sober homes, emphasis on public safety, improving pedestrian safety and solving traffic problems from the overdevelopment of Delray.
    He raised $1,030 in contributions, as of Feb. 10. Alteus did not participate in the Beach Property Owners candidate forum.
    The race for Seat 4 pits Shirley Johnson against Josh Smith Jr.
    Johnson, a retired IBM administrator, has the support of the Northwest and Southwest neighborhoods. She has lived in the city for 38 years.
    Her financial backers include former City Commissioner Angie Gray, who donated $200; two current board members of the city’s CRA, lawyer Herman Stevens with a $100 contribution and architect Reginald Cox with a $500 contribution; $1,000 from Porten and $500 from Victorin, executives of the group that sponsored the forum; and $100 from retired educator Yvonne Odom, who also applied to fill Jacquet’s seat. Johnson was endorsed by the Delray Newspaper for Seat 4.
    She raised a total of $5,308, as of Feb. 10. The amount includes two self-donations of $1,250.
    Johnson’s platforms are sober homes regulation, sustainable growth and losing the politics and listening to the people. The last issue was raised when the City Commission was tied at 2-2 and could not pick a replacement for Jacquet.
    Her competitor for Seat 2, Smith, is a retired educator who has lived in the city for 51 years.
    Last fall, he was the choice of Commissioners Katz and Petrolia.
    Smith raised $6,595, including a $200 self-donation, as of Feb. 10. His notable contributors include Anthony Petrolia, who donated $500; frequent commission critic Ken MacNamee and his wife, who gave $1,000; Marine Way resident Nancy MacManus donated $150; and Seaside Builders contributed $500.
    The biggest issues that he sees facing Delray Beach are unregulated sober homes that are straining the budgets of the city police and fire rescue departments; improving public safety to allow residents to move around safely; and focusing on fixing the city’s seawalls, building sidewalks in neighborhoods near schools and paving alleys in some neighborhoods.
    He wants to unify the residents of Delray Beach after last fall’s divisive national election.

    Ocean Ridge’s elections will fill the Town Commission seat held by James Bonfiglio and an open seat formerly held by Richard Lucibella, who resigned in December. The term length is three years.

Profiles compiled by Steven J. Smith

Richard Bajakian
    Personal: 59; graduated from Syracuse University with a B.S. in biology; graduated from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, where he received his M.D.; 26-year resident of Ocean Ridge; engaged.

    Professional: Currently practices as a neuroradiologist, a subspecialty of radiology; worked at JFK Medical Center in Atlantis from 1991-2001; opened his own imaging center, MRI Specialists, in Boynton Beach in 2002.    

    Political experience: Has never been elected to public office, but served for 10 years on the Ocean Ridge Planning and Zoning Commission.

    Positions on issues: Strong local police force; keeping taxes down; wants a small-town feeling to the community; wants to protect property values; concerned with how activities in other communities might infringe upon Ocean Ridge; wants to maintain natural resources and respond to needs of the community.

    Quote: “My goal is to represent my town’s interest as best as possible and look out for the interests of all the people in Ocean Ridge.”

James Bonfiglio
(incumbent)
    Personal: 63; degrees in history and political science from the University of Rochester; law degree from Loyola University in New Orleans, 30-year resident of Ocean Ridge; divorced, no children.

    Professional: Practicing law in Florida since 1979, specializing in mortgage foreclosure defense work for the last 30 years.    
Political experience: Member of the Ocean Ridge Town Commission since 2014; currently the town’s vice mayor.

     Positions on issues: Cleaning up the Woolbright retention pond; road paving; improving radio communications system for the police force; building reserves in the budget for unforeseen circumstances; hooking up south-end communities of town to a sewer system; attending to flooding issues in the north end of town.

    Quote: “We have a pretty good town balance now. We have $156,000 currently in our contingency fund and we’ve allocated $180,000 in capital projects for our road-paving program. We have, I think, $2.5 million in reserves, which is 50 percent of our operating budget. I’d like to get that up a little more, because that’s what we draw on for emergencies. I’m a lawyer and the Town Commission needs a lawyer to help it through these difficult times.”

Don MaGruder
    Personal: 74; MBA in business administration from the University of Miami; resident of Ocean Ridge for 31 years; married, two adult children.

    Professional: 34 years as director of administration for five law firms around the state.

    Political experience: Never elected to political office, but is a current member of the Ocean Ridge Board of Adjustment.

    Positions on issues: Maintain small-town ambiance; oversee the town’s drainage system to check the rising sea levels and ensure flood control; wants license tag recognition cameras installed to maintain security; need police ATV beach patrols for weekends and holidays; concerned with potential overdevelopment in the south end of town.

    Quote: “I’ve attended almost every meeting in Ocean Ridge over the 31 years I’ve been here, so I’m in sync with what’s going on. I believe it’s time for me to give back to my community. That’s why I’m running.”

Nan Yablong
    Personal: 65; master’s degree from Boston University in nursing; resident of Ocean Ridge for six years; married; two children.

    Professional: Served as RN CEO of a health management company for five years.

    Political experience: None.

    Positions on issues: Sees a need for developing and organizing standards of performance in job descriptions for all town employees; wants to maintain quality of life; secure a stable economic future.

    Quote: “We need a mechanism to do performance evaluations for Ocean Ridge town employees that is accurate and can be used in hiring and termination practices. It’s also important to maintain the unique and beautiful seaside quality of our town. I want to represent everyone in our town. There have been times in the past when our Town Commission did not do that. I look forward to a bright future for our town.”

By Mary Thurwachter

    Lantana said no to a crossing agreement with Florida East Coast Railway and All Aboard Florida.
    “This has to do with a second line for All Aboard Florida that they are going to be running through our town,” Mayor Dave Stewart explained during the Town Council’s Feb. 13 meeting, at which the council voted 3-2 against the agreement.
    Tequesta and Lantana are the only two municipalities involved in Palm Beach County that have not signed agreements. Municipalities that have signed are Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, Lake Worth, West Palm Beach, Riviera Beach and Palm Beach Gardens.
    Neil Schiller, the attorney representing All Aboard Florida, said the town already has a crossing agreement with Florida East Coast Railway, which owns the property where the railroad crossings are (one at West Ocean Avenue and the other at Finlandia Boulevard and West Central Boulevard).
    “Because Mr. (Henry) Flagler was here so much earlier than all of us, he owns that property and, for cities to cross the property, they have these crossing agreements,” Schiller said. “There are a multitude of crossing agreements from the Keys all the way north to Jacksonville. Some are as old as 1896 and some are as recent as 1958. But they are still in effect.”
    He said that All Aboard Florida, an express passenger rail service that will eventually connect Miami to Orlando, is a sister company to Florida East Coast Railway.
    “I have been hired to have all the municipalities that have crossing agreements with FEC to add All About Florida as a third-party beneficiary,” Schiller said.
    By adding a third-party beneficiary, he said, costs for initial improvements made on the crossings to accommodate the new train would be covered by All Aboard Florida. Each municipality would pick up costs after that.
    Without the third-party beneficiary contract, if something needs to be done on the tracks, All Aboard Florida would have to go through FECR, which would then call the town.
    “We want to be able to work directly with the town,” Schiller said. “FECR is very difficult sometimes, so we want to eliminate that step.”
    Schiller said All Aboard Florida is supporting efforts to create quiet zones in the construction phase of the project.
    Council member Malcolm Balfour said the proposed agreement wasn’t fair.
    “After the first 10 or 11 years, we’ll have to pick up the tab for the maintenance costs, and that seems unfair because we didn’t ask for a 79-mile-per-hour railroad to come through our town. …It’s not going to do anything for Lantana, and that just worries me.”
    Schiller said he appreciated Balfour’s comments, “but the project is occurring. We’re starting this summer. Some of the new trains have been delivered and we’re already testing them.
    “Not signing the agreement doesn’t mean the project is dead,” Schiller said. “Not signing this agreement means we are going to write you a bill for the improvements that were made for the crossings, and we have every right to do that.”
    Stewart showed a railroad plan from 2009 and said the railroad had “a dog and pony show” then and listed where all the railroad stations would be, including Lantana.
    “They were going to be bringing people, we were going to have businesses and there were people in town who owned properties they kept from improving because they thought there was going to be a new train station,” Stewart said. “What happened to 2009? This is what was sold to us.”
    Schiller said the 2009 plan, which he had not seen, wasn’t All Aboard Florida.
    Stewart, Balfour and Council member Philip Aridas voted no to the crossing agreement. Council members Tom Deringer and Lynn Moorhouse voted for it.
    “I don’t have to like it to know it’s in the best interest of the town,” Moorhouse said.
    “This is kind of where we’re at from what the Flagler legacy is telling us,” Stewart said. “We either sign the agreement or you are going to bill us for the work you’ve already done for a rail line that we have no say in and that we will have no impact, no income from.”
    Schiller said the decision to bill the town would be up to his client.
    Over the years, Stewart said, the town had been paying for improvements and maintenance and the right to run water and sewer lines under the tracks.
    “I understand that,” he said. “But there have been a couple of things I asked for. How about the sidewalk and bicycle lane alongside U.S. 1 so that we can make U.S. 1 safer. Have there been any agreements on that?”
    Although Schiller said he had been working toward agreements and to coordinate the best and most expedient way to make that happen, he didn’t have a definitive answer for the mayor.
    At the town’s Feb. 27 meeting, the council voted to invite representatives of All Aboard Florida to return to once again discuss the crossing agreement. This passed by a 3-1 vote with the mayor dissenting. Aridas thought the matter should be discussed more and was able to get Moorhouse and Balfour to agree. Deringer was absent.
    Bringing the attorney back may be pointless, though.
    “There’s not anything to come back for,’’ Town Attorney Max Lohman said. “They’re not going to make any concessions.’’

    Lantana voters will choose from two candidates for each of two council seats. The town has no term limits. Term is three years.

Council Group 3

Tom Deringer
(incumbent)
    Personal: 63; attended the University of Kentucky, but did not graduate; 36-year resident of Lantana; married; two children, seven grandchildren.

    Professional: Worked in sales for General Tire and in 1993 started Palm Beach Tire; still owns company.

    Political experience: Has served for 15 years on the Lantana Town Council.

    Positions on issues: Concerned with which businesses will go into the Water Tower Commons project; interested in preserving the condition of roads in the town; wants to keep taxes down.

    Quote: “I want to make sure that new development keeps coming in to give us more of a tax base to clean up the town and that our roads are in good shape. I like smart growth. We don’t need high-rises, like some of our neighboring communities. I’d like Lantana to stay a small town and I want to work toward that goal.”

Edward Shropshire
    Personal: 64; attended several junior colleges, but did not graduate; 28-year resident of Lantana; married, one child.

    Professional: Works for Cemex, a building materials company; works part time as a defensive driving instructor and has served as a local union rep.

    Political experience: Alternate on the Planning Commission, but has held no political office.

    Positions on issues: Wants controlled development and to maintain Lantana’s small-town ambiance.

    Quote: “I want to upgrade Lantana’s town services such as the building department, code enforcement and Police Department. I want to maintain a quality standard of life.”

Council Group 4

Philip Aridas
(incumbent)
    Personal: 62; graduated from Lincoln Technical Institute in Union, N.J., with a diploma in air-conditioning, refrigeration and heating; 33-year resident of Lantana; divorced; no children.

    Professional: Currently a Palm Beach County park ranger since 2012.

    Political experience: Current member of the Lantana Town Council; sat on Ocean Reef Task Force; served as chairman of the Lantana Chamber of Commerce.

    Positions on issues: Wants the Water Tower Commons project completed responsibly with businesses and amenities that will benefit the town; relocating the Police Department to a larger facility; keeping parks, beaches and public areas and the nature center on Hypoluxo Island updated; street improvements; beach restroom upgrades; road striping.

    Quote: “Lantana is one of the last true seaside communities and it’s my goal to make sure it stays that way.”

Suzanne Gordon
    Personal: 38; graduated from FAU with a degree in business (marketing); Lantana resident for 13 years; married; one child.

    Professional: Worked for Regis, a Fortune 500 company, from 2010-2013 as its South Florida district manager; member of the National Association of Realtors from 2013-present; currently a stay-at-home mother.

    Political experience: None.

    Positions on issues: Safety in the community; bringing in more local businesses; improving the local economy; maintaining local beaches, parks and preserves.

    Quote: “I would like to be a voice for our community and help preserve our town.”

By Dan Moffett

    Ocean Ridge voters will select two town commissioners from a field of four candidates running in the March 14 municipal election.
    All are familiar faces in the community.
    Incumbent Vice Mayor James Bonfiglio is seeking a second three-year term and faces challenges from Richard Bajakian, a Planning and Zoning Commission member, Don MaGruder, a frequent contributor to town meetings, and Nan Yablong, who played a leading role in the unsuccessful recall effort against former Commissioner Richard Lucibella.
    It was Lucibella’s resignation as vice mayor, stemming from an altercation with police at his home in October, that left the commission shorthanded with four members and helped draw the three political newcomers into the race.
    The top two vote-getters will fill the open seats.
    Bonfiglio, a foreclosure and real estate attorney, joined the commission in 2014 with Lucibella, and the two became political allies, supporting the ouster of then Police Chief Chris Yannuzzi and the appointment of current Chief Hal Hutchins. Bonfiglio opposed the 2015 recall campaign against Lucibella launched by Yablong and other Yannuzzi supporters who objected to his removal.
    Yablong helped gather hundreds of signatures calling for a recall election, but a Palm Beach County Circuit Court judge sided with Lucibella and killed the movement, ruling the petitions legally insufficient. Yablong claimed that Lucibella was guilty of malfeasance in office and had caused embarrassment to the town.
    “I had lost confidence in a commissioner who would open our town to hundreds of thousands of dollars in liabilities,” Yablong testified during a court hearing.
    During the dispute, Bonfiglio said he “had a hard time finding anyone who would say good things about Yannuzzi,” and later credited Hutchins with “doing a great job of improving the morale in the department.”
    Bonfiglio served for a decade on the town’s Planning and Zoning Commission, leaving as its chair to run for commissioner. He was a leading opponent on the commission against the Sivitilli family’s continued commercial use of its building at 5011 N. Ocean Blvd.
    Bajakian, a radiologist, also has a background in planning and zoning, joining the board as a regular member in 2012 after serving as an alternate since 2006. He has been an advocate of increasing the town’s floor area ratio, a measure of development density. Bajakian believes a higher FAR increases the town’s tax base and helps attract younger and larger families.
    MaGruder, a current member of the Ocean Ridge Board of Adjustment, is a frequent contributor to discussions during town meetings. He has been a supporter of license plate recognition cameras for police and tightening security measures throughout the town.
    MaGruder has criticized officials for not doing a better job of forcing contractors to fence their construction sites and clean up debris. In recent months, he has successfully lobbied commissioners to fix drainage and overgrowth problems at the Woolbright Road detention/retention pond.

Candidate forum
    The office-seekers will take questions from the public at a candidates’ forum sponsored by the League of Women Voters, on March 9, beginning at 6 p.m. in the Town Hall.

    The city of Delray Beach’s municipal election will take place March 14, as six candidates will compete for two seats on the City Commission. The winners will serve three-year terms.  Despite many phone calls and emails, seat 2 candidate Richard Alteus did not respond to our requests for information.

Profiles compiled by Steven J. Smith

Commission Seat 2

Kelly Barrette
    Personal: 54; graduated from Tufts University with a degree in English; five-year resident of Delray Beach; married, no children.

    Professional: Owned an art gallery in Boston for 15 years then worked as an art consultant for another five years.

    Political experience: Never elected to public office, but volunteered on local political campaigns and with nonprofits such as the Delray Beach Historical Society, the Achievement Centers for Children and Families and the Sandoway Discovery Center, of which she is a board member. Has been outspoken proponent of sober home reform. Also worked with the Florida Coalition for Preservation and the Delray Beach Preservation Trust.

    Positions on issues: Regulation for sober homes; compatible development; quality of life; preserving and protecting neighborhoods; infrastructure.

    Quote: “I want to do everything in my power to make Delray the most difficult place to open a sober home, instead of the easiest place, which it is. I hear the same refrain, which is that residents don’t feel they’re being listened to on development and our neighborhoods. My priority would be to listen to resident-driven agenda. I’m also endorsed by two sitting commissioners, Commissioner Shelly Petrolia and Deputy Vice Mayor Mitch Katz.”

Anneze Barthelemy
    Personal: 39; graduated with a bachelor’s degree in social work from Florida International University and a master’s in social work from Barry University, currently completing her doctorate in ministry at the University of Fort Lauderdale; 12-year resident of Delray Beach; unmarried.

    Professional: President and CEO of Rapha Family Services from 2007-present. Founded Anneze Barthelemy Consulting, LLC in 2010, which serves as a consulting company for churches, leaders and individuals wanting a faith-based social services agency.

    Political experience: Served as an adviser to Sen. Daphne Campbell of the Florida Senate and assisted in her election.

    Positions on issues: Reducing the number of sober homes; affordable housing; responsible development of commercial property; economic development; job creation; transportation and safety.

    Quote: “I believe that I possess the strengths that will be an asset to the city of Delray and the residents. As a social worker, my whole career has been about serving, advocating and defending those who are not able to defend themselves. I have the personality, commitment and leadership skills that will unite, encourage and empower the commission to work for the betterment of our city.”

Jim Chard
    Personal: 70; graduated from Pomona College with a degree in government and got master’s degrees in city planning and business administration from Harvard University; 15-year resident of Delray Beach; unmarried; two children, four grandchildren.

    Professional: Retired for the last five years. Over three decades of experience in management, finance, budgetary, economic development and community involvement in both the private and public sectors. Ran offices for three New York City mayors and ran that city’s largest agency, the Human Resources Administration; also headed several successful high tech startups, including a local one, JumpStart Wireless.

    Political experience: None, but has been involved in city matters for the last five years as a volunteer and serves on a City Commission advisory board.

    Positions on issues: Responsible administration of sober homes; the rise in drug addiction, homelessness and crime; addressing crumbling infrastructure; lopsided tax base; job opportunities for younger generation.

    Quote: “I’d like to get the sober home issue under control and under management. I’m not looking for any endorsements from any commissioners up on the dais who might tell me how to vote. I want to be known as someone who comes at each issue fresh, someone who does his own research and someone who makes his own decisions.”

Commission Seat 4

Shirley Johnson
    Personal: 70; has a political science degree from Howard University; 38-year resident of Delray Beach; married, two children, three grandchildren.

    Professional: Retired. Worked in management and systems analysis at IBM for 26 years, from 1971-1997.

    Political experience: None, but helped start the Paradise Heights Homeowners Association and was its president from 1997-2000.

    Positions on issues: Safe neighborhoods; establishing sober home regulations; maintaining historic preservation; establishing sustainable growth.

    Quote: “I am going to be a commissioner who will be available to listen to all parties involved in my city. My slogan is ‘Lose the politics and listen to the people.’ ”

Josh Smith Jr.
    Personal: 76; has a doctorate in educational administration and leadership from Florida Atlantic University; 51-year resident of Delray Beach; divorced; two children.

    Professional: Retired from job as administrator in the Palm Beach County School District, 1962-1994.

    Political experience: Ran for Delray Beach commission in 2015.

    Positions on issues: Sober home administration; safety; overdevelopment in some areas and a lack of development in others; infrastructure deterioration; traffic and parking problems.

    Quote: “Sober homes have wreaked havoc on our city and placed a strain on our police and fire departments, with drug overdoses and deaths at a big cost to taxpayers. My first priority is for the protection of our neighborhoods and the quality of life our residents want and richly deserve. There is nothing wrong with our city that cannot be corrected by what is right about our city — and the right makeup of our commission.”

By Dan Moffett

    Briny Breezes Mayor Mike Hill says the Town Council doesn’t need him anymore and his grandchildren in the Midwest do. So it’s time to go.
    Hill announced his resignation Feb. 23, and with a wave and a smile, told council members he’d “had enough fun” working with them the last three years.
    “I’m not moving, I’m staying where I am [in Briny Breezes],” Hill said. “But we’ve got some very well-qualified people on this panel now, and these are people who probably can devote more time to the issues that are facing the town than I can.”
    Council President Sue Thaler credited Hill, 69, with helping the town break in an inexperienced group of officials and staff after Roger Bennett left the mayor’s position in 2013.
    With a long career as a lawyer and service as an elected official in Highland Beach, Hill guided the council through some tough issues — such as switching to Boynton Beach from Ocean Ridge for police service, developing new golf cart operation rules and placing restrictions on truck traffic.
    “You stepped up to fill the role of mayor when Roger retired,” Thaler told Hill. “You did an outstanding job. Thank you for your service.”
    Hill said he wants to spend more time with his 11 grandchildren and family in Illinois. His wife, Shirley Smith-Hill, died unexpectedly at age 66 a year ago.
    “I want to thank my colleagues and the people of the town of Briny Breezes for letting me serve as your mayor for the last few years,” Hill said.
    Thaler said the council hopes to appoint a replacement soon, perhaps as early as the March 23 meeting. The rest of the Town Council lineup remains unchanged, after no candidates filed to challenge incumbents Thaler and Jim McCormick, whose seats were up for contest in the March 14 election.
    “Not having an election saves us between $7,000 and $8,000,” Thaler said.
    In other business:
    • The town and corporation are planning to work together on an initiative to improve the safety of golf carts and ensure that those used in Briny are properly registered. An older model, gasoline-powered cart caught fire Feb. 14 on Cardinal Drive, damaging the street pavement and a couple of front yards. Alderman Bobby Jurovaty and Thaler say the town wants golf carts to be equipped with fire extinguishers and wants their owners to keep carts mechanically sound. Enforcing registration will help promote that, they say.
    “I’d like to see that as soon as possible,” Jurovaty said.
    • It’s been close to two years since the council started getting serious about putting a golf cart crossing at A1A and Cordova. Progress this year has been slow, but there has been some.
    Boynton Beach police have completed a survey of bicycle and pedestrian traffic on the sidewalk, and the council hopes to use it to convince the Florida Department of Transportation that a crossing won’t compromise safety.
    The project still has a chance to begin later this year.

    Two Lantana Council members will face opposition from political newcomers in the March 14 election.
    Vice Mayor Philip Aridas, who has served on the council since 2011, is being challenged by Suzanne Gordon, 38. She is a stay-at-home mom and Realtor.
    Aridas, 62, is a park ranger.
    Vice Mayor Pro Tem Tom Deringer, who has been on the council since 2002, is being opposed by Edward Shropshire, 64. He is a council watcher, works for a building materials company, is a defensive driving instructor and has worked as a local union representative.
    Deringer, 63, owns Palm Beach Tire, a company he founded in 1993.
    Two large projects Lantana’s Town Council will be keeping tabs on this year are construction of the mixed-use Water Tower Commons development, just east of I-95 on Lantana Road, and construction of Aura Seaside rental units and office space just north of Hypoluxo Road on the east side of Dixie Highway (the former home of the Cenacle retreat house).
    The council will also be coordinating sidewalk improvements on Broadway and north of Lantana Road along North Eighth Street, overseeing roadway repaving  and restriping and refurbishing the former Department of Juvenile Justice building on North 8th Street for future Police Department headquarters.
— Mary Thurwachter

Meet the candidates
    The Lantana Chamber of Commerce will be hosting two pre-election events.
    A debate is set for 7 p.m. March 7 at the Lantana Recreation Center, 418 S. Dixie Highway.
    A Candidates Meet and Greet Luncheon will be from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. March 9 at the Old Key Lime House, 300 E. Ocean Ave., Lantana. Attendees will pay for their lunch.

Dorinda Burroughs and her therapy dog, Ginny, work with children

in the after-school program at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Delray Beach.

Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

    Dorinda Burroughs dedicated much of her career to improving children’s lives — working with students with learning, social, emotional and medical needs. Since retiring in 2015, she’s found a way to still make a difference, only now she’s doing it with a little help from a four-legged friend.
    On Wednesday afternoons, the Ocean Ridge woman and her therapy dog, Ginny, head to Paul’s Place — the after-school program of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Delray Beach — where they spend an hour visiting with the children.
    At the beginning of the year, Burroughs contacted the church’s pastor and Kathy Fazio, the director of Paul’s Place, and asked if she and Ginny could volunteer.
    “When I approached them, they had never done anything like this before,” Burroughs said. “Some of the children were really frightened of dogs and had had bad experiences. So, I sit on the floor with them and we work through their fears or talk through the bad experiences, and usually by the end they’re petting Ginny and giving her hugs or brushing her.”
    Burroughs and Ginny, a 2-year-old golden retriever, usually see six to eight children per visit. Burroughs had the children read books about golden retrievers, and now she plans to have the children keep a journal about their experiences with Ginny.
    Paul’s Place, which was started in 2000, serves a Haitian-American population, with children ranging upward in age from 6 years old. All expenses are covered by fundraising, and volunteers keep expenses down.
    The children come Monday through Friday, 2:30 to 7 p.m. They have a snack, are tutored, and participate in activities such as music, art and sports. Before heading home, they have a hot dinner.
    On Wednesdays, from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m., they have fun with Burroughs and Ginny.
    “I think having them visit our children has taught them a whole new level of loving and caring for something,” said Fazio. “Ginny has become the mascot of this after-school program. We have a whole bulletin board now that’s dedicated to Ginny, with pictures from weekly visits, and research on golden retrievers.”
    Burroughs only recently started her therapy work with Ginny. But since April 2015, even before she had Ginny, it’s something Burroughs knew she wanted to do. Her granddaughter Reagan, who was 3½ at the time, was being treated in Washington, D.C., for a stage II cancerous tumor on her brain stem.
    One day, when Burroughs was at the hospital with Reagan (who just turned 5 and is cancer free), it was “Doggie Day.”
    “I saw firsthand how the dogs just knew instinctively how to cheer and comfort the children,” said Burroughs, 64. “I saw the children really light up, and forget about their situation, and that they were in the hospital.”
    At the time, she had a very old golden retriever that wasn’t a candidate to be a therapy dog, and eventually had to be put to sleep. So, Burroughs and her husband, Benton, began their search for a new dog. They adopted Ginny, a well-bred but neglected rescue dog, in December 2015, just before her first birthday. 
    “She was just a really sweet, active and fun-loving girl, so we knew right away when we saw her that it was the right thing to do,” said Burroughs.
    About the same time, Burroughs retired and was able to pursue her goal of forming a therapy dog team. She and Ginny received their Canine Good Citizens training and therapy dog training early last year from Fur Life K9 Training Academy in Jupiter Farms. They continued training in northern Virginia — where Burroughs and her husband live part of the year — and received their therapy dog certification from PAL (People. Animals. Love.) in Washington, D.C., this past fall. 
    Besides visiting nursing homes, memory care centers, and the Armed Forces Retirement Home, they have worked with PAWS for Reading, the after-school and library program of PAL, where children, often ESL students, can improve their reading skills by reading aloud to a nonjudgmental therapy dog.
    Burroughs also has taken and passed a pet handler’s course through Pet Partners, a nationwide group that certifies dogs for clinical settings. Her ultimate goal is to work with Ginny at Inova Children’s Hospital in Falls Church, Va.  where her desire to work with a therapy dog originated.
She expects to achieve that goal this summer or fall as Ginny gets more experienced and matures, and can take her exams for the Pet Partners certification.
    Helping children was always at the heart of Burroughs’ professional life. She worked for 15 years as a learning disabilities and behavior specialist with the Fairfax County public school system in northern Virginia.
    The last 20 years of her career, she worked as an educational psychologist and consultant at a large pediatric practice in the town of Fairfax, working with children who had medical needs, and with their families.
    Burroughs, who has four children and three grandchildren, looks forward to having her husband join her and Ginny in their volunteer work, once he retires.
    “There’s a great deal of science and research that shows that when sick children or adults can have positive interactions with dogs, they feel better,” said Burroughs. “It just gives them a lot of joy.”
— Marie Puleo

    Q. Where did you grow up and go to school? How do you think that has influenced you?
    A. I grew up in a very small town in Mississippi after spending the first five years of my life in Michigan when my dad was in the Air Force. I attended Mississippi State University, and later the University of Virginia for graduate school. Growing up in a rural area, where everyone knew each other, with strong ties to church and community, certainly shaped me.

    Q. What professions have you worked in? What professional accomplishments are you most proud of? 
    A. I was a learning disabilities and behavior specialist. I was a consultant at a large pediatric practice. I had many professional joys working with special-needs students and their families, including piloting immersion programs in the late ’80s and ’90s that helped integrate these students into the general education population.
    At the pediatric practice, I evaluated students and wrote programs for them with a team of other specialists. I still communicate with many of my past students and their families. Knowing that I had an impact on their lives and seeing them succeed is truly a gift.
    One of the proudest periods I have had was when my husband, Benton, and I chaired a capital campaign to raise funds (during the recession) for a new Ronald McDonald House in Washington, D.C. We raised nearly $6 million to build the house debt-free. My husband did much of the legal work pro bono. I served on the Ronald McDonald House board for 16 years, the last two as board chair.

    Q. What advice do you have for a young person selecting a career today?
    A. It is really important to learn what you don’t want to do, just as much as it is knowing what you will love to do. Try out all sorts of jobs while you are young and develop diverse skill sets.

    Q. How did you choose to make your home in Ocean Ridge?
    A. We found Ocean Ridge in 2002 and are here seasonally, as well as off and on throughout the year. We love the small village atmosphere and the geographic location in Palm Beach County, as well as the convenience to Palm Beach International Airport. People are friendly and welcoming.

    Q. What is your favorite part about living in Ocean Ridge?
    A. The people we have as friends and those friends who walk dogs on Old Ocean Boulevard.

    Q. What music do you listen to when you need inspiration? When you want to relax?
    A. Classical and instrumental jazz.

    Q. Do you have favorite quotes that inspire your decisions?
    A. “What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make,” from Jane Goodall. Also “To serve is beautiful, but only if it is done with joy and whole heart and a free mind,” from Pearl S. Buck.

    Q. Have you had mentors in your life?
    A. My parents and grandmothers. They all instilled the importance of education, family, faith and service.

    Q. If your life story were made into a movie, whom would you want to play you?
    A. Annette Bening, for her grace and serenity.

    Q.  Is there something about you that most people don’t know but may be interested to know?
    A. I love to try to imitate different accents. I have a very Southern accent and I once had a communications class whereby a professor made us take on different accents and personas. I also journal and write down funny things I hear when I’m out and about. I may compile it into a book. I also want to write a children’s book about Ginny and our therapy work.

By Jane Smith

    The iPic development team is asking Delray Beach’s Community Redevelopment Agency for more money, even though it has not closed on its contract to buy the 1.6 acres for $3.6 million from the agency.
    The seventh amended contract had a Jan. 31 deadline, but the agency’s attorney said the contract was still valid. The closing date will be 30 days after iPic secures all of its permits, according to the CRA attorney.
    For the proposed eight-screen, luxury movie theater at the corner of Atlantic Avenue and Federal Highway, iPic wants to charge the Delray Beach CRA for its share of operating and maintaining 90 public parking spaces in the project’s garage.
    That annual cost was not adjusted for inflation, which the iPic owners want.
    Then, the theater owners want to be repaid for providing 40 extra spaces, required by the city for a total of 90, with $400,000 in tax dollars spread over 10 years after the project is finished.
    The 90 public spaces could be sold to the CRA as space for condos, iPic’s attorney said. That price was not revealed at the Feb. 23 CRA meeting, nor was information provided on how that concept would work.
    The four board members agreed to let their staff and the iPic attorneys continue negotiating and bring it back at their March 9 meeting. The board members received only partial details at 2 p.m. on their meeting day.
    At the start of the Feb. 23 meeting, iPic’s attorney, Bonnie Miskel, said, “My client bid on a proposal that required 50 public parking spaces.”
    The iPic CEO also attended. “We were supposed to build 50 spaces, now we are building 40 extra parking spaces,” said Hamid Hashemi.
    The Delray Beach City Commission had to approve the project, which it did in March 2016.
     “Specifically, the developer, at the time of receiving approval, understood and agreed to construct an additional (40) spaces to correct what was, in my view, a flawed request for proposal in this regard,” Mayor Cary Glickstein wrote in an email on Feb. 24. He voted for the project.
    Commissioner Shelly Petrolia, who voted against the approval, attended the Feb. 23 CRA meeting.
    “I was shocked at what I witnessed at the CRA meeting,” she said. “I had no idea that additional incentives were in the mix when they got such a sweetheart deal on the property and the alleys for free.”
    CRA Chairman Reggie Cox said, “The extra spaces were agreed to. … At this point in the project you want to recoup some of that cost, I understand that.”
    But that incentive of taxpayer dollars is not sitting well with some Delray Beach residents.
    “It is commonly accepted in Delray Beach that development east of Swinton Avenue does not need to be subsidized by taxpayers,” said real estate broker Chris Davey. “The CRA should take revenue from that area and use it in the northwest and southwest communities.”
    Davey voted against iPic in July 2015 when he was on the city’s Planning & Zoning Board. At that meeting, he said, “They are trying to put 10 pounds of something into a 5-pound bag.”
    With a projected completion date of 2020, the iPic complex will contain a 44,479-square-foot movie theater, 43,880 square feet of Class A office space, 7,487 square feet of retail and a multilevel parking garage with 326 spaces. The bottom two floors will have 90 public spaces that are metered. The city will collect that revenue.
    The CRA staff and iPic have been negotiating the parking cost sharing agreement since December. Initially, iPic had asked for $460,000 annually, which was reduced to $115,348 after taxes and debt service were eliminated.

    The CRA’s consultant, PMG Associates of Deerfield Beach, recommended paying $74,996 annually with just $50 set aside for reserves. The consultant based the amount on a new garage that Fort Lauderdale is building at its beach. It’s a municipal garage but with added touches, said Phil Gonot of PMG.

    DELRAY BEACH — Gayl Laymon Brown passed away peacefully on Feb. 5. Gayl was a fixture in the Delray Beach community for over 60 years, having moved there with her family at the age of 12.  She was born Jan. 21, 1937, in St. Joseph, Ill., to Dr. Gayle and Margaret Laymon, and spent her early childhood in Champaign, Ill. 
    After attending Seacrest High School, Stephens College and the University of Florida, Gayl met Air Force Lt. Harvey L. Brown on a blind date, and they were married six months later on June 11, 1955, at the First Presbyterian Church in Delray Beach. Harvey and Gayl made a life and raised their family in Delray Beach, where Gayl devoted her time and leadership to many organizations, including Unity Church of Delray Beach, The Delray Beach Historical Society, and as a sustaining member of the Junior League of Boca Raton. 
    Gayl was an avid and talented bridge player, and cherished the many friendships she developed through her love of the game.
    She was predeceased by her loving husband and parents, her siblings Richard Laymon, Sally Hofling, Daniel Laymon and Linda Perkins, and her son-in-law Robert Long. Gayl is survived by her three children, Susan Long, Anne Pugliese (James) and Harvey Brown Jr. (Marilyn), and the true lights of her life, her grandchildren, Caroline, Catherine and Andrew Pugliese, and Robby and Isabel Long. She will also be greatly missed by her beloved dog, Luke.
    A celebration of Gayl’s life was held Feb. 12 at Unity Church of Delray Beach. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Unity Church of Delray Beach or the Delray Beach Historical Society.
— Obituary submitted by the family

    COUNTY POCKET — Krishna Gibson Espanet, a shining light of a million stars, passed away on Feb. 23 after a short but intense battle with cancer. Krishna was born in Boynton Beach Nov. 25, 1971, to Wendy Baldridge Christie and the late Danny Gibson.
    Krishna’s radiant personality and infectious smile gained her a plethora of lifelong friends. She  spent time growing up in Florida, Vermont, Maine and New Hampshire.
    In 2002, Krishna returned to Boynton Beach and shortly thereafter met her perfect match, Eric Espanet.
    In October 2007, they were married in a beautiful beachside ceremony and their little home nearby was always filled with love, friends and family — the very things that meant everything to her.
    To know her and be around her was an absolute privilege. She was selfless and cared for those she loved above all else.
    Krishna’s life was celebrated Feb. 26, with visitation at Scobee-Combs-Bowden Funeral Home in Boynton Beach.
    Krishna was vivacious; she filled her life with color and in keeping with her spirit, attendees were asked to put aside that black outfit and wear something bright and happy, something that would make her smile — as she did for us all of these years.

— Obituary submitted by the family

By Ron Hayes

    OCEAN RIDGE — Some of us yearn for a little more spice in our lives.
    Hugh McCormick Jr. was born to a world filled with it, and spent his working days spreading the flavors and fragrances far and wide.
    In 1885, Mr. McCormick’s great-uncle, Willoughby McCormick, began selling flavoring extracts and fruit syrups door to door from a cellar in Baltimore. Seven years later, he added spices, and today McCormick & Co. is an international company with 8,000 employees.
    Hugh McCormick Jr., “The Spice Man” to family and friends, died peacefully on Valentine’s Day. He was 96 and had lived in Palm Beach County since retiring in 1983, first in Highland Beach and, since 2005, in Ocean Ridge.
    “He used to come home from work smelling like spices,” recalled his son, Hugh McCormick III. “They had a big concrete building on the inner harbor in Baltimore. Everyone called it ‘the plant,’ so as a kid I thought they actually grew all the spices down there from a plant.”
    Hugh Perry McCormick Jr. was born Aug. 5, 1920, in Baltimore. He graduated from City College High School as a center on the state champion football team and captain of the swim team and then earned a degree in economics from Johns Hopkins University.
    After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Mr. McCormick enlisted in the U.S. Navy, serving as second officer on the U.S. sub chaser SC-525 in the Mediterranean and a skipper of the SC-1369 in the Pacific. Following the war, he served another 20 years in the Naval Reserve, retiring in 1967 with the rank of commander.
    In 1938, Mr. McCormick met Alice Joy James, of Newton, Miss., at a Baptist summer camp in Ridgecrest, N.C. The couple began a seven-year courtship that ended in 1944, when they were wed while the groom was between Navy assignments. They were married for 60 years, until her death in 2004.
    “Now that Dad’s passed on, I’ve started going through their correspondence and found about 700 letters from their courting days,” his son said. “He’d saved them all.”
    Mr. McCormick began work at the family business as a salesman, driving 50 miles each day to sell spices and extracts out of his car. In time, he was promoted to tea taster.
    “He’d have a whole tray of samples and swish them around and spit it out like wine,” his son said. “His AOL address was ‘teabag.’”
    Mr. McCormick spent his middle career as credit manager for the company, then became head of the government supply division, providing spices for U.S. military bases throughout the world.
    In that capacity, he traveled to Asia like a modern-day Marco Polo, buying spices and coordinating sales in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Japan.
    In Highland Beach, the McCormicks lived in an oceanfront home designed by his son, an architect. Mr. McCormick enjoyed golf and tennis and was a member of The Ocean Club of Florida, The Country Club of Florida, and the Manalapan Yacht Club. He attended the First Presbyterian Church of Delray Beach.
    “He was a very loving father, and a modest and gracious man,” his son said. “He didn’t have a lot of bombast or any arrogance to him. He was charitable and unassuming, but he had a twinkle in his eye.”
    In addition to his son, Mr. McCormick is survived by two daughters, Mary Meyer and Alice Meiners, both of Ocean Ridge, seven grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.
    A celebration of his life will be held at 11 a.m. March 31 at University Baptist Church in Baltimore.
    In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the ALS Clinic or Division of Endocrinology at Johns Hopkins Hospital; Building Families for Children of Columbia, Md.; or the Brother’s Brother Foundation of Pittsburgh.
    Lorne & Sons is in charge of arrangements.

By Jane Smith

    Boynton Beach wants to stop out-of-towners from being buried at its city cemetery because it is running out of space.
    In early February, the City Commission approved new rules that would allow only full-time residents, their immediate families and direct descendants to purchase grave sites at Boynton Beach Memorial Park.
    Former commissioners and mayors also were given burial-access rights, along with military veterans.
In addition, exceptions were made for former residents who moved away after living in Boynton Beach for at least 10 years.
    Vice Mayor Mack McCray brought up the issue in December when he heard about a nonresident using a Boynton Beach church address to be able to save money at a city cemetery.
    Previously, the city charged residents $525 and nonresidents $1,125 to be buried at Memorial Park. Following the February change, the city will collect only the resident fee.
    “Ours is more economical than Broward County and if we don’t do something they’ll be coming from Broward to be buried in our cemetery and we just can’t do it,” McCray said.
    The cemetery sits on 12.3 acres at the southwest corner of Seacrest Boulevard and Woolbright Road.
    The land remained in private hands until the 1950s, when the city acquired the cemetery from the developer of High Point. The cemetery first ran out of space in 2004, but it was replatted three times since then.
    More than a year ago, the City Commission directed staff to replat the cemetery by eliminating internal roads and buildings. That created 410 plots for a total of 820 gravesites.
    Other nearby cities, including Delray Beach and Boca Raton, restrict burial in their cemeteries to residents.

A passive park has replaced the old dive shop at the Boynton Beach Marina.

Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

By Jane Smith
    
    The last piece of the Boynton Harbor Marina will soon be finished, and a ribbon cutting is set for March 31.
    The latest completed portion of the boardwalk project includes seat walls, Adirondack chairs, landscaping, roadway realignment and lighting. It is part of an overall $20 million marina redo by the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency.
    “We’re at the punch list stage now,” Michael Simon, interim executive director, told CRA board members.
    The project came in under budget at $892,357, Simon said at the Feb. 14 CRA meeting. The agency had set aside $820,612 plus a 15 percent contingency fee for a total of $943,704, he said.
    “Hats off for a job well done,” said CRA Vice Chairman Mack McCray.
    But the project did not finish on time because of unforeseen problems the contractor found and CRA staff-initiated changes during the construction, according to Simon.
    Six signs, costing $358, were installed in late December to say: “Boynton Harbor Marina. Businesses open while improvements are being made.”
    The boardwalk sits next to deep-sea fishing and scuba diving charters, and personal watercraft and boat rentals. At the eastern end are two waterfront restaurants: Banana Boat and Two Georges.
     “I’m glad they are finished. It looks absolutely beautiful and is absolutely useless,” said Lynn Simmons, who rented space in the old dive shop that was demolished to make way for the walkway.   
    She has since moved her scuba diving operation, Splashdown Divers, and opened a sandwich shop, Marina Bites, next to each other in Marina Village at the Boynton Harbor Marina.
    CRA board member Joe Casello voted against the walkway project last summer because he wanted to see the dive shop building reused. But in mid-February, he said, “It really came out nice.”

Work continues on the site of the planned 500 Ocean complex,

including the corner of Southeast Fourth Street and East Ocean Avenue.

Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

By Jane Smith
    
    The 500 Ocean apartment developers received a five-month extension to Dec. 31 to complete the luxury rental complex that sits at the Ocean Avenue and Federal Highway intersection in Boynton Beach.
    LeCesse Development Corp., one of the project’s partners, sought approval from the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency because the developers will receive taxpayer subsidies after the apartment complex is finished. The CRA will give the developers a total of $4.4 million spread over 10 years.
    In a Feb. 8 letter to the CRA, a LeCesse representative said the development team needed the extra time because of three problems: a shortage of skilled construction labor, unforeseen off-site underground conditions for utility placement, and complex coordination among the staff of the general contractor, architects and the city.
    500 Ocean was supposed to be finished by now. The CRA is hoping the six-story building will jump-start the downtown.
    Earlier in the Feb. 14 meeting, resident Susan Oyer, whose family owns commercial buildings across Ocean Avenue from the apartment construction project, brought in some pieces of construction debris. She said she found them while cleaning the property two days before.
    The items she found were a 2-foot length of rebar and a 1-foot piece of wood, about 3 inches wide, with two nails sticking out from it.
    “The 500 Ocean doesn’t secure its site,” Oyer said. “You can go in there and take any kind of construction materials you want. Guards are nowhere to be found.”
    Oyer, a middle-school teacher, theorized that “someone was obviously looking to create mischief” with the wood and nails “because you don’t put that out there on the pavers without the intention of damaging someone’s tires.”
Vice Mayor Mack McCray said he was in favor of giving the extension, “but I want something in return: Better care of the construction site.”
    John Flynn, acquisitions director for LeCesse, promised he would do better. “We do have a third-party general contractor,” he said. “As soon as I walk out of the building, I will be on the phone to him.”
    Mayor Steven Grant asked for a celebration when it’s complete.
    Flynn agreed.
    When finished, 500 Ocean will have 341 luxury rental apartments in one- to three-bedroom units. It also will have 20,000 square feet of retail on the ground floor. It will offer tenant amenities that include a clubhouse, fitness center, theater room, bowling center, cyber café/game room, summer kitchen and a pool. A separate garage will have 664 parking spaces. None of the parking has been allocated for public use.

A light rain did not spoil a family event at the club. Holly Wamser and daughter Libby talk with Taylor Morris.

Photos by Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

Gary Tapella and Robin Beamish share a laugh.

By Brian Biggane

    The combination of changing demographics and having a neighboring club going through extensive renovations has helped prompt St. Andrews Club of Delray Beach to launch a summer membership program for 2017.
    St. Andrews introduced a limited summer program last year highlighted by what General Manager Robert Grassi called an informal “Grillin’ and Chillin’” cookout every Wednesday night.
    It went over so well that Grassi and the board of directors have decided to keep the club open through the summer and offer memberships spanning May 1 to Oct. 31.
    “The membership said, ‘We really like this. Can you do more of this?’” board member Mark Mayer said.
    “And Robert’s thought was, well, we’ve got a beach, pool, a golf course we take care of, tennis courts, fitness center, croquet. We should stay open not only because we have more members here year-round, but there are just more people in the area in the summer than there used to be.”
    Further incentive was the fact the nearby Gulf Stream Bath & Tennis Club is undergoing extensive, multimillion-dollar renovations this summer and its year-round members have reciprocal privileges at St. Andrews.
    A bad break with the weather resulted in what Mayer now considers only a small setback for the plans. The club invited 15 families for an introductory look-see on Jan. 29, which turned out to be a raw, rainy day on which temperatures never rose above the 50s. With the Super Bowl set for the following Sunday, there was no chance to reschedule.
    “So we went ahead and did it, and what we heard was, ‘We never knew this was here.’ So we at least got to show off the property,” Mayer said. Another family day, by invitation only, is set for March 5.
    Few other clubs in the area can even approach what St. Andrews has to offer. Located on both sides of A1A just north of The Little Club and adjacent to the county-owned Gulf Stream Park, St. Andrews has an 18-hole, par-54 Pete Dye golf course that has been recognized as a Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary, a world-class croquet court, a family-friendly beach area, state-of-the-art fitness center, guarded pool and several dining rooms.
    The Little Club, open year- round, has also extended an invitation to Bath & Tennis Club members to use its facilities this summer only.
    Long-standing member Donna Ayers, who owns one of the 136 apartments on the grounds of the St. Andrews Club, said she’s seen a remarkable transformation in membership from older adults to younger families in recent years.
    “It’s become much younger,” Ayers said. “It’s amazing what has happened to this club in the last five years.”
    Mayer said that, while the pool remains popular, families with children more and more head for the beach.
    “Every year they ask, ‘Can we get more lounge chairs?’” he said.
    Ayers credits head lifeguard Connie Case for much of the surge in younger families. Case plays guitar when the club stages bonfires on the beach and organizes events for the kids.
    “She’s amazing,” Ayers said. “She’s brought in activities. She’s got the kids playing tennis, golf, out on paddleboards, teaching them about turtles. It’s a great program.”
    The prominence of the croquet program was underscored when world champion Stephen Mulliner of England paid a recent visit. David Bent, who is onsite pro for both the tennis and croquet programs, is ranked nationally and internationally in croquet.
    As for the par-3 golf course, legendary course architect Dye, who redid the greens and tees two years ago, came by to play a round in early February. Both electric and pull carts are available. Tee times are not required.
    New club members must have one existing member sponsor.

    For more information about the summer membership program, contact GM Robert Grassi at 266-5714 or email robert@standrewsclub.org.

Delray Beach author and developer Frank McKinney addresses an open-house crowd

from atop his latest effort, a micro-mansion being offered at $3.95 million.

The 4,042-square-foot home is near the beach in Ocean Ridge and is being represented

by Pascal Liguori of Premier Estate Properties.

Jerry Lower/ The Coastal Star

By Christine Davis

    The Greater Boynton Beach Chamber of Commerce hosted its Key to Success Business Awards Gala in January. The Business of the Year Award went to Senior Helpers, owned by Michael and Leann Mohl. The Nonprofit of the Year Award was given to the YMCA of South Palm Beach County. The Young Professional of Boynton Choice Award went to Elissa Erman, owner of Universal Coaching Services. The Health Care Initiative of the Year Award was given to Bethesda Health. The Women’s Business of the Year Award went to Debra Slobodow, owner of Primerica. The New Member of the Year Award was given to Rick Maharajh, owner of RM Logitech. The Harvey Oyer Jr. Community Service Award went to Robert Taylor Jr.
                                
    Karen Granger, president and CEO of the Greater Delray Beach Chamber of Commerce, welcomed 130 members and supporters to the chamber’s annual membership luncheon and installation of officers in January.
    Cathy Balestriere, general manager of Crane’s Beach House Boutique Hotel & Luxury Villas, was sworn in as the chamber’s chair of the board. Others installed include Bill Branning of BSA Construction as advocacy vice-chair; Jesse Flowers of CenterState Bank as finance vice-chair; Kelli Freeman of Hamilton House Oceanfront Condos as government affairs vice-chair; Sarah Martin of Experience Epic, LLC as programming vice-chair, Christina Morrison of Carmel Real Estate & Management as economic development vice-chair, Noreen Payne of Northwestern Mutual/The Ruhl Financial Group as membership vice-chair; Rob Posillico of The Scirocco Group as the 2018 chair elect; and Suzanne Spencer of The Crossroads Club as education vice-chair.
    The Delray Beach chamber’s 2017 board of directors are Mark Bryan of Delray Medical Center; Daniel Castrillon of The Scirocco Group; James Chard of Human Powered Delray; Lee Cohen of Carner, Newmark & Cohen, LLP; Sarah Crane of The HOW Foundation; Neal de Jesus, interim city manager of Delray Beach; Mark Denkler of Vince Canning Shoes; Evelyn Dobson of Delray Beach Community Land Trust; Sophia Eccleston of Florida Power & Light Co.; Charlene Farrington of Spady Cultural Heritage Museum; Casey Flaherty of Delray Honda; Roger L. Kirk of Bethesda Hospital East; Connor Lynch of Plastridge Insurance Agency; Jeffrey Lynne of Beighley, Myrick & Udell, PA; Jeff Perlman of CDS International Holdings Inc.; Scott Porten of Porten Cos.; David Schmidt of Simon & Schmidt; Barbara Stark of The Milagro Center; and Rob Steele of Old School Square. Stephanie Immelman of the Delray Beach Marketing Cooperative was named ex-officio board member.
At the luncheon, Sarah Martin and Rob Posillico won Director of the Year Awards; Sally Areson was named Chamber Ambassador of the Year; and Simon & Schmidt received a special award as a 50-year member.
                                
    Year-end market statistics for Palm Beach County have been released from the Realtors Association of the Palm Beaches.
    For townhouses and condos, year over year, closed sales were 13,106, down 6 percent. Median sales were priced at $157,000, up 11.7 percent. The average sales price was $239,426, up 2.8 percent. Inventory was listed at 6,205, up 6.1 percent.
    For single-family homes, closed sales were at 17,501, down 3.4 percent. Median sales were $306,953, up 7.7 percent. Average sales were at $471,710, up 6.1 percent, and inventory was listed at 7,127, up 6.6 percent.

Not a record by Manalapan standards, but the property at 920 S. Ocean Blvd. was just sold for $28 million.

Photos provided

                   
    A new contemporary-style spec oceanfront home at 920 S. Ocean Blvd. in Manalapan sold for $28 million, according to the deed recorded by the Palm Beach County Clerk’s office. The three-story, eight-bedroom house with 17,719 total square feet was sold by its developer, Farrell Building Co.
    The buyer listed on the deed, JSEJ LLC, is a limited liability company with an address in Philadelphia. Broker Christian Angle of Christian Angle Real Estate handled both sides of the sale.

A record sale in Gulf Stream of $18.5 million for an estate at 3333 N. Ocean Blvd.

                               
    A deed recorded Feb. 7 shows that Doris and Neil Gillman sold their 1.3-acre oceanfront four-bedroom estate at 3333 N. Ocean Blvd., Gulf Stream, for $18.5 million. A pocket listing, it was advertised at $19.95 million. The buyer is Sea Turtle Haven LLC, a Delaware company. It was listed and sold by Corcoran Group agents Nicholas Malinosky and Randy Ely, who say it’s a record breaker for Gulf Stream. Previously, 1511 N. Ocean Blvd. sold for $17,667,500 in March 2007. According to a deed recorded on Feb. 14, Doris Gillman bought a newly constructed home at 300 E. Key Palm Road in Boca Raton’s Royal Palm Yacht and Country Club for $12.42 million. The 1,774 total-square-foot, five-bedroom home was recently completed by SRD Building Corp.
                                
    A residence at 1255 N. Ocean Blvd. in Gulf Stream, listed by Malinosky and Ely for $16.45 million, sold for $15 million on Feb. 7. It was built by Mouw Associates Inc., designed by Gary Eliopoulos and decorated by Phoebe Howard. The sellers bought the house in June 2008 for $5.5 million.
                                
     Lang Realty hosts its sixth annual Open House Extravaganza from noon to 4 p.m. March 19. It offers an opportunity to tour a selection of single-family homes, condos and waterfront estates from Boca Raton to Port St. Lucie. Visit www.LangRealty.com for a list of participating properties.
    Lang Realty announced sales of more than $1 billion for 2016. Also, this year the company has launched a rebranding campaign. Lang Realty has more than 400 agents with offices in Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, Manalapan, West Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, Jupiter and Port St. Lucie.
                                
    Royal Palm Properties will host its “Showcase of Homes” on March 26. The open house will feature 25 homes in the Royal Palm Yacht and Country Club. Broker/owner David Roberts has been hosting this annual event for more than 30 years.
                                
    In January, Equity One, a North Miami Beach and New York-based REIT, sold the 164,980-square-foot Lantana Village Square shopping center at 1201 and 1301 S. Dixie Highway and 457 Greynolds Circle to Lantana SDC LLC, an affiliate of Miami-based Saglo Development Corp., for $10.2 million. Casey Rosen of CBRE brokered the sale and debt was provided by BB&T.
                                
    On Jan. 25, at a Delray Beach Site Plan Review and Appearance Board meeting, Kolter Group unveiled plans for a four-story, 150-room hotel and 116-space parking garage to be located on a 1.169-acre parcel at 135, 145, 169, and 185 SE Sixth Ave., Delray Beach. The project has been underway since August 2016, as stated in the town’s video of the meeting.
    While compliant with the city’s code and design guidelines, the project is adjacent to the Marina Historic District, and neighbors complained that they had not been kept informed. They expressed concern about the impact of traffic as well as the building’s architecture. In light of this, the board postponed making a decision.
                                
    Research faculty members at Florida Atlantic University rank 24th in the world for their intellectual contributions to the real estate industry through their publications in top peer-reviewed journals, according to the Journal of Real Estate Literature.
    FAU ranked No. 32 in the latest ranking of Best Online Graduate Business Programs (non-MBA) from U.S. News & World Report. Online programs at the university include master of accounting, executive master of taxation, and executive master’s in health administration.
                                
    The Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs has awarded Palm Beach State College accreditation of its bachelor’s level supervision and management programs. Offered on the Lake Worth campus, as well as online, the programs include general management, entrepreneurship, health management and project management.
                                
    Delray Beach resident Allison Turner, CEO and owner of BCoSF Inc., was appointed vice president of Network Professionals Inc.’s Palm Beach Gardens Get Connected Chapter. Network Professionals Inc. consists of business people, one in each professional category, who network through exchanging business referrals.
                                
    Katz & Associates promoted Jon Cashion to senior director of leasing and investment sales, Paige Eber to vice president, and Donny Moskovic to director. The company’s Boca Raton office is at 2300 Glades Road.
                                
    NAI/Merin Hunter Codman, Inc. named Lesley Sheinberg its 2016 Broker of the Year after she completed 250,000 square feet in commercial transactions for that year. Sheinberg specializes in office leasing and investment sales for institutional and private equity clients that include JP Morgan, Equus CapitalPartners and Lionstone Investments. NAI/Merin Hunter Codman’s Boca Raton office is at 951 Yamato Road.
                                
    Anne Lacombe, vice president of public relations for The Corcoran Group, has taken over Corcoran’s Delray Beach market public relations efforts.
                                
    Steven G. Rappaport, Esq. was appointed to the board of directors of the Fair Housing/Equal Employment Board of Palm Beach County, for the term from January 2017 through Sept. 30, 2019.
                                
    Scott Field of Realty Associates was installed as president of The Realtors Commercial Alliance of the Palm Beaches and Treasure Coast. Other officers installed for one-year terms include: Ken Duke of Illustrated Properties Commercial as president-elect (for 2018), Robert Goldstein of Hospitality Consultants as secretary, Christina Morrison of Carmel Real Estate and Management as treasurer, and Douglas Rooks of Century 21 All Professional as Treasure Coast chairman.
    In addition, Arnold Broussard of Realty Group of the Palm Beaches, Michael Golieb of American Property Exchange, Erik Johnson of Genesis Commercial Group, Gretchen Krise and Blair Lee of Lighthouse Realty Services, and John Schmidt of Cornerstone Realty will serve as 2017 directors.
                                
    Palm Beach Travel’s new service led by Kandace Philosophos, Palm Beach Art & Travel, will showcase post-war and contemporary artists in functions such as popup shops within galleries. Call 515-5411 or visit www.palmbeachtravelandart.com.


Send business news to Christine Davis at cdavis9797@gmail.com.

Frank Gonzales, top, and Fernando Aciento, bottom, paint the original wooden-brick head

inside the rebuilt playground of Boca Raton’s Sugar Sand Park.

The playground is expected to be completed this month.

Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

Visitors to see ‘wow factor’ at reopening

By Steve Plunkett
    
    Something new is coming to Boca Raton this month — a four-level playground accessible to children of all physical abilities via ramps from bottom to top.
    Construction of the refurbished Science Playground at Sugar Sand Park is scheduled to wrap up March 18.
    “From what we’ve learned and what we’ve seen, this will be one-of-a-kind in the United States,” said Arthur Koski, executive director of the Greater Boca Raton Beach & Park District, which operates Sugar Sand. “Once it’s opened, it’s going to [have] a wow factor. It’s going to be great.”
    Citizen volunteers built the playground, at 300 S. Military Trail, with wood in 1995. “They came down with hammers and nails,” Koski said.
    Safety concerns closed the aging structure in June 2015. By then, district commissioners had decided to make the playground more accessible, partly on the prodding of Sandra Gottfried of the city’s People With Disabilities Advisory Board. The entire facility now meets the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act.  
    “All areas are going to be accessible by wheelchairs — I think that’s the major difference,” District Chairman Robert Rollins said. “That’s what makes the playground extra special.”
    Koski said, “It’s the finest thing the district has done.”
    The old version’s wooden decks were supported by telephone-type poles. They’ve been replaced with composite material.
    “But not circular like a pole — it’s square,” Koski said.
    The different shape meant finding a different way to attach the floors to the posts and extra scrutiny of the finished work.
    “We’ve got workers crawling all over it,” making sure, for instance, that the heads of bolts are recessed enough that a child’s fingers won’t snag,” he said. “We want to make sure that every single element is safe. Every one of the patrons deserves that.”
    Gone is the mulch that covered the ground around the structure, replaced by a rubberized mat more suited to wheelchairs and baby strollers.
    “We modified all the designs to accommodate children with any sort of disability so that the entire facility is accessible to everyone,” Koski said.
    And not just children. If old age or infirmities someday put Koski in a wheelchair, “I’ll be able to take my grandson up to the fourth floor,” he said.
    The entire project, which includes new playground equipment and improved access for buses and pedestrians, cost $2.4 million.
    Like the original playground, the refurbished version offers hands-on experiences that demonstrate scientific principles such as a space station, a giant head and DNA-coded walkways.
    “Everybody that came to the playground before was impressed by the structure. It was a community effort,” Rollins said.
    But the layout was modified to improve lines of sight for watchful parents.
    “Once your children [went] into the playground, the old one, you could lose track of them,” Rollins said.
    In late February, beach and park officials were still planning events to celebrate the playground’s opening. They hoped to have a homecoming of sorts for the volunteers who built the original structure.
    Gottfried attended a district meeting in November to urge commissioners to educate the public on what to expect at Sugar Sand and to set up “play at the park dates” to encourage parents to bring children with disabilities.
    “As I have told you before, we will be transforming a whole generation through play,” Gottfried said. “When these kids reach adulthood, they will be better people because of their experiences in the playground.”

By Steve Plunkett
    
    Boca Raton wants a judge to dismiss a lawsuit by a group seeking to invalidate an ordinance that reserves city-owned land along the Intracoastal Waterway for public uses only.
    The suit by ForBoca.org Inc., whose leader is former Greater Boca Raton Chamber of Commerce chief Mike Arts, “is filled with conclusory and inconsistent allegations,” the city says in a motion filed Jan. 30.
    ForBoca.org calls the initiative ordinance city voters approved by a 2-1 margin Nov. 8 a “land development regulation” and a “development order” in its lawsuit.
    “In fact, the Initiative Ordinance is neither,” the city says in its motion. “Instead it is an administrative directive establishing how the City will operate and manage its own lands and facilities in its proprietary capacity as a governmental landowner.”
    Even if the ordinance were a development order, a challenge to its validity would be decided by an administrative law judge, not in circuit court, the motion says.
    Circuit Judge Joseph Marx scheduled a hearing for 1:45 p.m. March 24 at the County Courthouse in West Palm Beach for both sides to present arguments.
    “No one is going to tell you that your vote doesn’t matter,” City Council member Scott Singer told residents at a candidate forum last month. “That’s why I vigorously opposed the [ForBoca.org] lawsuit, and that’s why the city has filed a motion to dismiss.”
ForBoca.org Inc. says the ordinance limits the use of city land — and the Wildflower property in particular — in a way that is “wholly and patently inconsistent” with Boca Raton’s comprehensive plan. The ordinance also violates a state law that prohibits using an initiative or referendum process to change zoning, the group says.
But outside counsel Daniel Abbott and Adam Schwartzbaum argue in the city’s motion that ForBoca.org has no standing to make either claim because the group does not show it has suffered a “special injury” or that it was “substantially affected” by the ordinance.
In 2009 Boca Raton paid $7.5 million for the 2.3-acre Wildflower parcel, at the northwest corner of the Palmetto Park Road bridge over the Intracoastal. The city had been negotiating for several years to lease the parcel to the Hillstone Restaurant Group for a restaurant there, along with a waterside walkway open to the public.
In July the City Council changed the land-use designation of the northern part of the site from residential to commercial and rezoned it from single-family residential to local business district. The southern portion was already zoned local business.
Meanwhile, a petition drive that neighbors launched to overrule the plan gathered 700 more signatures than the 1,030 required and put the referendum question on the November ballot.
The vote was 29,378 in favor of keeping the land for public use only, 14,484 against.