Gulf Stream announced two important dates for residents of its Core area west of State Road A1A and north of Golfview Drive.

On April 22, work to widen the Core’s narrow roads and to improve the drainage system and water lines is set to begin.

And on March 12 the contractors, consulting engineers and town officials will host an informational session at the Gulf Stream School to let residents know what to expect during the 18-month, $13 million project.

“Hard to believe it’s going to be here very quickly, and you’ll believe it when it starts,” Mayor Scott Morgan said.

A big part of the meeting at the school, which will start at 6 p.m., will cover how traffic will get into and out of the Core district while the work is being done.

— Steve Plunkett

With a major resurfacing project beginning as early as next month on State Road A1A through Highland Beach and a small portion of Delray Beach, the Florida Department of Transportation will hold an in-person open house and a pair of virtual public meetings on March 7 to provide construction details.

Prior to the open house, which will be at the Highland Beach Library from 6 to 7 p.m., the FDOT will offer two virtual public meetings, at 5 and 5:30 p.m. Residents will be able to ask questions of project staff after those video presentations, either through a chat feature of the application or by using a feature that allows them to raise their hands.

Those wishing to participate in the virtual public meeting can register at https://bit.ly/3NUAefn. They can also dial in at 914-614-3221 and use 937-867-830 as the access code.

During the live open house at the library, 3618 S. Ocean Blvd., residents can meet one-on-one with project staff members to learn more about the project and to ask questions.

The $8.3 million project, which is expected to continue through summer of 2025, will include resurfacing A1A from Highland Beach’s southern border with Boca Raton to Linton Boulevard in Delray Beach. The project will include widening the road to provide for a 5-foot bicycle lane in each direction as well as drainage improvements.

To minimize the impact on traffic, work will be done in phases. Lane closures will be allowed seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. but not in front of St. Lucy Catholic Church on Sunday mornings. Also, access to buildings will be maintained all the time.

With communication on the project a priority, the FDOT is planning to launch a project-specific website and will be mailing out information to addresses within the project area. An email list is also being created to provide information about significant impacts and milestones to homeowners associations.

— Rich Pollack

Boynton Beach residents, city commissioners and city staff join for a symbolic march from city hall to Sarah Sims Park to burn copies of obsolete segregationist policies that once divided the city’s white and Black neighborhoods. Photo provided by City of Boynton Beach

Boynton Beach celebrated Black History Month with an unusual ceremony designed to erase past segregationist policies that split the city into Black and white neighborhoods.

At their Feb. 20 meeting, city commissioners voted unanimously to remove three ordinances — unenforced but still on the books — to bring a sense of renewal to the city.

Two 1924 ordinances established “The Negro District within the Town of Boynton, Florida” and “The White District within the Town of Boynton, Florida.”

Another, passed in 1933, made it illegal for any person over 18 to “loiter, wander, stroll or be about or in the public streets, parks, public or other places, on foot, in a vehicle or any kind whatsoever,” in the other race’s neighborhood after 9 or 10 p.m., depending on the month.

Such rules were known as sundown laws and were used to enforce segregation, especially in the South. 

On Feb. 24, residents, city commissioners and city staff joined for a symbolic march from City Hall to Sara Sims Park, where they burned copies of the ordinances and then enjoyed music and food during a block party.

— Tao Woolfe

By Steve Plunkett

Police Chief Richard Jones has another letter of commendation for his scrapbook — this time for his lifesaving actions at the horrific Jan. 4 bicycle crash in Gulf Stream.

“It is with deepest gratitude that I write to you to recognize the efforts of Gulf Stream Police Department’s dedicated law enforcement officers who assisted our agency during the response to a mass casualty incident …” Delray Beach Fire Chief Keith Tomey wrote, calling it “a job well done.”

Tomey’s department provides fire-rescue services to Gulf Stream.

A subcompact SUV heading south on State Road A1A crossed the center line just south of the Gulf Stream Golf Club and struck a group of northbound cyclists. One was airlifted and two others taken to the Delray Medical Center’s trauma center; three others and the driver also were transported to the hospital. None died, though the most seriously injured cyclist was still hospitalized in late February.

“As you know, this portion of A1A is (a) favored place for cyclists to enjoy riding and one which is remote in its access to the mainland. Because of these challenges, the efforts of you and your officers to render aid, secure the scene, manage traffic including additional cyclists, and begin the investigation (was) immensely helpful to our personnel in treating and transporting the injured,” Tomey wrote.

Mayor Scott Morgan echoed Tomey’s praise at the Town Commission’s Feb. 9 meeting.

“It was an outstanding effort on your part to assist in probably saving the life of one of the bicyclists who was injured,” Morgan said before pivoting to the fact that Gulf Stream wants more of its police officers trained to be emergency medical technicians.

“We have a lot of elderly people in our town and it certainly behooves us to encourage our police officers who are first on the scene to have that medical skill, and Chief’s leading the charge on that,” Morgan said.

Gulf Stream last October instituted pay incentives for officers to obtain EMT training. Jones, a trained EMT, said he and Capt. John Haseley have worked diligently for about 10 months to have each squad car equipped with emergency equipment.

“We’ve already seen the benefit in several of those calls for service, whether it be a stroke or an unresponsive resident, that we’ve been able to help by having those pieces of equipment and that skill set. So we look forward to being able to offer that service and be able to be truly a public safety organization that can help from start to finish,” Jones said.

Tomey also wrote a letter to Jo Wagenhals, whom Jones helped in giving CPR at the crash scene. Wagenhals, an off-duty lifeguard captain in Pompano Beach, was named

Lifeguard of the Year by the Florida Beach Patrol Chiefs Association in 2004 when she worked in Delray Beach.

“While traveling along the road, you stopped to render aid and assist in treating multiple victims of this tragic accident.

“You acted selflessly and demonstrated a high degree of compassion and professionalism,” Tomey wrote. “Pompano Beach Ocean Rescue is lucky to have you on their team.”

By Anne Geggis

With three Town Commission seats coming up for election, Ocean Ridge voters have four candidates to consider with experience ranging from the never-elected to one with nearly two decades on the dais.

The two highest-vote getters on March 19 will get three-year terms and the third-place finisher will get a two-year term. They’ll be representing a town that is facing questions about how much infrastructure improvement involving water and sewer a community of 2,000 can afford.

Technically, three incumbents are looking for votes to return to office, but two of them came on board only this year.

Up for consideration are:

• Ainar Aijala Jr., 67, a retired Deloitte senior partner appointed to the commission starting in January.
• Nick Arsali, 68, a retired professional engineer and four-year alternate member of the town Board of Adjustment who would be a newcomer to the dais.
• David Hutchins, 75, a retired airline pilot and member of the town Planning and Zoning Commission appointed to the commission at the same time as Aijala.
• Incumbent Geoff Pugh, 61, a town commissioner from 2003 to 2018 who returned to a commission seat in 2021.

Though Pugh is currently mayor, that position is selected by commissioners annually. 

The election arrives following some turmoil in Town Hall. Two commissioners resigned in early 2023 following a split vote on making then-acting Town Manager Lynne Ladner a full-time employee. They were replaced by two others who resigned at the end of the year, one citing the state’s new financial disclosure law. The town’s police chief also resigned in 2023 to go to Gulf Stream.

The state of town affairs is a point of contrast among the candidates that emerged at a Feb. 22 forum, which drew about 60 residents.

“I think the town is going in a good direction — I think we’ve really turned a corner,” Pugh said.

Aijala said he believed the town got onto the right course beginning last April and Hutchins said he is “pretty happy” with the way things are going.

Arsali, however, said he’d be coming to the dais with a particular focus.

“If we look at our budget, it has gone up by 100% in the last five, six years, and then unfortunately, there’s nothing to show for that,” he said.

Long-lingering seaweed on the beach and the lack of citizen engagement in town affairs are also on his list of things that need attention, Arsali said.

“I want everyone to be involved,” he said. “I want to at least make sure everybody gets the news about it, hears about it so I get everyone’s input about it.”

The topic of converting the town onto a sewer system also produced some contrasts among the candidates.

“It’s on the horizon and it’s something that we need to look at,” Aijala said.

Pugh sees that horizon, first set out as a town goal in 2020, as something that’s far off — and only under certain circumstances.

“I don’t see that happening unless we have huge grants from the state or the federal government,” Pugh said.

Arsali was more blunt on the topic of moving the town to a sewer system.

“It’s all talk,” he said, noting how unfair it would be to people now building and investing in expensive septic systems.

Hutchins said he doesn’t want to spend the town’s money if the federal and state governments are willing to put up some funds.

“The direction of the state and federal government is to get away from septic systems in coastal zones,” he said. “I don’t want to be preemptive because it will be a very expensive undertaking.”

Aijala, with experience overseeing Deloitte’s global operations, can boast that he’s already saved the town money before completing two full months on the dais. He advised the town on updating its cash management policy.

“So we are optimizing our investment opportunities,” he said.

Hutchins said that serving on the planning board put him in touch with people’s hopes and dreams for their lives as they built their homes.

“We don’t want it to change because we love the way it is,” Hutchins said. “ … I certainly would like opinions on what we can do to make this town … a place we always want to come back to when we’re on the other side of the bridge.”

By Anne Geggis

Home builders will face stricter rules about how much square footage they can stack on residential lots east of the Intracoastal Waterway in Delray Beach, according to an ordinance heading for final City Commission approval.

The ordinance, its supporters say, is due to a decade-long trend: New owners of lots tear down existing homes and build replacements that dwarf their current neighbors.

“The mass and volume of these new homes has been very transformative and quite disproportionate to the existing neighborhoods,” said Ned Wehler, a trustee of the Beach Property Owners Association, which spearheaded the effort to get the ordinance passed.

The new restrictions were tentatively approved with little comment at the Feb. 20 commission meeting. The guidelines that will be up for final commission approval March 5 would make it so that these new homes don’t loom over the older ones, as seen on Seagate Drive or in neighborhoods such as Vista Del Mar in the northern section of the city’s beachside, Wehler said.

Wehler said that the guidelines that specify floor-to-area ratio would not allow walls to go straight up, as has been happening with some new homes on the barrier island. The new regulations would also cut the potential square footage that could be built based on lot size. Under the existing regulations, for example, a 10,000-square-foot lot could have a 12,000-square-foot house on it, he said.

“With 40% (lot) coverage (allowed) and when you’re permitted to build three stories, you can literally put a 12,000-square-foot home on such a lot which is, in general, very disproportionate to the neighborhood and quite disruptive,” he said.

The proposal would mean that 10,000-square-foot lot would have a maximum of 6,500 square feet built on it — a 45% cut — Wehler noted.

Wehler said the new guidelines are the next step in the beach association’s growing interest in quality control of what gets built on the city’s barrier island. In 2021, the commission agreed to limit rooftop uses in single-family neighborhoods.

“It came up back in 2019 with concerns that these three-story contemporary homes were being built with flat roofs with swimming pools and entertainment areas on the roof,” he said.

By Anne Geggis

DELRAY BEACH — A longtime pastor of St. Vincent Ferrer Catholic Church died Feb. 11. The Rev. John Skehan was 96 and died surrounded by loved ones, according to friends.

The native of Ireland was beloved by many parishioners even after his tenure at the church ended after he pleaded guilty to stealing money from the church and was sentenced to prison.

After his release from Martin County Correctional Institution in 2012, Father Skehan lived for 10 years not far from the church he served for 40 years, but was not allowed on church property.

About two years ago, he moved to Lourdes-Noreen McKeen Residence, a West Palm Beach assisted-living facility.

“He was a dear, dear loved person from my childhood family,” said Michelle Donahue, 55, now a real estate agent, who received the sacrament of confirmation from Father Skehan and graduated from St. Vincent Ferrer School in 1982. “I called him ‘Pops.’”

In 2006, Father Skehan was accused of taking more than $370,000 from the church. He pleaded guilty in 2009 to taking more than $100,000 and was sentenced to 14 months in prison, serving 11 months of that time. 

He made nearly $800,000 in restitution by turning over a condominium and a gold coin collection.

Frank McKinney, who joined St. Vincent’s in 1997 and whose daughter Father Skehan baptized, said he doesn’t believe that the priest committed any crime. He just didn’t account for the money and he gave it out to those who came to him in need just like an “old-school” Irish Catholic priest would do, McKinney said.

“The man didn’t know how to use a calculator, let alone a computer,” said McKinney, an author, developer of unique oceanfront estates and philanthropist who has built 31 Haitian villages from his book proceeds. “Any premeditated idea of taking money from the church … he would never, never do.”

The Rev. Francis Guinan, who followed Father Skehan as St. Vincent’s pastor, was charged at the same time with stealing $488,000 from the church. He went to trial and a jury found him guilty of stealing between $20,000 and $100,000. He was sentenced to four years in prison and served three years and seven months for the theft before his release in 2012. He retired to Port St. Lucie.

The thefts made national news, but Donahue said that parishioners’ devotion to Father Skehan was such that he never spent an hour of the allowed visitation in prison without visitors.

“He was a good man, did a lot of good things and helped a lot of people,” she said.

Father Skehan became a communicant at St. Mark Catholic Church in Boynton Beach following his release.

 A requiem Mass was expected to take place in Ireland.

Ocean Ridge Police Officer Jimmy Pilon, a paramedic, trains residents Lisa Ritota and Tim Osborn on CPR and how to use automated external defibrillators and stop bleeding. Twenty residents took part in a program sponsored by the Starbright Civic Collective. The response was so positive, at least two more classes will be offered. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

Tommy Paul of Boca Raton competes last month at the Delray Beach Open, where he lost to No. 1 seed Taylor Fritz in the final in a matchup of the top-ranked American players. Paul won a tournament the previous week. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

With the likes of John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors and Pete Sampras ranking among the greatest tennis players of all time, it’s hard to believe no American male has won a Grand Slam title since Andy Roddick captured the U.S. Open in 2003.

But with four Americans among the top 20 in the ATP world rankings in late February, Boca Raton resident Tommy Paul senses the end to that drought is near. The four are Taylor Fritz (No. 10), Paul (No. 14), Frances Tiafoe (No. 16) and Ben Shelton (No. 17).

“They’ve been talking about that forever,” said Paul, 26. “That’s a goal for all of us.”

Paul’s talents were on display last month, when he followed his Dallas Open championship with another appearance in a final, at the Delray Beach Open. He lost to Fritz, 6-2, 6-3, after beating Tiafoe in the semifinals. Shelton did not play, but Paul beat him in the semifinals the previous week in Dallas en route to his second ATP title.

Born in New Jersey and raised in North Carolina, Paul moved to the tennis hotbed of Boca/Delray at age 14 in 2011 to join the likes of Tiafoe and Reilly Opelka on the local junior scene. He won the French Open boys title and reached a No. 3 junior ranking in 2015 before turning pro the same year.

He moved steadily up the ranks in the ensuing years, reaching the top 100 in 2019, then finishing at No. 43 in 2021 and No. 32 in 2022. He began 2023 by reaching his first semifinal in a Grand Slam at the Australian Open before losing to eventual champion Novak Djokovic.

His highest ATP ranking, No. 12, came last October.

“Every year I’ve made small steps in the right direction,” he said. “I got pretty close to top 10 last year, so that’s my goal this year. I said last year I want to win titles, so that’s my goal this year. If you win enough titles you get to top 10. That’s the goal every week I play, to end the week with a win.”

Last month marked Paul’s fifth entry into the Delray Open, and his result was an improvement over 2023, when he lost in the quarterfinals to Radu Albot, the 2019 champion.

While Paul didn’t use it as an excuse, he had just returned from representing the U.S. in a Davis Cup match in Uzbekistan, where he had fallen ill.
He knows the Delray Tennis Center courts well.

“I’m able to train here a lot,” he said two days before his first match in mid-February. “It’s not my normal training spot, but me and J.J. Wolf practiced a ton here in December and I’ve spent a lot of time on this court.

“There’s an amazing group of players in South Florida. Whether it’s here, FAU, wherever, we all practice together and have a great relationship.”

Paul, who won his first ATP title at the 2021 Stockholm Open and holds three wins over top-five players including No. 2 Carlos Alvarez, got animated when he was asked about playing the best in the game.

“I get excited for those matches,” he said. “I know we’re going to have awesome points, and that’s what tennis is about. That’s why we play, to play the best players on the biggest stages.

“It’s hard not to be excited for those.”

When Paul has some time off, he said, his favorite pursuit is fishing, though that’s mostly in freshwater as he has yet to purchase a boat.

“I absolutely love South Florida,” he said. “I don’t think I’ll ever leave.”

— Brian Biggane

Q: Where did you grow up and go to school? How do you think that has influenced you?
A: I grew up in North Carolina until I was 14 and then I moved down here. I did high school online because I was in an academy and we were practicing while the other kids were in school. Most home-schooled people get the rap of being socially awkward, and there’s some of that. But we had a great group of guys. Most of them either went to college or went pro, and I’m still playing with some of them, like Frances Tiafoe and Reilly Opelka, and Fritz. That influenced us big-time — we are who we are because of that. And it showed us what it took to be a professional tennis player.

Q: What professions have you worked in? What professional accomplishments are you most proud of?
A: I turned pro in 2015 (at age 18). Reaching the semifinals at the Australian Open last year was probably my biggest result. Winning Dallas just before Delray was big because any title is really important, and something I’m proud of. But my career path is what I’m most proud of, because I didn’t jump to the top right away, it was a slow grind. To finally get to a place where I feel — you don’t want to say comfortable because you never want to get comfortable — but I feel I know what I need to do to get where I need to be.

Q: What advice do you have for a young person seeking a career today?
A: I don’t think every person’s career path should look the same. Some people stay in high school, go to college, then turn pro. If I were to do it again that’s what I would have done. I committed to Georgia and then turned pro right before I was supposed to go. If I were to do it again, I’d go to college for a year or two. The level in college tennis is so good now there’s no reason not to go that way.

Q: How did you choose to make your home in east Boca Raton?
A: I lived in west Boca since I was 14. My parents lived here for two years, but we have such a good group of people to train with, that’s what got me down here, and then I just started loving the area. I was staying at Reilly Opelka’s house for about four years, through COVID, and last year I finally decided to get my own place and I was looking nonstop for about a year, and I found a place. It’s worked out perfectly since.

Q: What is your favorite part about living in Boca Raton?
A: My trainer Franco (Herrero) lives in east Boca; he trains me out of Evert Tennis Academy. Everything is super convenient; there’s quite a few airports that we can fly in and out of, and that’s very important. And I couldn’t live somewhere that didn’t have the ocean. I love the ocean.

Q: What book are you reading now?
A: Born to Run. Franco actually gave it to me. It’s pretty cool. It’s about these tribal people in Mexico who have become great runners and it even gets into the history of why people run. Phenomenal book.

Q: What music do you listen to when you want to relax? When you want to be inspired?
A: Country music. I listen to a lot of Luke Combs and a lot of old rock. I’ll do some rap music sometimes if I’m like, you know really feeling it. Or reggae if I’m having a bunch of people over having a party or something. But mostly old rock and country.

Q: Have you had mentors in your life? Individuals who have inspired your life decisions?
A: My mom is a big one, and I’ve had so many great coaches. The guy who works with Frances now, Diego Moyano, coached me at an important time, from like 14 or 15 up to 19, and those are massive years when you’re trying to create a professional athlete. Also T.J. Pura, who got me after him. Coaching for me is also mentoring. I’ve been very lucky to have great people around me.

Q: If your life story were to be made into a movie, who would play you?
A: Matthew McConaughey. I love watching all his movies. He’s my favorite actor.

Q: Who/what makes you laugh?
A: Reilly Opelka and Frances Tiafoe, both make me laugh. Because they’re clowns; both of them are clowns. Frances is just a clown and Reilly says the most outrageous stuff.

By Brian Biggane

Three applicants for the vacant seat on the South Palm Beach Town Council that opened up when Robert Gottlieb resigned in December each made a case to the council at its February meeting.

Council members had considered moving quickly and making their decision then, but they decided to wait for the March meeting to select their choice, with the fifth member then set to be sworn in at the April meeting.

All three applicants are women: Elvadianne Culbertson and Arnelle K. Ossendryver, both residents of the Southgate Condominium, and Jennifer Lesh of Palm Beach Villas.

Gottlieb, whose term was supposed to end in March, wound up not seeking reelection during the November qualifying period. After his December resignation, the town planned to hold a second qualifying period for his seat in January, but ended up not reopening the race.

Council member Monte Berendes asked all three why they hadn’t filed to run during the qualifying period for the March election. Culbertson said she didn’t want to run against

Gottlieb, while the other two said their circumstances had changed in recent months.

A look at the applicants:

Elvadianne Culbertson —The only applicant to read from a prepared script, Culbertson, 81, said she has missed only three council meetings in 18 years, served on the council for three years, has written the town newsletter and served on several committees.

With the Town Hall building project expected to start soon, Culbertson also said she has experience in architecture and building plans from her time working with Navy ships, which she said since the 1980s have been designed with laser-guided sandwich panels.

“As the name implies,” she said, “they’re pretty much the same as SIPs and have a similar prefabrication process. I dealt with the trade-offs in the design and ultimately cost.” The

Town Hall will be built using SIPs, or structural insulated panels.

Culbertson proposed updating and refining the Town Charter, pointing as an example to job descriptions of the town manager, of which she said a half-dozen exist, none of which specifically defines that role.

In a theme that was repeated by the other two candidates, Culbertson said there needs to be more interaction among people in the town. “We need to work toward knowing each other better,” she said.

Jennifer Lesh — An educator who spent 25 years with the Palm Beach County school system working with students with exceptional needs, Lesh said she has been president of the condo board at Palm Beach Villas for 10 years and was vice president before that.

Lesh, 60, earned a doctorate from Barry University in Miami in 2013 and joined the faculty of Lynn University in Boca Raton, where she is in charge of the special education program.

“I have volunteered for over 17 years for the Council of Special Education at the local, state and national level, and have been the president of the international organization, so I am familiar with Robert’s Rules,” she said.

A resident of South Palm Beach since 2002, “with a slight break involving Delray Beach,” Lesh said she never plans to move and called the town “a little slice of paradise.”

Asked by Vice Mayor Bill LeRoy how she would encourage citizen engagement, Lesh said she would send out surveys to presidents of the condo boards asking what they’d like to see.

“In my condo people are not engaging. Maybe if we got ideas it would help,” she said.

Arnelle K. Ossendryver — A resident of Southgate, Ossendryver migrated from South Africa 26 years ago and spent 24 of those employed by the Chesterfield Hotel in Palm Beach, promoting and helping to brand the property for visitors from around the world.

When the chairman of the company died two years ago, Ossendryver said “the whole team left” and she started a consulting business from her home. Among her clients is a group of geology professors from London.

With so much of her background in branding, Ossendryver, 61, was asked by Mayor Bonnie Fischer what she would do to brand the town.

“I would talk to people, ask them what they like about the town. What are the key points? Come up with some ideas, where we see the town going, how we should brand it, it’s going to be right. Once you brand it and it has an identity it’s good.”

State Road A1A safety — Mayor Bonnie Fischer said the state is investigating the possibility of lowering the town speed limit and of installing crosswalks — as well as installing bicycle safety signs — following a Jan. 29 forum on State Road A1A safety needs. She said she spoke with Florida Department of Transportation official Jonathan Overton following the forum. Overton attended the forum and heard from residents about their desire for crosswalks.

Safety committee in the works — After some confusion regarding the creation of an ad hoc resident committee to investigate safety matters on A1A, a resident from the Palm Beach Harbour Club reminded the council at its February meeting that a number of residents had signed up for that committee. She said she expected that James Donatelli, who made a detailed proposal at the January forum, would serve as chairman.

Urged by Vice Mayor Bill LeRoy to “strike while the iron is hot,” the council unanimously approved the formation of the committee.

Council honors Gottlieb and Fein — The council recognized the contributions of former member Robert Gottlieb and longtime administrative assistant Sandy Fein at its February meeting.

Keeping Town Hall standing — On the recommendation of Town Manager Jamie Titcomb, the council authorized repairs needed to maintain the integrity of the aging Town Hall.

As Titcomb noted, the building must endure “at least one more hurricane season” while the planning and construction of the new Town Hall is completed. Titcomb said engineers have deemed the repairs necessary.

League representative chosen — The council selected Mayor Fischer as the town’s voting delegate to the Palm Beach County League of Cities. The rest of the council was approved as eligible to serve as the alternate to the league.

Streetlights on the fritz — Town Manager Jamie Titcomb reported that several malfunctioning streetlights in the south end of town have been repaired repeatedly in recent months. He said he would look into the possibility of making significant improvements to the system.

— Brian Biggane

By Anne Geggis

Boynton Beach fired its human resources director 25 days before Election Day as voters consider her for a spot on the Delray Beach City Commission.

Tennille DeCoste had frequently cited her 20 years of experience saving taxpayer money as a city human resources director throughout the region as a selling point for her Delray Beach commission campaign. But, following a three-month investigation, Boynton Beach officials on Feb. 23 fired her, chiefly citing instances that her campaign for the Delray Beach seat leaked into aspects of her city job in violation of city policies.

DeCoste, who was employed with the city for 14 months with a $188,000 annual salary, denied the accusations.

The 32-page document contains 11 allegations that came from anonymous sources. It uses DeCoste’s social media posts and spreadsheets in making the case.

Six of the allegations were found to be substantiated and a violation of city policies. Another two were substantiated but not violations of city policy, yet called into question her ability to do her job effectively. Another two were unsubstantiated but raised concerns, and another one was designated simply “unsubstantiated” and arising out of erroneous information.

DeCoste issued a 730-word statement denying that she misused her position or engaged in unethical behavior. She raised questions about the investigator, Stephanie Marchman, who works for the Gainesville branch of the law firm GrayRobinson.

“The investigation was pre-determined, tainted and completed by the City Attorney’s friend,” DeCoste’s statement reads.

Marchman, however, preempted that allegation in her report. “I have no knowledge of its local figures or politics,” she wrote of Boynton Beach.

Using a city card to buy a VIP ticket to the Community Compass Center Stonewall Ball and using city resources to ask city employees to contribute to her political campaign are among the most serious allegations.

DeCoste notes that the city’s allegations started after she complained about being told she was “hiring too many black women in HR.”

“Now it’s my turn as a black woman, my claims are true and the evidence that I provided to the OIG and Ethics will show it once they finish investigating the City Manager,” DeCoste wrote in her response.

Marchman noted that although she wasn’t hired to evaluate DeCoste’s allegations against the city manager, she did take a look at the allegations DeCoste had sent to Mayor Ty Penserga.

“As discussed herein, I do not find Ms. DeCoste to be credible based on her own untruthful statements during my interview of her,” Marchman wrote, noting that city administration denied telling the human resources director that she was “hiring too many black women.”

A view from Greynolds Circle of the apartments at the Kmart site. Rendering provided

By Mary Thurwachter

Lantana officials got an early peek at a Miami developer’s plans for the redevelopment of the former Kmart site during a workshop Feb. 13, and they liked what they saw.

Victor Ballestas, a principal with Integra Investments, the Miami firm that bought the property at 1301 S. Dixie Highway in July for $14.85 million, said the company’s intent was to come up with a successful mixed-use community.

“We pride ourselves on creating real mixed-use projects, especially in coastal communities that requires you to have successful retail to have all the components of a successful mixed-use project,” said Ballestas. “What we’ve tried to do is essentially take the master plan that was created and make basically a new version of it.”

He showed renderings of three-story apartment buildings, stores and restaurants with outdoor seating around a central park suitable for festivals or farmers markets. Renderings showed what the community would look like from the entrance on Greynolds Circle and from Dixie Highway.

“When Brightline goes through our town they’ll have a really great view of our 18-acre site and, hopefully, they get a good feeling of what Lantana is from that,” Ballestas said.

“You can call the park the heart of the project, but really for us the heart of the project is the retail,” he said. “What’s good about this is that the retail basically draws you onto the park, so it all kind of works very well together.”

The density proposed is 25 units per acre, he said. “We also tried to keep it sort of lower with three stories, which we did successfully.” A previous design he showed during a workshop in November had buildings at various heights, including one with five stories.

Town code allows for 15 units per acre, but the master plan permits 25, according to Development Services Director Nicole Dritz. She said some code changes would need to be made.

About 450 apartments will be spread across seven buildings. Nine percent of the apartments will be studios, 41% one-bedroom, 45% two-bedroom and 5% three-bedroom apartments. A clubhouse and pool are included.

For now, the Lantana Pizza building facing Greynolds will remain. When new retail shops are constructed facing Dixie Highway, the pizza shop will move there and the old building will be razed, making room for something new. Winn-Dixie and other stores located on the site will remain but get new facades. The old IHOP and bank on the east side of the property are not owned by Integra and aren’t currently part of the project.

Dritz said her staff has worked with Integra officials since 2022, even before the company bought the land.

“From October 2022 to now we’re to a point where both parties are feeling pretty good about what we have to present to you tonight,” Dritz said.

“I like what I’m seeing,” Mayor Karen Lythgoe said. “Unlike what we saw before, this is more like a neighborhood.”

Town Council member Chris Castle agreed.

“Overall, this is big improvement from the last,” Castle said. “I’d like to thank Nicole for following the master plan. We’ve spent a lot of time on that.”

Residents were allowed to comment, and one question that several people brought up was about elevators.

“Typically, with three-story buildings anyone who needs accessibilities stays on the first level,” Ballestas said. “The top two levels are walk-up. But based on the market we can decide if we want to do something on one building or not.” He said the problem with elevators is “things get very expensive.”

The Miami developer will have to comply with the Live Local Act that dictates at least 40% of the development’s residential units be “affordable” and, if the development is a mixed-use project, at least 65% of the total square footage of the parcel has to be used for residential purposes.

An earlier proposal from another developer was denied by the council in August 2022.

Integra’s plans are in their infancy, Dritz said, and more details will be coming.

Completion time for construction is estimated at 24 months.

By Mary Thurwachter

Since their last appointment to the Planning Commission didn’t last long, Lantana Town Council members made a new selection at their Feb. 12 meeting. They chose Edward Shropshire, a former council member and an alternate on the Planning Commission.

Shropshire fills the vacancy left by Veronica Cobb, the former general manager of The Carlisle Palm Beach, who was appointed on Sept. 11 but resigned less than two months later for personal reasons. Shropshire’s term ends Sept. 30, 2026.

His appointment created an opening for an alternate on the commission, which the council filled with Annemarie Joyce, a former small business owner and vice president of the View Street homeowner association. Her term ends Dec. 14, though she can be re-considered for a full term then.

While in the past few residents applied to be on the commission, seats have become more sought after in the past year. Other applicants for the two positions included Stephanie Forman, Chad Lamar and Casetra Thompson. Lamar and Thompson did not attend the meeting.

Council member Kem Mason, who nominated Shropshire, said it has been traditional for alternate members to be promoted when there is a vacancy.

Council member Mark Zeitler, who nominated Joyce, said he preferred to see representation from all parts of town and has always wanted someone who lived north of Lantana Road. Joyce, who regularly attends Town Council meetings, resides at View Street, a mobile home court south of the Moorings and north of Lantana Road.

Vice Mayor Lynn (Doc) Moorhouse said he wished both Joyce and Forman could be chosen.

“Being a part of the town and coming to meetings is very important, at least it is to me,” Mason said to Joyce and Forman, who each made a pitch on why they wanted to be appointed as alternates. “You show your commitment by showing up.”

Other members of the Planning Commission are Joe Farrell, Michelle Donahue, Rosemary Mouring and Lyn Tate. Jorge (George) Velazquez is an alternate.

Top cop — Sgt. Tom Dipolito was recognized as the Lantana Police Department’s Employee of the Year for 2023 during the Town Council’s Feb. 12 meeting.

“In addition to his detective bureau case assignments, Sgt. Dipolito has been instrumental in researching, gathering data and implementing several large-scale projects for the Police Department,” Police Chief Sean Scheller said to Dipolito, who was promoted to sergeant last year.

Support for the Fishing Derby — In a nod to the Lantana Chamber of Commerce, the Town Council agreed to waive rental fees for the recreation center and for the permit to install a tent for the Fishing Derby. The derby, an annual event sponsored by the chamber, takes place May 4, with activities spanning the entire week. The charge to rent the center is typically $25 on weekdays and $75 an hour on weekends and holidays.

Two new trucks — The Town Council authorized the purchase of two new vehicles for the Public Services Department— a 2024 Petersen TL-3 grapple truck for grounds maintenance and the parks and recreation divisions, and a 2024 Altec AT238P bucket truck for putting up banners, building maintenance, maintaining decorative lighting, holiday decorations and trimming trees.
Cost of the grapple truck is $216,405; the bucket truck is $156,812. The funds will come from the American Rescue Plan Act.

Shropshire promoted on Planning Commission — Former Town Council member Ed Shropshire has been appointed to a voting seat on the town’s Planning Commission, moving up from his alternate position. The council chose him to replace Veronica Cobb, who was appointed to the commission in September and resigned less than two months later.

— Mary Thurwachter

By Tao Woolfe

Boynton Beach has broken its contract with Philip Terrano, who sought to renovate the Little League baseball fields he played on 25 years ago.

The news of Terrano’s ouster was cheered by East Boynton Beach Little League parents and officials who have been saying for months that they had been cut out of the plans for their own park.

They have also told the city they do not want — or need — the sophisticated sports complex and field renovations being proposed.

“We were not even notified,” said Jared Ryan, who came to a City Commission meeting last month accompanied by three boys. “We showed up on a Monday and suddenly there’s a fence around the field. It just stinks.”

A financial consultant recently reviewed Terrano’s funding proposal for the athletic center and renovating the park’s fields and buildings, according to a certified letter from City Manager Daniel Dugger to Terrano, dated Feb. 16.

The consultant, PFM Financial Advisors, LLC, determined that Terrano’s company, Primetime Sports, “has not demonstrated the ability to procure the funds needed for the construction of this facility.”

In his letter to Terrano, Dugger said the city “hereby declares Primetime to be in default of the agreement … and … exercises the city’s right to terminate the agreement for cause immediately.”

The breakup followed months of heated exchanges between Terrano and the parents of Little League players who objected to sports business owners coming in and taking over the park.

Terrano’s concept had been to turn the park into a state-of-the-art baseball complex, complete with indoor training facilities, artificial turf, accommodation for baseball players with disabilities and a make-over of concession areas and bathrooms.

He had been joined in his efforts by Michael Barwis, founder of Athletic Angels, which provides baseball camps, clinics and training for underprivileged kids and those with disabilities. The city, which has a separate contract with Barwis for training and field improvements, has not canceled that contract.

At the moment, crews have torn up Field 1, the largest in the park and the only one of the four designed for the oldest group (up to age 16), to equip it with artificial turf.

The Little League parents and supporters are not happy that Barwis’s group is still in the mix because their children will not be allowed to play on Field 1 until it is completed sometime this summer.

Meanwhile, the season is underway.

Dozens of East Boynton Beach Little League kids, sporting colorful new uniforms, spread out on the fields on Feb. 9 to celebrate the official season opening.
There were food trucks, marchers carrying banners, lots of parents with cameras and vendors selling baseball-themed clothing and jewelry. Music blasted from strategically placed speakers.

The city’s action came after EBBLL filed suit against it in January, with the league alleging that the renovations would disrupt the 2024 season.
It remains unclear whether the city will try to intervene in Barwis’ contract on behalf of East Boynton Beach Little League now that Terrano’s contract has been terminated.

There have been no public announcements by city officials about the situation, the lawsuit by EBBLL, or Terrano’s ouster.
Terrano himself seemed subdued.

“I’m no angel, but my intentions were pure and from the heart,” Terrano said in a quiet voice. “I made a valid effort to do something positive for the community. It has cost me everything.”

By Steve Plunkett

Briny Breezes has a featured position in two lawsuits challenging Florida’s stricter Form 6 financial disclosure requirements that starting this year are now placed on all elected municipal officials.

The town has a starring role in a suit filed in state court in Tallahassee. Briny Breezes is the first one listed of 26 plaintiff municipalities and 74 elected officials from those municipalities. That means citations of the case in future lawsuits will likely be “Briny Breezes v. Florida Commission on Ethics.”

In a similar action filed in U.S. District Court in Miami, the first of 74 plaintiffs is President of Town Council Elizabeth A. Loper of Briny Breezes, meaning the case will probably be called “Loper v. Florida Commission on Ethics” in future citations.

Also, the town is the only municipality detailed in the lawsuits as having lost elected officials because of the new disclosure rule.

“Briny Breezes had three resignations so it is a good example of how the Form 6 requirement is impacting municipalities,” said Jamie Alan Cole, the city attorney for Weston in southwest Broward County and the lead lawyer for the lawsuits.

Cole did not give a reason for putting Briny’s and Loper’s names first but said, “The order of the plaintiffs has no legal significance.”

Other plaintiffs include Delray Beach and the town of Palm Beach. Cole emailed other city attorneys across the state on Feb. 15, the same day he filed the two suits, to say it was not too late to have additional plaintiffs.

The defendants are the seven members of the state Commission on Ethics.

Cole, who is the managing partner of the Weiss Serota law firm’s Fort Lauderdale office, originally asked towns to pay $10,000 apiece to join the litigation. But Briny Breezes

Town Attorney Keith Davis said Briny was able to negotiate its share down to $4,000 because of its small size.

Form 6 requires the disclosure of net worth, earnings and tangible assets and has long been applied to the governor, state legislators, county commissioners and other government officers at the state and county levels. A state law enacted in 2023 made elected municipal officials also subject to the Form 6 requirements.

Municipal officials previously had to file a less detailed Form 1 financial disclosure.

More than 100 Florida mayors and municipal commission/council members resigned on or before Dec. 31 rather than subject themselves to the disclosure requirements, the lawsuit says.

“For example,” the state lawsuit says, “in plaintiff Briny Breezes, former Mayor Gene Adams, former Council President Christina Adams, and former Alderman and Council President Sue Thaler all resigned in December 2023 because of the Form 6 requirement.

“As a result of resignations, municipalities, including municipal plaintiffs, have been (and/or will be) forced to expend significant public funds for filling vacancies, including temporary appointments and special elections. In addition, the vacancies have disrupted municipal operations.”

The state litigation alleges a violation of the right to privacy guaranteed by the Florida Constitution.

The federal lawsuit alleges a violation of the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment right to free speech for compelling municipal officials to make “non-commercial, content-based” speech by saying, among other things, that “My net worth as of Dec. 31, 2023, was $________.”

It asks a federal judge to declare the new Florida law unconstitutional. The state and the federal lawsuits both seek an injunction to prevent the Ethics Commission from enforcing the Form 6 rule.

The law sets a July 1 deadline for filing the Form 6 with financial data as of Jan. 1.

A Government Accountability bill in the Florida House (HB 735) would delay the first reporting due date for Form 6 until July 1, 2025, and exempt elected officials in municipalities smaller than 500 people. A companion bill in the Senate (SB 734) does not have such language.

If the House bill were to become law, it would benefit Manalapan, which is small enough, for example, but not Briny Breezes, which is above the 500 cutoff.

Bank snafu — Payday for Ocean Ridge town employees did not arrive as expected on Jan. 26 — specifically there was no money direct-deposited into employee accounts that morning — so Ocean Ridge expects to switch from its current bank, City National.

Town Manager Lynne Ladner asked the Town Commission to authorize the search for a new bank partner, explaining that the pay delay was a glitch on the bank’s part.

“Sounds like there’s no choice,” Commissioner David Hutchins said.

Special magistrate ruling postponed — A code enforcement case’s resolution involving “No Trespassing” signs at the Turtle Beach condominiums was postponed from Feb. 20 to a date to be determined before a special magistrate.

— Anne Geggis

By Mary Thurwachter

Topics ranging from water quality and code enforcement to staff salaries and how contracts are vetted came up at the mayoral debate at the Lantana Public Library on Feb. 20.

Incumbent Karen Lythgoe and challenger Jorge “George” Velazquez took just 35 minutes to answer questions submitted by residents and read by Teresa Wilhelm, president of the Friends of the Library, the forum’s sponsor.

Velazquez, 57, a former commercial real estate agent who worked in the federal prison system and is an alternate on the town’s Planning Commission, had a different view than his opponent on the salaries of town employees.

“In 2020 and 2021, we had 155 employees and we paid $6.8 million in salaries,” he said. “In 2022 and 2023, we had 135 employees and paid $8 million, and our budget back in 2020 was $20 million. Today it’s $30 million. I don’t think the town has grown so much for us to warrant that kind of expense.”

Lythgoe, 64, was elected to the council in 2020 and was acting mayor after Robert Hagerty resigned in 2021. During a special election, she ran successfully to complete the rest of Hagerty’s term, which ends after the election March 19. She said there is a reason that salaries went up.

“In 2021, we had a 30% turnover in employees,” she said. The same thing happened the following year. “We decided we would raise the taxes a quarter of a mill [an additional 25 cents for every $1,000 of assessed value] and one of the things we wanted to do was attract and retain talented employees, which means you don’t need as many employees and you keep the ones who are good.”

She said Velazquez had changed his mind on the issue.

“On July 11, 2022, George, you spoke up and you were the only person in the room that advocated for the small increase in taxes and to pay the employees more. It’s on the audio. So, I’m not sure what’s changed. We want to pay and keep good employees.”

When asked for their thoughts on code enforcement, Velazquez said some residents are complaining about it.

“I think they should have a little bit more time to come into compliance,” he said. “A lot of residents say they’re being unfairly treated.”

Lythgoe said she and the town manager had discussed the customer service aspect of code enforcement.

“Sometimes there’s a little bit of a less-than-friendly attitude,” Lythgoe said. “We want to have a customer service attitude with our enforcement and it’s improving. I’ve been getting reports back from some of the residents that things are getting better. I think there’s still some targeting going on and one of the things that supposedly will help fix that is that you can’t make anonymous complaints anymore.”

On the topic of how contracts are vetted and the cost of renovating the library, Velazquez said improvement is needed.

“The estimate for renovating this library was $750,000 but we wound up paying $1.5 million,” he said. “The Inspector General came and slapped Lantana on the wrist because they had hired an unlicensed contractor. Luckily, one of the councilmen found a discrepancy and brought it up to the town manager. They got rid of the contractor, who wound up getting some probation time for what he did.”

Lythgoe said the town now has a contract manager who makes sure contracts are “on the up and up.”

“We had somebody a while back that was kind of making a little money (from the contracts),” she said. “He was giving jobs to friends, shall we say. We found that out just by word of mouth and we caught that.”

Both candidates like the latest plans for redeveloping the Kmart site, but Velazquez wishes there would be condos rather than apartments.

And both agreed that halfway houses and drug rehab centers in town are not presenting problems.

“The ones that are run correctly and are properly licensed, I have no problem with,” Lythgoe said. “There’s no crime with them. If you know of any that are, you need to address it with the police.”

Velazquez said there is a sober home directly behind his home and he has never had a problem with it.

“All they do is sit and smoke, laugh, and listen to some music,” he said.

High on both candidates’ priority lists was improving drinking water quality.

Velazquez said he had heard a lot of complaints about dirty water. Lythgoe said the town is working on it.

“We started to do the work on the filter media this month and once that’s changed, hopefully, when they get in the tanks, they will look good, but if not, we’ll have to work on the tanks,” she said. “We have replaced all the pumps. We’ve replaced the roof on the pump house, since it was old.

“We’re trying to do things a smart way.”

Last year the town got millions of dollars in grants toward infrastructure, including the water plant, according to Lythgoe.

Voters will have another chance to hear the candidates discuss local issues during a forum hosted by the Chamber of Commerce at 7 p.m. March 7 at the Palm Beach Maritime Academy Middle School, 600 S. East Coast Ave.

By Mary Thurwachter

Lantana continues to inch toward instituting a non-property tax assessment to cover stormwater utility costs.

In January, the Town Council adopted a resolution making the county property appraiser and tax collector aware of the plan. And, at its Feb. 26 meeting, it awarded a $121,510 contract to Chen Moore and Associates to develop a stormwater utility fee — an assessment charged to property owners to pay the costs of stormwater programs.

Town Manager Brian Raducci said the idea to have the assessment came up during the town’s visioning session a year ago.

When bids were solicited for the engineering work, only Chen Moore and Associates, a company that specializes in the service, responded. “They do quite a bit of this work in Palm Beach County and Broward, as well,” he said.

“They will be tasked with looking at what costs the town incurs in providing stormwater services and come up with a recommended fee that is necessary so that the town could have a special assessment,” Raducci said.

Brent Whitfield of Chen Moore and Associates of West Palm Beach said his firm would be looking at hundreds of homes to see what the average square footage of pavement per home is and set that as the basis for how the rate will be applied.

Council member Kem Mason asked Whitfield to explain why the assessment is needed now.

“I think everyone has seen we’ve got king tides and we’ve got rainfall patterns that are more extreme than we’ve seen in the past,” Whitfield said.

“You saw what happened in Fort Lauderdale when they had a once-in-a-thousand-year event that shut the airport down. We’re seeing a lot more extreme weather. There is likely going to be more infrastructure needs because of weather patterns and the kind of things we’ve all been seeing with flooding recently.”

Money for this agreement will be provided from American Rescue Plan Act funds or other reserves.