At least two barge-loads of sand are being deposited every day to create the two new islands in a restoration project called Bonefish Cove. The red buoys and yellow silt curtains help to contain the sand and sediment until the islands are complete and ringed with limestone boulders. Photos by Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

BELOW RIGHT: La Renaissance, shown in the 1960s Photo provided

By Mary Thurwachter

Residents of north Hypoluxo Island and South Palm Beach, who for decades have been navigating through La Renaissance channel for deep- water access to the Intracoastal Waterway, weren’t alone in being blind-sided this year by news of the construction of Bonefish Cove in the middle of the channel.

Also in the dark was Gail Martucci Klewicki, who lives on the south side of Hypoluxo Island. She and her sister Judi Martucci Hildebrandt own the submerged land in the central Lake Worth Lagoon beneath what has become known as La Renaissance channel. The land has been in the family since the mid-1960s.

Klewicki first learned about the lagoon project as she read the April edition of The Coastal Star, where a story told of the island residents’ battle to retain use of the channel, which — if plans had gone as designed — would have been buried under the middle of three Bonefish Cove islands. Boaters would have had to travel farther north to gain deep-water access through an unmarked, narrow and potentially dangerous passageway.

Bonefish Cove is a partnership between Palm Beach County and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers designed to create valuable habitat for flora and fauna that had otherwise been lost or degraded because of past dredge and fill activities, stormwater discharges and shoreline hardening.

In February, residents on the northeast end of Hypoluxo Island received flyers in the mail about the project a few weeks before construction was scheduled to start.

Klewicki didn’t get one of the flyers. But when her community newspaper arrived, her eyes were drawn to the story — especially as she saw the words “La Renaissance channel.”

She hadn’t heard of that before, but she was very familiar with La Renaissance condo at 3230 S. Ocean Blvd. in Palm Beach.

Gail Klewicki and her sister own submerged land in the Intracoastal west of La Renaissance).

“Our father, Frank Martucci, and grandfather Carmine Martucci built La Renaissance in the mid-1960s,” she said. “They were true pioneers in the early development of condominiums in Palm Beach along the Atlantic Ocean.

“These adjacent parcels were planned for townhouses in the Intracoastal with a guaranteed path to the beach,” she said.

At one time, consideration was given to using some of that submerged land across A1A in the Intracoastal for building a condo resort extending over the water much like what is now called the Palm Beach Resort, parallel to the Lake Worth Bridge.

“We actually owned a time share there (Palm Beach Resort) that we just used in trade and travel,” Klewicki said, “but someone bought it about two years ago.”

She says the town of Palm Beach would still allow for docks to be built and she has the required survey.

Both her father and grandfather owned units in La Renaissance facing the Intracoastal, although they have since been sold. But Klewicki, who was renovating her grandfather’s unit decades ago, recalls routinely seeing boats cruising north up the Intracoastal and making a turn west of La Renaissance. She realized a channel was there.

“Turned out it’s got a name — La Renaissance,” she said. “It’s not on charts, but it has a name.”

Caught off-guard
Klewicki said she was “surprised” not to have been kept in the loop by the county, the South Florida Water Management District and the Army Corps of Engineers because they had been in touch years before when efforts were made to allow docks in the Intracoastal Waterway across the street from La Renaissance.

While the boatyard never came to fruition, the plan did get approval from the town of Palm Beach. And throughout discussions on the matter, she was cc’d by officials from the county, water district and the Army Corps.

Had she been aware of the Hypoluxo Island boaters’ dilemma earlier, she said she could have offered another solution.

“I could have just sold the parcel to the boaters and they would own it and never have to worry again,” Klewicki said. She had read how Hypoluxo Island boaters were getting ready to hire an attorney to fight the loss of the channel and said she would have likely been able to sell the submerged land for less than the cost of a high-priced litigator.

“Of course, now there seems to be resolution, but that could have been the easy answer,” she said. The resolution involved eliminating the middle island and making the north and south islands of Bonefish Cove larger.

Klewicki and her husband, Raymond, have lived on Hypoluxo Island for 26 years. Until he died recently, her father, Frank Martucci, lived a few doors away from them.

Carmine Martucci, her grandfather, was 104 when he died in 2007.

The father/son team opened the luxurious seven-story La Renaissance in 1968.

Bonefish Cove update
Mayra Ashton, the county’s point person on the Bonefish Cove restoration project, said Palm Beach County continues to collaborate with the Army Corps on a design modification that leaves the traditional navigational route to the Intracoastal Waterway unaffected.

“Once a drawing of the new configuration is finalized by the Corps we will share it,” said Ashton, senior environmental analyst with Environmental Resources Management. “We’ve also maintained open dialogue with the municipalities and residents to keep them updated with status and information as it has become available.

“Sand to build the intertidal mangrove islands and oyster reefs will be transported from Peanut Island’s dredge material management areas and barged to the Bonefish Cove restoration project location south of the Lake Worth Avenue bridge,” Ashton said. “Once the intertidal islands are created, they will be stabilized with limestone rock breakwaters.”

She said yellow turbidity curtains (silt barriers) are in place around the northern portion of the active work area “to contain and minimize any turbidity plume resulting from placement of the sand within the turbidity curtains.”

Boaters aren’t likely to have problems crossing the channel during construction, but it’s possible.

“While permanent impacts to the locally preferred navigational route are expected to be eliminated with ongoing efforts to modify the project, short-term disruption due to staging of equipment is always a possibility as the project is constructed,” Ashton said.

The project is managed by Army Corps, so the construction schedule and work areas are not designated or approved by the county.

“Boaters should take extra precautions since it is an active construction site with construction activities planned both to the north and to the south of the local preferred route,” Ashton said. “To further prioritize safety, USACOE has committed to appropriate signage as needed in any areas temporarily requiring avoidance during construction. The current work area is well to the north of the route Hypoluxo Island boaters use.”

The first barge-load of sand was delivered to the project July 8.

Work hours will be 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday, as approved by the town of Palm Beach. Construction of each island will take several months, with the contractor scheduled to complete construction of all the islands and oyster reefs and planting mangroves by summer 2025.

“When completed the islands and oyster reefs will provide critical habitat for threatened shorebirds and protected native mangroves, while below water sea grass and oysters will colonize, improving water quality,” Ashton said.

Steve Bernstein of Boca Raton and his daughter, Abby Bernstein Henderson, have teamed up to co-chair the 2025 Rock ‘n’ Roll Classic Party to benefit HomeSafe, which helps neglected children. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

Steve Bernstein was well on his way to becoming a successful entrepreneur in the cell-tower industry more than 20 years ago when he came across HomeSafe, a nonprofit geared toward helping at-risk children.

“I always wanted to give back,” said Bernstein, 63, “and children’s charities are important to me because I really believe that how we raise children factors into society and what they become as adults.

“I did some research and found there are a lot of neglected children just in Palm Beach County as well as everywhere else. So, as I met the management team at HomeSafe I got inspired to help out.”

One aspect of HomeSafe that hit home with this coastal Boca Raton resident was that each child, who typically shared a room with another child at that time, was given a footlocker with permission to decorate it however he or she wanted.

“Everything they owned was in that footlocker. And it just broke my heart. So from that point I got involved, and I brought my daughter, Abby, into the loop because it was important for her to see and give back.”

Abby has turned that introduction into a career of her own, working as a certified mental health therapist.

“She also has two kids, so it’s important to me she has taken that route,” Bernstein said.

Steve and Abby — now Abby Bernstein Henderson — will team up again next January when they become co-chairs of the 2025 Rock ’n’ Roll Classic Party.

“HomeSafe relies on about $2 million of donations every year and this is our biggest fundraiser,” Bernstein said. “This event alone raises about $500,000, which goes a long way.”

Since Bernstein has gotten involved, HomeSafe has grown to four campuses throughout Palm Beach County and gone from two beds to a room to one in the newer campuses.

“It’s better for children with behavioral problems to have their own room,” he said. A campaign launched in 2021 strives to make that a reality on all four campuses.

The renovated campus on Ipswich Street in Boca Raton hopes to open in December. It is named the Bernstein Family Foundation Campus.

“The foundation is our charity and we give to several nonprofits, and HomeSafe has always been on the top of our list,” Bernstein said.

“When they were redoing campuses, I walked through our Boca campus and said we have to redo this one, too, so we made a significant gift toward that campus. But it’s not just us, there are other donors as well.”

Bernstein said the gift was $1 million.

He enjoys golf and tennis and walking on the beach as well as spending time with his grandchildren and his fiancée, Lori Keezer.

— 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 New York City, and at the age of 14 our family moved to Sarasota, which was quite a culture shock since at that time Sarasota was full of rednecks and retirees. I attended the University of Florida and majored in real estate. I was selling houses to the parents of fraternity brothers. I always liked the freedom of being my own boss and the ability to make money based fully on my own efforts. I was always very entrepreneurial.

Q: What professions have you worked in? What accomplishments are you most proud of? 
A: One of my first jobs out of college was with MCI, the first pure long-distance phone company, and I was assigned to a division that was trying to obtain the very first cellular phone licenses.
As a real estate specialist, it was my job to travel across the country to lease properties and secure zoning for cellular tower sites. Over time, as the cellular industry grew, I saw a great opportunity to capitalize on a niche business, and provide site acquisition, zoning and construction services to the cellular industry.
I started the business with credit card cash advances, and over time became the largest provider of these services to the cellular industry. With the continued growth of cellular providers, I transitioned the company to owning tower sites for ourselves and renting them to all the different carriers.
Today, SBA Communications — which originally stood for Steven Bernstein and Associates — is an S&P 500 public company with a market cap of $20 billion; we own approximately 40,000 towers in more than 13 countries.

Q: What advice do you have for a young person seeking a career today?
A: When in college, know what you want to do early and find internships or jobs in your field. You want to set yourself apart from the rest when you graduate, and having experience in your field is the best way to do it. 
If you are entrepreneurial, work for someone in your field of interest, and focus on obtaining all the knowledge, experience and most importantly contacts that you can, so you can prepare for going out on your own.

Q: How did you choose to make your home in coastal Boca Raton? 
A: I started my business in Pittsburgh, but since I was working all over the country, I could headquarter anywhere. Boca seemed to have the best of everything: lifestyle, climate, beaches, etc.

Q: What is your favorite part about living in coastal Boca Raton? 
A: I’m an avid golfer, tennis player and beach walker. Where else can you get all those 365 days a year!

Q: What book are you reading now?
A: I’m into historical fiction lately, so I’ve been reading a lot of Ken Follett: The Pillars of the Earth, Fall of Giants, etc. History repeats itself and I’ve always been a history buff. The climate today is such that we ought to learn from our mistakes.

Q: What music do you listen to when you want to relax? When you want to be inspired? 
A: I’m a classic rock listener, which can go anywhere from relaxed to inspiring. Because of my age I’m still stuck in ’70s classic rock. I don’t listen to anything else; I try to but I really don’t. So Eagles, Rolling Stones, Billy Joel. Just using him as an example, he has songs that are mellow and relaxing and also has songs that are upbeat, that tell a story.

Q: Have you had mentors in your life? Individuals who have inspired your life decisions? 
A: When I started my business, I used to have to drive three hours to Harrisburg and back to Pittsburgh once a week to do zoning hearings. Back then, I had a cassette player in my car and had listened to the Anthony Robbins 30-cassette tape series — and that really motivated, inspired and gave me tools for success.

Q: Is there something people don’t know about you but should?
A: I have a new side hustle — I enjoy renovating and building homes. So, Lori and I buy, build, fix, decorate and sell homes.

Q: If your life story were to be made into a movie, who would play you?
A: I recently read the book Shoe Dog by Nike founder Phil Knight, which talks about his early days of starting Nike and all his trials and tribulations. Then I saw the movie Air, which again highlighted the early days of Nike and making their deal with Michael Jordan. Ben Affleck did a great job of playing Phil Knight, so I pick him to be me.

By John Pacenti

Ocean Ridge discovered to its chagrin that the days of the trustworthy postman are a thing of the past. For the third time in two years, it has been the victim of alleged fraud by postal workers pilfering checks. 

A $40,000 check on July 16 was stolen and washed from a Boynton Beach postal branch, said Town Manager Lynne Ladner. The latest fraud followed a minor incident where two checks were stolen in August 2023 and a fraud of about $100,000 in June 2022.

Ladner said the $100,000 fraud occurred when a postal worker picked up checks inside Town Hall. Ocean Ridge then started hand-delivering checks to Seacrest Boulevard and Boynton Beach Boulevard postal branches, she said.

“We’ve used both of them and it doesn’t seem to matter,” Ladner said.

The latest fraud disrupted town business. “We ended up having to stop payment on the other two checks that we sent out that day because we didn’t know if they all got pulled,” she said. 

After the first two incidents, the town moved to electronic payments in recent months except only for when a printed check is necessary.

The fraud was discussed during the July 25 Town Commission meeting as commissioners followed up on their previous approval of transferring the town’s accounts from City National Bank of Florida to TD Bank.

Ladner, who discussed the fraud after the meeting, said City National took a year to reimburse Ocean Ridge for the 2022 fraud.

“We had, at any given time, between $5 (million) and $8 million in their bank and we can’t even get people to pick up the phone to talk to us,” Ladner said.

When Ocean Ridge installed a new financial management system, City National didn’t update its contacts promptly, Ladner said. “They failed to process our payroll so none of our employees got paid,” she said.

City National and the post office did not immediately reply to email messages seeking comment. 

Criminals see snail mail as a gold mine these days.

Delray Beach police announced on July 16 that they had arrested five people in connection with a ring that would rob postal workers at gunpoint to get the keys that opened cluster mailboxes and blue collection boxes.

Investigators say they identified at least 2,000 victims who were defrauded of at least $800,000.

By John Pacenti

Ocean Ridge’s proposed $10.4 million budget includes money for a lobbyist and a part-time code enforcement officer.

Town Manager Lynne Ladner told commissioners at their July 25 meeting that a $30,000 appropriation for a lobbyist would be money well spent.

“That is not something we’ve done the last couple of years,” Ladner said. “But we’re continuing to ask for grants from the state and for potential legislative appropriations.”

Commissioner Carolyn Cassidy said the state Legislature this year granted Ocean Ridge a $250,000 appropriation to find, fix or replace buried water valves. Gov. Ron DeSantis, however, vetoed it.

“It was made very clear to us that without a lobbyist you are not going to get through the governor’s office,” Cassidy said.

A code enforcement officer would be added by expanding the town’s professional services agreement with Hy-Byrd Inc. Inspections, which currently provides services for the building department, Ladner said.

The code enforcement officers would work between 12 and 20 hours per week, relieving police from having to write up residents for dirty roofs or unmowed lawns.

Commissioners worried that the hourly rate agreement could lead to abuse and told Ladner they wanted to cap the contract at $40,000.

The commission will meet on Aug. 5 to hammer out further details of the budget.

Ladner proposes that the tax rate stay the same as last fiscal year at $5.40 per $1,000 of taxable value. Residents can still expect higher bills next year, though, because property values rose 9.6%, excluding new construction, she said.

Homesteaded properties, however, are capped at a 3% increase under Florida law, while business, rental property and second homes are capped at 10%.

That means the owner of a second home or rental property with a $1 million taxable value last year, which also matched the town’s 9.6% growth in value, can expect to pay about $518 more in taxes to Ocean Ridge. However, for most residents, the homesteaded rate for the same $1 million home would be $162 more.

By John Pacenti

Former Delray Beach Fire Chief Keith Tomey is gone, but the drama is not.

In his whistleblower lawsuit against the city filed on June 25 over his dismissal, Tomey includes a 2022 text message exchange between himself and Delray Beach City Attorney Lynn Gelin in which she disparages City Manager Terrence Moore.

Tomey was fired May 1, one day after an investigation found no evidence to support his accusation that Moore inappropriately touched and groped him. He claims in the lawsuit the firing was retaliation for making a formal complaint against Moore.

The text exchange included in the lawsuit allegedly occurred Oct. 18, 2022. Tomey told Gelin that Moore had repeated his request to demote Craig Mahoney or get him to step down. Tomey had recently promoted Mahoney — the president of IAFF Local 1842, the firefighters union — to division chief of logistics without telling Moore first.

In the text exchange, Gelin said if Tomey did what Moore was asking, Mahoney would sue for retaliation. “It’s a stupid argument that reflects poorly on Terrence.”

Tomey had said he felt pressure to demote Mahoney because Moore was his boss.

“And stop referring to him as your boss, Lol,” Gelin said in the same text, court documents show. “He’s your boss in title and nothing else. Every time he opens his mouth he confirms how incompetent he is.”

Screenshots of the text exchange are included as an exhibit in the lawsuit.

When asked if the city, Gelin, or Moore would comment on the lawsuit or the text exchange cited, spokeswoman Gina Carter said as a policy Delray Beach does not comment on pending litigation.

But the city didn’t waste any time seeking a dismissal. Attorney Tonja Haddad Coleman, outside counsel retained by Delray Beach, wrote in a July 17 motion that Tomey’s complaint recites “discursive and conclusory unsubstantiated facts.”

Tomey does not meet the definition of a whistleblower under state law for a multitude of reasons — such as the former fire chief never made an official complaint of harassment until March 2024 while under investigation for his actions, Haddad Coleman wrote.

Tomey was fired for his decision to allow on-duty firefighters to participate in the annual Guns and Hoses softball game in November, compromising the city’s readiness, according to Moore’s termination letter to him. An on-duty firefighter was injured in the game and filed a workers compensation claim.

“I believe residents will find there is ample support for Mr. Tomey’s termination,” said City Commissioner Juli Casale. “It is unfortunate that a random text sent out of frustration is being used to bolster a claim that has already been found to be meritless by an outside investigator.”

Tomey was hired in 2016 and named chief in April 2020. Moore became city manager in August 2021 and Gelin has been the city’s top attorney since 2018.

The city employed an outside law firm to investigate Tomey’s sexual harassment complaint, finding there was no evidence to support the claim.

Tomey’s attorney, Isidro M. Garcia, said Gelin’s texts “speak for themselves.”

“There is some disconnect there between the City Manager’s Office and the City Attorney’s Office, especially when it comes to the Mahoney thing,” Garcia said.

There have been other incidents as well.  

Tomey received a traffic ticket on June 17, 2023, from the Florida Highway Patrol on Florida’s Turnpike for unknowingly driving on a suspended license, according to court records. At the time, Tomey often drove city-owned vehicles.

The lawsuit also revisits Tomey’s five-day suspension for not promptly reporting an Oct. 26, 2022, fender-bender on Interstate 95. While on paid leave as the city investigated the incident, Tomey suffered a stress-induced atrial fibrillation which resulted in a hospital stay, according to the lawsuit.

Tomey was denied workers compensation and sued the city and won, the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit claims the firing violated the state’s Whistleblower Act. Tomey reported Moore made sexual advances toward him on Aug. 3, 2022, as the two drove in Moore’s car to and from the Arts Garage. Tomey said Moore “rubbed up his thigh and just briefly made contact with his groin area.”

Tomey claimed in the lawsuit that Gelin was dismissive of his report of sexual harassment, which he first mentioned to her in August 2022. “As long as he doesn’t rub anyone’s knees I’m cool,” she allegedly said about Moore in a text from that time that is included as an exhibit.

The new boat will address what Chief Hugh Bruder calls a ‘staggering’ number of water rescue calls. Photo provided

By Jane Musgrave

When you think about firefighters and water, forget hoses. Instead, think boats.

Boynton Beach Fire Rescue is expanding its land-based operations and moving to the water with the purchase of a $400,000, 28-foot fire boat and the construction of a $250,000 dock it will share with the city’s Police Department.

The city also plans to spend $1.8 million to renovate a 1950s-era building in Harvey E. Oyer Jr. Park to create a 24-hour-a-day marine headquarters where three firefighters will be stationed, Fire Chief Hugh Bruder said.

Although several fire rescue agencies, including Palm Beach County, Delray Beach and Boca Raton, have boats, Bruder said the idea of a marine unit was initially viewed with suspicion.

“When I started the bandwagon four years ago everyone looked at me like I was from another planet,” he told the City Commission in July as he explained why he will need $37.3 million to run the department in the year beginning Oct. 1. That is a 16.6% jump from this year.

Calls for service justify the expense of the marine unit, Bruder said.

“The number of water rescue calls are staggering,” he said.

The agency receives an average of one water rescue-related call a day — up 50% from four years ago.

Bruder recalled the day in June when ocean rescue crews and firefighters were summoned to help other agencies find an 8-year-old boy who fell off the south jetty at the Boynton Inlet while fishing with his father.

Within an hour, rescuers realized that there was little chance of finding the West Palm Beach boy alive. Even though firefighters aren’t typically involved in recovery operations, they stayed until the body of Saul Cerrato-Vasquez was found, Bruder said.

“We stayed to give the family closure and we stayed because it was the right thing to do,” he said.

To offset the increased costs of running the department, Bruder said he is beginning to renegotiate contracts with municipalities that receive fire service from Boynton Beach. Ocean Ridge and Briny Breezes are among them.

Costs to municipalities will increase, Bruder said. For instance, under a proposed 10-year contract with the Village of Golf, the village would pay 10% more the first year, putting an extra $30,000 in Boynton Beach’s coffers, then have annual increases tied to the Consumer Price Index, Bruder said.

Ocean Ridge Town Manager Lynne Ladner said the town will pay nearly $1.6 million next year to Boynton Beach for fire protection. While the contract doesn’t expire until Oct. 1, 2028, it is up for a 4-year review this month.

She said she hadn’t been contacted by Boynton Beach officials about renegotiating the contract.

Under the existing agreement, the cost to Ocean Ridge increases about 4% each year, she said.

Bruder said he is also working to improve the department’s rating from the Insurance Services Office. An upgrade would decrease insurance rates for homeowners, including those who live in municipalities that contract with Boynton Beach for service.

The department wasn’t able to get a Class 1 rating in 2017, largely because of water pressure problems, Bruder said. He voiced confidence the agency would get the top rating when it is reinspected in 2025.

The fire boat is to arrive in August 2025. What is being called the “public safety dock” is to be completed in March. A grant is covering half of the construction costs with the city kicking in the rest.

Money for the renovation of the city building the U.S. Coast Guard was using in Harvey Oyer Park is to be generated by increasing the annual fire assessment from $120 to $145.

The flat fee, separate from property taxes, is paid only by Boynton Beach residents and business owners.

The increased assessment would generate $1.46 million annually. That money would be used to repay a $13.1 million, 15-year bond. The loan would also pay for other projects, including the estimated $10 million replacement of a 40-year-old fire station on Congress Avenue and Miner Road.

City commissioners tentatively approved the fee hike. But, Commissioner Angela Cruz said she may ask that it be trimmed to $140 during budget hearings in September.

Commissioner Thomas Turkin said he wants it to be reduced once the loan has been repaid.

Overall, Cruz said, the proposed tax rate of $7.80 for each $1,000 of taxable value, down from a rate of $7.85 per $1,000 this year, represents the biggest tax rate cut the city has had in years. However, because property values in the city increased 8.7% overall, the city will rake in nearly $4 million more in property taxes.

As proposed, the city will spend $130 million next year, a 9.4% increase over this year.

The tax rate, if approved, would find the owner of a home assessed at $400,000 after exemptions paying $3,120 for city services next year, not including the fire assessment.

Corrections: An earlier version of this story had an incorrect date for when the city's new fire boat will arrive. It is expected to arrive in August 2025. It also misstated when the department was last ISO inspected -- it was in 2017 -- and the terms of the contract with the Village of Golf (after a 10% increase the first year, future year cost increases are connected to the Consumer Price Index).

The Briny Breezes Town Council tentatively set the property tax rate for the coming fiscal year at $3.75 per $1,000 of taxable value, the same rate as the current year and the one Town Manager Bill Thrasher recommended.

At the council’s July 25 meeting, Thrasher noted that the town’s tax base had risen 11.3%, to $95.2 million, but he advised the aldermen not to lower the tax rate.

Briny Breezes is in the process of borrowing millions of dollars to fix its sea walls and redo its drainage system as a defense against rising sea levels.

“In my opinion we’re going to need all the revenue that we can garnish going forward from this point,” Thrasher said.

The town’s first public hearing on its budget and tax rate will be at 5:01 p.m. Sept. 12 with a final public hearing at the same time Sept. 26. The new budget takes effect Oct. 1.

— Steve Plunkett

Should bonfires be allowed on the beach?

The Briny Breezes Town Council will wrestle with the issue once again, this time in a workshop set for 4 p.m. Aug. 15.

Alderman Bill Birch and Alderwoman Kathy Gross had missed the council’s May 23 discussion, so the topic was postponed so they could participate.

“We’ve spent a lot of time on this already, so if we do a workshop, can we pretty much finalize it at that workshop?” Birch asked during the council’s July 25 meeting.

The answer was no, that the council cannot vote on legislation in a workshop, so a vote on proposed changes to the town’s code on fires and lighting restrictions near the beach will wait even longer for a regular council meeting.

Town Attorney Keith Davis originally proposed updating the ordinance partly to correct the start of sea turtle nesting season in March. The ordinance says nesting starts in April.

But aldermen do not yet agree on whether bonfires should be allowed outside of nesting season and if so, exactly how to regulate them. Police Chief Scott McClure has said the existing contract for police services would have to be changed if Briny Breezes wants his Ocean Ridge officers to enforce fire regulations as well.

Separately, the council scheduled a single regular meeting for 4 p.m. Dec. 12 in place of its Nov. 28 and Dec. 26 meetings to avoid conflicts with the holidays.

— Steve Plunkett

By Mary Thurwachter

Lantana residents will see something new this month when they receive notice of their proposed taxes from the county property appraiser — a stormwater utility fee for drainage projects. That will amount to a $72 annual assessment for the typical single-family home.

The Town Council adopted that preliminary rate — which equates to $6 a month for the average homeowner — during its July 8 meeting. Workshops to discuss the topic were held on June 10 and July 22. The second workshop was open for public comment, but only six residents attended, and no one said a peep.

Town Manager Brian Raducci says the cost of stormwater management has continued to grow and he anticipates it will be a larger part of operations in the future.

“Just to be clear, this is because things are changing,” Vice Mayor Pro Tem Kem Mason said. “The weather is changing. We have more rain. We’re having to get more pumps out there — trucks to pump water out to eliminate the flooding. We can’t stand behind and be reactive. We have to be proactive.”

Lantana’s annual stormwater operations and maintenance costs are $320,030, according to a study done by the engineering firm Chen Moore and Associates. 

That study showed that the average monthly rate of utility fees for 130 Florida municipalities is $9.

The fee is assessed based on the impact of stormwater generated from property within the town. The impact is calculated based on the amount of impervious area (land area covered or paved), and this is shown as an Equivalent Residential Unit or ERU.

In Palm Beach County, monthly stormwater rates range from $4 in Palm Springs to $19 in Wellington, with an average among eight municipalities of $8.91 (Palm Springs, Delray Beach, Jupiter, Lake Worth Beach, Boynton Beach, North Palm Beach, West Palm Beach and Wellington).

The fee structure is tiered.

The average single-family home, which is less than a quarter of an acre, will be paying $6 a month or $72 a year, according to Brent Whitfield, a Chen Moore project manager.

For homes greater than a quarter of an acre, the fee is $12 a month or $144 a year.

The final rate can be less, but not more, than the rate listed in the mailed notices, called Truth in Millage or TRIM. The TRIM notice also includes all proposed property tax rates affecting a property.

A $6 fee would collect $546,280 a year. If the rate were reduced to $5.75, the amount the fee raises would be $523,519.

The extra money collected by the tax — above the expected $320,030 in expenses — will be set aside for costly capital stormwater projects which will be needed in the future.

“If you’re not putting away at least $200,000 a year, you’re not really preparing yourself for what’s coming,” Whitfield said.

First and second readings of the ordinance adopting the new tax are set for Aug. 12 and Sept. 9.

Carnegie medal winner Jakob Thompson. Mary Thurwachter/The Coastal Star

Lifesaver wins national hero award — During the July 8 Lantana Town Council meeting, Vice Mayor Mark Zeitler presented 17-year-old Jakob Thompson with a Carnegie Hero Award for saving a 35-year-old woman from drowning at the Boynton Inlet on Nov. 30.

As he and his girlfriend were driving along State Road A1A, Thompson observed a group of people trying to help the woman as she struggled to swim about 60 feet from the sea wall as a strong, outgoing current was carrying her toward the inlet’s opening to the Atlantic Ocean. He drove on a bridge crossing the inlet to the nearby parking lot.

As Thompson saw the woman floating toward the middle of the inlet, he pulled off his shirt, took a running jump from the sea wall and landed feet-first in the water. Thompson swam about 90 feet to the woman and grasped her around the chest. She was breathing heavily and nearly exhausted, he said.

He towed the woman back to the sea wall and held her to the wall until two men pulled her to safety atop the wall.

After first-responders assessed the woman, they took her to a hospital.

A Lantana resident with plans to become an EMT, Thompson said he doesn’t have any formal lifesaving training but spends a lot of time boating and feels very comfortable in the water.

The Carnegie Medal is given throughout the country and Canada to people who risk death or serious injury to an extraordinary degree while saving or attempting to save the lives of others.

Sunsetting surtax — Town Manager Brian Raducci told the Town Council that Palm Beach County’s infrastructure surtax, or penny sales tax, is due to sunset Dec. 31, 2025, when it is expected to have raised the maximum $2.7 billion authorized by county voters. Lantana joined other communities in asking for an extension — municipalities have been receiving 20% of the revenue — but Raducci said there didn’t appear to be enough support for that effort on the county level.

“Obviously, it’s had a large impact on communities like ours,” Raducci said. “We stand to lose about $1 million” annually.

Raducci said the county is looking instead into proposing a transportation surtax. Either surtax would have to be approved by voters.

Lantana has used surtax money for the ADA ramp at the beach, wooden decking and railings at the beach park, replacing Town Hall windows, renovating the Town Council chambers, paving projects, and constructing classrooms and an emergency operations center at the Police Department.

— Mary Thurwachter

By Mary Thurwachter

Lantana’s to-do list for the coming year includes pursuing a land swap of town-owned waterfront property on North Lake Drive for the old bowling alley land owned by Michael and Tony Mauro at 200 N. Third St.

The recently renovated library at 205 W. Ocean Ave. is quickly outgrowing its space and could use more room for community events, according to Town Manager Brian Raducci.

The town is interested in constructing a recreation center on the Mauro property, which is a short walk from the library.

A swap may require a voter referendum and a review of language in the Town Charter, Raducci said at a budget workshop in July.

The town paid $965,000, a bargain price, for the lots at 206, 210 and 302 N. Lake Drive in 2012. At the time, the mayor, Dave Stewart, said buying the land was an opportunity similar to the $4,000 Lions Club 1940s land purchase, which eventually gave Lantana a beach and preserved waterfront property for future generations.

Also on the to-do list for the year ahead, as outlined in the budget:

Redeveloping downtown’s Ocean Avenue properties. Twelve decrepit cottages on the north side of the avenue between Oak Street and Lake Drive were demolished this summer.

The goal is to replace them with a mixed-use planned development with residential and commercial space.

In their pursuit of a developer, town officials have said they will be flexible on building heights — possibly allowing as much as five stories. Mayor Karen Lythgoe says the town is “not expressly wanting” five-story buildings “but doesn’t want to turn away plans before the council can evaluate them.”

Beefing up the beach. Town leaders are giving thought to removing the old pavilion and exploring cost sharing opportunities to build new facilities on the beach without endangering the sea turtles. Raducci says the town may consider moving the Dune Deck Café to the former pavilion site and rebuilding the current restaurant into a second restaurant. Building a pier is a consideration for the future.

Partnering with a third party to rent kayaks and paddleboards and snorkel equipment at Lyman Kayak Park. Adding a small sundry shop and guided tours are also being considered.

Adding dock lifts at Sportsman’s Park. Vice Mayor Pro Tem Kem Mason proposed this idea at a visioning session in April. The 10 to 20 dock lifts could be leased out and create revenue for the town. Raducci says the town would ensure that costs do not exceed benefits, such as costs of permitting, construction, maintenance and dockmaster.

This project, Raducci says, would need to be a long-term plan in light of the Ocean Avenue Vulnerability Analysis, which considers raising the sea walls.

Improving the North Third Street parking lot in accordance with the town’s master plan. This would involve replacing the fence with a masonry wall and a new landscape plan.

All of these projects are highlighted in the FY 2025 budget. Public hearings on the budget are set for Sept. 9 and 18.

A Gulf Stream estate (center), which sits on more than 2 acres and has 200 feet of beachfront, sold for a town-record $39 million in June. Photo provided by Living Proof Photography

By Christine Davis

In a record-breaking $39 million deal for Gulf Stream, Debra A. Levitetz, the former wife of Purity Wholesale Grocers founder and chairman Jeffrey A. Levitetz, sold her eight-bedroom, 12,717-total-square-foot oceanfront estate at 3223 N. Ocean Blvd. in June.

The buyer, RSPS 3223 North Ocean LLC, is a Delaware-registered company. Candace Friis and Phil Friis, Corcoran Group agents, brokered the deal. Debra and Jeffrey Levitetz bought the home together for $12.5 million in 2001, and the home was deeded directly to her name two years later.

Built in 1995, the home is on a 2.15-acre lot with 200 feet directly on the ocean.

The mother-son Friis team also handled the previous record-setting deal for Gulf Stream: the $33 million sale of 3545 N. Ocean Blvd. in 2022. 

***

The State University System board of governors has adopted a resolution authorizing the issuance of tax-exempt debt up to $117.75 million by the Florida Atlantic University Finance Corp. to finance the design, construction and equipment of a new seven-story, 670-bed, 204,000-square-foot student housing facility on the university’s main campus.

The unit mix will be single-occupancy three- and four-bedroom semi-suite units with shared bathrooms and a kitchenette.

The university is working with Coral Gables-based HKS Architects and has yet to select a general contractor.

It estimated the project would break ground in December and be open in time for the fall 2026 semester. The project’s $160,500 per-bed cost would be the highest for student housing at a state university, according to Florida board of governors staff. The university attributed that to inflation and current market conditions in Boca Raton.

Florida Atlantic University had 5,185 on-campus residents in 2024 out of more than 30,000 undergraduate and graduate students. It has six campuses.

A feasibility and demand study conducted by Brailsford & Dunlavey estimated total demand through fall 2026 at 1,066 beds, exceeding the proposed 670 beds, and recommended the university meet such demand via a phasing-in of several housing projects in the coming years. 

***

Brandon Waller was hired by the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County as the federation’s new community security director.

Waller is assuming this role from Alan Poland, who was elevated to the Jewish Federation of North America Secure Community Network’s Florida regional director.

Waller previously served as a special agent in the Federal Bureau of Investigation from 2003 to 2024. He served as a SWAT operator for more than 12 years while assigned to New York.  

The Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County is part of a network of Jewish federations and communities that have partnered with Secure Community Network to launch or build upon existing community-wide security programs.

***

The 2024 Palm Beach Solar Co-op initiative, organized by the national nonprofit Solar United Neighbors in partnership with local organizations, including the city of Boca Raton, aims to bring accessible clean energy and storm resilience to the Palm Beach County community.

This nonprofit has completed 85 solar co-ops across Florida since 2016, including four previous ones in Palm Beach County — in 2017, 2018, 2021 and 2022 — in which 400 Palm Beach County households enrolled. Homeowners, nonprofits and small businesses in the county can still join for free until Sept. 6. To sign up, go to solarunitedneighbors.org/palmbeach.

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

By John Pacenti

Boynton Beach Mayor Ty Penserga said July 25 that the FBI is investigating a death threat made against him.

City Commissioner Tom Turken said he has also been the target of threats.

The threats come after a contentious July 2 commission meeting where Penserga cut off public comments from two women who believe the 2020 election was stolen from former President Donald Trump, leading Turkin to criticize the mayor for not letting them speak. Commissioners abruptly adjourned the meeting as one of the speakers who refused to stop speaking was being led out of the chamber by police on orders from the mayor.

Penserga said he was enforcing a policy that public comments had to pertain to items that are within the purview of the City Commission. 

Turkin shouted at Penserga that he felt citizens had a First Amendment right to address the commission as they saw fit. When some in the gallery applauded, Turkin said, “Don’t clap because I don’t agree with a lot that has been said.”

One of the women – Candace Rojas, a former candidate for Palm Beach City Council and the Palm Beach Soil & Water Conservation District – is a well-known and vocal election denier who has appeared before many area commissions. She told the commission she was speaking to “restore the republic.”

Boynton Beach police escort Candace Rojas out of the City Commission chambers after Mayor Ty Penserga cut her off for talking about non-city related items during the public comments portion of the commission's July 2 meeting. City of Boynton Beach meeting video

“As a sovereign American I am putting you on notice,” said Rojas, before being cut off by Penserga and escorted out by police when she refused to leave the lectern.

While officials would not comment on the specific threats, the video of the July 2 meeting was removed from the city’s YouTube and website pages after threats were made to city commissioners, Boynton Beach spokeswoman Chelsea Sanabia said July 17. The threats were under police investigation, she said.

Police spokeswoman Holly Piccano told a Coastal Star reporter to make a public records request when asked if the threats stemmed from the July 2 meeting.

The first public mention of a death threat occurred when a speaker mentioned it during public comments at the July 16 commission meeting. Penserga and Turkin were absent from that meeting.

Penserga, returning a phone call July 26, said he was reluctant to speak further about the death threat without consulting the FBI. He did elaborate that the death threat was made in an anonymous voicemail.

Turkin, who said he also received threats, responded July 24 to a text message seeking comment:

“Due to the plethora of investigations that are ongoing internally and with other three-letter agencies pertaining to multiple threats/conspiring actions against myself and other members of the commission, I will refrain.”

Next up for the commission is a special workshop on ethics slated for July 30. Also to be discussed are new rules for public comment at commission meetings, rules that caught commissioners by surprise when staff tried to put them in place at the July 16 meeting.

The three commissioners in attendance at that meeting balked at the changes and chose to follow the commission’s past practices until they had an opportunity to discuss any changes in how they do business. The new rules would have pushed public comments from near the beginning of commission meetings to near the end. They also would require each resident who wanted to speak to fill out a comment card and file it with the city clerk.

“I was disappointed they were added to the agenda without having input from my colleagues,” said Vice Mayor Aimee Kelley at the meeting.

“I was blindsided by this and I don’t like it,” said Commissioner Woodrow L. Hay.

By John Pacenti

Former Delray Beach Fire Chief Keith Tomey is gone but the drama is not.

In his whistleblower lawsuit against the city filed on June 25 over his dismissal, Tomey includes a 2022 text message exchange between himself and Delray Beach City Attorney Lynn Gelin in which she disparages City Manager Terrence Moore.

Tomey was fired May 1, one day after an investigation found no evidence to support his accusation that Moore inappropriately touched and groped him. He claims in the lawsuit the firing was retaliation for making a formal complaint against Moore.

The text exchange included in the lawsuit allegedly occurred Oct. 18, 2022. Tomey told Gelin that Moore had repeated his request to demote Craig Mahoney or get him to step down. Tomey had recently promoted Mahoney – the president of IAFF Local 1842, the firefighter’s union – to division chief of logistics without telling Moore first.

In the text exchange, Gelin said if Tomey did what Moore was asking, Mahoney would sue for retaliation. “It’s a stupid argument that reflects poorly on Terrence."

Tomey had said he felt pressure to demote Mahoney because Moore was his boss.

“And stop referring to him as your boss, Lol,” Gelin said in the same text, court documents show. “He’s your boss in title and nothing else. Every time he opens his mouth he confirms how incompetent he is.”

Screenshots of the text exchange are included as an exhibit in the lawsuit.

When asked if the city, Gelin, or Moore would comment on the lawsuit or the text exchange cited, spokesperson Gina Carter said as a policy Delray Beach does not comment on pending litigation.

Tomey was fired for his decision to allow on-duty firefighters to participate in the annual Guns and Hoses softball game in November, compromising the city’s readiness, according to Moore's termination letter to him. An on-duty firefighter was injured in the game and filed a workers compensation claim.

“I believe residents will find there is ample support for Mr. Tomey’s termination,” said City Commissioner Juli Casale. “It is unfortunate that a random text sent out of frustration is being used to bolster a claim that has already been found to be meritless by an outside investigator.”

Tomey was hired in 2016 and named chief in April 2020. Moore became city manager in August 2021 and Gelin has been the city’s top attorney since 2018.

The city employed an outside law firm to investigate Tomey’s sexual harassment complaint, finding there was no evidence to support the claim.

Tomey’s attorney, Isidro M. Garcia, said Gelin’s texts “speak for themselves.”

“There is some disconnect there between the City Manager’s Office and the City’s Attorney's Office, especially when it comes to the Mahoney thing,” Garcia said.

There have been other incidents as well.  

Tomey received a traffic ticket on June 17, 2023 from the Florida Highway Patrol on the Florida Turnpike for unknowingly driving on a suspended license, according to court records. At the time, Tomey often drove city-owned vehicles.

The lawsuit also revisits Tomey’s five-day suspension for not promptly reporting an Oct. 26, 2022 fender-bender on Interstate 95. While on paid leave as the city investigated the incident, Tomey suffered a stress-induced atrial fibrillation which resulted in a hospital stay, according to the lawsuit.

Tomey was denied workers’ compensation and sued the city and won, the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit claims the firing violated the state’s Whistleblower Act. Tomey reported Moore made sexual advances towards him on Aug. 3, 2022, as the two drove in Moore’s car to and from the Arts Garage. Tomey said Moore “rubbed up his thigh and just briefly made contact with his groin area.”

Tomey claimed in the lawsuit that Gelin was dismissive of his report of sexual harassment, which he first mentioned to her in August 2022. “As long as he doesn't rub anyone's knees I’m cool,” she allegedly said in a text from that time that is included as an exhibit.

After the city received a letter on the incident from Garcia in March, the commission asked for an investigation.

Spacious homes with large lots and mature trees, like this single-family home in Manalapan being shown by Realtors Angelo and Antonio Liguori, continue to bring high prices. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

Related stories: Along the Coast: Condo sales slow; prices stay high |Property values increase at slower rate, but still chug along

By Charles Elmore

Headwinds like higher interest rates have slowed single-family home sales nationally, but high-end buyers, many paying cash, continue to make a splash along Palm Beach County’s southern coast despite a limited inventory, agents say.

A Boca Raton waterfront mansion sold for $40 million this spring, reported as a high for the city. A $50 million sale in May in Highland Beach ranked as the loftiest price in that town, according to the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser’s Office website.

And a town record was set June 27 in Gulf Stream, with the recording of the sale of a 12,717-square- foot residence at 3223 N. Ocean Blvd. for $39 million, county records show.

“The market peaked so high with COVID-19 that when it leveled off, people thought, ‘Oh my gosh, it’s going to crash,’” said Pascal Liguori, broker associate with Premier Estate Properties in Delray Beach.

“It didn’t.”

To be clear, not every municipality has exceeded its top individual home sale price reached during or shortly after the pandemic, as reflected in appraiser records.

Delray Beach’s highest price was $34 million in October 2021.

For Ocean Ridge, the top price shows up as $27 million from December 2021.

Manalapan’s blockbuster $173 million sale from June 2022 remains its top number.

Out-of-town home buyers, like one seen here at a Lake Ida property with Realtor Antonio Liguori (right), continue to be curious about total lot size and the ability to expand their new homes. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

Compared with the most intense moments of the pandemic, buyers have tended to be a bit more methodical, less inclined to jump at just any offering, and the overall number of homes sold has been limited by how few are for sale, real estate professionals say.

For context, existing home sales nationally fell 1.9% in April compared to March and to the same month a year before, according to the National Association of Realtors.

It’s hard to blame sellers for testing the top of the range in asking price, though some properties can sit for a bit while buyers shop around or wait for a price reduction, said Nick Malinosky, sales associate for Douglas Elliman Real Estate.

“It’s got to be accurately priced and hit the target,” Malinosky said.

For example, a property he thought was priced correctly at around $5 million in Boca Raton attracted plenty of interest recently, he said.

“We showed it 16 times in two weeks and now it is under contract,” he said in mid-June.

“That’s a very healthy market for this time of year.”

It would be difficult indeed to match the mania from the period after COVID-19 prompted lockdowns and states of emergency. If people had to work from home, those with means in places like New York, Chicago and California figured the time had arrived to get near the water in a location with no state income tax.

Luxury home sales in Palm Beach County increased 115% in the fourth quarter of 2020 compared to the same period a year earlier, the biggest jump in any major U.S. market tracked by Seattle-based real estate firm Redfin Corp. Redfin defines luxury as homes in the top 5% of market value in a metro area, which can be a county.

Such upper-end sales can have ripple effects across communities. They can raise home values for others, perhaps welcome for those who want to sell. At the same time, such higher valuations can drive up property taxes and insurance costs for those who want to stay put and make it difficult for people with more typical incomes and resources to find affordable places to buy.

The influx of avid buyers kept coming until the push factor of COVID-19 eventually eased and the market began to readjust.

Take Ocean Ridge. Its median sales price for homes of all types peaked at $3.6 million in October 2022, according to Redfin, compared to $2.9 million in May 2024.

In number of homes sold, Ocean Ridge’s recent high was 23 in March 2022, falling to five in May 2024, Redfin reported. Inventory remains tight.
Delray Beach’s median sales price for single-family homes stood at $925,000 in May, up 15% from the same month a year earlier but below a spike to $1.4 million in January 2023.

The number of Delray Beach homes sold in May was 80, unchanged from a year earlier and below a five-year high of 112 in May 2021, according to Redfin.

Highland Beach’s median sales price sat at $815,000 in May, under a recent peak of $1.5 million in March 2023, using Redfin’s numbers. The number of homes sold was 13 in May 2024, about the same as the 14 sold in March 2023, but far less busy than the 55 changing hands in April 2021, for instance. The median days on the market in Highland Beach stood at 167 in May, up 79% from the same month of 2023.

Boca Raton’s median single-family sales price dipped slightly to $1.1 million in May, from a five-year high of $1.2 million the month before, Redfin said. The number of homes sold in May 2024 was 128, down 10% from a year earlier and well below a five-year peak of 245 in June 2021.

The median number of days a home was on the market in Boca Raton landed at 85 in May, up 20% from a year before.

Unlike the COVID-19 boom, when anybody who ever thought of selling was giving it a whirl, it’s a time of tighter inventory, said Corcoran Group agent Steven Presson in Delray Beach.

“I would have 30-plus listings before, now I have 10 or 12 or 15, because there’s less listings to be had,” he said.

If people like the homes they are in, those who have a mortgage are not necessarily eager to trade one with near 2% interest for something like 7%.

It shows in the number of properties on the market.

By Presson’s count, there were 20 properties for sale in Ocean Ridge in mid-June.

Make it 10 in Gulf Stream.

Those numbers might be double at other times, he said.

It adds up to a market where volumes are settling down, but big-ticket sales are still happening.

“During COVID, we were driving like 95 miles an hour,” Presson said. “Now we’re going 70 or 75.”

Related stories: Homes sales fetch high prices despite slowdown in volume after pandemic |Condo sales slow; prices stay high

By Mary Hladky

After soaring for two years, taxable values of Palm Beach County properties are now heading back to earth.

Countywide property values increased by 10% — 9.99% to be exact — a very healthy amount but lower than last year’s nearly 14% jump and 2022’s 15.2% increase that were fueled by a hot real estate market and spikes in new construction, according to the July 1 preliminary tax roll released by Property Appraiser Dorothy Jacks.

This marks the 13th year in a row that taxable values have increased in the aftermath of the 2008 Great Recession.

“The overall increase in taxable value has slowed compared to previous years,” Jacks said in announcing her office’s estimates in late May, before the updated calculations were made in June. “Market values for some building types have begun to flatten in Palm Beach County. …”

That includes the residential market, which is “somewhat flat” but not declining, she told county commissioners June 11.

One factor is the 2021 collapse of a Surfside condominium in Miami-Dade County, which resulted in new laws requiring regular inspections to make sure buildings are safe and have adequate financial reserves to pay for maintenance and repairs. The changes forced many condo boards to increase maintenance fees and impose special assessments.

Owners who can’t afford the higher costs are selling at a loss, which will result in a decline in condo values over the next few years, Jacks said.

But condos that already required reserves and conducted regular maintenance will not face this problem, she said.

The overall picture, however, is positive. Total taxable value in Palm Beach County is at $318 billion and the county’s market value now exceeds $500 billion for the first time. New construction added to the tax rolls this year totaled more than $5 billion.

“Five billion is the highest I have seen in my time in office,” Jacks, first elected in 2016, told the commission. “New construction is strong. More apartments are going up everywhere. I don’t see that stopping.”

Of the county’s 39 towns and cities, Boca Raton continues to have the highest taxable value at $37.6 billion, followed by Palm Beach at $32.1 billion.

All southeastern Palm Beach County municipalities saw taxable value increases, although less than the gains of the last two years.

Briny Breezes saw the largest percentage increase at 11.3%, followed by 10.9% in Delray Beach and 10.3% in Ocean Ridge.

South Palm Beach was at 10%, Highland Beach at 9%, Lantana at 8.9%, Boynton Beach at 8.7%, Boca Raton at 8.5%, Gulf Stream at 6.6% and Manalapan at 5.7%.

Briny Breezes Town Manager Bill Thrasher said a couple of new mobile homes were installed last year, “which is significant for Briny,” and called the jump in the town’s taxable value from around $85.5 million to $95.2 million “a material increase.”

South Palm Beach Town Manager Jamie Titcomb noted the town’s increase is right in line with that of the county as a whole.

“Our value increase is really just straight positive growth in valuation of all properties,” he said, adding that the town has not seen much new construction (just $903 according to the preliminary figures).

Manalapan’s modest percentage rate increase reflects the countywide slowdown in taxable value growth, said Assistant Town Manager Eric Marmer.

“The entire housing market has stopped moving at the freight train speed of the past few years,” he said, noting that Manalapan remains “one of the most sought-after places to live in the country.”

Taxable value increases are great news for municipal leaders as they work to finalize their budgets for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1.

Local governments use taxable values to calculate how much property tax money they can expect at various tax rates. They then set their proposed annual budgets and tax rates.

An increase in taxable value means they will collect more money from property owners even if they keep their tax rates the same as last year.

Unless governments lower their tax rates, homeowners will face higher property tax bills at a time when inflation and rising interest rates are straining family budgets.

To prevent a tax increase entirely, elected officials would have to use the “rolled-back” rate, which state law requires them to calculate and advertise. That rate would generate the same amount of property tax revenue as the previous year — except for the extra revenue coming from new construction.

But municipalities are loath to use that rate, because they all face rising costs. For example, Boca Raton, a rapidly growing city with resident demand for quality services, usually lowers its tax rate by a minuscule amount, which allows city leaders to say they have cut the rate while still benefiting from increased revenue.

Homeowners with homesteaded properties, however, don’t feel the full brunt of rising property values because state law caps their taxable value increase at 3% a year. Non-homesteaded properties are capped at 10% annually.

The taxable value numbers are based on market conditions as of Jan. 1. They will be submitted to the state Department of Revenue. Local governments finalize their tax rates during public hearings in September.

John Everett of Atlantis was one of a dozen lawn bowlers at a June 4 Delray Beach commission meeting seeking to keep the courts at Veterans Park. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

City Commission’s decision could add years to construction of Atlantic Crossing

By Anne Geggis

Lawn bowling scored a reprieve from plans to convert the area’s last remaining courts at Veterans Park into a parking lot to expedite the construction of a mammoth downtown development’s next phase.

A shortened construction timeline that would mean fewer traffic stoppages along major downtown corridors — paired with a promised $1 million contribution to upgrade the park — was not enough to persuade the Delray Beach City Commission to allow the developer to use city property for its plans.

The mixed-use project could shorten its construction work by two years if the city agreed, a developer’s representative said.

“It does expedite the construction portion of this overall phase to completion by two years, which would reduce disruption to the neighborhood, and gets the benefits of the … added tax base on the tax rolls much quicker,” said attorney Bonnie Miskel, representing the developer, Edwards Cos.

Atlantic Crossing opened its first phase in May 2023 after more than a decade of planning.

Previous commissioners had agreed with what Miskel outlined at a June 4 commission meeting. That proposition would have redesigned the park and had it back in working condition after construction was finished — in addition to a $1 million investment from the developer to redo the park. Those plans would have converted the current parking area into additional green space.

Commission changes tack
But, in probably the most dramatic reversal so far resulting from a new majority elected to the dais this year, the commission gave the developer’s proposal a thumbs-down. It would have meant eradication of the area’s last lawn bowling courts for at least four years.

The decision was a victory for the Delray Beach Preservation Trust, which in December had passed a resolution asking the commission to halt plans to change Veterans Park.

Newly elected Mayor Tom Carney voted against Atlantic Crossing’s plans for residential, retail and office space when he was previously on the commission in 2012. He said he considered the Atlantic Avenue development east of Federal Highway that is taking up several city blocks too big back then. Twelve years later, he recalled that the commission majority agreed to it after getting certain promises.

“I was part of the original deal … part of the discussion that we’re not going to be touching the park and I think that was kind of a sacred promise,” Carney said. “And I am going to stick with that. We are not going to touch the park and if it makes construction go a little longer, I’m very sorry.”

A dozen lawn bowlers in the audience — wearing the same white pullover shirts with their logo emblazoned on the breast — were ecstatic at the action.

“We’re very pleased,” said John Everett, 76, of Atlantis.

He picked the sport years ago as one he could play if he lives to 100, as it challenges eye-hand coordination as players try to hit a small, white ball using a weighted, slightly oblong, softball-sized bowling ball.

“I see a lot of honor in the commission,” Everett said.

Carney, Vice Mayor Juli Casale and Commissioner Tom Markert ran for office promising to constrain development’s effects on residents and leave the park as it is.

A missed opportunity?
Miskel, however, said the plan to use Veterans Park temporarily — and relocate the lawn bowling eventually — represented the best way to minimize the effects of construction on residents. And part of her presentation included slides showing parts of the park in poor condition.

This “minimizes the intermittent closure of area streets” — including Atlantic Avenue, northbound Federal Highway, Northeast Seventh Avenue and Northeast First Street — from “often shutting down, which happened with the first phase,” Miskel said.

Commissioner Rob Long supported the proposal.

“It feels like an offer that’s being made by a developer to make a $1 million investment in our park and substantially mitigate the impact of an already approved project,” Long said. “ … We know from the construction of the first phase of this, it really does impact residents in a substantial way.”

Residents who spoke evoked the historic nature of the current complex that opened in 1962 and Atlantic Crossing’s history that has involved the city giving up roadways and agreeing to increased height and density for the development.

Sandy Zeller, 80, noted that the city and Atlantic Crossing had been in a lawsuit and the settlement doesn’t mention changes to Veterans Park.

“It does not allow Edwards to come back to the city seven years later (after the settlement) and say, ‘Oh, here’s some more things that we want the city to give us,’” said Zeller, who is on the executive board of the Preservation Trust. “This proposal was categorized by Edwards and Atlantic Crossing as a public-private partnership. This is not a public-private partnership. They’re asking the city to give away valuable park land for private development.”

The Edwards Cos., based in Columbus, Ohio, could not be reached for comment.

Related stories: Along the Coast: Boy presumed drowned while fishing at inlet with father |Manalapan: Attempts fail to revive woman pulled out into the ocean |Lantana news brief: Lifeguards rescue two swimmers from rip current

On June 13, my morning walk was interrupted by the sound of emergency vehicle sirens and hovering helicopters.

This happens along the beach with some frequency: migrants smuggled ashore, boating accidents, medical emergencies and drownings.

This time it was the heartbreaking death of an 8-year-old who fell from a sea wall while fishing just before dawn at the Boynton Inlet.

The emergency response from multiple agencies was impressive. The first responders were dedicated and focused on their duty. Unfortunately, the result was tragic: A little boy who reportedly loved fishing with his father was pulled under by the inlet’s swift current.

It’s difficult to say if anything could have been done to prevent this tragedy. According to Palm Beach County Fire Rescue, an investigation is continuing.

There are no railings along the sea walls on the west side of the A1A bridge. I’m sure the lack of barrier is popular with the people fishing. But it’s notable, as I walk around the area, that there are no warning signs about the inlet’s swift currents and no life rings or other accessible flotation devices. The signs at the inlet are all about closing times and what to do with injured marine life.

And signs can only provide information, not safety.

And they can’t be everywhere.

At least six visitors to Florida have died after being caught in rip currents since May. Another of these deaths happened along Manalapan’s beach just north of the Boynton Inlet.

In this case a 56-year-old Boynton Beach woman was pulled offshore and drowned while swimming with her friends. It’s possible there have been other rip current fatalities in our area this summer. Unfortunately, social media are often the only way locals — and local news media — learn of the deaths. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, more than one-third of the 97 rip current and surf zone fatalities across the U.S. in 2023 happened during June and July. The agency cautions never to assume the ocean is safe, even if the weather is nice.

Those of us who live and swim here know the dangers and have learned what to do if caught in a rip current: Stay calm; call and wave for help; swim as best you can parallel to the shoreline until free of the current’s pull.

It sounds simple, but of course it’s not when you feel you’re being swept out to sea. Tip one is the most important: Stay calm.

With the state’s rapid population influx and increasingly popular tourist destinations, there will likely be more water-related deaths before the summer is over.

Learn to swim. Teach your children to swim. Our state, after all, is surrounded by more than 1,300 miles of coastline.

Stay safe.

— Mary Kate Leming, Executive Editor

Danuta Fein with the shell collection at Sandoway Discovery Center. The retired nurse wanted her volunteer work to be completely different from her former career. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Brian Biggane

When Danuta Fein and her husband moved from just north of New York City to Delray Beach seven years ago, Danuta wasn’t sure what she wanted to do, but after working as a nurse for 36 years, she knew it wasn’t that.

“I didn’t really have to work, which for some people sounds wonderful, but when you’re used to working, you’ve got to find a life,” said Fein, 64.

“So it was, What can I do here? I’ve always loved nature, so I ended up looking for volunteer opportunities online. And one day I saw Sandoway was looking for volunteers, and

I came here for the interview and found I just love this place.”

Part of the attraction was the building that houses the Sandoway Discovery Center. Built in 1937 and restored in 1997-98, the two-story house is the rare structure just across the street from the beach that is still standing after more than 85 years.

And she likes the people, both staff and visitors. As the person who works the door every Thursday, Fein is typically the first staff member visitors see and she does what she can to make them feel welcome.

“I’m doing the admissions, the sales and the gift shop, answer questions, directions, whatever,” she said.

With only four full-time people on staff, the center depends heavily on its volunteers, and Suzanne Williamson, the director of education and volunteer coordinator, said Fein is among her most valuable.

“She takes charge when she comes in, makes sure everybody has what they need,” Williamson said. “It’s really busy in the summer but she’s really good at managing the chaos.

“She’s so warm when people come in, greets them with a smile. And she’s really good with kids. And I love having a former nurse around. Especially in the summer,” when people need to stay hydrated.

When the center needs an enforcer, she can be that, too. “She even kicked one guy out for not paying,” Williamson said.

While Fein takes charge inside the building, other volunteers keep busy outside. “Some really enjoy the animal care,” she said, “and some enjoy doing landscaping. We have amazing landscapers here who have transformed the property. We have a gorgeous garden.”

Open Tuesday through Sunday, Sandoway hosts school-age children from summer camps on a daily basis and has people of high school and college age volunteering to help with the larger summer workload. A big attraction is the feeding schedule: Sharks and stingrays are fed daily at 1 p.m. and the rest of the aquarium animals at 2 p.m.

Fein enjoyed her experience at Sandoway so much that she also has become a volunteer at Gumbo Limbo Nature Center in Boca Raton.

“I just love sea turtles,” she said. “I’ve had some amazing experiences coming across them while we’ve been on vacation, and I just love that they have the hospital there.

“They closed for a little while, and when they reopened all of a sudden, they needed volunteers. So, I’m like, yeah, I can do that.”

Again, Fein said, she “kind of gravitated” toward the front desk, answering phones and welcoming visitors. Admission is not an issue, because Gumbo Limbo is free to enter, whereas Sandoway costs $10.

Fein also volunteered as a Girl Scout leader for three or four years when her daughter was involved up North.

“Until you volunteer you don’t really realize the joy in it,” she said. “Because in my opinion, that’s what you get out of it. That’s why you end up doing what you do.

“You have to pick something you’re happy about doing. I tried to pick something completely different than what I did for my career, because I’d done that. But when you find it, it’s like effortless to just keep doing it.

“It opens up a whole new world.”

Danuta’s husband, David, works for a Fort Lauderdale-based company, Atlantic Coast Enterprises, training customer service reps for Jiffy Lube stores up and down the East Coast.

Daughter Allison does social media marketing for a pharmaceutical company in Boston and son Daniel is an oncologist, also in Boston.

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Send a note to news@thecoastalstar.com or call 561-337-1553.

By Anne Geggis

Increases in the value of residents’ homes should not mean paying more to run city government, Mayor Tom Carney said, asking for a budget proposal that won’t require residents to write bigger tax checks than they did last year.

Delray Beach’s tax rate has been dropping for 10 consecutive years, but the amount the city is spending has been on a steady upward trend.

As a result, property owners have been paying more taxes every year as the value of their homes increases. In that vein, Carney challenged city staff to end that trend and come back with a budget with a tax rate that raises no more money than last year on existing property owners. In that scenario, the city would get additional taxes only from new construction.

“I really think we need to be talking about actually saving the taxpayers money by ensuring they are not going to pay any more taxes this year than they did last year,” Carney said.

City Manager Terrence Moore did not make a specific recommendation at the June 11 budget workshop, but he had charts that showed various scenarios.

At current estimates, adhering to Carney’s request would drop the current operating tax rate from $6.36 per $1,000 of taxable value to $5.65 per $1,000. That would mean Delray Beach’s property tax revenues would drop by 11% to $97.98 million, compared with what it would collect if the city kept the current rate.  And the amount of revenue that the city takes in would be about $23 million less than it plans to spend.

One of Moore’s charts showed how the general fund expenditures have risen from $117 million in 2017 to $188 million in 2024 — a 60% increase.

Delray has been able to pay for it with a lower tax rate because taxable property values are increasing even faster. But for the next year, the climb in taxable real estate values appears to be cooling: After growing 13.4% in 2023 and 15.2% the year before, the city’s property values this year are up a smaller 10.9%, according to property appraiser figures.

Moore said he thought that staff could find $8 million in savings strategies in departmental budgets and take $6.8 million from the fund balance, which is currently at a level greater than the target the city set.

Moore, however, noted that some $7.4 million in projected increases are beyond the city’s control: general liability insurance, increases in staff salaries and wages, pension costs and garage rental rates for city vehicles.

The mayor was unmoved from his budget goal, however.

“I cannot tell you how I think that we have the room to do it,” Carney said. “And I didn’t say it was going to be easy, but I just think the taxpayers deserve to not just pay more taxes because their property values went up.”

Specific details are scheduled to be presented at the July 9 commission meeting.

Right now, the city has a fund balance that is $8.5 million more than the target it set, which calls for the city to have $40.2 million, or 25%, of the general fund budget saved.

Moore highlighted how Delray Beach’s creditworthiness has been upgraded by one of the biggest credit agencies. Moody’s upgraded Delray’s credit from its third-highest rating to its second-highest, he said.

“Delray Beach has done an excellent job in keeping alignment,” Moore said.