Did you ever think you really knew something, something vitally important? Only to find out the things you thought you knew were not only out of date, but also bordered on dead wrong? 

I took a basic lifesaving class when I was in college and thought I knew enough to save a life. Not only that, my oldest brother was a fireman and a couple of good friends are paramedics. So of course, just by osmosis, I had to know what to do if I were faced with a life-threatening situation.

Boy was I wrong.

I recently took a CPR/Stop-the Bleed class put on by the Starbright Civic Collective and Ocean Ridge police and found out how limited my skills were. 

The two-plus hours of class with 20 students included a candid, non-medical-term lecture followed by live practice where we each got the chance to resuscitate a training dummy and “stop the flow of blood” in a demonstration body wound.

Countless things in life can cause a medical issue, and the older we get, the more likely someone we know will need medical assistance. Traffic crashes come to mind, but so does slipping in the shower. Heck, just the aging process makes us more prone to cardiac issues, as well as sleep apnea and other conditions.   

Along this coast, we have some of the best-trained first responders working in our fire and police departments. Yet, no matter how quickly they might respond to a 911 call, our waiting for their arrival may not be good enough. 

Brain damage can occur within a few minutes of a heart attack without CPR. The longer it takes for oxygen and blood flow to be restored, the greater the risk of brain damage or death.

CPR is typically required if a person has stopped breathing because of a heart attack. In the past, I was taught to do 30 pumps on the chest, followed by breathing into the mouth for a couple of puffs, continuously repeating.

The most important thing the new class taught me is how to do proper CPR — using your hands and arms to compress the chest rapidly. That forces the flow of blood needed by the brain.

You have to push really hard. The compressions need to push the chest down at least a couple of inches to really pump blood. It’s best to get the person on the floor or other hard surface — where it’s easier to compress the chest than on a bed or couch.

Why not just use automated external defibrillators, which hang in plastic boxes in so many public hallways? The AED may be a great tool when used in conjunction with CPR, our instructor, Officer/Paramedic Jimmy Pilon, told us, but will not save a life on its own. CPR is still needed.  

Stop the bleed …

You should also know how to stanch bleeding from a critical wound so a person doesn’t bleed out while waiting for paramedics to arrive. These most serious wounds, such as from slicing open a finger or stepping on broken glass, require constant pressure to slow or stop the bleeding. It might require packing the wound with sterile gauze — even using a clean dishcloth or T-shirt is better than nothing.

If you ever encounter a person in medical need, here are some tips: Put your phone on speaker so your hands are free; call 911; and be ready to provide a street address and to follow the operator’s directions.

Learn the basics now. Find a class to take. 

Who knows, you may get a chance to be the first responder, helping save a life until trained professionals arrive.

— Jerry Lower, Publisher

Laurie Arsenault, one of 10 children, was always told by her father: “The world is not a trash can. Pick up after yourself.”

Now she is known as the Angel of Beachway for picking up 540 pounds of trash in the last two years from Ocean Ridge beaches.

On Feb. 3, Ocean Ridge Vice Mayor Steve Coz read a proclamation in her honor at the monthly Town Commission meeting.

“Please don’t litter. First of all, I have OCD,” she told those in attendance. “If I see it in my vision, I have to pick it up.”

The 66-year-old was born in Massachusetts and was a nurse for 40 years, picking up after patients and keeping hospital rooms antiseptic. With her husband, Salvatore, Arsenault has six children and six grandchildren.

“I don’t want my grandchildren to grow up in a trash can or an ashtray,” she said.

Arsenault, a Boynton Beach resident, picks up on average three pounds of trash a day, including shoes, toothpaste, plastic pots, bottles, bottle caps and — of course — cigarette butts.

Arsenault said she used to be a cigarette smoker and “I’m paying penance now. I’m picking up.”

Arsenault said there is a side benefit to her beach cleanup: “It keeps me limber by bending down and back up again.”

— John Pacenti

By John Pacenti

Manalpan’s great sand transfer plant war of 2025 ended not with a bang but a whimper.

“I feel tapped out of what I can potentially do to shut [the plant] down or do anything on that matter,” Town Manager Eric Marmer said at the Beach Committee meeting on Feb. 7.

He then proposed hiring an outside firm to complete a comprehensive study of the private beaches in town — as was done in Highland Beach. Commissioner Cindy McMackin, in a thought seconded by Commissioner Dwight Kulwin, said the town should hire a lobbyist and it should be former State Attorney Dave Aronberg.

Marmer said at the Feb. 11 regular Town Commission meeting that he was going ahead with engaging Aptim Environmental & Infrastructure — the same firm that did the Highland Beach study — for Manalapan. The first phase of the study would cost $10,000 and the second phase between $17,000 and $20,000.

“I really think we need to move forward with this because we have done a lot of due diligence but we are not ocean engineers, we are amateurs,” Marmer said. “But you know, we have a concern, and I think this is the next step.”

Manalapan has been on a quest since last fall to learn everything it can about the county’s sand transfer plant at Ocean Inlet Park and whether it was robbing sand from the town’s private beaches to spew out on the other side to benefit Ocean Ridge and other municipalities to the south.

It’s been quite a journey. Kulwin spent hours with an operator at the sand transfer plant and reported back to the committee what the man said.

A resident, Dr. Peter Bonutti — spouse of Vice Mayor Simone Bonutti — was named a county liaison. He found an interesting U.S. Army Corps of Engineers study that he said showed the plant was committing highway robbery and debunked the position that all sand flows from north to south.

Mayor John Deese and Marmer set off in January to meet with Palm Beach County officials. Both came back with a sobering conclusion: Neither the county nor the plant is to blame for the town’s beach woes.

“We were greeted with very open arms and very understanding concerns,” Deese said Feb. 7. “As they explained to us, it’s not isolated to Manalapan. It’s obviously a statewide issue, but in particular to Palm Beach County.”

Since Manalapan’s beaches are private, the town cannot receive any federal or statewide money for renourishment.

“The only thing that could be done that they suggested, which is above and beyond what they can do, is to lobby the state and federal governments to allow the public money to be used, you know, to protect private beaches,” Deese said.

McMackin said the prohibition on public money is unfair because as a wealthy community residents pay a lot in property taxes. She said hiring a lobbyist — she mentioned Aronberg at the Beach Committee meeting — “would be a good use of money to fight for our town.”

As for the sand transfer plant, Marmer said the only thing he could do — if directed by the commission — is to tell the town attorney to sue the county.

However, his recommendation would be to follow Highland Beach’s route and hire a firm to do an in-depth study of the town’s beaches and what can be done to remedy erosion on them.

“They did a really good beach study, and it went property by property and said exactly what their observation was, their condition and recommendation with photos of each property,” he said.

Highland Beach then sent out notices to all the residences there to tell them what they individually could do.

Peter Bonutti, though, stressed he didn’t think the county was being honest when it came to the sand transfer plant, saying data has not been filed that is required by its operating permit.

“It is not operating legally,” Bonutti said.

Tim Sharp works in Boca Raton teaching students in the Chamber of Commerce’s Young Entrepreneurs Academy, one of his several volunteer missions. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Hannah Spence

Many people aspire to spend their golden years at the beach or playing golf, but 66-year-old retiree Tim Sharp spends most of his time volunteering.

“It’s a great feeling to give back to the community,” said Sharp, who donates his time to causes such as recreational soccer, the Delray Beach Public Library, the American Cancer Society’s Road to Recovery program, St. Jude Children’s Hospital and the Delray Beach Historical Society.

Volunteering “gives people a purpose on ‘Why am I here, what am I doing?’” he said. “A lot of people lose that, especially when they retire, and it’s hard to get that back.”

Sharp’s journey in volunteer work started in 2001 when he coached his daughter with SABR, a Boca Raton soccer program. He eventually joined the board, on which he served for about four years. 

During this time, a friend invited him to a meeting at the Rotary Club of Boca Raton Sunrise. That led Sharp to decades of service with that club, including two stints as president.

From there, volunteering became a way of life for Sharp, particularly after he retired as a hydrogeologist and project manager at the engineering firm CH2M Hill in 2014. 

His wife, Katherine Karageorges-Sharp, was diagnosed with oral cancer earlier that same year. She suffered from the disease on and off for about six years before dying in 2020.

After losing his wife, Sharp eventually settled in Delray Beach. He continued to support organizations such as the Rotary Club of Boca Raton Sunrise and SABR TOPSoccer, which caters to special-needs children and adults. Sharp is the club’s Boca sponsorship coordinator and is taking some responsibilities off administrator Suzi Vogelgesang’s plate.

He began using the online service VolunteerMatch to find opportunities in Delray Beach. He was grateful to find the first match with the Delray library. But the second opportunity, American Cancer Association’s Road to Recovery program, is especially dear to him.

“This volunteer opportunity proved to be very close to my heart as I remember all of the countless trips to and from appointments for my late wife,” said Sharp, who through the program provides rides for cancer patients to and from their health appointments.

Through participating in Road to Recovery, Sharp has gotten to know some cancer patients on a personal level, such as Robert Kohl, who has colon cancer. Sharp has driven him on several occasions.

“I’ve had different drivers at different times, but Tim was the most consistent out of all of them,” said Kohl, who signed up for Road to Recovery because he does not have a car. Before meeting Sharp, he’d had the disappointing experience of having a driver cancel. Sharp came in at the right time. “Tim is very nice, he’s very personable,” said Kohl.

More recent, Sharp started volunteering for the Young Entrepreneurs Academy, a program the Boca Chamber runs, which teaches teenagers how to start a business.

“They have some very interesting ideas,” Sharp said of the would-be business owners. “The whole point in doing this is to get them to be more confident in themselves, to know that they can do something like this, whether they actually go and start a business or not. They’ve learned a skill that they may not have had before and probably won’t get from high school.”

That’s not his only contribution to future leaders; Sharp is setting up an annual scholarship through the George Snow Scholarship Fund for students from both the Best Foot Forward program and the Milagro Teen Center in Delray Beach.

Through all his opportunities, Sharp has followed a certain philosophy when it comes to volunteering.

 “You have to treat it like a profession,” he said, “meaning you must be professional. I’ve found that a lot of volunteers will raise their hand but then don’t show up. They have an excuse. You’ve got to put your heart into it.” 

Correction: This story was updated to include the correct time when Katherine Karageorges-Sharp was diagnosed with cancer.

NOMINATE SOMEONE TO BE A COASTAL STAR 

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

By Rich Pollack

The cost of Delray Beach’s new water treatment plant could more than double from an estimate a few years ago — due largely to new federal EPA regulations — and that could result in another increase in customers’ water bills down the road.

The total project cost estimate for the plant could reach $280 million, compared to a previous estimate of about $120 million a few years ago, Utilities Director Hassan Hadjimiry and Chief Financial Officer Henry Dachowitz said in a memo to City Manager Terrence Moore.

That change is largely due to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s first-ever enforceable drinking water standard for PFAS, better known as harmful “forever chemicals” found in drinking water, according to Moore.

“Because of the new EPA requirements, the water treatment facility will be significantly larger,” he said.

The cost of the plant — which is scheduled to come online in late 2027 or early 2028 — and more details about its design will be discussed on March 11 when the City Commission hears a project update from staff and the city’s design/build consultant, engineering and design firm, CDM Smith.

The presentation will include discussion of a future water rate structure and funding options including possible state financing.

“Often times estimates are higher than what the final cost comes out to be,” Moore said, adding that the design/build structure of the project could lead to cost efficiencies and that some facets of the project may require competitive bidding.

In their memo, Hadjimiry and Dachowitz wrote that the city will need to borrow money — possibly with tax-exempt revenue bonds — for the project and that would mean residents could start seeing improved water quality in about three years. That would require the city to make annual debt service payments at least annually.

“Given these significant required payments, the water rates will need to be raised to ensure that the utility’s future revenues each year cover all of its future expenditures,” they wrote.

Those rate increases, Moore said, would be “gradual steps consistent with the marketplace.”

The city last raised water rates in 2022 for the first time in more than 15 years, with water bills increasing about 30% over a five-year period ending in 2027.

In the memo, Hadjimiry and Dachowitz said that the EPA ruling last April required major revisions in the plant.

“The original design of the plant had to be significantly modified to comply with the revised EPA standards for PFOA, PFOS and Gen-X, requiring substantial design modification and treatment capacity approach,” they wrote.

One major change, Moore said, was in the actual water treatment process.

In the original design, the plant would have used a combination of lime softening — currently being used in the 73-year-old facility — and nano filtration, a membrane-based process that uses pressure to remove dissolved substances from the drinking water.

Because of the EPA ruling, the plant will have to be a fully nano filtration operation and as a result will have to be “significantly” larger than originally planned.

Moore didn’t specify how much larger but did say that the city does have the space to accommodate the bigger facility.

By John Pacenti

Tiger Woods’ PopStroke in Delray Beach — which combines dining with putting — appears to be thriving, with crowds on the greens at the back of the restaurant visible from outside.

While it may be fun for customers, it’s not so fun for nearby residents.

The main complaint appears to be the music coming from loudspeakers — though gas-powered leaf blowers at 7 a.m. are no fun either.

“I can hear the noise inside my house,” Mitchell Revsine said at the Feb. 4 City Commission meeting. Revsine lives about a block away — and across from PopStroke at 1314 N. Federal Highway.

Revsine said PopStroke — which didn’t return a phone call seeking comment — told residents that new trees planted should block the noise of the speakers.

“The trees aren’t tall enough to block the noise,” he said. “They could solve their problem today or any day by lowering the height of the speakers and just turning down the volume to an acceptable level.”

PopStroke opens at 9 a.m. and closes at 11 p.m. or midnight — with the landscaping crews cleaning up the place shortly after sunrise.

Mayor Tom Carney acknowledged the problem, saying he thinks it’s a design issue and that PopStroke needs to put the speakers on the ground. “I live in that same neighborhood,” he said. “They turn it down for a while when they get a complaint.”

Vice Mayor Juli Casale also weighed in, saying, “I can’t imagine living there next to it and hearing the pounding all day long. So I don’t know what we can do, but if you can, we can try to do something, even if we can reach out to the business and just ask them.”

City Attorney Lynn Gelin said a solution may be an enhanced fine since the noise violation is repetitive and that she would speak to the code enforcement supervisor about it.

By Henry Fitzgerald

The Delray Beach Police Department is seeking state money to pay for technology in public places, which would include cameras to be installed on the barrier island to help fight crime.

In a letter sent to residents early in February, police Lt. Gary Ferreri asked for letters of support so he could forward them to state officials.

In the letter, Ferreri says the cameras would be installed in “the area along A1A where visitors park their vehicles, the pavilion, in our many public parks and along E. Atlantic Avenue” between the Intracoastal Waterway and State Road A1A.

If the state money is approved, Ferreri writes, “the goal is to install CCTV cameras to act as a deterrent to criminal activity, to monitor the area during special events” and to “assist investigators after an incident occurs.”

It’s unclear how much money the state would allocate to Delray Beach to install the cameras. The funds would come from a pot of money approved statewide for such expenditures.

The idea comes months after a major gunfire incident south of the Delray Beach pavilion on A1A on June 21. One person was injured and nearly four dozen spent shell casings were found on the ground. That incident was similar to one earlier last year on March 30. In that gunfire incident, a juvenile was injured when a large group gathered on the top floor of the Old School Square parking garage, at 95 NE First Ave., a block east of Swinton Avenue.

At least one resident thinks adding cameras on the barrier island would be great.

“It’s a terrific idea because of the number of incidents we have had in this area,” said Kelly Barrette, who lives on Seaspray Avenue on the barrier island. “I’ve been here 13 years, and we’ve been asking for more police patrols. I know I’d feel a lot better with cameras; this will certainly help the police.”

Barrette said her neighborhood has its fair share of burglaries, car break-ins and thefts and robberies because of its location near A1A.

“It’s easy for criminals; A1A is like an escape route,” she said. “Also, the area is very dark at night because the lights are turned off because of the sea turtles.”

Vice Mayor Juli Casale says if the state money is approved, the plan is to introduce the cameras to the beach area, then eventually expand them to other areas of the city.

The beach area “is a perfect area to start with the cameras,” she said. “If things work in that area, I’d be in favor of having them all over the city.”

As for whether any residents would think having cameras all over the city would be a bridge too far, Casale doesn’t think so.

“I think the benefits outweigh the risks,” she said. “A lot of residents asked for this to happen. The safety of all of our residents is our first priority.”

Volunteers come out in large numbers to turn tiny Briny’s big flea market into a true community affair

Briny Breezes’ annual flea market on Feb. 8 required dozens of volunteers, pictured, and countless hours to pull off, from storing the donations to sorting, moving, arranging and pricing the goods. Photos by Tim Stepien/ The Coastal Star

By Ron Hayes

“We’re going to do housewares next!”

“I need somebody to get ice!”

“Housewares! We need housewares!”

That’s the sound of the men — and women — working on the chain gang.

They are not convicts. They are volunteers.

At 8 a.m. on Feb. 6, more than 200 residents of Briny Breezes gathered to set up this year’s Briny Breezes Bazaar, the little mobile home community’s huge annual flea market.

Such a tiny town. Such a mammoth endeavor.

So much stuff. So many bargains.

The attic of the town’s Hobby Club building is at least 100 feet long, about 50 feet wide, and at 8 a.m. that Thursday the entire space was filled, stuffed, brimming, bursting and jam-packed with a whole year’s worth of donations for the sale.

Bins of shoes. Lamps and linens. Mr. Coffees and microwaves.

A pepper grinder and an egg beater.

And so they began.

•

The volunteers call it the chain gang, but bucket brigade would be a more accurate term.

A line of men and women forms in the attic, stretching down the stairs, around the turn in the stairs, down again and outside. For the next four hours, those bins of shoes, lamps and linens will be passed from hand to hand, volunteer to volunteer.

A human chain moves boxes from the attic storage.

Outside, they will be loaded on trucks and golf carts and driven to the auditorium, or the space around the town fountain, or Quonset hut No. 2, or the space outside Quonset hut No. 2.

When the bazaar opens at 8 a.m. Saturday, two days hence, everything must be unpacked and displayed, mostly on tables.

Did we mention that Quonset hut No. 2, just to the north of the Hobby Club, is also filled, stuffed, brimming, etc.?

•

The woman overseeing all this is Eileen Duffy, 85, the bazaar’s co-chair, along with Linda Sudds, whose arrival from Canada was delayed by a family illness.

Duffy, whose two sisters and a brother all own homes in Briny Breezes, has been chairing the bazaar since 2012.

You might call her the bazaar czar.

“Every single item will be gone from the attic by 1 today,” she promised, “then we’ll serve hot dogs for the volunteers.”

The donations have been divided into 17 “departments.” Art and bicycles, shoes and cosmetics, electronics, housewares, on and on.

“Plus security and parking,” Duffy added. “People come from all over. Last year we parked 350 cars on the green area, and we’ve never had an accident.”

Every department has an assigned team leader.

Char De Young, 68, is the attic team leader.

“Eileen grabbed me my first year here in 2012,” she said. “She said, ‘Oh, you’re young, you can work on the chain gang.’”

Pat Kemme, 65, leads the linen team.

“Every year I buy two lamps,” she reported. “I enjoy them for a year, and then I donate them back and buy two more lamps.”

Joann Long, whose family owned jewelry stores back in Peoria, Illinois, is on the jewelry team, setting up along the auditorium stage. Now 95, she retired two years ago, but is still chipping in.

“We have a mystery shopper,” she confided. “A man shows up every year with a wad of $100 bills in his pocket and buys about $700 in costume jewelry. I always asked for a lot, so we let him in because it’s worth it. I never asked his name and I don’t know what he does with it all.”

Along with jewelry, the Nearly New department is in the auditorium.

“Someone passes away and we get the treasures when they clean out the trailer,” Duffy explained. That’s the Nearly New department.

•

The Briny Bazaar began as a charity auction, founded by Minnie Rawlinson in 1951.

“I would go around and collect the money, and worked on it for 25 years,” she recalled in a 1991 interview.

Seventy-four year later, there is still a silent auction, along with a raffle, as well as the flea market. 

And charity is still a part of the project, with 10% of the proceeds from sales — plus the money from the raffle and the silent auction — going to six local charities.

Prices range from cheap to pricey.

“Nothing’s less than a dollar,” Duffy said. “You can’t buy one coffee cup. They’re five for a dollar. We have a wicker chair for $50; that green couch is $100.”

The most expensive items are in the art department, where team leader Sue Thaler, 70, was asking $500 for an original Edna Hibel painting, “a gorgeous piece,” and $1,500 each for two koa wood frames.

What about that maybe van Gogh someone bought for $50 at a Minnesota garage sale?

“You never know,” Duffy said.

Alicia Taylor, 62, leads the boutique department, which came together outside, by the fountain. In Briny Breezes, that word “boutique” is as flexible as it is everywhere else.

“It’s mostly ladies’ stuff,” Taylor said. “Wedding dresses, belts and scarves.” She reached into a basket. “And we’ve got some brand-new boutique hotel slippers from The Bryant Park Hotel in New York City. And some others from Disney World.”

•

By 10 a.m. Thursday, the electronics were gone from the attic, along with the home décor, clothing and housewares, but there was still gobs of stuff to be transported.

The swimming flippers and snorkeling gear, for example.

Downstairs, Bobby Jurovaty, 77, was sweating as he waited for the white Ford F-150 to be loaded.

“I have no idea where I’m taking this stuff,” he said. “Some woman will yell at me.”

And somehow it all got done by 1 p.m.

The attic was empty, the drivers transported everything, and the volunteers got their free lunch.

Last year, the lunch team cooked 200 Nathan’s All-Beef hot dogs. There weren’t any left.

•

Come Saturday morning, people really have come from all over. There’s a line outside the auditorium waiting to hit all those tables, and within an hour, Briny Breezes is swarming with bargain hunters.

Geraldine Plaia of Ocean Ridge found a marble ashtray for $3, eight glasses for $2, and a baseball cap for $2.

“We support charity,” she said, “and you always find a little something you didn’t think you needed.”

On her second year here, Joann Stephens of Delray Beach got shoes, purses, a rug, kitchen towels, two champagne glasses and a pitcher for her lemonade. All for $42.50.

“I’m on disability,” she explained, “so I won’t go to the mall. I can’t afford it.”

Wolfgang Starck of Montreal found a $2 pewter porringer that may or may not be an antique, but he wasn’t concerned.

“I do reenactments of the War of 1812,” he said. “We’re Macaw’s Privateers, on the British side, and porringers were very well known in the group. I don’t know how authentic it is, but it’s definitely the size, shape and material from those days.

“This is the fourth I’ve found at flea markets.”

And then there was Glen Hudgin, waiting outside the Quonset hut while his wife, Karen, shopped inside. He held a pair of headphones, a Swiffer floor polisher, and a border collie on a leash.

Jack, the border collie, was family, not a purchase.

Does he like shopping at the Briny Breezes Bazaar?

“No,” Hudgin said. “But my wife does. I’m just here to carry stuff and try to figure out how to fit it all in the car when we go back to Toronto.”

•

The Edna Hibel painting and koa wood frames didn’t sell this year, but a lot of the lamps and linens, microwaves and toasters, books and bracelets did.

Treasures were found. Money was made.

“It’s safe to say we made right around $20,000 that will be put back into our community,” Sue Brannen, the bazaar’s treasurer, reported. “And so far, because I continue to collect charity donations, we have $1,500 to divide among our charities. We did well.”

Proceeds from the raffle and silent auction, plus 10% of the bazaar day sales, will be divided among the Caridad Center, CROS Ministries’ soup kitchen, and Shop With A Cop, among others.

On the Tuesday after the bazaar, many of the items left unsold were picked up by Delray Beach’s Habitat For Humanity ReStore outlet.

And now the little town with the big bazaar is ready for 2026.

“There will be new stuff donated tomorrow,” Brannen said, even before this year’s bazaar had ended.

The Hobby Club attic is empty, and waiting. 

Bicycles for sale circle the memorial fountain.

By John Pacenti

Under the guise of protocol and civility, Delray Beach Mayor Tom Carney and Commissioner Angela Burns are seeking to curtail Vice Mayor Juli Casale’s public criticism of City Manager Terrence Moore. 

Burns suggested a gag order to keep some of Casale’s criticism from the public and the press on issues.

Carney, who held a Feb. 18 workshop on Robert’s Rules of Order regarding protocol at meetings, has declared Casale out of order for speaking up on issues recently. 

And Moore stated he would not entertain questions about agenda items at meetings unless notified 24 hours in advance.

Casale said all of it was “synchronized.”

“Shutting down meaningful conversations defeats the purpose of representative government,” she said. 

Casale at public meetings has pressed Moore on the investigations into the Code Enforcement Division, Finance Department and the fallout over the Brightline crash with a city fire truck.

She has demanded answers from Moore in private, pressing him on issues before commission meetings. She has also had numerous conversations with department heads and staff on any number of topics.

“There have also been instances where commissioners have bypassed the City Manager’s Office and gone directly to department heads,” Burns said at the Feb. 4 meeting.

Burns’ statements come after City Attorney Lynn Gelin advised commissioners to keep their statements about the Dec. 28 train crash limited since the city is facing litigation.

“Some commissioners have made public statements to the press regarding sensitive matters, even though it is understood that such statements should come from our Communications Department,” Burns said.

Beach renourishment will take place on Hammock Park beach starting in mid-March and ending April 30.

Palm Beach County will be dredging beach-quality sand in the vicinity of the Boynton Inlet and piping it to an area of the shoreline that is exposed during the lowest tides.

Ocean Ridge learned of the beach renourishment on Jan. 31 from the county’s Department of Environmental Resources Management. The dredging and beach renourishment is timed so that it will not affect sea turtle nesting.

Similar to the 2013 inlet maintenance dredging, a pipe will transport the sand from the interior waterways to the beach south of the inlet. The contractor plans to work 24/7 and there will be on-beach lighting required for safety reasons, according to DERM.

Ocean Ridge Mayor Geoff Pugh said the last time beach renourishment happened, the sand covered up the patch reefs off the park — reefs that have been thriving in recent months.

The dredging will occur from the inlet sand trap, the Harvey E. Oyer Jr. Park boat channel and the Intracoastal Waterway.

— John Pacenti

By Steve Plunkett

Town commissioners and staff fretted that substantial work on Phase 2 of Gulf Stream’s big water main, drainage and road project would not begin early — or even by the originally scheduled mid-March start.

Town Manager Greg Dunham gave commissioners an updated checklist of progress Feb. 14 with not much progress to report. For sprinklers and landscaping: “Work is ongoing, but very randomly,” it said. All mailboxes restored? “Only a few locations have been addressed.”

What’s more, engineers were waiting for a video of a large but defective underground pipe so they could figure out how to remedy it.

“When they initially televised it and noticed that it was to the point they probably wouldn’t be able to complete the televise, it was roughly three weeks ago. And our firm asked them, ‘Hey, we need that footage. We need to make a declaration of a plan that we need to do.’ We’ve communicated with them in the field multiple times and meetings, in our scheduled meetings. And it’s now to this point, like you said, roughly three to four weeks later,” said Anthony Monroe, an inspector for Baxter & Woodman Consulting Engineers.

At the January commission meeting, contractor Roadway Construction LLC wanted to get an early start on Phase 2, mostly the roads in the Core District east of Polo Drive, to avoid working near the Gulf Stream School when students are there.

But that incentive appears to have vanished after Police Chief Richard Jones said his officers can easily divert parents dropping off and picking up their children onto State Road A1A when work crews had to be close to the campus.

“We’re no longer going to be requiring that schedule,” Mayor Scott Morgan said.

Dunham asked about cracks already appearing in the concrete valley gutters along the sides of the asphalt in Phase 1.

“All the light cracks and whatever that will be seen will be assessed on a walk-through and put on the list,” Monroe said.

Dunham noted that the scheduled March 14 commission meeting will come before Roadway’s March 18 deadline to finish Phase 1.

“So we’ll certainly be able to give you an update then,” he said.

“And hopefully pick up the pace,” Morgan said.

The Gulf Stream Civic Association held a 100th anniversary celebration and dinner at the Little Club to commemorate the community’s founding in 1925. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Steve Plunkett

After five meetings as an alternate member of the Architectural Review and Planning Board, Katherine Orthwein now sits as a full voting member of the panel, following in the public service footsteps of her mother, longtime Town Commissioner Joan Orthwein.

The younger Orthwein, who goes by Katie, was barely a toddler on April 1, 1987, when Joan Orthwein joined the ARPB’s predecessor, the Planning and Zoning Board. 

Coincidentally, one of the mother’s first votes was approving an addition to the home at 3150 Gulfstream Road, where her daughter now lives.

Joan Orthwein called her daughter a “talented” and “accomplished” young woman. Katie Orthwein, whose first full ARPB meeting was Jan. 23, demurred from giving details of her life for a newspaper article.

“My passion lies in helping Gulf Stream continue to thrive, and I believe the most meaningful impact comes from dedicated efforts rather than public recognition,” she said. “At this juncture, my focus remains on the work itself, and I find that true contribution is often best made without the glare of the spotlight.”

But Assistant Town Attorney Trey Nazzaro sang her praises as the Town Commission considered promoting her from being an alternate member Jan. 10.

“Honestly, when she’s not in attendance I wish that she was, because she is extremely thorough with all the reviews,” Nazzaro said. “She caught a minor accessory structure that was 2 feet into the setback. You know, when we’re looking at plans we’re looking at so many things on the plan and that was something that she caught that we had not caught at the time.

“So we were able to navigate, and she’s just very thoughtful,” Nazzaro concluded. “It’s clear that she puts a lot of time and thought into her review.”

“And she’s an MIT grad,” Mayor Scott Morgan noted, referring to her MBA from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

How long Katie Orthwein will be on the dais — and whether her children will follow her and their grandmother’s public service path — is impossible to predict. 

Joan Orthwein moved on from being chairwoman of the renamed Architectural Review and Planning Board and first sat as a town commissioner on May 4, 1995. In 2020, the Florida League of Cities officially praised her for 25 years of “unselfish leadership” on the Town Commission, though it didn’t mention her previous, unelected time on the ARPB.

The league presented her with a plaque and a 25-year lapel pin.

“I don’t know what to say, but thank you,” she said at the time. “It’s an honor to be on the commission. … It’s an honor to be here.”

This year she will qualify for the league’s 30-year lapel pin.

By Henry Fitzgerald

Writers for The Coastal Star won awards announced in January in the 2023-24 Florida Press Club Excellence in Journalism Competition.

Jane Musgrave received a first-place award in environmental reporting for her story, Sargassum, turtle-nesting and storm seasons collide. Judges said it was “an interesting examination of a phenomenon that threatens the balance of nature and commerce.”

Musgrave also won second place in general news reporting. Her story, Neighborhood’s beach-access spat morphs into slurs and legal one-upmanship, was about a feud between Ocean Ridge’s Tropical Drive and Turtle Beach condo residents.

“This interesting yarn on a spat between neighbors over beach access sheds light on how personal — and petty — land disputes can become,” judges said.

Janis Fontaine won a second-place award for religion writing for her story about local church renovations, Renewing Holy Spaces. “Janis Fontaine takes an in-depth look at matters of faith and local congregations. Her stories are very informative,” judges said.

Anne Geggis placed third in the minority news category for her story, Clearing the books of a racist past. It was about local efforts to remove Jim Crow laws still lingering in municipal ordinances. The judges said her article was “a really interesting look at a segregationist past and current efforts to grapple with that history.”

Mary Thurwachter won third place in government news for her story about Hypoluxo Island residents fighting plans for Bonefish Cove. Boaters win fight to keep Intracoastal access “was very well-written and had in-depth reporting on a local issue. It was a pleasure to read,” judges said.

Artist Serge Strosberg (left) and J. Turner Moore’s grandson Cameron Charles pose with the new portrait of Moore at the Manalapan library. Photo provided by Michelle Donahue

By Hannah Spence

It’s like a piece of Manalapan’s library has gone from Kansas to Oz, with Palm Beach artist Serge Strosberg the wizard behind the transformation with his new portrait of the library’s namesake.

Strosberg was asked to reimagine the black-and-white portrait of J. Turner Moore that hung for decades on a library wall but was in a state of disrepair.

He had little else to work from.

“There was a portrait of Moore that was in the closet, that was in very poor condition. It had tears, it was monochromatic, and it was all blurry. It had to be redone completely. 

And the challenge was there are no photographs of that man. He was mayor of Manalapan and commissioner for many years. … It’s strange,” Strosberg said.

Strosberg used a technique called oil and egg tempera painting, which creates more light contrasts and depth, which gives portraits more life and emotion. Because there wasn’t any color in the old portrait, Strosberg had to reinvent skin tones and made choices about the color of eyes and clothing by consulting Cameron Charles, Moore’s last surviving grandchild, who commissioned the artwork. 

That addition of color to the portrait — much like the transformation Dorothy experienced as a twister took her from a monochrome Midwest farm to the Technicolor land of Oz — had a profound effect. “I think the younger generations need something more colorful. Something that is more appealing to them. It’s also a portrait that will be at the library for a long time, so it’s important that it looks good when the future generations visit the library,” Strosberg said.

Strosberg was also asked to examine the library’s portrait of Moore’s wife, Mary Louise Moore. He said that portrait had color missing in some areas and required touching up, but didn’t have to be entirely repainted like her husband’s.

The library unveiled the new portrait and the touched-up one during a Feb. 6 library lecture — attended by Strosberg and Charles — featuring local historian Michelle Donahue, who expounded on the library’s significance.

“It was important to me to thank the people who work at the library from the city, to the volunteer level, and to thank the members — people who contribute to the library and keep it going,” Charles said. 

The J. Turner Moore Memorial Library has been a beloved staple of Manalapan for over five decades, acting as a social hangout spot while simultaneously being a venue that provides access to knowledge — both nonfiction and works of the imagination.

In 1977, the library was formally dedicated in Moore’s honor after his death the previous year. Moore served as mayor of Manalapan and sought to create a library after discovering that doing so would keep the town from having to be part of the Palm Beach County library taxing district. The current library structure, built in 1981, also wraps around and hides the town’s 400,000-gallon water storage tank.

Moore, an entrepreneur, at one time was CEO of Rebat Battery in Reading, Pennsylvania, and ran other businesses, such as the Keebler Co.

Donahue said she and a former town clerk, Lisa Petersen, suggested commissioning a new painting.

“A lot of people come here, and they don’t understand or know the history of the area,” said Donahue, who started researching the history of the library in 2016 and has since spread her knowledge in publications such as the Brown Wrapper historical newsletter. 

“It’s taken us a while to get here, but through this process, we’ve been able to meet new people like J. Moore’s grandson and his wife; and from that, we’ve been able to put this together eight years later,” she said.

Price could reach up to $3.5 million for two projects

Highland Beach Officer James Thornton (at wheel) and Officer Stephen Salach patrol the Intracoastal Waterway. Residents say the number of speeding boats has diminished since the patrol launched in 2022. Photos by Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Rich Pollack

For decades Highland Beach residents had been complaining about boats speeding as they navigated the town’s 3.5 miles of the Intracoastal Waterway. 

State officials who oversee navigation on the waterway listened, but little was done to assuage residents’ concerns. 

Then in early 2022 — following three serious boating accidents, including two with fatalities — town commissioners took matters into their own hands, launching a 28-foot police boat that residents say has slowed speeding boaters down simply by being visible. 

“Three serious accidents occurred within just a few months,” Police Chief Craig Hartmann said. “Since the launch of the police boat and our increased presence, there have been no boating accidents on the Intracoastal in Highland Beach.”

Highland Beach marine patrol Officer James Thornton, with Officer Stephen Salach, uses a radar detector to gauge a boat’s speed.

Now the Police Department is hoping to take that presence to the next level with a dock on the Intracoastal — behind the town’s library — that will also make it easier for Highland Beach’s marine officers and fire rescue personnel to respond to emergencies on the water. 

This month, residents will be asked to give town leaders permission to spend up to $3.5 million on the dock and on renovations to the town’s old fire station, should the money be needed. The single ballot item covers both projects. Already the town has received a $50,000 grant from the Florida Inland Navigation District for design and engineering work, and a request for additional funding is pending.

Town officials say they only want the authority to make the expenditure if the money is needed. 

The price of the dock project is estimated to be between $1.5 million and $2 million, and town leaders hope that FIND will cover half the cost. Should that not happen, the town’s expense could be over $900,000, the current spending limit before voter approval is required. By putting the issue on the March 11 ballot, the town is in essence hedging its bets so it can move forward without delays regardless of the outcome of the grant request. 

“We hope we don’t have to spend over $900,000,” Town Manager Marshall Labadie said. 

The town is considering this area behind the Highland Beach Library as the location of a proposed dock.

Hartmann says that the police boat will be on a lift at the dock when it is not in use, improving the marine unit’s presence even when the boat is not in the water. Since its launch in March 2022, the boat has been docked on private property at the Boca Highland Beach Club Marina at a location that is set back from the Intracoastal and not readily visible to boaters. 

Since the launch of the marine unit, Hartmann and state Rep. Peggy Gossett-Seidman said, there have been visible improvements in compliance with speeds on the waterway and with other boating safety measures. 

“We have written hundreds of warnings and citations and have had thousands of boater contacts with the focus on educating the boating public about safe speeds and safe boating practices,” Hartmann said. “Boaters have told our marine officers they have seen a difference now that the boating community knows there is a constant law enforcement presence on the Intracoastal Waterway when there wasn’t one in the past.” 

Gossett-Seidman, R-Highland Beach, whose home is on the east side of the waterway, said the marine unit keeps the blue light on the boat lighted when in the water, thus increasing visibility. 

“It’s like a police car parked at an intersection,” she said. “You tend to be more cautious when you know it’s out there.”

Gossett-Seidman said she sees the police boat out almost every day and thinks that slower speeds will benefit people using kayaks and jet skis. Jet skis, according to Hartmann, account for about 50% of the citations and warnings written by the marine unit. 

Labadie said that the new dock will also be a benefit to the town’s Fire Rescue Department, which will be able to reach injured boaters more rapidly.

“It’s a little more mission-critical now that we have our own fire department,” he said, adding that the dock could be in place sometime next year. 

Labadie said the town is also hoping to demolish a part of the old fire station, just north of Town Hall, and upgrade the bay area where the town now keeps a backup rescue unit and a backup fire truck.

Last year Highland Beach built a new fire station to replace the longtime station that Labadie said was too old, too small and below the flood plain. 

While there were discussions about possibly keeping the entire building, Labadie said that the living quarters section would need too much work. Instead, the town is getting cost estimates for work to fix the bay area and electrical storage areas and replace the roof. 

“We’re using the building for storage of $2 million worth of equipment,” he said. 

In a move to modernize its amenities, the Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa has announced plans to remove its existing pool and beach cabanas in favor of sleek, cantilever umbrellas.

Oracle Software billionaire Larry Ellison bought the Eau last summer through MPB Property LLC. The company asked the Manalapan Town Commission at its Feb. 11 meeting for approval to remove four pool cabanas, seven oceanside cabanas, 32 wood trellises, a towel stand and a spa cabana.

In their place will be rows of high-end cantilever umbrellas, which can be easily adjusted to provide customized coverage, said attorney James C. Gavigan, who represented the Eau.

The commission rescinded the condition that the Eau be required to get feedback from La Coquille Club, whose members use the Eau, to make changes to its planned unit development zoning designation.

“The Eau will always be a good neighbor and will work with all residents, including the La Coquille Club,” Gavigan said. “But we want to be clear that there shouldn’t be any implicit or explicit additional requirement.”

— John Pacenti

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified who the Eau resort was previously required to get feedback from prior to any zoning designation change. It was from members of the La Coquille Club.

By John Pacenti

The Manalapan Town Commission voted to proceed with the foreclosure of an office building at State Road A1A and East Ocean Avenue. The office at 131 S. Ocean Blvd. sits at the northeast corner of the Plaza del Mar property.

A lien of $163,000 had been placed on the building because of unpaid code enforcement fines for unapproved renovations, said Town Attorney Keith Davis, who added he thought the building at one time housed a bank.

The town went in front of the special magistrate for code violations on Jan. 30 to obtain foreclosure authorization. Davis said the owners of the office building appear ready to push back against the town. 

“Foreclosure authorization hearing really is a ministerial act. It ended up being a two-hour hearing, so I fully expect a fight, but that’s fine,” Davis said.

According to Palm Beach County property records, the office building is owned by Babylon, New York-based Salute Realty, which purchased the building for $1.2 million in 2019.

Attorney Michael Weiner, representing Salute, argued during the January magistrate hearing that Manalapan failed to send notices of the fines by certified mail as directed by law — a contention the town denies. He said the allegations of the violation are “factually incorrect” and that “there was confusion.”

Ultimately, the commission voted to authorize the next step in the foreclosure process, which includes sending a letter to the property owner to see if it will pay the lien.

By Mary Thurwachter

Lantana Mayor Karen Lythgoe carved out a half hour of the Feb. 10 Town Council meeting to tout the town’s achievements during the past year.

Typically, the end-of-year report is made available to news media and published on the town’s website, but Lythgoe said she was so proud of accomplishments in 2024, she took the opportunity to address the community herself.

She also wanted to combat what she said was misinformation being circulated via Facebook.

“Regardless of some of the things you may or may not have read on social media, we are actually accomplishing things,” Lythgoe said. “We are doing what we say we’re doing and we’re not on the take. There’s a lot of people who’ve got nothing better to do with their time than to be miserable and to make other people miserable too by telling them how badly they’re getting screwed by their government.”

She encouraged people with questions about what they read online to contact Town Manager Brian Raducci.

Both Vice Mayor Mark Zeitler and Lythgoe have lived in Lantana since they were kids and have seen a lot of changes, “a lot for the better,” she said.

“I know people say it’s not like it was,” Lythgoe said. “Well, it wasn’t really all that great all the time. We’re trying to spruce it up and enhance the quality of life for our residents.”

Among the accomplishments in 2024, Lythgoe highlighted what the town did to maintain its infrastructure. That included working with FPL to repair non-functional streetlights, resurfacing the basketball courts at the sports park, restoring the centennial sculpture at Bicentennial Park, and working with the county’s traffic division to enhance traffic light synchronization on Lantana Road.

Additionally, the town replaced water mains and completed the Sea Pines stormwater pump station construction project.

The report outlines improvements to the Hypoluxo Island drainage project and mentions that Lantana adopted a stormwater assessment program.

Beautification efforts achieved last year included removing invasive plants and trees at the Lantana Nature Preserve and replacing a large, deteriorated timber pedestrian bridge there. Other steps taken to make the town more attractive included displaying colorful seasonal banners on major roadways, installing new fencing and concrete monuments at

Evergreen cemetery, adding an obstacle course at Maddock Dog Park and amping up the holiday lighting displays around Town Hall.

Under the heading of “responsible development,” the report mentions permits and special exceptions for Water Tower Commons and plans in progress to build apartments, shops and a community park on 18 acres at the former Kmart site.

Lythgoe said the town has been successful in its quest for grants, pulling in $2.3 million for capital improvement projects and $1.2 million in state appropriation money.

Last year the town even added $2.6 million to its reserves, bringing that total to $15.9 million.

For a look at the complete year-end report, visit lantana.org/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/91

Open space is key to choice of designer for City Hall area

By Mary Hladky

In selecting a joint venture of Terra and Frisbie Group to redevelop the city’s downtown government campus, Boca Raton City Council members on Feb. 11 threw their support to developers who proposed the lowest density project with the greatest amount of green space.

And in rejecting Related Ross, they made clear their dissatisfaction with a project emphasizing 975,000 square feet of office space in three buildings.

While four companies submitted proposals to reimagine 30 city-owned acres around City Hall and the adjacent Brightline train station, council members’ quick rejection of two made this a contest between two highly regarded teams with divergent views of what best suited the city.

Four council members favored Terra/Frisbie. Only Council member Andy Thomson supported Related Ross, but said it was a “very close call” between “two exceptional companies.”

The council then voted unanimously to give Terra/Frisbie the top ranking and Related Ross second place.

The Related Ross proposal “would require a great deal of adjustment,” said Council member Marc Wigder. “There are other locations in the city that are better suited to office. This is not the right place for this office intensity.”

Wigder encouraged Related Ross to consider building office space elsewhere in the city, and Mayor Scott Singer echoed that.

“We look forward to working with both of you,” Singer said to the two development teams.

Council member Fran Nachlas said Terra/Frisbie’s proposal was “most closely aligned with what the city needs.”

“Terra/Frisbie won because it is the best choice for the community,” said Deputy Mayor Yvette Drucker, adding that the Related Ross proposal was too large for the downtown.

“Our team is committed to transforming this space into a vibrant, eco-friendly district that blends civic, residential and commercial uses,” Terra CEO David Martin said in a statement after the vote.

“We look forward to collaborating closely with city officials and the community to bring our shared vision to life, creating a sustainable and connected neighborhood that will serve as a model for future urban development.”

The city held an open house on Feb. 19 at The Studio at Mizner Park to give residents another opportunity to see what Terra/Frisbie proposed and to speak directly with company officials. 

A steady stream of residents studied a model of what the site could look like and conceptual drawings.

“We have received a lot of excitement, a lot of enthusiasm,” said Rob Frisbie, Frisbie Group managing partner. “But also there are a lot of people who are concerned about growth and traffic and congestion and a potentially diminished public realm.

“I think from our perspective, there is no project unless it works for everyone. There is no project unless it puts the community first.”

Terra/Frisbie, he said, would work to incorporate residents’ critiques as it refines its proposals.

At the city’s behest, all four teams proposed public-private partnerships, or P3s, in which the developer assumes the cost of constructing public buildings and the city leases the land for redevelopment.

What it means

The project stands to be an economic boon to the city. A revised analysis by city consultant CBRE states that a 99-year lease of the city land will yield the city a total of $3.6 billion.

That number includes a $2.2 billion increase in tax revenue the property will generate over 99 years once redeveloped.

The council’s decision is a key step in launching the project, but it will be some time before the public knows exactly what will be built.

Coconut Grove-based Terra and Frisbie of Palm Beach, joining forces under the name Boca Raton City Center, submitted a conceptual plan based on general direction from city officials that they wanted to replace the old and crumbling City Hall and Community Center, and add to the site mixed-income housing, office, hotel, retail and recreational facilities.

They now will make changes based on feedback from city leaders and residents.

“Today, it is picking a partner, not picking a plan,” Thomson said before the vote.

None of the proposals was perfect, he said, and all needed changes. “What the ultimate development will look like is not determined.”

The city expects to finalize an interim agreement with Terra/Frisbie by March 18. After that, a comprehensive agreement will be negotiated to cover matters such as financing, final designs and construction schedule.

The project will take nine years to complete, according to Terra/Frisbie’s initial proposal.

Topping three others

Of the four developer proposals, which also came from Namdar Group of Great Neck, New York, and RocaPoint Partners of Atlanta, the most detailed came from Terra/Frisbie.

The city has specified that the new City Hall should be 85,000 square feet and the Community Center 35,000 square feet. 

Beyond that, the joint venture proposed 1,129 residential units, 84,790 square feet of retail, 71,800 square feet of food and beverage space, 265,758 square feet of garage and surface parking, a 150-room hotel, a 250,000-square-foot office building, a 10,000-square-foot police substation and 6 acres of green space that could include sports facilities.

Terra/Frisbie has committed to contributing $10 million to the city, which could be used to build a pedestrian bridge so that people will be able to walk over Dixie and Federal highways to get to or from Mizner Park.

The venture also has a contract to buy an area encompassing property owned by Boca Color Graphics south of the Brightline station, at 139 NW Third St., which would be turned in part into a park that people could walk through to get from the station to the downtown campus.

Terra, acting without Frisbie, has another project in Boca Raton. It is part of a team that is developing plans to transform the Boca Raton Innovation Campus, the 124-acre former IBM headquarters, into a mixed-use community including residential, commercial, retail and office space.

The runner-up

In contrast to the Terra/Frisbie plan, Related Ross of West Palm Beach, headed by Miami Dolphins owner and Palm Beach resident Stephen Ross, proposed a project aimed at attracting corporations to locate in Boca Raton that would provide high-quality jobs. Its officials said there is a huge demand for office space in the city.

In addition to a new City Hall, Community Center and police substation, the company would have built the three office buildings, 650 residential units, 235,000 square feet of retail, dining and entertainment, a 400-room hotel, parking and 5.8 acres of green space.

When some council members questioned the large amount of office space, company officials offered to substitute residential for one of the office buildings.

“We have a very different and bold vision for this community,” Stephen Ross told the council the day before its vote. “The world is changing and we believe Boca Raton can be the center of that change.”

“We really feel we are the hometown guys,” he said later, because his company does work only in Palm Beach County. Related Ross clearly demonstrated it was in the contest to win. Ross played a highly visible role, stepping to the microphone at two meetings to extol his company’s expertise and the quality of its proposal.

At a Jan. 27 presentation of its plans to the council, about 20 Related Ross executives dramatically strode into the chambers and claimed the first two rows of seats.

Related Ross proposed 2.4 million square feet of development, compared to Terra/Frisbie’s nearly 1.6 million square feet, according to the CBRE analysis.

Fitting the pieces together

As now envisioned, a new City Hall and the Community Center will remain within the downtown campus. The Downtown Library will stay where it is. The police station will be moved to city-owned land east of the Spanish River Library, freeing up land for redevelopment, but a police substation will be on the campus. The large Banyan trees will be preserved.

Some residents who have spoken at council meetings are especially concerned that ball fields and other recreation areas will be moved off the site.

Terra/Frisbie has proposed including an indoor and outdoor racket sports center that would have four tennis courts, two pickleball courts and two padel courts, as well as an indoor gymnasium with a basketball court.

But existing facilities will be impacted.

City Manager George Brown has said that the city is working with the Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District to find new locations for some of them. That includes the skatepark, which might go to North Park, and softball fields, which possibly could go to Sugar Sand Park. Tennis courts may remain downtown or could be moved.

“Everything will be replaced or enhanced,” he said.