Police body camera video from the scene of a June 2023 crash involving firefighter David Wyatt in downtown Delray Beach. Wyatt was also the driver of a city aerial ladder fire truck Dec. 28 that was hit by a Brightline train. Police video provided by City of Delray Beach

By John Pacenti

The suspended Delray Beach firefighter who was at the wheel of the aerial fire truck when it was struck by a Brightline train had been investigated for DUI 1 1⁄2 years earlier when he ran his Jeep over a median and into a tree.

But a field sobriety test wasn’t conducted related to the Jeep accident, a breath test was determined to be not practical and a blood sample was never taken due to “lack of probable cause,” according to a police report of the 2023 incident released Jan. 23 that referenced the driving under the influence investigation.

Information from that crash, now part of a separate police investigation, is getting new attention because of the Dec. 28 Brightline crash. Video of the train crash shows the enormous fire truck — operated by firefighter David Wyatt — maneuvering around a lowered railroad crossing gate before impact. 

The crash took place on the Florida East Coast Railway tracks on Southeast First Street a block south of Atlantic Avenue in downtown Delray Beach.

Wyatt, Captain Brian Fiorey and firefighter Joseph Fiumara III were taken to the Delray Medical Center as trauma alerts and have since been released. Palm Beach County says nine Brightline passengers were transported to the hospital.

Wyatt had his license suspended in October 2023 when he failed to take a required class after being cited earlier in June for careless driving for crashing into a tree near Atlantic and Swinton avenues, court records show. The license remained suspended for two months and It is unknown if he continued to operate city-owned vehicles during that time.

The city on Jan. 23 released the police report and the body camera footage of the June 9, 2023 response after Wyatt’s 2015 Jeep hit the tree around 10:22 p.m.

“Given the significant public interest in this matter, I believe releasing the body-worn camera footage from the 2023 citation is the right step toward providing a full and accurate account of the events,” said Delray Beach City Manager Terrence Moore.

Delray Beach blurred portions of the released body camera video that showed Wyatt.

The city blurred out the images of Wyatt on the body camera videos — 11 in all. The audio of the videos is sporadic as officers on the scene choose not to activate sound.

Wyatt hit the tree in the median with enough force to deploy all his airbags, according to the police report written by Officer Nicholas Windsor. Wyatt was transported to Bethesda Memorial Hospital.

Windsor spoke to Wyatt in the emergency room triage area, noting his eyes were red but pupils were normal size. He informed Wyatt he was conducting a DUI investigation and read him his Miranda rights, the police reports state.

Wyatt declined to answer any questions.

“I did not observe Wyatt standing under his own power. Wyatt was either sitting on the ground, lying on a stretcher or sitting in a wheelchair,” Windsor wrote.

Field sobriety tests were not conducted at the scene of the crash and Windsor said a breath test was impractical because he was being treated for over an hour at the hospital.

“I did not request Wyatt provide a blood sample due to the lack of probable cause,” the officer wrote. Wyatt wasn't charged with DUI.

A front view of the Jeep in the 2023 accident, as seen on police body-camera video.

A witness, who knew Wyatt, said he was traveling behind his friend’s Jeep, on Swinton. Wyatt made a right turn onto Atlantic, jumped the medium and hit the tree.

“The witness did not provide any further information such as where Wyatt and he were traveling to or from and what Wyatt was doing prior to the crash,” Windsor wrote.

City Attorney Lynn Gelin at a Jan. 7 City Commission meeting said it has been discovered that 10 current fire-rescue employees did not have valid driving licenses. How many, if any, of those employees have been driving city vehicles without a valid license is unknown.

In his 2009 review, in areas to improve, Wyatt was told to make certain to have a valid driver’s license kept current at all times after he allowed it to lapse.

At the time of the Brightline crash, Wyatt and all those aboard the fire truck had valid licenses.

Mayor Tom Carney said he called for the release of the body camera video. “Better to release it with transparency than to have everybody speculate about everything,” he said.

He didn’t want to comment on the report or the body camera videos because he said the June 2023 crash is yet another subject of an internal investigation.

Vice Mayor Juli Casale commended the release of the report and body camera video. “Our city’s capability, impartiality and integrity are in question. Residents deserve answers,” she said.

Yet, she questions the police narrative in the short-circuited DUI investigation, saying “It leaves more questions than answers.”

As for the Brightline crash, the city earlier asked PBSO to take over the lead investigation. Police Chief Russ Mager cited the “complexity of the crash, the multiple agencies involved, and the need for transparency.” Besides the PBSO investigation, there are three internal Delray Beach investigations and an investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board.

Two of the internal investigations – the train accident and the staff’s driver's licenses –  will be handled by the firm Johnson Jackson, the city announced on Jan. 23.

Fire Chief Ronald Martin on Jan. 3 placed two of the three staff members on the fire truck — Wyatt and Fiorey — on paid administrative leave, along with Assistant Chief Kevin Green and Division Chief Todd Lynch, pending an internal investigation to determine if policies were followed leading up to the crash.

The Delray Beach Fire Rescue aerial ladder truck Dec. 28 after being struck by a Brightline train. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

Other recent developments include:

• The city released dispatch audio and the 911 recordings, showing Battalion 111 responding to a call reporting smoke on the second story of the four-story condo complex at 365 SE Sixth Ave. However, another crew on the scene reported that all that was needed was ventilation because of burnt food. The dispatcher then informs other crews that Battalion 111 had been struck by a train.

• Gelin told elected officials at the Jan. 21 commission meeting not to publicly discuss the crash because of potential litigation and the pending investigations.

• The U.S. Department of Transportation notified Delray Beach it will review its quiet zone designation for train horns when approaching public crossings, City Manager Terrence Moore said in his Jan. 17 memo to commissioners.
• Knauf Group submitted a $70,000 bill for towing the damaged fire truck — left in three pieces after the crash, according to an email from Gelin to Moore. The company also cleaned up the downtown crash site.
• Chief Martin put all external programming and community engagement initiatives for the fire department on hiatus. The chief also announced cutbacks to overtime for special events and administrative staff.

At the Jan. 7 commission meeting, Carney and fellow commissioners threw their support behind Martin after the firefighter’s union went on Facebook attacking him over the suspensions.

Delray Beach Fire Fighters IAFF Local 1842 said that Martin failed to follow departmental policies — spelled out for employee discipline — by publicly sharing the names of those suspended.

“This public dissemination of information causes significant harm to the employees involved, damages their reputations, and undermines trust in the City’s internal processes,” the union posted on its own Facebook page.

Martin issued a response, saying that he wanted to ensure that the investigations would be conducted with fairness towards the employees involved.

Casale told The Coastal Star, “Sadly we are seeing the effects of an all-powerful union that has built a lack of accountability into the fire union contract.”

Right now much of the focus is on Wyatt.

The adjudication for the 2023 ticket was withheld, and a two-month-old D-6 license suspension was lifted in December of that year after the court received verification that Wyatt had completed the required course. A D-6 is an indefinite suspension until certain conditions are met.

By having adjudication withheld, Wyatt did not get any points against his license that would lead to higher insurance rates. He paid $207 in fines and court costs.

Wyatt has also been cited for minor vehicular violations — such as speeding and having an expired tag —  five times in Palm Beach County since 2004, records show.

George Bush Boulevard's bascule bridge over the Intracoastal Waterway in Delray Beach will be closed from 8 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 25, to 8 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 1, for essential maintenance and repair to the bridge house, machinery, and associated bridge span gear indexing.

During this seven-day closure, both vehicle and pedestrian traffic will be redirected, Palm Beach County Engineering and Public Works announced. Drivers should use the Atlantic Avenue bridge to the south in Delray Beach via Ocean Boulevard or Federal Highway for detour routes. Another alternative is the Woolbright Road bridge to the north connecting Ocean Ridge and Boynton Beach.

In a news release, Engineering and Public Works said it "appreciates the community’s patience and understanding during this temporary closure."

--Staff report

The firetruck demolished by a Brightline train in a Dec. 28 crash in downtown Delray Beach. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

Ten fire department employees without valid driver’s licenses, city investigation finds

Update: On Jan. 9, Delray Beach released dispatched audio and the 911 calls involving the Dec. 28 crash between a city fire truck and a Brightline train. Battalion 111 was responding to a call reporting smoke on the second story of the four-story condo complex at 365 SE Sixth Ave. However, another crew on the scene reported that all that was needed was ventilation because of burnt food. The dispatcher then informs other crews that truck 111 had been struck by the train.

The city also said it has asked the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office to take over the lead investigation. Police Chief Russ Mager cited the “complexity of the crash, the multiple agencies involved, and the need for transparency” in asking PBSO to do a comprehensive examination of the accident.

—John Pacenti

By John Pacenti

A suspended Delray Beach firefighter – who was at the wheel when a Brightline train crashed into his aerial firetruck on Dec. 28 – was ticketed in 2023 for careless driving after running over a median and crashing into a tree in a private vehicle, Palm Beach County court records show.

David Wyatt, 46, has been identified as the driver of the fire truck in the crash by the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, his name included in a traffic division log entry released on Jan. 8. The PBSO Traffic Division has been requested to review the incident and subsequent findings, the entry says.

Wyatt is one of four department employees suspended with pay by Fire Chief Ronald Martin as the investigation into the truck-train collision proceeds. Assistant Chief Kevin Green, Division Chief Todd Lynch and Captain Brian Fiorey were also placed on administrative leave pending an internal investigation to determine if policies were followed leading up to the crash, Martin said.

Driver’s license concerns

In a related issue, Delray Beach City Attorney Lynn Gelin confirmed at the Jan. 7 City Commission meeting that 10 fire rescue employees have been found to have invalid driver’s licenses.

Martin on Jan. 3 directed every staff member to perform a driver’s license check and provide results to administrative staff. City spokeswoman Gina Carter did not respond to a question about how many of the 10 drove firetrucks or city vehicles.

In a Jan. 5 email to Vice Mayor Juli Casale, Martin said all three firefighters involved in the  Brightline crash had valid driver’s licenses.

Video released from Brightline shows the firetruck — the length of four regular vehicles — maneuvering around a lowered railroad crossing gate before impact. The crash took place on the Florida East Coast Railway tracks on Southeast First Street a block south of Atlantic Avenue in downtown Delray Beach. 

The firetruck was destroyed. The replacement cost for a similar aerial ladder fire truck is $2.3 million, according to a Dec. 31 email from Martin to commissioners. He recommended the city replace it with a smaller truck for $1.365 million.

The city has not addressed if the firefighters were responding to an emergency call. The accident sent the three firefighters aboard to the hospital and a dozen Brightline passengers.

'Careless driving’ cited in earlier crash

In the June 14, 2023, careless driving case, Wyatt needed to complete driving school to avoid penalties. He did not complete the course on time, leading the court to adjudicate him guilty that October, court records show.

That adjudication was then withheld, and a two-month-old D-6 license suspension lifted, in December 2023 after the court received verification that Wyatt had completed the required course. A D-6 is an indefinite suspension until certain conditions are met.

By having adjudication withheld, Wyatt did not get any points against his license that would lead to higher insurance rates. He paid $207 in fines and court costs.

The private vehicle crash occurred, according to the citation, around noon at the intersection of Atlantic and Swinton avenues. Wyatt was driving a 2015 Jeep.

“Went off the roadway and onto the median and struck tree and signs,” the citation reads.

Wyatt has also been cited for minor vehicular violations — such as speeding, expired tag —  five times in Palm Beach County since 2004, records show.

Fallout causes tensions to rise

City Manager Terrence Moore sidestepped the question about fire staffers without valid driver’s licenses from Casale at the Jan. 7 commission meeting. It was only after Casale directed her question to Gelin that she got an answer.

“Mr. Moore owes residents the truth, and we are not getting it,” Casale told The Coastal Star.

At the Jan. 7 meeting, Casale said it was “unimaginable” that firefighters would not have valid driver’s licenses.

“At the end of the day, hundreds of people were on that train, including children that could have died,” she said.

Mayor Tom Carney sent a Jan. 8 email to Moore, expressing much of the same, saying a week after the accident there are more questions than answers.

“I understand that some information needs to be held confidential as the investigation continues, but there is so much that is considered public information (or would be deemed to be public information) which still has not been disseminated. This is causing the public to feel that they are not being told everything,” Carney told Moore. 

Carney and fellow commissioners at the meeting the night before threw their support behind Martin after the firefighter’s union went on Facebook attacking him after the chief announced the suspensions on Jan. 3.

Delray Beach Fire Fighters IAFF Local 1842 said that Martin failed to follow departmental policies — spelled out for employee discipline — by publicly sharing the names of those suspended.

“This public dissemination of information causes significant harm to the employees involved, damages their reputations, and undermines trust in the City’s internal processes,” the union posted on its own Facebook page.

Martin issued a response, saying that he wanted to ensure that the investigations would be conducted with fairness toward the employees involved.

Casale told The Coastal Star, “Sadly we are seeing the effects of an all-powerful union that has built a lack of accountability into the fire union contract.”

The Center for Arts and Innovation had planned to replace Mizner Park's amphitheater and surrounding area with a performing arts complex, but it was not able to meet the fundraising commitments it had made with Boca Raton to be able to use the city-owned property. Rendering provided

By Mary Hladky

The Center for Arts and Innovation has terminated its deal with Boca Raton that would have brought a multimillion-dollar performing arts complex to Mizner Park.

Center officials announced their decision on Jan. 8 after notifying City Manager George Brown by letter.

“The Center made this decision to provide necessary time, space, and opportunity for both parties to potentially identify whether a new agreement can be reached in the future, one with new terms that can be agreeable to both the Center and the city,” officials said in their announcement. “At the same time, this allows the Center to begin analyzing alternative sites to ensure its transformative vision becomes a reality.”

In her letter to Brown, TCAI chief executive Andrea Virgin cited issues that led to the deal termination, including a fundraising requirement that proved unrealistically ambitious and deal terms that did not allow it to raise money from the state, county and other public agencies.

While Virgin did not close the door completely to building the complex on city-owned land in Mizner Park, she indicated doing so might be impossible.

“While we remain optimistic and hopeful about the potential to develop a new agreement that secures the Center’s home in downtown Boca, we recognize that the Center and Boca Raton may necessarily need to explore alternatives,” she wrote.

In a prepared statement, Mayor Scott Singer did not indicate that he would try to resurrect the deal between the city and the center.

“As Boca Raton is a haven for arts and culture, the City took pride in making the largest financial commitment for the bold vision for the Center for Arts and Innovation through the generous agreement for them to use publicly owned, prime downtown real estate,” Singer said. “Unfortunately, the Center did not reach the financial milestones that they had pledged to meet by the timeline needed for our residents. We appreciate their continuing efforts to enhance culture as they explore additional opportunities, as well as the commitment of many Boca Raton residents to our community's broad philanthropic pursuits.”

The deal termination comes just six days before the City Council was to consider Virgin’s November proposal to change its development agreement with the city that would push back its fundraising deadlines.

That proposal was made after Virgin stunned and angered City Council members in October when she told them that TCAI had fallen far short of its city-imposed fundraising requirements.

“It was frankly very disturbing to me the way this has gone down, finding out really at the very last minute that the funding was not there,” Brown said at the time. “It seems to me that the center must have known the funds would not be met many months before now.”

TCAI met its fundraising requirements in 2023, but it needed to raise a total of $50.8 million by October. However, donations totaled only $32 million.

The group's proposed new fundraising deadlines almost certainly would have been a non-starter for the city. Center officials would not need to raise 100% of the project’s cost until 2032 when the center’s construction was to be completed.

The now-terminated deal with the city required TCAI to raise 75% of the project’s hard construction costs within three years.

The estimated cost was $101.6 million, but that is an imprecise figure because TCAI has not provided a project cost.

In explaining the fundraising shortfall, Virgin said that she had not realized that donors need five to seven years to finalize donation commitments. Had she known that, Virgin said she would have negotiated a different deal with the city.

The project, designed by the renowned architectural firm Renzo Piano Building Workshop, would have eliminated the city’s amphitheater. Its functions would have been included in a new main venue.

The project would have had a large piazza, a smaller theater, an education and innovation building, restaurant, lounge and a small building that would jut into the sky and offer 360-degree city views.

The Palm Beach County Commission recognized The Coastal Star’s 16 years of publication with a proclamation. Commissioner Marci Woodward, whose district includes the paper’s entire circulation area, sponsored the proclamation honoring the paper, which first published in November 2008. It cited the paper’s coverage — both news stories and features — of South County’s barrier island communities and applauded it “for fostering a larger sense of community within coastal towns and cities.”  The proclamation noted that during The Coastal Star's 16 years, it has won more than 325 awards in annual competitions sponsored by the Florida Press Club and the Florida Press Association. ABOVE: Coastal Star reporter Rich Pollack, Advertising Editor Chris Bellard (one of the paper’s founders), Woodward and Editor Larry Barszewski. Photo provided by Palm Beach County

Anglers on a small flats boat make their way past the sea wall at South Inlet Park in Boca Raton. The wall is scheduled for replacement. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

Projects aim to raise ground level, increase sea wall heights

By Jane Musgrave

A yellow sign, warning “Caution Street Flooded,” has become a fixture in a quiet neighborhood along the Intracoastal Waterway in Delray Beach.

For nearly a decade, rising seawater has been an ever-present fact of life for residents of Marine Way.

“It’s gone on for way too long,” Steve Conroy said as he walked his dog on a recent sunny afternoon along the street just south of Atlantic Avenue.

Conroy and his neighbors aren’t the only ones looking for relief from flooding.

From Lantana to Boca Raton, homeowners along with beach-goers, golfers, anglers and picnickers are seeing the impacts of the steady and unrelenting march of the sea.

“It has certainly stopped us from using the park,” part- time Boynton Beach resident Robert Smith said of the regular flooding at Ocean Inlet Park at the Boynton Inlet between Ocean Ridge and Manalapan.

Anglers fish along the Boynton Inlet at Ocean Inlet Park, where Palm Beach County plans to use thousands of truckloads of fill to raise the ground by up to three feet. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

Millions to protect the coast
In the next several years, multimillion-dollar projects are planned to keep the sea at bay.

Palm Beach County’s proposed $15 million plan to replace sea walls, parking lots, picnic areas, restrooms and add roughly three feet of elevation to Ocean Inlet Park is among the most ambitious. But, there are others designed to protect both public and private land from rising waters: 

• To stop flooding at South Inlet Park in Boca Raton, the county plans to replace a crumbling 38-year-old sea wall at an estimated cost of $3 million. County planners said rising seas accelerated the need to rebuild and increase the height of the 325-foot-long sea wall.

• Delray Beach in December received bids from firms interested in serving as construction managers for the long-awaited repairs along Marine Way. The $33.6 million project calls for the replacement of a 600-foot-long sea wall, drainage, roadwork and the construction of the city’s first stormwater pumping station west of the Intracoastal Waterway.

• An $11.75 million project is also planned in Delray Beach to replace a stormwater pumping station on Thomas Street west of State Road A1A just north of Atlantic Avenue. Calling it a “vital lifeline for 800 residents,” planners said the station was damaged by Hurricane Irma in 2017 and failed two years later, forcing the city to spend $300,000 in emergency repairs.

• Noting that Boynton Beach’s Jaycee, Intracoastal and Mangrove parks flood regularly during high tides and storms, city resiliency administrator Alannah Irwin said she is searching for money to fortify the shores of the parks along the Intracoastal Waterway. Mangroves, rocks, plants and other natural materials would stabilize the shorelines, she told city commissioners.

• Lantana has several ongoing projects to address sea level rise, including a multimillion-dollar plan to replace a 2,100-foot sea wall along the Intracoastal Waterway that protects Bicentennial Park along with adjacent homes and businesses along Ocean Avenue.

• The county has identified 16 sewage lift stations in flood hazard areas that need to be raised at a cost of nearly $11 million. “Flooding at lift stations throughout Palm Beach County has increased,” planners wrote. “The failure of these critical facilities … will result in serious health issues caused by wastewater overflows in homes and in the streets.”

The big-ticket projects are in addition to more routine expenditures, such as the $150,000 Delray Beach spends each year to shore up its dunes and the $2 million it spends annually to replace sea walls that are too low to protect land from rising tides.

Related stories: Briny Breezes: Uncertainties in resiliency plans create concerns in Briny 

Gulf Stream: Town unsure about club’s plans to make golf course higher 

Delray Beach: New home gets approval for 10-foot-high wall

Plans for Ocean Inlet Park
A planned sea wall project at Ocean Inlet Park prompted county officials to explore whether additional steps should be taken to protect the park, said Bob Hamilton, director of planning for the county Department of Parks and Recreation.

With environmental experts predicting that climate change could cause sea levels in South Florida to rise between 24 and 54 inches in the next 50 years, it was clear that any new sea walls would have to be much higher than the existing ones, Hamilton said. With that decision made, parks officials decided to address other problems that were preventing full use of the 11-acre park.

Parking lots along both the Boynton Inlet and the Intracoastal frequently flood. Planners analyzed various options.

They estimated that if they did nothing at least $36 million would be spent over the next 40 years to repair damage caused by rising tides.

“Sunny day flooding of the parking lot and associated park facilities will increase over time, requiring constant renovation and eventually rendering the park unusable,” they wrote.

The best alternative, they decided, was to give the park a complete makeover by raising the level of the land.

Hamilton acknowledged that a lot of dirt will be needed. According to rough calculations, about 53,000 cubic yards — enough to fill nearly 4,400 dump trucks — would be required to raise the entire park between two and three feet.

Because the park slopes down toward the Intracoastal, the focus would be raising the low-lying land, Hamilton said.

Whether dredge material will be used, or the dirt barged in, will be determined by environmental studies, he said.

“We’ll be seeking the most cost-effective, but safe option,” Hamilton said in an email.

The project will be lengthy. Design and permitting will take about 18 months. Construction is estimated to take three years.

The county is seeking a $7.5 million grant from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and will match it with county tax money. Nearly all of the multimillion-dollar projects proposed by local governments are being done with a combination of grants and local taxes.

The Florida agency ranked the Ocean Inlet project eighth among the 143 statewide seeking funding. That means there is a good chance the grant will be approved, Hamilton said.

Flooding issues worsen
Hamilton acknowledged that Ocean Inlet Park isn’t the only waterfront county park that has been inundated with water, particularly in the fall when full moons produce king tides.

For instance, docks at Burt Reynolds Park in Jupiter were submerged during high tides in the fall and erosion has increased on Peanut Island in Riviera Beach, he said. 

Janet Zimmerman, executive director of the 12-county Florida Inland Navigation District, said it is clear climate change is figuring into local government decision-making.

The Jupiter-based agency was established in 1927 to maintain the Intracoastal and improve access to it by providing grants for improvement projects.

While funding requests haven’t increased, Zimmerman said more local governments are requesting money to protect public land from rising tides.

“What we are seeing is, as these boating facilities reach the end of their original lifespan (20+ years), renovations and repairs that will occur are taking into account future sea level rise and storm strength/frequency,” she said in an email.

Regulars to Ocean Inlet Park said steps should be taken to shore up the park. The sea wall is crumbling. On some days, the northern parking lot and picnic areas are underwater.

“It’s in rough shape,” said one visitor who declined to give his name. “What we’ve experienced is bad. Either someone is going to get hurt or you fix the park. How much is your life worth?”

Smith, who was having a picnic in a pavilion with his wife, agreed that renovations are needed.

“It seems like a lot of money. I don’t know if they can do it for $15 million,” he said. “But it certainly would be a much better park if the land was raised.”

By Rich Pollack

With local towns and cities struggling to one-up each other in the effort to hire qualified police officers, Highland Beach is raising the ante by buying 11 new vehicles and offering take-home police cars to its officers. 

“This is going to help us retain and recruit the best possible police officers to preserve and protect our public safety,” Town Manager Marshall Labadie said. “It’s a small cost.”

With police departments all fighting for the same small pool of applicants, chiefs throughout the region are looking to provide competitive benefits, hoping to keep up with — or sprint ahead of — their neighbors. Those that provide assigned vehicles score big points. 

“We’re creating a better mobile office,” Labadie said. 

Among those looking to hire the best candidates are the larger police departments in the area, which can offer benefits not available in smaller communities — such as assignments to specialized units and more opportunities for advancement. 

“If small towns along the coast aren’t competitive with the bigger cities, we’re not going to be able to recruit the best possible people for the job,” said Manalapan Town Manager Eric Marmer.  

Marmer said there have been initial discussions about providing assigned vehicles to the police officers in the town’s department, which has 12 full-time sworn officers and four part-time officers. 

Highland Beach’s Labadie believes that providing officers with take-home cars — which can be used only when officers are on duty or on the way to or from work — will lead to maintenance savings and add to the vehicles’ longevity. 

“The cars now are constantly on the go,” he said. 

As the area’s population grows, the demand for police officers will continue to increase, Labadie says, and his town needs to stay competitive. 

With that in mind, Highland Beach in 2023 completed contract negotiations with the Palm Beach County Police Benevolent Association, which represents its officers, and agreed to increase the starting salary and to change the salary structure so that officers can reach the new top pay of $95,200 more quickly.

Already, Labadie said, other departments in the region have made salary changes that make them more attractive than Highland Beach.

Labadie said the cost of going to assigned vehicles will be about $800,000 with the town buying 11 new vehicles, which will be added to the five patrol vehicles, two administrative vehicles and one pickup truck that currently make up the fleet. 

Funding for the program will come from two sources, with the federal American Rescue Plan Act covering about 60% of the cost and the remainder coming from town reserves. 

In Gulf Stream, Police Chief Richard Jones says that shared cars sometimes run 24 hours straight and that idle time can reduce a vehicle’s usefulness even more than mileage. 

He said that departments that offer take-home cars have found that the cars are better taken care of by the officers.

Gulf Stream does not offer an assigned vehicle program but has been talking about doing so, Jones said. 

“You have to stay competitive as much as possible,” he said. 

Even the region’s bigger cities need to remain competitive in order to attract and retain top quality police officers.

In Boca Raton, which has 217 sworn officer positions, officers who complete the department’s field training program receive a take-home vehicle if they live in either Palm Beach or Broward county. Currently, 185 Police Department employees have take-home vehicles.

Highland Beach has contracted with Enterprise Fleet Management Solutions, which will manage the purchase of the vehicles and deliver them completely outfitted. The $15,000-a-year contract will include Enterprise’s letting Highland Beach know when to rotate vehicles.

In South Palm Beach, which contracts with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office for police services, deputies have assigned take-home vehicles.

Ocean Ridge does not offer take-home cars, but officers and sergeants receive a vehicle stipend of $5,400 every October.  

Labadie says that the assigned vehicle program is part of Highland Beach’s movement to a “preferred employer standard” across the board. 

“We want future employees to consider Highland Beach as a destination whether they’re police officers, paramedic firefighters, water plant operators or librarians,” he  said. 

City manager pressured to address corruption concerns

By John Pacenti 

The Delray Beach City Commission since the arrest of a Code Enforcement officer in October has detailed a parade of horribles at meetings when it has come to that division.

Mayor Tom Carney said there is a perception that Code Enforcement targets certain neighborhoods over others. 

Commissioner Rob Long said he learned officers are required to fill a quota of written complaints.

Commissioner Angela Burns said officers harass residents with frivolous matters, such as putting out trash cans.

And they have heard from residents and businesses who say they are fined even after remedying violations.

“We don’t know the scope of problems in the Code Enforcement Division but residents and business owners must have confidence that neighborhoods are not being arbitrarily targeted and that city employees are applying city rules fairly,” Carney wrote in his newsletter.

Vice Mayor Juli Casale has been the most vocal, pressing City Manager Terrence Moore for answers, asking him repeatedly in and outside of meetings if there is widespread corruption in the division. She has yet to get her answer.

In a Dec. 19 email to Moore, Casale said Moore failed to inform an internal investigator that $11,250 in liens were removed from a property owned by the second in command over the division. As a result, a 12-page report failed to address her essential question.

“My concern is this was not an actual investigation,” Casale wrote. 

Preferential treatment?
Casale met with Moore and Paul Weber, the city’s labor relations administrator who performed the investigation and wrote the Dec. 19 report to Moore.

“You felt the ‘investigation would be tainted’ had you given Mr. Weber this information,” Casale wrote to Moore in an email provided to The Coastal Star. “I was shocked that you would expect a thorough investigation without all the facts. But it seems you were not looking for a thorough investigation.”

The day after Casale sat down with Moore and Weber, the investigator interviewed Danise Cleckley, assistant neighborhood and community services director. Cleckley owns 624 SW Fourth St., the property whose liens for storing junk were relieved.

Weber, in an addendum report to Moore on Dec. 20, said three liens on the property were reduced to $100 in 2006. He said that the Clerk of Courts mistakenly dismissed only one of the liens at the time when all should have been dismissed.

City Attorney Lynn Gelin, however, in a Dec. 23 email obtained by The Coastal Star, pushed back on Weber’s conclusion.

“Sorry, Paul, my staff and I also reviewed this matter and I respectfully disagree with your conclusion concerning the liens,” Gelin wrote.

“While I am not aware of anyone accusing this employee of engaging in nefarious behavior — which, in my opinion, is a very strong allegation — the question is whether or not city policies and procedures were followed and whether or not the actions of this employee met the professional standards of the city.”

The purported data entry error should have been reviewed by the city’s code board, Gelin said.

Cleckley also faced a 2021 lawsuit claiming the home on Fourth Street was deeded to her by an owner who could not read or write. 

The case settled on Feb. 16 and Cleckley kept the property. The same day, the City Attorney’s Office was presented with documents that released the liens on the property, according to Casale’s email to Moore.

Cleckley told Weber when being interviewed that the owners of the home — Charles and Carrie Clinton — were her son’s godparents. She told Weber that her family stepped up to help pay outstanding property taxes so the home was not foreclosed upon. 

In an interview with The Coastal Star, Cleckley said she was unaware the city attorney alerted the commission to the liens.

“I didn’t know that someone was coming after me personally,” she said. “What I am saying is, it was a civil matter. We handled the civil matter.”

Division upheaval
The Code Enforcement Division started its public unraveling after police arrested Code Enforcement Officer Khatoya Markia Wesley on Oct. 3 for allegedly threatening two residents with code violations unless they paid her personally. Moore then fired Wesley.

Wesley’s attorney has denied any wrongdoing by his client and prosecutors have so far declined to file charges in the case.

Then the director overseeing the division, Sam Walthour, resigned in November, though he will remain in the position through January.  

And commission meetings in the last two months have been notable by the mayor, commissioner and residents painting the division as out of control.

Moore, in turn, has been adamant in commission meetings that he could get to the bottom of the issues with the division while Casale pressed him on answers. 

At the Dec. 17 commission meeting, Casale reminded Moore that it was in February when the accusations about Wesley first surfaced. 

“And you cannot tell us: Do we have a problem in this department? This mismanagement is — it’s unbelievable,” she said. “I cannot understand how you would come to this meeting without saying something to us about what’s going on.”

Carney admonished Casale for repeatedly criticizing the city manager on the issue, citing lack of decorum. “You can’t take the floor away from me for no reason,” Casale replied. “I am allowed to speak.”

After the arrest of Wesley, Gelin asked Palm Beach County’s Office of Inspector General to review the division but has yet to get an answer. The commission, tired of waiting, on Dec. 17 authorized a $22,000 independent investigation by the outside firm Calvin, Giordano & Associates.

Casale told The Coastal Star that, according to the contract, the firm’s mission is to optimize the performance of the department. “So, we are farther away from answers,” she said.

When asked for comment, Moore responded by email, putting faith in the external reviews.

“Delray Beach’s Human Resources Department recently conducted a thorough review of the city’s Code Enforcement Division,” he wrote.

“Their report highlights several opportunities for process and policy improvements. With the added expertise of Calvin, Giordano & Associates, alongside support from our internal team, I am confident we will identify possibilities for improvement and address any outstanding deficiencies within the division.”

Police stay mum
Commissioner Long suggested at the Dec. 10 meeting that the Police Department take over code enforcement, after he learned about the quota requirement for citations in a performance improvement plan.

“So we have a quota to violate people, which is the absolute opposite of how we should be running this department,” Long said. “I think the time for half measures is over.”

But the Police Department may have its own problem since prosecutors so far have declined to file official charges against Wesley.

When asked about the investigation, Police Chief Russ Mager said he refuses to speak to news reporters anymore. His public information officer did not respond to a question about whether there is an internal investigation into how the department handled the case against Wesley.

Despite the drama of it all, Carney says the city is moving in the right direction by having numerous eyes looking at the Code Enforcement Division.

“We look forward to the results of the audit and we trust that city officials will recommend any necessary reforms for commissioner approval,” he said.

American oystercatchers mingle alongside construction equipment on the north island of Bonefish Cove. Photos provided by Palm Beach County Department of Environmental Resources Management

By Mary Thurwachter

While snowbirds flock to airports and highways as part of an annual southerly migration, birds of the feathered variety have also been arriving locally — and many are landing on a new avian hot spot.

They’re homing in on Bonefish Cove, particularly its northern island, still under construction in the Intracoastal Waterway north of Hypoluxo Island.

So says Mayra Ashton, senior environmental analyst for Palm Beach County’s Department of Environmental Resources Management.

“The birds can be seen on occasion taking advantage of the sand at the project site,” Ashton told The Coastal Star.

“They are generally resting, loafing and feeding in the area,” she says. “On the day we spotted them, we were able to read some of the bands on their legs and report our findings to birding websites dedicated to studying and tracking the different species.

Some of the other birds spotted there are (l-r) American avocet, black skimmer and royal tern.

“That is how we learned where the birds were originally banded, i.e. North Carolina, Virginia and throughout Florida. It is fantastic to see how the project is already providing habitat for these birds.”

The project, a partnership between the county and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, was 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.

Current plans call for two intertidal mangrove islands, each with a bird nesting mound. Both islands will have several intertidal oyster reefs to the north and south. 

The islands — named Bonefish Cove after a popular fish that recently returned to the area due to previous county restoration projects — are being formed using 320,000 cubic yards of sand from Peanut Island. 

Although the plan has been in the works for years, it took until mid-February for residents of Hypoluxo Island to get wind of it by way of a flyer sent to each of their homes. 

Many of the residents are boaters who were concerned when they realized the project, about a half mile in length and directly north of Hypoluxo Island, would take away their traditional navigational access, known as La Renaissance channel, to the Intracoastal Waterway.

But after vociferous protests from residents, the plan was changed to include two islands, not three. The originally planned third (center) island would have blocked the boat passageway via La Renaissance channel.

The $15 million lagoon project is progressing, with the Army Corps finalizing the modification of the original design to leave the traditional boating route to the Intracoastal unaffected.

“The contractor working on building the project continues to transport sand from Peanut Island’s dredge material management areas as the northernmost island continues to take shape,” Ashton says.

The northern island work should be complete in the next couple of months, with the southern island to follow. Completion is likely later this year.

The islands and oyster reefs will provide critical habitat for threatened shorebirds and protected native mangroves, while submerged sea grass and oysters will colonize, improving water quality.

A look at the birds
Here are some of the birds discovered on the north island of Bonefish Cove:
Royal tern: Banded in July 2018 in Hampton City, Virginia.
Black skimmer: One banded in August in Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina; another banded in July 2024 in Atlantic, North Carolina, and a third banded in either Martin County or Collier County.
American oystercatchers: 11 birds banded in Palm Beach County between 2021 and 2024, with an additional two banded in Martin and Brevard counties in 2020.

Via Mizner apartments (right), the only completed building of the three shown in this rendering of a finished complex, is the subject of a foreclosure notice. But Penn-Florida said it intends to repay the loan involved. Still under construction are the branded residences (left) and the Mandarin Hotel (center). Rendering provided

By Mary Hladky

Penn-Florida Companies faces losing ownership of its luxury apartment building that is part of a three-phase project that would also include a 164-room Mandarin Oriental hotel and 85 branded residences along Federal Highway in downtown Boca Raton.

An affiliate of Blackstone Mortgage Trust provided a $195 million senior loan to Penn-Florida in 2022. It filed notice on Dec. 1 that it has initiated a Uniform Commercial Code foreclosure on the 366-unit apartment building for failing to pay off the loan. The notice said an auction will be held on Jan. 15.

A UCC foreclosure typically moves more quickly than a foreclosure case filed in court. An auction is held to sell the property to the highest bidder so a creditor can recover the money it loaned.

Penn-Florida, headquartered in Boca Raton, issued a statement shortly after the notice was filed indicating it does not expect to lose the 101 Via Mizner building, which was completed in 2018 at 101 E. Camino Real.

“This was a loan in good standing that recently matured and is in process of being repaid in-full next month (January)through a refinance,” the company said.

The auction notice is the latest headwind for Penn-Florida, which originally planned to complete construction of the Mandarin Oriental hotel and condos in 2017. The completion date has been delayed five times and now is slated for the end of 2025.

Construction has proceeded very slowly for years, frustrating city residents who consider the project an eyesore. Penn-Florida has insisted that nothing is amiss.

But some buyers who had placed large deposits on Mandarin Oriental condos have grown tired of waiting. Four couples and an individual filed lawsuits last summer seeking the return of their money.

Two couples voluntarily dismissed their cases, indicating they had reached confidential settlements with Penn-Florida.

The cases of two other couples and an individual, all represented by attorney James Ferrara, a former Palm Beach County Circuit Court judge, remain open. Their cases were consolidated in November.

Ferrara said it is more efficient to consolidate. “It did not make sense to have three separate cases that involved the exact same issues,” he said.

In November, another couple who had made a nearly $1.7 million deposit filed a seven-count suit alleging, among other things, fraudulent inducement and constructive fraud. They seek an unspecified amount of damages.

The litigation against Penn-Florida is not limited to would-be condo owners.

Areda Construction of Miami Lakes and Strategic Group Builders of Miami in August filed suits claiming they had not been paid for completed work. Both of those lawsuits were voluntarily dismissed.

In other cases that remain open, C&C Concrete Pumping of Florida and Texas filed two suits in late September, saying it had not been paid for work done on the condo and hotel buildings. Power Design Inc. of St. Petersburg also filed two suits in mid-September against Penn-Florida and its general contractor, Straticon LLC, saying it had not been paid for electrical work at the two buildings.

Crane rental company Maxim Crane Works, headquartered in Wilder, Kentucky, sued Penn-Florida and Straticon in November for non-payment.

The three companies seek payment in total for $4.8 million they claim is owed them, as well as unspecified damages and attorneys fees and costs. 

By Mary Hladky

A New Jersey man has been charged with DUI manslaughter in the Dec. 15 death of a bicyclist who was struck by the man’s Chevy Equinox on a stretch of State Road A1A next to Red Reef Park.

Felipe Soares De Moraes, 41, of suburban Boca Raton, was dead at the scene and his bicycle was embedded in the Equinox’s front bumper.

The northbound SUV, driven by Thomas Vayianos, 35, of Brick, New Jersey, struck Soares De Moraes from the rear, throwing him 65 feet before he rolled another 71 feet, according to the probable cause affidavit. A responding Boca Raton police officer found him face down within the northbound shoulder of the 1400 block of A1A.

Vayianos told police he had “no idea” that he had hit a bicyclist.

Soares De Moraes was married and the father of a 6-year-old daughter and an 8-month-old, according to a GoFundMe created to provide his family with financial support and to cover funeral costs.

“He was a devoted family man, a beloved friend, and someone who radiated kindness and love wherever he went,” the GoFundMe webpage says. “His loss leaves an immeasurable void and a challenging future for those he most loved.”

The family lives in the Sandalfoot Cove neighborhood west of Florida’s Turnpike, according to county property records.

A witness to the crash who also was bicycling on A1A shortly after 7 a.m. told police the SUV passed so close to him that he could touch the vehicle. The vehicle was swerving on the roadway and repeatedly veered into the bicycle lane before it hit Soares De Moraes.

The affidavit said Vayianos was swaying and unsteady on his feet when questioned by an officer. He had to be asked questions multiple times and did not answer or went off-topic.

Vayianos said he was “in rehab” that his parents were paying for, and was taking Adderall and Vyvanse, which treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and Gabapentin, an anti-seizure medication.

Vayianos, who the officer said had pinpoint pupils, told him that he was “worried about the hotel people,” and seemed to think that the officers on the scene were “hotel people.” 

He agreed to participate in sobriety exercises, and failed them, with the officer concluding that he was too impaired to operate a motor vehicle safely.

During a Dec. 16 court hearing, Palm Beach County Judge Ted Booras assigned Vayianos a public defender and set bail at $150,000.

The fatal crash is the most recent example of why Boca Raton bicyclists have pressed state and city officials for years to make A1A safer for them. A January 2024 crash injured six cyclists struck by an SUV in Gulf Stream. 

At the site of the Dec. 15 crash, the bike and car lanes are next to each other with no barrier to separate them, which leaves no margin for error, said Les Wilson, a Boca Raton cyclist and contributor to the BocaFirst blog. The bicycle lanes are four feet wide there.

“If there were more space, it gives everyone more time to react,” he said.

The Florida Department of Transportation plans a $7.3 million project that will improve the nearly 5-mile stretch of A1A that runs through Boca Raton. Work is expected to start in the fall of 2027.

One component of the project is adding 6-foot buffered bike lanes to better separate drivers and cyclists.

“What they plan to do would not have prevented the (Dec. 15) accident,” Wilson said.

BocaFirst has called the design inadequate and “dangerous by design.” In an April blog article, writers said painted lines between bike and car lanes offer inadequate protection for cyclists and that barriers should be constructed instead.

The city’s Citizens’ Pedestrian and Bikeway Advisory Board has proposed that when the bike lane approaches city parks along A1A, the lane should be routed into the parks. Such a routing through Red Reef Park, where the crash happened, could have prevented it, Wilson said. 

There’s a phrase I’ve been desiring to say for several years. Finally, I think I can.

I’m retired. Yep. There I said it.

As of Jan. 1, I turned the editorial reins of this newspaper over to the talented and competent people my husband and I have recruited and hired over the past 16 years — including many who have been with us since the beginning. I have no doubt readers of The Coastal Star will be in good hands.

Plus, Jerry Lower and Chris Bellard are still around and dedicated to each edition. So I’m the only one of the original crew taking a breather at this point, and feel comfortable doing so with the addition of our new editor, local news veteran Larry Barszewski, to shepherd the newspaper into print each month.

Although I’m stepping away from writing this monthly column in the new year, I’m excited that readers will hear from others at the newspaper in this space.

Still, don’t be surprised if a bee in my bonnet occasionally compels me to share my thoughts here. I have no plans to move away, and still care deeply about preserving the quality of life in the coastal communities we all love.

It’s been an honor to be such a vital part of informing the residents of this very special area. I’ve met such wonderful people and not one month has passed that I couldn’t find people and places worth featuring. The depth of history, beauty and generosity in our area is truly inspiring.

If I’ve made even the slightest impact on preserving our way of life along the coast, this past decade and a half will have been worth the effort. I’m confident our newspaper will continue on this dedicated path. We all care deeply about the role of local journalism.

Another change to note is that I will no longer be the community’s funnel for all things poured into this newspaper. It’s been a lot. Especially from my friends in the public relations community. You folks are persistent!

In my absence, please keep at hand the list of contacts below. You’ll find each of these people to be professional and willing to talk you through what it takes to get your information into our hyper-local South County publication. And please note that it’s always helpful if you explain why what you’re pitching is important to coastal readers, and point out people who live and work within our delivery area.

Every inch of newsprint we give strives to reflect our string of coastal communities and provide value to our readers. That’s what makes The Coastal Star successful. That’s what every person below understands and will continue to provide to the community.

— Mary Kate Leming, Executive Editor

  Coastal Star contacts:

Publisher : Jerry Lower, publisher@thecoastalstar.com

    Advertising
Advertising director: Chris Bellard, sales@thecoastalstar.com
Advertising managers: Peter Jackson, John W. Jones, Jay Nuszer, sales@thecoastalstar.com

    Editorial/News
Editor: Larry Barszewski, larry@thecoastalstar.com
Managing editor, Boca Raton/Highland Beach: Steve Plunkett, news@thecoastalstar.com
Editorial/Features
Managing editor/Features: Mary Thurwachter, news@thecoastalstar.com

    ArtsPaper
Editor: Greg Stepanich, gstepanich@pbartspaper.com

    Columnists:
Business announcements, health news: Christine Davis, cdavis9797@gmail.com
Food/restaurants: Jan Norris, nativefla@gmail.com
Health: Jan Engoren, jengoren@hotmail.com
Outdoors/fishing: Steve Waters, steve33324@aol.com
Pets: Arden Moore, fourleggedlife@gmail.com
Philanthropy/celebrations: Amy Woods, flamywoods@bellsouth.net
Religion/faith: Janis Fontaine, fontaine423@outlook.com
Tots & Teens: Faran Fagen, ffagen@aol.com

Mayor against staffers handling code enforcement — Ocean Ridge Mayor Geoff Pugh warned that the town does not want unauthorized staffers acting like code enforcement officers — especially when it comes to ticky-tacky potential violations like a little mold at the corner of a roof.

“I just want to make sure that we are solid, that we are not driving around looking for something to code enforce for us, because that would put a knife right in the heart of this town,” said Pugh, without giving any specifics.

Commissioner Carolyn Cassidy said it’s the “gotcha perception.”

Pugh said staffers who know about serious code violations can tell the police or the new part-time code enforcement officer whom the town has hired.

The town was recently embarrassed when it forced a resident to trim his 16-foot hedges to 6 feet only to learn that there was no prohibition on the height of hedges in the Town Code.

$25,000 in Tupperware bowl handed over in suspected scam — Ocean Ridge Police Chief Scott McClure is warning residents it’s scam season. His department was able to return $25,000 to a resident who handed it over to a person promising internet security.

McClure said at the Dec. 9 Town Commission meeting that no arrests had been made. 

“Fraud is on the rise, as everybody’s aware,” he said. “We’re going to homeowners associations next month to get the word out about the different types of fraud.”

He said a good rule of thumb is that nobody legitimate is going to ask for payment in Bitcoin, gift cards or gold.

“She handed over in a Tupperware bowl $25,000 cash to a person who walked up to her gate,” McClure said. “We were able to get her money back.”

He said the person was identified through private security cameras and a license plate reader. 

McClure said residents shouldn’t allow themselves to be bullied or blackmailed through text or email.

— John Pacenti

Missing and broken windows and doors on the second floor are among violations at the home on Coconut Lane. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

By John Pacenti

Ocean Ridge commissioners, in a particularly ornery mood at their Dec. 9 meeting, rejected the town attorney’s advice to settle outstanding code violations and pending litigation with the owner of a dilapidated home.

Town Attorney Christy Goddeau and her staff recommended that the commission accept a settlement where the owner of 23 Coconut Lane would pay $30,000 of $117,000 in outstanding fines and dismiss his lawsuit against Ocean Ridge.

There was little sympathy for James Cooksey, owner of the home. He said a sale fell through because of liens against the home and he needs a clean title to resurrect the deal. 

“So instead of the buyer and the seller figuring out how to pay off that lien, you’re coming to the public to pay up that lien,” said Vice Mayor Steve Coz.

“They go for 509 days without doing the right thing. Then to come back and say, ‘Gee, it’s a lot of money,’” said Commissioner Ainar Aijala Jr. “If you would have done it when you were supposed to do it, you wouldn’t have had the big fines.”

Mayor Geoff Pugh called it disingenuous for Cooksey to seek relief after allowing the property to become not just an eyesore but unsafe for surrounding properties. He noted that the second-floor bedroom didn’t even have a door for a time.

“I’ve been watching birds fly in and out of that opening on the second floor for two years now. Enough is enough,” Pugh said. 

Cooksey said that he spent $150,000 on interior work to try to save the home, which according to Zillow is worth $3.9 million. “It’s completely unlivable. The house has basically fallen apart. It had very, very bad settlement cracks,” he said.

Pugh said there were things Cooksey could have done, such as mow the grass.

Cooksey sued Ocean Ridge in 2023, claiming he was not properly notified of a hearing in front of the special magistrate on code violations at his home. The lawsuit was dismissed but Cooksey appealed the ruling.

Coz said he was amenable to maybe knocking $10,000 off the fines upon the sale of the property. Commissioner Carolyn Cassidy said she didn’t want to set a bad precedent.

Cooksey said his attorney believes he has a valid case going forward. “We can litigate the thing for two more years, I don’t care if that’s what you guys want to do. Pay people $500 an hour rather than resolving it,” he said. 

By John Pacenti

Delray Beach Commissioner Rob Long voiced outrage at “a sweetheart plea deal” for a Clearwater man who in February allegedly defaced the city’s rainbow gay pride intersection by leaving a skid mark through it.

“We’re not going to allow Delray Beach property to be vandalized and we’re not going to allow messages of hate toward marginalized citizens in our community to stand,” Long said at the Dec. 10 commission meeting.

Dylan Reese Brewer, charged with felony criminal mischief, will plead to a misdemeanor, pay a $5,000 fine and avoid any time behind bars, Long said.

Long said Brewer got “a sweetheart plea deal.” He said LGBTQ groups are crafting statements to voice opposition to a plea deal at a Jan. 8 court hearing.

“If something like this happens to the LGBTQ+ community, it could happen to our Jewish community, it could happen to our Haitian Caribbean community. It could happen to the African American community,” Long said.

Long had hoped that commissioners could get behind a unified statement opposing the plea deal but the matter was not on the Dec. 17 meeting agenda.

Brewer will also serve 12 months of probation, perform 75 hours of community service and be required to take an eight-hour anger management course under the plea deal, according to the South Florida Sun Sentinel.

The 19-year-old will plead guilty to misdemeanor charges of criminal mischief and reckless driving with injury to a person or property.

Brewer’s attorney, Scott Sale, said he had no comment on the potential plea.

The pride intersection is at Northeast First Street and Northeast Second Avenue.

The February incident was the second time the intersection was defaced by burning out of a vehicle. Both had a connection to former President Donald Trump, who is now president-elect and set to be sworn into office again in January.

Alexander Jerich pleaded guilty to felony criminal mischief in 2022 after vandalizing the intersection while driving in a birthday rally for Trump. Video of the February incident showed a Trump flag flying from the back of Brewer’s pickup.

The plea deal sparked a war of words between Rand Hoch — founder of the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council — and State Attorney Dave Aronberg.

Hoch issued a statement saying, “I cannot fathom why Dave Aronberg cut such a sweet deal for Brewer. It just makes no sense legally.”

Aronberg retorted that Hoch was showing “extreme ignorance” because he never served as a prosecutor.

“Our office will keep standing strong against hate in our community, and will continue to urge the (state) Legislature to give us additional tools to maximize punishment of offenders,” Aronberg said in a statement.

By Steve Plunkett

Future two-story homes along Gulf Stream’s signature Polo Drive and Gulfstream Road will have smaller second stories, while new one-story homes there will be able to be five feet closer to the street under new rules the town is considering.

After an ad hoc committee delivered its recommendations on how to limit large new residences that overpower their neighbors’ homes, the Town Commission declared a “zoning in progress” on Dec. 13 to stop building permits from being issued while it enacts the changes.

The overall recommendation was to create a zoning overlay district comprising the homes on the east side of Polo and the west side of Gulfstream to address massing in the Core District. 

“We’re looking at relatively small footprints,” said Malcolm Murphy, chair of the town’s Architectural Review and Planning Board and a member of the ad hoc committee. “We went through many ideas, but the main, overriding theme was, let’s make this desirable, let’s encourage people to want to build a one-story home.”

The committee — Murphy, chair Paul Lyons, and members Gary Cantor, Michael Glennon, Bill Koch III and Thom Smith — met monthly since being formed in March and sought input from architects, planners, other experts and the town of Palm Beach.

To incentivize building one-story homes in the overlay district, the panel recommended raising the floor area ratio, or building square footage to lot area ratio, from 33% to 36% for roughly a 10% gain for those homes. 

“Typically, you’re looking at (an extra) 300 to 350 square feet, which is based on the lot sizes in this area,” Assistant Town Attorney Trey Nazzaro said. The largest lot would get an extra 600 square feet.

Also for one-story homes, the panel said to count all covered, unenclosed area at only 70% for FAR instead of 100%, and to reduce the front setback to 25 feet instead of 30 feet.

To limit massing of two-story homes, the committee recommended reducing the second-floor FAR to 30% of the first floor FAR instead of 50% and to reduce the maximum roof height to 28 feet instead of 30 feet.

“Disincentive is the wrong word, but we wanted to make sure that people understood fully what they had to work with if they decided to go with this two-story home application,” Murphy said.

Mayor Scott Morgan said he was “more than impressed.”

“When I first came on the commission, massing was an issue that we wanted to address,” he said. “And we have tinkered around with it. This commission has changed a little bit of this, a little bit of that, but we never could really wrap our heads around it.”

Commissioner Joan Orthwein’s suggestion that the town incentivize building one-story homes led to the creation of the ad hoc panel, Morgan said. 

“I think what you’ve come up with is an excellent approach to dealing with the problem of massing in a fair and reasonable way that doesn’t punish two-story people but encourages what has been historically the aesthetic of the town, at least of the Core, and that is the single-story, more understated but elegant home,” the mayor said.

Morgan also said the Dec. 19 meeting of the ARPB was to be Murphy’s last as its chairman. The Place Au Soleil resident is returning to South Africa for an undetermined period of time.

“I just want to say you’ve been an outstanding chairman and member of the ARPB,” Morgan said. “You have a calmness about you. Maybe it’s the British accent, I don’t know. ... I just want to thank you for your service.” 

Liza Thornton (l-r), Joan Lorne, Darlene Duggan, Ginny Cairo, Sally Willis and Lydia Weis spend hours on the beach collecting discarded bottle caps to turn into art, such as this octopus. Photos provided

By Ron Hayes

When she’s home in Colorado, Sally Willis walks the ski country’s hiking trails, picking up trash.

When she escapes to Gulf Stream every April and November, she walks the beach each morning, picking up seashells and glass.

That was the plan, anyway.

“When I was here in 2019, I was looking for shells and glass and not finding much, but I kept finding bottle tops and caps,” she says. “So, I kept them as my seashells.”

Five years later, Willis’s bottle cap collecting has become an annual tradition, and an art project.

That first year, she put the caps she’d found in a glass jar, posted a photo to Facebook, and invited her friends to guess the number of caps.

The winner guessed 577 caps. The answer was 578.

Just for fun.

A year later, the coronavirus pandemic kept her home in Colorado, but in November 2021 she was back on the beach, along with a king tide, which upped her bottle cap bounty quite a bit.

“I used them to make a Christmas tree mural in the sand by my house, took some pictures, and cleaned it up and threw everything away.”

By November 2022, she was friends with Joan Lorne, Joan’s daughter Jackie Kingston, and Darlene Duggan, turtle monitors with Kingston’s Sea Turtle Adventures.

“We’re both out in the mornings,” Lorne says. “Sally would be getting trash off the beach while we were monitoring turtle nests, so we became friends. She’s just a super cool gal.”

With her new friends helping that year, they used the caps to create a sea turtle in the sand.

“I usually do the mural the Sunday after Thanksgiving somewhere in front of our house,” Willis says.

In 2023, they fashioned a mermaid mural.

“Everybody contributes,” Willis says. “We start to make the outline in the sand and everybody puts their two cents in. It’s not me saying this is how we’re going to do it. I explain my vision and we work around that.”

If you walk the Gulf Stream beach about 7 a.m. most days during her visits, you would spot Willis with her 5-gallon Home Depot bucket. Mornings she heads south from her home near the Gulf Stream Golf Club, evenings she turns north.

“It’s just amazing,” she says. “You put the bucket down and pick up five to seven caps in a pile of seaweed, all coming in from those cruise ships out on the Gulf Stream.”

On Dec. 1, Sally and her team of sea turtle monitors opted for an octopus, which they dubbed “Sandipi.”

“We didn’t have quite enough caps to make it as dense as I would have liked,” she says, “but we made it work.”

Willis’s bottle cap art is still just for fun, not posterity.

“We usually pick it up within 24 hours, depending on the tide line,” she says. “If I think the high tide will take it away, we pick it up right after we have taken enough photos. If we can do it way up on the beach like we did this year, then we leave it for 24 hours. I don’t want those bottle caps to end up back in the ocean.”

And for the first time, the 1,751 bottle caps Willis and friends used to create Sandipi were not thrown away when she left for Colorado.

In addition to monitoring turtle nests, Joan Lorne is a teachers’ aide at St. Vincent Ferrer School in Delray Beach.

Students there will use the caps to create an artwork for Earth Day, which is April 22.

In Colorado, the trash Willis collects in plastic bags winds up in trash bins.

In Gulf Stream, her 5-gallon bucket full of bottle caps that became art will become an educational project at the local Catholic school.

Driving back to Colorado in December, Willis carried a sense of satisfaction along, but not too much.

“I feel good that I can clean up some of the trash, but it’s just for fun,” she says. “We talk about what we’re going to do for a mural this year, and what are we going to find on the beach that we can incorporate.

“I know what we’re going to do next Thanksgiving,” she adds. “But I’m not going to tell you.”

NOMINATE SOMEONE TO BE A COASTAL STAR
Send a note to news@thecoastalstar.com or call 561-337-1553.

By Steve Plunkett

For rescuing a woman pulled into the ocean by rip currents, veteran Gulf Stream Police Sgt. Bernard O’Donnell was handed a lifesaver award in an emotional presentation Dec. 13.

Tragically, he was unable to save the woman’s 15-year-old son, who went into the Atlantic at the county-operated Gulfstream Park with his younger brother while his mother watched from the shore early Nov. 10. When the younger child signaled her for help, she jumped into the water.

“That day, the winds were 25 miles an hour out of the northeast and the surf was so extreme that the 20-plus bystanders who were on the beach were unable to assist,” Police Chief Richard Jones told everyone assembled for the Town Commission’s monthly meeting. “So, had it not been for Sergeant O’Donnell, we would have lost the mother and a child. 

“So we appreciate your heroic actions. Thank you.”

O’Donnell, who is 59 and joined the town’s police force 12 years ago, had to take a few moments to compose himself before thanking the chief for providing good advice, Deputy Chief John Haseley for providing comfort and the townspeople for providing him the tools to do the rescue.

“You were able to provide the equipment and the training that also helped me that day. I had the equipment in the car that helped and if it wasn’t for that … I probably wouldn’t have been successful,” he said.

All town police units have a rescue throw disk with 75 feet of rope, a lifeguard water rescue flotation device and a Coast Guard-approved life jacket.

Townsfolk did even more, O’Donnell said, singling out Elizabeth Ruth for putting out a call for contributions.

“As you know, funerals can be very costly,” he said. “I attended the funeral and presented the check there so the family didn’t have to have an additional burden. I’m very thankful for that and for the residents that contributed to it, and it made the healing process a lot better.”

O’Donnell said his boss helped the healing process.

Chief Jones “made a great point, you know. If I wasn’t able to get to the mother in time, she would have had three children grow up without a mother. And I didn’t think about that, but he provided a great point there.”

O’Donnell thanked his wife, Maria, who was invited to attend the presentation.

“When I, when we get off duty we go home to the family, if it wasn’t for my loving wife who lives there for me,” he said, breaking up again. “Thank you very much.” 

Combining properties puts owner in a fix — The Palm Beach County Property Appraiser’s Office combined residential properties at 316 Andrews Ave. and 1137 Vista del Mar Drive North at their owner’s request, but Delray Beach regulations don’t allow for more than one principal residence per property in that residential zoning district.

The property owner has been seeking a certificate of occupancy for a newly built home on the southern portion of the combined property and said the other home would be used as a guest cottage and art studio. But the 1,432-square-foot cottage is more than double the size the city allows.

On a 3-2 vote, the commission agreed at its Dec. 17 meeting to a waiver. Mayor Tom Carney and Commissioners Rob Long and Angela Burns voted for the waiver, with Vice Mayor Juli Casale and Commissioner Tom Markert opposed, citing concern about setting a precedent. 

— Larry Barszewski

Mayor gives update on public safety — Mayor Tom Carney recently updated the Beach Property Owners Association on its request for an increased police presence on the barrier island.

The request came after recent “crime trends, issues and concerns,” Carney wrote in a Dec. 14 email to BPOA President Hal Stern. The most notable incident occurred on June 21 near the Delray Beach Pavilion, where four dozen gunshots were fired at a popup party.

Carney, in the email to Stern, identified several steps being taken:

• Police have increased their visibility and have upped enforcement of traffic measures, such as cracking down on cars with loud mufflers, playing loud music and speeding.
• There is an ongoing conversation with the Community Redevelopment Agency to redirect the downtown Clean and Safe officer east of the Intracoastal Waterway. “This initiative will increase our police presence on the barrier island, specifically related to the Atlantic Avenue corridor up to A1A,” Carney wrote.

The CRA funding of the Clean and Safe police officer program includes safety ambassadors who patrol on foot, golf carts and bikes and interact with the homeless population.

They respond to calls from police when homeless people are trespassing, panhandling or drinking in public.
Carney said the city’s community outreach team has also conducted beach sweeps where transient individuals have been identified.

$3 million from bond targeted for three facilities — About $3 million from the 2023 voter-approved $100 million public safety general obligation bond will be spent to make repairs to two city firehouses and its Ocean Rescue facility.

Fire Chief Ronald Martin says improvements are needed for the following facilities:

• Fire Station 112 at 35 Andrews Ave.; work includes concrete restoration, fire alarm system upgrades and weatherproofing.
• Fire Station 111, the department’s headquarters at 501 W. Atlantic Ave.; work includes painting, roof repairs and an interior design study.
• Ocean Rescue, 340 S. Ocean Blvd.; work includes exterior repair and possible storage and interior remodel.

City Manager Terrence Moore said the Public Works Department is working with Martin on the improvements while the Finance Department is working to get the money.

New city clerk is no surprise — Alexis Givings will be the new city clerk, City Manager Terrence Moore announced in his Dec. 13 newsletter.

Givings has served as interim clerk since September after serving as deputy city clerk. She replaces Katerri Johnson.

Givings’ work history includes administrative roles with Lauderdale Lakes and the Broward County Clerk of Court.

The duties of the clerk include maintaining official documents of the city, administrating municipal elections, and preparing and distributing agendas and minutes of city meetings.

Advocate criticizes DARE funding decision — Cat Kelly, a well-known advocate for addiction care, told the City Commission at its Dec. 10 meeting that city officials made a mistake in allocating their $239,000 share of opioid settlement money.

She was particularly critical of using settlement money for the police program DARE  — Drug Abuse Resistance Education.

“Multiple studies over the past few decades have shown that DARE has failed to reduce drug use among participants. Some evidence suggests that it may have inadvertently normalized the behavior it aims to prevent,” said Kelly, an Ocean Ridge resident who is on the board of the Crossroads Club, a safe space for 12-step meetings.

The city is expected to get irregular installments of the settlement money from the $50 million deal struck by the states with opioid manufacturers and distributors for fueling a pill epidemic that continues to take lives.

The City Commission and staff struggled for months to come up with a plan to allocate the money, deciding that $130,000 would go to DARE and that some of the money would be used to purchase the anti-overdose drug Narcan.

“As it goes for Narcan, we are able to get Narcan for free,” Kelly said. “Approving this allocation is not just an oversight, but it is a missed opportunity.” The commission did not address her remarks.

 — John Pacenti

By Steve Plunkett

Gulf Stream is ending its decades-long contract with trash hauler Waste Management Inc. of Florida and shifting instead to Boca Raton-based Coastal Waste and Recycling Inc.

The move means monthly bills for picking up trash from residents’ back or side doors will drop slightly, from $47.82 to $46. 

“Our residents aren’t going to see a lot of change,” said Assistant Town Attorney Trey Nazzaro, who spent most of 2024 negotiating the contract with help from Kessler Consulting.

But the switch also avoids Waste Management’s planned price change to $61.34, a 62% hike from the $37.86 it was charging as recently as last March.

“They really did not want to do backdoor service anymore,” Town Manager Greg Dunham said.

The Coastal Waste arrangement will have an initial 10-year term with an option to renew for two five-year extensions.

“So it’s a potential 20-year agreement,” said Nazzaro.

The contract wording also provides for annual increases tied to the Consumer Price Index, rather than the higher “Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Water and Sewer and Trash Collection Services” that Waste Management had proposed.

Proposals were received  from Waste Management, Coastal Waste and Waste Pro USA, with Coastal Waste receiving the top ranking. Nazzaro said he will bring a final contract to the Town Commission in January.

Waste Management, the town’s trash hauler since at least 1997, had sought a five-year contract extension in 2019 at a 26% increase plus an annual cost adjustment tied to the water-sewer-trash index. But the town negotiated a 6% increase for the five years with annual increases tied to the specialized index.

This time the company insisted on the 62% increase and rebuffed any talk of lowering the rate.