Related story: Along the Coast: Gulf Stream hires away Ocean Ridge’s police chief

By Joe Capozzi

Less than two weeks before an election that could shift the balance of power on the Town Commission, three top Ocean Ridge officials are on their way out. 
Interim Town Manager Lynne Ladner will not get the full-time position, a job for which the commission chose her in January, because of concerns by three commissioners that she has aligned herself with a faction of two commissioners and their community supporters. 
Police Chief Richard Jones will leave by May 11 after agreeing to take the chief’s job in Gulf Stream. And building official Durrani Guy submitted his two-week notice on Feb. 27. Two other Town Hall employees have left since the beginning of the year.
Although Ladner agreed to stay on as interim manager for another 90 days while the town conducts what will be a third search for a top administrator, she will not be considered for the full-time job, a divided commission decided Feb. 27.
The margin was 3-2, with commissioners Geoff Pugh and Steve Coz on the losing end of a vote to finalize her contract as intended. 
The backdrop of the three departures is the March 14 election, when Mayor Susan Hurlburt, Commissioner Martin Wiescholek and resident Carolyn Cassidy are running for two seats. Cassidy has been endorsed by Pugh and Coz, a pair that has been on the short end of votes by a majority made up of Hurlburt, Wiescholek and Vice Mayor Kristine de Haseth.
Among Cassidy’s campaign pledges is to overhaul the building department, a mandate that has been echoed by Pugh and Coz and has prompted concern by employees at Town Hall. 
The latest turmoil came to a head at the commission’s special meeting Feb. 27 to consider Ladner’s contract, an agenda item that would’ve been routine if not for behind-the-scenes communications Ladner had with Pugh and Coz in recent weeks about whether Jones should leave before May 11. Jones submitted his resignation Feb. 10 and under terms of his contract must give 90 days’ advance notice before he leaves.
Those communications came to light in an email Wiescholek said he mistakenly sent to fellow commissioners in late February about “serious second thoughts” he had about hiring Ladner.
In the email, which was meant only for Colin Baenziger, a recruiter hired to help commissioners find a manager, Wiescholek said he was concerned that Ladner “had been influenced by two commissioners to immediately fire chief Jones.’’ 
Wiescholek based his concerns on information shared with him by Jones about conversations the chief had with Ladner two days after he announced his resignation. 
Although Wiescholek’s email never identified the two commissioners, it was made clear Feb. 27, when the email was dissected in a public meeting, that he was referring to Pugh and Coz. 
Pugh and Coz said they spoke individually to Ladner about whether it made sense to let Jones leave before May 11 and replace him with an interim chief. But they said they did not pressure her to terminate Jones.
“I’ve never had a conversation with Lynne about terminating a police chief,’’ Coz said. “I would never have that conversation. It’s ludicrous. Somehow this entire collusion with myself and Geoff and Lynne grew out of fantasy. It doesn’t exist.’’ 
Jones, however, had a different take on his conversation with Ladner. 
Two days after he announced his resignation, “I received some text messages from the town manager indicating that a resident in town had chosen who the next police chief should be,’’ Jones said without elaborating.
A day after that, a Monday, Ladner came into Jones’ office. “I was then informed that the commission wished for me to leave early. At this point I go, ‘The commission?’ It was clarified, ‘at least two commissioners,’’’ the chief said. 
Jones said he was not told, nor did he ask, the names of the two commissioners. 
Before Jones described his conversations with Ladner, Vice Mayor de Haseth said she believed the interim town manager had “aligned herself” with “select commissioners” and “a small faction in this town.’’ 
Ladner also “has exhibited questionable behavior,’’ de Haseth said, explaining how she warned Ladner in her early days as interim manager to be careful about information she receives from town residents. 
“And she told me, ‘Don’t worry about it. I secretly record conversations with residents on a regular basis.’ To which I said, ‘I do believe that is illegal,’’’ de Haseth said. 
Although de Haseth said Ladner told her the recordings “helped her create notes later,’’ she said Ladner was “counseled” by the chief and town attorney not to record residents without their consent and knowledge.
Ladner said, “When I found out that Florida was a two-party recording state, I had not made any recordings to record my meetings, I made sure to take only handwritten notes.’’  
Before coming to Ocean Ridge, Ladner held management and consulting positions in Pinellas County and Pahokee government.
As for her conversations with Pugh and Coz, Ladner said she told them her intention was for Jones to stay as long as he could and help find his replacement. She also said she asked the town attorney about “the cost implications” if the town let Jones leave before the 90-day departure period outlined in his contract.
Ladner was set to get a $142,500 salary in her contract; an earlier version called for her to get $155,000. Ocean Ridge’s previous town manager, Tracey Stevens, was making $132,500 when she left Sept. 11 to become town manager in Haverhill. 
Not only is the town back to square one on finding a town manager, it also has to find a new police chief and a new building official. 
Commissioners voted 4-1 to retain Ladner for another 90 days while they find a new interim or full-time manager. 
“What I see pretty much is a vote of no confidence” in Ladner, said Hurlburt, who called for an end to the “micromanagement” of Town Hall from outside sources. 
“This latest incident is being used by a minority of residents as another political football. Ocean Ridge should be operating with good governance as the priority, not a stage for folks with personal axes to grind,’’ the mayor said. 
“These power plays are doing harm to Ocean Ridge and I’m concerned our town manager might have played right into it.’’
Pugh and Coz also took issue with language in Wiescholek’s email that described “two commissioners who are dead set on burning down this town.’’
Wiescholek apologized to both commissioners for his choice of words in the email. 
The meeting was interrupted multiple times, prompting the mayor to call three separate recesses, when a few of the 40 residents in the audience shouted at commissioners.

By John Pacenti

The Delray Beach City Commission voted last month to hand over the reins of Old School Square to the Downtown Development Authority, but not before some additional drama.
Vice Mayor Adam Frankel complained that at a January DDA meeting on Old School Square, members mocked the city, saying it had no choice but to give the authority control over the city’s cultural center.
“When you state you want to collaborate, you work together and you don’t demean city staff, you don’t demean the city departments and you don’t demean the city. You don’t demean all five of us,” Frankel said.
Frankel, who voted against ending the lease with the nonprofit that ran the historic campus for 30 years, was the lone dissenting vote at the commission’s Feb. 7 meeting to the agreement with the DDA.
“We are negotiating into an agreement with a group that is calling us desperate and that wants us to use millions of dollars in taxpayer dollars — and insulting us on top of it,” Frankel said.
DDA Chairperson Mavis Benson apologized to the commission for disrespectful comments made at the DDA meeting.
“That was not one of our board’s finest moments,” she said. “Our meetings concerning this topic have been robust and they have been full of energy. It has gotten us to where we are today.”
She urged commissioners to move past the rhetoric surrounding the removal of the former operators — the nonprofit Old School Square Center for the Arts, Inc. “We can’t associate ourselves with the past,” she said.
Mayor Shelly Petrolia said that personal feelings had to be put aside — noting how she and commissioners Juli Casale and Shirley Johnson had been personally attacked for the decision over the last year by people taking the side of the nonprofit.
“When you really stop and look at it, we have to do something great here and these are the people to do it,” Petrolia said.
City Attorney Lynn Gelin said an agreement had been made with the DDA where the city did not have to take money from its reserves. The DDA lowered its request from $1.3 million to $1 million.
There is still a matter of the March 14 election, though.
Former Planning & Zoning Board member Rob Long is running against Casale and has said he wants to return Old School Square to the nonprofit. So has Angela Burns, who is running for the seat Johnson is vacating because of term limits.
Petrolia, Casale and Johnson voted to terminate the nonprofit’s lease because of financial reporting concerns and its undertaking of renovations to the Crest Theatre without informing commissioners. Supporters of the nonprofit, such as Friends of Delray, have been very vocal with their criticism.
“We have had to sit up here and take for a full year just a battering,” Petrolia said. “The thing about it is, when you know you are doing something right and you know you can take something and make it better and leave it better, you do it.”

City gets Palm Trail refuge
At its Feb. 21 meeting, commissioners voted 4-1 to take over a preserve near the Intracoastal Waterway from the nonprofit Conservation Florida. The city will agree in perpetuity never to develop on the land.
The nearly 1.5-acre preserve consists of three properties, fronting the Intracoastal and on the north end of Palm Trail. The preserve had a market value of $7 million the last time it was appraised, in March 2021.
Petrolia was the lone dissenter.
“What we are doing here is taking on somebody else’s problem,” Petrolia said.
“I know that area is not ever going to be developed, but we are as a city now going to be assuming all of the problems, the flooding, the things that happen all the time that we get calls about.”
Commissioner Ryan Boylston, though, said that the city doesn’t have many opportunities to acquire land and that he was in favor of taking over the preserve so the city can control it.
Public Works Director Missie Barletto told commissioners that by owning the property, the city could fix the flooding problems and provide something the city does not have: a non-motorized boat launch. “Some place where people can put in kayaks or paddle boards,” she said.
In other news, Delray Beach will be the beneficiary of some $180 million allocated to municipalities for stormwater improvements, including bigger pipes and stronger pumps.
Gov. Ron DeSantis announced in February the most recent Resilient Florida grants. Delray Beach will get $10 million for Marine Way for sea wall, roadway and drainage improvements. Delray Beach will also receive $2.5 million for the Thomas Street stormwater pump station.

A 7-foot-tall navigation buoy from Dry Tortugas National Park sat on the beach in Manalapan since the middle of January before it was removed Feb. 24. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

By Larry Barszewski

Cost estimates on installing a townwide sewer system have increased dramatically as Manalapan’s engineering consultant has done additional research on the needed work.
Mock Roos & Associates now estimates it will cost $17.48 million to install a low pressure sewer system, a 70% increase from the $10.3 million preliminary estimate it gave town commissioners last year.
And that doesn’t include the cost to individual homeowners to connect to the town’s sewer lines, which is estimated at between $40,000 and $60,000 per property.
At their Feb. 28 meeting, commissioners asked Town Manager Linda Stumpf to get more information about potential funding sources that may be available to the town before it holds any discussions with residents about a sewer system and what they think about the town building one.
Officials have studied installing a sewer system a number of times in the past, concerned that the town eventually may be forced to put one in because of environmental concerns posed by the septic tanks currently in use. The cost has always turned out to be a stumbling block.
Finding out about potential grants that may be available will help commissioners determine — if they decide to build a sewer system — whether to pay for it all at once or do it in pieces.
The Mock Roos plan has three phases that were presented to commissioners:
• $7.4 million to build the system on Point Manalapan, taking advantage of existing, unused sewer lines on a portion of the Point that were included in the original construction there
• $600,000 for renovating the town’s existing sewer lines that serve the area from Town Hall to the north and that go into South Palm Beach
• $9.48 million for rebuilding the sewer system for the properties along State Road A1A south of Town Hall.
Commissioners decided they’ll move ahead with the repair work for the existing system, which is needed whether or not a new system is installed. The cost covers repairing the current lift station and replacing the sewer force main, which is corroding from the outside.
If commissioners decide to install a sewer system, their current thinking is it would be optional for residents to connect to the system — unless the state later mandates such connections. Each property would need a macerating pump to grind the solid waste and a 1.5-inch diameter pipe to take the waste from the pump to a roadway connection to the sewer lines.
“The town does its part, then people can hook up as they want,” Vice Mayor Stewart Satter said.
The needed residential pumps were going for $5,000 to $10,000 a year ago and now run from $10,000 to $17,000, Mock Roos consultant Thomas Biggs told commissioners.

Go-slower request rebuffed
Town commissioners are envious of Ocean Ridge’s 25-mph State Road A1A speed limit south of Manalapan and have been hoping to get the 35-mph limit within town reduced.
However, they haven’t been able to get officials from the Florida Department of Transportation on the same page.
In a Feb. 3 email to Manalapan Police Chief Carmen Mattox from Rana Keel, a program manager in FDOT’s district office, Keel said the department would not be making a change.
FDOT conducted a speed study on the town’s portion of A1A Jan. 17 after receiving the town’s request and determined a speed limit reduction wasn’t warranted. That study found that 85% of drivers on the stretch from East Ocean Avenue south to the Boynton Inlet were traveling at speeds ranging from 30 mph to 38 mph northbound and from 35 mph to 38 mph southbound, Keel said.
As for Ocean Ridge’s lower limit south of the inlet, Keel said: “Please note that the speed limit is posted as 25 MPH in this small section of SR A1A so drivers can safely reduce their speed approaching a curved road where the reduced speed is needed.”
Mattox has also been in touch with FDOT about flooding concerns near the intersection of A1A and East Ocean Avenue, which experienced heavy flooding in November with the one-two punch from the impact of king tides and Hurricane Nicole.
“We did have some heavy rain at the end of January. This rain did not cause any flooding,” Mattox wrote in his February report to commissioners.
“FDOT is still inspecting their system and making repairs to reduce flooding. Lantana Public Works does not believe their system affects the flooding and chose not to inspect or clean out their drainage lines in the beach parking lot.”

Bye-bye buoy
A large buoy owned by the federal government that washed ashore in Manalapan near 1600 S. Ocean Blvd. had been a headache to get rid of for the town before a crew from the Beach Rakers business finally took it off the beach Feb. 24.
“A lot of work went into getting rid of that buoy,” Stumpf said.
The 7-foot-tall yellow navigation buoy came from Dry Tortugas National Park in the Florida Keys and landed on the beach here in the middle of January.
“That’s a lot of drifting,” Mattox said. He didn’t have much success coordinating with the national park until he sought help from U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel’s office, which got the sides together.
“They came and got it and they put it on a boat and shipped it back to the Tortugas,” Mattox said.

Lands End Road cul-de-sac
Details for replacing the circle in the Lands End Road cul-de-sac were presented to commissioners at their Feb. 28 meeting. The current 30-foot-diameter circle would be replaced by a 16-foot-diameter one, making the cul-de-sac easier for trucks to navigate and making it less likely the circle will be damaged.
Cul-de-sac residents had complained to commissioners in January that the cul-de-sac’s circle and its landscaping were getting beat up by traffic overrunning the circle.
The proposal would replace the landscaping in the circle and create a 2-foot-wide strip of pavers around the landscaping, along with a mountable curb that won’t be damaged if trucks ride over it.
Commissioners expect to approve a contract for the work in March.

By Steve Plunkett

St. Joseph’s Episcopal School has lost its bid for an injunction to allow it to continue operating on the grounds of St. Joseph’s Episcopal Church in Boynton Beach while a lawsuit between the parties is resolved.
The school claims it has an oral, 99-year lease to stay where it is, at 3300B S. Seacrest Blvd., until the year 2093.
The church says the school signed a five-year written lease in 2012 and was given a five-year extension that expired last November. Both sides last year agreed to extend the lease until June 30 while the dispute headed to court.
On Feb. 20, Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Bradley Harper came out in favor of the church.
“At this stage of the case, Plaintiffs have not shown that there is a substantial likelihood of success on the merits given the absence of any writing which establishes the existence of a 99-year lease agreement,” he wrote, denying the injunction sought by the school and William Swaney, president of its board of trustees and a major donor.
“Further, it appears that the application and interpretation of Canon Law may be necessary to determine the legal rights and obligations of the parties with respect to the lease and operation of the school,” Harper wrote.
Lawyers for the school did not reply to an email seeking comment on Harper’s decision.
An outside publicist, Aimee Adler Cooke, responded on behalf of the lawyers for the church.
“We appreciate the court’s recognition of the written lease agreement that is in effect between the parties. The legal battle waged by the school has been trying, and we remain hopeful that Judge Harper’s ruling will move this matter toward closure for both parties,” Cooke said.
Harper has scheduled a Zoom hearing at 8:45 a.m. March 8 on a motion by the church to dismiss the school’s case for lack of jurisdiction.
The church’s legal team says “numerous Florida and related federal decisions confirm that where a dispute involves matters of Canon Law, internal church organization, or ecclesiastical rule, secular courts lack jurisdiction to resolve the dispute.”
In a separate filing, the school’s lawyers argue that this doctrine does not apply. “The instant dispute is not a theological dispute,” they wrote. “The only connection this case has to theology is that one party is a church.”
The school also alleges breach of contract by the church and misappropriation of restricted charitable donations.
The conflict arose last April when the church vestry decided not to renew the school’s $5-a-year lease. Parents of the school’s 175 students in pre-K through eighth grade scrambled to find a new place for their children in the coming year.
While the two entities share a name and location on Seacrest Boulevard, the school split off from the church in 1995.
That was a year after Swaney gave the church approximately $2.5 million worth of stock in his company, Perrigo, “for the express purpose of the church constructing buildings and facilities for use by the school,” the lawsuit says.
Swaney, the suit claims, made it clear to the vestry that he was making the gift in exchange for a promise, made orally several times, that the school would never be displaced from the property. The church sold the stock and built a gymnasium, library, classrooms and administrative offices.

By Steve Plunkett

“Martin O’Boyle is a Gulf Stream resident who has long disliked town leadership.”
So begins an opinion by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals affirming a U.S. District Court ruling in Gulf Stream’s favor that the town did not violate the First Amendment rights of O’Boyle, his son Jonathan O’Boyle and their lawyer William Ring.
The trio sued over what they alleged was retaliation by the town over extensive public records litigation and on appeal argued that they did not need to show a lack of probable cause in order to show retaliation.
But in this case, they did have to show the town did not have probable cause, a panel of three 11th Circuit judges ruled on Feb. 8.
The judges gave a short history of the case, which they called “the third in a saga that chronicles Martin O’Boyle’s feud with Gulf Stream and its leadership.” After the town denied him a building permit, he painted cartoons on his house ridiculing the mayor and hung signs criticizing town leaders on a truck parked at Town Hall.
He also began filing public records requests. Between 2013 and late 2014, “O’Boyle and his associates filed nearly 2,000 public records requests — many for vague and hard-to-identify topics,” the judges wrote.
When the town did not respond in time, O’Boyle or his nonprofit Citizen’s Awareness Foundation Inc. would sue Gulf Stream under the state’s Sunshine Law.
In 2015, the town launched a three-pronged offensive against the records requests, which had overwhelmed Gulf Stream’s small municipal staff. It filed counterclaims in one of the records lawsuits in state court and asked for sanctions against Jonathan O’Boyle and Ring; Mayor Scott Morgan filed bar complaints against the two alleging ethical violations; and the town sued the O’Boyles, Ring and several others in federal court under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.
But the Florida Bar declined to discipline Jonathan O’Boyle or Ring and the state court declined to sanction them; the state court also dismissed the counterclaims; and the federal court dismissed the RICO lawsuit.
After a town meeting in September 2015, town police saw Martin O’Boyle trying to write on a bulletin board in the lobby of Town Hall and confronted him to get him to stop.
They began arguing and eventually escorted a noncompliant O’Boyle out of the building.
The state attorney later charged O’Boyle with trespassing and disorderly conduct; a state judge dismissed the trespassing charge in August 2021 and a jury acquitted O’Boyle of disorderly conduct.
The O’Boyles and Ring sued the town for allegedly violating their First Amendment rights via the RICO suit, the bar complaints and Martin O’Boyle’s prosecution. The town argued that it had civil probable cause to file the RICO litigation and the bar complaints and that the state attorney had criminal probable cause to prosecute O’Boyle, so the trio could not establish a First Amendment retaliation claim.
The O’Boyles and Ring argued that they did not need to show a lack of probable cause, citing what they considered a similar case, Lozman v. City of Riviera Beach, in which the U.S. Supreme Court allowed a false arrest claim to proceed even though probable cause existed to arrest the plaintiff.
The district court at first denied giving a summary judgment to either side. After the parties agreed to a joint stipulation that the town had probable cause to file the bar complaints and to charge Martin O’Boyle with trespass and disorderly conduct, the district judge granted summary judgment to Gulf Stream. The O’Boyles and Ring appealed.
The 11th Circuit judges said under Lozman, along with other elements, where there is “little relation” between the First Amendment-protected expression and the allegedly retaliatory action, a plaintiff must show only that an official act would not have occurred “but-for” the protected expression.
In this case, however, the judges found more than just a “little relation.” Gulf Stream filed its RICO complaint and state-court counterclaims as a direct response to the hundreds of records requests and multiple lawsuits that were draining town resources and manpower, they said. The bar complaints were also closely related to the public records litigation, they said.
And, they wrote, “a layer of independent judgment” was added to the criminal case against Martin O’Boyle when the state attorney pressed charges and not the town police. Case law makes showing “an absence of probable cause” a necessary element of retaliatory prosecution, they said.
The joint stipulation “that there was probable cause to charge Martin O’Boyle with trespass and disorderly conduct was fatal to his retaliatory prosecution claim,” they ruled.

By Joe Capozzi

The town’s 27 condominiums will get reminders from town officials that Airbnbs, Vrbos and other short-term rentals are not allowed in South Palm Beach. 
Unlike many other Florida municipalities, including nearby Lake Worth Beach, South Palm Beach has never had a problem with a proliferation of short-term rentals because town code allows only rentals of at least 30 days. 
The town code is enforceable because it was in effect before state legislators approved a 2011 law that gives broad powers to short-term rentals and prevents most municipalities from regulating them. 
Occasionally, a South Palm Beach condo will appear on a short-term rental platform, which happened recently with a unit in the Brittany, just north of Town Hall, at 3575 S. Ocean Blvd.
“My building has some problems with that. We are nipping it in the bud,’’ council member Monte Berendes, who lives in the Brittany, said at the Feb. 14 Town Council meeting. 
A condo owner in the building had rented his unit to someone, who then advertised the unit on a short-term rental site, said Berendes, who said the condo owner was out of the country and not aware of what the renter had done. 
After residents in the Brittany noticed people they didn’t recognize going into the unit in January, the problem was quickly resolved.  
But Berendes brought it to the attention of town officials, who agreed with the town attorney’s recommendation to remind condo owners about what they can and can’t do with their units.  
Condo owners who want to rent their units under town code must have state and county licenses, Town Attorney Glen Torcivia said.
“The tax collector has an aggressive program where she will go online and if she sees you are advertising your house to rent, you’re going to get a bill from her,’’ Torcivia said.

In other business:
• The Town Council agreed to send a letter to Gov. Ron DeSantis in support of the town of Palm Beach’s request for the state to eliminate plans for a bicycle lane along a 1.7-mile stretch of South Ocean Boulevard north of South Palm Beach. 
The state wants to add a bike lane on the west side of the road between Ibis Way and the Lake Worth Bridge as part of a road resurfacing project. But Palm Beach officials think the bike lane would disrupt ingress and egress of condos along the road and would be counterproductive for bicyclists since there are no bike lanes at Sloan’s Curve just north of Ibis Way.
• South Palm Beach has received a $75,000 grant from the state Department of Environmental Protection for a vulnerability assessment. The town was one of seven Palm Beach County municipalities receiving grants totaling more than $1.4 million. 
The others: Lantana $167,000, Belle Glade $200,000, Riviera Beach $300,000, Lake Clarke Shores $123,500, Loxahatchee Groves $350,000 and Mangonia Park $191,415.
• Palm Beach County sheriff’s deputies will conduct a traffic safety initiative March 13-17 to remind motorists heading to and from South Ocean Boulevard to stop and watch for pedestrians and bicyclists on walkways in South Palm Beach.
Motorists who don’t stop at the walkways, which are parallel to the road and obscured in some locations by blind spots, will get courtesy reminders.
Deputies will issue citations to repeat offenders. 
The initiative, which follows a successful campaign conducted the week of Feb. 20, is meant to “shed more light on pedestrian safety by educating drivers to stop at sidewalks before pulling onto A1A,’’ Sgt. Mark Garrison said.  
• The council approved a resident’s request to install an aluminum-framed pergola on the roof of 3550 S. Ocean Blvd. When completed, it will be the first such pergola on a condo roof in South Palm Beach.

The new library’s teen area. Photos by Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Ron Hayes

A good half-hour before the 11 a.m. grand opening ceremony for the newer, bigger, far more beautiful Lantana Public Library, its public was already finding seats under the party tent by the new front doors.
The Lantana Middle School Symphonic Band was tuning up. Volunteers were setting out refreshments in the new community room. Dignitaries were greeting dignitaries.
And back in the new teen room, the library director was gathering her thoughts while a friend, Michelle Lee, primped her hair.
“It’s been a long time coming,” Kristine Kreidler said. “I worked 77 hours this week, and 73 the week before.” She smiled. “I haven’t even had time to see my friend’s new baby. I think I’m going to take tomorrow off.”

Town Manager Brian Raducci reaches for the scissors after library Director Kristine Kreidler and foundation Chairman Robert Barfknecht cut the ribbon.

When the speakers had spoken and the doors had been thrown open, the curious would find themselves in a library they may have been in but had never seen before.
Separate rooms for youth and teens, a community room, a private study room and an outside reading garden for book club discussions — all brought together through a bright blue nautical theme to honor the small town’s home by the big blue sea.
Surfboards on loan from the Surfing Florida Museum hang from the ceiling and surfing history panels adorn the walls. In the youth room, a large mobile by installation artist Ashley Nardone dangles handmade turtles and fish from a circle of scalloped waves. Peer up at it and you’re underwater. Even the carpeting is shades of bright blue.
But first there was a ribbon to be cut.
After the band’s 32 seventh- and eighth-graders had entertained with the Copper Creek March, Michelle Donahue, a library foundation board member, welcomed the crowd with a brief history of the library.
“It’s been a long time coming,” was heard more than once this Feb. 22 morning. But did that long time begin in November 2019, when the renovation planning began? Or perhaps 1947, when the Lantana Woman’s Club accepted 900 books donated by the Society of the Four Arts in Palm Beach and lending began in the Community Church on Oak Street?
Either way, the celebration was a long time coming.
In 1952, the library moved to the old bridge tender’s house and stayed until 1994, when the town bought the former Carteret bank building at 205 W. Ocean Ave. The bank had gone bust three years before, and on April 21, 1996, another grand opening was celebrated.
For the next 27 years, Lantana had a library in a bank building. Now, after this massive renovation, it has a library in a library building.
“Since 1996, you’ve had a library with a bank vault and teller line and a drive-thru window,” the renovation’s architect, Samuel Ferreri of PGAL architects, explained. “By removing those, we were able to increase the library’s space by 33%, to about 5,100 square feet.”
Robert Barfknecht, chairman of the library foundation, reflected on the challenges that had been overcome.
“We had $80,000,” he recalled, “when we dreamed of doing this.”
The county’s 1-cent sales tax brought $400,000, and the Town Council added another $300,000 from undesignated reserves.
There had been delays, a construction company replaced, and cost overruns, but no one lingered on those this breezy blue morning.
This was a morning for looking forward to the new library behind those new doors and looking back at childhood memories.
“I used to take my daughter to the library every Saturday,” acting Mayor Karen Lythgoe recalled. “Now she goes there with her daughter.”
Teresa Wilhelm, president of the Friends of the Library, remembered going sometimes twice in one day.
“I went to the library by the bridge and got two books,” she said, “and if I finished them, I went right back and got two more.”
And then she put in a plug for the Friends.
“It’s only $5. You can sign up your kids to be Friends,” she enthused. “We even had someone sign up their puppy.”

Libraries exceed Starbucks
Brock Peoples, director of the Southeast Florida Library Information Network, offered some perspective.
“There are more than 16,000 public libraries in the U.S.,” he said. “That’s more than McDonald’s or Starbucks.”
But this morning was about only one of those 16,000, and the library director spoke last.
Kristine Kreidler, hair nicely primped, remembered a day back in November 2019. She’d just been hired when Debbie Manzo, the town manager at the time, told her, “We have money for you to design a library.”
Kreidler met with Barfknecht, and the two set to work. Barfknecht focused on the financing while Kreidler designed what the new library should look like and offer.
The Lantana Public Library, founded 75 years ago by women, was being ushered into its future by a woman.
“I always came in to do battle with a town council based on what other librarians at other town libraries had told me,” Kreidler told the crowd. “But never once was that necessary here. This town council was always completely supportive.”
Now the time had come.
Kreidler and Barfknecht posed before the ribbon blocking the new front doors, each with a hand on the traditional oversized scissors.
Some may not have noticed, but the traditional red ribbon was not really red. It was magenta — and the exact same color as Kreidler’s skirt. This was not a coincidence.
Then the scissors snipped, the ribbon fell, and the crowd had its first look at the new old library.
If anyone thought the final cost of $1,505,000 was extravagant, nobody was saying so. The teen room, the youth room, the community room and the dazzling nautical theme throughout with the surfboards, the dangling fish and turtles and the ocean blue carpeting, all brought smiles of approval.
Seated in a corner of the youth room, under the nautical mobile, Catlin and Cameron Snow were especially excited. Along with their daughter, Coral, 2, they had brought a baby carriage.
“Today was supposed to be my due date,” Catlin Snow said, “but C.J. was 21/2 weeks early.”
Finally, the library’s exhausted director could relax a bit and meet her friends’ new son.

On March 11, a community celebration will be held from noon to 3 p.m. at the library, with food trucks, face painting, a bounce house, goodie bags and an introduction to all the library has to offer.
For more information, contact Kristine Kreidler at 561-389-2486 or email kkreidler@lantana.org.

By Joe Capozzi

Three candidates seeking two seats on the Ocean Ridge Town Commission pleaded their cases for election to nearly 100 voters at a candidates forum Feb. 9 at Town Hall.
Mayor Susan Hurlburt, Commissioner Martin Wiescholek and challenger Carolyn Cassidy answered 25 questions over 90 minutes in their only public forum together before the March 14 election.  
The questions, submitted by residents, touched on wide-ranging topics from growth management and aging infrastructure to dogs on the beach and the town’s building permit process. 
Each question was asked by moderator Marcia Sherwood of the League of Women Voters of Palm Beach County and each candidate was given one minute to answer. 
Although the format did not allow for any one-on-one debate, differences among the candidates were apparent in their comments. 
“Please understand what is at stake in this election. The building department is under attack,’’ Wiescholek said in his closing statement seeking support for another three-year term.
Cassidy, a member of the town’s advisory Board of Adjustment, has been endorsed by two critics of the town’s permitting process, commissioners Geoff Pugh and Steve Coz. 
“I would like to see some major changes in the building department if I’m elected,’’ she said after describing the current permitting and review process as “onerous and cumbersome” for homeowners and builders. 
Hurlburt, who has served on the commission since 2019, agreed that the process can be “incredibly slow” but blamed that on a lack of staff members. She asked for patience from residents and builders.
“There is absolutely nothing wrong with our building department,’’ said Wiescholek, who credited town staff for following through on Town Commission directives to clean up nuisance properties.
He said the building department enforces rules approved by the Town Commission, which has strengthened the town’s building and zoning codes. 
“We have people saying ‘well, the building department should look at things differently and should be more flexible.’ The building department is not there to be flexible. The building department is there to enforce the ordinances that are on the books,’’ Wiescholek said.
“If you don’t like what the building department says, come back to the commission, change the ordinance and we’ll discuss it on the dais,’’ he said.
Wiescholek said he would support a charter revision requiring a supermajority vote — four instead of three — on substantial changes to town land development codes. 
Hurlburt said she’s leaning in favor of that, but is not ready to commit. Cassidy does not support a supermajority vote for such changes. 
“Advocating for it suggests you don’t have faith in your elected officials,’’ said Cassidy, who ran unsuccessfully for commission in 2021. 
Another critique Cassidy repeated during the forum was what she said was a lack of proper communication between commissioners and residents, especially at Town Commission meetings. Current decorum rules at commission meetings do not allow commissioners to respond to remarks made by residents during the public comment segment.
Hurlburt said she tries to direct staff to respond after the meeting to comments made by the public. She also stressed the public is allowed to comment on agenda items, too, and commissioners can respond to those comments while deliberating the agenda item. 
Wiescholek said he’d be open to tweaking the rules to allow some interaction, but warned that a full discussion would add length to meetings that at times run close to four hours. 
Cassidy said residents who take the time to come to a Town Commission meeting to offer comments deserve a response. 
“Otherwise they think no one is taking them seriously and their concerns are not valid,’’ she said. “People make public comments. It goes into the abyss. You never get a response.’’    
All three candidates said they support the police department and agreed the town needs a master plan to deal with aging infrastructure. But a question about flooding problems drew different replies. 
Hurlburt said the town’s infrastructure “is not prepared for what comes down,” a problem exacerbated by sea level rise and climate change. 
Wiescholek said roads need to be raised.
“Our roads are too low. Sea level is rising,’’ he said. “The only way is to raise the roads. Nobody wants to hear that in general, but we are looking at very costly things coming down the road that we need to address and that is one of them.” 
Cassidy disagreed. If the town raises roads, the focus should be on areas most prone to flooding, she said. 
“To say a blanket statement about raising roads in the town I think puts an undue burden on homeowners,’’ she said, because water from higher roads will end up in the front yards of homes.
Cassidy and Wiescholek said they support efforts to restrict the placement of “No Trespassing” signs on the beach, a contentious issue between beachgoers and residents of Turtle Beach of Ocean Ridge, a condominium that has posted signs about the condo’s private property rights on the beach. 
Hurlburt, who lives in Turtle Beach, said: “Private property is private property, but when you have a problem with trespassers that needs to be addressed. Traversing and using the rest of the beach, which is below the mean high water line, has never been an issue.’’
Taking a jab at Hurlburt, Cassidy said: “I don’t think it’s right that the same person who initiated the signs on the beach and sought the permitting for it is presiding over the meeting when these signs were discussed.’’
Hurlburt did not respond to that remark, saying, “I’m trying to keep my campaign moving positively."

Dr. Peter Bonutti of Manalapan in his home office with his father, Karl Bonutti, 95, and sons Michael, 8, and Marc, 17. The
family’s two Dobermans are Sam (left) and Sarge. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

Dr. Peter Bonutti was well into his career as an orthopedic surgeon when he realized something was missing: the patient’s perspective.
“I always thought it was important to look at it,” Bonutti said. “Because we’re operating on people and doing all kinds of crazy things to them and you go, ‘What if we flipped the table and looked at it from their perspective?’ Like the length of the incision, the surgical approach, the fast recovery. It came from my sports medicine background combined with my background from joint replacements.”
It wasn’t long before Bonutti, 65 — who resides with wife, Simone, in Manalapan, along with five of their six children — began inventing tools to make a difference in patients’ experiences, starting with recovery time and rehab.
“When I started doing joint replacements the incisions were a foot long, the patients would be in the hospital for a week, and it would take them a year to recover,” Bonutti said. “I was saying, ‘This is not what people want.’ So, I started learning, because I felt industry wasn’t keeping up with medical technology.
“That’s where I got creative and innovative and said we’ve got to improve the quality of care. That’s been my focus my whole life.”
Bonutti said he has 440-450 patents on file and another 100 in development. Where most inventors focus on one area, his innovations cover a wide area, from automotive to aeronautical to medical devices to pharmaceuticals to consumer goods. “We do a lot of different things and have a lot of fun with it,” he said.
Bonutti spends one week a month at his workplace, the SBL Bonutti Clinic in Effingham, Illinois, in which time he said he performs 50 surgeries including 35-40 joint replacements, and the remainder at home, much of it on research and development.
His family time includes skiing, boating, fishing and trips to “a small place” in the Bahamas. His wife is a former member of the Manalapan Town Commission who is returning to the board this month after running unopposed for one of the open seats.
Their children are Mia, a student at the University of Virginia; Marc, Margaux and Mary at Oxbridge Academy, and Martina and Michael at Gulf Stream School. He also has two Dobermans that “I like to exercise when I can.”

— Brian Biggane

Q: Where did you grow up and go to school? How that has influenced you?
A: I was born in an inner-city community in Cleveland — one of six children after my parents immigrated from Slovenia. I went to Gilmour Academy, graduating at 16, and went to the University of Chicago, where I had a full scholarship, to earn a degree in biology. Subsequently, I went to the University of Cincinnati for medical school and then the Cleveland Clinic for my orthopedic residency training. There I won the International Traveling Fellowship and studied abroad in Graz, Austria; Sydney, Australia; Auckland, New Zealand, and London, Ontario, with additional studies at the Mayo Clinic.
During this time, I was a Cleveland Clinic Institute fellow and won numerous awards for my research on the development of medical and surgical adhesives. I performed a Cleveland Research Institute traveling fellowship and won the most awards for research on medical and surgical adhesives.
My parents are both educators and pushed us all in school. When I started college, I was 4-foot-9 and weighed 90 pounds. Being younger and much smaller than the other students created more of a drive to succeed. What I learned was about thought, discipline and concentration as well as the importance of education over social life in school. I learned education requires one must learn to teach oneself. One cannot depend on educators to spoon-feed you information or answers to problems.

Q: What professions have you worked in? What accomplishments are you most proud of?
A: In college I had a full scholarship, but to pay for additional expenses I worked in a biochemistry lab as a technician. After college, I worked as a medical technician at the Cleveland Clinic, working the graveyard shift in the hematology lab learning how to do blood tests as well as treating patients working on blood draws (a unique skill). Upon completion of my residency and fellowships, I became an orthopedic surgeon with a subspecialty in arthroscopy and arthroplasty. I also worked as a clinical professor at the University of Arkansas in orthopedics.
What I learned during my education was the importance of not just practicing medicine — doing what you were taught — but challenging the status quo/dogma. ... Rather than saying this is good enough, my question was why can we not improve and make things better.

Q: What advice do you have for a young person seeking a career?
A: Find a career that allows you to not just emulate others, but to improve the status quo. You will find not just financial success, but tremendous personal satisfaction. This drives individuals to work harder and improve not just their own career, but others around them.

Q: How did you choose to make your home in Manalapan?
A: My wife was born and raised in Florida. After a decade of living in small-town Effingham, Illinois, she asked to have a vacation home in Florida. She identified a home in Lighthouse Point. However, when I drove down, I saw a large home on a small lot in a crowded area with no parking and I felt claustrophobic.
Being from a small town, I enjoyed open space and the sense of community. I drove up A1A, saying if I was going to move to Florida I wanted to live on the ocean. As I drove north, I stumbled onto Manalapan and saw an old wooden house with a For Sale sign. I looked at the small, old, three-bedroom wooden home with an overgrown yard and at high tide the Intracoastal was actually leaking into the swimming pool and the home. However, I saw the beauty of the open space, ocean-to-Intracoastal lot, and the small-town feel and I immediately put an offer on the property, which was quickly accepted.
This was a vacation home until 2009, when we decided to tear down the home and create a full-time residence. We built the home to house our expanding family and moved in full time in 2014.

Q: What’s your favorite part of living in Manalapan?
A: I have lived for 35 years in a small rural town where I enjoy the open spaces and close community. I have the same feel in Manalapan from the open spaces to the administrators, police, fire department and neighbors when the town makes everyone feel like a close friend with personal relationships.

Q: What book are you reading now?
A: I am reading Dare Disturb the Universe: A Memoir of Venture Capital, written by Charles Newhall III. This is a fascinating book from the father of one of our Manalapan neighbors, Ashton Newhall. It is a very unique perspective on Mr. Newhall’s life and career, who is an excellent role model.

Q: What music do you listen to when you want to be inspired?
A: My father was a pianist and used to play Chopin, Liszt and Beethoven at night. As I was growing up, I picked up the guitar and taught myself contemporary music — rock ’n’ roll. I began playing in a band and then ultimately wrote and recorded two albums. When I want to relax, I pick up my guitar and work on my creative side on my own songs and melodies. I do, however, listen to almost any genre of music but prefer guitar-themed songs.

Q: Have you had mentors in your life or individuals who inspired your life decision?
A: I would argue my father and mother were probably my greatest mentors. My parents were immigrants from both Slovenia and Italy. They came here with $5 in their pocket and were able to build a successful life raising six children, and my father ultimately became U.S. ambassador to the Vatican. My parents showed me the value of hard work and family.
Art Steffee, MD, orthopedic surgeon in Cleveland, was also a major influence. During my first year of residency, I rotated to a small hospital and worked with Art, who was an orthopedic hand surgeon. He showed me if an individual is observant and willing to spend their own time, money and effort, they can truly make an impact in medicine.

Q: If your life story were made into a movie, who would play you?
A: I saw Dennis Quaid act as Ronald Reagan in a movie and enjoyed his demeanor and met him in person during the movie preview. Although he is much better looking than I am, I feel he would be a great person for the role.

Q: What/who makes you laugh?
A: My family and children make me laugh on a daily basis and I find humor in all aspects of life. I feel if you can encourage someone to laugh or even smile for even a second or two, then you have improved that person’s day.

ABOVE: Former William Taft High classmates from a variety of years in the 1950s and ‘60s gathered last month for a reunion at Pavilion Grille. About 180 attended, some of whom now live in Palm Beach County. INSET BELOW: A ball cap with science class buttons from Taft High, 1950. Photos by Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By John Pacenti

In the Catskills in the 1950s, Margaret Haymin and Marsha Levine forged the kind of friendship that tattoos the young soul.
They were preteen girls at a summer Jewish bungalow colony — and then they went back home to the Bronx but never forgot each other.
A high school reunion brought them together 69 years later. That reunion for William Taft High School graduates has been held in South Florida at various locations for the last 15 years.
There have been 10 Taft reunions in total, and there hadn’t been one held since 2020 just before the coronavirus pandemic shut down the nation. This year 180 graduates from the high school came together on Feb. 2 at Pavilion Grille in Boca Raton.
Haymin and Levine — both 77 — only learned of each other again this past year. They met at the reunion for the first time since those summer camp days.
“She stuck with me all these years,” said Haymin, Class of 1963, a retired photographer who flew in from Pennsylvania. “She just was so special. And I remembered her name. We played with dolls together. She always had beautiful blue eyes.”
Levine, a retired special education teacher who graduated in 1962, then pulled out black-and-white photos on her phone of the girls around a picnic table among more than a dozen girls at the bungalow colony camp.

Two women who came to the reunion last met as girls in the Catskills in the 1950s: Marsha Levine (back row, second from left) and Margaret Haymin (back row, fourth from left). BELOW RIGHT: Levine and Haymin today. Photo provided and by Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

The reunion’s origin
The Taft reunions are the masterstroke of event planner Roberta Lookatzer Silver and retired jockey Jeff “Mousey” Heller — classes of ’63 and ’62 respectively.
The first reunion was in New Jersey but it quickly migrated to warmer climes in south Palm Beach County. Some of the graduates make Palm Beach County their home now.
“But you know, it’s so comforting to be able to hug somebody that you know, for 70 years,” said Silver, who lives at Seagate Towers in Delray Beach.
Silver, 77, explained that in the 1950s and ’60s in the Bronx, there were very close-knit communities. Most families lived in tenements and people walked or met friends to take the bus. A number of junior high schools fed into Taft.
Heller, 78, was a live wire when he walked into the reunion. Everybody wanted to talk to Mr. Jeff Heller. Before he was a jockey, he was a teenage musician playing drums and piano for a doo-wop group called Mousey and The Four Cats.
He also met a budding musician and star basketball player at Taft named Chuck Negron. Negron went on to be the lead singer for Three Dog Night and though he did not travel for this reunion, his presence loomed large as his name was constantly brought up in conversation.
“They called us Mutt and Jeff,” said Heller, who now lives in Boynton Beach. “I recorded his first demo record.”
The pandemic ended the reunions for three years, so the 2023 party was one anticipated by many. The reunion played out like a movie, a bit of American Graffiti, When Harry Met Sally and Peggy Sue Got Married.
“During the pandemic, as you know, everybody was isolated. It wasn’t a healthy time,” Silver said.

Bernice and Ed Wenger

Bernice and Ed

Sitting at one table were Ed Wenger and his wife, Bernice Nierenberg Wenger. They both went to Taft and even worked together on the school newspaper, The Taft Review.
But they were like ships passing in the night.
“So, she knew me by sight and I knew her by sight,” said Ed Wenger, Class of ’59.
They would again pass by each other at City College of New York, where they sometimes had the same class in the same building.
They met again at John F. Kennedy International Airport when both were escaping the winter and heading to Puerto Rico for vacation. But it wasn’t until they landed in San Juan that Cupid finally landed an arrow.
“When we got to Puerto Rico, and I was about to get into the taxi with my two friends, I heard the taxi driver say to some man, ‘Come on, we’re gonna take these girls for a ride,’” said Bernice, Class of ’61.
“Well, I speak Spanish fluently. So, I got scared. So, I went over to Ed and I said, ‘Come in our taxi with us so that they can take us anyplace.’”
Ed adds, “And we spent most of the vacation together.”
The couple now lives in Boca Raton, married since 1967.

Emotional tonic
These reunions can be an emotional tonic to those who attend, Silver said.
“There was one guy who came, I remember, one year and he walked in with his dog and he said, ‘You know, I’m not going to know anybody and my wife just died,’” she said.
“He stood with me for 15 minutes and then two women walked in and started screaming. ‘You lived on the sixth floor. We lived on the fourth floor.’ And it made his night.”
And true enough there was a lot of chatter last month that started, “I lived on 167th.” “Oh, I was on 176th.”
Stuart Szpicek, class of ’65, was looking at the Taft pins on display. “I designed one in 1965 myself,” he recalled.
Joyce Geiger Rosenbaum, Class of ’63, laughed when asked about the reunion and started singing December 1963 (Oh, What A Night), a hit by Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons.
“It warms the heart to see all these people,” she said.
Bernice Nierenberg Wenger put it this way, “Have you ever read the book Look Homeward, Angel? To look back and remember what a fine education we had and how everyone was so hardworking and motivated to better themselves — it’s just nice.”

By Mary Thurwachter

Acting Mayor Karen Lythgoe had a welcoming smile on her face when a resident, tin box in hand, approached the dais during the Feb. 13 Lantana Town Council meeting. The box didn’t contain what Lythgoe expected.
“I guess you don’t want the yellow water,” the woman, holding a cookie tin with liquid inside, said with a chuckle.
“I thought it was cookies,” Lythgoe laughed. “My swearing-in is coming up next month and there will be cookies.”
Lythgoe, who becomes mayor March 27 after running unopposed to fill the unexpired term created by the resignation of former Mayor Robert Hagerty, didn’t want the yellow water.
No one does.
Over the last two years, residents have complained about olive greenish water in their swimming pools, Invisalign trays for their teeth that had yellowed from the drinking water, and even discolored water their pooches refused to swallow.
The drinking water in Lantana isn’t all yellow, but people who have it don’t like it and have made that clear to town officials.
Eddie Crockett, public services director, insists the water is safe.
“The clarity of the water is not really related to the quality of the water,” Crockett said at a meeting last year when the topic came up. “The drinking water is absolutely safe. It meets all state and federal requirements.”
The town is working on the problem, but it will take time and cost millions. It all goes back to the water treatment plant, which was last refurbished in 2003 and is being updated.
A plant filter and media replacement project began in 2021 with an original budget of $1.24 million. Supply chain issues have slowed the progress, according to Rebecca Travis of Baxter & Woodman Inc., the town’s engineering firm.
“Once the project started, our consultants/engineers quickly realized that the project was more involved than initially anticipated and as a result, an additional $1.26 million was included in the town’s 2022/23 budget for this project,” Crockett said.
In addition, with the assistance of the town’s lobbyist, the town is pursuing state funding for this project and others from the state Legislature, Crockett said in an email to The Coastal Star.
The project is expected to be completed in the next year or two. In the interim, the town has an ongoing and aggressive hydrant flushing process to mitigate the water discoloration, Crockett said.
As part of the efforts to revitalize the water treatment plant, the council approved a change order Feb. 13 for RF Environmental Services, Inc., to install temporary valves to support the replacement of the high-service pumps at the plant for $210,793.09. The high-service pumps are used to move high volumes of treated water into the town’s potable water distribution system.
A contractor had discovered that three valves needed to isolate the existing high-service pumps could not be turned off. The temporary valves are needed to allow the water to be completely shut off to complete the project.
Money for the temporary valves will come from the utility fund’s reserves and will be included in the mid-year budget amendment in March.

In other news, the town learned that it will be receiving a $167,000 grant from the Resilient Florida program to help prepare the community for the impacts of flooding and storm surge.
The town will do a vulnerability assessment for town-owned properties along the Ocean Avenue corridor from U.S. Highway 1 to the beach, which includes Bicentennial Park, Lyman Kayak Park, Sportsman’s Park boat ramps, Lantana Nature Preserve and the beach facilities.

By Mary Thurwachter

The Lantana Town Council voted 3-1 Feb. 27 to delay a vote on whether to grant a setback variance to a couple who want to build a 7,100-square-foot home on a .36-acre lot on Hypoluxo Island.
The couple, Thomas and Mindee Borzilleri, are seeking a variance from the required 20-foot rear setback for waterfront properties. The Borzilleris, who bought the property in 2021, tore down the existing house, which had significant mold problems.
They want to locate a retaining wall 13.5 feet from the high water line, where the town code requires a 20-foot setback. The Borzilleris cited Federal Emergency Management Agency flood mitigation requirements as a hardship.
The federal agency is requiring the floor elevation of the home to be 10 feet, said Trey Nazzaro of Davis & Associates, who represents the Borzilleris. The home that was on the property previously had an elevation of 6.5 feet. The retaining walls would hold in a significant amount of fill to bring the elevation up to 10 feet, he said.
Besides the retaining wall, a pool, ADA ramp and deck would also encroach on the required 20-foot setback area from the high water line.
Staff recommended denial, and a vote in favor of a variance failed to pass the planning board.
Island residents also urged denial, saying the proposed house was too large for the property and that the owners should have been aware of town building requirements before they made their plans.
Council member Kem Mason asked that the vote be postponed so additional information could be gathered on whether changing the house size has an impact on the drainage and thereby the location of the retaining walls.
“I’d like to get this right because this is going to set a precedent for the future,” Mason said. “People are very adamant on their stand about this, and this is the only way I can understand to be fair.”
Postponing the vote could help the council have more clarity, Mason said.
The town will ask engineers to review the town’s drainage plans for all development, have them take another look at the lot in question and ask what options exist for drainage. The engineers will then write a letter of recommendation.
“I’ll guarantee that there are other ways to drain that lot,” said council member Lynn “Doc” Moorhouse, who was the lone dissenting vote on the motion to delay.
The town hopes to be able to vote on the setback issue in March.

By Mary Thurwachter

Lantana voters will decide two council races and a charter referendum on March 14.
The Group 3 race pits council member Mark Zeitler against Raymond Lastella, while the Group 4 race is between Christopher Castle and John Raymer.
The only election debate was scheduled for March 1, too late for coverage by The Coastal Star, so we asked the candidates what makes them best suited to serve.

Group 3
Lastella, 32, an entrepreneur with a boat detailing company and a jet ski rental company, has lived in Lantana for only a year and a half. He doesn’t consider that a drawback.
“I know I’m the new guy, but I do my due diligence and I try to be as accurate as I can on subjects,” he says. “If I don’t know something, I’ll look it up. You don’t have to be here for 50 years to understand what the town needs and wants.”
The town’s major issues are speeding and reckless driving, Lastella says. And, after talking with residents at the Carlisle senior living community, he realizes there’s a need for safety measures to help pedestrians crossing the street.
People should vote for him, he says, because he has good leadership skills and wants to bring people together.
“I know that this town has a ton of potential and I’ll bring my knowledge and ideas across the board and try to do the best I can to make the town better,” he says. “I’m hoping to start a family here, ready to get married and have children, and this is a place where I want to stay and raise my children.”
Zeitler, who turns 67 on March 10, says being a council member has been a good learning experience and one to which he is devoted. The owner of an air-conditioning firm, Zeitler has lived in Lantana most of his life. He has missed only one meeting — when he was hospitalized after breaking his heel in July. Zeitler spent months getting around on a scooter or crutches, but didn’t let that slow him down.
He says his major first-term accomplishments include keeping medical marijuana dispensaries out of town and discovering the library’s contractor was unlicensed, which led to a more discerning vetting process.
Zeitler’s council experience and his lengthy time in town are reasons he thinks he’s the better candidate. His work experience is also a plus, he says.
“My work experience, besides air-conditioning contracting, is also underground utilities,” he says. “That makes it easy for me to understand what is going on when voting for water and sewer infrastructure work. My air-conditioning contracting business demands that I know engineering and laws like workers comp and liabilities. Being a businessperson, I understand the need for having reserves for bad times. I want to make sure Lantana remains the quaint little place that it is.”

Group 4
The Group 4 races features two newcomers, as the seat is currently held by Karen Lythgoe, who instead ran unopposed for mayor and will be sworn into that position.
Castle, 37, a maintenance facilities director for PetMeds, is a native Floridian who has lived in Lantana for 15 years. A self-described problem solver, Castle said he has always had a passion for the town.
His aim in running, he says, is to make positive changes. A new volunteer for the Lantana Chamber of Commerce Fishing Derby, Castle recently purchased two bicycles to be given away during the children’s fishing event. “I used my own money, not campaign funds,” he said.
Castle’s biggest campaign issues include infrastructure and safety, two things he says he is well versed in.
“I know how to take care of these problems,” Castle says.
His previous experience as control room operator at Florida Power & Light and his work for the South Florida Water Management District would help him in dealing with the power grid, flooding and rain issues, as well as water quality, he says.
“I also have quite a bit of education with my jobs and bring skills to the town that can alleviate some of these issues.”
Raymer, 52, who retired from a 21-year U.S. Army career and is manager of Ace Rental Place in Lantana, says a main reason he’s running is to make sure residents are informed about what’s going on in the town.
“I see a lot of people still left in the dark,” says Raymer, an eight-year Lantana resident who was unsuccessful in his first run for council last year against veteran council member Lynn Moorhouse. He would inform people through emails, texts or in snail mail included with utility bills, he says.
The town’s major issues, he says, include keeping taxes in line, improving infrastructure, and attracting tourism, which he says could help in keeping taxes down. Another big concern, he says, is restoring the beach itself, which he says is so narrow that people end up going to Lake Worth Beach instead.
Voters should choose him for the job because he has strong leadership skills and military background and has no ulterior agenda, he says.
“I want to be the people’s voice and I want to bring the town together,” Raymer says.

Referendum
Lantana residents also will vote on whether to change the Town Charter to put an end to runoff elections. Currently, a candidate must receive at least one more than 50% of the votes in a race to be elected. If no candidate gets a majority, a runoff election is held between the two candidates receiving the most votes in the race.
Forced runoffs in two council races last year made some elected officials consider a change to a plurality system, where the candidate receiving the highest number of votes in a race — whether or not it is a majority — is the victor. 
Changing the election system requires a change in the town’s charter, something voters need to decide.

By Mary Hladky

Four-year-old Brightline is the shiny new thing, offering high-class rides in sleek trains.
But 33-year-old Tri-Rail’s no-frills commuter line transports far more passengers.
Tri-Rail’s ridership totaled nearly 3.4 million in 2022, while Brightline carried just over 1.2 million riders.
In 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted service for both rail operators, Tri-Rail carried nearly 4.5 million passengers. Brightline, a brand-new service then, carried 1 million.
Both Brightline and Tri-Rail say the two operators can’t be compared.
Tri-Rail is a commuter service with 18 stations whose core riders need to get to and from work. It receives funding from Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties, Florida Department of Transportation and Federal Highway Administration, and from its ticket sales.
Brightline, a private company, insisted it was not a commuter rail when it launched. With only three stations in South Florida then, its focus was moving people speedily over longer distances. Its Orlando station is expected to open in the second quarter of 2023, and eventually the line will extend to Tampa.
But more recently, Brightline has acknowledged transporting commuters and, with the December opening of stations in Boca Raton and Aventura, can better accommodate them.
For instance, land use attorney Michael Marshall recently used Brightline to get from his Fort Lauderdale office to a Boca Raton City Council meeting, where he was representing a client.
“It’s genius,” he said of Brightline, which arranged last-mile service to his meeting on Uber.
So far, Brightline has not siphoned away riders, said Victor Garcia, Tri-Rail’s director of public affairs. “They are filling a gap that was apparently needed.”
Both operators are now trying to reclaim riders they lost during the pandemic. Brightline suspended service from March 2020 to November 2021. Tri-Rail sharply reduced its service in March 2020 and returned to full schedule in October 2021.
The pandemic changed rider dynamics. Demand fell as employers shuttered offices or required their workers to come to the office fewer days each week. Many people shied away from mass transit that forced them into close contact with others.
“We want to get back to where we were pre-COVID,” Garcia said.
In its most recent financial reports in December and January, Brightline said that by the first quarter of 2022, its ridership exceeded pre-pandemic levels in the comparable period in 2019.
“Rides by monthly passholders increased 44 percent in January 2023 compared to December 2022, demonstrating a trend back toward normal commuting patterns for an increasing portion of our market,” Brightline said.
Both rail lines expect more ridership growth for similar reasons.
Traffic and road conditions on Interstate 95 and other major arteries are bad and getting worse. More companies and people are moving to Florida, bringing in more potential riders. That also creates more traffic and the desire to avoid it. And the soaring price of gasoline last year prompted many to consider an alternative to the car.
Another factor for Brightline is that it can expect a ridership boost when it launches service to Orlando.
Brightline offers fast and efficient service with airy, comfortable stations featuring food and beverages. It has a number of options to get passengers from the stations to their final destinations. Its trains run on the FEC rail corridor, through east coast downtowns.
Tri-Rail, which also has options to get passengers to their final destinations at no or reduced cost, has no indoor lounges at its stations and minimal food and beverage options. Its trains run on the CSX corridor, west of downtowns.
But it has stations in the major South Florida east coast cities, making it possible to commute to cities such as Boynton Beach and Delray Beach that are not serviced by Brightline.
Tri-Rail’s dependability and on-time performance have improved substantially in recent years, removing a disincentive to using its trains. It runs more trains per day, which provide riders with more options, particularly during rush hours.
It also stops at the Fort Lauderdale and Miami airports and provides access to Palm Beach International.
Yet a major reason that its ridership figures outpace Brightline’s is that Tri-Rail costs a lot less to ride.
On Feb. 17, Brightline’s one-way regular “smart” fare from West Palm Beach to Fort Lauderdale ranged from $19 to $27, depending on the time of day traveled. The return trip prices were the same. So round trip, the fare was $38 up to $54.
The premium fare ranged from $32 to $69, for a total of $64 to $138 round trip.
Parking at Brightline garages costs $7 a day if purchased in advance or $15 a day for a ticket purchased at the garage.
The costs come down if riders buy a monthly pass that covers 40 rides. A regular pass from West Palm Beach to Fort Lauderdale is $229; a premium pass is $489. A monthly parking pass is $75.
Tri-Rail has divided its route from the Miami airport to Mangonia Park into six zones. Fare cost depends on the number of zones riders pass through to reach their destinations.
The weekday trip from Boca Raton to West Palm Beach goes through three zones, for a round-trip cost of $10. A ride from Boca to Fort Lauderdale goes through two zones, or $7.50 round trip.
Tri-Rail offers monthly passes, good for unlimited travel, for $110. If a rider used Tri-Rail for 20 commutes a month, the cost of a round trip from Boca to Fort Lauderdale would drop to $5.50.
Outdoor parking is free at its stations.
Tri-Rail last raised its prices in 2020, the first hike in 10 years. Brightline’s prices have gradually risen. It raised the cost of a monthly pass by about 15% in November and said in a December report it expects further increases due to likely higher demand related to the Aventura and Boca Raton stations.

Related story: Delray Beach: Public safety, park referendums seek $120 million in new property taxes

By John Pacenti

The undercurrent in the Delray Beach City Commission races is electric, abuzz with whether to put a muzzle — or at least a leash — on future development.
In that sense, the March 14 election is very much about whether to turn back to the “old guard” that paved the way for much of the current development and to curtail development-critic Mayor Shelly Petrolia’s power.
Businessman Rob Long, 38, is trying to unseat first-term Commissioner Juli Casale, 54, for the District 2 seat. Casale, an ally of Petrolia, has been skeptical of new developments coming before the commission.
Community activist and former schoolteacher Angela Burns, 57, is taking on former Commissioner Angie Gray, 57, for the District 4 seat being vacated by term-limited Commissioner Shirley Johnson.
Petrolia, Casale and Johnson sometimes formed a female triad on a commission long dominated by men, coming together on 3-2 votes to oust the former Old School Square operators, to give commissioners a substantial pay raise and to fire George Gretsas as city manager.
With Casale’s and Johnson’s seats in the election mix, the outcome could shift the balance of power on the commission.

Campaign connections
Long and Burns have teamed up, echoing each other on the issues — particularly that Team Petrolia has created discord, incivility and division.
“I think there’s a toxic culture on our commission right now,” Long said at a Feb. 13 candidate forum at Mt. Olive Baptist Church sponsored by the League of Women Voters.
“Our City Hall is not stable,” Burns said at a Feb. 6 forum at the Opal Grand Resort sponsored by the Beach Property Owners Association.
Long and Burns share the same political consultant — Cornerstone Solutions — and at one event, at the Abbey Delray South senior community, the same person answered questions for them when they could not attend.
If elected, both said they would try to return the running of Old School Square back to the nonprofit that had been in charge before the commission ended the lease because of financial concerns. The commission in February reached agreement with the Downtown Development Authority for it to take over management of the historic campus.
Long and Burns also want to make the Community Redevelopment Agency independent from the commission again. The commission took over the CRA in 2018 because critics said it was pouring money into non-blighted areas and ignoring everything west of Swinton Avenue.
They are backed by developers and the city’s old guard.
Long and Burns, in their campaign disclosures, show donations from Bill Branning, owner of BSA Construction; Chuck Halberg, owner of Stuart & Shelby Development; William Walsh, owner of Ocean Properties; and Scott Porten of the real estate development firm Porten Companies.
The law firm of land-use attorney Bonnie Miskel also donated to Long and Burns, as have a number of high-profile members of the Friends of Delray who are incensed about the changes at Old School Square.
Long certainly has the old guard in his corner. Former mayors Jeff Perlman, Jay Alperin, Tom Lynch, Rita Ellis and David Schmidt have endorsed him. None of them has served in more than a decade.
Perlman is vice president of CDS International Holdings, which was involved in the Atlantic Crossing and Parks of Delray projects.
While their campaigns may have teamed up at times, Burns told The Coastal Star she is her own candidate and not in lockstep with Long.
“The notion that my opponents have made that my views are not my own is a personal attack that I am too ignorant to have my own opinions,” she said. “Anyone who knows me, knows I always speak up and have always worked to better my community.”

Opponents also connected
Casale and Gray appear to have informally teamed up as well, with supporters producing literature touting both candidates. Their signs are coupled along Congress Avenue.
A real estate agent, Gray says her priorities are addressing over-development, workforce and essential housing, traffic, parking and aging infrastructure.
Burns has brought up the fact that Gray in 2015 was acquitted on misdemeanor ethics charges regarding failure to disclose a conflict of interest.

Endorsers and developers
While Long and Gray listed their endorsements at both candidate forums, Casale told the audience at the BPOA town hall that she doesn’t seek endorsements because those special interests always want something in return.
“I want to serve the residents and I want to be beholden to the residents,” she said.
Casale squeaked to victory in 2020 by a 120-vote margin, propelled by her successful opposition to a 102-unit development in her Sabal Lakes neighborhood.
She said voters need to look at development projects that have come before her on the commission and before Long on the Planning & Zoning Board.
Long served on the P&Z Board from 2018 to 2022. His business — Door 2 Door Strategies — does grassroots outreach for politicians and developers.
Casale said project developers look to go beyond what is permitted and she said Long consistently recommended giving them the green light.
“I certainly am not against development. I am certainly against out-of-control over-development and I am definitely for protecting our quality of life,” she said.
Casale has ruffled feathers delving into the city’s finances. At the BPOA forum, she said she found as much as $2.5 million misallocated to the fire department that could go to expand the Freebie electric car service or some other need.

Criticisms and allegations
Long hasn’t been shy about attacking city leadership.
He tangled with Petrolia, Casale and Johnson when he publicly criticized the city’s drinking water quality, leading Petrolia at the time to call unsuccessfully for his removal from the P&Z Board. The current commission has approved a $130 million water treatment plant.
“In the last three years that my opponent has been serving as commissioner, has traffic gotten better, has parking downtown gotten easier, or utility prices gone down?” Long asked at the Mt. Olive forum.
“Do you have confidence in the safety of our drinking water? Is the city involved in less lawsuits?”
Both the Old School Square and the Gretsas decisions have resulted in litigation.
Speaking of litigation, Long on Feb. 9 filed a defamation lawsuit against Chris Davey, who is chairman of the P&Z Board and an ally of Petrolia and Casale.
Long claimed in the complaint that Davey falsely portrayed him as “a corrupt public official,” “burdened by debt” and “committing financial crimes.”
Some of the same allegations surfaced in an editorial by the South Florida Sun Sentinel titled, “The long, hidden reach of developers in Delray Beach.”
The newspaper said land-use attorney Miskel referred clients to Long’s business while she was appearing before the P&Z Board representing a development project. Long said he followed the advice of an assistant city attorney when the Aura Delray Beach project came before the board.
“The city attorney has said I did the right thing by following this process,” Long said when asked.
Long told The Coastal Star that if elected he would “limit my clients to ensure I have no voting conflicts. If there’s ever a question about it, I will request and follow the advice of the City Attorney’s Office.”
Casale and Davey, though, say Long voted on other Miskel projects as well: Parks of Delray, the Central Business District Railroad, Delray Central House and Delray Swan.
Cornerstone, speaking for Long, said there were no conflicts of interest on those projects.
Miskel told The Coastal Star she may have referred two clients to Long. “You know, he did what he was supposed to do as a board member — he disclosed,” she said.

Experience vs. the outsider
In District 4, Gray is the one boasting of government experience. She served on the City Commission for five years and is currently one of only two non-commissioners on the Community Redevelopment Agency’s governing board.
Gray also sits on the Palm Beach County Solid Waste Authority’s Small Business Advisory Committee and had been a member of the county’s Health Care District Board when she was a city commissioner.
She stressed at the forums her “institutional knowledge” and she defended the CRA at the Mt. Olive Baptist Church forum.
Her opponent says the CRA is not looking out for the interests of residents. “The CRA is doing just what CRAs do — and that is to gentrify,” Burns said.
Gray, though, says she is proud that the CRA has started pumping money into the western Delray Beach communities since the agency has been put under the commission. She pointed out that Burns got a $66,000 CRA grant for her business, a daiquiri bar, that went belly-up.
“We helped your business,” Gray told her opponent. “If you look around in our community, a lot of things have been done in the last five years.”
Burns draws a contrast to Gray, painting herself as the only true outsider. When she wasn’t agreeing with Long, Burns hammered on the lack of maintenance in Delray Beach.
“I’m the only candidate running in this race who is not a politician. I’m an educator, and I am a communicator,” she said at the Mt. Olive forum.

Delray Beach candidates on the issues

The following candidate excerpts are from either a forum sponsored by the Beach Property Owners Association (BPOA) or by the League of Women Voters (LWV).

On workforce housing (LWV):
Juli Casale: “The biggest issue we have is the developers are providing what they’re calling workforce housing, but they’re providing it at a very high rate. And it’s not affordable to the people in our city who need housing. So we are making a trade-off with these developers and getting nothing in return.”
Rob Long: “I’ll continue to incentivize developers to build affordable housing units, putting the burden on them, not on taxpayers.”
Angela Burns: “I would look at increasing the budget from the CRA for refurbishing homes — repair the homes that we have. We have a lot of legacy homes in Delray.”
Angie Gray: “I will just continue to do what we’re doing now. I mean, the CRA has been working very successfully.”

On climate change and sea wall heights (BPOA):
Casale: “We had talked about doing incentive programs for the residents, to encourage them on private property to want to do it for themselves. Most people do because their property is getting flooded.”
Long: “This isn’t just a Delray Beach issue. This is a county issue. This is a South Florida issue. This is a coastal issue.”
Burns: “I do believe that we need to have a policy in place that will address the public and private requirements of sea walls, a policy that takes care of the barrier island all together.”
Gray: “The first thing that we do is from Day One, I will get together with our city manager to create a task force.”

On preserving and enhancing public facilities (BPOA):
Casale: “The beach is utilized in a number of different ways and lately we’re even finding people are sleeping out there. … We are working on that in the most compassionate way.”
Long: “Parks and Rec got some of their budget cut and they were handed Old School Square last year. They’re spread so thin. … So, I’ll work toward taking items off their plate.”
Burns: “Delray Beach is very good at building things but has not been very good at maintaining things.”
Gray: “I will make sure that we put in a maintenance program. That is one of my priorities.”

Related story: Delray Beach: Balance of power on ballot in commission elections

By John Pacenti

If Delray Beach voters approve a $100 million public safety bond referendum March 14, $80 million of the proceeds will be used to pay for a new Police Department headquarters — or to cover the cost of a major renovation and expansion of the existing headquarters on West Atlantic Avenue.
The remaining $20 million is targeted for the renovation of aging fire stations, but there have been no specific details released as to how those dollars would be divided.
The police station priority was unveiled to voters at a Feb. 23 town hall meeting at the Old School Square gymnasium, just three weeks before Election Day.
The public safety bond is one of two referendums on the election ballot for voters to decide. The other is a $20 million parks bond, with most of its money going for improvements at Catherine Strong Park. Some money would be used at Miller Park and others in the city.
Residents at the town hall expressed dismay at the lack of information about the bonds since they were announced in September. Some thought the amounts sought were outrageous; others wondered if the money would be enough.
The fire department last year gave renovation estimates of $50 million for its headquarters at 501 W. Atlantic Ave., Station 115 on Old Germantown Road and Station 114 on Lake Ida Road. The city has said the proposed general obligation bond would also pay for renovations for Station 112 on Andrews Avenue and the Ocean Rescue headquarters on Ocean Boulevard. 
But apparently Station 114, the youngest of the bunch, is off the table. Last year, the fire department said it needed $4.6 million to renovate it.
At the meeting, Fire Chief Keith Tomey also addressed concerns voiced repeatedly about a proposal that would move Station 112 to Anchor Park, combining it with Ocean Rescue. Residents said they were worried about the noise or the fate of the playground.
“We are so far away from anything actually breaking ground that there’ll probably be more thoughts and ideas and concepts before we actually decide,” Tomey said.
The city’s literature is clear: The plan is to renovate existing fire stations, not build new ones.
Information was added to the city’s bond referendum website at the end of February to tell voters that the money wouldn’t be used to build new fire stations at Anchor Park or Atlantic Dunes Park on the barrier island.
Friends of Delray, an outspoken nonprofit group that has been critical of city leaders, dedicated a podcast in mid-February to the two bonds, with guests addressing how voters have been kept in the dark.
Former Mayor Jay Alperin said on the group’s webcast that he couldn’t get answers from the city when he asked for specifics earlier this year.
He noted that in the 1980s he was involved in a bond issue where city officials canvassed neighborhoods for months to tell people what was proposed. 
“This is a whole different way of handling a bond and it scares me that people won’t know in time to get really specific on what they are going to get for an increase in their taxes,” he said.
But City Manager Terrence Moore told residents at the town hall that the city’s quality of life would be greatly impacted if the bond initiatives don’t pass.
“Then we are back to the drawing board, so to speak. All the needs and all the projects will be delayed,” he said. The city has simply outgrown its current infrastructure with populations increasing from 47,748 to 66,911 since 1990, Moore said.
Some voters said that the electorate wasn’t ready to make such a big commitment. 
“Most people haven’t heard about this yet and we are supposed to vote on it in a few weeks,” said Karen O’Neill. “And realistically, the concern is, are we ready to vote on this?”
Susan Hansford wanted more specifics on why voters needed to approve such a large amount. “They cannot ask us for this kind of money,” she told The Coastal Star. “It’s asking us to sign a blank check.”
A general obligation bond is paid by revenue from property taxes. The city is required to levy enough property tax to pay for the debt service on the bond.
The estimated cost over 30 years to a resident with a home having $1 million in taxable assessed value would be $428 for the first year of the public safety bond. That amount would decrease to $360 annually when the city retires two previous bonds next February.
The parks and recreation bond is a separate cost. The 30-year estimated cost will be an additional $88 annually for a home with a $1 million taxable assessed value.
The taxable assessed value on a home is almost always less than its market value.
The parks bond is specifically geared to Catherine Strong Park at 1500 SW Sixth St., to pay for covered basketball courts, a covered practice field, walking trails and improvements to restrooms and lighting.
A question was raised at the town hall about whether the money can be used to renovate the city’s golf course. Moore said it could not because the course is a “de facto enterprise.”
Police Chief Russ Mager painted a bleak picture of his current headquarters.
“Roof leaks, tons of leaks,” he said, adding that the department has started converting closets into office space.
The city is contemplating whether to raze the police headquarters and start with a new floor plan, or to add floors to the existing structures.
Tomey spelled out the needs of the fire department, saying many of the existing stations were built 30 years ago when the department had fewer firefighters, fewer vehicles and a nearly all-male staff. Women now make up 20% of the operational staff of the department, he said.
“We’re not quite as bad as the PD where we got people in closets but we’re getting pretty close,” Tomey said. 

An overview of the development plan for the new Town Square shows two buildings,north and south of City Hall, with 898 luxury rentals and about 23,000 square feet of commercial space, plus a hotel and two parking garages with a total of 2,338 spaces. The rendering shows the corner of Boynton Beach and Seacrest boulevards. Rendering provided

Related story: Boynton Beach: City allows zone, site plan changes for The Pierce

By Tao Woolfe

The Boynton Beach City Commission — following a marathon meeting on Feb. 21 lasting until 2 a.m. — granted several approvals to a reimagined Town Square, which will be the largest development in the city’s history.
The overall development plan includes:
• 898 luxury rental apartments spread out into two 80-foot-tall buildings and over four city blocks
• About 23,000 square feet of commercial space
• A hotel
• Interior courtyards filled with trees, a swimming pool and other amenities
• Two parking garages with a total of 2,338 spaces, some 533 of which would be for the public and city employees.
The approvals were granted to Time Equities Inc., a New York-based developer that will take over the long-stalled project from JKM BTS Capital LLC.
Under Boynton Beach’s original agreement with JKM, the $250 million Town Square project was to comprise a mix of municipal buildings and privately developed apartment buildings, a hotel, restaurants and shops.
In return, the city agreed to give JKM the three parcels of land, to pay almost $2 million in cash to the developer and to provide underground water and sewer lines.
The project’s lead developer, E2L Real Estate Solutions, did complete the public buildings — City Hall, the library and an amphitheater — but JKM failed to deliver on the 2,000-space parking garages and the residential and commercial mixed-use project slated for 15.5 acres between Boynton Beach Boulevard and Southeast Second Avenue.
The city sued JKM in November 2020. That suit is still pending, but will be dismissed once several pieces of a recent settlement agreement fall into place.
The major terms of the settlement agreement include:
• The city will be paid $4.5 million by JKM.
• The developer will pay the city another $100,000 in attorneys’ fees for related litigation.
• JKM will sell three parcels of land conveyed by the city for the project to another developer.
• As part of the purchase agreement, the new developer must agree to provide sufficient parking for the project as well as sufficient public parking.
“If any of the conditions are not satisfied, the Settlement Agreement will become null and void,” the agreement stipulates.
The city’s approval of Time Equities’ proposal is the first step toward moving the stalled project forward.
“The project is the largest in the city’s history and has costs close to half a billion dollars,” City Manager Dan Dugger said at the outset of the Feb. 21 meeting. “The scope is so great. The potential is equally great.”
The scope, however, was criticized by members of the public who asked that the density be lessened.
“This is not the downtown the city has been talking about,” said Courtlandt McQuire, a nightclub owner and member of the Planning and Development Board. “It’s high-density housing. Planning and development did not vote in favor of it.”
But the prevailing sentiment among the speakers was that the city is lucky to have such a qualified developer willing to step in to finish the failed project.
“You’ve got a competent, reputable builder here,” said resident Harry Woodworth. “Do we need more lawyers? Do we need more litigation? This is one of the better developments I’ve seen.”
“Density is on the high side, but it’s not Boynton Bland,” said resident Michael Wilson. “This packs in quite a bit of architectural design.”
Robert Singer, Time Equities development director, said the company had worked hard with the city staff to come up with a proposal that has less density — and more amenities — than those outlined by the city’s zoning code.
For example, he said, the new mixed-use city code approved in January allows for 962 dwelling units; building heights of up to 99 feet, and only 10,000 square feet of retail space. The proposal calls for 898 dwelling units, 80-foot building heights, and more than doubles the retail space.
The 28-foot setbacks from the street, designed to make the complex more friendly for pedestrians, are nearly triple the 10-foot setbacks required by code.
“This is a marriage,” Singer said. “It does require some trust.”
After some discussion about further limiting the density, commission members agreed to trust that the developer would not come back to the city to request more units.
Singer said a study found that the flow of traffic would be “sufficient” once the complex is built.
Under an agreement option, Time Equities has elected to pay $4.5 million into a housing trust fund to subsidize workforce housing units in other parts of the city. The program is known as payment-in-lieu of construction of workforce housing.
Time Equities must make the payment — which breaks down into 123 rental units at about $37,000 per unit — when the building permit is issued, Assistant City Manager Adam Temple said after the meeting.
The next steps will be site plan approvals for the next two phases from the City Commission and the Planning and Development Board; permitting; and construction.
Neither the developer nor the city planning staff said how long it might be before the shovels hit the ground or how long construction will take.
Once all the approvals have been gathered, the Town Square developer has 5.5 years to finish the project, according to terms of the agreement.

By Tao Woolfe

Phil Terrano, the man who wants to revive East Boynton Beach’s Little League Park, delivered the payoff pitch to the City Commission last month.
Not only did the commissioners vote unanimously on Feb. 21 in favor of revitalizing the park on Woolbright Road, they asked Terrano to more than triple the size of his proposed indoor training facility.
Terrano had proposed building a 7,500-square-foot training facility. City officials — who had toured similar facilities — originally said they would like him to build a 12,000-square-foot building.
Recreation director Kacy Young, working with the building department, later determined that a 28,000-square- foot facility would better suit the city’s needs. Although it will have a special emphasis on baseball, training at the facility will be for all major sports and could be a draw for professional athletes, Terrano has told the city.
Services offered will include speed, agility, strength and conditioning training, nutrition programs, batting cages, pro clay bullpen mounds, data assessment, physical therapy, chiropractic services, youth camps and scholarship programs.
Terrano, an agent for major league baseball players, has also said he and his investors envision adding turf fields and making the park accessible for people with disabilities. The city would also like to spruce up the existing grass fields, add tee ball and artificial turf fields, and upgrade the bathrooms and concession stands, Young has said.
Terrano had hoped to have the work completed by summer, but Young said a year would be a more realistic timetable.
Neighbors of the park who live in the High Point complex said they welcome the upgrade. A couple of other residents expressed safety concerns and said they would rather see the property used to enlarge the city cemetery.
Terrano said the veterans memorial wall, which is on the north side of the parcel, will be kept intact and meticulously maintained.
“This will be a destination ballpark that everyone can come to,” Terrano said. “I want Boynton Beach to have the best — a field of dreams.”

The Pierce downtown complex with 300 rental apartments and 17,000 square feet of commercial area will be along Federal Highway between Boynton Beach Boulevard and Ocean Avenue. The Hurricane Alley restaurant — the small building at left — is relocated to the project’s northwest corner. Rendering provided

Related story: Boynton Beach: Commission OKs big new Town Square project

By Tao Woolfe

The Boynton Beach City Commission last month approved some site plan changes to The Pierce — a $73 million downtown complex of apartments, restaurants, retail stores and green space at 115 N. Federal Highway.
Affiliated Development received the city’s blessing on Feb. 21 to rezone the 2.3-acre complex to a new mixed-use downtown core designation; tweak the master and site plans; redesign the parking garage; and abandon some alleyways.
Affiliated Development CEO Jeff Burns also showed the city several new artist’s renderings of the complex and described some of its features.
“This is going to be a luxury development with world-class amenities,” Burns said.
The Pierce will offer 150 units each of workforce and market-rate luxury rental apartments. It will have 17,000 square feet of commercial area that will accommodate restaurants, office space and retail stores.
It will feature public art projects including murals and a huge, perforated metal corner treatment on the south parking garage emblazoned with nautical images and lettering that says “Welcome to Boynton Beach.”
“It will look like a postcard,” Burns said, adding that Brightline train passengers will be able to see it and know what city they are passing through.
The restaurants, including a freestanding new building for Hurricane Alley, and wide sidewalks will provide “an active, engaged area with day and night activity,”Burns said.
The lush landscaping, game lawn and redesigned setbacks will provide “a nice level of connectivity.” Even the parking garages will be buffered by trees and shrubs, including “pops of color” from bougainvillea on the upper levels, Burns said.
The garages will offer 450 spaces, 150 of which will be for public parking.
The commission approved most of the changes, but asked the developer to work with merchants, especially the owner of the Ace Hardware, to ensure that if the rights of way are abandoned, delivery trucks have enough room to get in and out.
Burns agreed.
Commissioner Thomas Turkin, who often says he would like to see less density in downtown projects, said he admires the way Affiliated has worked with the community to create The Pierce.
“I think every developer should take the same approach and maximize community involvement,” Turkin said.
Vice Mayor Angela Cruz agreed.
“It’s a beautiful project,” she said. “I am really, really happy this is coming to our downtown.”
The timetable will depend on how long it takes to secure permits, Burns has said.
Among the approvals needed: a master site plan from planning and zoning; a land development permit from the city’s engineering department; site and building permits from the building department, and the completion of several inspections, according to a building department spokesperson.
“We could complete the construction, start to finish, in 20 months,” Burns told the City Commission last summer. “It’s not unreasonable to expect to have a shovel in the ground by next year.”
The project will come before the commission again for more approvals on March 9.

Florida Atlantic University plans to use the closed Living Room Theaters on its Boca Raton campus for student classes and for a digital media production hub. Photo provided

By Christine Davis

Living Room Theaters, which was located in Florida Atlantic University’s Culture and Society building on the Boca Raton campus, closed in February, citing low attendance due to the pandemic.
Independent and foreign films were shown on four screens since 2010 in a public/private collaboration with the university.
Founded in 2006 by Ernesto Rimoch, Living Room Theaters still has locations in Portland, Oregon, and Indianapolis. 
The closure of Living Room Theaters is a loss to the university, its students and the local community, said Carol Mills, professor and director of FAU’s School of Communication and Multimedia Studies.
She also said that “in the School of Communication and Multimedia Studies, we will be retaining at least two of the theaters for student classes because that is foundational for a superior film education experience. We are exploring opportunities to continue community programming, as well.
“The remainder of the space will be converted to a state-of-the-art digital media production hub for filmmaking and entertainment content creation, social media and public opinion research, and broadcast journalism.”

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A new Delray Beach business called Love and Healing Energy features a 24-unit Energy Enhancement System, or EES, that allows the body to recharge itself.
During a session, “you immerse yourself in scalar and bio-photonic waves while listening to high frequency music as you rest in anti-gravity chairs in our spa setting,” according to owner Michelle Kaplan.
The system, invented by Sandra Rose Michael, Ph.D., is not a medical device and does not heal you, Kaplan explains. “What it does do is balance and restore the power of your own DNA so that the body can heal itself.”
The EES brings cells back to that optimal charge so that they can function again and allows the body to do the work that it needs to do.
Clients say that after a session they feel a release of stress, tension and anxiety. Often, they report feeling a reduction in inflammation and general body pain. A feeling of energy and clearness of mind is also commonly reported.
Love and Healing Energy opened in January at 2196 W. Atlantic Ave. For more information, call 561-270-1850 or visit www.loveandhealingenergy.com.
A similar, although not related business, the Energy Room, opened last fall at 200 W. Palmetto Park Road, Suite 204, Boca Raton. For more information, call 561-210-0502 or visit www.theenergyroom.org.

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GoodVets, a national veterinarian partner-led animal hospital platform, has opened a new practice at 9884 S. Jog Road, Suite D6, Boynton Beach, in partnership with local veterinarian Dr. Victoria Tomasino. Tomasino also plans to open a Delray Beach location this spring. GoodVets offers online booking at https://goodvets.com/locations/delray-boynton/boynton.

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Three local resorts have been awarded five-star ratings from the 2023 Forbes Travel Guide.
For the ninth consecutive year, Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa in Manalapan has been awarded a five-star rating. Individually, Eau Spa also won a five-star rating for the ninth year in a row.
“We are thrilled once again to be recognized with the prestigious Forbes Five-Star rating for Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa in 2023, making us only one of seven double-star hotel and spa winners in Florida,” said Tim Nardi, general manager. “It is an extremely difficult test to pass, and our dedicated staff works diligently every day to ensure all our guests receive a first-class experience here in Palm Beach.”
The Four Seasons Resort in Palm Beach is on the five-star list, as well, as it has been for 25 years. The resort’s spa has received five stars from Forbes for seven consecutive years.
“Receiving the Forbes Five-Star distinction for the 25th consecutive year and recognition for our flagship restaurant Florie’s by Mauro Colagreco fills me with immense pride to work alongside each individual who made this possible,” said Mohamed Elbanna, regional vice president and general manager. “Behind every memorable moment is a heartfelt passion to make a connection and leave a lasting impression, whether soaking in sunny oceanside hospitality or taking in the thoughtful touches in their guest rooms, our guests can feel that each detail is delivered with love.”
Also receiving five-star ratings this year were the Boca Raton Beach Club, part of The Boca Raton — and the property’s signature wellness oasis, Spa Palmera.
“This success is a testament to our dedicated team at The Boca Raton,” said Daniel A. Hostettler, president and CEO. “We will continue to raise the bar on our properties to meet and exceed Forbes’ rigorous luxury standards.”

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Under the leadership of Jan Kinder, chair of the Delray Business Partners, the Greater Delray Beach Chamber of Commerce’s leads group has set a record for collaborating with one another. During 2022, its 30 members generated more than $202,221 of gross sales by doing business with one another and by referring their colleagues in the group to potential clients. For more information visit https://delraybusinesspartners.com.

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Steven Abrams has joined LSN Partners as a managing partner of its Palm Beach County practice. Abrams focuses on the transportation and emergency management practice groups. Abrams was elected to the Boca Raton City Council in 1989 and was then city mayor for two terms. Subsequently, he served as a Palm Beach County commissioner, including a term as county mayor. He now joins LSN after 12 years with the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority, where he was chairman and then executive director.
Abrams also has accepted a position as a partner of LSN Law, P.A., where he will assist clients with land use and zoning, contracts and procurement, and permitting and licensing.

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Dr. Safiya George was named to the Boca Helping Hands’ board of directors. George earned her master’s and doctoral degrees in nursing from Emory University and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Duke University in religion and health research. She is currently dean and professor at the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing at Florida Atlantic University. Her primary research area aims to promote the health and holistic well-being of individuals with or at risk for HIV/AIDS. 

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Erin L. Deady, attorney and a certified land planner with an office in Delray Beach, recently assisted multiple cities and counties in securing more than $26 million in funding from the state of Florida. Local projects included in the funding are $700,000 for the city of Boca Raton Lake Wyman Living Shoreline project, and $627,500 for the city’s Old Floresta Innovative Sustainable Stormwater Infrastructure project. The city of Delray Beach received $10 million for the Historic Marine Way Seawall, Roadway and Drainage improvement and $2.5 million for the Thomas Street Stormwater Pump Station improvement. For more information, visit https://erindeadylaw.com

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Volunteers with golf carts are needed to drive World War II and Korean War veterans in the Delray Beach St. Patrick’s Day Parade.
The veterans are grand marshals for the event, which involves a two-mile trip down Atlantic Avenue on March 11. Veterans & Homefront Voices is spearheading the search for volunteers with golf carts to help drive the veterans.
Drivers, veterans and other volunteers will decorate the carts together and then ride down Atlantic Avenue to be cheered on by a throng of spectators.
Golf carts and drivers need to be at Holly House at the First Presbyterian Church campus at 33 Gleason Street by 9:45 a.m. Veterans will complete the parade at around 1 p.m.
A picnic for all vets, their families, and volunteers will be held after the parade from 1-2:30 p.m. at Pompey Park, 1101 NW Second St.
To register as a volunteer, go to bit.ly/DelrayStPattyVetVolsReg.
Veterans who wish to be in the parade can register at bit.ly/StPattyVetFamReg.
For more information, contact Conrad Ogletree at conrad@toplinerev.com.

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The Delray Beach Housing Authority received the October 2022 Community Service Award from the Delray Beach Police Department for its work to improve the quality of life for low- and moderate-income families by providing quality housing options.
“Through our partnership with the (police department’s) community outreach team and our commitment to provide affordable housing, seniors were able to be placed at the Lake Delray Apartments with a federally funded subsidy and have ongoing case management provided to them to ensure that they are able to remain housed and have an opportunity for a sustainable quality of living,” said Shirley Erazo, the housing authority’s president and CEO.
“The housing authority would not have been able to successfully engage these efforts without the commitment and dedicated services of the community outreach team of Delray Beach.”

Send business news to Christine Davis at cdavis9797@gmail.com. Mary Thurwachter contributed to this column.