By Anne Geggis

The cost of staffing a private security guard at the entrance of Point Manalapan has the town considering dialing the detail back to one 12-hour shift instead of around-the-clock coverage.

The bill for 24-hour coverage for next year is going to $270,000, a bump of about 2% from the current year. The cost for the Point’s security detail increased 30% in 2022 when the commission selected a new company in order to improve guardhouse security visibility.

The publicly funded amenity is a unique one among South County municipalities.

Having a security guard at the entrance of the Point only overnight would cut the bill in about half: $134,000. But it might also mean an increase for residents’ insurance bills.

“We’re trying to figure out if it’s a benefit the community needs and wants and can the police supplement that benefit a little bit without having to spend an additional $134,000 a year?” said Eric Marmer, Manalapan’s assistant town manager. “So that’s the question.”

Town Manager Linda Stumpf said, “The chief and I have been talking about it for a while that we didn’t really know if we really need 24 hours” a day.

Police Chief Carmen Mattox noted that the guardhouse itself serves as a kind of deterrent to crime.

Commissioner David Knobel said he wants to be able to talk to residents in the area he represents before the decision gets made.

“It’s not a great time of the year to get public comment,” Knobel said, noting that many residents are out of the area during the summer months.

Mayor John Deese, who lives in that section of town, said that it’s been mentioned to him.

“I’ve heard a lot of positive comments from people about the fact that we have someone there,” Deese said.

A police cruiser parked near there might be just as effective as paying someone to stand there, it was suggested.

Stumpf said she would budget the full, 24-hour cost for now and perhaps roll back that line item if Point Manalapan is amenable.

A memorial with a cross, angel statue, shells and plastic flowers is located in the dune not far from the pumping station at the Boynton Inlet. Coastal Star photo

Related: Lantana news brief: Lifeguards rescue two swimmers from rip current May 5

By Anne Geggis

A 56-year-old Boynton Beach woman drowned along an unguarded area on the northeast side of the Boynton Inlet on May 5 as a current ripped her away from an attempted rescue, according to a Manalapan police report.

Bystanders and police tried to revive Anna Lazur after she was pulled out of the water at about 12:30 p.m. that day. She was taken to Baptist Health Bethesda Hospital East in Boynton Beach in critical condition, according to the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office. Her obituary has since appeared online and a makeshift memorial near where she drowned has sprung up.

Teresa Bowyer, 66, of Hobe Sound, was one of the two friends who went to the beach with Lazur that day. She can’t stop thinking about her friend, the mother of two sons, whom she called or saw almost every day.

“I didn’t want to go in because it was too rough,” Bowyer said. “Anna was a strong swimmer.”

Red flags, which indicate rip currents are present, were out across the inlet at Ocean Inlet Park at the time tragedy struck, one bystander said.

Bowyer said the other friend in her trio, Iwona Wroczynska, 64, of Hobe Sound, first went into the water after they noticed Lazur in distress. And then Bowyer said she saw Wroczynska struggling.

“A big wave came over and separated them,” Bowyer said.

Bowyer said she felt she had no choice but to try to reach Lazur. Going in the water, she found herself panicking.

“I was struggling,” she said.

Wroczynska made it back to shore on her own, but a bystander, Nathaniel Holt, 22, pulled back Bowyer, she said. And then he went to get Lazur.

On the beach, Lazur was unresponsive and a woman who told police she was a nurse, Veronica Jean-Louis, attempted cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

Palm Beach County Fire Rescue arrived on the scene and took the patient to the hospital, the report says.

The report doesn’t mention rip currents, but the phenomenon has been blamed for eight deaths in Florida over four days in late June, according to The Weather Channel. These currents have proven fatal all over the state, mostly in the Panhandle’s Bay County, but also in Martin County.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration describes rip currents as powerful, fast-moving channeled currents that swimmers mistakenly try to resist by swimming straight back to the shore. Swimming parallel to the shore is a better strategy, according to NOAA.

Those are different from rip tides. Rip tides are caused by the swift movement of tidal water through inlets, estuaries and harbors, according to NOAA.

Bowyer said her other friend has sworn never to return to that stretch of the inlet, but she said she’s going because that’s where there’s a memorial to Lazur.

“I just can’t believe she’s gone,” Bowyer said.

Rescue personnel from Palm Beach County and other local and federal agencies search for the 8-year-old boy along the north side of the Boynton Inlet. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

By Anne Geggis and Mary Kate Leming

Police are investigating how a fishing outing turned tragic at Ocean Inlet Park in Boynton Beach early June 13, claiming an 8-year-old boy’s life in Boynton Inlet — widely known in the boating community as one of the state’s most dangerous.

The cause of death for Saul Cerrato-Vasquez of West Palm Beach has not been made public because he is a minor, and the official report had not been released as of early July because it concerned an active investigation.

Initial reports were that the boy and his father were fishing on the park’s south jetty on the west side of the State Road A1A bridge over the Boynton Inlet, authorities said. The call for help came at 6:09 a.m.

Capt. Tom Reyes of Palm Beach County Fire Rescue said that the victim fell into the water when his companion, presumably his father, turned to attend to some fishing equipment.

The boy is one of six children and was attending Hope-Centennial Elementary School, his mother, Roxanne Batista, said in a tearful, brief conversation with The Coastal Star. She acknowledged setting up a GoFundMe account so her son’s remains can be buried in such a way that they grow with a tree. By early July, the effort had raised more than $3,400.

Divers signal to the boat driver that they are clear after placing the body of the boy into a rescue boat. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

The 6900 block of North Ocean Boulevard, or A1A, was briefly closed to traffic as the rescue effort involving dozens of first responders ramped up.

Multiple agencies, including the U.S. Border Patrol and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, responded to the inlet with divers, inflatable boats, Jet Skis and helicopters.

Reyes said the mission was declared a “recovery” operation at 7:55 a.m. The body was recovered nearly five hours after the initial call, about 100 yards from where the boy reportedly fell in. The recovery was on the northeast side of the bridge, however.

The jetty at Ocean Inlet Park is a popular place to fish — one of the few places open to fishing 24 hours a day, seven days a week. That morning, there was a strong current in the inlet with the outgoing tide, but the ocean was relatively calm.

This year, Palm Beach County Fire Rescue has responded to four open water incidents in the Boynton Inlet, twice the number of last year at the same time, said Reyes.

One of those incidents involved another drowning, in May (see related story).

“The width and depth of the Boynton Inlet, along with the strong tidal flow that passes through, can make it very dangerous,” Reyes wrote in an email.

Boca Raton first responders don’t categorize water calls to the inlet in the same way that would allow comparisons, but Michael LaSalle, Boca Raton Fire Rescue’s public information officer, said the level of danger at the Boynton Inlet, from a boating perspective, is far greater than at the Boca Inlet. He would rate it the second- most dangerous in the state, next to Baker’s Haulover Inlet in Miami-Dade County.

Zack Thomas, who writes a blog for Boat Outfitters, which supplies boat builders with custom fabricated accessories, puts Boynton Inlet in the top tier of those that should be used only if you know what you’re doing because of what he calls “machine washing conditions.”

Photographer Tim Stepien contributed to this story.

Ron Reame of Highland Beach says he got involved with governing his condominium ‘because I want to be happy in our 3.2 miles of paradise.’ He says his business background helps. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

Ron Reame never planned on getting involved in condo politics when he and his wife moved from Michigan to Highland Beach 13 years ago.

He never planned on having a leading role in overseeing the multimillion-dollar restoration of his building, which became the first in Florida to comply with the state’s new recertification laws.

And he certainly never planned to be a leader in a David-versus-Goliath struggle as town residents, especially in the south end, took on Palm Beach County in an effort to stop development of a beachfront park.

But then he ran into his neighbor Doug Hillman and before long they were leading the board of their 122-unit building as well as leading the umbrella board at Boca Highland Beach Club & Marina.

Hillman, who died in early 2023, would become mayor and Reame would later step into Hillman’s roles at Boca Highland, becoming the president of both organizations.

“I wasn’t thinking anything about getting involved in a condo association when I got here,” Reame said. “I’d never been involved in a condo association before.”

Although he had been president of his 14-member homeowners association in Franklin, Michigan, he knew getting involved with a condo board would be much different.

Reame has degrees in management from Michigan State University and finance from Wayne State University. He worked for large corporations and ran successful businesses himself. Now he is putting his business background to use as he focuses on keeping the condo associations running smoothly.

Early in his career Reame worked for big names in the corporate world — IBM and General Motors — before running companies in the equipment leasing and computer industries and getting experience in how to run businesses.

Reame said that he started questioning the way things were being run at his building, Dalton Place, soon after moving in. He and Hillman, who moved in about the same time, were playing golf one day and discovered they both had questions.

“The more questions we asked, the more we got involved,” he said.

Reame, 78, says his wife, Nancy, understands why he takes on the challenges that come with leading a condo association.

“I do it because I want to be happy in our 3.2 miles of paradise,” he said. “I want to protect my investment and enjoy living here.”

Reame, who chairs Highland Beach’s financial advisory board, enjoys traveling, one reason he’s not more involved in town government.

— Rich Pollack

Q. Where did you grow up and go to school? How do you think that has influenced you?
A. I grew up in Detroit and attended Michigan State University and Wayne State University with degrees in management and finance. I had solid Midwestern values and came from a working class, loving, Italian family.

Q. What professions have you worked in? What professional accomplishments are you most proud of?
A. I have worked for the most part in the equipment leasing sector and in the computer industry, mostly in services, training, and hardware and software. I have a very varied background in business with both corporate America and starting and running and selling small businesses.

Q. What advice do you have for a young person selecting a career today? 
A. Unless you’re lucky to invent something that no one else has and that everyone on the planet needs, you’re going to actually have to work really hard to be successful. I’ve found that few people actually know what that means. Hence the reason that not everyone does well in business.

Q. How did you choose to make your home in Highland Beach?
A. We looked from South Beach to up past Jupiter. We fell in love with the Highland Beach location and cohesive beach community and the fact that no one, including people who live in Delray or Boca, knows that we’re here.

Q. What is your favorite part about living in Highland Beach? 
A. Superb beachfront location with access to all of the best parts of South Florida and a well-run community.

Q. What book are you reading now?
A. Kill the Father, by an Italian author, Sandrone Dazieri. A murder mystery.

Q. What music do you listen to when you need inspiration? When you want to relax? 
A. I like good old rock ’n’ roll. And for some reason it relaxes me.

Q. Do you have a favorite quote that inspires your decisions? 
A. Make every day count — most important at this age. When I make decisions, I do not take a survey of the people.

Q. Have you had mentors in your life? Individuals who have inspired your life decisions?
A. I’ve been very lucky to have been surrounded by the best family and friends that one could have. Each is an inspiration in many ways to me.

Q. If your life story were made into a movie, who would you want to play you?
A. I suppose it would have to be Bruce Willis. People say daily that we look alike. Unfortunate medical issues for him now.

By Steve Plunkett

A half year after 10 coastal elected officials from southern Palm Beach County resigned their seats rather than be forced to fill out a more-detailed inventory of their wealth, a federal judge has stepped in and put the new state requirement on hold.

U.S. District Judge Melissa Damian issued a preliminary injunction on June 10 barring the Florida Commission on Ethics from enforcing the new requirement.

Prior to the ruling, mayors and elected officials of Florida’s towns and cities were facing a July 1 deadline to file for the first time the state’s probing Form 6 financial disclosure.

Members of the Florida Commission on Ethics “failed to show that (the) requirement that Plaintiffs file Form 6, as opposed to the previously required and less comprehensive Form 1, is the least restrictive means of addressing the government interests at stake,” Damian said.

More than 170 elected officials filed suit seeking to have the Form 6 rule, also known as Senate Bill 774 or SB 774, declared unconstitutional. It alleges a violation of the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment right to free speech for compelling them to make “non-commercial, content-based” speech by saying, among other things, that “My net worth as of Dec. 31, 2023, was $________.”

Damian agreed that the plaintiffs “satisfied their burden of establishing a reasonable likelihood of success on the merits of their claim that SB 774, as applied to them, impermissibly compels content-based speech in violation of the First Amendment.”

“Therefore, Plaintiffs are entitled to an injunction enjoining enforcement of SB 774,” she wrote.

The judge’s ruling came too late for Briny Breezes Town Council President Liz Loper, who submitted her Form 6 on May 30. But she has no regrets about filing early.

“I don’t have a lot,” said Loper, who is listed first of the 170-plus plaintiffs in the lawsuit. “My husband and I don’t own a lot. We don’t have a lot of liabilities, so for me it was actually very, very easy. It was very simple to fill out.”

Other elected officials who joined Loper in filing Form 6 early included former South Palm Beach Vice Mayor Bill LeRoy, Ocean Ridge Vice Mayor Steve Coz, Briny Breezes Alderman Keith Black, Gulf Stream Mayor Scott Morgan, former Delray Beach Mayor Shelly Petrolia, former Delray Beach City Commissioner and current candidate for public defender Adam Frankel, and former Boca Raton Deputy Mayor Monica Mayotte.

The state Ethics Commission advised them that because they had filed Form 6 they would not have to also file a Form 1, Loper said. The commission extended the deadline for city and town officials to file Form 1 until July 15.

Form 6 requires the disclosure of net worth, earnings and tangible assets and has been applied to the governor, state legislators, county commissioners and other officers at the state and county levels since Florida’s Sunshine Law was enacted in 1978. Form 1, on the other hand, lists much less detail of a person’s finances.

Jamie A. Cole, the lead attorney in the federal lawsuit and in a similar lawsuit in a state court in Tallahassee, lauded Damian’s decision.

“This is the most intrusive form of financial disclosure that I am aware of in the entire nation, requiring more disclosure of quintessentially personal financial information than is required of the President of the United States, members of Congress and elected officials in every other state,” Cole, the longtime city attorney of Weston in Broward County, said in a statement.

“Most municipal elected officials receive little to no compensation for their public service, yet they are being asked to disclose their precise net worth, income and assets. This legislative overreach has already resulted in the mass resignation of about 125 municipal elected officials and, if allowed, would discourage many others from serving their communities.”

Richard Radcliffe, executive director of the Palm Beach County League of Cities, said a total of 34 elected officials across the county resigned because of Form 6 — affecting about a third of the local elected boards.

So, the lawsuit “worked out very, very well for everybody,” he said in a June 18 appearance before the Town Commission in Manalapan, which saw five resignations but is not taking part in the lawsuits.

Elsewhere in South County, Briny Breezes had three resignations and Ocean Ridge and South Palm Beach each had one.

Judge Damian took a dim view of the process by which Form 6 was made law, noting multiple times in her order that state senators and representatives cast votes without having researched the need for a change.

“A review of the Committees’ Analyses reveals that neither includes empirical data nor evidence suggesting that either Committee investigated, studied, or solicited reports on the need for municipal elected officials to comply with the more comprehensive requirement of Form 6,” she wrote.

“Nor does either Analysis demonstrate that the Committees considered alternative, less burdensome means that would have addressed the interests at stake or the purpose or intent of SB 774.”

Despite the injunction, Radcliffe said he thinks the Form 6 requirement will reappear for local elected leaders.

“I’m sure it’s not going to go away. This is something that passed almost unanimously in both houses,” he said. “I think we got a reprieve.”

Anne Geggis contributed to this report

Town Attorney Keith Davis will have to phone in to the July 25 meeting of the Briny Breezes Town Council.

The Florida Municipal Attorneys Association, whose members represent 800 cities, towns and villages across the state, is holding its annual conference July 25-27 in Naples, he said.

“For some reason they are making me president of the organization for next year, so I have to be there,” he told the Town Council last month.

Davis, who specializes in representing municipalities, also has Manalapan as a client.

The association is an offshoot of the Florida League of Cities. Among the seminars scheduled for the conference are sessions on “Code Enforcement,” “Keeping Shade Meetings Compliant and Confidential” and “Sea-Level Rise, Resiliency and Land Use.”

“It’s where people like me get smart every year,” Davis said.

Also starting this year, Davis will be an adjunct law professor in Virginia at the College of William and Mary Law School, his alma mater. He’ll spend one week each semester teaching ethics and other subjects.

— Steve Plunkett

Boynton Beach and Delray Beach might be asking what Gov. Ron DeSantis has against them after five of their projects totaling almost $3.5 million were vetoed by the governor in June.

In Boynton Beach, state money for three projects was cut by the governor. They are:

-- $1,018,400 for Sky Lake neighborhood road resurfacing;
-- $600,000 for a new generator at the city’s 911 communications center;
-- $591,066 for a Lake Shore bridge canal project.

Delray Beach saw funding vanish for two Legislature-approved projects:

-- $750,000 for underground utility improvements on Swinton Avenue north of Atlantic Avenue;
-- $500,000 for roadway restoration work on Southwest Eighth Avenue.

Delray Beach did have one of its appropriations go through, according to information provided by state Sen. Lori Berman’s office.

The city will receive $306,000 for an emergency response mobile traffic barrier and first responder protection.

— Staff report

BOYNTON BEACH — Dana Cook died June 8, concluding a full and vibrant life that touched the lives of many people. He was 63.

Mr. Cook is survived by his loving parents, Barbara and Stan Cook; his sisters, Shauna Bowling and Tammie Smolchek; a nephew, Christopher Ratzlaff; and a niece, Olivia Smolchek.

Mr. Cook was much loved and adored by his friends who called him a Renaissance man. He had many friends and was a great friend in return.

He was an avid fisherman and well-known in the Boynton Beach fishing community. He always had a knack for finding the fish and catching the “big one.”

He was also a passionate painter. He loved the arts and his artwork touched many who knew him. Interestingly, he was color-blind. He overcame this challenge by being able to tell the difference among colors by their intensity.

The family will have an intimate ceremony celebrating Mr. Cook’s life.

If you would like to make a donation in his memory go to https://trustbridge.com/foundation/.

— Obituary submitted by the family

By Brian Biggane

After four months of fruitless negotiations, the South Palm Beach Town Council decided at its June meeting not to hire Moonlight Architecture to oversee the design and building of its new Town Hall and has moved on to its second choice, Broward County-based CPZ Architects.

After the decision was made, Town Manager Jamie Titcomb reported CPZ expressed interest in taking over the long-delayed project and contract talks were underway. Titcomb had a proposal in hand by late June and planned to present it to the council at its July meeting.

“The numbers are a bit higher than we had hoped, but it’s a starting point and we’ll go from here,” Titcomb said. South Palm Beach has so far budgeted $4 million for the project.

The council sent out a request for bids in late 2023 and ultimately invited four interested firms to make proposals in February, though by law no monetary terms could be addressed at that time.

Moonlight, which is based in Cincinnati but brought in another firm based in Fort Lauderdale to give its bid a local connection, impressed the council with its extensive background in building with structural insulated panels (SIPs), which the council had previously determined would be used in the construction.

CPZ, which had five representatives at the February meeting, including a manufacturer of SIPs, emerged tied with Moonlight in voting by the council but ultimately Moonlight was selected.

“It was a very hard decision because CPZ is very professional,” Mayor Bonnie Fischer said at the time. “It was very close, but I scored Moonlight higher.”

Moonlight CEO Andy Roehl said at the same meeting that he was “excited to get going,” but Town Attorney Ben Saver, who has been charged with negotiating a contract for the work, has reported back in the ensuing council meetings that talks were hitting one snag after another.

One significant point of contention was the percentage of the total project costs that would go to Moonlight. Saver said his research indicated a typical architect in the construction of a municipal building would receive 7.4%, but Moonlight was demanding 15%.

The council urged Saver to work for a compromise, with Council member Monte Berendes even asking, “Can it be 14-and-a-half?” Saver replied, “You can always ask. (But) I’ve already said that to them several times, and this is still what they’ve come back with.” The town instructed Saver to offer no more than 10%.

There was also confusion over what the town would be getting for its investment. In the Moonlight proposal, the town was left with the impression that Moonlight would have its local representative, Eric Schuermann, on site throughout the construction, meaning the town wouldn’t need to hire an owner’s rep. But Moonlight has not since indicated if he would offer any oversight.

At the council’s May meeting, both Fischer and Council member Elvadianne Culbertson, who was not yet on the council when Moonlight was selected, suggested the town might have to pay more for Moonlight’s expertise.

“We’re working with people who really know what they’re talking about,” Fischer said. “At this stage I would hate to start over again.”

Saver said the main problem he perceived was that Moonlight has previously done little if any work with municipalities and was unfamiliar with the idiosyncrasies of negotiating in the public sector.

One example: When Saver sent Moonlight a 17-page proposal, the firm responded with one running 51 pages. Moonlight was also slow to respond to Saver’s initiatives, sending him one update two hours before the June council meeting, too late for him to pass on any information.

While moving past Moonlight, the council also instructed Titcomb to investigate whether Schuermann might be brought on as a consultant and/or owner’s rep. Saver thought that was a good idea, but the issue will not be dealt with at the present time.

“Other towns would have engineers on staff and they could review and send comments back,” Saver said. “We don’t have that personnel which is why an owner’s rep makes sense. They could help with construction management and help us where we don’t have the expertise.”

Fischer said she was “very disappointed” that talks with Moonlight had been so fruitless for so long and that starting over would mean “another four, five, six months” just to get the design phase done.

To that, Saver responded, “We don’t want to lose sight of what the end goal is, which is to get a new Town Hall. As long as we can get an end product that we can enjoy, that’s the goal.

New vice mayor appointed — South Palm Beach Mayor Bonnie Fischer nominated Council member Monte Berendes at the council’s June meeting to serve as vice mayor, succeeding Bill LeRoy, who resigned in April, citing health concerns. Berendes was voted in unanimously, 4-0. The council has yet to fill LeRoy’s seat and there has been no indication it will do so anytime soon.

Quorum concerns — Council member Elvadianne Culbertson initiated what proved to be a lengthy discussion about attendance of members at council meetings, but ultimately no action was taken. Council member Raymond McMillan called into several meetings last year and is in upstate New York again this summer. As Culbertson pointed out, if even one of the other three members was not present at the same time there would not be a quorum to conduct business. Berendes, who makes occasional trips to Wyoming, promised to fly back to make sure three members would be on hand.

Town to cover cost of plaque — Mayor Fischer proposed that the plaque dedicated to Hatixhe Laiqi, who was killed by a hit-and-run driver last November while crossing State Road A1A, be paid for by the town, and the motion passed unanimously. Laiqi’s son Beckham Laiqi had asked for the plaque and offered to pay for it. Town Manager Jamie Titcomb said the approximate cost will be $350.

Budget sessions — The Town Council scheduled a budget workshop for 1 p.m. Aug. 12. The first public hearing on the proposed budget for fiscal year 2025 will be at 5:01 p.m. Sept. 9 and the final hearing at 5:01 p.m. Sept. 16. The June financial report determined the town was 67% through the fiscal year as of June 11 and had spent 63% of its budget.

— Brian Biggane

Boynton Beach police escort Candace Rojas out of the City Commission chambers after Mayor Ty Penserga cut her off for talking about non-city related items during the public comments portion of the commission's July 2 meeting. Rojas was speaking about efforts to "restore the Republic" when Penserga stopped her, and an earlier speaker who was complaining about the "stolen" 2020 presidential election. The commission immediately voted to adjourn the meeting after the Rojas spat. City of Boynton Beach meeting video

By Larry Barszewski

Fireworks went off early in Boynton Beach as order broke down at the City Commission meeting held two days before the Fourth of July. Commissioners and the public argued over what could and could not be discussed during the public comment period — leading commissioners to abruptly end the meeting before conducting any city business.

Mayor Ty Penserga cut off a speaker who tried to talk about the “stolen” 2020 election. He referred to rules written in the agenda that say comments are only allowed for “any matter within the scope of the jurisdiction of the commission.”

But Commissioner Thomas Turkin was upset when the mayor let the next speaker — resident David Merker — talk about an item that was on the agenda after stopping the previous speaker. “You’re playing God. You’re dictating who can and cannot speak,” Turkin said. “The taxpayer has a right to speak.”

Commissioners took a five-minute recess, but it wasn’t long after they returned that the meeting devolved again. After Merker got to finish his comments, Candace Rojas was next and started talking about Jesus overturning the money-changer’s table, then about the need “to defend the Constitution and restore the Republic.” She also was cut off by the mayor — and ordered escorted out by the police when she refused to stop talking.

Rojas said “Don’t touch me” as the officer approached and Turkin told the mayor, “You’ve got to let them talk.”

Vice Mayor Aimee Kelley then moved to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed unanimously.

A pedestrian navigates signs and construction debris during the revamping of Boynton Beach Boulevard in June. The project is not due to end until late 2025. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Sallie James

A $7.2 million construction project to widen sidewalks, create shared bicycle lanes and repave eastern Boynton Beach Boulevard has residents and business owners fuming about the project’s scope and questionable necessity in an area with little pedestrian traffic.

Since construction started in May, traffic along Boynton Beach Boulevard east of Interstate 95 has been snarled with lane closures. Motorists must navigate a slalom course of heavy equipment, traffic cones and road barricades along the road’s stretch from Northwest Third Street to just east of Federal Highway. 

And the end is nowhere in sight. According to the Florida Department of Transportation, which is administering the multi-tiered project, completion isn’t expected until sometime near the end of 2025.

Businesses owners say they are frustrated already.

At the historic Ace Hardware near the southwest corner of Boynton Beach Boulevard and Federal Highway, business is down about 25%. Employees say it is because the parking lot is so difficult to access amid the chaos of construction.

“It causes a lot of pain,” acknowledged Ace Hardware owner Valerie Pleasanton, whose family-owned store has been at the same location since 1972. “It has killed the traffic here. Our customer base is saying what a pain it is to navigate.”

The improvements are part of the city’s Boynton Beach Boulevard Streetscape Improvement Project, envisioned by the city and the Boynton Beach Community Redevelopment Agency in 2018 as creating a gateway into downtown. The local contribution for the project is $3.1 million. The approximately $4.1 million remaining includes a $2.2 million grant from the Palm Beach County Transportation Planning Agency supplemented by other federal money.

The project includes:
• Milling and resurfacing Boynton Beach Boulevard;
• Expanding existing sidewalks along Boynton Beach Boulevard to nine feet on the north and 15 feet on the south;
• Modifying area drainage;
• Retrofitting pedestrian lighting at signalized intersections;
• Adding a new pedestrian crossing on the boulevard at Northwest Third Street;
• Installing shared lane bicycle markings on both the eastbound and westbound lanes of Boynton Beach Boulevard and West Ocean Avenue;
• Upgrading pedestrian signals, pavement markings and signs.

The overall cost has more than doubled since the project was conceived due to actual and anticipated increases in construction costs, according to a City Commission agenda item from December 2023.

The project’s aim is to make Boynton Beach Boulevard east of I-95 more pedestrian-friendly while adding value to downtown.

“The beautification of the Boynton Beach Boulevard corridor from US1 to NW 3rd Street is a necessity to physically transform the entrance to the city’s commercial core to a more livable downtown,” Assistant CRA Director Timothy Tack wrote in an email.

The improvements “support the community’s vision for a more complete street at the most significant commercial corridor and the city’s namesake,” he added.

The roadwork is coming as the city prepares for three major developments to the south of Boynton Beach Boulevard in the area:

• Ocean One, a 371-unit mixed-use development planned for the east side of Federal Highway;
• The Pierce, a $73 million Community Redevelopment Agency-backed complex of apartments, restaurants, retail stores and green space on the west side of Federal Highway, including the relocation of Hurricane Alley Raw Bar and Restaurant from Ocean Avenue to an expanded space on Boynton Beach Boulevard;
• Town Square, expected to be the city’s largest development, which has been approved along the east side of Seacrest Boulevard. The project is to include 898 luxury apartments, 23,000 square feet of commercial space, a hotel and two parking garages. An earlier phase of the project included the now completed City Hall, library and amphitheater, along with the renovation of the 1927 Boynton Beach High School into the Boynton Beach Arts and Cultural Center. 

Angela Cruz, a Boynton Beach commissioner, a CRA board member and a member of the county TPA board, said the current construction mess will be worth it. 

“It’s going to get better. It’s going to be more walkable. It’s going to be a destination,” Cruz said. “It’s an important project because we are trying to create alternative modes of transportation where people can walk more and use their bikes.”

The streetscape project is a sore spot for city activist Susan Oyer, who nicknamed it “the Boynton Beach disaster.” 

“It was budgeted for $3 million and it’s now $7 million. You need to put a stop to this,” Oyer told city commissioners during a June 18 commission meeting. “Where are you getting the $4 million for a road renovation that we absolutely do not want, do not need, and is injuring our city?”

At the Meineke Car Care Center at 319 E. Boynton Beach Blvd., owner Enrique Concha estimated his business has plummeted by 40% since construction started in May. He hopes the improvements are worth it.

“Everyone wants to avoid it. I’m OK with them fixing things, but I believe they could do it faster,” he said.

“It’s been very inconvenient for our customers to make their way over,” said his son, Daniel Concha, a manager, as he gazed at a line of road barriers and cones. “I also don’t like the way some of the businesses have personalized entrances from Boynton Beach Boulevard. Customers are asking what the hell is going on.”

Pleasanton from Ace Hardware wonders about the logic behind the project and worries that construction was ill-timed with the start of hurricane season.

“We don’t have the entertainment or the draw to support 15-foot sidewalks, and they are narrowing the lanes to widen the sidewalks,” Pleasanton said, shaking her head. “And during hurricane season, if we have a really bad hurricane, this is the main evacuation route.”

Some drivers may choose Woolbright Road as an alternate route to avoid the mess, but Woolbright will be experiencing its own traffic problems next year. Plans are in the works for a major construction project at Woolbright and Seacrest Boulevard. It will add a right-hand turn lane for eastbound Woolbright Road traffic turning onto southbound Seacrest.

The existing travel lanes will have to be moved northward to accommodate the extra lane.

By Christine Davis

In collaboration with IBM, the software company Innovative Solutions has opened an office in Boca Raton, where the company expects to employ more than 100 people by 2026.

Innovative Solutions, based in New York and using artificial intelligence technology, brings Generative AI (GenAI) solutions, AI-infused managed security services, and an AI-infused observability platform for cloud-based applications and businesses to customers from its new headquarters on Palmetto Park Road at Interstate 95.

Via AWS Marketplace, customers can more easily access offerings developed by Innovative Solutions that embed IBM technology to help modernize businesses.

“Our services combine best-in-class software from IBM with best-in-class cloud infrastructure from AWS, providing real-time value that can’t be found anywhere else,” Justin Copie, CEO of Innovative Solutions, said in a news release. “We’re already based on the East Coast, and are excited to bring more jobs to Boca Raton, which has a rich history in technology.”

Copie said IBM is known for creating a strong sales force and a business philosophy that emphasizes excellent customer service, superior performance and respect for the individual.

“Innovative Solutions could not be more aligned,” he added. “Our partnership with IBM now enables us to do exactly that.”

Innovative Solutions’ first corporate headquarters is in Henrietta, New York, and a third office space is in Austin, Texas. For more information, visit www.innovativesol.com.

***

***

Basis Industrial purchased the 2,272-square-foot property at 347 NE Fifth Ave., Delray Beach, on May 24 for $1.57 million. Basis is headquartered in Boca Raton, and the Delray Beach property will serve as its new headquarters.

The seller was 347 Core LLC, managed by John Henry Goldman. Basis Industrial President/COO Anthony Scavo represented the company in the transaction. Scott Pressman of the Keyes Co. represented the seller. Banesco is providing financing for the purchase.

Founded in 2012 by Jay Massirman, Stephen Garchik and Daniel Weinstein, Basis Industrial owns more than 4 million square feet of self-storage and industrial real estate in Florida, Alabama, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Texas, and in the Boston and Los Angeles areas. In 2023, Basis Industrial was ranked No. 1 on South Florida Business Journal’s 2023 “Fast 50” list — the 50 fastest-growing private companies in South Florida.

***

John and Barbara Simoni recently sold their 9,486-total-square-foot residence at 174 W. Coconut Palm Road, Boca Raton, and the adjacent 0.34-acre lot in the Royal Palm Yacht & Country Club for $19 million.

The buyers are the M Sean Revocable Trust and the M Beth Revocable Trust, both listing Jonathan Bloom as trustee.

The Simonis bought the 0.42-acre lot along Buccaneer Palm Waterway for $1.55 million in 1998 and built their home the following year. They purchased the vacant neighboring lot for $2.88 million in 2005. David W. Roberts with Royal Palm Properties brokered the latest deal.

***

RealTrends Verified, the real-estate performance platform previously known as America’s Best, has published its list of top agents compiled from 2023. RealTrends Verified is part of HousingWire and a sister company to Altos Research. 

The rankings were open to real estate professionals who chose to participate in the project, based on their reported sales volume and other criteria over 2023. To be considered for a ranking, an agent must have closed at least 40 transaction “sides” or recorded $16 million in closed sales volume for 2022, according to RealTrends. Teams must have closed 60 residential transactions or $24 million in closed sales volume. 

Under the rules of the survey, agents and brokers who handled both sides of a transaction — representing buyer and seller — were allowed to double the final dollar figure when they calculated their total sales volume for the sale. Following are agents and teams from south Palm Beach County who made the lists.

• Agents by sides: Ralph Harvey III, List With Freedom, Boynton Beach, with 2,692 sides, ranked No. 2 nationally and No. 1 in Florida; Paul Saperstein, eXp Realty, Delray Beach, 182 sides, ranked No. 37 nationally and No. 5 in Florida; Nicole Bouchard, Keller Williams, Boca Raton, 137 sides, ranked No. 76 nationally and No. 11 in Florida; Michael Ledwitz, Engel & Volkers, Boca Raton, 109 sides, ranked No. 151 nationally and No. 14 in Florida; and Stacy McNall, Coldwell Banker, Delray Beach, 83 sides, ranked 367 nationally and No. 25 in Florida.

• Agents by volume: Ralph Harvey III, List With Freedom, Boynton Beach, with $826 million, ranked No. 3 nationally and No. 1 in Florida; David Roberts, Royal Palm Properties, Boca Raton, $291 million, ranked No. 21 nationally and No. 5 in Florida; Michael Ledwitz, Engel & Volkers, Boca Raton, $142 million, ranked No. 102 nationally and No. 18 in Florida; Bonnie Heatzig, Douglas Elliman, Boca Raton, $129 million, ranked No. 120 nationally and No. 21 in Florida; and Marcy Javor, Signature One Luxury Estates, Boca Raton, $112 million, ranked No. 148 nationally and No. 29 in Florida.

• Medium teams by sides: The Julian Soffer Team, Keller Williams, Boca Raton, with 162 sides, ranked No. 165 nationally and No. 10 in Florida.

• Large teams by sides: The Platt Group, Compass, Boca Raton, with 185 sides, ranked No. 256 nationally and No. 22 in Florida; and The Rucco Group, RE/MAX Direct, Delray Beach, 164 sides, ranked No. 341 nationally and No. 35 in Florida.

• Mega-teams by sides: The Saperstein Group, eXp Realty, Delray Beach, with 428 sides, ranked No. 109 nationally and No. 8 in Florida.

• Small teams by volume: Candace Friis Team, Corcoran, Delray Beach, with $216 million, ranked No. 27 nationally and No. 5 in Florida; D’Angelo/ Liguori, Boca Raton, $204 million, ranked No. 30 nationally and No. 6 in Florida; The Randy & Nick Team, Douglas Elliman, Delray Beach, $119 million, ranked No. 121 nationally and No. 23 in Florida; Susan Demerer, Compass, Boca Raton, $89 million, ranked No. 234 nationally and No. 32 in Florida; and The Bloom Haym Group, Boca Raton, $81 million, ranked No. 291 nationally and No. 38 in Florida.

• Medium teams by volume: Pascal Liguori Group, Premier Estate Properties, Delray Beach, with $207 million, ranked No. 28 nationally and No. 4 in Florida; The Senada Adzem Team, Douglas Elliman, Boca Raton, $200 million, ranked No. 32 nationally and No. 5 in Florida; Jennifer Kilpatrick Team, Corcoran, Delray Beach, $135 million, ranked No. 110 nationally and No. 14 in Florida; and Alicia Gold, Compass, Boca Raton, $95 million, ranked No. 236 nationally and No. 28 in Florida.

• Large teams by volume: The Platt Group, Compass, Boca Raton, with $173 million, ranked No. 65 nationally and No. 8 in Florida; The Buchbinder Group, Compass, Boca Raton, $105 million, ranked No. 206 nationally and No. 28 in Florida; Jonathan Postma Group, Coldwell Banker, Boca Raton, $86 million, ranked No. 305 nationally No. 38 in Florida; The Rucco Group, RE/MAX Direct, Delray Beach, $79 million, ranked No. 360 nationally and No. 43 in Florida.

• Mega-teams by volume: The Koolik Group, Compass, Boca Raton, with $234 million, ranked No. 93 nationally and No. 9 in Florida; and The Saperstein Group, Delray Beach, $167 million, ranked No. 160 nationally and No. 15 in Florida.

***

Customers who filled their prescriptions at Huber’s in Delray Beach learned the historic pharmacy had closed for good on June 22 after a brief note announcing the closure was abruptly posted on the door, citing financial reasons for the closure.

Store manager Art Ayala said the pharmacy had been at 321 E. Atlantic Ave. for 34 years. The downtown fixture was previously located at 400 E. Atlantic Ave. The store is owned by SBF Investments, which also owns a sister store, Green’s Pharmacy, at 151 N. County Road, Palm Beach.

“The profit just was not there anymore for that type of business. The owners decided it wasn’t worth (additional investment),” Ayala said.

Prescriptions are being transferred to Green’s Pharmacy and can subsequently be transferred elsewhere at the customer’s request, he said. However, prescriptions that were being delivered by Huber in Delray Beach will continue to be delivered, with no change necessary, Ayala said.

“The only difference is that they will say ‘Green’s Pharmacy,’” he said.

***

The latest in ongoing renovations at the Seagate in Delray Beach is happening at the Seagate Beach Club, where the two-story, 250-seat, 3,500-square-foot oceanfront clubhouse is undergoing a dramatic refresh. 

The clubhouse closed for renovations on May 20 and is scheduled to reopen in October.

Guests still have access to the beachside pool, Shoreline Grill, and the outdoor bar and beach service.

The renovation will include architectural and interior design updates by New York’s Dash Design. The interiors will embrace the Colonial style of the building with classic design elements.

The Seagate Beach Club was established in the 1950s. The original structure was damaged during Hurricane Wilma in 2005, resulting in a new two-story clubhouse.

“The Seagate Beach Club has a storied history in Delray Beach, creating memories for locals and visitors alike, and we are so excited to unveil the new clubhouse in the fall,” said Alex Schnoeller, managing director of the Seagate. 

The Seagate recently completed a major renovation to the Seagate Golf Club,   including its Joe Lee design 18-hole championship course and practice facilities and the property’s 41,064-square-foot clubhouse.

Renovation of guest rooms, the lobby, dining room and meeting rooms at the hotel will be undertaken in coming months.

***

Yearning for a staycation? The Seagate is offering summer discounts to make that a more affordable goal. The hotel’s Stay Golden package includes 30% off room accommodations and two complimentary cocktails to enjoy poolside when booking a minimum one-night stay now through Nov. 13. The Seagate Shotmaker package includes 50% off on a full round of golf along with up to 20% off accommodations and two gratis cocktails when booking through Sept. 30. The hotel is also offering a Fourth Night Free deal through Oct. 31.

The Seagate is at 1000 E. Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach. For more information, call 561-665-4800 or visit seagatedelray.com.

***

Mark J. Suchinski, former CFO of Wichita-based Spirit AeroSystems, was appointed senior vice president and chief financial officer of The Geo Group Inc., a Boca Raton-based corporation that operates private prisons and immigration detention centers. 

***

Recently promoted by Lifespace Communities, Nicki Anno became assistant executive director at Harbour’s Edge in Delray Beach. Anno joined the organization in March 2023 as an administrator, overseeing operations of the senior living community’s health center.

“Nicki has been an integral part of our team,” said Harbour’s Edge Executive Director Jim Horsman. “In addition to her health care operations experience, Nicki is passionate about serving our residents and supporting our team members. She is committed to finding solutions to any challenges that arise and creating opportunities where everyone can thrive.”

***

Gina Carter, the city of Delray Beach’s director of communications, achieved the Florida Municipal Communicators Association’s Certificate of Excellence/Local Government Communicator for her work, training, and participation in the organization’s programming.

“Her innovative approach to engaging with our community through various digital platforms, including social media, the city’s digital magazine, and the city’s new app, has significantly increased transparency and public participation,” said Delray Beach City Manager Terrence Moore. “Gina’s dedication to clear and effective communication has ensured our residents stay well-informed and significantly strengthened the bond between our city government and the community.” 

***

Baer’s Furniture Co. Inc. was honored for its commitment to philanthropy at the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County’s Business  & Professional Industry Icon event, held recently at the federation’s Zinman Hall.

“Celebrating our family’s legacy and philanthropic endeavors at the B&P Industry Icon event is a profound honor,” said Cathy Baer. “As we stand in our fourth generation of business leadership, we remain deeply committed to nurturing spaces where families can come together and forge memories that will endure for generations to come. This recognition only fuels our dedication to serving and uplifting our community.”

***

Members from chapters of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. in Belle Glade and Wellington, and members of Omicron Delta Zeta in south Palm Beach County, joined with 90 activists from the League of Women Voters of Palm Beach County to visit 16 high schools, where they helped 1,146 seniors register to vote prior to their graduation ceremonies.

“Of course, now that they are registered, our next job is to get them to turn out and vote,” said Pamela Maldonado of the league’s voter services committee. “By encouraging young voters to actually vote, we want to help establish a lifelong habit of voting in every election.”

***

American Humane, a national animal welfare organization with headquarters in Palm Beach, has kicked off its 14th annual Hero Dog Awards. It’s a nationwide competition that recognizes dogs that do extraordinary things — like saving lives on the battlefield, aiding humans with sight or hearing, and overall contributions to people’s well-being.

“Through the Hero Dog Awards, we honor and celebrate the immense hope, courage and quality of life that dogs bring to our lives,” said Robin Ganzert, president and CEO of American Humane. “We look forward to sharing inspiring stories of these canines with the voting public so we can give our hero dogs the recognition they truly deserve.”

 To nominate a dog, visit HeroDogAwards.org through Aug. 1. 

Sallie James and Mary Thurwachter contributed to this column.

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

By Anne Geggis and Mary Kate Leming

A fishing outing turned tragic at Ocean Inlet Park in Ocean Ridge early Thursday, with multiple agencies rushing to respond to reports of a missing child presumed to have fallen into the water, only to recover his body hours later.

Authorities said the 8-year-old boy was fishing with his father when he disappeared from his side at about 6:30 a.m. 

The pair were fishing at Ocean Inlet Park, on the south jetty on the west side of the State Road A1A bridge over the Boynton Inlet,  which is also called the South Lake Worth Inlet, authorities said.

Family members react after the child's body was found. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

One of the pair turned to attend to some fishing equipment and when he looked up, his fishing companion was gone, said Capt. Tom Reyes of Palm Beach County Fire Rescue.

The 6900 block of North Ocean Boulevard (A1A) was briefly closed to traffic as the rescue effort involving dozens of first responders ramped up.

Officials said that at 10:39 am, the Boynton Beach Fire Rescue Dive Team found the child's body on the north side of the inlet. The Medical Examiner's Office is now investigating.

Divers, firefighters and police look along the north wall of the inlet for the missing boy. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

Multiple agencies, including the U.S. Border Patrol and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, responded to the inlet with divers, inflatable boats, Jet Skis and helicopters.

“We have numerous resources checking the waterways,” said Teri Barbera, a spokeswoman for Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw, as the effort got underway.

Reyes of Palm Beach County Fire Rescue said the search mission was declared a “recovery” operation at 7:55 a.m..

The jetty at Ocean Inlet Park is a popular place to fish — one of the few places in the county open to fishing 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Thursday morning, there was a strong current in the inlet with the outgoing tide, but the ocean was relatively calm.

Rescue efforts off the coast of Ocean Ridge included helicopters, Jet Skis, boats and divers. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

City Commission’s decision could add years to massive construction project

Atlantic Crossing wanted to use the existing parking lot (left) on the west side of Veterans Park as a staging area for its second phase. The project is immediately west of the parking lot. Developers would have replaced the existing lot with a new lot on the north side of the park (right), eliminating existing lawn bowling and shuffleboard courts. Eventually, as the rendering shows, developers planned to replace the existing parking lot with additional greenspace for the park. Google Maps and Edwards Co.

By Anne Geggis

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

A representative for the company developing Atlantic Crossing told the Delray Beach City Commission the mixed-use project could shorten its construction work by two years if the current parking lot for the downtown park on East Atlantic Avenue along the Intracoastal Waterway could be used as a construction staging area for four years.

Previous commissioners agreed with the plan, in theory, that would have redesigned the park and have it back in working condition after construction was finished — and also included a $1 million investment from the developer to improve the park. Those plans eventually would have converted the current parking area into additional greenspace.

“It does expedite the construction portion of this overall phase to completion by two years, which would reduce disruption to the neighborhood, and gets the benefits of the … added tax base on the tax rolls much quicker,” said attorney Bonnie Miskel, representing the developer, Edwards Cos. Atlantic Crossing opened its first phase in May 2023 after more than a decade of planning.

New commission changes direction

But, in what is probably the most dramatic reversal so far resulting from a new majority being elected to the commission dais earlier this year, the first look at concrete plans that would eradicate the area’s last lawn bowling courts for at least four years – along with less-used shuffleboard courts – got the thumbs-down from the commission.

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

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

 Atlantis resident John Everett bowls during a match at Veterans Park as Richard Flater focuses on his own game. File photo, Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

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

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

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

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

Carney, Vice Mayor Juli Casale and Commissioner Tom Markert ran for commission seats promising to constrain overdevelopment’s effects on residents.

A missed opportunity?

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

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

Commissioner Rob Long supported the proposal.

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

The Hampton Social (far left) and Le Colonial (far right) restaurants opened as part of Atlantic Crossing's first phase. They are at the northeast corner of Atlantic Avenue and Northeast Sixth Avenue (North Federal Highway) in downtown Delray Beach. File photo, Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

Past vs. future

Residents who spoke evoked the historic nature of the current complex, which opened in 1962, and Atlantic Crossing’s history that has involved the city giving up roadways and agreeing to increased height and density for the development. Resident Sandy Zeller, 80, noted that the city and Atlantic Crossing had been in a lawsuit and the settlement doesn’t mention changes to Veterans Park. Zeller is an executive board member of the Delray Beach Preservation Trust, which campaigned against the planned changes to the park.

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

By Brian Biggane

Contract negotiations to build a new South Palm Beach Town Hall have come to a standstill over how much the architects will receive for project design and oversight, Town Attorney Ben Saver told the Town Council at its May meeting.

Moonlight Architecture, which was selected by the council to design and oversee construction of the long-awaited structure, is demanding 15% of the total cost of the project as its fee. With the total cost expected to be in the $3.5 million-to-$4 million range, that comes to $525,000 to $600,000.

“They’re pretty set on 15% of the total construction costs (as) a reasonable fee for their services,” Saver told the council. “It’s quite high.”

Saver said a calculator designed by the Florida Department of Management Services suggests the figure for a municipal building should be closer to 7.4%, or half the proposed rate.

Council member Elva Culbertson and Mayor Bonnie Fischer both said Moonlight may deserve increased compensation, suggesting Moonlight will be offering more than the typical architect/engineering firm.

“We’re getting a service that extends well beyond the construction,” said Culbertson, who was participating in her first council meeting since being appointed in April to fill a vacancy.

“What concerns me,” Fischer added, “is we’re doing this in SIPs (structurally insulated panels), and this architect is very familiar with SIPs. What we want in this town is something that’s very energy efficient, something to put us on the map, something green and very, very innovative.

“We’re working with people who really know what they’re talking about. At this stage, I would hate to start over again.”

When asked why contract numbers weren’t included in the process when Moonlight was selected from among four companies bidding for the contract earlier this year, Saver said Florida law demands the firm be selected before contract negotiations begin.

Saver said another problem was the details of the contract proposal he received from Moonlight. After sending a 17-page proposal, he said he received a response that ran 51 pages and used $7 million as the cost of the building. He said he had only received a proposal for a building in the $3.5 million-$4 million range two hours before the council meeting and had yet to study it in full.

“For a $3.5 million building, their proposal would be for conceptual design alone,” he said. When the council picked Moonlight, both sides agreed the town would save money because the firm would act as the owner’s rep in dealing with the construction firms hired to build the structure.

Saver said that proposal would cost $450 per square foot for a 7,778-square-foot building, which would put Moonlight’s fee at $500,000 for both design and oversight. Town Manager Jamie Titcomb said the $4 million total cost would be within the town’s budget.

Saver said he didn’t think Moonlight, which is based in Cincinnati but has promised oversight from a partner company based in Fort Lauderdale, has ever contracted with a Florida municipality, which might be a reason the 15% proposal seemed, at least to him, to be off base.

“Can it be 14-and-a-half?” Council member Monte Berendes asked.

“You can always ask,” Saver replied. He then added about the need to bring the numbers down, “I’ve already said that to them several times, and this is still what they’ve come back with. They’re coming back with how a contract works in the private world. So again, this has not been a typical negotiation.”

The council ultimately directed Saver to go back to Moonlight with a proposal that it would receive 10% of the total cost and report back at or before its June meeting. Fischer also indicated Eric Schuermann, who is Moonlight’s South Florida representative, will be invited to attend.

Drivers stunned by bills from private lots; new state law aims for clearer experience

By Charles Elmore and Anne Geggis

Drivers say they have been stunned by bills of $55, $90 or more from private parking lots in southern Palm Beach County, with some reporting they even got charged for rolling through without parking, records requested by The Coastal Star show.

“I’ve fallen victim,” Delray Beach Commissioner Rob Long said at a May 3 meeting of getting billed about $70 for parking on a movie trip.

“Yeah, it’s crazy,” Long said. “Even if you know Delray, it’s easy to fall into that trap by accident. These lots — they are predatory.”

State regulations limit what local governments can do about such concerns, but a new Florida law effective July 1 addresses what private parking lot signs must say, sets down rules for appeals and late fees, and establishes a 15-minute grace period for those just passing through.

Whether that quells the waves of complaints remains to be seen. Gripes about private lots in the region, including in Boca Raton and Delray Beach, join a growing pile of similar concerns statewide. 

The complaints take issue with systems that tout the convenience of paying by phone or other digital means but deliver charges, sometimes by windshield notices or conventional mail, that drivers say left them outraged.

The Florida Attorney General’s Office signed an “assurance of voluntary compliance” last year with at least one parking company operating in southern Palm Beach County, among other places, requiring a payment of $30,000 from the company, records show.

In Delray Beach, city officials have discussed ways to call the public’s attention to differences between city lots and private lots, which may have signs of different colors.

Complicating matters is that the same phone app may be used at some public and private lots.

“You know, we have to be mindful that unfortunately, we don’t have the ability to control predatory practices,” City Attorney Lynn Gelin said at the May 3 meeting. “We get the calls all the time because people do think that they are city lots.”

Professional Parking Management
The attorney general’s office agreement was with Professional Parking Management Corp., which has offices in Fort Lauderdale. Without admitting wrongdoing, the company agreed to pay $30,000 to the state for restitution to eligible consumers, documents show.

The agreement, signed Sept. 1, calls for the parking company not to engage in unfair or deceptive business practices and to disclose certain information on signs at the lot about what financial obligations drivers can face. The company also agreed not to call its fees a “ticket” or “citation” such as a governmental body might enforce.

Parking companies sometimes use license plate readers. These can generate photographic snaps that are incorporated into letters telling drivers they owe money, not unlike mail that consumers can get from agencies that run Florida’s Turnpike or other toll roads.  

Scores of complaints in the public record against Professional Parking Management in the last 18 months include several from drivers living or parking in southern Palm Beach County.

‘An attempt to intimidate’
James Cioffi of Lake Worth Beach said he parked at a lot in Boca Raton with no notice of a cost for parking that he could see. When he came back to his car, there was a “parking charge notice” saying he owed $55 to park and pay online.

Then he received a letter from Professional Parking Management saying he owed $90, he said.

“There is an attempt to intimidate stating they would tow my car and refer to collections,” he wrote in a complaint to the attorney general.

Sharron Feldman of Boynton Beach said she was charged $96.30 for parking in a lot in Delray Beach.

She drove through the lot but never parked there, she said.

“It is outrageous that this company can demand money for a service that we never used, threaten us with a collection agency, and force us to waste a good deal of time and energy on this matter,” she said.

Chase Krusbe of Jupiter said he parked in a garage in Delray Beach and thought he paid the parking charge when he left. Then he got notices saying he owed $96.75.

“They claim the charge is for ‘overstaying,’” he said. “I don’t know what that means. I parked. I paid. I left.”

Salvatore LaRusso of Wellington said he parked in a lot in Boca Raton, paid $10.55, but still got billed an additional $55. He asserted receipts showed he had not exceeded the paid time but he received warnings his car could be booted at the company’s managed lots if he did not pay up.

Laura Levine of Boca Raton said she parked in a handicapped spot in Delray Beach to accompany her 92-year-old mother at a restaurant gathering. She believed she paid correctly using a phone app because a response message said she was “done.”

Then came notification claiming she owed $55.

“I shouldn’t have to pay this ticket because the app didn’t work and I even tried to pay by other methods,” she said.

Catherine Valenzuela of Delray Beach said, “Professional Parking Management sent a notice of collection and is charging an excess amount of $90 for less than one hour.”

Company response
In a statement, PPM said it is committed to resolving such issues.

“Over the last year or so, we have significantly increased and enhanced our customer service functions and we feel that is helping parkers resolve issues they may have with the technology or process of parking and paying for parking in lots we work with,” the statement said. “We also feel that the new law and its requirements, most of which our company was already using as industry best practices, will also help make parking and the process of paying for parking easier on the driving public.”

The company said it provided “feedback to the legislature throughout the process” of crafting the new law.

PPM’s statement said, “The signage and grace period requirements in the law make it clear that if a parker disagrees with the posted rules and rates, they can leave without penalty.”

A complicated new law
Florida HB 271 passed in this year’s state legislative session and was approved by the governor April 5. It takes effect July 1.

Regarding signs at the private lot, it requires: “The signage must state that the property is not operated by a governmental entity, list the rates for parking charges for violating the rules of the property owner or operator, provide a working phone number and an e-mail address to receive inquiries and complaints, and provide notice of the grace period and appeal process provided by this section.”

Lots of signs, with lots of words, but not the cost to park. What’s a driver to do? A new state law that takes effect in July will require additional information be provided at privately owned parking lots, but it won’t make the signs that much easier to understand. Staff photos/The Coastal Star

Such signage may be regulated by city and county governments, the law says, though another section says local governments cannot ban such parking businesses or otherwise regulate their rules and rates.

Among other features of the new law, parking companies cannot sell the personal information of customers.

Lot operators must allow a 15-minute grace period without charges for someone who drives through but does not actually park. Many private lots do not have traditional gates, booths, attendants or payment kiosks, so it can be an unfamiliar or confusing setting for a number of folks.

Under the new law, late fees are not allowed until certain notice periods and appeals processes have been followed. Reading and understanding these can get a bit more complicated than the typical shopper might expect on a day of errands.

“An invoice for parking charges issued under this section must include a method to dispute and appeal the invoice by a party who believes they have received the invoice in error,” the text of HB 271 says. “Such dispute must be filed with the parking lot owner or operator within 15 days after the invoice is placed on the motor vehicle or after the postmarked date of the mailing of the invoice.”

In turn, the parking lot owner or operator will have five business days in which to render a decision on the dispute, the text says. The consumer then has 10 days to appeal the decision of the parking lot owner or operator.

The final call
“The appeal must be determined by a neutral third-party adjudicator with the authority to review and approve or deny the appeal,” the law says. “If the appeal is approved, the invoice shall be dismissed. If the appeal is denied, the party shall pay the original invoice within 15 days after the decision of the adjudicator.”

Republican Rep. Demi Busatta Cabrera of Coral Gables, a co-sponsor of the bill with Rep. Vicki Lopez (R-Miami-Dade County), said that, if there’s a dispute over fees, the legislation calls for the parking company to hire the third-party adjudicator to make the final call.

She said she didn’t see a need for the law to contain prescriptions about parking prices.

“Rep. Lopez and I worked to ensure the public is protected while also balancing private property rights, by allowing the market to dictate what the private companies charge and ensuring their practices are fair and not predatory,” Busatta Cabrera said. 

The question remains whether all this will clear up heartburn for drivers like Robin Rothman of Boynton Beach, who parked in a private lot in Delray Beach and saw a sign with a bar code for payment, Rothman reported in a complaint. After entering a license plate number and phone number, Rothman recounted being charged $19.80 by credit card.

Rothman received a letter saying $64.12 was due for nonpayment. Attempts to explain or resolve the situation led to frustration, Rothman reported.

“It is really sad when companies can take advantage of people outright and there is nothing we can do about it,” Rothman said.

Related: If disaster strikes, municipalities may need millions ready to spend  

Critically eroded beaches make coast more vulnerable as storm season arrives

Manalapan: Town to start committee to gather facts about what’s happening with beach

Hurricane season: June 1-Nov. 30
Here’s a look at what to expect based on this year’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) forecast.

How active a season?

There’s an 85% chance of an above-normal Atlantic hurricane season. An average season has 14 named storms, seven hurricanes and three major hurricanes. A separate Colorado State University forecast says there’s a 61% probability of a named storm striking within 50 miles of Palm Beach County, with a 34% probability of a hurricane hitting and a 15% probability of a major hurricane coming ashore.

How many storms?

NOAA estimates there will be 17 to 25 named storms, with eight to 13 becoming hurricanes, and four to seven being Category 3 or higher. These predictions are the highest ever for NOAA, which started issuing May forecasts and August updates in 1998.

What’s behind the prediction?

NOAA expects “near-record warm ocean temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean, development of La Niña conditions in the Pacific, reduced Atlantic trade winds and less wind shear, all of which tend to favor tropical storm formation.”

What are the storm names?

This year’s reserved names are Alberto, Beryl, Chris, Debby, Ernesto, Francine, Gordon, Helene, Isaac, Joyce, Kirk, Leslie, Milton, Nadine, Oscar, Patty, Rafael, Sara, Tony, Valerie and William.

What happened last year?

2023 was above-normal with 20 named storms (seven hurricanes), but only one hurricane — Idalia — made landfall in the U.S., striking near Keaton Beach in Florida’s Big Bend region.

How good are the predictions?

NOAA began using a new forecast model in 2023, which also helped improve predictions of storm intensity. The bad news? NOAA has actually under-predicted the number of named storms in three of the last four years.

Sources: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; Colorado State University Tropical Weather & Climate Research

Natalie Gauthier and Michael Crouteau from Quebec lounge by a cliff of sand in May just north of Boynton Beach Oceanfront Park. The erosion and dead vegetation reflect past storm damage. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

Related: Hurricane season: What to expect 

If disaster strikes, municipalities may need millions ready to spend  

Manalapan: Town to start committee to gather facts about what’s happening with beach

By Anne Geggis

No hurricane warnings, just high winds and rough waves left part of North County’s coast scraped of sand earlier this year, closing beaches, exposing pool pilings and upending backyard landscaping into the ocean.

It also aroused South County fears it could happen here — particularly in places facing erosion without the benefit of beach renourishment funding from state and federal sources.

With no public beaches west of the high tide line, Briny Breezes, Gulf Stream, Highland Beach and Manalapan must find their own solutions to the threat facing every piece of Florida that touches the ocean, because they are not entitled to the direct public funding that supports one of the state’s biggest tourism draws and a boon to local property values. South Palm Beach also has no public beach access, but the town was able to get some help with renourishment through an interlocal agreement with Palm Beach.

The state’s list of communities deemed to be facing “critical erosion” grows with every named storm and sometimes just rough weather.

A critically eroded area 3.3 miles south of the Lake Worth Inlet threatens properties in Ocean Ridge, Briny Breezes, Boynton Beach and Gulf Stream, in addition to Lantana

Municipal Beach Park, according to a July 2023 report from the state Department of Environmental Protection. The same report found that 2.9 miles in Delray Beach is critically eroded, threatening property, all its public beach and State Road A1A.

What the state classifies as “critical erosion” in Boca Raton — extending for 5 miles north of the Broward County line — threatens Spanish River Park, Red Reef Park, South Beach Park and South Inlet Park, as well as State Road A1A and private development, the report says.

“There’s a multimillion-cubic-yard deficit of sand that’s been built up over decades,” said Mike Jenkins, a senior principal engineer with Geosyntec Consultants, a global consulting and engineering firm.

Jupiter Inlet Colony beachfront homeowners suffered damage this past winter during an unexpected weather event. Photo provided by WPEC

Jenkins was on the scene at Jupiter Inlet Colony when unannounced weather there made national headlines for the way it carved up the backyards of multimillion-dollar homes and left 10-foot drop-offs from the dunes to the beach, according to news reports.

Jenkins estimates about 10,000 cubic yards of dunes — or nearly enough to fill three Olympic-sized swimming pools — eroded from the banks in the mid-February storm.

Beaches are, after all, dynamic landforms that shift for natural and human-induced reasons even as the state’s tourism industry is built on them.

Keeping beaches looking buff is important enough that the state in the last three years has allocated nearly $12 million to South County beach renourishment projects from the Lake Worth Inlet to Boca Raton. And municipalities must match most of that state share dollar for dollar.

Competing concerns
For those communities not entitled to publicly funded beach renourishment, though, the erosion draws the often-competing interests at play on the beach into sharp focus.

Among them:

Beach raking: Critics make much of how the state of Florida, by statute, does not endorse mechanical beach cleaning. Some municipalities require that beach rakers get local permits. Their practice is subject to scrutiny by the state DEP and turtle monitors who flag turtle nests to avoid.

Critics at a Manalapan workshop in May said their photos show the theory doesn’t always match the practice, particularly in areas where beach raking is left up to private landowners. And, even when beach raking is done by the book, some peer-reviewed literature suggests that it contributes to erosion.

Limiting blobs of blight: The season of brown clusters of seaweed, noted for their rotten-egg smell, is ramping up, and so is the demand to get rid of them.

The latest report from the University of South Florida shows in almost every monitored region, especially in the central Atlantic, sargassum amounts are in line with more abundant years’ measures. As larger amounts wash ashore, demand that sargassum be removed increases. Ironically, observers say it helps stop erosion.

Preserving sea turtle habitat: Shorter and shorter stretches of gently sloping beaches are leaving less room above the high-tide line for threatened and endangered sea turtles to deposit their egg clutches. What used to be 40 yards of sandy expanse along stretches of south Palm Beach County’s coast have shrunk, and turtles searching for a place to nest quickly run into 6-foot drop-offs, impossible for sea turtles to scale.

Keeping inlets dredged: Sand has historically been removed from the coastal system by dredging. The natural drift of sand along the shore is blocked by jetties, trapped in channels, or moved into ebb and flood shoals, according to literature from the state. Also, a sand transfer plant is in operation on the north side of the South Lake Worth Inlet, also known as the Boynton Beach Inlet. Critics are unhappy the plant is removing sand from Manalapan to benefit Ocean Ridge, the result of a settlement decades ago from a lawsuit brought by Ocean Ridge.

But officials for the county, which operates the plant, say it’s a necessary part of the system that compensates for the effect of the manmade inlet.

The visible effects
The effects of erosion stunned Michael Croteau, 62, and Natalie Gauthier, 53, visiting Ocean Ridge from Quebec for their customary two-month stint through May, they said.

“We were asking ourselves what happened,” said Gauthier, a nursing school teacher, looking at the escarpment near Boynton Beach Oceanfront Park that towered over the beach at a 90-degree angle.

Croteau said he’s been coming here for more than 30 years and he’s never seen it like this before. “I was shocked and disappointed,” Croteau said. “It’s ugly.”

Unlike Ocean Ridge, which was the beneficiary of a post-Hurricane Irma beach renourishment project in 2020, Manalapan is on the same list as Jupiter Inlet Colony without the benefit of getting state help to relieve the conditions chipping away at its coast.

A May 16 workshop brought together residents who want the town to improve its enforcement of beach raking rules, and perhaps ban the practice during turtle nesting season; representatives from the Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa, advocating for no new limits on when they can rake; and technical advisers including Jenkins.

“Why do a minority of people who like beach aesthetics have priority over the majority who want to protect the beaches, the sea turtles and the wildlife?” asked Dr. Peter Bonutti, Manalapan Town Commissioner Simone Bonutti’s husband.

Jamie Gavigan, a lawyer representing the Eau, said that the resort and spa has the same concern for sea turtles and the area’s other natural resources.

“We don’t need any more regulations,” he said, noting that continued beach cleaning is important for the facility to maintain its five-star rating. “Mechanical beach raking is already highly regulated by the state of Florida.”

The same issues arose in Highland Beach during 2018-2019. Some residents wanted beach raking limited to certain hours, others wanted the town to make it more uniform by taking it over, and still others thought the beach should be left in its natural state.

Ultimately, the town decided to leave regulating it to the state.

“There’s no easy answer to this,” said state Rep. Peggy Gossett-Seidman, who was then on the Highland Beach Town Commission.

Kim Jones, 68, of Ocean Ridge, who was a coastal engineer before retiring, said the problem lies in the way that the regulation is all done from desks and computers.

If people walked the beach, they’d see the raking vehicles’ tire tracks west of the high tide line, all the false crawls by nesting turtles who gave up and all the sand that’s blown away, she said.

“The mechanical cleaning is not being done responsibly because no one’s checking,” she said.

Jones has her own way of predicting how bad the storms are going to be this year: The sea turtles are shooting for higher ground than usual — anticipating pounding surf and high winds that would jeopardize their clutches and wash away more sand.

Jenkins held out some hope: The Palm Beach renourishment project means some of that sand will eventually drift south, to Manalapan, as sand usually does. “Sand is coming this way,” he said.

Manalapan might also take matters into its own hands and opt to build dunes as a town project, Jenkins suggested.

Homes like this one in Sanibel can withstand hurricanes, as seen following Hurricane Ian striking the Gulf Coast island city in 2022, but removing a mountain of debris is still costly. Photo provided

Related: Hurricane season: What to expect 

Critically eroded beaches make coast more vulnerable as storm season arrives

Manalapan: Town to start committee to gather facts about what’s happening with beach

 By Larry Barszewski

If a hurricane strikes South County this year, coastal communities can expect federal and state disaster relief to come to their assistance. But do they have enough money on hand to handle the emergency situations they’ll encounter before those outside dollars start flowing?

That’s a question local elected officials will have to determine as they begin budget discussions this month for a new fiscal year that begins Oct. 1. However, for most of this hurricane season, which runs from June 1 through Nov. 30, the die is cast.

Over the next four months, the amount of money available if an emergency occurs varies from less than $1 million in Briny Breezes to almost $88 million in Boca Raton. The local governments don’t guarantee most of those dollars will be available in the event of a disaster, only that they should be there as long as the governments don’t spend them on something else first.

Two Gulf Coast barrier island communities ravaged by Hurricane Ian in 2022 — Fort Myers Beach and Sanibel — had a mix of reserves they turned to in the hours and days after Ian struck.

Their takeaway: You can never have enough put aside, but you do need to have a kitty available.

Hurricane Ian in 2022 devastated oceanfront communities like Sanibel, requiring significant spending by local government before reimbursement from federal and state agencies arrived. Photo provided

“Following Ian, all the disaster reserves were immediately appropriated to ensure the city had the funds to pay employees (many were on call and working around the clock in the weeks following the storm) and to address immediate operational needs,” said Eric Jackson, Sanibel’s public information officer, responding in an email to questions from The Coastal Star.

“The reserve amount was adequate to guarantee cash flow to pay personnel and keep the city running following the storm,” Jackson said. “To fully meet the challenges of a disaster of this magnitude, no amount of attainable reserves would be sufficient for a local government.”

Most South Palm Beach County cities and towns have money they can tap, but only some have dollars specifically set aside for a disaster: $20.4 million in Boca Raton, $1.8 million in Highland Beach, $100,000 in Gulf Stream and, in Lantana, $750,000 in an insurance fund for damage not covered by other sources.

Instead, most plan to rely heavily on dollars in their budgets that aren’t set aside for any specific purpose, their undesignated fund balances. This money provides a budget cushion that can also be used to pay for other projects or priorities — be it a road construction project in Gulf Stream or water pipe replacements in Ocean Ridge.

“The town does not differentiate between cash reserves and hurricane emergency reserves,” Ocean Ridge Town Manager Lynne Ladner said. “In the event of a disaster such as a hurricane, all unassigned cash reserves are available to ensure that town operations can continue to operate and recovery efforts are not hindered by a lack of resources.”

One reason for not designating specific emergency reserves is that the “unassigned status gives the town maximum flexibility to meet emergency or unforeseen conditions as [they] arise,” South Palm Beach Town Manager Jamie Titcomb said. In addition, he said, each town department has some contingency funds that could be used for disaster items that specifically affect the given department.

Fort Myers Beach had several pots of money available when Ian came ashore on Sept. 28, 2022, just days before the city’s new budget year started. At that time, it had $2.6 million in reserves, with more than half designated for an emergency, said Nicole Berzin, the town’s public information officer.

“We do have an emergency fund, and it had a balance of $537,114. We had $1,060,000 of the general fund balance that had also been set aside for emergencies, and $600,000 of the general fund balance set aside as an operating reserve,” Berzin said. The budget that began Oct. 1, 2022, also had another $443,000 contingency in it that could be used for emergencies, she said.

“In addition to the above, the general fund did happen to have about $3.6 million reserved to be transferred to the capital fund in FY23 to support future capital projects. Although not specifically designated for emergencies, the cash intended for capital could be available to temporarily fund emergency expenditures until assistance was received, which is exactly what happened,” Berzin said.

Meanwhile, Sanibel had set aside $5.5 million in emergency reserves, which was put to use immediately, Jackson said. It restocked the emergency reserve level to $5.9 million in its current budget, Jackson said.

At the time Ian struck, Sanibel also had an undesignated reserve — recommended to equal about 17% of its operating budget — available for use if needed. That was another $4.5 million.

“While reimbursements take time, it is expected that 95% of the $5.5 million will be replenished — 90% from the federal government and 5% from the state. The remaining 5% is the responsibility of the city of Sanibel,” Jackson said. “There is nothing definitive on how quickly the city will receive the reimbursements.”

On South County coast
In South County, current undesignated reserves available in an emergency are around $13.5 million in Lantana, $7.3 million in Gulf Stream, $6 million in Ocean Ridge, $4.2 million in Manalapan, $950,000 in Briny Breezes and $630,000 in South Palm Beach, officials in those communities said.

“If we get a direct hit, obviously we would have to get into our fund balance,” Gulf Stream Town Manager Greg Dunham said. While that fund balance backs up the town’s current road and drainage construction project, Dunham said the balance is expected to be increasing, in part due to rising property values — and the Town Commission has also said it doesn’t want the balance to go below $4 million.

Highland Beach has $3.6 million available, with half made up of undesignated reserves and the other half specifically for a hurricane or other disaster, Town Manager Marshall Labadie said.

Larger South County municipalities also rely heavily on undesignated reserves. Besides Boca Raton’s $20.4 million set aside for a hurricane or other disasters, it has $67.5 million in undesignated fund balance it could tap into if needed, city spokeswoman Anne Marie Connolly said.

“While the city does not have a specific written policy regarding fund balance designations for emergency reserves, there is an aim to reserve approximately six weeks of operating costs for hurricane/disaster emergency reserve in the general fund,” Connolly said. Depending on the specific type of hurricane damage incurred, the city has reserves in other areas that might be used, such as for stormwater, water and wastewater infrastructure and operations, she said.

Delray Beach estimates it would have at least $44.7 million available in unassigned fund balance, while Boynton Beach has $11.8 million in reserves. However, while Delray Beach’s reserves equal about a quarter of its general fund budget, Boynton Beach’s figure is only about 10% of its operating budget, less than the 16.7% — or two months’ worth of operating expenses — recommended by the Government Finance Officers Association.

Keeping a larger fund balance is sometimes met with opposition from those who would prefer the dollars be used to reduce property taxes.

“The primary purpose of the unassigned fund balance is to serve as a guardrail for revenue instability, catastrophic events such as hurricanes and floods, and cash flow instability,” Delray Beach Chief Financial Officer Hugh Dunkley said. “The unassigned fund balance is also available for the City Commission to exercise its discretion to fund new programs and/or initiatives that were not included in the adopted budget for the fiscal year.”

In the final analysis, no community can completely handle by itself the financial impact of a direct hit.

Sanibel’s storm recovery cost, for instance, was well over the town’s entire $84 million FY 2023 budget, which was approved at about the same time Ian struck.

“Recognizing this challenge for the city (and other local governments), the state took over debris operations and directly paid for those services. Other significant state and FEMA assistance was also provided,” Jackson wrote in his email.

There are also financial hits that come down the road.

“The city lost 34% in taxable property values following the storm,” Jackson said. “The storm greatly impacted the city’s Capital Improvement Plan by eliminating improvement expenditures that were not considered essential and tied to public safety. Facility building expansions and technology improvement purchases were examples of planned projects that were shelved.”