Reports are first step toward recertification

By Rich Pollack

Time is running out for several dozen remaining area condo associations that are required to file state-mandated inspection reports by the end of the year.

Under a state law passed in the aftermath of the 2021 collapse of Surfside’s Champlain Towers South, condominium buildings that are over three stories in height and more than 30 years old must submit a Milestone Inspection Report prior to Dec. 31.

The requirement affects more than 200 coastal associations from Boca Raton to South Palm Beach.

Those that miss the deadline could — in most cases — face penalties imposed by the municipality they are in, which is responsible for collecting and reviewing the reports.

A survey of south Palm Beach County coastal communities shows that Boca Raton and Highland Beach — both of which passed their own ordinances that are more detailed than the state law — have had the most success in getting reports from condo communities filed on time.

In Highland Beach, for example, Building Official Jeff Remas says that all 49 of the condos that needed to file reports have done so.

El Cortijo Condominium in Gulf Stream had yet to provide its milestone report this year as of late November, according to the Highland Beach building officials who handle inspections for Gulf Stream. Work was being done on El Cortijo last month (above). Larry Barszewski/The Coastal Star

Still needing to file
In Boca Raton, city officials say that 52 of 55 buildings in one coastal area had filed their milestone reports by late November with three asking for extensions. In the second coastal zone, 37 of 42 buildings filed their reports, with five asking for extensions.

In Highland Beach 14 buildings have become recertified, meaning they have completed all repairs identified in the milestone report as well as in a Phase 2 report that identifies structural deficiency.

In Boca Raton, six buildings had been recertified as of late November.

In Delray Beach, 15 of 25 buildings submitted milestone reports as of mid-November with three of those buildings required to complete Phase 2 reports.

Under the state law, which is not as strict as the ordinances in Boca Raton and Highland Beach, those buildings that have completed their Phase 1 reports without major structural issues being identified will not need to be reinspected for another 10 years.

While the bigger communities have been successful in collecting Milestone Inspection Reports, some of the smaller communities are awaiting reports.

In South Palm Beach, 14 of the 24 buildings that need to be certified had completed the process through the end of November. In Ocean Ridge, only one of the seven buildings required to file milestone reports had completed the process by late November.

South Palm Beach Town Manager Jamie Titcomb said the town will wait until after the deadline to pursue outstanding reports unless state criteria require specific follow-up.

In Gulf Stream, which contracts building inspection services to Highland Beach, two of nine buildings had filed their milestone reports as of late November, according to town reports.

Associations that do not file on time could face fines through the local municipalities’ code enforcement process, according to the state law.

Reports have benefits
Highland Beach’s Remas says that many of the buildings that were recertified are receiving benefits as a result of the work that was done.

“We’re seeing that some of these buildings are benefiting with their insurance,” he said.

Another advantage, he says, is that many of the buildings will not need extensive repairs the next time they’re inspected — every seven years for those over 40 years old in Highland Beach and 10 years for those less than 40 years old — because much of the work will have been done already.

To remove some of the burden from condo owners, state Rep. Peggy Gossett-Seidman, R- Highland Beach, has been pushing for changes to the state laws requiring condos to do inspections and collect additional reserves for anticipated repairs. She and other South Florida lawmakers, along with Gov. Ron DeSantis, have focused on extending deadlines for inspection reports and reserve studies — that spell out when and how money to do the repairs must be raised — as well as related requirements.

She sees another advantage to having the inspections done.

“There were a lot of buildings with unknown issues that were discovered in this process,” she said. “Who wouldn’t want to make sure their building isn’t going to fall down in a few years.”

Down year for nests hints at another surge in 2025

By Steve Plunkett

Following a record-breaking 2023, people who monitor sea turtle nests up and down south Palm Beach County’s coast faced an easier workload this season. And the season, which officially ended Oct. 31, isn’t over yet.

While South County sea turtle nests were down almost 40% this year from the year before — from 4,851 to 2,995 nests for the 14 miles from Boca Raton into Ocean Ridge — those who monitor the marine mamas were not surprised.

Instead of focusing on the decline, “one could also ask: Why such a big year last year?” said David Anderson, who leads Boca Raton’s sea turtle conservation team at Gumbo Limbo Nature Center.

Green sea turtles kept to their usual roller-coaster pattern in digging far fewer nests than the year before.

Boca Raton, for example, had 328 nests by greens in 2023 and only 72 this year, said Anderson.

“They broke their high year/low year pattern the last few years, but since this year was so low, we expect nesting numbers for greens to be high again next year,” Anderson said, referring to their tendency to nest every other year.

Nearby monitors reported similar declines, with greens dropping from 283 to 84 in the southern part of Ocean Ridge, Briny Breezes and Gulf Stream, from 96 to 14 in Delray Beach, and from 530 to 127 in Highland Beach.

“But the very exciting news for us is that we had a very late nester,” Highland Beach monitor Joanne Ryan said.

Volunteers (l-r) Suzie Hiles, Joanne Ryan and Jayne Elder on Nov. 22 monitor and straighten the stakes of the last remaining turtle nest in Highland Beach from the 2024 season. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

“After no new nesting since Sept. 3, we thought we were done. But a green turtle decided to come up and nest on Oct. 12, so we will be checking on that nest right into the beginning of December,” she said.

“And funny, but Ocean Ridge had one about a week after us.”

Delray Beach’s season had a more customary finish.

“We documented our last nest on Aug. 23, the last crawl on Sept. 17 and removed the last marked nest from our area on Oct. 16, just in time for the end of daily monitoring on Oct. 31,” said Grace Botson of Ecological Associates Inc., which monitors turtle nests for the city.

A portion of the turtle stakes that Gumbo Limbo Nature Center in Boca Raton uses to mark the nests it monitors. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

As for loggerhead turtles, it was “an average year,” Anderson said.

“We finished 2024 with 824 nests, which is about average considering the last five to 10 years of data,” he said. His five miles of beach had 1,038 loggerhead nests in 2023 and 898 nests in 2022.

“Loggerhead nest numbers were declining for decades, bottoming out in 2009 for a lot of beaches. Since 2010, there has been a steady increase (overall) in loggerhead nest numbers,” Anderson said.

Still, as in Boca Raton, the loggerhead totals this year were down from last year’s stellar numbers: from 989 nests to 795 in Highland Beach, from 406 to 292 in Delray Beach, and from 1,051 to 724 in Gulf Stream, Briny Breezes and the south of Ocean Ridge.

Anderson said each year is unpredictable, primarily because loggerheads take 20-plus years to reach sexual maturity, an individual female typically nests every two or three years, and each female deposits anywhere between four and eight nests during the season.

For leatherback sea turtles, the nesting totals were mixed.

“The leatherbacks had a great season,” said Emilie Woodrich, data manager for Sea Turtle Adventures, which monitors the three miles of beach from Gulf Stream into Ocean Ridge. Her group found 19 leatherback nests, up from 15 the year before.

While Highland Beach also saw more, with 13 leatherback nests (up from seven last year), Delray Beach had only 12 leatherback nests (down from 30 last year), and Boca Raton had 19 (down from 28 last year).

“Leatherbacks are critically endangered, so it’s nice to see their nest numbers gradually increasing statewide over the last several decades,” Anderson said.

Overall, this year’s sea turtle nest totals were 827 in Ocean Ridge, Briny Breezes and Gulf Stream, down from 1,377 the year before; 318 in Delray Beach, down from 532 last year; 935 in Highland Beach, down from 1,548; and 915 in Boca Raton, down from 1,394.

The bulldozer-like tracks that a female green sea turtle leaves in the sand will be seen again after the 2025 nesting season begins. Joan Lorne

Declining hatch success
Nest numbers are only part of the story of the survival of these threatened and endangered animals, Anderson noted.

“Not all eggs in sea turtle nests hatch,” Anderson said. “This year, out of over 700 nests inventoried post-hatch, we discovered only 56% of eggs hatched.”

On average, he said, hatch success has declined over the years.

“This can most likely be attributed to climate change. Sand temperature during the two-month incubation period often exceeds the thermal tolerance level of developing embryo.

The eggs cease from developing, resulting in an unhatched egg with a dead embryo inside,” Anderson said.

“In addition to 44% of all eggs not hatching, we lost 49 nests due to storms and high tide events, had 170 nests dug into by predators (most with no damage to eggs), and 88 nests that experienced hatchling disorientation events during hatch-out due to artificial light pollution,” he said.

The moral of the story, Anderson said, “is that total nest numbers can be deceiving.”

“A high number of nests doesn’t mean much when a small percentage of eggs hatch, nests are lost to predators and storms, and hatchlings never make it to the ocean because of light pollution.”

Reciprocity. A word that might be hard to pronounce, but whose definition seems especially appropriate during the holidays. If we understand that the giving of gifts almost always initiates a reaction, and we listen to, or observe, that response, we’ll understand the nature of the gift exchange — even if only in words, smiles or thank-you notes. Each of those responses is also a gift. Sometimes the most important of all.

Gift-giving does not have to be extravagant or costly. It can be, if you wish, but sometimes a gift made by hand or simply with love is the most welcome of all. Often a simple act of kindness can make someone’s day — especially those who are alone or going through difficult times.

Holiday events are already underway this month: Christmas tree lightings, parades, concerts, religious services. Whether wrapped, unwrapped or simply spread across a child’s face, gifts will be all around us.

This year, the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah begins on the same day as the Christian holiday of Christmas, with Kwanzaa beginning only one day later. Each holiday provides its own special gift.

Inside this edition you will find many, many ways to celebrate this December. Take a look, then go out, take your visitors, enjoy the lights and beautiful weather. Reflect, praise, celebrate.

And if you give or exchange gifts this season, please consider both the spirit of giving and the reciprocity of thanks.

Happy holidays!

— Mary Kate Leming,
Executive Editor

Renee Basel sings in the parking lot of Gulf Stream Town Hall, where she is clerk. She says her car is a convenient place to sing and send out her image via phone (below). Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Hannah Spence

Renee Basel wears many hats, but her role as the Hump Day Hymn Lady has made her popular on social media.

Every Wednesday (or hump day), Basel graces people’s screens via TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube, singing hymns a cappella. She mostly records herself in her car because it’s convenient.

Basel said the hymns “bring hope, and we need that in the day and age we live in. Music is healing and sometimes says things when you can’t. I think the hymns are good at filling a void that might be out there right now.”

She also sings in an effort to uplift listeners in the middle of the week.

“They’ve had Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and I come on and try to be joyful,” she said. “I go into the hymn and then I tell them to have a blessed rest of their week.”

Basel, 59, who lives in Boynton Beach, was inspired to provide the weekly posts by her son, Daren.

After she and her husband, David, started their Delray Beach church, Worship and The Word Fellowship, Basel was asked by one of the members to sing Because He Lives. When she looked at her son while performing, she noticed he wasn’t singing. She asked him about it later, and he told her that he didn’t know the song.

Basel explained that with all the new technologies used in churches, many no longer sing hymns. She wants the younger generation to be exposed to them. So, in 2019, she started posting videos of herself singing hymns, shedding light on the older verses. Now, people from all over the world watch her content.

Basel said that the name Hump Day Hymn Lady was coined thanks to a young fan with special needs.

“I have some friends in Pennsylvania who called and said their autistic son would say, ‘it’s the hymn day lady,’ when I was on,” said Basel. “I just took it and ran with it.”

Basel is the town clerk for Gulf Stream. She started working for the town almost nine years ago as a temp and within two weeks, she was hired as an executive assistant before later ascending to her current position.

“I’ve a wonderful, fabulous place to work,” she said. “It’s something new every day.”

Basel was president of the Palm Beach County Municipal Clerks Association and is vice president of the Florida Association of City Clerks.

Recently, Basel was contacted by a Grammy award-winning composer/conductor, David T. Clydesdale, after he saw her videos on Facebook. Clydesdale invited her to collaborate on a hymn album with the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra. Basel first thought it was a scam, but later agreed to it after a phone conversation with Clydesdale.

She raised money with help from family and friends before going to Prague to record in October.

“I could just tell from the hump day thing that Renee was going to be a character,” said Clydesdale. “I thought she had lots of personality and that proved to be true. While in Prague together, I think we laughed 90% of the time.”

Although Basel was familiar with Clydesdale’s work before meeting him, having done his songs at her prior church in Michigan, the two had not met until their European trip.

“There was just something special in her voice,” said Clydesdale. “You could tell she believed it and she was trying to communicate the song.”

Although Basel has gained celebrity within the past few years, she had experience singing for spectators before becoming the Hump Day Hymn Lady.

“I was a voice major in college, so I always wanted to do this,” said Basel. “And before I got married, I was a backup singer for Larnelle Harris,” a gospel singer.

This month, Basel will go to Nashville to record the background singers, and finally she will do her lead vocals in February to complete the album. Clydesdale orchestrated all the songs.

The album will be available on iTunes, Spotify and Amazon Music by next April.

Basel selected five of the 10 songs by asking her family what their favorite hymns were. The others are songs for which she developed a love throughout the years.

“I feel great when I’m doing this,” said Basel. “I feel like I am ministering Jesus to people. I want it to uplift their spirits and minister to their hearts, minds and souls.”

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

I am in sympathy with the discontent and dismay expressed with regard to the omnipresent use of blowers. This ubiquitous tool can be heard anywhere and everywhere at any time.  Its unregulated use has become a public nuisance.

However, the article in your November edition blatantly omits other major issues: 1) The harm done to insect and bird habitat. 2) The potential harm to personnel wielding these machines, their hearing and exposure to exhaust fumes. 3) The cumulative cost of destroying habitat and nourishment for small creatures, derived from and within leaf debris, i.e. environmental health, and also human health.

Complaints about noise from a purely human perspective completely miss the larger picture. The degree of manicured perfection expected in Florida, indeed across the country — whether on individual properties or in public spaces — has driven this mania of blowing off the slightest unwanted droppings or clippings that naturally fall from trees and shrubs, or from mowing.

This “debris” feeds the soil! The very plants shedding their leaves, buds, flowers, etc. in turn feed the environment. This is a natural cycle.

The landscape aesthetic we demand is counterproductive. To compensate for the absence of leaf cover on beds or under trees, additional costs are then incurred with an application of mulch.

The noise complaint is essentially a complaint about the environment we ourselves have created, to maintain an aesthetic we demand, without regard to consequences to nonhumans. 

This is unsustainable. Time to reconsider priorities.

The writer scoffs at the use of rakes! But not the use or cost of fossil fuels and their pollutants — aside from noise. Why not consider the benefits of raking leaf debris under hedges, onto beds and under trees? Eliminate the nasty trick of blowing this debris onto your neighbor’s property, or the expense of hauling it off to yet another landfill.

End the harm and its consequent costs, end the noise, and help bring about a return to healthier environmental outcomes and enjoy far greater tranquility. Demand the greater good! 

Some neighborhoods of Palm Beach have succeeded in banning blowers, allowing their regulated use only on larger properties with fewer immediate neighbors who must endure the noise. Doesn’t that sound like a great idea?

— Ann Flinn,
Delray Beach

New City Hall talk being put on hold — Although Delray Beach is looking to build a new water treatment plant, a new Pompey Park complex, a new police headquarters and a redo of the municipal golf course, it will not seek to build a new City Hall.

City Manager Terrence Moore said in a Nov. 8 memo to the commissioners that the most cost-effective method is to renovate the existing space.

Public Works Director Missie Barletto says there is enough space in City Hall to meet the current departmental needs for the next 10 to 15 years. For residents, though, there is a pretty big caveat.

“In the meantime, we are looking at expanding staff that currently is housed in City Hall into the adjacent Community Center, which likely will require some operational changes for the current use of that facility,” Barletto said in a Nov. 8 email to Moore.

The next step, Barletto said, will be for Public Works to present construction plans.

City hires new CFO — The former chief financial officer for Norwalk, Connecticut, will now fill the same position in Delray Beach, City Manager Terrence Moore said in his Nov. 1 report to commissioners.

Henry Dachowitz also served as CFO in Wayne County, Michigan, and Nassau County, New York. “He likewise brings to the city of Delray Beach considerable and comprehensive experiences that directly align with our respective needs and expectations,” Moore said.

He also no longer will have to shovel snow.

Dachowitz is finalizing his pre-employment arrangements and is expected to start on Dec. 27.

He replaces Hugh Dunkley, who left the position in September to become CFO of the Solid Waste Authority of Palm Beach County.

— John Pacenti

By John Pacenti

One of Delray Beach’s top substance abuse recovery advocates said the community is outraged with the City Commission’s decision on how to spend $239,000 in opioid settlement money.

The city has vacillated on a plan since June on how to use what is now said to be $239,000, a pittance from the $50 billion nationwide settlement with pharmaceutical companies whose products killed millions and ruined the lives of countless families.

Lissa Franklin, executive director of the Delray Beach Drug Task Force, said the commission at its Nov. 19 workshop decided to use some of the money to fund DARE — a police program that she says research has shown not to be effective — and to spend $130,000 on Narcan for street boxes and restaurants when the medication can be obtained for free from the state.

“Their intentions started out well, and if they would have kept it in the community and with the community advisory board like originally discussed, more gaps would have been filled, and it would have gone a lot further,” Franklin said.

Delray Beach is expected to receive a total of $1.48 million through 2040. “These are not a tremendous amount of funds. The highest being about $92,000 a year,” said Assistant City Manager Jeff Oris.

Commissioners in the summer decided the plan was to allow stakeholders in the recovery community to decide as a committee what to do with the money on hand.

Then last month the plan was for city staff to decide what to do with the $239,000 now and have the advisory committee weigh in on future money that is received.

Mayor Tom Carney and City Manager Terrence Moore insisted a second workshop be held on Nov. 19. Commissioners were frustrated.

“I’ve been trying to do this for a year,” said Commissioner Angela Burns. “It’s been a year already, so I think that we should go ahead and formulate this advisory committee is not that hard. We have people who are qualified.”

Vice Mayor Juli Casale was more blunt: “Why are we having this meeting? This is our fourth meeting on the subject. … At some point, we have to wrap it up.”

“I know it’s a very small amount of money but it’s a very important issue to a lot of people,” Carney said. “I just want to get it right.”

Oris recommended restarting the DARE program that educates young people about the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse.

Franklin said there is plenty of research on how the “just say no” approach does more harm than good. She said the Living Skills program in the school system has shown to be more up-to-date and effective.

As for the Narcan boxes and distributing the anti-overdose medication to businesses, Franklin said the city staff failed to do its research for the life-saving drug that can be had for free from the Department of Children & Families.

She fears the Narcan money will end up laundered through the city’s budget — a process called supplantation where the opioid money would end up in the general fund.

Another group was supposed to make a presentation at the Nov. 19 meeting, Franklin said.

“The Palm Health Foundation was supposed to present why they should bring in qualified professionals to advise on how to spend the money instead of city employees. And that did not happen,” she said.

 The commission must still approve the plan at its regular meeting on Dec. 10 where again, if the past is prologue, it can change course.

By John Pacenti

The Manalapan Town Commission pushed back on a proposal by the Florida Department of Transportation to place markings on State Road A1A to indicate motorists must share the lanes with bicyclists.

Nadir Rodrigues, an FDOT traffic services engineer, said at the Nov. 22 commission meeting that the agency is proposing safety measures in the wake of the Jan. 4 accident when a 77-year-old driving a subcompact SUV struck a group of bicyclists on A1A in Gulf Stream, injuring six of them.

FDOT says it will look to resurface A1A in Manalapan so it can stencil what are called sharrow markings on the road, stencils of bicycles with two chevrons that indicate that bicyclists and motorists are to share the lanes. There is no room for separate bike lanes in Manalapan on A1A, Rodrigues said. The idea fizzled with commissioners and Police Chief Carmen Mattox.

“You put those down in the middle of the road like that, they’re going to think the whole road is theirs. It’s going to be backing up traffic, it’s going to make it more complex, and it’s going to be very difficult to enforce,” Mattox said.

He said he dedicates an officer on Saturday and Sunday mornings just to bicycle enforcement.

Commissioner Cindy McMackin said pelotons of up to 50 cyclists already block A1A. “They don’t care about the rules,” she said.

Town Manager Eric Marmer suggested FDOT educate the bicyclists by putting up signs instructing them to ride single file. “The drivers are very courteous in my experience here. It’s more so the bicyclists who are not following the rules of the road,” he said.

Rodrigues noted the bicycling community is organized and writes to FDOT frequently and will be protective of its ability to ride on picturesque A1A.

Commissioner Dwight Kulwin is a bicyclist and a trauma surgeon who has witnessed numerous car vs. bike injuries. He won’t ride his bike down A1A anymore, feeling it is not safe.

He doubts sharrow markings will help.

“I’ve never seen any data that shows putting things down like this has any measurable effect on decreasing accidents or really having any positive effect,” he said.

Marmer told Rodrigues the town would get back to the agency; however, the situation may be out of Manalapan’s hands since A1A is a state road. Rodrigues was, more or less, making a courtesy call.

“The signage that is going to go in other municipalities are to share the road,” she said.

All remains the same on the Manalapan Town Commission after it saw quite a shake-up a year ago.

Four seats — including the mayor’s — were up for grabs in 2025 and only the incumbents filed to qualify by the Nov. 19 deadline.

That means Mayor John Deese, 66, who took over the mayor’s duties following the resignation of former Mayor Stewart Satter, will enjoy another term, as will Commissioners Cindy McMackin, 57; Simone Bonutti, 50; and David Knobel, 66.

The seven-member commission did get a makeover beginning a year ago after Satter and four other members resigned, worried about new state financial disclosure requirements that were set to take effect but have since been stayed by the courts.

McMackin moved into Deese’s seat in March after he ascended to the mayor’s position. Orla Imbesi, Dwight Kulwin and Elliot Bonner were appointed to the commission in December 2023 to fill other vacancies and secured new terms in March because no one filed to run against them.

Deese said he was happy that no one else decided to run because the commission with its new members has been working well together in addressing the town’s needs.

— John Pacenti

By John Pacenti

It seemed like a simple request for a new home under construction in Manalapan: to allow the building of a sports court for pickleball and basketball.

Yet, at their Nov. 22 meeting, Manalapan commissioners heard that pickleball can be a noise nuisance. They also wrestled over whether the town’s code even allows pickleball courts, as written.

Jennifer Adams, general manager of La Coquille Villas, said residents have had to put up with the torturous sound of the game since the Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa converted tennis courts next door.

“So you can imagine sitting down for dinner on an outside patio only for the parties to be spoiled by the pop, pop, pop sound and then yelling that accompanies the game,” Adams said.

She urged the town to adopt an ordinance, as other municipalities have done, that prohibits courts from being installed in residential neighborhoods and limits the game to certain hours.

In Gulf Stream, Adams said, a compromise was reached where the Little Club’s pickleball court was placed away on an adjacent golf course.

The noise of pickleball is a growing concern nationwide as the popularity of the sport has skyrocketed, especially among seniors. The New York Times in June 2023 published the story, “Shattered nerves, sleepless nights: pickleball noise is driving everyone nuts.”

What the Manalapan commission heard on Nov. 22 was a request for a text amendment for the property at 1140 S. Ocean Blvd. to allow a sports court.

Commissioner Dwight Kulwin said recordings have shown pickleball sounds can be heard up to a half-mile away and that manufacturers of the paddles are trying to address the noise concern.

Town Attorney Keith Davis said the request is for just the zoning area south of 700 S. Ocean Blvd. and that the commission may want to make a uniform decision for the whole town on the issue.

Commissioner Cindy McMackin noted that currently, a home could install what is called a sports court and just not call it pickleball. “Or if they say this is going to be a parking area on our lot, and then they convert it later,” she said.

Now there is a noise ordinance, Davis noted, that could be taken into consideration. Police Chief Carmen Mattox said that when the Police Department gets noise complaints on pickleball, by the time officers arrive the game has often concluded.

Mayor John Deese weighed in, saying pickleball is not prohibited but is also not permitted.

“The way our zoning code is written, lighted tennis courts are allowed as a special exception. None of this other stuff is in the code,” Davis said. “And the language in the code, if it’s not called out as being allowed, then it’s not allowed.”

The commission decided the pickleball issue would need to be decided at a later date when an official with the Building and Zoning Department can be part of the discussion.

By John Pacenti

Delray Beach City Manager Terrence Moore appeared visibly upset as commissioners failed to approve his request to hire a private firm to investigate his embattled Code Enforcement Division.

The city had already asked Palm Beach County’s Office of Inspector General to investigate the division following the Oct. 3 arrest of Khatoya Markia Wesley. The code enforcement officer was accused of threatening two residents with code violations unless they paid her personally. The State Attorney’s Office on Nov. 7 declined to file charges in the case.

The OIG has yet to respond to the city, so Moore asked the commission to approve up to a $25,000 expenditure to hire Calvin, Giordano & Associates — a firm with other contracts with the city.

The commission deadlocked 2-2 on Nov. 19 with Commissioner Rob Long absent. Mayor Tom Carney, who favored the measure, said he would bring it back for reconsideration at the Dec. 10 commission meeting.

“I need to get to work beginning tomorrow,” an irritated Moore said. “My interest is not engaging back and forth at the commission level.”

Moore said he was heading upstairs after the meeting to “change the program so that we can get down to business.”

Then, on Nov. 24, the person who oversees code enforcement resigned. Sam Walthour, director of Neighborhood and Community Services, had been with the city since September 2020. He will remain on staff for the next two months, according to an email from Moore to the commissioners, as the city seeks to find a replacement.

Moore tried to dampen the ongoing controversy at the Nov. 4 meeting.

Assistant City Manager Jeff Oris talked about the scope of the 17-employee division and how an internal review was being commenced.

Vice Mayor Juli Casale told Moore she was not impressed. “We thought you were going to come back and tell us how you are making sure that this isn’t just one person who had a problem,” she said.

Casale has also questioned Moore as to why Wesley was suspended with pay for several months while police investigated the complaints about her. She was eventually fired.

Then came the Nov. 19 proposal to hire the outside firm. Commissioner Tom Markert said he had reservations.

“I was concerned about the selection of the firm that we chose, because they’re already a million-dollar vendor, right? They’re already on the inside. They’re already part of this. I’m concerned about our internal staff choosing them,” Markert said.

Commissioner Angela Burns, who voted to hire the firm, said she has heard of code enforcement officers threatening residents with littering citations for putting out items for trash pickup.

After the meeting, Casale said from the start it has been difficult to get answers to simple questions from Moore about the Code Enforcement Division. She is certain the OIG will take on the investigation.

“Hiring an outside firm to look at efficiencies, at this point in time, makes it appear as though someone is trying to circumvent any potential OIG investigation,” she said.

Delray Beach police conducted an extensive investigation into Wesley, including triangulating text messages and pay apps. State Attorney Dave Aronberg’s office decided not to file charges to prosecute Wesley for the four felonies and dropped the case. However, prosecutors still have 180 days after her arrest to file a formal complaint.

The investigation of Wesley occurred after a whistleblower complaint filed from within the department said she asked for money from John “The Ribman” Jules, who sold barbecue ribs out of the home he rented on Sunset Avenue.

Attorney Brian Pakett, who represented Wesley, said his client never accepted any money or food from Jules and, in fact, was trying to help him.

“Regarding her doing her job, she acted throughout her time with the city in a very ethical manner,” Pakett said. “We maintain she did nothing wrong.”

The town of Ocean Ridge, embarrassed when it forced a resident to unnecessarily trim the hedges on his property’s border, tweaked its ordinance at its Nov. 4 meeting regarding hedges, walls and rights-of-way.

Town Code 66-44 was unanimously amended not only to eliminate all references to hedges but also to clarify what a violation would entail in blocking the rights-of-way. Homeowners often landscape or put up barriers in swales in front of their residences — however, that property belongs to the town.

The amended ordinance allows the town to demand any plant material — including hedges — be trimmed if it hinders the safe and convenient vehicular or pedestrian movement in the public right-of-way.

All of this occurred after the town issued an apology in September to resident Jay Wallshein for forcing him to trim his hedges. The apology came because Town Attorney Christy Goddeau learned that the town had no prohibition on the height of hedges, even though hedges were listed as being part of the ordinance.

The discovery occurred after Wallshein took photos and filed numerous complaints on all hedges that supposedly were higher than 6 feet. He also filed complaints on violations of rights-of-way.

The clerk’s office then complained to the police that Wallshein had commented on the security glass at Town Hall. An officer was dispatched to Wallshein’s home but never talked to him in person.

Wallshein denied making any threatening remark and said sending the police to his home on an erroneous complaint was a clear effort to intimidate him.

— John Pacenti

Grant covers most of land purchase cost — At its Nov. 4 meeting, the Ocean Ridge Town Commission approved the use of a $1,054,000 grant to pay itself back most of the money it spent to purchase the Priest property for conservation and preservation.

The 10-acre property, on the Intracoastal Waterway, is a mangrove swamp with related marine habitat and sits just northwest of Town Hall.

Ocean Ridge applied for a grant earlier this year with the Florida Conservation Trust, which will pay for 70% of the $1.5 million spent.

The town purchased the property to preserve the area and prevent development since building on a muck base poses future drainage problems for residents, according to an April 2022 public notice by the town.

Palm Beach County, which owns the mangrove swamp adjacent to the Priest property, previously had the property rezoned from residential single-family to preservation/conservation.

Coz files for election unopposed, wins fourth term — For election-fatigued people in Ocean Ridge, good news. There will be no Town Commission election next year.

Vice Mayor Steve Coz filed for reelection in November, but no one else came forward to challenge him for the seat — meaning he wins a fourth term automatically. It also means the taxpayers get to save money as the town avoids the expense of an election.

While the town limits commissioners to three consecutive three-year terms of office, the clock didn’t start ticking until 2019, after Coz had already completed his first term. Under the term limit rules, he will not be able to run again in 2028.

Coz, 67, came to office in 2016, beating then-Vice Mayor Lynn Allison.

“There was like this big push to have the commission become a giant HOA that could instruct residents on what they could do with their properties,” he said. “I was dead set against that and I think that really resonates with the majority of Ocean Ridge residents.”

—John Pacenti

Light poles changing colors (on town’s side of bridge) — The teal light poles on Ocean Avenue connecting Ocean Ridge to downtown Boynton Beach are changing — but just on the town’s side of the Intracoastal Waterway bridge.

Ocean Ridge is planning to give up ownership of its poles to Florida Power & Light. FPL offers only black and dark forest green colors, so the town is going with the black ones, Town Manager Lynne Ladner said.

But Boynton Beach commissioners on Dec. 3, responding to a city survey showing 84% resident support for teal, like that color’s character and will keep it on their bridge lampposts going west to Federal Highway. “I just think that black is a little too stark and dark for our bridge,” Vice Mayor Aimee Kelley said.

— Larry Barszewski

By Mary Thurwachter

Lantana’s municipal beach will be the latest to cash in on a grant opportunity.

At the Town Council’s Nov. 18 meeting, members entered into a $150,000 matching grant agreement with the state’s Department of Environmental Protection for improvements at the beach.

Twenty-five percent of that $150,000, or $37,500, will come from the town, while 75%, or $112,500, will be paid by the state.

“The improvements include irrigation on the north side of the park and improving the stormwater drainage system, removal of outdated light poles, updating the parking lot drainage system, sea wall re-coating, installation of turf/grass and salt tolerant vegetation, and the removal of invasive plants from the dune,” said Eddie Crockett, public services director.

The town’s match of $37,500 will come from previously scheduled and budgeted projects and improvements related to the municipal beach, Crockett said.

Lantana has been able to reel in grant money for everything from dog park upgrades and improving the stormwater drainage system to renovating the water plant. Last year, Lantana received $2.3 million in grants.

A firefighter who has served 20 years with Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue has thrown his hat into the ring for the Group 1 Town Council seat in Lantana.

Jesse Rivero, a 26-year resident, seeks to unseat veteran Council member Lynn “Doc” Moorhouse, a retired dentist who has been in office for 20 years.

The election will be March 11.

Rivero, 50, who works out of the firefighter office in Manalapan, said he has nothing against Moorhouse, who is 81, but thinks “a fresh face and fresh ideas will be good for the town.”

He said that while “the town is moving in a good direction, it could be better.”

Kem Mason, who holds the Group 2 spot on the council, was elected automatically when no one else filed to run for the position during the election qualifying period that ended

Nov. 15. Mason, 66, is a retired firefighter and is completing his first term.

The council terms are for three years.

— Mary Thurwachter

By John Pacenti

Amid the gathered Delray Beach glitterati — including the mayor, the commissioners, and the city manager — Brandon Lai hung in the background with his daughter Ava, 13. They were there to get information on the hoopla: the Nov. 1 ribbon-cutting for the Creative Arts School at Delray Beach’s Crest Theatre.

When asked what kind of classes she might take, Ava shot for the moon: “I don’t know. Sculpting, maybe.”

Call it what you like: a comeback, a phoenix rising, or just a long wait — the art school reopening marks a turning point for Delray Beach. It restores what was for decades — as the city says on its website — “the cornerstone of cultural enrichment and artistic expression within our city.”

Of course, the Old School Square campus has been mired in tug-of-war politics and the theater itself is still under renovation with questions about the integrity of its balcony. But the ribbon-cutting was a chance for the city to take a bow — especially city Communications Director Gina Carter, who was the driving force to offer classes in November.

Carter was almost a little sheepish at the ribbon-cutting, avoiding the spotlight, but the art school was her brainchild, and its birth was due in no small part to City Manager Terrence Moore’s equal dedication to making it happen now. In July, the City Commission allocated $118,000 for “rapid activation.”

“Since then, I’ve been working on it nonstop, and this is the first moment where it’s really a reality and I can see people’s reaction, and it feels amazing,” Carter said.

“I think people are really going to love the space. The teachers are excited; the residents are excited.”

Mayor Tom Carney said the wow factor was readily apparent in the renovation of the classrooms, saying the reopening of the art school stood at the intersection of Delray Beach’s vibrant past and its hopeful future.

“Old School Square has always been a symbol of the city’s rich cultural heritage, and with the reopening of the creative arts school, we are ensuring that this legacy continues to inspire future generations,” he said. “This school will serve as a beacon for creativity, a place where ideas are born and artistic voices are heard.”

Up on the staircase that led to the classrooms — it’s worth a visit just for the glossy restored floors — was Gayle Clarke of the Delray Beach Preservation Trust, nearly posing like some background character out of The Great Gatsby. Clarke says she might take an adult acting or improv class.

“I’m happy that things are going in a positive direction,” Clarke said. “I go to the green markets. I go to a lot of the concerts. So, this is a great addition for this to be going again.”

Ana Puszkin-Chevlin, a longtime Delray Beach resident, said the art school’s rebirth is “firmly grounded in this kind of hip arts community of the city’s past. Seeing it come back to life after a little dormancy makes me really happy.”

For more information on the Creative Arts School, contact Program Administrator Yamilett Abejon at abejony@mydelraybeach.com or 561-243-7209.

By Steve Plunkett

On its way to faucets in Gulf Stream next fall: better tasting water delivered with higher water pressure and a lower cost.

That’s the promise of a 25-year agreement Gulf Stream made with its soon-to-be new water provider, Boynton Beach. Town commissioners approved the deal at a special meeting Oct. 28; Boynton Beach commissioners ratified it Nov. 19.

“Good job,” Gulf Stream Commissioner Joan Orthwein told Assistant Town Attorney Trey Nazzaro, who spent 18 months negotiating the agreement. “We’re going to save a lot of money.”

Delray Beach has been the town’s main supplier of drinking water since at least 1976, with Boynton Beach being the town’s backup supplier in case Delray Beach’s water system had a problem.

But Delray Beach is designing a new water plant for its residents only and told Gulf Stream in April that it will stop providing the town with drinking water in June 2025. Nazzaro said he will continue to work with Delray Beach to extend that arrangement until the Boynton Beach connection is finished.

Under the new deal, Boynton Beach will charge Gulf Stream $3.75 per 1,000 gallons of drinking water, or 25% more than what Boynton Beach residents pay. Delray Beach raised its rate for Gulf Stream in October to $4.49 from $3.81 per 1,000 gallons and plans to increase the rate to $5.28 per thousand gallons next October.

“Our connection with Boynton Beach may not be completed until the fall of 2025, so upon connection the town’s rates will drop from $5.28 to $3.75 per thousand gallons,” or 29%, Nazzaro said. “That’s a $5 million savings during the first 10 years of this 25-year agreement and will offset all costs to connect.”

Boynton Beach will not be able to raise Gulf Stream’s rate without doing so for other city customers, Nazzaro said.

Boynton Beach estimates the town will pay $150,000 for design costs and $1.5 million for construction of a water main from Seacrest Boulevard east along Gulfstream Boulevard to a connection just inside the entrance to Place Au Soleil. The town will also pay $330,000 for a 10-inch water meter.

The water main will be built in conjunction with a roadway improvement project on Gulfstream Boulevard, which separates Boynton Beach and Delray Beach. Both cities are sharing the cost of improving the road.

Gulf Stream will continue to operate a looped system, with two connections between Boynton Beach and the town. One will be at Little Club Road with the system that feeds St. Andrews and some of the properties along State Road A1A; the other will be the existing connection in front of Place Au Soleil that crosses under the Intracoastal Waterway and enters the barrier island on Golfview Road. 

The agreement also has an option to renew for additional 10-year terms.

By Steve Plunkett

The Cops Caring for Cops Fundraiser has started.

The Palm Beach County Association of Chiefs of Police is “adopting” or supporting 20 police officers who were significantly harmed by Hurricane Milton, which made landfall Oct. 9.

The officers work in the Treasure Island area, just north of St. Pete Beach, and were in some of the most impacted areas. They were selected because Palm Beach County agencies sent officers and other resources to them immediately following the storm and saw firsthand the devastation suffered by the Treasure Island police.

Lantana Police Chief Sean Scheller asked for — and received — his Town Council’s approval for Scheller’s department to send the Treasure Island Police Department $2,000.

“Throughout the year we’re given donations and those are primarily earmarked for certain programs, but some funds are not,” Scheller said. He suggested taking $2,000 of the undesignated donations and sharing it with the Treasure Island Police Association on behalf of the town and the local department.

“As we assist these other communities, we think about how lucky we were to be spared by Mother Nature during this hurricane season,” said Gulf Stream Police Chief Richard Jones, who also is president of the county chiefs association. “We also know that if our communities would have been impacted, these brave and honorable men and women from Treasure Island would have deployed here to help and support our needs.”

The chiefs association has partnered with a foundation that will assist it in supporting these officers by acting as the receiver and distributor of the funds. This process will allow 100% of the money raised to go directly to those in need. The foundation’s name is Treasure Island Police Association, or TIPA, and any checks should be made payable to that foundation.

All donations should be delivered to the Gulf Stream Police Department or Town Hall in early December so that the chiefs can hand-deliver the funds to the foundation in time for the holidays.

Jones said he would like to “make sure these officers and their families are able to have the Christmas they deserve.”

Mary Thurwachter contributed to this story.

Special meeting on Kmart development — During a special meeting on Dec. 10, the Lantana Town Council will consider proposed changes to the comprehensive plan and zoning code for a potential mixed-use development at the former Kmart site, at 1201 S. Dixie Highway. The meeting will begin at 5:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers, 500 Greynolds Circle.

Raducci rewarded — Town Manager Brian Raducci was the subject of favorable review from the Town Council in October. Raducci, whose current salary is $210,687, will receive a 5% raise, an increase of roughly $10,500.

— Mary Thurwachter

By Brian Biggane

After working for nearly a year with only four members, the South Palm Beach Town Council completed its roster by appointing Sandra Beckett to the council at its November meeting.

A resident of Palmsea Condominiums since 2018, Beckett has been an active member of the community ever since, serving on the Community Affairs Advisory Board, the Architectural Review Board and the Code of Ordinances Review Committee. She will resign from all three before being sworn in at the Dec. 10 council meeting.

“I think it’s an exciting time to be on council because of the new (Town Hall), and we have a forward-looking Town Council and an excellent management team,” said Beckett, 86. “I’m impressed and I’m proud to be part of this community because I do see it going in a positive direction.”

The council was initially reduced to four members when longtime member Robert Gottlieb resigned effective last December. Gottlieb cited health issues and a reluctance to comply with a new state law requiring all elected officials to divulge their financial figures. That statute remains tied up in court.

Three residents applied and were interviewed to replace Gottlieb, and Elvadianne Culbertson won the appointment in February. Beckett said she didn’t apply at that time because she knew Culbertson from her previous time on the council — in addition to having served with her on the code review committee — and considered her qualified.

But shortly after Culbertson’s appointment, Vice Mayor Bill LeRoy resigned, also citing health issues. Rather than reopen the process to find a fifth member, then Council member Monte Berendes — who would later be appointed to replace LeRoy as vice mayor — moved to keep the number at four for the summer. In September, Berendes decided the time had come to solicit applications once again.

Although resident Rafael Pineiro expressed interest in the job at the September meeting, neither he nor anyone else filled out an application until Beckett did so just before the filing deadline.

“People suggested I should apply, (so) at the very last minute I applied and then I found out I was the only applicant,” Beckett said. “I asked a lot of people and they said they were interested, but not interested in making a commitment like that.”

Beckett is a native of Munroe Falls, Ohio. She spent her career in education, starting in elementary schools, before becoming a school psychologist and special-ed administrator.

She was also a community activist in Ohio, serving on the Tallmadge Board of Education for six years and serving terms as both president of the Tallmadge League of Women

Voters and vice president of the Ohio League of Women Voters. She also developed a leadership training program for high school girls.

“My life philosophy is it’s important to volunteer for your community, your church, and your neighbors, and to be a contributor,” Beckett said.

Her interview with the council was relatively brief, with Berendes offering his concern that Beckett’s ascension to the council would leave unfilled vacancies in her committees.

Resident Kevin Hall said the council should “be more concerned with the top down than the bottom up,” and said the effort needed to be made to find other residents to serve on those committees. That sentiment resonated with the council and Beckett won the seat in a unanimous vote.

In addition to getting the new Town Hall and community center built, Beckett said one of her goals is to foster close communication between the council and the governing bodies of the condominiums.

“We’ve got to work with them with what they’re facing in terms of the recertification process,” she said.