By Hannah Spence

South Palm Beach is hosting two gatherings for town residents — one for fun and another for patriotism.

The first, Fall Fest & Food Trucks, will take place from 5 to 8 p.m. Oct. 18 in the parking lot at Town Hall, 3577 S. Ocean Blvd. 

Residents will enjoy a night of community fun accompanied by live music and food available for purchase from food trucks including Dominick’s Pizza, Twisted Smoke BBQ and Kocoa’s Chocolate and Fondue.

Although Fall Fest has been celebrated in town for years, Ellen Salth said this will be the first time with food trucks. 

“Each event we have in South Palm Beach is amazing and special in its own way,” said Salth, chair of the town’s Community Affairs Advisory Board. “What makes it special are the people. All events bring out neighbors, some we know and some new to us. It is nice for the residents to see they are part of a bigger community beyond their building.”

The second event will honor veterans and take place at 1 p.m. Nov. 10, the day before Veterans Day, at Town Hall.

 “I’m grateful for the support, for the attitude of the town,” said 79-year-old Vice Mayor Monte Berendes, himself a veteran. “This was not the case when I served. I came back to the States on leave and was told not to wear my uniform while traveling. Military personnel were spit on and called all kinds of names.”

Although there was talk of doing a cemetery celebration on Veterans Day in Lake Worth Beach, the Town Council decided to forgo that proposal. Instead, the recognition will take place the day before in the council chambers before the start of the regular monthly council meeting.

The small recognition ceremony will feature inspiring stories from town veterans. Light refreshments will be served. There will be no awards, just a meaningful opportunity to honor and hear directly from people who served in the military. 

By Steve Plunkett

Property owners in Gulf Stream will pay the same town tax rate for fiscal year 2026 that they did in fiscal ’25, ’24 and ’23.

Town commissioners Sept. 24 approved the final rate, $3.67 per $1,000 of taxable value.

The tax rate will generate $6.99 million, up about $550,000 from the current year, Town Manager Greg Dunham said. Property values rose 8.5% to $1.9 billion.

Under the approved tax rate, the owner of a $1 million house would pay $3,672 in town property taxes in addition to county, school and other levies.

The town is entering the eighth year of its 10-year capital improvement plan, and the budget’s big-ticket item remains the road and drainage infrastructure work in the Core area.

Dunham will take $2.45 million from the general fund and $643,549 from the water fund to pay for the construction.

Gulf Stream will also borrow up to $7 million to have enough money to finish the improvement plan, pay for a water connection to Boynton Beach and keep a reserve fund of $4 million.

The town’s consulting engineers will begin drawing plans for rebuilding roads and water mains in the Place Au Soleil neighborhood on the west side of the Intracoastal Waterway. 

OCEAN RIDGE — Thomas Waters Perry III died Sept. 15 at Bethesda Hospital in Boynton Beach, surrounded by his cherished friends and loved ones. He was 73.

Born on May 14, 1952, in Chevy Chase, Maryland, Mr. Perry lived a vibrant life defined by his infectious charisma, love for adventure, and devotion to family.

Raised in Chevy Chase, Tom attended Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School, where he formed lifelong friendships and cultivated his passion for sports and the outdoors. His love for the ocean fueled his enthusiasm for surfing, while his talents shone on the slopes as an avid skier and on the field as a fast-pitch softball player.

A devoted football fan and music enthusiast, Mr. Perry found joy in the soulful sounds of rock and roll and blues, which became the soundtrack of his life. His magnetic personality and warm presence drew people in, making every gathering brighter.

Mr. Perry’s professional life began as president of TW Perry Inc., his family’s heating fuel and building supply company. 

Under his leadership, the business flourished, reflecting his dedication and vision. 

Later, he relocated to Florida, where he worked in commercial real estate until his retirement.

In his final years, Mr. Perry found profound peace and strength through a deepened relationship with God, which brought him comfort and serenity.

Mr. Perry’s greatest joy was his family, especially his three beloved grandchildren — Winnifred Perry, William Perry and Thomas W. Perry V — whom he adored. He is survived by his son, Thomas W. Perry IV (Laura), and his grandchildren, who will carry his love and legacy forward. 

His memory will also live on in the hearts of countless friends and community members touched by his warmth.

A memorial service will be held at All Saints Church in Chevy Chase, Maryland, at 1 p.m. Oct. 7, followed by a celebration of life at Columbia Country Club at 2:30 p.m. 

— Submitted by the family

Ocean Ridge Commissioner Carolyn Cassidy revealed a harrowing encounter with a sophisticated phone scammer during the town’s Sept. 8 commission meeting, detailing how a seemingly legitimate caller nearly convinced her to pay a $7,500 fine for an alleged missed federal grand jury summons.

The scammer, posing as a Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office representative, claimed Cassidy had failed to appear for a grand jury duty on Aug. 3, despite her insistence that she never signed any summons.

The caller provided intricate details, including a rescheduled court date of Nov. 19 at the federal courthouse in downtown West Palm Beach.

The scam escalated when the caller presented two potential penalties: a $7,500 civic fine payable at a sheriff’s office kiosk, or a criminal penalty involving a potential three-day jail term.

Sensing something was amiss, Cassidy contacted Ocean Ridge Police Chief Scott McClure, who confirmed her suspicions. The chief emphasized that legitimate law enforcement agencies would never solicit money over the phone. The scammers “operate on fear,” McClure said.

— John Pacenti

Ocean Ridge Commissioner Carolyn Cassidy was honored during the Sept. 8 Town Commission meeting, receiving a gold Certificate of Excellence from the Florida League of Cities.

Mayor Geoff Pugh praised Cassidy’s contributions to the town, highlighting her work with the League of Cities. “It’s so important that we have commissioners on our dais here that actually do a lot of work,” Pugh said.

Cassidy said she became engaged with the league shortly after her election in March 2023.

“I started going to the meetings and found out about this workshop, whereby I learned about all these grant opportunities,” Cassidy explained.

Soon, Ocean Ridge hired a lobbyist to seek grants for the town’s water pipe replacement and other projects.

She emphasized the importance of advocating for small towns in Tallahassee and the valuable networking opportunities the league provides.

Pugh went on to praise the entire Town Commission, describing it as potentially “the best or close to the best commission” he has ever sat on.

The award recognizes Cassidy’s dedication to municipal governance and her efforts to represent Ocean Ridge’s interests at the state level.

— John Pacenti

Mathematics professor Angie Su of Boca Raton can see examples of math almost anywhere, such as with this design at Town Center mall. To give one example, she says butterfly wings are a textbook case of bilateral symmetry: If you draw a line down the body, the left and right sides are near mirror images. Artists would use this principle in designing masks and logos, for example. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

Hui Fang Huang “Angie” Su is all about math.

A professor and lead faculty of mathematics education in Nova Southeastern University’s Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice, she’s a teacher, program creator and community advocate. Math often plays a central role in all she does.

Math isn’t a gatekeeper. It’s a toolkit for living — embedded in snacks and songs, workouts and walks, family budgets and bedtime puzzles, said Su, who lives in eastern Boca Raton.

“Whether you’re counting beats in Zumba, estimating a grocery bill, or puzzling out a snack mix, you’re practicing attention, patterning and decision-making. And those are precisely the skills that help us stay sharp, joyful and ready for whatever comes next.”

It’s also a mental workout, she said. “Holding the steps of a problem in your head exercises working memory. Planning an approach, resisting the urge to guess and checking a result builds executive function. 

“Looking for structure — like noticing that 25 × 16 equals 100 × 4 — develops flexible thinking,” she said. “Estimating first and computing second sharpens judgment and error monitoring.”

When Su is not working, she is working out. Aiming for 30,000 steps a day, she starts her day with a walk with her husband, which energizes her. 

“I feel so good from the walk, I just sit down in front of my computer for a meeting or teaching, and in between, if there are classes at the gym that appeal to me, I’ll go to as many as possible. That’s my break. My high is my workout. It’s what I do to get my brain refreshed.” 

She enjoys body work, step aerobics, kick-boxing, yoga and Zumba.

Even her time at the gym has math components. Take Zumba, for example, which she said may not seem like math, but relies on rhythm, counting and patterns. 

“Most routines are built on eight-counts in 4/4 time; at 120 beats per minute, that’s two beats per second, so an eight-count lasts four seconds and a 32-count phrase lasts 16. Change the order of steps and you’ve created a new permutation; mirror a move across the room and you’ve used symmetry. Even work–rest intervals — say, 40 seconds on and 20 off — are ratios. 

“Trackers add data, letting dancers compare heart-rate zones or average steps per song. When students design a 32-count combo and time it, they’re quietly engaging in math: measuring, modeling and creating music with numbers.” 

Exercise, along with being efficient and adopting the motto she credits to her sister, “I choose to be happy,” are all parts of a winning equation that works for her.

“Being cheerful and getting my things done gives me lots of energy. People say to me, ‘Can I have some of that?’”

Her proudest accomplishments, she says, are her four children: Julius, Jonathan, Judith and Jessica. All have earned Ph.D.s from prestigious U.S. universities.

“I think I live a very blessed life,” she said. 

— Christine Davis

Q. Where did you grow up and go to school? How has that influenced you?
A. Washington, D.C., and Queens, New York, and I attended elementary through college in New York. Big-city life taught me to be alert and resilient, while also savoring museums, libraries and cultural events — experiences that fueled my passion for teaching and learning. 

Q. What professions have you worked in? What professional accomplishments are you most proud of?
A. I’m a teacher, professor, program creator and community advocate. I’m proud to have created the award-winning Project MIND — Math Is Not Difficult; to have a neighborhood schoolhouse (a K-12 charter school in Plantation) named in my honor; to be one of only two U.S. honorees in Guinness World Records’ “Positive Change Makers in the World” (2023); to be named among the Heroes and Champions of Florida’s charter school movement; to have served on, then chaired, Florida’s State Council on Homelessness; and to have delivered keynotes at Cambridge and Oxford.

Q. What advice do you have for a young person selecting a career today?
A. Work hard, find a mentor who will also be your champion, and say yes to stretch opportunities. Curiosity and consistency beat perfection.

Q. How did you choose to make your home in eastern Boca Raton?
A. My husband, Dr. Tsung-Chow “Joe” Su, joined the faculty at FAU, and we moved from College Station, Texas. We were fortunate to find a home in a safe, welcoming neighborhood.

Q. What is your favorite part about living in eastern Boca Raton?
A. The beaches, parks and natural beauty — plus many places to enjoy without an admission fee. People are friendly, relaxed and genuinely happy to be here.

Q. What book are you reading now?
A. I just started Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid and recently read Flashlight by Susan Choi.

Q. What music do you listen to when you need inspiration? When you want to relax?
A. Latin music energizes me. For a quick smile, I’ll even ask Alexa to play If You’re Happy and You Know It. To unwind, I like quiet instrumentals.

Q. Do you have a favorite quote that inspires your decisions?
A. “I choose to be happy.” I’m quoting my sister, Dr. Hui-Li Huang. She never lets anything bother her. When I’m a little bit unhappy, I choose her words, and they negate everything that’s happening. As a medical doctor, she has lots of words of wisdom. 

Q. Have you had mentors who inspired your life decisions?
A. Harold Toppel of the Toppel Family Foundation encouraged me to keep developing my teaching talents and provided crucial support. My parents, Dr. Bau-Duan Huang and Chia-Mei Wu, have also been steadfast mentors and cheerleaders.

Q. If your life story were made into a movie, who would play you?
A. Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh — for her grace, grit and ability to bridge cultures while leading with heart.

By John Pacenti

One way to stoke easygoing Ocean Ridge Mayor Geoff Pugh’s ire: abandon or fail to maintain a property. 

It wasn’t exactly the shoot-out at the OK Corral, but Pugh wasn’t buying what a builder was selling at the Sept. 8 commission meeting when the new out-of-town owners of a once-abandoned construction site came looking for mercy to lift $75,000 in fines on the property.

“Why would I listen? We have asked you over and over and over again for years to do something about the property. You didn’t listen to the town, but then you’re coming to us, and we’re supposed to listen? I don’t think so,” Pugh told contractor Stephen Petrucci of Bella Homes.

Petrucci said the reason that the construction site at 113 Island Drive was abandoned was that the town would not allow work on what was then a spec house when the development order expired. 

“I disagree that it was we who stopped your project. You stopped your own project,” Pugh said. “You didn’t run the project good enough.”

Petrucci said the plan was to construct a residence on the property purchased in 2020 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Then the architect died, and the replacement he hired was unresponsive. “It was really a disaster for me,” he said.

Pugh said that the undeveloped property had bedeviled neighbors. “I mean literally, their back porch, their pool was covered in dirt,” the mayor said.

Caught in the crossfire were new owners Charlie and Lisa Dahlem of Louisville, Kentucky. The couple said they have roots in the area and even got married at the Ocean Club on the beach. The couple bought the property in April 2024, contingent on Petrucci’s building their dream home.

Charlie Dahlem is vice president of The Dahlem Company, a commercial real estate company. He presented a slide of the impressive home he plans to build on the property.

“We purchased the land and did not know this cloud was hanging over us, not at all. It was a surprise to us,” he said.

Commissioner Carolyn Cassidy wondered if Petrucci was focused on building his other homes in the town rather than addressing the mess.

Vice Mayor Steve Coz told the Dahlems, “I think you have a problem on your side of the table that doesn’t involve us, so I don’t understand why we’re getting dragged into it.”

Commissioner Dave Hutchins said, “It’s not our job to take care of this.”

That’s when Petrucci tried to shift the blame to the town for not allowing his spec home construction to continue without a development order. 

“You made the town suffer, and those people suffer over there for years — years,” Pugh said. “Some apologies are not acceptable.”

Town Attorney Christy Goddeau said if an owner of a property is involved in a code enforcement proceeding, receives notice and then transfers the property, “you must provide notice to the new owners; otherwise, there is a presumption of fraud under Florida statute.”

The commission voted no to the request to waive the fine, but without prejudice. This would allow the Dahlems to come back before the panel to address the issue if they come to an understanding with Petrucci, Goddeau said. 

The parking fee at Oceanfront Park increased $1 an hour as of Oct. 1, going to $3.50 an hour, Boynton Beach officials said.

However, the city is not yet implementing any on-street parking fees on Ocean Avenue or in the Schoolhouse Children’s Museum lot — fees that were mentioned in a news release, later corrected, that the city put out in September.

Officials now say any on-street or museum lot parking fees won’t be considered until next year.

“We are in the process of planning for parking in downtown in anticipation of Town Square construction starting and future needs of parking,” city spokesperson Chelsea Sanabia said. 

Town Square is a residential and commercial project planned for the east side of Seacrest Boulevard, near Ocean Avenue both south of City Hall and north of the Old Boynton High School building.

“As we get closer to the Town Square getting started, we will bring this to City Commission for discussion and approval most likely late spring or summer 2026,” Sanabia said of the potential parking fees.  

Regarding other parking in the city:

The cost of an annual beach permit stayed at $65 for city residents and $50 for seniors who live in the city, but the nonresident beach permit is $250 as of Oct. 1, a $50 increase.

The parking fee for boat-trailer parking spaces at Harvey E. Oyer Park is $3.50 an hour as of Oct. 1, which is an increase of $1 an hour. 

Florida residents wanting to use the boat ramp at Oyer Park got a break as of Oct. 1, with the city cutting the cost of the annual boat ramp access permit in half, going to $100 a year.  The annual access permit for non-Florida residents remains at $350. 

— Larry Barszewski

By Steve Plunkett

In a surprise move, Briny Breezes Town Manager Bill Thrasher dropped his proposal to raise town taxes 98% and instead proposed keeping the property tax rate the same as this year, at $3.75 per $1,000 of taxable value.

The Town Council agreed and adopted the rate and accompanying $5.3 million budget Sept. 25.

The revised budget for fiscal year 2026, which started Oct. 1, also includes 5% raises for Thrasher and Town Clerk Sandi DuBose.

Thrasher had talked for months about a tax rate of $6.75 per $1,000, detailing the proposal at council meetings and on the Briny Breezes in-house TV channel.

But on Sept. 3, the town’s consultants on its sea wall and stormwater system upgrades sent an email “informing me that the town’s loan will not occur in FY26 or perhaps only late FY26,” referring to the fiscal year. 

“The state revolving loan fund will not accept construction loan application before August 2026,” Thrasher continued. “This may change to an earlier date, but the uncertainty caused the change.”

In short, he said, if the town doesn’t take out a loan, it doesn’t need to raise taxes to pay for one.

As recently as the Aug. 28 council meeting, Thrasher gave a PowerPoint slide presentation demonstrating that the $6.75 rate would have raised one resident’s overall tax bill by $394 — or 18% if all other taxing agencies kept their rates level and the resident’s property appraisal stayed the same.

But the town’s assessed property values rose 10%, one of the top increases among municipalities in south Palm Beach County.

Even keeping the same $3.75 per $1,000 rate will raise taxes the town receives 9.97% more than the rolled-back rate. That levy, $3.41 per $1,000 of taxable value, would have given the town the same tax revenue as this year, except for taxes from new construction.

At the Sept. 11 public hearing on the then-tentative tax rate, Thrasher said the new $3.75 per $1,000 rate is equivalent to roughly $2 per share in the Briny Breezes Inc. co-op. Mobile homes in Briny Breezes have differing shares based on lot size and location.

Briny Breezes Mayor Ted Gross hears lots of complaints from residents upset about the town’s permitting process — and he might easily have joined their chorus recently after his unit was plastered with a failed inspection notice.

But he didn’t.

The failure was because neither he nor his contractor showed up for the inspection, Gross told his fellow aldermen at the Town Council’s Sept. 25 meeting. One of the responsibilities for the contractor he hired to install hurricane windows on his unit was to coordinate the permit process for him, the mayor said.

“So, I called my contractor, and my contractor gave me all kinds of complaints,” Gross said. “The town this, the town that, the town this.”

The contractor told the mayor he had expected the town to call and alert him to the time and date of the inspection, so the mayor checked things out with Town Clerk Sandi DuBose.

“I ended up seeing the correspondence that our town clerk ends up sending to contractors. And to me, it was so clear and concise,” he said, applauding DuBose for the quality of her work.

“Everything that they were telling me was a lie,” Gross added. “They were just blowing smoke, is what they were doing.”

— Larry Barszewski

Related: Downtown plan’s fate is up to voters, mayor says

By Mary Hladky

Boca Raton voters will decide in the March 10 city election whether to approve a $175 million bond issue to finance construction of a new police headquarters.

City Council members unanimously voted to place the matter on the ballot at their Sept. 22 meeting.

The new headquarters, on 19 city-owned acres adjacent to the Spanish River Library, would replace the antiquated one that now sits across Northwest Second Avenue from City Hall, near Palmetto Park Road.

That facility, built in 1986, is in poor condition and has reached capacity to store evidence and equipment.

At 35,000 square feet, it is too small to house the entire department, requiring the city to locate various functions in seven buildings, city officials say.

While the building is now located in the city’s 30-acre downtown campus, officials say the proposed relocation of the headquarters is unrelated to the city’s effort to redevelop the property through a public-private partnership with Terra and Frisbie Group.

Rather, planning for a new headquarters started long ago and officials decided about two years ago to build it by the library at the intersection of Spanish River and Broken Sound boulevards.

The current headquarters is on 4.4 acres, which officials say is not enough land to accommodate bringing in all of the police operations or to allow for future growth.

Further, the new location takes into account that most of the city’s population growth has taken place in the western parts of the city and thus is more centralized than if it continued to be in the downtown.

And since the city already owns the land, it need not spend money acquiring a new site.

City officials are promising residents that the new location will not reduce police services or response times in the downtown. Plans call for a police substation to be located in the downtown campus.

The estimated cost of the project is $190.2 million. The city is proposing to fund about 8% by using $15.2 million of the balance in the city’s general fund, which now stands at $34.5 million.

The city would fund the rest by issuing $175 million in tax-exempt general obligation bonds for a 30-year term. Deputy City Manager and Chief Financial Officer Jim Zervis told the council that is the cheapest way to finance the project.

Taxpayers, though, would see a property tax increase with an additional tax rate for debt payments of 26 cents per $1,000 of taxable value, or $123.74 a year on a property with a taxable value of $475,000.

As a result, the current tax rate of $3.66 per $1,000 of taxable value would increase to a combined $3.92 per $1,000 rate. But in an effort to avert a public outcry, city officials stress that Boca Raton’s tax rate still would be well below that of other cities.

For example, Fort Lauderdale’s currently is $4.37 per $1,000 of taxable value and West Palm Beach’s is $8.19 per $1,000.

If the project goes forward, construction would start in 2027 and be completed in 2029.

Family of the late Robert Ganger has sold the historic Vanderbilt home in Gulf Stream (above) for $21.6 million. An adjacent property once part of the estate sold in 2023. Photo provided

By Jane Musgrave

Five months after businessman-turned-historical activist Robert Ganger died, a pedigreed Gulf Stream mansion that he helped rescue and which became his decades-long home sold in September for $21.6 million.

The sale, confirmed by Ganger’s son and namesake, marks the second time in two years that part of the oceanfront estate that was built in 1928 for the granddaughter of railroad tycoon Cornelius Vanderbilt has changed hands.

In 2023, a trust belonging to Quebec home product distributor Jean Aucoin paid $16.65 million for the smaller, northern part of the estate at 1465 N. Ocean Blvd. that was also once owned by Lila Vanderbilt Webb before it was divided into two parts in the 1930s.

Robert Ganger, who spent much of his childhood at first his grandfather’s and then his father’s home at 1443 N. Ocean Boulevard, called its sale “bittersweet.”

“It’s been in the family for more than 50 years,” said Ganger, 57, an event producer in Tallahassee. “It’s been the beacon and the rock. My sister and I adore the house. We’re definitely going to miss it.”

But, he said, with nine bedrooms and 10 bathrooms spread over three buildings on nearly an acre of land, the estate was simply too much for him, his sister or his father’s widow, Anneli Ganger.

Dubbed Miradero, Spanish for “vantage point,” the nearly 7,000-square-foot estate with a pool was designed by noted architect Maurice Fatio, who left his mark on dozens of houses from Palm Beach to Miami. It sold for roughly $3.4 million less than its nearly $25 million asking price.

The estate needs work, Ganger said. Thankfully, he said there are strong signs that the new owners will show as much care for it as did both his father and grandfather.

Ganger declined to identify the buyers, as did listing agents Pascal and Antonio Liguori of Premier Estate Properties in Delray Beach. But, Ganger said, “on paper, at least, they’re a perfect match.”

“The family is hopeful that the new buyers will stick to their plan to refurbish the house and restore it to its full glory,” he said. “My dad would be happy with who it is and may have had a hand in it if you believe in that sort of thing.”

In a 2018 interview with The Coastal Star, the senior Ganger recalled going with his father to look at the house on Easter Sunday 1969. Left to Good Samaritan Hospital in a will, it had been vacant for years, he recalled. 

A developer had an option to buy it and the one to the north and tear both down. Instead, the senior Ganger said he and his dad found a buyer for the other house and convinced the hospital to accept their offers.

After his father died in 1991, the senior Ganger and his wife moved into the house and began restoring it. They researched Webb’s plans and followed her wishes. 

Correction: The younger Robert Ganger's profession has been corrected from that shown in a previous version of this story. He is an event producer.

By Mary Hladky

Boca Raton has scrapped its plan to change the beach parking system.

On ice are the addition of new technology and eliminating beach park gatehouses.

Residents still will be able to get a sticker to attach to the lower left-hand corner of their windshield that shows they are permit holders as they enter Spanish River, Red Reef and South Beach parks.

The cost is unchanged at $85 for city residents and those living within the Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District for the year that began on Oct. 1 and ends on Sept. 30, 2026.

The daily flat parking rate for non-permit holders driving cars, motorcycles and minivans remains at $35 on weekdays and $50 on weekends.

The city had proposed changes in June that were intended to make it quicker and simpler to park at beach parks. Instead, they caused confusion and anger.

The problems started with a memo from then-City Manager George Brown to City Council members in early summer that sought their authorization to establish a parking meter zone for the beach parks.

Residents thought that meant parking meters would be installed, parking permits would be eliminated and they would lose some parking access while non-residents would gain access.

Many feared the changes would allow for hourly parking, making the spaces more desirable to out-of-towners who otherwise would have to pay the higher-priced daily rate. City officials said that was not going to be the case.

Officials tried to clarify that residents would not lose parking and parking permits would remain.

The city simply wanted to improve parking technology by installing meters that could tell who was a permit holder and who was not, with non-permit holders charged the daily parking rate.

Eliminating gatehouses, officials said, would allow residents to enter the parks more quickly.

But the widespread confusion prompted Mayor Scott Singer to pull the matter from the June 10 City Council agenda so that city staff could better explain the plans to residents.

He said the council would consider the proposed changes later in the summer. That never happened.

Instead, city staff took steps to streamline the system to make it easier for residents to get both information and the permits, such as improving how residents can get permits online.

Since then, the city has gotten no complaints. “It’s been going great,” said a city spokeswoman. 

By Mary Hladky

When Boca Raton officials in 2009 purchased the land that now is Wildflower Park, they envisioned it as the perfect spot for a waterfront restaurant.

A citizens’ group, however, had a very different idea. Members wanted a public park, and voters overwhelmingly endorsed that in a 2016 ballot initiative.

What followed was a long, tortured process to make that happen. The City Council made numerous design changes, some to rein in spiraling costs and others the result of council members micromanaging every detail.

The park finally opened to fanfare in 2022, but very few residents used it. The homeless, though, were drawn to it, giving residents another reason to stay away.

After sporadic talk for more than a year by current council members about solving the problem, officials now are serious about “activating” the park, located along the Intracoastal Waterway at 551 E. Palmetto Park Road. That is city-speak for giving residents a reason to use it.

City staff outlined ideas at a Sept. 8 council workshop meeting. What they boil down to is trying different things to see what works, and then doing more of that.

Council member Yvette Drucker said that there’s little to do at Wildflower. “There has to be a purpose to go to this park,” she said.

Tiffany Lucia, the city’s deputy recreation services director, agreed, saying that the park should attract people with fun activities.

“We need to get bolder and move faster,” she said. “It is time to get moving.”

City staff wants to focus on programming additions centered on health and wellness, art and community experiences, Lucia said.

The ideas include music events, food trucks, recreation options such as games, pop-up events and adding to playground amenities.

“We want something happening every day,” she said.

The city also must communicate with residents about what is available at the park. That could include a schedule of events posted online or with signage.

New activities will begin soon and will be evaluated to see if they are popular. If so, the city will do more similar events. If not, something different will be tried.

The city also is improving the Palmetto Park Road bridge underpass that connects Wildflower with Silver Palm Park to the south of the bridge.

The bridge was being painted in mid-September, and color-changing lighting was in the process of being installed. Four murals will be added to the bridge columns between the two parks. The work was expected to be completed by the end of October. 

TOP: ADMA Biologics won the heavyweight division in the second annual Boca Helping Hands Corporate Challenge Hunger Games. L-R: Ryan Bertalotto, Jomarie Ramirez, Cassandra Hugelmeyer, Marie-Chantale Simard, Joel Robinson, Christina Odai, Patricia Fox, Majdulin Dawad and Kaitlin Kestenberg. MIDDLE: Woolbright Development won the middleweight division. Standing, L-R: Yitzy Rosenberg, Tara Patel, Makarena Osorio, Kerry Silver, Tracy Rosario, Cristina Stiller Johnson, Jo-Anne Roggin, Rich DiChiara, Jason Wisgo, Pablo Ramos, Avery Archibald, Yailen Chenlo, Liz Hoyer and Sophia Scroggie; kneeling, L-R: Luis Ramos and Mauricio Abela. BOTTOM: SouthState Bank won the bantamweight division. Back row, L-R: Lauren Nanni, Rachel Ritter, Lisa Rodriguez, Lisa Rabinsky, Sadith Isla, Evelyn Madera, Simone Politakis; front row, L-R: Sanja Langley, Michelle Adams, Kayla Stellabotte and Sean Chaderton. Photos provided  

By Christine Davis

Thanks to Boca Helping Hands’ second annual Corporate Challenge Hunger Games and the 11 local businesses that took part in the July competition, more than 19,000 additional meals were made available to local families in need.

“We had 22,879 pounds of food that we wouldn’t have had,” said Bill Harper, senior director of operations at Boca Helping Hands.

“Food drives are plentiful in the spring and fall,” he said. “People want to help us out. But every summer, our donations go down. Because people go on vacations, we don’t get food drives from churches, synagogues and mosques. We don’t get them from schools, and for businesses, with people going on vacations, they don’t think about it.”

The Hunger Games challenge started last year to fill the gap.

To get it going, Harper contacted 76 businesses this year. In 2024, seven businesses rose to the challenge. This year, 11 took part. “Next year, we’ll get more because of how popular it was this year,” he said.

Harper tied the theme of the challenge to wrestling, focusing the competition on businesses gathering food for Boca Helping Hands during July.

“In wrestling, there are weight divisions: bantamweight, middleweight and heavyweight. And we had three different size businesses. Companies with 50 employees or less would be in the bantamweight. Companies with 51 to 100 employees would be in the middleweight, and in the heavyweight division were companies with 101 employees or more.”

The Corporate Challenge bantamweight winner was SouthState Bank. The middleweight winner was Woolbright Development. The heavyweight winner was ADMA Biologics.  

Boca Helping Hands was formed 27 years ago. The new competition will help the organization in its mission to serve more than 35,000 people in South Florida.

Its programs include hunger relief, job training, health care, emergency financial assistance, child care, and weekend meals for Palm Beach County schoolchildren.

In 2024, Boca Helping Hands distributed 5.2 million pounds of food to local families, Harper said.

“This year, we were down 40 percent going into this summer. We are still struggling and running 35 percent down from last year and we are heading into the holidays.”

According to Harper, one in nine individuals in Palm Beach County is experiencing food insecurity — about 160,000 individuals.

Boca Helping Hands has these events in October:

• Trick or Treat So Others Can Eat, 5-7 p.m. Oct. 25 at Town Center of Boca Raton. Halloween-costumed children will bring nonperishable food donations to participate in various fun events.

• Thanksgiving Box Brigade includes preparations during October to provide Thanksgiving meals to families.

Individuals interested in donating items, delivering meals or becoming sponsors may visit bocahelpinghands.org/thanksgiving.

Boca Helping Hands is also open for donations at 1500 NW First Court, Boca Raton, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. 

***                             

Glades 95th Owner LLC, a partnership among Schmier Property Group, Giles Capital Group, Rosemurgy Properties and Wheelock Street Capital, sold Uptown Boca for $118.5 million.

Uptown Boca is a 194,927-square-foot shopping center at 9536-9704 Glades Road, west of Boca Raton.

The buyer was an affiliate of Stockbridge Capital Group. Uptown Boca is fully leased to tenants that include Whole Foods Market, REI, HomeSense and Sephora, with Life Time Fitness to open soon. JLL Capital’s Danny Finkle, Jorge Portela and Kim Flores represented the seller.

                           ***                              

The Adrian and Mary Sandra Zaccaria 1988 Family Trust, with Mary Zaccaria and son Justin Zaccaria as trustees, sold the 11,799-square-foot home at 166 W. Alexander Palm Road in the Royal Palm Yacht & Country Club, Boca Raton, for $17.5 million. 

The new owner is KM Revocable Trust, with Kelly Martin as trustee. The seven-bedroom, nine-bath home along a canal leading to the Intracoastal Waterway features a bar, an elevator, a summer kitchen, pool, putting green, an outdoor fireplace and a dock. 

The late Adrian Zaccaria was an executive with the Bechtel Group Inc. The home last traded for $10 million in 2018.

Matthew Quattrociocchi of Century 21 Tenace Realty represented the seller in the deal. Marcy F. Javor of Signature One Luxury Estates worked with the buyer.

***                             

Derek M. Ettinger, as trustee of the 2021 Tennis Trust, sold his six-bedroom, 9,022-square-foot residence at 311 E. Key Palm Road in the Royal Palm Yacht & Country Club, Boca Raton, for $16.5 million. 

The purchasers were Philip and Alyssa Bonadonna. The deal included $6 million in seller financing, plus a $495,000 second mortgage from Royal Palm Properties LLC. The deal was brokered by David W. Roberts of Royal Palm Properties. 

The home, built in 2015 on a 0.45-acre site, last traded for $12 million in 2021 as part of an agreement with federal prosecutors and a prior owner.

Prosecutors said Brian H. Sperber bought the home under his wife’s name in 2020, in part with proceeds from a pandemic-related scam, selling personal protective equipment that didn’t exist and pocketing the money.

Sperber pleaded guilty in May 2024 in federal court in Atlanta to conspiring to commit wire fraud. He was sentenced in February to two years and two months in prison and ordered to pay $14.2 million in restitution. 

The 2021 sale of the Key Palm Road home to Ettinger netted about $4 million, which was to go to victims of the scam, officials said.

***                             

The Amy & Noreen Team at Lang Realty has undergone some recent changes.

Paige Mercado is now its director of business development. Agent Gimena Dimilta has joined the team and Kerry Doyle Waite is in the process of obtaining her real estate license. Namrata Israni, an agent with social media expertise, is also part of the team. 

“We are thrilled to celebrate Paige’s well-deserved promotion and to welcome Gimena, Kerry and Namrata into these expanded roles,” said Lang Realty agents Amy Snook and Noreen Payne.

***                             

Arts Garage, in Delray Beach, recently appointed art advocates David Plaza and Paula Tishok to its board of directors. 

Plaza is a managing director and wealth management adviser with Merrill Lynch Wealth Management. Tishok has held senior roles in financial operations and strategic planning at Westin Hotels, Westinghouse Electric Corporation and Tenet Healthcare.

***                             

Delray Beach resident Chuck Halberg, founder and president of Stuart & Shelby Home Builders and president of Delray Citizens for Delray Police, received the Carl Angus DeSantis Foundation’s 2025 Catalyst Award. 

Halberg is also the founder and member of Impact 100 Men of Palm Beach, past chair and current director of Arts Garage and creator of the charity event Flat Stanley Rides a Harley for Kids and Cops.

He has been involved with  Milagro Center, Achievement Centers for Children & Families, Miracle League of Delray Beach, The Spady Museum, and Roots and Wings.

***                             

Three startups joined the Global Ventures incubator program at the Research Park at Florida Atlantic University. They are: Standard Space Antennas, a company originally from Argentina that creates high-performance antennas for satellites and space missions; Inaam Botanical Sodas, a company that makes a no-calorie soda; and Milagro AI, a coding company for the medical industry.

***                             

Lisa Brown, a teacher at Lake Worth High School, will be one of the recipients of the 2025 outstanding holocaust educator award given by Florida Atlantic University’s Arthur and Emalie Gutterman Family Center for Holocaust and Human Rights Education.

Recipients will be recognized Oct. 30 at the 16th annual awards dinner, at the Marriott Boca Raton.

For more information about the awards dinner, contact Ellen Sax at 561-297-0849.

                             ***                              

FAU recently began constructing its Kurt and Marilyn Wallach Holocaust and Jewish Studies Building, which is slated to be completed fall 2026. 

Kurt Wallach died in 2021, a year after he and his wife, Marilyn, made a $20 million gift to the university to create the Kurt and Marilyn Wallach Institute for Holocaust and Jewish Studies, with a portion used as the lead gift to construct the building. 

Within the 22,000-square-foot Wallach building will be Florida Atlantic’s Arthur and Emalie Gutterman Family Center for Holocaust and Human Rights Education; Holocaust education and Jewish studies programs; the Leon Charney diplomacy program; and the Center for Peace, Justice and Human Rights. 

Also, lectures and exhibits will be offered.

***                             

Roots and Wings raised more than $35,000 at its “Hats Off! to Teaching Children to Read” event, which was held in August at Eddie V’s Prime Seafood in Boca Raton as part of the Greater Boca Raton Chamber of Commerce’s Festival Days.

The money raised will support Project UpLift, Roots and Wings’ free after-school reading program for local students in need of literacy help. To learn more, visit rootsandwingsinc.org.

***                             

The League of Women Voters of Palm Beach County will host a Hot Topic Luncheon, “Insights from Tallahassee,” with state Sen. Lori Berman  and state Rep. Anne Gerwig. 

Berman, a Democrat, is minority leader of the Florida Senate, where she represents the 86th district, stretching from Hypoluxo to Boca Raton. She was first elected in 2018 after serving four terms in the Florida House of Representatives. 

Gerwig, a Republican, was elected to the Florida House last year after serving as mayor of Wellington from 2016 to 2024 and a previous six years on the Village Council. 

In Tallahassee, she represents Wellington, Greenacres and parts of unincorporated Palm Beach County, and serves on the Joint Committee on Public Counsel Oversight. 

The luncheon will take place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Oct. 22 at Fountains Country Club, 4476 Fountains Drive, Lake Worth Beach. Cost to attend is $40 for league members and $45 for nonmembers. The deadline to register is Oct. 15 at lwvpbc.org.

Christine Davis writes about business and can be reached at cdavis9797@gmail.com.

Driver Engineer Kyle Pavelka (l-r) and firefighters Alex Lutz and Alex Ayerdis demonstrate the use of the epoc Blood Analysis System now being used on emergency medical calls by Highland Beach Fire Rescue. The department is the first in Palm Beach County and only the third in Florida to implement the system. Photos provided

By Rich Pollack

Firefighters and paramedics in Highland Beach have a new technology at their fingertips that can help them better understand a patient’s medical condition on the spot, speeding up treatment in some cases and in others, helping to avoid unnecessary hospital trips.

Highland Beach Fire Rescue is the first in Palm Beach County and only the third in Florida to implement a portable blood-analysis system that provides critical information that fire rescue personnel can use to provide enhanced care for patients.

“They can make a lot of decisions quickly based on the 13 elements in the lab results,” says Fire Rescue Chief Glenn Joseph. “The new technology has the potential to eliminate a lot of time in the emergency room and some of the cost.”

Joseph and Assistant Chief for Operations Tom McCarthy say first responders using the system can provide test results to emergency room personnel on their way to the hospital or once they get there. That gives the ER staffers a heads-up on what they’re dealing with and eliminates — in some cases — the need for similar tests once patients arrive.

Often, Joseph said, it could take quite some time in a busy emergency room before a patient’s blood is taken, sent to the lab and the results are seen by a doctor.

With the new epoc Blood Analysis System, the results arrive with — or even before — the patient.

In addition, Highland Beach Fire Rescue is working out some connectivity issues, but plans to implement a telemedicine system where paramedics will be able to reach a doctor by phone and forward the test results, as well as provide video of the patient.

Joseph and McCarthy say the new system can also help patients decide whether they want to go the emergency room — or need to — by providing more detailed information.

“We can determine the seriousness of a call more objectively,” Joseph says.

Take, for example, a case of the flu.

A patient complains of having flu-like systems and when paramedics arrive, they see flu-like symptoms.

“You look like you have the flu but this tests to see if something else is going on,” Joseph said.

That something else could be severe dehydration or even a more concerning infection.

The results could also show that the patient just has the flu and can decide to stay home and get rest rather than be taken to the hospital.

McCarthy is quick to point out the blood test is not a substitute for all the other steps first responders take to diagnose a patient’s condition and says that it is done simultaneously so as not to interrupt the normal protocols.

“The lab results are just part of the puzzle,” he says.

Since the department implemented the system in early September, it has been used to help diagnose patients complaining of chest pain, breathing issues, general weakness and abdominal pain, among other issues.

The system is minimally invasive with a small amount of blood taken that is placed on a card which is then put in a reader. Results are provided within three and a half minutes.

“You can show the results to the patient and help them make an informed decision about their care,” Joseph said.

Cost of the readers and some of the other equipment, about $20,000, was covered by the Highland Beach Police and Fire Foundation.

While the system has benefits to Highland Beach residents, Joseph sees it having broader impact by reducing the number of folks going to the emergency room and by reducing the number of rescue trucks taking people to the hospital.

He sees more fire rescue departments, and perhaps even emergency rooms, using the system as its reliability continues to be proven.

“This gives us one more peg in the hole to make a clear decision,” he said.

By Rich Pollack

Highland Beach town commissioners gave final approval Sept. 18 to a new $32.2 million budget that includes approximately $6.6 million in town-wide capital projects while at the same time holding the tax rate steady.

The total budget for the new fiscal year that started Oct. 1 reflects an increase of about $4.5 million over the previous year’s estimated $28 million.

The general fund portion of the budget that covers the cost of running the departments — including police and fire rescue — is expected to increase by about 5.6% in the new fiscal year, or about $1 million, and will come in at about $19.5 million.

Still, thanks to an increase in property values, town leaders were able to keep the town’s tax rate at the same combined $3.58 per $1,000 of taxable value as last year. Homeowners who saw an increase in their property’s taxable value will see an increase in the taxes they pay.

This year, a home with a taxable value of $500,000 will pay about $1,790 in property taxes to Highland Beach. The Town Commission approved an operating tax rate of $3.41 per $1,000 of taxable value and a debt service rate of 17.1 cents per $1,000.

About 75% of the town’s general fund revenue will come from property tax dollars, an expected $14.1 million, or a 6.8% increase over the current year. Public safety makes up about 63% of the general fund expenses, with fire and police each costing just over $6 million.

The total budget also reflects an increase in water and sewer rates of about 5%, while the building department fund anticipates a reduction in permit fees of about 12%.

An estimated $675,000 from the water fund will be used for capital improvements while $2.15 million from the sewer fund will be used for capital projects, including a long-awaited sewer lining project.

Funding for construction of a fire station annex on the site of the old fire station, with a potential price tag of about $1.3 million, is also included in the budget.

By Mary Hladky

City Manager George Brown’s long tenure as a top city administrator is coming to a close.

Brown, who announced in April that he would be retiring at year’s end, attended his final City Council meeting on Sept. 25 and became City Manager Emeritus four days later.

In that role, he will be available to provide his deep knowledge of Boca Raton and its operations to his successor. His retirement is effective on Jan. 4.

Mayor Scott Singer thanked Brown for his outstanding service and presented him with a key to the city as a token of gratitude.

“We appreciate your leadership. We appreciate your dedicated service,” he said.

Brown said he had attended about 2,100 public city meetings during his time with the city.

“It has been my honor to work for the city and to feel that I have made a difference,” he said.

His successor is Mark Sohaney, who retired as a captain from the U.S. Navy in 2024. He officially started the job on Sept. 29.
Sohaney is the former chief executive officer of Joint Air Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii and previously served as chief executive officer of Naval Air Station Key West, but has no experience running a city.

The City Council hired him on Aug. 12, saying he brings executive experience and a fresh perspective on moving Boca Raton forward. Under his employment agreement with the city, Sohaney will earn $300,000 a year, or $10,000 more than Brown. As is standard, he will get a car allowance, health and life insurance and will participate in the city’s executive retirement plan.

Brown’s career with the city spans 43 years. He joined the building inspection division in 1977 and rose through the ranks to become assistant city manager. He left for about five years, but was recruited to return and became deputy city manager in 2004.

He has handled many of the city’s most complex matters, including the sale of its western golf course in 2021 and the lease of city land in Mizner Park that cleared the way for construction of the Center for Arts and Innovation. That project fell apart early this year when TCAI was unable to meet city-set fundraising deadlines.

Most recently, he has steered the city as leaders are attempting to create a public-private partnership with Terra and Frisbie Group to redevelop 30 city-owned acres in the downtown campus where City Hall and the 17-acre Memorial Park are situated.B

But that project has drawn strong opposition from vocal Save Boca activists who want it scrapped.

The Boca Raton has agreed to take the lead on refurbishing the century-old fountain on East Camino Real just outside the resort’s main entrance. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Mary Hladky

The orphan fountain outside the entrance to The Boca Raton will be refurbished early next year.

State Rep. Peggy Gossett-Seidman, Palm Beach County Commissioner Marci Woodward, resort president and CEO Daniel Hostettler and other resort officials met on Sept. 8 to discuss making improvements.

Gossett-Seidman dubbed it the “orphan fountain” because no one seemed to know who was responsible for it. It turns out that the resort has been paying for its water and electricity usage and doing maintenance even though it isn’t on resort property.

It sits in a roundabout on East Camino Real, a county road, just outside the resort’s main entrance. Its age is uncertain, but Boca Raton Historical Society records show it was in place in 1930, and possibly was built by the resort’s second owner, Clarence Geist.

Gossett-Seidman, whose district includes Boca Raton, heard from nearby residents that the fountain needed some tender loving care and made it her mission to get that done.

While specifics including funding are still being worked out, “everyone (at the meeting) agreed on a path forward,” she said. “It is just a great outcome.”

The resort, which will celebrate its centennial next year, is taking the lead on the project, she said.

Hostettler did not provide details, but said in a statement that “we are working with the county and the state on enhancements to the fountain as part of celebrating three important milestones — our 100th anniversary, the city’s centennial and the nation’s 250th.”

“This beautiful landmark has been part of Boca’s 100-year history, and I was excited to learn more about the enhancements coming soon!” Woodward told constituents in a Sept. 17 newsletter and posted on social media. Through her staff, she said she had no further comment.

According to Gossett-Seidman, the fountain won’t be changed significantly, but will be enhanced.

Upgrades will be made to the electrical system and plumbing so that water will shoot higher into the air. Lighting will be installed and colors can be changed to recognize events such as the Fourth of July. Landscaping will be significantly improved.

“It is a win-win-win, really,” she said. “It benefits every-body.” 

The Residences at Martin Manor is finally rising from the ground.

Years of effort to replace the dilapidated Dixie Manor public housing complex bore fruit on Aug. 25, when a groundbreaking ceremony was held for three apartment buildings that will provide 95 units on the 10-acre site at 1350 N. Dixie Highway in Boca Raton.

Construction of those buildings — the project’s first phase — is expected to be completed in the fall of 2026.

The complex in the city’s historic Pearl City neighborhood has been renamed in honor of Lois Martin, a community leader and educator who died in 2022.

With that groundbreaking milestone reached, the Boca Raton Housing Authority is moving ahead with plans for the project’s second phase, which is to include two additional buildings with 105 units.

When finished, Martin Manor will more than double the previous 95 public housing units on the site.

The city’s Planning and Zoning Board unanimously recommended approval of the second phase on Aug. 21. It goes before the City Council on Nov. 4.

“This redevelopment reflects more than just new construction — it symbolizes our unwavering commitment to the families we serve and to the historical legacy of Pearl City,” housing authority Executive Director Ashley Whidby said at the time of the first-phase groundbreaking,

“We’re honored to bring forward a modern, service-rich community that truly supports our residents’ potential for long-term success.”

One of the complex’s original buildings, dating to the 1940s, will be preserved to serve as a museum and for other community uses.

The first phase will cost $52 million, funded by $7.1 million from the Florida Housing Finance Corp., $640,000 from the city, equity from First Horizon Community Investment

Group and a construction loan financed by Citi Community Capital.

The housing authority is partnering with Atlantic Pacific Companies on the project.

— Mary Hladky