By Joe Capozzi

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

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

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

— Brian Biggane

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

By John Pacenti

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

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

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

Bernice and Ed Wenger

Bernice and Ed

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

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

By Mary Thurwachter

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

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

By Mary Thurwachter

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

By Mary Thurwachter

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

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

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

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

By Mary Hladky

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

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

By John Pacenti

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

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

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

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

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

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

Delray Beach candidates on the issues

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

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

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

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

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

By John Pacenti

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

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

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

By Tao Woolfe

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

By Tao Woolfe

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

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

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

By Tao Woolfe

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

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

By Christine Davis

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A five-bedroom, five-bath home celebrates the history of Delray Beach. The entryway and kitchen of this recently completed house have 11-foot ceilings and a street map of the community. Photos by Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

Achievement Centers for Children & Families hosts a full-scale Delray Beach Home Tour offering a peek inside houses between the ocean and the Intracoastal

By Mary Thurwachter

During the past three years, the Delray Beach Home Tour was a shadow of its previous self and the reason was the pandemic, of course. In 2020, the tour was simply a video event showing highlights of homes, enough to let fans of the popular annual event know they weren’t forgotten.
The following two years were mini tours, says Kari Shipley, longtime co-chairwoman of the fundraiser. “We had to limit how many people attended because people were still concerned about COVID.”
This year’s event, set for 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 15, will return to its pre-pandemic scope.

This 1960s home has been fine-tuned over the years and displays many of the owner’s travel photos, including this one from New Zealand in the dining room.

“We’re opening up to full scale,” Shipley said. “We’re really excited. We’ve got great sponsors and eight distinctive homes in the beachfront North End neighborhood of Delray Beach. We’ve got everything from a 1940s cottage to a brand-new house where the owners moved in the 1st of January.
“Now, in the tour’s 20th year, we’re back to expecting 600-700 people and we’ve already sold 450 tickets,” Shipley said in mid-February. “With less than a month to go, we’re pretty sure we’ll reach our $130,000 goal. We’ve already got $118,000.”

ABOVE: This recently completed three-story home has a seating area in front of the main home, with panoramic views along A1A and the ocean. RIGHT: This screen-door insert has graced this Mid-century home for decades through multiple owners.

The North End neighborhood runs from the north side of Atlantic Avenue north to George Bush Boulevard, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Intracoastal Waterway.
Guests can look forward to a leisurely day exploring unique homes, a catered lunch and trolley service between homes, if they like. But Shipley says the seven-block tour is totally walkable for people who choose to hoof it.
“We tell everyone to wear your most comfortable walking shoes,” Shipley said.
Parking will be at First Presbyterian Church of Delray Beach on Gleason Street, just south of Atlantic Avenue.
That’s where people can catch the trolley.
Money raised will go to the Achievement Centers for Children & Families, a community-based organization that provides opportunities for under-resourced children to thrive in a positive environment.
The event runs smoothly, Shipley said, thanks to co-chairwoman Noreen Payne, volunteer coordinator Deborah Dowd, staff at the Achievement Centers Foundation office, and the 100 or more volunteers who are stationed at the homes, on the trolley directing people where to go, and at the buffet luncheon.
The lunch is available from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the historical home of Frank McKinney at 610 N. Ocean Blvd.
“There’s a gorgeous big tree with decking all around it and a great ocean view,” Shipley said. “People will love having lunch there.”

ABOVE: Whimsical sculptures of dogs at play enliven the entrance to this home on A1A. BELOW RIGHT: A collection of family and celebrity photos highlights the living room wall of this Delray Beach home.

Another highlight will be the dozen plein-air artists who will set up easels around the featured homes and at various places on the route. Attendees can watch the artists work and even buy paintings from them. After the event, paintings will be on display at Chapel 4, a historical museum in a landmark building in the heart of the Marina Historic District downtown.
The tour started 20 years ago when Achievement Centers board members Anne Bright and Barbara Murphy came up with the idea to raise money for the nonprofit organization. Since then, the event has raised more than $1.6 million.

Tickets for the March 15 tour are $125. The event runs 10 a.m.-4 p.m. and includes lunch. Advance reservations are necessary. Tickets are available by calling the Achievement Centers Foundation office at 561-266-0003 or ordering at www.achievementcentersfl.org/delray-home-tour/.

Who could ask for a better oceanfront view than the one provided at this home on the east side of A1A?

The backyard of a two-story home on the Delray Beach Home Tour has a hot tub overflowing into the swimming pool surrounded by cut-coral pavers and privacy hedges.

ABOVE (l-r): Reilly Glasser, Amy Procacci and Ashley Cole in their black dresses. RIGHT: Luz Nieto and Laurie Daniel. The Junior League hopes to raise $20,000 in this initiative. Photos provided

By Amy Woods

The little black dress has become an icon. A staple in most women’s closets, it hangs ready and waiting as the go-to garment that can be worn on almost any occasion.
The Junior League of Boca Raton plans to capitalize on the ubiquity of the little black dress this month in an effort to raise awareness of the effect poverty has on choices and opportunities.
“Hopefully, the title makes people think,” league President Jamie Sauer said of the fourth annual Little Black Dress Initiative taking place March 27 through 31. “At the end of the day, the point is to feel a teeny bit of what it might be like to wear the same outfit every day for five days.”
The Little Black Dress Initiative not only will raise awareness of the restrictions poverty places on choices and opportunities, but also illustrate the struggles faced by more than one in 10 Palm Beach County residents living in poverty, the majority of whom are women.
“It’s been really successful for us in helping raising money for the community,” Sauer said. “It spurs the conversation so you can talk with people about it.”
A total of $15,000 was raised last year. This year’s goal is $20,000. Participants ask family members, friends and social-media followers for sponsorships, and proceeds go toward programs and services for women and children in need. Participants also don “Ask me about my dress” pins and post about their experiences on Facebook, Instagram and other platforms.
“For me, wearing the same black dress makes me realize, ‘What does that do for your confidence and how you feel each day?’” Sauer said. “It’s very humbling. It’s extra work. It’s extra laundry. It’s honestly a tough week. It’s a very tiny portion of what people with limited resources face.”

U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel, D-West Palm Beach, recently visited Delray Beach’s Wayside House — a women’s addiction treatment center serving the public since 1974 — and announced $1 million in new federal funding for the facility.
The money will go toward building additions and improvements to accommodate more clients.
“We are so grateful and proud to be recognized at the federal level for the critical role Wayside House plays in the war against addiction,” CEO Lisa McWhorter said. “We are indebted to Rep. Frankel for bringing our work to the attention of Congress.”
The investment is one of 15 local nonprofit projects Frankel submitted through a program that allows members of Congress to secure proceeds for specific initiatives in their regions.
“These funds will go a long way in helping Wayside House continue helping women rebuild their lives,” McWhorter said.
For more information, call 561-278-0055 or visit www.waysidehouse.net.

‘Keeping the Promise’passes $240 million
Steve and Marla Garchik have donated $1 million to “Keeping the Promise — The Campaign for Boca Raton Regional Hospital.”
The gift brought the total amount of funds raised to more than $240 million. The goal is $250 million.
“From the moment we walked through the doors, we believed you can truly feel this is a community-driven hospital,” Marla Garchik said. “The staff and facilities are a step above.”
The Garchiks, who moved to the area 11 years ago, have made multiple visits to the hospital for their parents’ care.
“Honestly, we feel so lucky to have found this special place of care for our family members,” she said. “We’re grateful to the extraordinary nurses, doctors, the foundation and the community outreach of the hospital. Therefore, our promise is to do everything in our power to support this special place.”
For more information, call 561-955-4142 or visit donate.brrh.com.

Achievement Centers appoints new CEO
The Achievement Centers for Children & Families, of service to the Delray Beach and South County communities since 1969, has appointed Adamma DuCille as its CEO.
Former CEO Stephanie Seibel has moved on to a new role as CEO of the organization’s foundation.
“Adamma and I will work collaboratively to develop and expand our programs,” Seibel said of DuCille, who joins the agency from the Children’s Services Council of Broward County, where she was the director of equity and organizational development.
“Through my new role, I will continue to lead the organization by spearheading long-term funding objectives, impact efforts and growth initiatives,” Seibel said.
For more information call 561-276-4561 or visit www.achievementcentersfl.org.

Jewish collective helps women juggle work, home
The Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County has relaunched the Professional Jewish Women’s Collective, a networking initiative dedicated to bringing together women of all ages and backgrounds to nurture each other’s careers.
The PJWC, on hold during the pandemic, provides personal connections, interactive programming and peer support to address the issues that come with balancing work and home. It plans to meet next on May 3.
“The PJWC was born from a shared space where a woman in business, with her own energy, can express her thoughts and ideas openly with a community of women that lift her up to become the best of herself personally and professionally,” PJWC co-chairwoman Jill Poser-Kammet said. “The experience is exhilarating.”
Co-chairwoman Lisa Friedman Clark said, “After moving to Boca in 2020, it became immediately apparent to me that I didn’t have a local network of professional ‘fristers,’ or friends who are sisters.
“Couple that with all the nuances and challenges of starting my third career, a brand-new family business, and you can understand why I jumped at the chance to chair PJWC.” For more information, call 561-852-3128 or visit jewishboca.org/professional-jewish-womens-collective-pjwc.

Send news and notes to Amy Woods at flamywoods@bellsouth.net

Former Apple CEO and Pepsi Vice President John Sculley addressed the crowd at the second luncheon of the season. Sculley discussed his career highlights during an interview by Kravis Center board member Jeffrey Stoops. More than 160 corporate partners and their guests attended, listening to the former executive talk about working at Pepsi in the ’70s when the brand became known for its marketing innovations and at Apple in the ’80s when the Macintosh was launched during the Super Bowl. ABOVE: Jane Mitchell and Stoops. Photo provided by Capehart

Good humor and laughter were in abundance at the Delray Beach Public Library’s 16th annual fundraiser. Angelo and Mari Bianco served as hosts of the event, which is a perennial favorite for its creative, casual, fun-filled night of comedy, cocktails, and supper-by-the-bite. James Austin Johnson of ‘Saturday Night Live’ headlined the show, which raised more than $330,000 and attracted nearly 400 attendees. ABOVE: (l-r) Lindsay Hays Saraj, Mari Bianco, Chiara Clark, Lynsey Kane and Jacqueline Owen. BELOW: (l-r) Bobby, Caron and Robert Dockerty. RIGHT: Donna Paolino Coia and Brenda Medore. Photos provided

Les Girls of Palm Beach President Martina Covarrubias presented a check to Creative Waves Foundation President Candace Tamposi for the construction of a new enrichment center in Belle Glade. During the gathering, Tamposi provided a history of the foundation and described plans for the facility to provide after-school activities and tutoring for children. A multinational, multilingual women’s club with 48 members from 31 countries, Les Girls of Palm Beach donates annually to a local charity. ABOVE: Covarrubias and Tamposi. Photo provided

Several guests attended the debut of the ‘Visualizing Climate Disruption’ exhibition highlighting more than 40 works from 17 Palm Beach County-based professional artists. On display through April 8, the show focuses on artists’ perspectives of climate change. With Florida on the front lines of sea-level rise, climbing temperatures, catastrophic storms, devastation of coral reefs and disappearing sea grasses, the exhibition aims to engage local audiences. ABOVE: Sandra Miller Swill stands before a collection of her work. RIGHT: Lorraine Rabin and Michelle Marra. Photos provided by Jacek Gancarz