By Larry Barszewski

Delray Beach property owners could see their city tax rate drop again this year — the 11th consecutive year the rate has been reduced or stayed the same — though many homeowners and businesses would still end up paying more taxes because of rising property values.

The goal of city commissioners to reduce the tax rate is being assisted by another strong increase in property values this year, which are estimated to be up 13.2% or $1.9 billion.

At a June 13 budget workshop, Mayor Shelly Petrolia and Vice Mayor Ryan Boylston took the lead in supporting a tax rate reduction even greater than City Manager Terrence Moore was considering.

Either way, taxpayers likely will be warned of a proposed tax increase when tax notices go out in August, since the proposed reductions in the tax rate could still be more than offset by the increased tax revenue from higher property values.

Commissioners said they would be willing to dip into excess emergency reserves to inch the tax rate lower if they can’t find budget cuts to make up the difference.

Finance officials typically recommend having two months’ worth of expenses in reserve, which averages out to 16.7% of the city’s operating budget. Delray Beach uses a higher benchmark — reserves equaling 25% of the operating budget — to cover the potential of a crippling emergency, such as a hurricane pummeling the city.

The city’s unrestricted reserves, projected at $45.5 million this year, are about $10 million more than even that 25% level, officials said.

The city manager had suggested a combined tax rate — including the operating tax rate and the debt tax rate — of roughly $6.60 for every $1,000 of taxable property value.

Moore reached that recommendation in part by lowering the operating tax rate from last year by $.05 per $1,000 of taxable value.

Petrolia and Boylston said they would like to see a further operating rate reduction, to a total of $.15 per $1,000 of taxable value if possible.

“We’ve raised the rates on water. We’ve raised the rates on storm-water, not to mention the inflation everybody is feeling in their pockets from insurance to going to the grocery store,” Petrolia said. “To balance it out, I kind of feel like the way we can do that with our citizens is to lower that rate as much as we can without affecting any services.”

Moore said he would take those views into consideration in preparing his proposed budget, which will be discussed by commissioners July 11.

Once the proposed tax rate is set, the commission can make a further reduction during September’s public hearings on the budget, but officials are generally prohibited from raising that rate.

Minimum wage raise suggested

Commissioners said they want to raise the city’s minimum wage of $13.23 an hour. It would cost about $295,000 to lift that wage to $15 an hour, which would cover 16 employees now making less than that amount, and to provide 4% increases for another 149 city employees near the bottom.

While commissioners would like to see a change soon, they said they would defer to the city manager on how best to proceed.

Petrolia said she would support going even above $15 an hour. But she didn’t want the commission to completely open the union contract — which still has a year left on it — to renegotiation. “When we open up that can of worms, it takes off in different directions,” she said.

Boylston said the change is needed because low wages cause turnover that hurt maintenance and services in the city.

“I think this is critical. If there’s any place that I can spend $200,000 to $300,000, it would be addressing this need,” Boylston said. “Look at what our residents are asking for, look at the complaints you get in your emails. It is directly connected. If we want to be able to maintain our city and do all the things that our residents expect us to do to make Delray Beach even better than what it is, we need people. We need people to stay in these positions and we need to be able to staff up. Otherwise, nothing is going to change.”

During the workshop, city officials told commissioners the budget includes Highland Beach’s paying for only seven months of fire rescue services before that town starts its own fire department in May 2024. Moore said there should be no impact on the city’s bottom line.

In another area, Petrolia was concerned that no money from the city’s Urban Development Action Grant was being used to buy land that could then be offered to build affordable housing, a great need throughout South Florida and the country. City officials weren’t certain the grant money could be used for land acquisition, but they agreed to check and report back to commissioners.

“We had $3.8 million sitting out there that could have been invested in land, that we could then have leveraged with these builders that are required to build a certain amount of [affordable] housing units,” Petrolia said.

“I would like to see us purchase land to be able to, again, like I said, flip over to these developers that are required to build and let them build at their expense houses in our town. … If we don’t leverage that, we’re going to miss that boat and it’s just going to be gone.”

Carol Titcomb and her husband of 73 years, Ray, have lived in their Hypoluxo Island home since 1985. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

Carol Titcomb haș always been on the move and, at 92, the Hypoluxo Island resident shows few signs of slowing down.

During a recent interview at her spacious home alongside the Intracoastal Waterway, Titcomb was in constant motion, rolling back and forth, up and down, in a wheelchair, obeying a doctor’s order to address an issue in her lower extremities.

“I don’t use the wheelchair except for this,” she said. “Normally I get around just fine using a walker.”

Titcomb was about to head off to college in upstate New York when she first met Ray — her husband of 73 years as of July 2. Instead, the pair got married and Ray set about getting his degree at the University of Bridgeport. Soon, the first of their four sons arrived and being a mother became Carol’s full-time job.

After a few moves around Connecticut, the two bought Woodbury Pewter in 1952, a shop their oldest son, Brooks, continues to run in that town. As the other boys headed out on their own, Carol and Ray found their current home in 1985 and have been there since.

“We used to travel a lot — we’ve driven all over the United States and just loved Italy — and I played a lot of bridge down at St. Andrews Club and The Little Club,” she said. “Our health these days keeps us closer to home.”

When asked about a favorite cause, she said she has done a lot of work for hospice. “We had an event for Matt Lauer’s dad over at Atlantis Country Club. But I don’t get around so well anymore and Ray won’t let me do it, so instead I spend a lot of time with eight grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. And I love it. To me it’s a blessing.”

Aside from Brooks, their sons are Gordon, a musician and antiques dealer who lives in Connecticut; Jeffrey, a writer in Mexico; and Jamie, the town manager of South Palm Beach.

— Brian Biggane

Q: Where did you grow up and go to school? How do you think that has influenced you?
A: I could have gone to either Kings Park High in Smithtown or the Northport School in Northport, New York. I attended both but graduated from Kings Park High. My desire was to go to Cornell to be a brain surgeon. But before I graduated I met Ray, who was the best friend of the boy next door. They were going to Sunken Meadow State Park and invited me.
We were walking across the sand dunes and the water was coming up and I was wondering how to get across. Ray said, “Don’t worry, I’ll carry you.” He was attending Stevens Institute of Technology and I went to his prom. And that was it. He said, “I don’t want you to go away. I want you to be my wife.” So, we got married and he went off to University of Bridgeport to be an industrial engineer.

Q: What professions have you worked in? What professional accomplishments are you most proud of?
A: When we moved to Newtown, I got very involved with the Town Players. I produced a play, I did makeup, I did production, promotion. I loved it. I could have made something of that, but I played the piano instead. I like to sing. But I was too busy raising four kids.
Ray worked as an electrical engineer for a while, but he was commuting over an hour to New Haven and working in the hot sun and we started looking for something else.
A friend told us about Woodbury Pewter being for sale so we bought it and started selling reproductions of early American pewter. If Ray needed something shipped out at night, I would have the kids fed by 6 o’clock and go to the shop and help Ray pack until 12 or 1 o’clock. I helped him wire a house, plumb a house, get on the ladder three stories up and pull clapboards along. I loved all of it.

Q: What advice do you have for a young person seeking a career today?
A: Maybe it’s better (for a parent) to take $150,000 and put it in the bank and get a trade instead of a college education. Do you know how much money plumbers, electricians and other tradesmen make? That is not disrespectful. That is a talent and we all need those people.
I don’t think people should make them feel lesser because they haven’t got a degree. Some people with Ph.Ds don’t know to come in out of the rain. Do what makes you happy, but also take care of your responsibilities.

Q: How did you choose to make your home in Hypoluxo Island?
A: We bought this house in 1985. Two of our sons, Jamie and Jeffrey, our two youngest, came with us to Naples and we loved it but it was too quiet for young sons. So, we hopped over to Fort Lauderdale, and we liked that. Then the boys moved down and Ray said we have to buy them a sailboat. Ray was piloting a 62-foot boat up the Intracoastal and saw this house so he came and got me. This property had the biggest trees on the island, just gorgeous. We called (Realtor) Pat Weeks and she said the sign was going up the next day. So, we came the next morning and looked out to the water and said “This is fabulous.” We made an offer and they took it.

Q: What is your favorite part about living on Hypoluxo Island?
A: There’s a peacefulness here. I love the fact there are young people here, and young children. I love children. I just wish Lantana would think a little more about us, and bring more unanimity between us and people on the other side of the bridge.
This island is a treasure. We have one of the biggest lawns on the island, and everybody on this island loves this house because of the lawn. I’ve said to Ray, “I’m dying here. When I’m gone shoot me off the end of the dock.”

Q: What book are you reading now?
A: Finding the Light in Dementia, by Dr. Jane Mullins. It’s very interesting. How to deal with it when you have to, and how a caregiver should respond. My sister, who lost her husband four years ago, told me we all should have read this, because things get worse. And I’m about to read The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post, by Allison Pataki.

Q: What music do you listen to when you want to relax? When you want to be inspired?
A: I just love music. One of my grandfathers was a timpanist and cellist in the New York Philharmonic. But I love music from the ’30s, ’40s, ’50s, ’60s. I love Dean Martin, all the older ones. A thrill of my life was I flew to Boston when I was 15 to see the opening of the Harmonicats, who sang Peg o’ My Heart. And years later we took a cruise and a highlight was one of the guys from the Harmonicats was there — still kicking.

Q: Have you had mentors in your life? Individuals who have inspired your life decisions?
A: My grandmother, Susan Sanford. She died two weeks shy of 95. She was an amazing person. Lost a daughter at 9, lost her husband three years later and lost my beautiful mother at 51. She was the assistant buyer of silver at the B. Altman’s. She was a buyer for Kate Smith, had lunch with Eleanor Roosevelt and did some shopping for her. Then went to Lord & Taylor. She said to me, “Darling, be grateful for your disappointments because they may be blessings in disguise.” And boy did that stick in my mind. And I said, if she lost these three people that she loved, and she had that attitude … everybody loved her.

Q: If your life story were to be made into a movie, who would play you?
A: Katharine Hepburn. I thought she was great. She had a place in Fenwick and we used to drive by it all the time. Her house was gorgeous. I used to watch her and Spencer Tracy, they were so good together.

Q: Who/what makes you laugh?
A: I love children. They make me laugh. I love a good joke. Red Skelton is hysterical; he would make me laugh without trying.

Commission OKs raise from $52,250 to $61,250, with chance for more

Related: Highland Beach: Town counts on police pay boost to bolster recruitment efforts

By Steve Plunkett

Police officers’ starting pay in Gulf Stream jumped in June from the very bottom of a list to what town officials hope is a more attractive midpoint — with the suggestion made that salaries could go even higher during budget discussions this summer.

It was the second time in four months that Police Chief Richard Jones secured higher pay for his ranks, the first time coming in February when he led Ocean Ridge’s Police Department. His modus operandi was the same: compiling a list of salaries higher than what his town pays and pointing out that money saved from having jobs vacant would cover the pay increase.

“What the chief has done is analyzed starting salaries for (15) municipalities that you see listed here and as you can see, Gulf Stream’s starting salary, remember we’re talking about starting salaries here, is at the bottom,” Town Manager Greg Dunham said.

Jones listed Gulf Stream at $52,250, well below Ocean Ridge’s $62,000 and Manalapan’s $60,638. Also putting upward pressure on police pay are Boca Raton, which was not on the list and gives new hires $77,850, and Florida Atlantic University, listed next to last and said to be contemplating a new starting salary of $75,000.

And, said Dunham, “These starting salaries are more than likely going to increase over the next two or three months as the towns and cities go through the budget process.”

Dunham and Jones recommended doing away with a two-step increase the town was using that gave new officers a $3,000 raise after six months and a second $3,000 boost after one year, which would have pushed the initial salary to $58,250.

But town commissioners at their June 9 meeting wanted Gulf Stream even higher and approved a figure of $61,250, a 17% raise.

“I hate to be at the bottom of the totem pole,” Commissioner Joan Orthwein said. “I just think in the middle is a better place to be.”
Jones and Dunham were prepared.

“I did some calculations based on the number of $61,250 as well as some on the $58,250 to kind of give us an idea of where we would fall in the event we had a discussion like this,” Jones said. “And basically, because we’ve been down three positions for the majority of, actually the entirety of this budget cycle, we have not spent approximately $152,000. So, we have the funds in this year’s budget without requesting funds outside of our budget allotment to be able to make adjustments.”

The higher number meant an immediate raise for Alex Gonzalez, who was hired in March. It also is a sweeter pot for Assel Hassan, who joined the department on June 26, and whoever fills the two remaining vacancies.

The department is supposed to have 14 people on staff: Jones, a captain, two sergeants and 10 officers. Jones said he would attend a recruiting event on June 26 in Orlando and was preparing flyers and a video touting the town.

Mayor Scott Morgan was pleased with the progress.

“We’ve got the [new license plate] cameras, we’ve got a new police chief — we’re moving in a positive direction,” Morgan said.

Jones also reported that he received a call about 8 a.m. June 2 from a man in the 3000 block of North Ocean Boulevard reporting that the pool area of the neighboring home had a broken window and it looked like somebody had damaged the property overnight. Two officers were on traffic stops and did not respond immediately, Jones said.

“And within a minute or two we got a phone call again from that resident advising that it appeared as if somebody may be inside the property as the property is not currently being lived in,” he said.

Jones and Capt. John Haseley were there within probably a minute and a half or so.

“And with the assistance of Officer Todd Sutton, we were able to apprehend an individual who was hiding in the pool area of the home underneath some patio furniture,” Jones said. “So, he was promptly arrested and given the best stay at the Palm Beach County jail, and remains there.”

New deal with union increases starting salary by $15,000, to $70,000

 Related: Gulf Stream: Police starting pay jumps 17%, making town more competitive

By Rich Pollack

For the Highland Beach Police Department, recruiting new officers has long been a challenge, especially since the starting salary of $55,000 was among the lowest in the county.

That changed June 1, however, after town commissioners signed off on a new union contract that raised the starting salary to among the highest in the area while offering provisions that will benefit veteran officers as well.

The new starting salary of $70,000, and a change in the salary structure that makes it possible for officers to reach the new top pay of $95,200 more quickly, will help recruitment and retention, town and union leaders say.

“Now they’re in the game,” said Palm Beach County Police Benevolent Association President John Kazanjian. “Once the word gets out, Highland Beach will have people lining up to fill out applications.”

Kazanjian said the new contract will also reduce the need for recruiting a lot of new officers because those already in the department probably will stay longer.

“You want longevity in your Police Department,” he said. “I don’t see a lot of people leaving anytime soon, making that much money.”

Kazanjian, who is also a Palm Beach County sheriff’s deputy, said that at least for a few months Highland Beach’s new starting salary is higher than that of the sheriff’s office, which will raise its starting figure to about $70,000 in October.

Highland Beach is bound to see a spike in applications thanks to the pay increase, but Police Chief Craig Hartmann said he is hoping more for applications from officers who will be a good fit for the department.

“We have created a compensation package to attract and then retain the best officers that have all the qualifications, training and experience that come with a veteran police officer,” he said.

The town’s Police Department, which has 16 sworn full-time officers and four reserves, is hoping to attract senior officers who already come with training and experience.

“The town recognizes that value of the well-trained officer who is the best fit for our community,” Hartmann said.

While recruiting is difficult for departments throughout the country, Hartmann said small towns have challenges that can make it harder to attract qualified officers.

Small towns offer limited opportunities for overtime, special assignments and advancement since they usually have a limited number of detectives, sergeants, lieutenants and captains.

“We’re very challenged by the limitations,” City Manager Marshall Labadie said, adding that the pay increase helps offset those challenges.

The higher pay also helps Highland Beach compete with departments that provide benefits such as car allowances and health savings accounts, although Highland Beach does offer an education incentive and an incentive for officers on the night shift.

As part of the contract, which will be in effect through September 2026, the town will adjust its compensation package from 10 annual steps to eight, meaning an officer will be able to reach the highest pay grade two years sooner.

With the new contract, the top pay jumped $11,800, from $83,400.

Hartmann said the increase in starting salary is already helping with recruitment. A reserve officer with years of experience in Boca Raton’s department who had been on the fence about becoming a full-time officer decided to take the step once he learned of the improved pay scale.

Labadie said that the town is able to increase the salaries without having a major impact on its budget or a long-term negative impact.

“This contract puts us in the right spot as we continue to be the safest town in Florida,” he told the Town Commission.

Commissioners unanimously approved the new contract.

“This is a win-win,” said Commissioner Donald Peters, a former police officer in New York state. “It’s helping the town and helping our officers.”

By Tao Woolfe

The United States Postal Service, which hopes to stay in downtown Boynton Beach, will have to wait for a decision until the city re-advertises for new developers and new plans.

The Boynton Beach Community Redevelopment Agency last year solicited bids for proposals for a new post office building at 401-411 E. Boynton Beach Blvd.

The agency received two proposals, but neither one fit the post office’s specifications, CRA Executive Director Thuy Shutt told city commissioners at a June 16 meeting.

The current building — at 217 N. Seacrest Blvd. — is owned by the CRA with plans for future commercial or mixed-use redevelopment, which is why the post office must relocate.

The CRA had hoped that developers would come up with a mixed-use concept for vacant CRA parcels on East Boynton Boulevard that would accommodate the post office’s requirements of 3,474 square feet for a retail post office, a loading dock, and 22 parking spaces.

The post office has said it definitely wants to stay downtown, and if the right concept comes along, it would lease that space on a long-term basis.

The CRA received proposals from BTH Development Partners and SAW Commercial Investment LLC last November, but earlier this year, the post office told the CRA that neither design concept would work.

In May, city commissioners, acting as CRA board members, formally rejected all bids and asked the agency’s staff to bring back all the development proposal options available to the city.

Those options include invitations to bid, requests for proposals, letters of interest, public/private partnerships, and invitations to negotiate.

Shutt said there may be only limited numbers of people willing to build to suit, and to serve as landlord, for a government entity. She suggested that the city re-advertise, and expand its search beyond the local area.

“We would like to advertise in a broader sense to reach entities outside of Florida,” she said. “Previous proposers can sharpen their pencils” and reapply.

The city commissioners said they prefer that the CRA seek requests for proposals rather than opting for other negotiating tools.

Shutt said she would bring the revised RFP wording back to the commissioners at the July CRA meeting for approval.

Meanwhile, the CRA has agreed to extend the post office’s lease at its current location.

The City Commission had suggested last year that developers come up with a mixed-use concept for a freestanding building that would house the post office on the first floor and other businesses, such as medical offices and a tourist center, on upper floors.

By Tao Woolfe

The city has given the developers of a restaurant — to be created partly on the site of the historic Oscar Magnuson house — until November to resubmit their site plan application.

Developer Anthony Barber, who also owns Troy’s Barbeque restaurants in Boynton Beach and West Palm Beach, asked for the extension to work with city staff on the application process.

Barber had submitted two site plan proposals for the property at 211 E. Ocean Ave. to the planning and development department in January, but they were rejected as incomplete.

The City Commission, sitting as the Community Redevelopment Agency board, unanimously agreed to the extension in June.

About a year ago, Barber told the commission he wants to redevelop the Magnuson house into a 3,000-square-foot, full-service American-style restaurant consisting of the home and five shipping containers.

The restaurant would be open seven days a week and would be called Pauline’s, Barber said, to honor his grandmother.

He said he plans to renovate the two-story Magnuson house, built in 1919, for inside dining. Before completing that, Barber plans to use shipping containers for the kitchen area, walk-in food storage, restrooms, an artisan bar, and a rotisserie grilling area.

Barber, whose Boynton Beach barbecue restaurant is located on Federal Highway south of Woolbright Road, told commissioners last year he has lived in Boynton Beach for 35 years and wanted to open a restaurant in his home city’s downtown.

The restaurant will employ some 30 people, Barber said, and he will not seek a loan to finance the venture. Barber’s partner, Rodney Mayo of the Subculture Group, has said he is providing $1 million in financial backing. The partners’ development company is known as 306 NE 6th Avenue, LLC.

BOYNTON BEACH —Virginia W. “Ginny” Foot enjoyed a life active in professional accomplishments, baseball fandom, travel and her church. She died June 17, a year after her cancer diagnosis. She was 81.

Born July 19, 1941, to Joseph White and Jane Montgomery White, Ginny was raised by her grandmother, Marie White, with adoring “brothers” Dr. Ed and Dr. Ike White, and helped by grand-uncle Roland Somers. She grew up on Virginia’s Eastern Shore and attended Mary Washington College.

Mrs. Foot worked in radio in Accomac and Richmond, Virginia, before becoming a stewardess with Central Airlines from Kansas City. For 10 years she was wife of Frank Messer, a baseball announcer, and found lifelong friends among the Oriole and Yankee clubs, before becoming a Marlins fan.

In 1977, she married Bob Foot, who helped her start the Art of Framing Inc. in Boynton Beach. In 29 years in business, Mrs. Foot served as president of the Chamber of Commerce of Boynton Beach and as a member on some of the city’s advisory boards.

The church was important to her and she provided leadership in Holy Spirit Episcopal Church, West Palm Beach, and served as lay director of the diocesan Cursillo Secretariat.

The couple voyaged from Sitka to Dutch Harbor and Kotzebue and midpoints in Alaska on several trips and enjoyed tours in Europe and China.

On Memorial Day 2022, she was diagnosed with cancer and undertook treatment.

Mrs. Foot leaves Bob, his daughter Sarah, nieces Lee Kilduff (Bill), Laura Anderson (Scott), Carrie White (Paul Campsen), Somers Farkas (Jonathan), Kellam White, and nephew Ned White, Bob’s brother Ted Foot (Pat), sister-in-law Karen Foot and other nieces and nephew and grand-nieces and -nephews and many friends from the churches, neighborhood and beyond.

A celebration of life is scheduled for 10 a.m. July 1 at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Lake Worth Beach. Committal will be in the family plot in Parksley, Virginia.

Memorial donations may be sent to St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, 100 N. Palmway, Lake Worth Beach, FL 33460, or American Cancer Society, P.O. Box 13300, Tampa, FL 33681-3300.

— Obituary submitted by the family

BOYNTON BEACH — Thomas Edwin Kaiser, a tireless activist for fellow veterans, died May 17 in Delray Beach. He was 95.

Born Jan. 29, 1928, in Mount Vernon, New York, Tom enlisted at 17 in the Navy, in January 1945, after losing his beloved brother Bob on the USS Trout in 1944.

Mr. Kaiser worked diligently for veterans of all wars and was instrumental in the creation of the Veterans Park on Federal Highway in Boynton Beach. The Boynton Beach Veterans Council recently named the park for him.

His beloved wife of 69 years and the mother of his children, Jean, predeceased him on April 11, 2017. He is survived by his daughters Cathy Weil and Debra Kaiser; son-in-law Michael Coyne; grandson Kevin Coyne and his wife, Julie Kennedy; granddaughter Jordan Mills and her husband, David Mills; his brother Charles Kaiser; nephews Ronald Kaiser and Russell Kaiser and niece Roberta Ritchie and their families.

He also adored his two beloved grand-dogs, Goldie and Mo, and his grand-cat, Luna.

Burial will take place at the South Florida National Cemetery, 6501 S. State Road 7, Lake Worth.
In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate donations to Trustbridge Hospice or Honor Flight Southeast Florida.

— Obituary submitted by the family

OCEAN RIDGE — Marvin H. Ginsky of New York, Florida and Connecticut, died peacefully June 8. He was 92.

Born in New York City on Aug. 2, 1930, Marvin spent his high school years hanging out at Pete’s Pool Room in the Bronx, then worked his way through New York University, earning a bachelor’s degree in economics and a scholarship to New York University Law School, where he made Law Review in his first year and graduated in the top percentile of his class.

Mr. Ginsky was admitted to the New York State Bar in 1955. He was an attorney at Paramount Pictures, New York City, from 1955 to 1960. He was then employed for 37 years by Champion International, where he headed the legal department as general counsel and executive vice president. In retirement he worked as an arbitrator in New York and Connecticut.

Mr. Ginsky was a masterful storyteller. He had a gift for turning a phrase and writing limericks for all occasions. He loved entertaining, fine wine and food, art, travel, music and theater. He was a member of the International Wine and Food Society of New York, the Chaine des Rotisseurs of New York and Connecticut, the Shakespeare Society, and the Trollope Society. He also enjoyed social croquet in Florida.

He is survived by his beloved wife of 46 years, Rita, his daughter Andrea and her husband, David, his grandson Dillon and daughter-in-law Christine. He was preceded in death by his son Mitchell. He made friends wherever he went and will be missed by many.

Memorial donations may be made to the Hertzberg Palliative Care Institute, Box 1070, Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York, NY 10029 or at www.mountsinai.org/care/palliative-care.

— Obituary submitted by the family

By Mary Thurwachter

Lantana residents got a first look at the town’s completed master plan June 14.

Dana Little, the urban design director for the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council who spearheaded the effort, appeared at a special Town Council meeting to present the $169,800 plan, a year in the making.

“Tonight, I want to focus on the things that haven’t been presented before,” which came directly from work with Town Manager Brian Raducci and Development Director Nicole

Dritz and her staff, Little said. “And it’s a much better plan for it.”
Little identified three planning districts: the Lantana Beach District, the Downtown District along Ocean Avenue from the Intracoastal Waterway west to U.S. 1, and the Town Center District, where Town Hall is located.

The beach

“We think the beach is, if not your primary asset, it’s in the top two or three,” Little said. “It really needs some investment. We were out there, and the restaurant was packed. The

Dune Deck is one of the very few places in Palm Beach County where you can literally sit and dine on the beach. But we were quite surprised with the state of the boardwalk, handrails and steps. There are unsafe conditions at the beach which need to be an immediate priority for funding.”

If the beach is the town’s best asset, its upkeep should be a priority, Little said. “It’s like the old broken window scenario, what is the message that’s being sent?” he asked.

Replacing handrails and steps that have been battered over the years with storms will vastly improve the conditions out there and make them safer, he said.

Beyond the decking and handrails, his team looked at the landscaping and at what other communities have done.

“In Martin County, they did a full beach-park redo,” Little said. “They got rid of the sod, which never worked very well in those sandy conditions. They replaced it with natives that are sea spray and sea salt tolerant.”

Another recommendation is to landscape the beach entrance at Dorothy Rissler Lane beside Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa. “There are sandbags all over the place and cars are parked all over. With landscaping and design, you can maybe discipline this a little bit. There’s probably an infinite number of ways to do this,” Little said.

Downtown

The master plan recommendations include a “dining incentive area,” Little said. “It’s the parcels that are on Ocean Avenue stretching all the way out to North Dixie. That’s really the heart of your downtown and that includes the Key Lime House.

“We heard over and over again about the parking challenges and we’ve come up with recommendations about how you might provide parking to the north and the south.”

Little said Dritz identified parcels “on Third Street and then the FEC parcel south — right along the FEC corridor south of Ocean Avenue — which has some opportunity.”

There is an existing municipal parking lot at North Third Street, just north of the library, to the west of U.S. 1.

“It’s missing sidewalks and is not clearly signed,” Little said. “You don’t know if you’re supposed to be there or not. It’s kind of unkempt. We walked from there to downtown multiple times and it’s literally a 41/2- to 5-minute walk. Crossing U.S. 1, North Dixie, is easier than it is in a lot of locations within the corridor. We were able to restripe and get over 60 spaces that are literally within a 5-minute walking distance from your downtown. Not only is that an interesting and perhaps a good idea, but those spaces could be used as an incentive for someone to come and invest.

“Say I want to do a restaurant and go into one of the buildings that’s already there. And the code currently requires me to have five parking spaces on site. Well, guess what?

Maybe it’s a first-come, first-served basis: You invest in the downtown, we will count these spaces off site toward your parking requirement.”

The town needs to do some work such as completing sidewalks and manicuring the municipal lot.

“We did a rendering to show you how you can even take a wall [next to the municipal lot] and do some sort of mural, and turn it into a vibrant place,” Little said. “With a little paint and some signage, people would know this is a safe and legitimate place to be.”

Town Center District

Little’s team said the Town Hall campus deserved additional attention.

“There’s a lot of pent-up opportunity within this beautifully planned municipal campus that you have,” he said.

“You all were designated a Tree City at one point. But over time, many of the trees have gone away. We looked at the Greynolds Circle area and we identified six or seven different locations where there could be key interventions along the circle.

“It might be missing sidewalks, it might be creative crosswalks, it might be providing streetlights and certainly providing landscaping. I just identified one or two of those detailed areas but there are six of them where we’ve got detailed plans which show where new street trees should go, where new sidewalks should go, where additional on-street parking could be beautified and legitimized.”

Little said the circle area should be used for a lot more things. It would be a great place to set an example for re-creating a tree canopy, he said.

Kmart site development

The Kmart site is also an important piece of the master plan.

Little’s team agreed with the council’s decision to reject a recent development proposal for the property.

“Not because the program was wrong, not because we were opposed to a developer bringing in residential, but the way that they were delivering it, creating a sort of gated cul-de-sac community in the middle of a parking lot,” Little said. “You could do better than that. So, we’ve got designs in the master plan with renderings for that and lots of other things as well.”

A vote on whether to accept the plan is expected at a future council meeting.

LEFT: Donald Ross’ original design for the course. RIGHT: Pro golfer Gene Sarazen blasts out of a bunker in the 1950s at the Delray Beach municipal golf course. Photos provided by Donald Ross Society and Delray Beach Historical Society

By Christine Davis

Delray Beach’s deteriorating municipal golf course, built in 1925, should be considered for listing on the city’s local Register of Historic Places, the City Commission unanimously agreed on June 6.

Commissioners also agreed to tell staff to allocate $125,000 toward the restoration of the course to make it eligible to apply for a $500,000 state grant to restore the links — partly designed by Donald Ross, one of the country’s preeminent golf course architects.

The course has languished for years for lack of funding, and frustrated commissioners two years ago proposed to sell 8-10 acres abutting West Atlantic Avenue to a company that would be allowed to build office space, housing and a hotel in exchange for restoring the course.

Six companies offered a variety of plans, but residents, golfers and preservationists protested the loss of green space and the commission, under the public pressure, rejected all the bids.

Proponents of restoring the course urged commissioners to designate the course as historic to secure grant money and consider alternatives sources of restoration funds.

The course is a unique hybrid. Although Ross designed 18 holes, only nine were built. In the 1950s, Dick Wilson, one of the preeminent designers of his generation and a former director of the course, designed what is today the front nine.

Preservationists contend that the Wilson nine is worthy of historic designation. He designed courses around the country. One of his most notable local designs is the Pine Tree golf course in suburban Boynton Beach.

***

Miami-based Ocean Bank plans to open its first Palm Beach County branch at 799 Federal Highway, Boca Raton, after a proposed modifying of the current retail zoning to office.

The building is owned by 799 Federal Investments, and the bank would replace a former 2,917-square-foot Boston Market.

The bank’s president, CEO and chairman, Agostinho Alfonso Macedo,  noted that the new bank is scheduled to open in the fourth quarter of 2023.

“The new branch in Boca Raton is a logical extension of our history of lending in Palm Beach County and of our continued expansion plans,” he said in an email. “Boca Raton and Palm Beach County offer strong potential for business growth, and we want to be where our customers are. We continue to look at locations for additional branches in South Florida and other parts of the state to add to our network of 23 branches.”

A large commercial bank chartered and headquartered in Florida, Ocean Bank was founded in December 1982 in a double-wide trailer on Northwest 42nd Avenue in Miami. The site is now the bank’s headquarters.  

Ocean Bank has 20 branches in Miami-Dade, two in Broward County and one in Orlando. The bank’s commercial mortgage originations in 2022 were $1.59 billion, and it has total assets of $5.9 billion.

***

The 18th annual ranking of “The Thousand” and “America’s Best Real Estate Professionals,” prepared by Real Trends and Tom Ferry America’s Best Real Estate Professionals and promoted in a Wall Street Journal special advertising section, were released in June. Included are agents and teams from south Palm Beach County who made the lists.

Ranking by sales volume

Local agents: Ralph Harvey, Boynton Beach ListWithFreedom.com, with $998.841 million (#3 nationally, #2 in Florida); David Roberts, Royal Palm Properties, Boca Raton, with $235.47 million (#52 nationally and #12 in Florida); Marcy F. Javor, Signature One Luxury Estates, Boca Raton, with $201 million (#76 nationally and #18 in Florida); and Rochelle LeCavalier, Douglas Elliman, Boca Raton, with $171.3 million (#23 in Florida).

Local small teams: Candace Friis Team, Corcoran, Delray Beach, with $246.4 million (#35 nationally, #4 in Florida); Pascal Liguori Estate Group, Premier Estate Properties, Delray Beach, $165.28 million (#14 in Florida); D’Angelo/Liguori, Premier Estate Properties, Boca Raton, $115.15 million (#24 in Florida).

Local medium teams: Jonathan Postma Group, Coldwell Banker, Boca Raton, with $206.7 million (#61 nationally, #8 in Florida); Senada Adzem Team, Douglas Elliman, Boca Raton, $184.1 million (#12 in Florida); Kilpatrick Team, Corcoran, Delray Beach, $132.7 million (#21 in Florida); Alicia Gold, Compass, Boca Raton, $122.97 million (#25 in Florida); Randy & Nick Team, Douglas Elliman, Delray Beach, $102.76 million (#32 in Florida); Buchbinder Group, Compass, Boca Raton, $94.9 million (#36 in Florida); Julian Soffer Team, Keller Williams, Boca Raton, $91.16 million (#39 in Florida).

Local large teams: Platt Group, Compass, Boca Raton, $151.49 million (#15 in Florida); Atlas Team, Compass, Boca Raton, $131.56 million (#21 in Florida); Rucco Group, RE/MAX Direct, Delray Beach, $100.4 million (#33 in Florida).

The rankings were open to real estate professionals who chose to participate in the project, based on their reported sales volume and other criteria over 2022. To be considered for a ranking, an agent must have closed at least 50 transaction “sides” or recorded $20 million in closed sales volume for 2022, according to Real Trends.

Teams must have closed 75 residential transactions or $30 million in closed sales volume.

Under the rules of the survey, agents and brokers who handled both sides of a transaction — representing the buyer and the seller — were allowed to double the final dollar figure when they calculated their total volume for the sale. For this article, agents and teams were noted up to the top 100 in “The Thousand” and up to the top 50 in Florida of “America’s Best Real Estate Professionals.”

***

As of the first of this year, four new technology startups joined the Global Ventures at FAU incubator program at the Research Park at Florida Atlantic University. They are: Biobeat Medical, an Israel-based company that uses artificial intelligence and machine learning for insights into patient care; Ecosign Technologies, a spinoff of Contech Brazil, offering technology that helps control contaminants in the pulp and paper, textile, agribusiness and poultry industries; Isolab USA, a company launched in Germany with manufacturing operations in Turkey that provides products and services used for research activities; and Triangulate Labs, a South Florida-based startup that created Skinmap, a technology that detects changes in the skin that could be early signs of cancer.

Two companies, after graduating from the incubator program, have moved to new spaces in Boca Raton: FloSpine and Gustie Creative. FloSpine  makes 3D-printed spinal fusion implants. Gustie Creative is a retail specialist that provides solutions for small- to medium-sized businesses.

***

Shadow Chord, by artist Louise Nevelson, has been restored by the Boca Raton Museum of Art through a grant from Bank of America’s Art Conservation Project. Photo provided

The Boca Raton Museum of Art has completed the restoration of the 1969 sculpture Shadow Chord, by renowned artist Louise Nevelson (1899-1988), thanks to a grant from Bank of America’s Art Conservation Project.

This year, the bank selected  projects from 23 museums globally, with 13 in the United States and only one in Florida. Shadow Chord is on view on the second floor at the Boca Raton Museum of Art, 501 Plaza Real.

***

Brothers of the Lambda Alpha Alpha Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc. initiated a “Curb Appeal” project in 2020 to ease the burden on caretakers who care for loved ones. On the morning of June 10, they painted a senior’s house and enhanced the landscaping at 1016 NW Fourth St., Boynton Beach. 

The fraternity brothers have committed to paint and landscape 10 properties in 2023, and this is their sixth project. Other Boynton Beach properties that they’ve worked on include: 413 NW Fifth Ave., 607 NW Fourth St., 130 NE Eighth Ave., 1020 S. Seacrest Blvd., and 114 N. Seacrest Court.

For more information, or to have a home considered, contact Dwayne Randolph at 561-441-1186.

***

Marita A. Butzbach is now executive vice president of Lang Management’s property management operations. In her 30 years with Lang Management, her roles have included customer service representative, property supervisor and, most recently, supervisor for the company’s 42 property managers.  

***

The NonProfit Times partnering with Best Companies Group named The Lord’s Place as one of the 2023 Best Nonprofits to Work For for the seventh consecutive year, noting that it has excelled in creating a quality workplace.

“We are proud of this recognition. Our employees are our greatest resource. We attract and retain a diverse staff who are innovative, compassionate, talented, and share our common passion to help others to end local homelessness for good,” said The Lord’s Place chief executive officer, Diana Stanley.

The Lord’s Place offers services to Palm Beach County’s homeless men, women and children.

***

The Loxahatchee Group of the Sierra Club Florida Chapter and Solar United Neighbors will host a Zoom meeting, “Solar 101,” covering the benefits of solar energy for both homes and businesses.

This free online meeting, which is open to the public, is scheduled for 7:30 to 9 p.m. July 27. Special guest speaker Laura Tellez, Solar United Neighbors’ South Florida program associate, will discuss solar technology and economics, answer questions and share resources. Zoom attendees will also learn about solar co-ops.

For more information, visit https://act.sierraclub.org/events/details?formcampaignid=7013q000001QZIPAA4&mapLinkHref=

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

By Mary Thurwachter

Lantana Finance Director Stephen Kaplan gave Town Council members and residents a first look at the proposed fiscal year 2024 budget during a June 12 workshop.

Among the highlights, Lantana saw a 17.1% increase — or $262 million more — in taxable values this year, the highest percentage rise of any South County coastal municipality.

The increase was tied to new construction and the development of Water Tower Commons, the 73-acre mixed-use project with apartments and some retail in one of the town’s most desirable locations — the site once occupied by the A.G. Holley State Hospital.

“For the current year we have approximately $1.5 billion in taxable value, and with the 17.1% increase this year, we’re estimating $1.79 billion for 2023/2024,” said Kaplan, including $77 million in new construction and $70 million from Water Tower Commons.

Unlike last year, when the town upped the tax rate from $3.50 to $3.75 per $1,000 of taxable value — despite a 15.8% increase in the town’s tax base — no rate increase is planned this year, Kaplan said. Property tax revenue, using that $3.75 rate, is expected to bring in $6.4 million, assuming a 95% collection rate.

Money from the county’s infrastructure surtax, or penny sales tax, is expected to bring in $1.05 million to help pay for the ADA ramp at the beach, wooden decking and railings at the beach park, replacing Town Hall windows, renovating the Town Council chambers, paving projects, and constructing classrooms and an emergency operations center at the Police Department.

Lantana has received more than $6.3 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act money. To date, more than $4.2 million of those funds has been committed for various related projects, leaving about $2 million for other projects, Kaplan said, although he didn’t specify the projects.

Lantana has received $2.8 million in grants and appropriations. The bulk of the money — $1.2 million each from the federal and state governments — will be used for water main replacement.

The grant money will also go toward improvements to Maddock Park and the dog park there; a stormwater drainage system and future-needs analysis; an asset inventory and Ocean Avenue vulnerability assessment; and to pay for ADA door openings and parts of the library garden.

On the spending side, Lantana will revise salaries for employees to remain competitive; add an assistant police chief; add a new library manager and a business development specialist.

In the town’s administration department, about $210,000 will be put aside for replacing computers and purchasing three SUVs for the Police Department. Public Services

Department expenditures include $897,500 for town-wide improvements such as landscaping, adding trash receptacles and installing electric lighting along Greynolds Circle (around Town Hall) for holiday events; holiday decorations for Greynolds Circle; community park improvements such as new benches, landscaping, and trash cans; replacing the roof at the Recreation Center; and resurfacing the basketball court at the Sports Park.

The library budget sets aside $35,000 for bookshelves, computers and books.

The second budget workshop is set for 5:30 p.m. July 10 in the council chambers. The proposed tax rate will be set that night, as well. Public hearings on the budget and tax rate will be Sept. 11 and 20.

Women of the Ladies Improvement Association gather in 1913 in front of the Town Hall they founded in 1906. Photos courtesy of the Delray Beach Historical Society

A look at the adventurous women who set out to change Delray in the early 1900s

By Kayleigh Howald

In 19th century Florida’s undeveloped wilderness, women and men alike were dedicated to their families’ survival. Multiple first-person accounts describe women working in the fields to clear the land and care for livestock and crops, alongside their husbands and fathers. Although men are often credited with settling Florida’s east coast, the communities themselves were developed by the work and ingenuity of women.

On Feb. 28, 1902, a group of enterprising women founded the Ladies Improvement Association with the purpose of developing infrastructure for the burgeoning village. Early members included several prominent women within Delray’s community: Ellen Sherwood, Elta E Sherman, Nellie Blackmer, Gertrude Zeder, Lucy Chapman, Mary Sterling, Elizabeth Sundy, Anna McRae, Frances Tenbrook, Elizabeth Lane, Ina Helena Haygood, Marie Pedersen, Anna Eliason, Jessie McLeod and Sarah Tasker

The Ladies Improvement Association organized and funded the construction of Delray Town Hall.

Working for cold hard cash
In addition to membership dues of 5 cents per meeting, the Ladies Improvement Association raised money by selling a variety of goods. The group often took commissions for dresses, bathing suits, baby sacks and corset covers, as well as shirts and nightshirts for “bachelors and widowers” for 25 cents each. At the meetings, the women sewed thick canvas mittens and leggings for pineapple harvesters. They also made aprons for butchers and masons, and seed bed covers for farmers. The women sold embroidery, candy, cakes, sauces, butter, peanuts, nutmeg, cloves and fish.

Ice cream socials, however, were the society’s most successful money-making endeavor. The ladies sold ice cream at different events and areas throughout town, including the packing houses and railway station. These sales were not without their difficulties, namely mosquitoes.

According to one recollection, “When we were selling the cream the mosquitoes were so thick that someone had to keep a brush waving over the person dipping the cream.”

While the ice had to be shipped in from West Palm Beach, the Ladies Improvement Association fully utilized it by renting the ice cream freezer to other residents for 25 cents a day.

After organizing and raising funds for the building of the Town Hall in 1906, the association rented the space for public meetings. While church societies could use the hall for free, other organizations paid up to $60 per year. For groups holding regular dances or banquets, the Ladies Improvement Association collected half the proceeds for each event.

Furthermore, the association established an ongoing tradition of serving banquets, receptions and other social dinners to raise money for community service projects and important causes affecting Delray.

Its first endeavor was a paved or “rocked” walkway down Atlantic Avenue, which was completed five months after the association’s first meeting.

Following this project’s success, the association organized and funded the replacement of the lighter barges over the canal, the construction of Town Hall and of the town’s first library. The women also established the town’s first cemetery and started its first newspaper.

Additionally, the ladies organized cleanup days for the town, secured land from owners on Atlantic Avenue to widen the street and plant royal palms, took charge of beautifying the school grounds, helped fund the public school, promoted a community Christmas tree and arranged for the building of the beach pavilion.

A meeting of the Ladies Improvement Association, around 1915.

Public health, civic action
Along with essential projects, the Ladies Improvement Association used its influence in the community to support causes related to public health, children and families, and civic engagement.

Records show the society was frequently contacted by the Florida No-Fence League, an organization fighting to change laws surrounding free range livestock and eradicating the cattle tick. The No-Fence League and similar groups reached out to women’s associations throughout Florida and posited that free range cattle produced substandard milk, which would cause malnourishment in children, and unchecked livestock could trample citrus groves and fields.

The Ladies Improvement Association also was contacted by the Florida Board of Health, which requested the group encourage local officials and community to be vaccinated against typhoid and diphtheria.

The association wrote to U.S. Sens. Park Trammell and Duncan U. Fletcher of Florida, asking them to support the Sheppard-Towner Maternity and Infancy Act (1921). The act provided federal aid to states for prenatal and infant health care and was designed to combat high infant and maternal mortality rates, especially in rural states.

Moreover, women in Delray fought for participation in local elections and municipal affairs. In its 1916-1917 annual report, the Ladies Improvement Association announced women had won the right to vote in town elections. Delray was only the second city in Florida where women legally could vote (Zena Dreier of Fellsmere became the first woman to vote in both Florida and the South in June 1915). The right to vote became a great source of pride and the group continued to teach civic engagement through classes and workshops throughout the 1920s.

In November 1924, the Ladies Improvement Association voted to change its name to the Woman’s Club of Delray Beach. Under this new name, women continued to work and support local and state issues, including hospitals, education, voting rights, civil rights and the environment. Throughout its 121-year history, the Woman’s Club has remained a stalwart advocate for Delray Beach, Palm Beach County and Florida.

This story originally appeared in the Delray Beach Historical Society’s newsletter in honor of International Women’s Day in March and celebrates the organization’s early contributions to Delray Beach. Kayleigh Howald is the Historical Society’s archivist. For more information, email DBHSArchivist@DelrayBeachHistory.org.

Photo inset: Annie Hofman, daughter of Anna and Adolf, with some of the family harvest before the Palm Beach County Fair, around 1913.

A letter from 1896: 'Love to all, Anna'

From Letters from Linton by Charles Hofman (2004): A letter dated June 9, 1896, from Anna Hofman, wife of pioneer Adolf Hofman, to her mother in Germany:
“Today I am heading for the fields since Adolf needs me with him now that the okra is ready to be picked. Annie [their daughter] must come with me because there are no neighbors nearby to watch her. …
“Sturdy though I am, I am still a victim of the flying insects that eagerly attack me. They are constant and relentless, and I must cover Annie’s basket with cheesecloth netting to shield her from their vicious attacks. …
“And the sun in Florida is equally unmerciful at this time of year. Our clothes are wet and cling heavily all day long and well into the night from the high humidity. The sun is known to actually burn and blister the skin if one is not careful to wear a wide-brimmed hat and keep the long sleeves buttoned.
“Thus are our days in the fields, but I am content to follow Adolf and feel a part of this new adventure and the rich soil that surrounds us.
“Love to all at home, Anna”

About the author
As the archivist at the Delray Beach Historical Society, Kayleigh Howald helps to collect, preserve and share Delray Beach’s diverse history.
“As a historian, I love to explore the fascinating stories connected to each document and object in the archives,” Howald says. “For example, the Delray Beach Historical Society archives holds the meeting minutes for the Ladies Improvement Association dating to their founding in 1902, and it is a treasure trove of evidence to the courage, ingenuity and resolve of these pioneer women.”

Some of the new board members of the Junior League of Boca Raton are (l-r): Brooke Kaplan, Nicole Stelzer, Victoria Matthews, Meghan Shea, Paige Gantt, Alana St. John, Amanda O'Brien, Michelle Coggiola and Rhian Warner. Photos provided

A fresh leadership team was introduced at the Junior League of Boca Raton’s annual dinner meeting for the 2023-24 season.

Meghan Shea is president. Shea was preceded by Jamie Sauer, who served in the role for two years.

The 2023-24 board also includes: Michelle Coggiola, Paige Gantt, Brooke Kaplan, Victoria Matthews, Christine Mills, Alexis Nasti, Amanda O’Brien, Chase Papoy, Amy Procacci, Alana St. John, Nicole Stelzer and Rhian Warner.

Throughout the year, they and other league members will contribute more than 35,000 volunteer hours and provide more than $250,000 to support the mission of developing the potential of women and improving the South Florida community.

For more information, call 561-620-2553 or visit www.jlbr.org.

Richard Kwal and Dr. Gail Rubin-Kwal.

Boca Regional campaign receives milestone gift
Dr. Gail Rubin-Kwal and Richard Kwal have made a seven-figure pledge that will be acknowledged by the naming of the fountain outside Boca Raton Regional Hospital’s Toby and Leon Cooperman Medical Arts Pavilion.

The “Keeping the Promise” campaign for Boca Regional continues to surge past its $250 million goal thanks to the couple and the ongoing generosity of the community.

“We cannot overstate our gratitude to the Kwals for this gift to our capital campaign,” CEO Lincoln Mendez said. “An incredibly generous gift like this will make a big difference for our hospital, and having it come from someone on our medical staff is profound.”

Dr. Rubin-Kwal is a member of the emergency medical team, where she has served for more than three decades.

“Our relationship with the hospital is strong and indelible,” she said. “We’re part of a great history here, and we are inspired by the hospital’s future.”

For more information, call 561-955-4142 or visit donate.brrh.com.

Spady Cultural Heritage Museum awarded grants
A speaker discussing disparities in health care, a tour guide answering questions about ancestral contributions, a gathering of neighbors in a community space and an interactive outlet for children to create art — each is a program that helps residents connect. Moreover, each is a program that organizers believe contributes to improved mental health.

Provided by the Spady Cultural Heritage Museum, the programs recently received funding for their continuation.

“The museum is thrilled and heartened by the tangible support it is receiving from two significant foundations that are focused on the needs of its community,” said Charlene

Farrington, executive director of the museum.

The two foundations are the Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties, which awarded a $50,000 grant, and the Palm Health Foundation, which awarded a $25,000 grant.

For more information, call 561-279-8883 or visit www.spadymuseum.com.

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

The ninth annual Place of Hope Angel Moms Brunch and Benefit was a record-breaking success. It was an inspiring day filled with possibilities for the future of aged-out foster youths, single mothers and dependent children as well as trafficking survivors. Angel Mom Amy Kazma received the 2023 Leighan Roberts Rinker Angel of Hope award. Place of Hope also recognized Hasan Dickinson as Outstanding Youth of the Year.

TOP: Renee Feder and Wendy Sadusky.
MIDDLE: (l-r) Lisa McDulin, Dickinson and Kazma.
BOTTOM: (l-r) Susan Brockway, Dee Balderston and Lori Rizzo.

Photos provided by Coastal Click Photography

Kara Krueger, environmental horticulture agent for the county extension service’s Florida-Friendly Landscaping Program, awarded its gold level recertification recognition to Terry and Lucy Brown for their Ocean Ridge property, a native plant haven and habitat for birds and butterflies. The Browns’ garden also has been recognized with the original FFL Certified Florida Yard award and with a Native Garden of Excellence award from the Ocean Ridge Garden Club. The FFL program rewards clients’ efforts to conserve water and protect water quality and other natural resources, and educates people on the benefits. ABOVE (l-r): Krueger with the Browns. Photo provided

The society’s premier fund-raiser was a spectacular success, welcoming guests to the downtown campus where they meandered along the pathways of the one-acre Heritage Garden. Custom-built vignettes showcased favorite restaurants offering delicious food and beverages. The society’s history exhibits were open, live music filled the air, and a silent auction took place. A total of $62,000 was raised. ‘The cause is so important as we continue to grow the city archive and share our history with classes, lectures and history exhibits,’ society Co-President Joyce DeMoose said. ‘It’s one of Delray’s most lovely events that everyone looks forward to.’
TOP: (l-r) Ash Breheney, Karen Cruz and Chiara Clark.
MIDDLE: (l-r) Mary Rose Ryan O’Connell, Jestena Boughton and Geula Buchnik.
BOTTOM: (l-r) John Finn, Charlie Bruin and Mike Cruz.

Photos provided

Wayside House alumnae Lisa Drake and Kathryn Leonard remain part of the center. Leonard is board president. Photos by Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

A Delray Beach fixture for nearly 50 years, women’s recovery home has big plans after getting $1 million grant

By John Pacenti

Lisa Drake slept in the parking lot of the American Legion Hall in 1990, waiting and hoping she could find a bed nearby at the Wayside House, a recovery center for women.

The director had given her a rubber band to wear around her wrist, which she could flick to give herself a distraction anytime she thought about drugs or alcohol.

“You had to prove that you were willing to go,” Drake said. “When I came in here, I just had a bag of clothes. And I walked away from everything I owned. I was just empty — black.”

Long before Delray Beach became arguably the recovery capital of the world, Wayside House existed for women who suffer from alcoholism and drug addiction. It has survived while other recovery centers in the area closed in recent years in an industry roiled by fraud.

The facility, in the 300 block of Northeast Sixth Avenue, is preparing to celebrate its 50-year anniversary in 2024. It’s already receiving gifts. In February, U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel announced Wayside would be one of 15 nonprofits receiving money she obtained through the Community Project Funding process.

How will the $1 million be used?

Wayside House CEO Lisa McWhorter said that Wayside is renting its administrative building, but would like to build its own. A survey has been approved by the board, “seeing what we can build here and looking to expand on our own property.”

New flooring, a fence of some sort and electrical wiring in the oldest part of the house — originally the postmaster’s home — are also on the agenda.
Delray Beach Mayor Shelly Petrolia said she helped put Wayside on Frankel’s radar and lauded its mission to take a woman from a desperate and desolate place to one of hope and recovery.

“I’ve always been a supporter,” Petrolia said. “It is operated well. It is there for the right reasons, doing the right things by their clients, and they offer the support that is needed.”

McWhorter said one reason Wayside has survived is that it is a stickler for following rules by which recovery centers must abide.

It aims to serves any woman with an alcohol or drug problem, but makes a special effort to reach at-risk people, such as pregnant women, IV drug users, those involved in abusive relationships and those fighting to keep their kids.

It is a 12-step program that usually eschews the typical 30-day in-patient treatment model for one lasting 60 to 90 days, where clients will eventually be stepped down to an outpatient program — known in the industry as PHP, or partial-hospitalization program.

CEO Lisa McWhorter. 

“I try not to have repeat customers,” said McWhorter, who describes herself as a “warm-and-fuzzy cuddler.” The idea is to give the women who come through Wayside the tools not just to get clean and sober — but to stay clean and sober.

McWhorter said it is important to bring loved ones — spouses, siblings, children — into the treatment plan because alcoholism and addiction is very much a family disease, often spanning generations.

House has a homey feel
People hold a reverence for the white frame cottage, built originally in 1922, as if it is bathed in the positive energy of women who have recovered within its walls. The beach-style bungalow was obtained in 1974 for $1,000 by Susan B. Anthony — great-niece of the women’s rights advocate — and counselor Phyllis Michelfelder, who co-founded Wayside House.

“When I first walked in, my oldest daughter was with me,” said Kathryn Leonard. “We walked in and she goes, ‘Mom, doesn’t it just feel like you’re walking into Grandma’s house?’”

Leonard graduated as a Wayside client in 1992 and immediately got involved in the alumnae program, in which women who have recovered come back to help guide those trying to get clean and sober today. She is now president of the Wayside House board of directors.

“I met Lisa because she used to come back and smoke on the porch with me,” Leonard said of Drake, who remains involved with the center as part of its alumnae program.

Tammie Sellman, chief development officer, is a key person behind grants Wayside House has received.

A walk through Wayside House is like entering a labyrinth, a hidden secret right smack in the middle of downtown Delray Beach.

The administration building contains executive offices, a boutique full of donated clothes, a career center and an alumnae gathering place.

Lush vegetation amid brick walkways and gazebos connect the main house and a separate facility for a therapeutic program. The main building was purchased one year after Wayside was founded by Anthony and Michelfelder.

In the main house, women keep busy. One is helping the chef in a beautiful new kitchen. The house has 26 beds available and several gathering places, including an outdoor courtyard in the center of the building.

The wizards behind the curtain at Wayside are Tammie Sellman and Marlene Passell. They are grant-getting machines. Both the kitchen and the chef are paid for by grants obtained by Wayside. The $1 million federal grant was the most recent cherry on top.

And money is always needed. Wayside had to raise the main house right before the pandemic because the foundation was crumbling.

Sellman is also in charge of fundraising. “I can say that 92 cents of every dollar goes towards programming,” she said.

McWhorter said the real assets of Wayside House don’t come from grants or even donations — but from the continuity represented by former clients like Leonard and Drake. There is ready-and-willing support for any woman who walks through the doors along with a staff that believes in the mission.

“The girls come back and they talk about the house,” McWhorter said. “They’ll mention the therapists and the staff, but they talk about the house and how special the house is.”

Mohamed and Karima Kaada opened the Café Prélude on North Federal Highway in Boynton Beach. Photos provided

By Jan Norris

The Fourth of July has a special meaning for the owners of the area’s newest French bakery.

Café Prélude in Boynton Beach is “the American dream come true,” said Mohamed Kaada.

Originally from France, Kaada and his wife, Karima, came to the United States six years ago to start their own business, and as he says, “have a better life for ourselves and our children.”

They arrived speaking little English and with limited knowledge of business practices in America, he said, though he’s been in the food industry for more than 26 years.

A pizzeria seemed the easiest way to get established quickly, and NYPD Pizza in Boynton Beach on Federal Highway was the result.

“Pizza, chicken wings, sandwiches — everybody likes those,” Kaada said.

After that success, it was time to try to bring the French influence to an eatery. La Buvette, a small cafe, opened next door to the pizzeria in Boynton Beach just before the coronavirus hit. “Like a lot of businesses, we were hit hard,” he said. “We had to close.”

Not ones to sit idle, he and his wife and team created a virtual kitchen. Now through the website Simplevirtualkitchen.com, Kaada consults for restaurateurs wanting to add delivery services or to do delivery only.

But the French bakery, which opened in late May, is garnering the most notice among the area’s residents.

“My wife is a French baker,” Kaada said. “She has years of experience. Everything here is authentic.”

It’s also all made in house.

A sampling of its desserts. BELOW RIGHT: A chicken mushroom curry quiche from the bakery. 

The couple wants diners “to feel as though you are in France,” Kaada said. “Everyone here speaks French. When you eat croissant, it’s the real thing. Quiche, crepes, and even the espresso are just as you get in France.”

But for the American market, he had to tweak a few foods. “We make an egg, bacon and cheese croissant. And we make pancakes. Yes, I know crepes are better,” he said, laughing. “We have a wonderful crepe stuffed with cream cheese and smoked salmon. Many people don’t eat smoked salmon until they try this. Then they want to order it.”

Baguettes are made fresh daily. Lunch sandwiches include the croque monsieur and croque madame. Also popular is the jambon-beurre — the traditional ham and cheese sandwich made with butter and Dijon mustard.

Details and authenticity are important, Kaada said, such as the white bread used for panini. “That’s the original. I know others use different breads, but that’s not authentic in France.”

Several daily desserts include the apple turnover, Danish raisin pastry, éclair au chocolat, and mille-feuille — known as Napoleons to the American audience.

“And of course, we have macaron,” Kaada said

Breakfast and lunch are on the menu, but the business is open till 8 p.m. for takeout and light café meals.

The odd dish out for Kaada is the waffle, with chicken. “We had to put a waffle with chicken on the menu. People asked for it. It’s our fluffy waffle with fried chicken and maple syrup, or honey drizzled on top.”

It is definitely not a French dish, but he celebrates the diverse mashups of foods here. He laughed. “I love living in the U.S.”

Café Prélude, 312 N. Federal Highway, Boynton Beach. Open weekdays, 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.; weekends, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Phone 561-536-5386, or go to Café Prélude Boynton Beach on Facebook.

The white clam pizza at Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana. 

Pepe’s ‘Apizza’ in Delray
For Northeast pizza fans, the news that Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana chose Delray Beach for the 16th eatery in the chain is welcome.

The New Haven, Connecticut-style pizza comes from a family-owned pizzeria in operation since 1925. Many South Florida retirees know it well — they hail from the Northeast, or remember it from eating there in their younger days, said Kevin Gagliard, director of operations for Pepe’s.

“We realized so many of our guests migrated and retired in the area,” he said.

“In the first week we’ve been open, it’s been like a New England reunion week. We’ve heard stories of people whose grandparents took them to the New Haven Pepe’s, or they talk about driving down from college to eat there.”

The “apizza” (pronounced “abeetz” by die-hards) are made with proprietary dough and sauce, from ingredients grown and bottled or canned for Pepe’s. These include Italian tomatoes and a special olive oil blend.

Gagliard says consistency for Pepe’s premium pizza is crucial. For that, a special filtration system was put in place to bring Florida water up to par with New Haven’s. It produces the chewy and crispy crust — part of Pepe’s signature.

“The water for the dough is critical. Pizza is simple, but it’s a science. And ingredients must be the highest quality. We use whole milk mozzarella, and our pecorino comes in a large wheel we age, then it’s grated for the pizzas,” he said.

The sauce is made from tomatoes grown in Italy for Pepe’s, pureed fresh daily.

Once made, the pizza is placed into the 14-by-14-foot coal-fired oven on a 16-foot paddle. The oven, which bakes the pies at 600 degrees and delivers a slight char, is designed as a replica of the original in Connecticut.

So far, the most popular pies are the meatball and ricotta, cheese and pepperoni, and the signature white clam pizza, Gagliard said.

A few salads are on the menu along with some desserts. But don’t expect coffee or a burger. This is a pizzeria selling premium pies, he said.

“We are an experience. We’re the neighborhood pizzeria. The kitchen is wide open. Kids love to watch the pizzas being made.”

Specialty pizzas include the Amanti Della Carne with tomatoes, mozzarella, meatball, pepperoni, sausage, bacon and pecorino; and the white clam, made with fresh clams, pecorino Romano, a proprietary oil blend, fresh garlic and oregano.

More Pepe’s outlets are coming to the area, he said. The first was in Plantation. “When we go into an area, we don’t just do one and leave. We put in five or six for support,” Gagliard said.

The owners will pace it so they can hire quality staff to follow the traditions of Pepe’s pizza-making.

Gagliard is happy with Delray Beach and its “foodie” reputation. “I love being in a city where they love food.”

Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana 1701 S. Federal Highway, Delray Beach. Open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. Phone 561-431-5601 for takeout. Online ordering at pepespizza.com is being planned.

The burlesque show at Ravish on Ocean Avenue in Lantana won’t resume until next season. 

In brief
Ravish on Ocean Avenue in Lantana retired its burlesque show until next season, co-owner Alexandra Dupuis said. The cost outdistanced the return, she said. The last one for this season was held Father’s Day. ...

It’s National Ice Cream month: Celebrate with locally owned and produced ice cream. Try the Ice Cream Club in Manalapan, which has churned out the frozen treats for 41 years. There’s Proper Ice Cream in Boca Raton and Delray Beach, where vegan ice cream is available. Check out Sloan’s in Boca Raton, where you are treated to an old-fashioned candy store/ice cream parlor setting. Find family-owned Lily’s Ice Cream in Delray Beach, where the cones and ice cream are made fresh daily on site.

Jan Norris is a food writer who can be reached at nativefla@gmail.com.

David Steinhardt and Hector Epelbaum say it’s vital to serve people of various ages and bonds to Judaism. Photo provided

By Janis Fontaine

B’nai Torah Congregation in Boca Raton is the largest Conservative synagogue in Southeast Florida with more than 1,300 member families. Palm Beach County is home to more than 250,000 Jews (about 20% of the county’s population), and Boca Raton has the largest Jewish population of any South Florida city. The Jewish Telegraphic Agency news outlet says it’s the most Jewish place outside of Israel.

But getting those people through the doors to worship regularly (not just on Holy Days) is an uphill battle. According to statistics from the Pew Research Center in 2021, only about 12% of Jews attend services weekly. Christians do a little better, with about one-quarter claiming weekly attendance.

Not all Jews want to worship in the same way, or even follow the same rules. Orthodox Jews are considered the most traditional, and Reform synagogues are the most liberal. B’nai Torah is a Conservative congregation — a meet-in-the-middle mind-set that allows flexibility and adaptability in the changing world.

B’nai Torah calls itself a “close-knit, multi-generational, modern and egalitarian synagogue,” which means everyone is equal under its framework. Its two leaders — Rabbi David Steinhardt has been the senior rabbi at B’nai Torah for more than 20 years and Rabbi Hector Epelbaum started June 1 — spearheaded the synagogue’s new Shabbat services program, which offers a range of options for celebrating the Sabbath. From its “Friday Night Music and Torah Conversation” to its “Young Family Saturday Service,” the goal is to attract more members by appealing to their diversity.

“I look at it from a quality perspective,” Epelbaum said. He believes if you provide quality, the numbers will follow. “I want to be sure we’re offering what people are looking for.”
Steinhardt agrees: “It can’t be fluff. It has to have depth and authenticity.”

The Saturday morning services are designed to be “positive, uplifting and joyful,” Steinhardt said, and the wealth of programs should embrace and promote the diversity of Jewish thought, learning and practice.

“We are constantly evolving to re-create and offer styles of worship that appeal to all of our members regardless of their age, family origins or individual connection to Judaism,” Steinhardt said.

One size does not fit all when it comes to worship, and this open-minded point of view is an important tenet of Judaism. South Florida has a wide demographic — literally from birth to death with the huge influx of young families. Different age groups have different spiritual needs.

It’s hard to tell if the generational divides are widening or deepening, and Steinhardt echoes other clergy when he says that millennials are more interested in acts than lectures.

Young adults are drawn to the humane work the synagogue does but not so much to worship services.

At B’nai Torah, the Tzedakah, Learning and Chesed program matches volunteers with opportunities to help others in all areas of critical need — hunger, homelessness, literacy, elder care, vulnerable populations and special needs. The program supports the Jewish core value of tzedakah, which in a formal sense means “to do what is right and just” but in a practical sense means performing acts of charity. The best mitzvot are those that involve learning and action, and TLC connects people with ongoing and time-sensitive mitzvah opportunities.

Public opinion sometimes brays, wrongly, that Jews help only other Jews, or that a local synagogue helps only its members, but a look at the TLC programs shows otherwise.

Charity given freely is the only true act of charity, and it doesn’t matter who needs help or who gives it.

Steinhardt says all the talk about divisiveness and drawing lines in the sand is the opposite of what Jewish tenets teach.

“Pluralism is at the core of who we are,” he said.

Pluralism is the idea that having differences shouldn’t divide us. A simple definition of pluralism is “a condition in which two or more groups coexist.” But it’s more than that. It’s when two groups with differences can thrive.

Pluralism first must give full access to women. Under the Orthodox teachings, only men can participate in a minyan, a quorum of 10 individuals required for certain prayers. In the strictest interpretation, a minyan can happen only when 10 males over the age of 13 are in attendance. A hundred pure, devout, learned women still cannot be a minyan under Orthodox rules.

Today, in most Conservative and Reform shuls, women are recognized as part of a minyan. Women also can be cantors and rabbis and Judaic leaders in many synagogues.

Intermarriage is more accepted, and in some denominations Judaism is no longer restricted to matrilineal descent. Today, if either of the parents is Jewish, their children are too.

Achieving a balance between tradition and a rapidly changing world takes a dynamic organization, Epelbaum said. “By dynamic, I mean able to adapt to social change.”
Change is critical if Judaism wants to grow. There are 5.8 million adult Jews in the world, according to the Pew Research Center. But if Judaism wants to appeal to more than 12% of them, it can’t afford to treat half of them differently, Steinhardt said.

Mark your calendar
Stop by and meet Rabbi Hector Epelbaum at noon July 11 at B’nai Torah Congregation, 6261 SW 18th St., Boca Raton. Register at https://btcboca.shulcloud.com/form/rhe or call 561-392-8566.

Schedule of services
The congregation offers these opportunities in addition to its main Saturday morning service: 

Friday Night Music and Torah Conversation: The music is led by Cantor Magda Fishman, music director Tomer Adaddi and Eliot Weiss, joined by Rabbis David Steinhardt, Hector Epelbaum and Evan Susman. A short but meaningful Torah teaching is often followed by Shabbat dinner. Frequently themed for young children and families. 
Saturday Renewal Shabbat Service: A collection of contemporary Jewish liturgical musical melodies, often led by Rabbi Amy Pessah and Rabbinical student-in-training Laura Lenes. Inspired by Reb Zalman Schachter.
Young Family Saturday Service: Spirited and joyful singing and learning, with Rabbi Susman and Cathy Berkowitz. 
Tot Shabbat Service: Led by Karen Deerwester and Amy Weisberg, this is for young kids and their families. Offered frequently throughout the year. 
Torah Learning: Every Shabbat, Morley Goldberg leads the congregation in a stimulating discussion of Parshat HaShavua. Off season, the group meets on Zoom. During season, the group meets in the B’nai Torah library. 

Janis Fontaine writes about people of faith, their congregations, causes and community events. Contact her at fontaine423@outlook.com.