By Anne Geggis

Less than 24 hours after an investigation concluded no evidence supported his accusation the city manager touched him inappropriately, Delray Beach Fire Rescue Chief Keith Tomey was terminated May 1 for “willful, insubordinate behavior” in numerous incidents.

City Manager Terrence Moore ended Tomey’s seven years of city employment “effective immediately,” replacing him with interim Fire Rescue Chief Kevin Green.

The letter firing Tomey principally cites the chief’s decision to allow on-duty firefighters to participate in the annual Guns ‘N Hoses charity softball game last November. It put Engine 112 out of service for more than four hours, Moore wrote.

“Your poor decision making could have endangered the lives of our residents and the public and created a risk of liability to the city,” Moore’s letter says.

That investigative report on the softball tournament came out as Tomey’s allegations of inappropriate touching by the city manager surfaced. A third-party investigator the city hired found there was no evidence that Moore touched Tomey inappropriately, however.

The softball game episode was one of a number of incidents that Moore said had forced him to question Tomey’s leadership and managerial skills.

Neither Tomey nor his attorney, Isidro Garcia, who sent the letter making the allegations of the city manager’s inappropriate touching, returned calls or emails seeking comment.

Garcia, however, told the Sun Sentinel that he intended to sue the city on Tomey’s behalf.

The allegations that Tomey made about the city manager were not cited in the firing letter. The investigative report did say no specific city policies were violated in Tomey’s involvement in the softball game. But investigator Christopher Bentley dinged Tomey for his “poor decision-making which ultimately resulted in inequities and liabilities for the city.”

The investigation into the charity softball tournament started when a firefighter in the game was injured and filed a workers compensation claim, Bentley’s report says.

Tomey had alleged, however, that the softball tournament would not have been investigated if Tomey hadn’t rebuffed Moore’s sexual advances in August 2022 as the two drove to and from an exhibition of city employee art, including Moore’s, at the Arts Garage. He said that Moore “rubbed up his thigh and just briefly made contact with his groin area,” according to a third-party investigator’s telling of Tomey’s allegations.

Moore wrote that Bentley, during his investigation into the softball tournament, noticed the same thing Moore had about Tomey’s attitude regarding city resources and official duties.

“[Bentley] remarked in his report your cavalier attitude regarding these serious concerns, something that I, too, have witnessed in my interactions with you when forced to address your issues in management, fiscal responsibility and accountability,” Moore wrote.

Tomey’s five-day suspension for failing to follow city policy after a Broward County accident in October 2022 involving his city vehicle was also included in Tomey’s contention he was being retaliated against. But city policy requires employees to take a drug test immediately following an accident whether they are at fault or not, which Tomey did not do until three days after the accident, Moore said in the termination letter. And Moore did not hear about the wreck until he received a request to approve a rental for Tomey. 

“I recall that during that disciplinary procedure you refused to acknowledge any wrongdoing …” Moore wrote. “This appears to be a pattern of willful, insubordinate behavior coupled with poor decision making that despite repeated counseling and a five-day suspension, has worsened.”

Moore cited another incident that occurred before the arts show allegations. In July 2022, Tomey distributed a memorandum that went to fire rescue personnel that disclosed the medical condition of an employee. The employee sent a “demand letter” and the city had to pay $25,000 to settle the claim, Moore said.

Tomey’s termination was effective immediately, according to Moore’s letter, and his health benefits continued through May. Tomey’s departure does not involve a financial settlement, a city spokeswoman said.

Since he was terminated “not in good standing,” there are no payouts, the spokeswoman said. Tomey had been earning an annual salary of $179,587.

Green, Tomey’s replacement, has been with the city’s Fire Rescue since 2012.

By Anne Geggis

A $1 million county study of what might replace the 75-year-old George Bush Boulevard bridge is underway and a state review awaits as the bridge’s replacement cost keeps rising.

The bridge — one of Delray Beach’s three spans across the Intracoastal Waterway — is experiencing “increased maintenance concerns and infrastructure failures,” according to county officials.

That’s a reference to when the bridge became a poster child for the country’s troubled infrastructure in 2022 when it was stuck in the upright position for two months because of equipment issues.

It’s operating correctly now, but the future is clear.

“Right now, that bridge definitely needs to be replaced,” David Ricks, Palm Beach County engineer, told county commissioners last November.

Still, the only certainty is the replacement’s rising cost.

In 2022, replacing the bridge was projected to cost $45 million but the latest cost estimate Ricks presented shows it would be more like $75 million to design and replace the bridge. The county’s five-year capital improvement plan shows no more money than the $1 million budgeted after this fiscal year through 2028.

“We’re definitely going to be looking at the state or federal level to help us with the cost of that,” Ricks said.

A U.S. Department of Transportation report in May found that the projected five-year increase in highway construction costs could mean that the $673 billion the federal government allocated for transportation projects — roads, bridges, transit, airports and rail — will buy only 60% of what was originally intended when it passed in 2021.

When the replacement happens to the George Bush Boulevard bridge, it will be a long time coming.

Hal Stern, president of the Beach Property Owners Association, said he’s not expecting that reconstruction anytime soon.

“The design phase could last as long as three years,” Stern said. “The challenge is that it’s such a low bridge. How can they raise the bridge without impacting the areas on either side of the bridge? It’s challenging.”

The Intracoastal bridges at Ocean Avenue in Boynton Beach, Ocean Avenue in Lantana, and in Lake Worth Beach were all reconstructed with higher spans over the years, according to the Delray Beach Historical Society.

Both Atlantic Avenue’s Intracoastal bridge, which was built in 1952, and the George Bush Boulevard bridge were designated local historic sites in 2000 by the City Commission.

Increasing bridge height can be fraught with complications, as can designating a bridge as a historic one.

“In Boca Raton, the Camino Real bridge was given historic status by the city in order to avoid making the bridge higher, which would have significantly changed access to the Boca Raton Club, the Royal Palm community and businesses east of that bridge,” Tom Warnke, archive coordinator at the Delray Beach Historical Society, wrote in an email.

Meanwhile, the Linton Boulevard span over the Intracoastal Waterway needs $20 million in repairs, Palm Beach County’s Ricks said.

By Steve Plunkett

The water level below the surface in Gulf Stream’s Core district is higher than anyone expected and stalled the onset of road work for weeks while the contractor sought an additional permit.

Residents were quick to notice that not much progress was being made.

“I see six guys here one day and nobody the next, and I’m just wondering … are they doing … what you expected to be done at this point or what?” Bob Burns, a past president of the Gulf Stream Civic Association, asked town commissioners at their May 14 meeting.

“We’ve had two or three residents call because they didn’t see an update on the website that they said we’re paying so much money for that’s supposed to be updated weekly,” added Town Clerk Renee Basel.

Construction was supposed to begin the week of April 22, but workers soon discovered how high the water table is.

That meant the town would need a “dewatering” permit from the South Florida Water Management District to pump water out of the way and a change in how the pipes would be put in.

“Typically water mains are installed about 3 feet below grade in dry conditions. We’re going to allow them to bring them up slightly, about a foot or so,” said Jockey Prinyavivatkul of Baxter and Woodman Consulting Engineers. “And then during the backfilling process we use flowable fill, which is a concrete material which can be excavated in the future.”

The schedule had already been changed to begin construction in the north end of the Core district, along Wright Way and Old School Road, instead of on Golfview Drive in the south because the north end is the lowest part of Gulf Stream and more susceptible to fall’s high king tides.

Adding to the high water table was a faulty check valve on an outflow pipe on Wright Way that was letting water come in from the Intracoastal Waterway instead of blocking it, Prinyavivatkul said.

“There’s definitely some issues going on that we are working with the contractor on. And hopefully once we begin to progress, basically the procedures of how they’re going to do the construction work will start to smooth out and the pace will increase,” he said.

But, he said, it usually takes the SFWMD a month or so to issue such a permit.

The town’s original permit was to increase the amount of stormwater runoff it can discharge into the Intracoastal.

Basel said she relayed concerns about updates on the website, corearearoadwork.com, and was told Baxter and Woodman had been waiting on the dewatering permit. An update with a photo was posted the next day, and the engineers promised weekly additions.

Demolition equipment tears apart the home at 2900 Avenue Au Soleil in mid-May. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Steve Plunkett

The new owner of 2900 Avenue Au Soleil has leveled the decrepit home on the Intracoastal Waterway and its detached, multi-vehicle garage, but had not completely demolished the structures by Memorial Day.

Assistant Town Attorney Trey Nazzaro said owner David Willens asked for extra time to finish the demolition after workers encountered huge blocks of concrete to remove.

“This has been a long-standing issue that’s going to result in significant improvement for Place Au Soleil,” Mayor Scott Morgan had said on April 14 as town commissioners approved an agreement to vacate easements that run the length of the property.

The legal maneuvers involved new owner Willens, former owner Bhavin Shah and his 2900 AAC LLC, the town and the Gulf Stream Golf Club, which also had easements on the parcel for an irrigation line from its well near the Place Au Soleil guardhouse to the Intracoastal.

“The contract purchaser, he is probably the only person happier than I am to get this finally approved,” Nazzaro said of Willens.

Shah and his group bought the property for $3.3 million in October 2021 and were the target of several code enforcement actions as the house fell into further disrepair. Willens, a lawyer who lives on the Intracoastal in Highland Beach and founded dental service company Sage Dental Management LLC, paid $5.15 million in April for the property, according to county property records.

The long driveway to 2900 Avenue Au Soleil opens up just behind the guardhouse at Federal Highway and weaves east behind nine homes on Orchid Lane and Avenue Au Soleil on one side, and seven homesites on Bluewater Cove on the other.

Bluewater Cove’s developer originally wanted to buy the parcel and incorporate it into its new subdivision. But Cary Glickstein, president of Ironstone Development Inc., said in 2021 that he had abandoned that idea partly because of the property’s “tortured” legal past.

The home’s previous owners, heirs of the late Anthony Turner, the first code enforcement target there, racked up $200,000 in fines. The Town Commission reduced the amount due in 2019 to $20,000 in an effort to get new owners for the property.

Shah later faced $200-a-day code enforcement fines for not keeping the principal building or the sea wall in acceptable condition. As part of the latest agreements, Willens will have the sea wall rebuilt and connect what will become the town’s main drinking water line to a line running under the Intracoastal.

Bluewater Cove, which has sold one of its planned 14 homes, built two others and is starting construction on four more, already installed an alternate main under the street it built to accommodate the drinking water line.

By Steve Plunkett

Gulf Stream has taken a $52,333 step toward flipping from Delray Beach to Boynton Beach for its drinking water.

Even without a formal agreement, town commissioners authorized spending that amount to pay for the engineering costs of extending a main water line from Seacrest Boulevard east along Gulfstream Boulevard almost to the FEC railway tracks.

Boynton Beach city commissioners approved a contract with their consulting engineers for the work on May 23. A second phase will cover the pipe from the railroad tracks to a connection point at Gulf Stream’s Place Au Soleil neighborhood.

Assistant Town Attorney Trey Nazzaro said Boynton Beach estimates both phases will cost Gulf Stream $1.8 million “with a wonderful swing of $1.3 to $2.3 million anticipated.”

The town will also have to pay a $400,000 “capacity facility fee,” he said.

Boynton Beach and Gulf Stream traded draft agreements about two months ago for a 25-year pact on drinking water. Boynton Beach already was the town’s backup supplier in case Delray Beach’s water system had a problem.

Delray has been the main supplier since at least 1976.

Boynton Beach officials drew up the details for the extra engineering work and then obtained a quote from consulting engineers Calvin, Giordano and Associates Inc.

“So, based on all those efforts, it’s pretty clear that they want to bring us on as a customer and generate some additional revenue,” Nazzaro said. “And then of course there will be cost savings to the town over time with some immediate benefits,” including higher water pressure at the tap.

Boynton is offering a rate of $3.75 per 1,000 gallons of water, slightly less than the $3.81 per 1,000 that Delray Beach is currently charging. But Delray plans to raise its rates to $4.49 in October and $5.20 the following year.

Delray, which is designing a new water plant, told Gulf Stream in April that it will stop providing the town with drinking water in June 2025.

Calvin, Giordano said the first phase of the work to connect Boynton Beach and Gulf Stream would be complete in July or August 2025, with the second phase being finished by the end of 2025.

“Countless hours have gone into these discussions with both Delray Beach and Boynton Beach officials, and once the timing becomes more certain, I know we can work amicably on a transition plan with both cities,” Nazzaro said.

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

Town Manager Greg Dunham said he has begun discussions with Seacoast Bank on borrowing money to pay for the water main extension as well as an expected $5 million shortfall on Gulf Stream’s road and drainage improvement project.

The Florida League of Cities, which could link the town with low-interest loans, recommended he contact local banks first to see what rates are available.

Pick up your poop bags — Gulf Stream resident P.K. Murphy, who lives in the Core district, is concerned about poop bags being littered “all over the roads,” Town Clerk Renee Basel told Gulf Stream commissioners at their May meeting.

“She says they’re throwing them in yards. She said it’s getting unhealthy and she just wanted to know if there was anything that could be done about it. She said it’s never happened in all the years she’s lived here and now all of a sudden they’re everywhere,” Basel said.

Vice Mayor Tom Stanley said the town would send a note to residents. “Obviously it’s an extremely dog-friendly neighborhood,” he said. “We may have to do a little self-policing too.”

— Steve Plunkett

By Mary Thurwachter

Mat Forrest was a rock star with Lantana officials last year when he helped secure a $1.2 million appropriation from the state for the town’s water main replacement project.

Last month, the Town Council rewarded his efforts by renewing its $60,000 contract with Ballard Partners Inc., the state lobbying firm where Forrest works. The contract extends until Sept. 30, 2025.

During this year’s legislative session, Town Manager Brian Raducci said, Forrest was instrumental in the town’s submission of two projects totaling $2.5 million in state appropriation funding requests, though neither made it into the state’s 2024-2025 fiscal year budget. Forrest, who lives in West Palm Beach, said attempts to get state funding to Lantana this year were not successful because the $117 billion budget was a $2 billion reduction from the current fiscal year, which made it tough to get projects through for local governments.

“We did file two water projects and I think those are great projects. I think we continue to push them,” he told the council. “You did all the right things. You gave compelling reasons.

Next year, we’re going to really work on the grant side of things. I would like to file a few more projects for the town and kind of spread our options, perhaps looking in the parks area, possibly looking into things for public safety and of course, continuing in the water area.”

Mayor Karen Lythgoe said that other than the financing, Forrest is a contact for the town when “we need to get a hold of somebody in state office to put a case before them that we need some help to get some action, so it’s intangible as well as tangible with the money he brings back.”

Going forward, barring any major changes to the service requested or in terms of fees, the council also gave Raducci the ability to sign the agreements with Ballard Partners administratively without council discussion.

Demolition of Key West-style cottages on the north side of Ocean Avenue began in mid-May. Mayor Karen Lythgoe is optimistic that a developer will negotiate a long-term lease with the property owners. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Mary Thurwachter

Some of the tiny, colorful cottages on the north side of Ocean Avenue between Oak Street and Lake Drive in downtown Lantana have been around since the 1920s. The Key West-style bungalows have been home to an assortment of businesses, from restaurants and fruit stands to dress boutiques and real estate offices, but fell into disrepair, with many vacant for years.

The dilapidated buildings are part of history now. The bulldozing began in mid-May as town officials hope to develop the property owned by the sister-and-brother team of Marsha Stocker and Steven Handelsman. Their parents, the late Burt and Lovey Handelsman, previously owned the cottages, which are on four contiguous parcels of land.

“The town does have some significant code enforcement fines (more than $900,000) on the property and foreclosure authorization,” said Nicole Dritz, the town’s development services director. “The agreement between the town and the property owners includes the property owners’ demolishing the buildings, sodding the properties and actively pursuing redevelopment in good faith.”

Once the demo is finished and the site is sodded, that would put the properties into compliance in terms of code enforcement, she said.

“The town is prepared to work with the property owners on the fines, if/when the site is redeveloped into a project that benefits the downtown,” Dritz said. “We are working closely with their attorney and town staff is ready and willing to discuss preliminary or conceptual plans with potential developers.”

Mayor Karen Lythgoe is optimistic that a developer will express interest and will be able to negotiate a long-term lease with the property owners.

“Several of them have expressed interest so it remains to be seen,” she said. “I would love to see some restaurants and small shops to create a downtown. That will likely mean residences as well, due to the costs involved in development. And the master plan market study demonstrated the need for more housing in Lantana.”

Lythgoe said parking is an issue that will need some creative solutions, which is why the Town Council, at its visioning session, expressed openness to five-story buildings, if that addresses the situation. She said the town is “not expressly wanting that, but doesn’t want to turn away plans before the council can evaluate them. That got misinterpreted by some in the town.”

Less optimistic is Vice Mayor Mark Zeitler, who has adopted a wait-and-see attitude. He’s concerned that the owners are “not actually wanting to sell the property, and just leasing it may be a hurdle,” he said. “I don’t think we should get the five stories just because these people don’t want to sell their property, that they only want to lease it. I think we would be hurting the town more that way.”

Zeitler said he doesn’t expect anything to happen quickly, especially since the lease idea may hamper interest from developers who might prefer to own the property.

Related: Hurricane season: What to expect 

Critically eroded beaches make coast more vulnerable as storm season arrives

If disaster strikes, municipalities may need millions ready to spend  

By Anne Geggis

An effort to shore up the facts about Manalapan’s coastline — and form a committee to study the state of the town’s sandy stretch — won the unanimous approval of the Town Commission May 28.

The action follows a May 16 workshop at which commissioners heard conflicting opinions from a county official, a beach raker and advocates for taming human involvement in the town’s shifting landform on which much of its property values are built.

Commissioner Elliot Bonner volunteered to organize the committee, noting he has no stake in the outcome of this fact-finding mission: His property is not on the beach.

“There’s a lot of information presented on both sides, so I thought I’d bring sort of an impartial view to sort out and pull all the information together,” Bonner said.

Photographs presented at the workshop, for example, showed tire tracks over what appeared to be turtle nests. The new beach committee will look at whether the photos have timestamps. Also, the sand transfer plant that sits on the north side of the Boynton Beach Inlet, also known as the South Lake Worth Inlet, was presented as illegally robbing Manalapan of sand for the benefit of Ocean Ridge — even though the transfer plant operates under an agreement that was the result of a lawsuit Ocean Ridge filed against Manalapan that contended not enough sand was coming Ocean Ridge’s way.

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

“Some people were saying, ‘Hey, this is the worst thing ever,’ and others were saying, ‘Hey, this is the only way to do it,’” Bonner said, recalling the workshop. “So I want to get down to the facts.”

Bonner said he envisions including both commissioners and everyday people on the committee. It’s yet to be determined whether those who don’t live in Manalapan are eligible to serve on the committee, which will have announced public meetings open to all.

“It’s going to be boots on the ground, like let’s go walk out, then sort of talk to people,” Bonner said.

Turtle advocates say that, when it comes to beach raking and turtle nest patrols, the actual policies that sound reasonable in theory — like not raking west of the high-tide line on private beaches — are not being followed. And it’s all too rare that policymakers experience what’s happening on the disappearing shore, they say.

“It’s a step in the right direction and much appreciated,” said Kim Jones, an Ocean Ridge resident who was among those who spoke at the workshop warning about the effects of raking and urging the commission to prohibit it during turtle nesting season.

Also, at Manalapan’s monthly meeting: Assistant Town Manager Eric Marmer gave his first manager’s report, a preview of when he’ll be taking over from longtime Town Manager Linda Stumpf.

By Steve Plunkett

The town’s $1.38 million grant from the federal government comes with an unexpected hitch: Briny Breezes has to complete what Town Manager Bill Thrasher called a “somewhat complicated” application process by June 28.

The money will be used to secure a state grant enabling the town to pay for a new $3.5 million stormwater system.

But first it has to get the federal money, which will come from the Federal Emergency Management Agency as a “pre-disaster mitigation” grant.

“My concern is that I may not have enough technical expertise … to complete this application by June 28,” Thrasher told the Town Council on May 23.

FEMA, he said, has a list of agents throughout the United States who can help.

“But they don’t do this for free. And I believe that the cost of their services will extend beyond my purchasing authority, which is $5,000,” Thrasher said, asking for authorization to spend up to $10,000 to hire a grant specialist for the “strenuous and difficult” application process.

“I will do my best to do it on my own, but I do not want the town to lose this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for funding,” he said.

The council agreed.

“We definitely don’t want to lose this one,” Council President Liz Loper said.

The council also decided not to hold a budget workshop this year.

“I think that we don’t need to have a budget workshop in June because it’s already been set. I mean, you already went through it. There’s not going to be any changes that we know of,” Loper said to Thrasher.

Thrasher said there will be some individual changes, “but materially it will be unchanged. The millage rate will remain as it is this year. That’s pretty solid.”

The current property tax rate is $3.75 per $1,000 of taxable valuation.

The town’s first public hearing on its budget will be at 5:01 p.m. Sept. 12, with a final public hearing at the same time on Sept. 26.

By Steve Plunkett

Town Attorney Keith Davis’ first attempt to update Briny Breezes’ rules on sea turtles, lights and fires on the beach did not go smoothly.

Mayor Ted Gross wondered why the town even needed such an ordinance if Palm Beach County already has one. But the county’s rules don’t apply to towns and cities, he was told.

At another point the proposed ordinance said “no artificial light” can illuminate the beach. But Gross said that sea turtles cannot see certain hues of light and that the phrasing needed work.

“I’m not trying to be mean to the turtles,” he said.

Attorney Trey Nazzaro, filling in for Davis, said the proposed update was mostly to correct the dates of sea turtle season and to make Briny’s ordinance match other towns’ regulations. The current ordinance, for example, strongly encourages residents to position or shield outdoor lights away from the beach.

“Now we’re going from ‘you’re strongly encouraged’ to ‘you shall obey’ these rules,” Nazzaro said.

Another sticking point was changing “No fires shall be permitted” on the beach to “No bonfires or other fires shall be permitted.”

The concern is that a sea turtle digging a nest might be burned by hot coals covered by sand, or that a person might step on coals and sue the town.

But several people thought celebratory bonfires such as those often seen in Lake Worth Beach should be allowed.

Michael Gallacher, general manager of Briny Breezes Inc., said streetlights on Old Ocean Boulevard and lights at the clubhouse at the beach were already “turtle friendly” and would not need shields that the proposed ordinance would require. “There’s no glare from those lights on the beach and we’ve never been asked to change that,” he said. “I think we’re getting overzealous with this almost.”

Because Aldermen Bill Birch and Kathy Gross were absent, the council decided to table a vote on the ordinance changes until July. Nazzaro will write a memo for them summarizing the discussion.

Meeting scheduled for Town Hall redo — Assistant Town Manager Eric Marmer said he’ll meet with Palm Beach County Fire Rescue officials in August to discuss how the town facility, which also houses county first responders, can be enlarged. Currently, only a three-person fire rescue crew can be accommodated there and new standards dictate four people on the crew.

Chorus grows for rein on bridge openings — Marmer said he heard from people in Lantana and Hypoluxo about the regularity of Lantana’s Ocean Avenue bridge openings following April’s meeting when he raised the issue. He urged them to go to their respective commissions and lobby for support for the U.S. Coast Guard to confine bridge raisings to scheduled times and halt bridge raisings weekdays during rush hours, 7 to 9 a.m. and 4 to 6 p.m.

— Anne Geggis

New crosswalk is still just talk — Mayor Bonnie Fischer gave an update on the status of building a State Road A1A crosswalk at the north end of Lantana’s beach parking lot, insisting that while the crosswalk would more benefit South Palm Beach residents, it would also be a plus for people who currently use the crosswalk at the Ocean Avenue traffic lights.

“There’s more interest in doing it from our side, but it would benefit them because it’s very dangerous right now to cross at Ocean Avenue,” Fischer said at the Town Council’s May meeting. “I’ve almost hit people driving through there.”

Fischer said she hasn’t scheduled another meeting with Lantana Town Manager Brian Raducci because she’s waiting on a cost estimate for the project before doing so.

Plaque to honor hit-and-run victim — Mayor Fischer said she received a phone call from Beckham Laiqi, the son of Hatixhe Laiqi, the Barclay condo resident who was struck and killed while crossing State Road A1A last November. He told her 2,000 people attended her memorial service in New York and that he would like to pay for a plaque in her honor. Fischer said the town would have one made and it likely would be placed on the bench in front of the town’s lift station.

Four on the council will do for now — After a brief discussion at its May meeting, the Town Council decided to carry on with four members following the resignation of Vice Mayor Bill LeRoy following the April meeting. The council members also did not appoint a new vice mayor.

Ironically, Jennifer Lesh, who had been nominated by LeRoy to fill the seat ultimately taken by Elva Culbertson in April, was the only one of five members honored for their work with the Code of Ordinance Review Committee who failed to attend the meeting.

Drivers observe lower speed limit — Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Mark Garrison reported that only three traffic citations were issued in the month following the decision to drop the A1A speed limit in town from 35 mph to 30 mph. Garrison said he wasn’t surprised because traffic studies his department has done have determined the average driving speed to be well below 35 mph.

Garrison also introduced Capt. Byron Smith, who has joined PBSO’s South Palm Beach substation.

— Brian Biggane

Hundreds of people took part in the annual Memorial Day commemorative ceremony.
TOP: The Coastmen Chorus sings the national anthem. ABOVE: Boca Raton High School Naval Junior ROTC Officer Cadet Velasquez presents arms during the ceremony. RIGHT: A cadet holds the Stars and Stripes, concluding the flag-folding portion of the ceremony.
Photos by Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

GULF STREAM — Born Feb. 4, 1961, in Hamburg, Germany, Gerti God grew to be a very independent woman who knew what she wanted. Though life did not come easy, she was never afraid of hard work.

Indeed, she worked with her husband, Daniel S. Mease, until her early end from cancer on April 27 at Delray Medical Center. Mrs. Mease was 63.

The Meases were married for 26 years, and lived in Gulf Stream.

Known among her many beloved friends as “Bo,” Mrs. Mease also loved sailing and her animals. 

She is survived by her husband, Daniel Mease, who carries her in loving memory.

— Obituary submitted by family

DELRAY BEACH — Patricia Bancker Duane died May 10 after a long illness. She was 93.

Born May 30, 1930, in Mineola, New York, to Jean (nee Monahan) and Adrian Bancker, Patsy Ann was a descendant of the earliest Dutch settlers of Staten Island and grew up in an old farmhouse on Manhasset Bay in Plandome, New York.

A tomboy, young Miss Bancker enjoyed outdoor sports, especially sailing her first dinghy, named Pollywog.

She graduated from Manhasset Bay High School in 1948 and Mount Holyoke College in 1952.

Pat Bancker and John “Jack” Marshall Duane Jr. met on a blind date during their college years and married at Fort Shafter Chapel in Honolulu in 1952, when Jack was stationed in Hawaii. They moved back to Jack’s hometown of Boston and, after one winter, decided to make Fort Lauderdale their home.

The Duanes moved to Delray Beach in 1954, and there raised their children, Jean Pavlov and John Marshall Duane III.

Pat and Jack quickly became involved in the community and made lifelong friends.

Mr. Duane became a notable in banking while Mrs. Duane was an active community volunteer in Delray Beach over the years.

She was on the committee that founded the Aqua Crest Pool, and worked as a substitute science teacher at Seacrest High School for months during a teachers’ strike in the 1960s.

The couple founded the Delray Beach Yacht Club. Mrs. Duane was a member of the Seacrest Association of University Women, a member and longtime treasurer of the Beach Property Owners Association, and a dedicated deacon at First Presbyterian Church of Delray Beach.

Mrs. Duane was a wonderful wife and mother to her young family, and a world-class sailing competitor. Always competing as a skipper and helmsman against the men, she was a two-time world champion (International Moth Class and International Flying Dutchman), two-time North American champion, four-time Midwinters Champion/FD, winner of the

1960 Adams Cup Championship (top U.S. women’s sailors), and winner of numerous ocean racing regattas.

With Jack crewing, the couple placed second in the 1960 U.S. Olympic trials and later represented the United States in the 1963 Pan American Games in Brazil.

Mrs. Duane was highlighted in Sports Illustrated “Faces in the Crowd” in 1962, and featured in the April 22, 1963, issue as “The Flying Lady of the Flying Dutchman.”

The couple were featured on ABC’s Wide World of Sports with Jim McKay in 1963, and Mrs. Duane was the “central character” of CBS’s To Tell the Truth (she fooled the panel).

The City Commission of Delray Beach declared a “Pat Duane Day” in 1963 in honor of her achievements.

Mrs. Duane was a focused and tenacious competitor, yet always humble in victory, developing close friendships with her fellow sailors.

In addition to sailboat racing, Mrs. Duane played tennis and golf and enjoyed reading. She was a member of the Delray Beach Yacht Club, the Country Club of Florida, Delray Dunes Golf Club, and a tennis member of the Gulf Stream Bath and Tennis Club.

In addition to her children, Jean (Jan) Pavlov and John Marshall (Susan) Duane III, Mrs. Duane is survived by six grandchildren: Elizabeth (Nathan) Talbot, Marshall (Logan) Duane, Caroline (Oliver) Kuntz, Jonathan (Selena) Pollow, Meghan (Bryan) Stern, and Jessica Pollow (Reuven) Bromberg; and 12 great-grandchildren.

She was predeceased by her husband, Jack, who died in 1995, her sister Audrey and grandson Matthew Pollow, as well as many beloved dogs, who were an important part of her life.

The family is most grateful to Mrs. Duane’s longtime housekeeper, Eather Mae Collins, aides Farah Francois and Rose Delaplane, the caring staff of Sonata in Boynton Beach and Dr. Madeleine DuPree of Vitas Hospice Care.

A private family memorial is planned. Any memorial donations may be directed to the Deacons Fund at First Presbyterian Church of Delray Beach.

— Obituary submitted by family

By Mary Hladky

People who use Brightline to get around South Florida were shocked to learn that the rail line was eliminating a monthly trip pass with greatly reduced fares and is de-prioritizing riders who use the train as a commuter service in favor of those making long-haul trips to and from Orlando.

Riders most upset about the changes have contacted Boca Raton City Council members in hopes they can use their influence to persuade Brightline to reverse course.

“This new action by Brightline is a declaration of war against commuters and puts into question the very existence of a Boca Raton station …,” Boca Raton resident Christian Vandendriessche wrote in an email to council members on May 7.

He asked council members to talk to other government leaders and Brightline officials to find a “satisfactory and reasonable” solution.

“This sentiment is widely shared by every single person I have spoken to about this situation and the disruptive impact it will have for all of us next month.”

Resident Lowell Plotkin told city officials in a May 5 note that he moved to Boca Raton right after the station opened in December 2022, a decision that was possible because he could commute four days a week to Miami.

“For all of us who relocated, changed jobs and made other life decisions under the assumption that we would have an affordable option to make the daily journey … this feels like a bait-and-switch,” he wrote.

“I understand that Brightline is a private company and can do whatever its owners … want, but their actions have infuriated their daily commuters,” he said.

Mayor Scott Singer, a Brightline booster who lobbied for a station and has repeatedly described it as a “game-changer” for the city, told The Coastal Star in an email that he has contacted Brightline officials.

“I have repeatedly expressed my concerns to Brightline and shared those of other residents,” he wrote. “I’ve encouraged residents to keep contacting them directly at hello@gobrightline.com. I will continue to work for more service in Boca Raton and continue to talk to their top executive team.”

Brightline was eliminating three types of train passes as of June 1, including one aimed at commuters that offered 40 trips per month for $399, or $10 for a one-way trip and $20 for a round-trip.

Starting June 1, passengers can get a new 10-ride pass to and from any station from West Palm Beach to Miami for $350 for the regular Smart fare or $550 for the Premium fare.

So the cost of a one-way regular trip goes up to $35 or to $55 for premium. That doesn’t include the cost to park in Brightline’s garages.

Discontinuing monthly and other passes “will make it much more difficult for your average resident who is commuting,” said Council member Andy Thomson. “It is frankly pretty disappointing to me. That was never the intent when Brightline said they wanted to be in Boca and we wanted them.”

It’s unclear how widespread the outrage is. Two council members told The Coastal Star they had received about five to 10 complaints each as of mid-May.

Several residents who are not commuters but use Brightline to get to occasional functions or meetings in other cites said they hadn’t heard much about it from the people they speak with.

“It is either death on I-95 or Brightline,” said Katie Barr MacDougall, president of the Riviera Civic Association, which advocates for Beachside neighborhoods. Given that, “Brightline basically is a bargain.”

The city potentially has more on the line with the Brightline decisions. Ever since the Boca Raton station was built, council members have talked about creating a Transit Oriented Development zone to encourage development near the station.

As of now, the City Council isn’t dissuaded from going ahead with a TOD just because fewer commuters might be coming to Boca Raton, but that might have the potential to cool developer interest.

“This does somewhat take the steam out of it,” Thomson said. “The degree to which it does is unclear to me.”

Real estate consultant Glenn Gromann doesn’t think Brightline’s actions will impact the city.

“The downtown is booming in Boca,” he said. “The downtown is not going to stop booming. There are all sorts of high-end projects planned. …”

A person buying an expensive condo “is not worried about a commuter line to Miami,” he said.

The city leased 1.8 acres of city-owned land east of the Downtown Library to Brightline for $1 per year for 29 years, but with renewals to total 89 years. It also agreed to bear the cost of a 455-space parking garage, although a $16.3 million federal grant reduced the amount Brightline and the city paid for the station and garage.

Brightline also agreed to pay up to $300,000 to move the Junior League of Boca Raton’s Community Garden, which was displaced by the station, to Meadows Park.

Brightline has insisted since its inception that it is not a commuter line. The goal was to offer service to and from South Florida and Orlando. That became reality in September when the Orlando station opened and provided much more profitable long-haul service.

And yet, when Brightline expanded service beyond Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach to build stations in Boca Raton and Aventura and recently announced a Stuart station, it became a de facto commuter line for many riders.

But with the changes, commuters will find it not only more costly but also more difficult to use.
In its most recent revenue and ridership reports to bondholders, Brightline said that demand for service to and from Orlando is strong.

“The addition of long-distance service has fundamentally transformed our business, with average fares, ancillary revenue per passenger and ridership all increasing significantly,” the reports said.

Because of that, “in certain instances we restrict available capacity for short-distance trips,” the company said in March. The restrictions reduced the number of short trips from 179,576 in March 2023 to 124,379 this March.

The higher-cost fares to and from Orlando increased March ticket revenue to $15 million, up from $4.7 million the previous March. Total revenue per passenger in April was nearly $68, up from nearly $33 the previous April.

Even so, Brightline still is not profitable. It lost $192 million in the nine months that ended on Sept. 30.

To meet the additional rider demand, Brightline is getting 30 additional passenger cars that will come online later this year and in 2025, expanding seat capacity by more than 75%, the company said in its April report. The company did not say whether that will allow it to transport more commuters.

For those who find the limited seating capacity and higher fares too much, the alternative is Tri-Rail, a subsidized commuter service with substantially lower fares that runs on the CSX tracks west of city centers.

Tri-Rail spokesman Victor Garcia said that as of mid-May the rail service had not seen an increase in ridership due to looming higher Brightline fares. Yet ridership has completely recovered from the losses caused by the coronavirus pandemic, and averaged 15,000 weekday passengers in February.

Tri-Rail also reached a long-awaited milestone in January when it expanded service to the downtown MiamiCentral Station with a connector train in Hialeah.

Tri-Rail and Brightline also have been talking about adding a round-trip express Tri-Rail train that would run from West Palm Beach into downtown Miami without a connector train in the morning, and a return to West Palm Beach in the evening. Limited stops would be at Boca Raton, the Fort Lauderdale airport and Hialeah.

The ride time would be less than 90 minutes, using mostly Tri-Rail tracks and a short stretch on tracks used by Brightline. The Tri-Rail board was scheduled to vote on the new service on May 31.

Brightline by the numbers
Commuter fares:
40 short rides a month for $399* prior to June
10 short rides for $350* as of June 1
Per-passenger revenue: $68 in April 2024
$33 a year earlier
Short-distance trips: 124,379 in March 2024
179,576 a year earlier
Total ticket revenue: $15 million in March 2024
$4.7 million a year earlier
* Not including cost to park in station’s garage

By Anne Geggis

Six proposals for filling the Crest Theatre building with art programs — including one from the storied Boca Raton Museum of Art — appeared to fall flat in front of the Delray Beach City Commission, at least as a long-term proposition.

The Crest Theatre went dark five years ago. And now a new majority on the City Commission is looking to revitalize the city’s artistic life that has revolved around Old School Square, the former site of Delray Beach’s high and elementary schools. It is now home to the theater, the Cornell Art Museum, the Fieldhouse (the former gymnasium) and an outdoor performance stage called the Pavilion.

Following a discussion earlier in the month about who should run activities at the other parts of Old School Square, six proposals auditioned at a May 21 commission meeting to use classroom space at the Crest Theatre building, where substantial renovations were recently completed.

After hearing the pitches about all sorts of art forms that would be presented and taught there, Mayor Tom Carney said he wanted to limit the term of use currently under discussion for a management agreement to months, not years, because of other issues at play.

The stumbling block is that the theater part of the facility is not ready for prime time and still needs more repairs. So, the mayor agreed with the city attorney’s suggestion that the city offer a permit to an interested party who wants to use the classrooms this summer, instead of issuing a long-term lease.

“A permit gives you a lot more flexibility than a lease would,” said Lynn Gelin, city attorney.

Flexibility is what the city needs until the theater portion of the facility is renovated, Carney said. The scope of what the city will cover of the needed renovations has not been determined and budget discussions for the coming fiscal year are just beginning, he said.

“I really think we need to sit back and decide how we want this place to operate and not just turn it over to one group,” Carney said.

The two candidates with local track records said later that using the classrooms just for the summer wouldn’t work for them.

Boca Raton Museum of Art’s summer session already has 700 youngsters signed up to take classes. Annually, the art school usually draws 5,000 registrants, museum officials said.

“We can’t just pick up and go,” abruptly switching classes that are ready to start to the Crest Theatre, only to be there for the summer months, said Irv Lippman, the museum’s executive director.

Moving the museum’s art school for at least a few years to the Crest Theatre building’s classrooms, some of them refurbished with Dade County pine, seemed like a meant-to-be kind of thing, Lippman said. Currently, Boca Raton’s museum art school is housed in a 60-year-old building that needs to be rebuilt, if it’s going to continue to be used.

“We thought that, with the Delray facility ready to go, that made it very desirable,” Lippman said. “But I guess it’s not so ready to go.”

Deborah Dowd, vice chairwoman of Old School Square Center for the Arts board that previously operated Old School Square, said of a short-term permit: “I can’t possibly imagine how that would work. How could we possibly get teachers? Teachers want something much more secure and long term.”

Commissioners Rob Long and Angela Burns both voiced support for the Old School Square Center for the Arts bid, admiring the timeline presented for its relaunch. But Vice

Mayor Juli Casale had a lot to say about the art nonprofit’s last stint at the helm of the city’s public arts effort.

“I will just go backwards to a couple of things,” Casale said. “We had an auditor produce a document that showed approximately 22 violations. They weren’t small. …”

The nonprofit group has been credited with turning the campus into cultural arts venues that proved a draw to the heart of the city’s downtown during its 30 years in charge. But that run in the city-owned public facilities halted in 2021 with the City Commission ending the group’s lease amid allegations of financial mismanagement. The organization then sued the city, some commissioners personally and even some of its former board members — a suit that went away after a commission less hostile to the organization took office last year.

Casale’s assertions produced commotion from the Commission Chambers audience, and Long began challenging the Old School Square nonprofit’s ouster that Casale had voted for during her last stint on the commission dais. Their exchanges had the mayor threatening to end the meeting more than once.

More discussions of who will occupy these classrooms are likely at the June 4 City Commission meeting, city officials said.

Earlier, at a May 14 workshop, a request from the Downtown Development Authority for the city to increase its funding for the other facilities in Old School Square by nearly $500,000 from its current level of slightly more than $1 million took center stage. And that requested increase in funding didn’t go over well with the newly seated mayor, either.

The DDA staff took over running most of Old School Square in 2023.

“My view is you’re almost like caretakers here, and you’re helping us get back on our feet with the tax dollars which you’re using, but that we should try to migrate towards … some kind of external group trying to run it,” Carney said, noting that a nonprofit would likely be better than a city entity at raising money. “As talented as your staff is, and they are talented, they … did not have the reach that I think they could have had in order to fully develop the campus.”

The deadline for either party to terminate the current agreement passed on April 24, leading to the first, five-year renewal of the agreement to run through Sept. 24, 2029, according to city records.

Casale, who campaigned with Carney for her return to the commission, said she’s confident that the DDA is moving Old School Square in the right direction.

DDA staff members “could not go out” for donations “until now, but now they are able to, so I think there’s going to be a turnaround,” she said.

The proposed Ocean One with apartments and retail outlets would fill the northeast corner of Federal Highway and Ocean Avenue in Boynton Beach. Rendering provided

By Tao Woolfe

Under the terms of a compromise deal between Hyperion Group LLC and the Boynton Beach Community Redevelopment Agency, construction on Ocean One, a 371-unit mixed use downtown project, could begin next year.

The deal was reached at a special May 7 meeting of the City Commission sitting as the CRA board.

Essentially, Hyperion agreed to lower the amount of CRA subsidy it is requesting from $11.5 million to $9 million. The money would be provided using tax incentive funding revenues (also called tax increment revenue funding) over 12 years.

The 3.5-acre site is on the east side of Federal Highway north of Ocean Avenue. It is the second development with the Ocean One name proposed for the site. The earlier version proposed several years ago had 358 apartments, 12,075 square feet of retail and a 120-unit hotel.

That proposal was revised last year to offer 371 rental units, 25,000 square feet of retail space, 21,000 square feet of green space, and another 36,000 square feet of sidewalks and paved areas that will include public plazas with outdoor seating.

In return for the loan, the developer agreed to provide 90 public parking spaces inside a planned garage, as well as 20 on-street public parking spaces, with 20% of the parking revenue to be shared with the CRA.

Judging by their comments and questions, the commissioners seemed wary of entering into another downtown development deal without building safeguards into the contract.

Another major downtown project has been tied up in court for a year over a dispute with a neighboring property. The property for The Pierce — a $73 million complex of apartments, restaurants, retail stores and green space planned for 115 N. Federal Highway — sits across the street from the Ocean One site.

Commissioner Woodrow Hay asked CRA Attorney Tara Duhy whether safeguards could be added to the Ocean One deal.

“This is a big project. We want to make sure, as much as possible, that we get it right the first time,” Hay said. “Is there some way we could word it so we can assure ourselves that this is not going to be another one of those deals where, at a certain point, the developer splits?”

Duhy replied that some assurances are built into the contract: The tax increment funding (TIF) is capped; if the developer fails, and must assign the project to another developer, the CRA must be consulted; no TIF money will be available until the developer has met the terms of the contract; and any changes to the site plan must come back to the CRA for approval.

Hyperion CEO Robert Vecsler sounded reluctant to lower the TIF amount, but seemed more interested in getting the project started.

“We intend, if the market cooperates, to commence development now,” Vecsler told the board members. “We’re here because we believe in Boynton Beach. We have plans and we’re ready to build.”

The commissioners seemed pleased that Vecsler agreed that the 110 public parking spaces should remain public in perpetuity. The City Commission hears complaints about too much downtown traffic and too little public parking at almost every meeting.

Vecsler said he hopes to begin construction in the fall of 2025 and to have the project completed by 2029.

TIF payments amount to a portion of the increased taxes accruing from a project’s increasing property values—taxes that under state law are then paid to the CRA. The funding is used by CRAs to pay for additional projects in a designated redevelopment area.

Hyperion’s request is to use a portion of those revenues generated by its project to subsidize the project’s costs, making the dollars unavailable for other CRA projects or land purchases.

Crews opened the new southern portion of the Palmetto Park Road bridge over the El Rio Canal to traffic May 29 as work shifted to the median portion of the bridge spans for eastbound and westbound traffic. All work on the new Palm Beach County bridge, an expected one-year project that began in 2021 and has been hit with delay after delay ever since, could be completed by midsummer, according to County Commissioner Marci Woodward. Construction teams are moving forward with final paving and striping, sidewalk and landscaping work, and other finishing touches. Woodward said she is hoping for completion of the $4.3 million county project in July. Larry Barszewski/The Coastal Star