By Rich Pollack

Rates for Delray Beach water customers will increase by about $9 a month in October as city leaders wrestle with the challenges of building a new water plant under strict new federal regulations aimed at removing “forever” chemicals.

During a meeting last month, consultants and city leaders told commissioners the new water treatment plant — replacing a 73-year-old facility — will have a price tag of about $280 million and won’t be coming online until 2028.

Initially, the city had planned to keep the existing water treatment plant, which uses lime softening to treat water, and incorporate a membrane filtration process. That plan, which would have had two buildings side by side, would have cost about $120 million.

Last April, however, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency revised standards for the chemicals PFOA, PFOS and Gen-X, which means Delray Beach will have to build a new plant twice the size of the current plant and eventually demolish the existing one.

“The reason this becomes a bigger plant is because of forever chemicals,” Utilities Director Hassan Hadjimiry said.

As a result of the new requirements and the switch to a total membrane filtration system, the city will also need to build two new deep-injection wells for the reject water created during the treatment process.

The city, which currently has 30 production wells drawing raw water from the aquifer, will also be adding six raw water wells, which Hadjimiry says will improve operational flexibility.

The deep-injection wells, consultants said, will come at a cost of about $33 million, which is incorporated into the total $280 million cost.

Construction of the new facility, commissioners were told, is planned to begin as early as October.

Hadjimiry said that in addition to improving the quality of the water Delray Beach customers receive, the new plant will increase the maximum amount of clean water that can be produced.

The current plant’s maximum, he said, is about 17 million gallons a day. With the new plant, the city will be able to produce 19 million to 20 million gallons a day.

To cover the cost of the plant, the city will issue bonds and raise water rates over 30 years.

In 2022, the city raised the water rates $3 a month for the typical customer using 6,000 gallons per month. The current rate for that customer will go up another $9.32 per month — to $78.43 — beginning with the new fiscal year Oct. 1. Monthly rates will continue to go up between $6.73 and $8.73 in each of the next five years after that, based on a consultant’s projections.

This year’s increases will help the city cover the cost of items that need to be purchased well in advance of when they will be needed, with the procurement process for $22 million worth of equipment already underway.

Hadjimiry and City Manager Terrence Moore are quick to point out that prior to 2022, Delray Beach water rates had not been raised for 15 years.

The projections could raise a typical bill by about $40 a month by the end of 2031, at which time the rate structure will again be evaluated.

At the end of the presentation, the City Commission gave the green light to move forward with a finance plan, which included issuing two 30-year bonds of $140 million each at a 4.75% interest rate.

Robert D’Amelio, a seasonal South Palm Beach resident and Vietnam-era veteran, visits with his 2-year-old grand-daughter, Siena. D’Amelio was one of thousands of workers who cleaned up the World Trade Center site after the September 2001 terrorist attacks and was part of the massive project erected afterward in New York City. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

Must-see stops on a visit to New York are the 9/11 Memorial and Museum and the impressive array of buildings that now constitute the rebuilt World Trade Center area.

Among thousands of others, one of the workers responsible for both the cleanup after the September 2001 terrorist attacks and the massive project erected in their wake is Robert D’Amelio of South Palm Beach.

D’Amelio, 80, not only participated in the years-long cleanup of Ground Zero, but later served as a superintendent in construction of the Oculus, a transportation hub that according to Trip Advisor “serves as a representation of New York City’s strength and resilience after 9/11.”

“Four-and-a-half months I was there” during the recovery, D’Amelio said. “For years after that ... I couldn’t bring myself to look at that hole. Ten years later, when my company got the contract to build the Oculus, I didn’t know if I could do it. I said, ‘I don’t know if I want to go through this (expletive) again.’

“But by the time we got ready to build it, you didn’t even recognize it.”

D’Amelio worked for a construction company that did recovery at the site of the twin towers. All work would stop when word went out that there was a “hit,” he recalled.

“They called the bodies ‘hits,’ and you would call either the Fire Department or the Police Department and they would come in and exhume the bodies. Whenever that happened, whenever they found a bone — any bone, it could even be a chicken bone — all work would stop, they would call the families, and they would come down to see if maybe that was a friend or relative.”

Asked how many times he saw this happen, D’Amelio said only, “Lots.” 

Since that experience, D’Amelio and his fellow workers are required to undergo an annual physical and meet with a psychiatrist to assess how much it still affects them. D’Amelio, who also spent two years in the Navy, said he has been diagnosed with PTSD.

He has been married to his wife, Joanne, for 54 years, and their primary residence is in Hopatcong, New Jersey. They have three children: Melissa and Joe are teachers living in New Jersey, and Jason, a rehab trainer, lives in Harlem in New York City. The couple have five grandchildren. 

In South Palm Beach, D’Amelio spends his free time in the gym, playing golf and enjoying the beach outside his Imperial House condo. 

— Brian Biggane

Q: Where did you grow up and go to school? How do you think that has influenced you?

A: I grew up in Paterson, New Jersey, and moved to Totowa, not far from Newark, when I was 12 or 13. My father died when I was 15, so I was raised by my mother. I attended Passaic Valley Regional High School. After the Navy I used my VA benefits to attend William Paterson College for two years, but had a family so I had to go to work.

I really believe my street experience helped me more than my school experience. You learn so much from the streets — how to defend yourself, how to manipulate people, how to read people, who to stay away from and who tries to lure you in and screw up your mind. To me the streets are very important.

Q: What professions have you worked in? What professional accomplishments are you most proud of?

A: I started out as a truck driver for 10-11 years. When I got married, I got into the carpenters union and spent 26 years as a carpenter. Then I became a construction superintendent, working high-rises and things like that. One of my biggest accomplishments was being a part of the rebuild at World Trade; I was there five-and-a-half years.

Q: What advice do you have for a young person seeking a career today?

A: Learn the streets. Learn all you want academically, but it’s not going to work for you unless you know the streets. If you want to be a drunk you hang with drunks. If you want to be successful you hang with successful people. Your surroundings, whether you know it or not, have a lot to do with who you become. So, education and the streets are compatible. You have to have both.

Q: How did you choose to make your home in South Palm Beach?

A: My uncle died in 1984 and willed a condo to my brother and me. We held off on selling it and more recently we started to fix it up and I started to give it a chance. I still only spend a few months a year down here, but it could be more as time goes by.

Q: What’s your favorite part about living in South Palm Beach?

A: Weather, accessibility to things. People? Send the Northerners back North (laughs). No, I’ve met a lot of nice people. People who needed time to get to know who I am. I may have an aggressive look, an aggressive approach, an aggressive-sounding voice. I’m not that way all the time, but it takes time for people to know that.

Q: What book are you reading now?

A: I’m not a big reader, but I’ve just started reading Swing and a Hit, by Paul O’Neill, the baseball player. It’s about his experience starting to play at 5 years old, being signed by the Cincinnati Reds and playing alongside Pete Rose, who was one of his idols, then being shipped over to the Yankees. Military books interest me also.

Q: What music do you listen to when you want to relax? When you want to be inspired?

A: If I want to think back to my young years I’ll listen to the ’50s: Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin. If I want to think about my growing-up years I like doo-wop time — Four Seasons, the rhythm and blues, the girl groups like the Ronettes. When I get to the ’70s and ’80s I think about where I’m at, going into the future. But I don’t want to make the mistake of getting caught up in the past.

Q: Have you had mentors in your life? People who have inspired your life decisions?

A: My father for a time, but then street guys who taught me how to deal with things. Roger Giardello was a smart guy, arrogant but smart. He was older than me. I was concerned about going into the military and not being able to take orders, and if it turned out that way I might be released or get a dishonorable discharge. So, he taught me how to roll with it.

In the military I met a guy named Pat Currie who worked as a contractor with the military. He was so Irish, and I was Italian, so he called me “Irish” (he says with a laugh). We would sit and talk for hours, and he knew the streets, but could also talk to any politician one-on-one.

Q: If your life story were to be made into a movie, who would play you?

A: Al Pacino. Andy Garcia. Robert De Niro. They’re the ones that I can relate to. I know their style, or they would know my style is a better way to put it.

Q: Is there something people don’t know about you but should?

A: We adopted a nun. Nuns who are cloistered are sworn to silence and poverty. One nun, who was older, was the liaison for the monastery. I would sit outside with her and we would kibitz, and she had a hearing aid that wouldn’t work, and it became like a vaudeville act. But her health began to fail and she went back to her vows, so there was one day a year we could go see her. So, we donated in her name and we got papers saying we adopted her.

Railroad gate upgrade could cost more than $1 million — Upgrading three Delray Beach railroad crossings in the wake of the Dec. 28 Brightline train collision with a city fire truck will cost up to $1,050,000, City Manager Terrence Moore informed commissioners.

It is yet another cost associated with the crash for the city, which includes — among other things — pending litigation, medical costs and the purchase of a new $1.4 million fire truck. 

The city is also checking to see if there may be grant money available to offset some of the cost for the crossing gate upgrades.

Brightline video shows the aerial fire truck attempting to go around the downed crossing gates on Southeast First Street. The driver of the fire truck, David Wyatt, remains suspended with pay. 

The upgrades to crossings at Northwest 14th Street, Southeast First Street and Lindell Boulevard will prevent vehicles from being able to traverse the tracks from the other lane when the gates are down. Other crossings in the city already have those protections.

Implementation estimates from Florida East Coast Railway run between $150,000 and $350,000 for each crossing, Moore told commissioners in his March 14 memo to them. 

There is an additional $15,000 cost for survey and design services.

FEC will complete all associated work, with the city to reimburse respective expenses, Moore said.

New vice mayor and deputy vice mayor — The Delray Beach City Commission on March 27 unanimously chose Commissioners Rob Long and Angela Burns to serve as vice mayor and deputy vice mayor for the next year.

The positions are largely ceremonial. Long will preside over the body if Mayor Tom Carney is unavailable and Burns will preside if both are out of pocket.

As usual with this commission, picking the positions was hardly a simple affair. The outgoing Vice Mayor Juli Casale nominated Commissioner Tom Markert as vice mayor, saying he is diligent about attending almost every city event.

Long objected, saying that the position was supposed to be rotating and as deputy vice mayor, it was his turn. Carney agreed not only for Long to be vice mayor but Long’s nomination to make Burns deputy vice mayor.

Casale and Markert, showing collegiality, voted in favor as well.

— John Pacenti

The Police Benevolent Association was banned from participating in Delray Beach parades for a year after its mobile billboard, shown above, changed its messaging in the St. Patrick’s Day parade from holiday-oriented to one critical of the city’s elected officials. Photo provided

By John Pacenti

Delray Beach banned the Police Benevolent Association from participating in parades for a year after the union changed a “Happy St. Patrick’s Day” sign on a mobile billboard during the March 15 parade to one that attacked elected officials over the state of contract negotiations. 

It was just the latest stunt by the PBA, which has been telling residents that crime is spiking in the city and that their electeds want to defund the police. 

At the City Commission meeting on Feb. 18, the union filled the gallery with dozens of members. Officers in the front row puffed up their biceps and flashed their extensive tattoos. 

Officer Friendly this was not. Some residents critical of the PBA have written emails to city officials, calling the union’s tactics “thuggery.”

John Kazanjian, president of the PBA in Palm Beach County, said during the public comments at the Feb. 18 meeting that officers were fleeing Delray Beach.

“I’m not saying that we’re in a crisis yet, but I’m going to tell you, the city of Delray is that close to being in a crisis. You’ve lost eight officers since we’ve been negotiating the contract,” he said.

Then came the mobile billboard. First showing up the weekend of Feb. 22, the signage was adorned with images of Mayor Tom Carney and Vice Mayor Juli Casale. “Violent crime is rising in Delray Beach,” one slide read. It urged residents to contact elected leaders “to start funding our police force.”

The city said the PBA promised, in its application to participate in the St. Patrick’s Day parade, to use its mobile billboard to wish residents a happy holiday. Somewhere along the March 15 route, the billboard changed the display to images of Carney, Casale and Commissioner Tom Markert. “Our police are among the lowest paid in Palm Beach,” the billboard read.

The stunt did not go over well with City Manager Terrence Moore, who wrote to the PBA on March 19 that the union submitted false information and would be suspended for a year from participating in city parades.

“Well, there’s a time and a place for everything, and this wasn’t the time or the place,” Carney said.

Kazanjian fired back in a letter on March 21, saying Moore was lying about the permit, calling it “more of the same from the city: silence critics and hide the truth from the city’s residents when it comes to low officer pay, poor officer retention and rising violent crime statistics.”

Kazanjian ended the letter by saying the union would not abide by the ban. “We look forward to participating in next year’s parade whether we’re ‘allowed’ to do so or not.”

Delray Beach, in the meantime, released information that violent crime had gone down by 70% and property crimes decreased by 65% since 1996. The city said it has offered police a 14% increase over three years and a comprehensive benefits package.

“The city of Delray Beach remains committed to ensuring public safety through proactive law enforcement and community partnerships, resulting in a steady decline in crime since 1996,” Moore told The Coastal Star.

“While we negotiated in good faith with the PBA, we continue to stand by our offered competitive compensation package that supports our dedicated officers without compromising the city’s financial responsibility to residents,” Moore said.

Carney added that officers and their families have free rein of services at Delray Medical Center. “We have this Wellness Center, which has doctors and everything. They don’t pay a dime. They’re in the system. They can take their kids there. They get free drugs,” he said.

Some of the highest-paid employees in the city are police officers, with 14 making well north of $190,000 a year, according to data provided to The Coastal Star. The city does concede nine officers have left since contract negotiations started last June, but says it has recruited replacements. 

Carney said the real issue for the union is retirement benefits for the top-ranking officers in the department. He said the union wants an expansion from five to eight years of the Deferred Retirement Option Program — known as DROP.

“If approved, this extension would allow senior officers to collect their full salaries while simultaneously receiving at least 70% of that salary in retirement benefits, for three additional years,” Carney told residents in his news release.

Senior officers have advanced to supervisory roles, holding the rank of sergeant, lieutenant, or captain or chief.

So tax dollars, the mayor said, would go not to providing more officers but to paying retirement benefits. The city says 17 Delray Beach officers are currently in the DROP program. Hypothetically, an officer earning $100,000 per year would continue collecting his or her full salary while also banking at least $70,000 per year in retirement benefits, Carney said.

“It’s the senior officers, and there’s a bunch of them that are in the five-year drop, that are coming off the five-year drop, which means they want to stay an additional three years to collect their salary. I mean, I’m sorry,” Carney said.

By Rich Pollack

GULF STREAM — Joe Zaluski was a teacher’s teacher — an educator who stood out for his passion for his craft and a teacher who enjoyed passing on that passion to those who crossed his path during the 14 years he led the Gulf Stream School. 

Mr. Zaluski, who retired as head of school in 2019 and moved back to Ohio to be near family, died on Feb. 16, leaving behind a legacy of caring about the people who walked through the Gulf Stream School’s doors, whether they were preschool students or veteran classroom teachers. He was 72.

Warm and kind like a favorite uncle, Mr. Zaluski is remembered by his staff and former students for his compassion and dedication to their success. 

It is no surprise that one of the people he admired most was educational television host Fred Rogers, and that was reflected in how he spent every day. 

“Joe was a Mister Rogers to many people,” said Sally, his wife of 45 years.

In addition to the responsibilities he had for running the prestigious school — a full-time job — Mr. Z, as he was known, still took time to teach two sixth-grade reading classes every week.

“Reading is the most valuable skill for success,” he said during a 2019 conversation with The Coastal Star. “I want the students to be lifelong learners.”

During that interview, Mr. Zaluski said that during all his years at the school there wasn’t a day that went by that he didn’t learn something new. 

Much of what he learned he shared with teachers, staff and often students. 

“He fostered a love of teaching but also a love of learning,” said Danielle Cooper, a longtime teacher at the school who was hired by Mr. Zaluski. 

Teachers and staff will tell you that one of his greatest strengths was building an environment where teachers — and students — focused on doing their best. 

“We all felt like we wanted to make Joe proud,” Cooper said. 

A trademark of Mr. Zaluski’s was his welcoming students at the front of the school every morning, shaking hands on occasion and saying hello to parents as well.

That gesture blended in well with his goal of making sure students knew the school was a safe place for them. 

“A child needs to know ‘I can come to school and know that I’m going to be greeted by people who love me, care about me and want to help me succeed academically and emotionally and accept me for who I am,’” he said during the 2019 interview. 

As an administrator Mr. Zaluski helped keep the school financially strong while raising its profile. 

He oversaw renovations to every classroom and the construction of a new pavilion with three classrooms above it. All were funded through a major capital campaign.

Mr. Zaluski also loved adventure and shared passion with students and faculty. 

At least once he jumped out of an airplane, took flying lessons, went scuba diving     off the Keys, hot air ballooned and attempted to climb   Mount Rainier.

During his tenure at the school, he made sure eighth graders took trips to places like the Grand Canyon or Canada or to Homosassa Springs, where they swam with manatees.

In 2016 he took the entire faculty to Crystal River, where they went scalloping as part of his effort to bring the teachers together, another thing that was a priority. 

A graduate of the University of Dayton in Ohio, with a master’s in education, Mr. Zaluski started his career as a sixth-grade teacher and coach and advanced to administrative positions in the elementary grades for most of his 43 years in education

Cooper, who is the director of the Gulf Stream School’s Julien Arts & Innovation Center and who teaches innovation, literature, technology and math, says that Mr. Zaluski was an inspiration to those who have followed in his footsteps. 

“Joe was why you wanted to teach,” she said. 

In addition to his wife, Mr. Zaluski is survived by a son, Zachary, a daughter, Katelin, and two young granddaughters, and he is remembered by many members of the Gulf Stream School family.

A private celebration of life will be held in New Jersey, where he was born and raised.

Donations in the memory of Mr. Zaluski can be made to the Outdoor Education Center at Glen Helen (Glenhelen.org) in Yellow Springs, Ohio.

By Larry Barszewski

There’s good news for boaters — the Intracoastal Waterway near the Boynton Inlet is being dredged for the first time in 12 years — but expect a boatload of inconveniences this month as the work continues, including the closing of the Harvey Oyer Park ramp for about a week.

The dredged sand is also good news for Ocean Ridge as it will be used to shore up the coastline in the town near Palm Beach County’s Hammock Park — but you won’t be able to stand on any of the new beach sand unless you go in the water. That’s where the sand is going.

“This isn’t that large dredge project that you’ll see every six to eight years that really widens the beach; this is more of a smaller project,” said Andy Studt, environmental program supervisor for Palm Beach County’s coastal resource management, which is overseeing the $1.9 million project. It’s expected to place about 63,000 cubic yards of sand near the shore, he said.

“We’ll be adding it below the water line, but it will add to the near-shore system and strengthen the beach over the near term,” Studt said.

The county also plans “a follow-on project this coming winter in conjunction with the Army Corps of Engineers to restore storm damages, where we’ll be placing about half-a-million cubic yards from an offshore bar source,” he said.

“That’s the one that’ll really widen the beach and protect us from future storm events, both for Boynton Beach Oceanfront Park and about a mile south of the inlet.”

Studt’s comments came during the Boynton Beach City Commission’s April 1 meeting. The dredged sand is coming from three interior shoal areas in the Intracoastal: from a county sand trap immediately adjacent to the inlet, from the Intracoastal’s main navigational channel in partnership with the Florida Inland Navigation District, and from the Oyer Park boat channel in partnership with Boynton Beach.

“We have discussed it with city staff and it sounds like the best way forward is to close the boat ramp for a short period of time while we’re dredging the western part of the Oyer Park boat channel,” Studt said. “When we stick a dredge in that small channel area, it’s not going to be safe to navigate around it.”

Commissioner Thomas Turkin was relieved that the work is finally being done, but not that it took so long.

“You said the last time this was dredged was 2013. How can we ensure we don’t wait that long … that we don’t have this large of a lapse again?” Turkin asked. “There’s a lot of recreational use there, but also a lot of commercial use, a lot of people’s businesses that rely on that boat ramp, you know, that allow them to put food on the table for their families.”

Future dredging should occur more frequently, Studt said. In the past, the county had to get individual permits each time it wanted to dredge.

“This time we’ve got about a 15-year permit where we can go out multiple times within that time period and dredge as needed — the city’s channel and our sand trap,” Studt said.

Because of the extended permit, the county also may be able to let Boynton Beach do more frequent dredging of the park’s boat channel if it desires. In that case, the dredged sand probably wouldn’t go to the beach but be used in a habitat restoration project along the Intracoastal, Studt said.

The delay in the current dredging project was caused in part because the county didn’t know the last time the western part of the Oyer boat channel had been dredged.

“We know it’s been dredged in the past,” Studt said, but the county could not find a record of it with the Army Corps or the city. “So, since there wasn’t a record, it had to be considered new dredging. We had to go through the mitigation process.”

Boynton Beach commissioners were also upset about the timing, especially the impact on the long-planned Boynton Beach Firefighter Fishing Tournament and Firehouse Chili Cook-off at Oyer Park on April 26 that could be jeopardized.

“It’s not just a fishing tournament for our fire guys, it’s a fundraising effort,” Commissioner Aimee Kelley said.

The tournament, with more than $10,000 in cash and prizes, is sponsored by the Boynton Beach Firefighter Benevolent Association and raises money for the association and the city’s Kiwanis Club.

Studt said he couldn’t guarantee the tournament would be unaffected, but would work to try to avoid a conflict. The timeline is cutting it close, given how dependent the work is on the weather.

That Oyer Park channel work has been “ballparked” to start between April 14 and 21.

“We’re hopeful for a week or less dredging the city channel area and then we’ll have it cleared out for the next couple of years presumably,” Studt said.

The Oyer Park channel has to be done last because the county will need to bring in a smaller dredge to handle the narrower boat channel, he said.

DELRAY BEACH — Rita Ellis, former mayor of Delray Beach, died on March 15 due to complications from diabetes. She was 74.

Born in Spencer, West Virginia, Mrs. Ellis later moved to Florida, where she graduated from Eau Gallie High School in Melbourne. In August 1970, she married Dean Ellis, the love of her life, and together they built a beautiful marriage of nearly 55 years. They raised their daughters, built a business, and dedicated themselves to their community, always as a team. 

Their love was a steadfast foundation, filled with humor, devotion and a shared passion for Delray Beach, where they lived for over five decades.

Beyond her professional and civic accomplishments, Rita and Dean shared a love of travel, exploring the world together and making lifelong memories. They visited destinations across the globe, experiencing different cultures and embracing adventure side by side.

Mrs. Ellis was an accomplished businesswoman and a natural leader. She began her career at Southern Bell, where her exceptional talent, work ethic and dedication led her to rise through the ranks at a time when few women were advancing in corporate leadership. 

In 1973, she and Dean founded their mechanical services company, Climate Control Services, in Palm Beach County. Bringing her experience from management roles in customer service and operations, she played an integral role in the company’s success. She eventually succeeded Dean as president and CEO. The business remained in the family until its sale in 2022.

Mrs. Ellis is best known for her deep civic engagement in Delray Beach, where she dedicated herself to the city’s growth and well-being. Her early leadership roles included graduating from Leadership Delray; serving on the Delray Beach Chamber of Commerce board of directors, including as chairwoman; serving seven years on the Downtown Development Authority, including four years as chairwoman; serving as the city’s Vision 2010 facilitator; chairing the Local Government Affairs Committee; chairing DelPAC’s board of directors; and serving on the Delray Medical Center board of trustees. 

She was also honored with the Ambassador Rising Star Award, the Greater Delray Beach Chamber of Commerce Business Person of the Year, the Ken Ellingsworth Community Service Award, and recognition as a Spady Museum Community Hero.

In 2005, Mrs. Ellis was elected unopposed to the Delray Beach City Commission and was appointed vice mayor by her fellow commissioners. During her tenure, she championed stricter historic preservation guidelines and was a strong advocate for the city’s progressive affordable housing initiatives. In 2007, Mrs. Ellis became the first woman elected mayor of Delray Beach. (In 1954, Catherine Strong had been appointed mayor for one year.) 

As mayor, Mrs. Ellis continued her commitment to public service, representing Delray Beach on the inaugural Palm Beach County Homeless Advisory Board.

Complications from an injury, coupled with her longtime treatment for insulin-dependent diabetes, led her to forgo a reelection bid in 2009. However, her impact on the city was undeniable, and in recognition of her service, she was awarded a Key to the City. Even after retiring from public office, Mrs. Ellis remained deeply engaged in her community, volunteering and serving on the Delray Beach Property Owners Association until her death.

Mrs. Ellis requested no memorial service, believing she had received ample recognition and love from friends, Delray Beach residents and colleagues during her lifetime. In keeping with her generosity and dedication to advancing medical knowledge, she donated her body to science in the hopes of helping improve the care and well-being of diabetes patients.

The family requests that donations be made to Old School Square in Delray Beach in lieu of flowers. Those wishing to honor Mrs. Ellis’ legacy may also do so by supporting local resources and initiatives that uplift their communities, particularly for underrepresented residents.

Mrs. Ellis was predeceased by her grandparents, Jake and Thelma Lowe; her parents, Mary Ellen Sheriff, Charles Walker, and Jim Sheriff; and her brother, Gene Lowe.

She is survived by her devoted husband of 54 years, Dean Ellis; daughters Brandy Ellis of Boynton Beach and Amy Ellis (Chris Caswell) of Little Rock, Arkansas; brother Charles “Chuck” Walker (Dr. Maureen Whelihan) of Boynton Beach; nephews Charles “Charley” Walker of Palm Beach Gardens and Marshall Lowe of Largo; niece Nicole Bjornvick of Seminole; and many cherished in-laws, stepsisters and extended family members.

— Obituary submitted by the family

The Plaza del Mar owners hope to turn the area into Manalapan’s ‘downtown,’ with regular community events. Photo provided by Katz and Associates

By Larry Barszewski

When it comes to downtowns, Boca Raton has Mizner Park and Delray Beach has Atlantic Avenue.

But downtown Manalapan? Where’s that?

Could it be Plaza del Mar?

The owners of the plaza, the town’s only shopping center, think so. They’ve adopted the downtown title and have high expectations for the plaza they purchased in December.

“This is essentially your downtown,” Scott Loventhal, the managing member for the new owners, told town commissioners at their March 11 meeting. Loventhal was in town to introduce himself to commissioners and brief them on plans for the center at the southwest corner of State Road A1A and Ocean Avenue. His company, Manalapan Plaza del Mar LLC, is a subsidiary of New Jersey-based Garden Commercial Properties, which has 70 years of experience in retail plazas.

“We are all about our local connection,” said Loventhal, whose New Jersey roots showed through as he pledged to work with the “township commission” and “township professionals” on any future improvements to the center.

While the company’s short-term goals are to lease vacant storefronts and bring the center more into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, Loventhal said he would also like to see the plaza become a place for community activities.

“What we also found looking at Plaza del Mar is that there isn’t that interaction with the community as it relates to what is your Main and Main, your downtown,” Loventhal said. “What is a downtown all about? A downtown is all about where residents can also gather and see one another.”

One downtown idea is already being considered.

“I think that our goal would be to try to put something on the calendar to create a fall festival this year,” he said.

Commissioner David Knobel gave him a suggestion for another event: “We have some interesting cars in garages in this town, too.”

Loventhal replied that having a car show “is really a wonderful thing.”

“I can only imagine,” he added, mulling over the possible entries from town residents. “I’d like to come visit on the car show day because there have been some interesting cars shopping at Publix, as I’ve noticed in my visits. Some cars I’d never seen before.”

The company’s first priority, though, is to fill the vacant storefronts. A woman’s clothing boutique now based in New Jersey, Addicted Chic, will be opening in June. It was signed by the previous owners.

The plaza will be patient, Loventhal said, making sure the additions contribute to the overall mix and “what we hope will be some experiential retail, what we hope will be personal services.”

At the same time, the company will be creating an accessibility plan.

“The center is not fully ADA compliant,” Loventhal said. “We always feel it’s important in our shopping centers [to be accessible], especially in Southeast Florida where there are certainly residents that need to take advantage of those ADA improvements.”

But there are no plans for major changes at the plaza and Loventhal said the company will respect the existing leases.

“For what it is, and that is a Publix-anchored community strip center, it’s incredible to see the number of tenants that are there 20 to 30 years,” he said. “What does that say to you? They’ve done well, despite what pre-COVID was essentially a seasonal location.”

Publix will have a say in how the center is used for special events, since its lease gives it control over a large part of the parking lot, Loventhal said. While there is probably enough space to hold events outside of the Publix spaces, he said he would meet with store officials to see what else might be possible.

In case he forgot he was in Manalapan, Loventhal was quickly reminded of that point when he talked about eventual plans to improve the signage at the plaza. He said the current signs “don’t really give the tenants the visibility that’s needed to improve their sales.”

When he added “there are no restrictions” about signage, Vice Mayor Simone Bonutti jumped in to say yes there are. Any changes that did not meet the town’s current standards would have to be approved by the commission, he was told.

Loventhal summed up his company’s desires this way:

“We want to make Plaza del Mar better than it is today and improve upon what we think can be a much more vibrant downtown.”

By Mary Hladky

BOCA RATON — Philanthropist Elaine J. Wold, whose generosity helped transform two leading Boca Raton institutions, died in mid-March at the age of 97.

Originally from New Brunswick, New Jersey, Mrs. Wold moved to South Florida in 1955 following her marriage to Dr. Keith C. Wold, who predeceased her. She lived in Boca Raton for more than 45 years.

Although the Johnson & Johnson heiress donated to many organizations, her most notable gifts were to Lynn University and Boca Raton Regional Hospital.

Her lead donation of $9.3 million allowed Lynn University to build the Keith C. and Elaine Johnson Wold Performing Arts Center, which was dedicated in 2010. She also founded Elaine’s Musical Treat, an annual program that brings together actors and students from the Lynn Drama and Lynn University Conservatory of Music to collaborate on performances.

“In 2014, we had the honor of awarding Elaine an honorary doctor of humane letters degree at our commencement ceremony in recognition of her profound impact on the performing arts and student life,” said Cesar Palacios, Lynn’s associate director of public relations, marketing and communication.

“As a woman of grace and vision, Elaine was one of the most polite and charming individuals we have ever had the pleasure of meeting,” he said. “Her kindness and generosity will always be remembered.”

A $25 million gift from Mrs. Wold and the Bay Branch Foundation, formed by herself and her husband, paved the way for construction of the Gloria Drummond Patient Tower at Boca Raton Regional Hospital.

Mrs. Wold asked that the seven-story tower be named for her lifelong friend, who had raised money to build the hospital after her two children died when they were poisoned by a neighbor in 1962. The nearest hospital at the time was in Boynton Beach.

“We are deeply grateful for Mrs. Wold’s generosity and unwavering support of Boca Raton Regional Hospital,” said Ryan Lieber, communications manager for Baptist Health South Florida, of which the Boca Raton hospital is a part.

“As a close friend of our founder, Gloria Drummond, Mrs. Wold shared a vision of providing exceptional health care to our community. While we mourn her passing, we also celebrate her remarkable legacy. Her contributions have left a lasting impact on our patients, caregivers and the future of our hospital.” 

She made additional gifts to the hospital, including $5 million to start the Wold Family Center for Emergency Medicine.

“I believe we all have a responsibility to improve the level of health care in our area, to forge new directions and bring new medicine to our families here,” Mrs. Wold said at the 2022 groundbreaking for the patient tower. 

As of March 31, funeral plans had not been announced.

Rebecca Shelton, who won the Boynton Beach mayoral race with 56% of the vote, was sworn in at the March 18 City Commission meeting. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Tao Woolfe 

Photos of rescued chihuahuas are sprinkled among the election announcements posted on Rebecca Shelton’s Facebook page. 

Last month, voters overwhelmingly elected her as Boynton Beach’s mayor, hoping she can foster more civilized City Commission meetings and rescue projects that will beautify and soothe the downtown landscape.

The 49-year-old real estate broker says she can. 

Government transparency, cleaner neighborhoods, more trees, shorter buildings, and actively listening to what residents want were among her campaign promises.

“I am deeply committed to fostering an open, transparent, and inclusive government where every voice is not only heard but valued,” Shelton said shortly before the March 11 election.

Her message was effective enough to allow her to garner 56% of the vote, as well as endorsements from the Palm Beach County Fraternal Order of Police and Police Benevolent Association, the Boynton Beach Association of Firefighters, and a number of Palm Beach County judges and attorneys.

Shelton defeated three other contenders: Court McQuire, a marketing executive who gathered 28% of the vote; Golene Gordon, a longtime city activist who has served on advisory panels including the Community Redevelopment Agency advisory board, and who received 12% of the vote; and insurance agent David Merker, a former city commissioner who captured 4% of the vote.

Shelton, who wore a bright red jacket to her first City Commission meeting on March 18, replaced former Mayor Ty Penserga, who was term-limited after three years as a commissioner and three years as mayor.

Also sworn in that night were reelected Commissioner Thomas Turkin, who defeated challenger Dom Vargas, 58% to 42%, and Commissioner Angela Cruz, who was automatically reelected when no one filed to run against her during the election qualifying period in November.

Residents have high hopes for the new mayor, as evidenced by the lengthy standing ovation Shelton received at her first meeting.

“She’s the most wonderful person in the world,” longtime Boynton Beach resident and fellow Realtor Susan Oyer said after the meeting. “She’s the nicest, kindest, most genuine person.”

Oyer, who helped with Shelton’s campaign, said the new mayor is a campaign strategist who has helped many local politicians and jurists get elected to office over the years.

Shelton always has time to listen to constituents, Oyer said, and she will work to overcome the perception that the City Commission is not open to what residents have to say. 

Mayor Penserga strictly enforced the three-minute limit on speakers at commission meetings — and that the topics be on city-specific matters — which led to verbal altercations and evictions of audience members at more than one commission meeting in the past year.

“Transparency is one of her big things,” Oyer said. “Code enforcement is another. She wants to beautify and clean up the city.”

Originally from East Palestine, Ohio, Shelton has lived in the downtown Boynton Beach area for 20 years. She is a licensed real estate broker and holds certifications in probate and divorce real estate. She has served on the city’s senior advisory board, the board of the Schoolhouse Children’s Museum, and the events committee of AVDA Palm Beach, which aids domestic abuse victims.

Shelton has been a campaign manager and consultant for 14 years.

Another of Shelton’s goals is to work closely with the police, fire and code enforcement departments to help residents feel safe and welcome.

“I will work closely with local law enforcement and code enforcement to enhance community policing initiatives that build trust and collaboration between officers and residents,” Shelton said on her campaign website. “By focusing on proactive crime prevention measures, such as increased patrols and addressing problem areas before issues escalate, we can create a safer environment for everyone.

“Additionally, I will support the development of intervention strategies that tackle underlying issues contributing to crime, ensuring our neighborhoods remain clean, secure, and places where families and businesses can thrive,” she said. 

Oyer said she hopes Shelton makes good on her goals to protect the city’s threatened mangrove trees and ensure that new buildings approved for the city’s downtown are not skyscrapers filled with rental units.

“Residents have been asking the city to limit building height to 45 feet for years,” Oyer said. “At what point do we start listening?”

Shelton said she wants to start right away.

“By prioritizing clear communication, active community engagement, and accessible decision-making processes, I aim to build a stronger connection between residents and their local government,” Shelton said. “Together, we can create a more collaborative and accountable future that truly reflects the needs and aspirations of our community.”

On a personal note, Shelton — who is not married — said she has rescued six chihuahuas over the last 25 years. For fun, she said, she gardens, roller skates, and does Pilates. 

The Ocean Ridge Garden Club tour featured six private gardens, which included a town dune actively maintained by volunteers. More than 125 guests attended the signature fundraising event, which supports the civic, charitable and educational programs of the club. These include camp scholarships to Florida Federation of Garden Clubs’ Camp Wekiva for youths. The tour included a buffet lunch at The Ocean Club where guests were entertained by music from Brian Dean, as well as a free pop-up boutique open to the public at Ocean Ridge Town Hall. Vendors included: the Beach House; CMM Designs – Status Faux; C.R. Orchids; ePALACIO; Haute Energy; Koi Design Group; Love, Liz … Custom Jewelry; Palm Beach Native; Peaceful Body Spa; Sarah Bray Bermuda; The Stylish Sloane; and Walker & Wade. The club plans to continue to offer the tour annually in March. For more information, visit OceanRidgeGardenClub.org. 

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: A monarch butterfly feeds on the nectar of a milkweed plant. A welcome sign is displayed on the dune with fresh plantings nurtured by the Ocean Ridge Garden Club. Vikki Bellias and Barbara Campbell walk through a home designed by Ocean Ridge resident Chad Renfro, an interior decorator and member of the Osage Nation. Carol Larson and Mickey Austin share a light moment. Photos by Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

Visitors to a previous Delray Affair look at a Delray Beach Historical Society exhibit celebrating the Delray Affair’s start as the Gladioli Festival. Photo provided

By Christine Davis

Coinciding with the 63rd Delray Affair, the Delray Beach Historical Society, at 3 NE First St., is giving out gladiolus flowers and has an exhibition centered on gladioli to celebrate the event’s beginnings as the town’s “Gladioli Festival.”  

“We’re excited to bring back these nostalgic and beautiful flowers for the community again,” said the historical society’s president, Mike Cruz, as the Delray Affair is underway April 4-6.

Here’s the backstory: Florida’s gladioli business began in 1939, and by 1950, Delray producers were shipping out 2 million gladiolus bundles, paying $500,000 in annual wages.

According to a 1948 Delray News article, the South Florida Gladioli Festival and Fair Association’s original purpose for the festival was to promote agricultural and horticultural resources. 

The fair highlighted gladioli on Atlantic Avenue and featured special exhibits, celebrity guests, farm animals, and miniature homes to highlight new developments. A parade featured gladioli-covered floats and crowned a gladiolus queen.

The event ran from 1948 to 1953. As the area shifted into vegetable farming, the fair morphed into a small agriculture expo.

In 1962, it was expanded to include arts and crafts and was scheduled to run later in the year, aiming to extend the tourist season past Easter.

***

Coco Gauff’s grandmother Yvonne Lee Odom wears a pair of New Balance shoes made in tribute to the young tennis star. Photo provided

Delray Beach tennis star Coco Gauff is backing a stylish New Balance tennis shoe. Unveiled recently, the shoe showcases connection, community and the love of the game.

Coco Delray is designed for the everyday player for all levels of competition.  

Coco Delray’s campaign video, which features Gauff and her grandmother Yvonne Lee Odom, tells the story of Gauff growing up in Delray Beach, playing on the public courts at Pompey Park, and of the support she received from family and friends.  

“I’m incredibly proud to launch the new Coco Delray because it’s more than just a tennis shoe — it represents an opportunity to broaden access to those interested in playing the game and will have a positive cultural impact for generations to come,” Gauff says.

“Delray Beach helped spark my tennis journey, so it’s special to me to tell the story of this community that influenced exactly why I love this sport.”  

The Coco Delray is available at newbalance.com/tennis and at select retailers with a suggested retail price of $110.

***

Record home prices in the Delray Beach area are typically found along its coast, not to the west.

The highest recorded sales prices for homes in the city were for two properties on the ocean that each sold for $34 million: the 33,571-square-foot estate at 921 S. Ocean Blvd. in February 2016 and the 23,369-square-foot home at 855 S. Ocean Blvd. in October 2021.

But recently, a home west of Delray Beach topped those oceanfront estates.

The 21,725-square-foot “Casa Maranello,” on a 2.5-acre lakefront lot at 16171 Quiet Vista Circle in the Stone Creek Ranch community, sold for $41.5 million, according to public records dated Feb. 3. The home is west of Florida’s Turnpike.

The actual price appears to be even higher than that listed in public records. The Multiple Listing Service published a closing price as $50.5 million, with Senada Adzem, the Douglas Elliman agent who brokered both sides of the deal, saying that with furnishings, the sales price came to $55 million. 

The property features a putting green, basketball court, tennis court, soccer field, and a resort-style, 95-foot pool with a bar. The six-bedroom residence has a 12-car garage, a 20-person Brazilian onyx dining table, a bar, office, theater room, spa with an indoor pool, steam room, sauna, and a gym.

WMCF Realty LLC, an Ohio limited liability company and trustee for the trust that bought the home, is affiliated with the Cafaro family. William A. and Anthony M. Cafaro Jr.’s business has developed more than 30 million square feet of real estate and has built many Kroger grocery stores.

The seller was Stone Creek Ranch Homes, an LLC led by Fort Lauderdale developer Aldo Stark, who owns Prestige Design Homes.

***

Emme Development LLC, a Delaware company, sold the 12,099-square-foot home at 1199 Spanish River Road, Boca Raton, to developer Mitchell Robbins and his wife, Alison, for $16.2 million in February.

In the Estates Section, with 100 feet on the Intracoastal Waterway, the residence was designed in 2006 by architect Thomas Kirchhoff and Mark Timothy Luxury Homes, and then

in 2024, it was renovated by Quinn Miklos Architects and Albanese Home Builders Inc. It previously traded in January 2023 for $9 million. 

Both sides of the deal were represented by Premier Estate Properties’ D’Angelo Liguori Team.

***

Aventura-based Turnberry, the real estate development firm behind The Seagate resort in Delray Beach, has appointed Mary Rogers as executive vice president of hospitality operations overseeing projects in Florida and Tennessee.

Before joining Turnberry, Rogers was managing director and area general manager for Montage Laguna Beach, Montage Healdsburg, Pendry West Hollywood and Pendry San Diego. She has also served as vice president and general manager of Fontainebleau Miami Beach.

***

The Boca Raton Chamber’s Spring Business Expo networking and business showcase event is scheduled for 5:30-7:30 p.m. April 22 at the Wyndham Hotel, 1950 Glades Road, Boca Raton.

“This event is a fantastic opportunity for businesses of all sizes to gain exposure, connect with potential clients and partners, and strengthen their presence in our vibrant business community,” said Kaley Jones, the chamber’s event coordinator. Admission is free for chamber members and $60 for non-members. For more information, visit bocachamber.com or call Jones at 561-395-4433, ext. 226.

***

Delray Beach resident Hilary Sullivan is Baptist Health Foundation’s new council member, representing Bethesda Hospital. Sullivan, an educational consultant and founder of Affirm Educational Planning LLC, has been a supporter of the hospital since 2005.

***

Shirley Erazo, president and CEO of the Delray Beach Housing Authority, has graduated from the 2025 Class of the Executive Director Education Program, a course offered by the Public Housing Authorities Directors Association and Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey.

“This program represents a major professional development opportunity for housing authority executive directors throughout the country,” Erazo said. “It takes a comprehensive look at those critical functions which serve to define the executive director’s position and provides a structured environment in which mid-career professionals can hone their management skills and enhance their knowledge.”

In other news from the Delray Beach Housing Authority: It recently completed the Section 8 Management Assessment Program certification from the Department of Housing and Urban Development with a final score of 103%.

“To earn the rank of High Performer from HUD, our agency demonstrated compliance with HUD regulations and proved efficient use of funding and resources while serving the greatest number of needy residents,” Erazo said.

***

Florida Atlantic University now holds the designation of “R1: Very High Research Spending and Doctorate Production” by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, sharing this status with less than 5% of the approximately 4,000 universities in the U.S.

To qualify, institutions must meet criteria that include the number of research doctorates awarded and total research expenditures.

In the last fiscal period, FAU spent about $109 million in research and received 408 awards, including a $10 million grant awarded to the university’s College of Education and College of Engineering and Computer Science from the U.S. Department of Education to train people with disabilities for high-tech jobs. 

***

The League of Women Voters of Palm Beach County was one of three local chapters honored by the League of Women Voters of Florida. The award for “creating an innovative way for candidates and government officials to meet citizens” was announced March 11 at the group’s annual Lobby Days Gala in Tallahassee.

Palm Beach County’s league was recognized for its networking event Election Expo 2024, which took place in Lake Worth Beach in September.

The expo was co-hosted by the local League, Leadership Palm Beach County and Palm Beach State College. Sponsors of last year’s expo included Searcy Denney Scarola Barnhart & Shipley, PA, the Palm Beach Post, and Smith Ball Baez & Prather Florida Injury Lawyers.

***

Kolter Hospitality, based in Delray Beach, working with the Boca Raton-based Steckroth Hospitality Group Inc. as the project designer, has redesigned Hyatt Place Delray Beach, 104 NE Second Ave. Upgrades were applied to the 134 rooms and suites, a boardroom was added, and fitness room equipment was upgraded.

***

Nails & Co., 510 E. Ocean Ave., Unit 104, Boynton Beach, just celebrated its grand opening. To make an appointment, visit https://nails-company.co or call 954-397-6850.

***

As part of Old School Square’s “A Legacy Through Local Art” initiative, the Delray Beach Downtown Development Authority and the City of Delray Beach are inviting artists to create watercolor illustrations that represent Old School Square and will be used to design a new logo for the Old School Square campus.

Submissions will be accepted through noon on April 9. Finalists will be announced April 16, followed by a public voting period. The winner will be announced May 12, with the new logo unveiled in the summer.

“As some of these buildings turn 100 this year, I can’t think of a better way to create a new look for our historic cultural arts campus than to engage local artists and have the public choose the new logo for our Old School Square,” said Delray Beach Mayor Tom Carney.

The winning artist will receive $5,000; a feature at Cornell Art Museum’s Spotlight Gallery; branding exposure; and recognition at the summer 2025 unveiling event.

For submission guidelines, visit www.eventeny.com/events/call-to-artists-old-school-square-logo-18720/.

***

To mark its 40th anniversary in February, Yafa opened the vault at its flagship boutique at 234 Worth Ave. in Palm Beach for Significant Signed Jewels, a special exhibition showcasing iconic workmanship by special designers. On display were Van Cleef & Arpels pieces, Bvlgari, Cartier and Harry Winston masterpieces.

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

By Rich Pollack

In an election with a light turnout, Highland Beach voters on March 11 agreed to let town leaders spend up to $3.5 million on a public safety boat dock and renovation to the town’s old fire station.

Just 391 voters — a little more than 10% of those registered to vote — cast ballots, with 234 voting in favor of giving commissioners permission to spend money on the projects and 157 voting no.  

“I’m very thankful for the people who voted in favor,” said Mayor Natasha Moore. “People are recognizing the importance of public safety.”

Police Chief Craig Hartmann and Town Manager Marshall Labadie have said the dock, planned for an area on the Intracoastal Waterway behind the town’s library, will increase visibility of the department’s marine unit.

It will also make it easier for Highland Beach’s marine officers and fire rescue personnel to respond to emergencies on the water. 

The town is also hoping to use the money approved by voters to demolish a part of the old fire station, just north of Town Hall, and upgrade the bay area where the town now keeps a backup rescue unit and a backup fire truck.

The price of the dock project is estimated to be $1.5 million to $2 million, and town leaders hope that the Florida Inland Navigation District will cover half the cost. Should that not happen, the town’s expense could be over $900,000, the current spending limit before voter approval is required.

Voter approval was also needed for the old fire station project, which could cost up to $1.5 million, or about $600,000 over the spending cap.

By putting the issue on the ballot, the town in essence hedged its bets so it can move forward without delays regardless of the outcome of the grant request for the dock or cost estimated for the old fire station.  

“We hope we don’t have to spend over $900,000,” Labadie said. 

Last year, Highland Beach built a new fire station to replace the longtime station that Labadie said was too old, too small and below the flood plain. 

While there were discussions about possibly keeping the entire building, Labadie said that the living quarters section would need too much work. Instead, the town is getting cost estimates for work to fix the bay area and electrical storage areas and replace the roof. 

“We’re using the building for storage of $2 million worth of equipment,” he said. 

By Mary Hladky

Moving on an accelerated timeline, the Boca Raton City Council has approved an interim agreement with Terra and Frisbie Group that allows the joint venture to refine its conceptual plans for redeveloping the 30-acre downtown government campus.

At the same time, Terra/Frisbie and the city will assess whether the project is financially viable and if the proposed public-private partnership between them is in the best interests of the city.

Another component is developing plans to ensure little disruption to city services if the project moves forward, such as finding temporary offices for city workers displaced when theirs are demolished, making sure there is a functioning police headquarters off-site during construction, and that any recreational facilities that are displaced have a new home.

The time Terra/Frisbie has to make changes to its initial proposal has been reduced by one month, with the deadline now Aug. 25. If all goes well, the two sides could have a final deal by the end of October, or two months earlier than originally projected.

Even with that, the campus will take nine years to complete, according to initial projections.

The council members’ action on March 18 comes just five weeks after they selected Terra/Frisbie as their top choice to handle the massive redevelopment.

In addition to building a new City Hall and Community Center, Terra/Frisbie has proposed 1,129 residential units, 84,790 square feet of retail, 71,800 square feet of food and beverage, 265,758 square feet of garage and surface parking, a 150-room hotel, a 250,000-square-foot office building, a 10,000-square-foot police substation and six acres of green space.

Residents filled the council chambers to capacity to give their opinions, with a few supporting the development but the majority voicing objections raised every time a major project is proposed in the downtown.

Chief among them is that the council is allowing overdevelopment that will diminish their quality of life and clog roads, causing more accidents.

“We elect you guys. You are going against our desire. Please, I beg you, do not build any more,” said one woman as the audience applauded.

Some said they learned only recently about the development plans, complaining the city had left them uninformed.

And several demanded that the council step back and instead let residents vote on the proposal.

“A project this immense, it needs a vote,” said a man who said he was speaking for 20 people in his neighborhood as the audience applauded loudly. “There are so many people who do not know about this.”

In a rejoinder, Mayor Scott Singer said, “It might surprise you to know a lot of people have various opinions. … A lot of people are excited about the proposal before us.”

“Where are they today?” several residents shouted.

Two residents asked why the city was moving so quickly into a public-private partnership with developers, rather than financing the project with a bond issue which the city’s strong financial position easily allows it to do.

As the comments became heated, two residents suggested council members had accepted bribes to vote in favor of the project.

That drew pushback from Deputy Mayor Yvette Drucker. “Your comment about taking bribes is in very poor taste,” she said. “No one is bribing us to do anything.”

Yet most of the criticism came from downtown residents who do not want to lose the recreational facilities — including tennis courts, softball fields and a skate park — located near City Hall.

City Manager George Brown previously has said that the city is working with the Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District to find new homes for recreational facilities that will be moved off-site to make way for development. But all will be replaced or enhanced, he said.

The softball fields will go to Sugar Sand Park and the skate park might move to North Park.

Judy Morrow, an avid tennis player, brought 250 signed petitions from people who want to preserve the existing 10 clay courts at the Boca Raton Tennis Center.

While Terra/Frisbie has conceptually proposed four hard courts within the downtown government campus, that is insufficient to accommodate the 21,000 players who used the existing courts last year, she said in an interview. And hard courts are not a good option for older players with knee and joint issues.

Further, other tennis facilities close to the downtown are always full and have hard courts, she said.

Speaking at the meeting, she begged Brown, “Please, please, please keep the Boca Raton Tennis Center downtown.” 

“It is the city’s clear intention to replace the 10 courts with 10 courts,” he told the audience. Although no location has been selected yet, “we will have a plan to replace the courts.”

Thomson’s ‘no’ vote

As the council neared a vote on the interim agreement, the meeting veered in a very different direction.

Council member Andy Thomson renewed objections that he had made a month earlier. “In my view, all the proposals were too large, too dense, too intense, too many units, too many issues related to recreational facilities,” he said.

The timeline to reach a final agreement with Terra/Frisbie seemed “too rushed” and needed to be slowed down.

He then said a contract clause, stating that the developer shall not be involved in any political campaign for city office or make financial contributions to such campaigns, had originally been in the contract but was removed. 

That clause, he said, had been included in city contracts for decades. 

“This represents a pretty significant departure from policy of the city. It is being done without any notice or discussion,” he said. “That is just not good. … Everyone we do business with should be controlled by this.”

He made a motion to add back the clause. It failed when no other council member seconded it, drawing a loud “wow” from several audience members.

City Attorney Joshua Koehler said the language applied to vendors. But if the council wanted to include that or modified language, it could.

Terra/Frisbie, he said, did not object to the clause.

Thomson said that since the city had used the clause for years, it should do so for a “far more consequential relationship” with Terra/Frisbie. “This is a really strange time to take it out,” he said.

Singer suggested amending the wording, but Drucker and Council member Fran Nachlas were not comfortable drafting contract language on the fly and suggested delaying the vote until another meeting could be held to do so.

That didn’t happen. The council quickly voted 4-1 to approve the interim agreement with Terra/Frisbie, with Thomson dissenting.

Before the vote, Drucker pointedly noted that Thomson had been the only council member who voted on Feb. 11 against Terra/Frisbie as their choice to redevelop the downtown campus, instead favoring Related Ross in what he said at the time was “a very close call” between “two exceptional companies.”

In an interview after the meeting, Thomson said he thought it was necessary to raise the issue since the city had used the contract language routinely for decades, and yet it was missing in the one with Terra/Frisbie.

“When the city decides to do business with whoever, those relationships should be based on the quality of work and business reasons and not on what could be perceived as political influence,” he said.

Someone must have asked it be removed, but Terra/Frisbie did not do so and city staff did not demand it, he said.

Queried about Drucker’s implication that he was acting in favor of Related Ross, Thomson said he had “no animus to Terra/Frisbie,” considers the company “very talented” and credited it for not having any objection to the contract language. 

By Mary Hladky

Addressing hundreds of city residents, Mayor Scott Singer cast Boca Raton as a shining city with a remarkable past that is poised to achieve even greater success as it celebrates its 100th birthday this year and heads into a new centennial.

“At its core, Boca Raton’s DNA is about innovation. It is about making opportunity a reality. It was and must continue to be about getting things done,” he said in his March 14 annual “State of the City” remarks delivered at the Mizner Park Amphitheater.

As his chief example, Singer cited the city’s plans to redevelop the 30-acre downtown government campus to include a new City Hall and Community Center along with residential, office, hotel, restaurants and shops and green gathering places.

“Why take this on?” he asked. “The answer is simple. Our city is known for forward-thinking decisions. For our next 100 years, we need to lean into that legacy. We cannot accept the status quo. We must dare to be bold and tackle what may be difficult.”

Always Boca’s chief booster, Singer cited the city’s low crime and property tax rates, highest property valuation of any city in the county, triple-A bond rating, 13,000 businesses, 40 headquarters for publicly traded corporations and its beaches and 49 parks.

As Singer wrapped up, a montage of celebrities wished the city a happy birthday, including Tua Tagovailoa, Dan Marino and Chris Evert, along with politicians such as U.S. Sen. Rick Scott.

The speech was part of a free community celebration that included music by REMiX, yard games and food and beverage stalls.

The amphitheater was ringed by booths for each of the city’s departments where employees were on hand to answer residents’ questions and inform them about ongoing projects.

A booth that attracted a steady stream of residents was staffed by representatives of Terra and Frisbie Group, the team with which the City Council has an interim agreement to redevelop the government campus. 

For visuals, Terra/Frisbie showed its conceptual site plan and images of some of the plan’s key features.

A representative said some residents praised the project, while others offered “constructive criticism” that will be taken into account as work continues on final plans.

For those who wanted to show their support for the city during its centennial year, city-branded centennial T-shirts, polo shirts, bags, bottles and more were available for purchase. 

Evalyn David, first elected to the Town Commission in 2019, has left the job because of term limits but has been appointed to the town’s Planning Board. Rich Pollack/The Coastal Star

By Rich Pollack

Evalyn David hadn’t planned on becoming a Highland Beach town commissioner. 

A lawyer who practiced trust, estate and tax law and was now retired, David had never even been to a Town Commission meeting when she was drafted to run for the position by a couple of her neighbors in the Boca Highland Beach Club and Marina community. 

“It was completely out of my wheelhouse,” she said. “I had never done anything like this before.”

By the time all the ballots were cast, David had beaten an incumbent by fewer than 45 votes, receiving 990 votes in one of the most contentious elections the town has ever seen. 

Now, six years after her first meeting as a commissioner, David has left the dais due to term limits, but she’s not leaving town government altogether. She was recently named to the town’s Planning Board where she will be able to keep her hand in Highland Beach’s business. 

“Now that I’ve invested six years of my life, I don’t want to leave,” she said. 

Her fellow commissioners agreed by appointing her to the board and say that David’s skills will certainly be a plus in her new role. 

“She is definitely a voice of reason,” said Mayor Natasha Moore. “She is incredibly insightful and always on point.”

David’s six years started at a tumultuous time for the town, but have ended at a time when the commissioners work well together, with unanimous votes the rule rather than the exception. 

“I agreed to run because there was chaos at the Town Commission level,” she said. 

Also, on the ballot in 2019 when she ran was a controversial proposal to spend $45 million on improvements on an Ocean Walk corridor. That issue failed with less than 10% of voters in favor. 

David said that once she won the race, she wondered if she would be successful. 

“I said, ‘Oh my God, can I actually do this?’” she said. “It turned out that I could and I’ve done a pretty good job.” 

As a commissioner, David  attended 173 meetings and took on the unofficial role of motion maker. 

She made more than 800 motions, including 119 seconds, to help ensure resolutions and ordinances are presented in a simple form. 

“I started making motions because some of the other ones were so convoluted,” she said. 

People who have worked with David say a large part of her success as commissioner was her dedication to arriving at meetings prepared. She read backup materials and listened to residents and other commissioners. 

“I believe in working together,” she said. “You have to understand that compromise is necessary.” 

David, 76, believes that her legal background was helpful on the commission. 

“You have to be able to think logically,” she said. “You need to keep things in perspective.” 

During David’s time on the commission, the town completed several major projects, including starting its own fire department and implementing a building recertification process. 

David is proud of those projects and of working closely with the late Mayor Doug Hillman, who led the charge on both.

David said she enjoyed her time on the commission and is glad that she agreed to run back when she really didn’t know what she was getting into. 

“I feel that I did a lot of good for the town and it gives me a great deal of satisfaction,” she said.  

City’s CFO promoted to deputy manager — James Zervis, Boca Raton’s chief financial officer, has been promoted to deputy city manager.

Zervis was hired one year ago to replace Linda Davidson, who retired after 41 years with the city.

Zervis will remain chief financial officer, but his responsibilities have been expanded to include overseeing the Public Works and Engineering, and Information Technology departments. He also is involved in efforts to redevelop the city’s downtown government campus.

Before joining the city, Zervis served as chief administrative officer for Kern County, California, which at the time had a $3.5 billion budget. 

The city long has been recognized for its financial acumen. It recently received the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting from the Government Finance Officers Association, a distinction it has held for more than four decades.

That association also awarded the city’s Office of Management and Budget the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for the 42nd consecutive year, and the Florida Association of Public Procurement Officials recognized the city with the Award of Excellence in Procurement.

Police Department honored — The city’s Police Department has been honored with reaccreditation by the Commission for Florida Law Enforcement Accreditation as an Excelsior agency.

The department is the only one in Florida to earn Excelsior status for the sixth time. To earn Excelsior status, the department must complete five successful reaccreditations. The department was first accredited in 1997 and earned Excelsior status in 2012.

Downtown shopping plaza celebrates 60th — Joining the roster of important birthdays in Boca Raton, Royal Palm Place is marking its 60th anniversary.

Also in party mode is the city, now 100 years old, and the Boca Raton Museum of Art, which is 75.

Royal Palm Place celebrated on March 29 with a free festival that included live music, an antique and supercar car show, roaming performers, an outdoor vendors market and special deals at restaurants and retailers.

Royal Palm Place, located south of the younger Mizner Park, opened in 1964 to the enthusiasm of local residents who yearned for upscale shopping. They called it the Pink Plaza for many years — a name still used by some today — and it echoed the architectural style and color of what is now The Boca Raton resort.

“The citizens were very happy,” said Susan Gillis, Boca Raton Historical Society curator. “They did not have to schlep to Fort Lauderdale or Delray (to shop). It was a welcome addition to the downtown.”

Prominent landowners James and Marta Batmasian purchased the 14-acre property, then known as Royal Palm Plaza, in 1987 for $14.5 million, according to the Boca Raton News. At the time, it had fallen into disrepair and was largely vacant.

Since then, Royal Palm Place has evolved, and shed the pink paint. It now includes apartments, fashion and jewelry boutiques, dining and entertainment, salons, fitness centers and art galleries.

Nachlas chosen to be deputy mayor — Boca Raton City Council members unanimously chose Fran Nachlas to succeed Yvette Drucker as deputy mayor during a brief March 31 council organization meeting.

Council member Marc Wigder nominated Nachlas, and Drucker seconded the nomination.

Drucker, who is term-limited from seeking another three-year council term, announced last year that she was joining the 2026 contest to succeed term-limited state Sen. Lori Berman, D-Boca Raton. Berman has endorsed Drucker.

Drucker was first elected to the council in 2021 and won reelection last year with 77% of the vote. She is a first-generation Cuban American and is the first Hispanic to serve on the council.

Nachlas, a retired surgical nurse, won election to the council in November 2022 when no other candidate filed to run for the seat. She would have had to wait until the following March to assume office, but the seat was already vacant and her fellow council members, seeing no reason for that wait, appointed her to the position.

Wigder was chosen as chair of the Community Redevelopment Agency, a position he had held until Nachlas took it last year. Council member Andy Thomson was named CRA vice chair.

Council members do double duty to also head up the CRA, which oversees the downtown.

“I just say congratulations to my colleagues in your new roles,” said Mayor Scott Singer. “Thank you for your prior service in your past roles.”

— Mary Hladky

Delray Medical Center has completed its 200th aquablation procedure since acquiring the medical technology in 2022. 

Aquablation therapy, a minimally invasive treatment that delivers water with robotic precision, treats lower urinary tract symptoms due to an enlarged prostate, a noncancerous condition. These urologists have performed aquablations: Drs. Christopher Tallman, Darren Bryk, Emanuel Gottenger, Jacob Parke, David Schwartzwald, Christopher Vendryes and Sanjeev Gupta.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

— Christine Davis

Annual Boating & Beach Bash puts focus on fun, not on disabilities

Fara Hoffman, 35, of Boca Raton is pushed down the boat ramp by her mother, Randy, and father, Jeff Hoffman, as they prepare to embark on a free boat ride on the Intracoastal Waterway during the Boating & Beach Bash last month in Boca Raton. Photos by Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Ron Hayes

There were lots of wheelchairs and canes in the park that Saturday. Prosthetic limbs, leg braces, even a one-armed pianist.

But you would have had a hard time finding any self-pity.

For five hours on March 15, Spanish River Park was packed with guests, family, friends and caregivers attending the annual “Boating & Beach Bash For People With Disabilities,” which prides itself on being the nation’s largest free event for people with disabilities, seen and unseen.

“We’ve had about a thousand guests sign up,” said Lori Weber, the event’s managing director.

There is no parking fee, no tickets needed. All are welcome, and by mid-morning, the pathways from the Intracoastal Waterway boat dock to the ocean beach were filled with participants, and still more kept arriving.

“Only about a third who show up actually register,” added communications director Amanda Larson.

Emily Edsken, 29, of Boca Raton embraces a volunteer dressed in a gown donated by the Wick Theatre for the event.

The Pledge of Allegiance would be recited, of course, and a soulful national anthem sung by Ry Rivers, but first Carter Viss entertained at the electric keyboard, with his left hand.

“My mom was a piano teacher, so I started playing as a hobby,” the Jupiter resident said. “And then I lost my right arm in a boating accident on Thanksgiving Day 2019. 

“I was snorkeling and a boat ran over me off The Breakers. I was 25.”

He’s 30 now, a graduate student in marine biology at Florida Atlantic University. He and his wife, Emily, are the parents of Harper, a 7-month-old daughter.

“After the accident, I thought I’d never play again,” Viss recalled. “I wanted to give up. It took a few months, and then years to feel comfortable playing again.”

Now he’s comfortable with Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata and Chopin’s Ocean Etude.

“I’ve learned I can make a bigger difference because of my accident,” he said. “I can drive, bike, run, swim. I won 90% just by being alive.”

People with stories to tell

And still the crowd around Viss was growing.

So many people, and so much for them to do.

On the beach, lifeguards were waiting to help guests into wheelchairs with tires large enough to maneuver through sand. Then down plastic mats to enjoy the choppy waves that so many beachgoers visit without a second thought.

“This is my first time here,” said Peggy Domitz, 65, of Palm Beach Gardens, smiling in her wheelchair. “Now I wonder, is this hard because I’m old, or because of my disability?”

Paralyzed during surgery 14 years ago, she is both friendly and defiant.

“They’re just legs,” she said. “I’d rather be paralyzed than have cancer, and I’m a firm believer that this chair doesn’t confine me. I’m an adaptive scuba diver, meaning I dive with people trained to be buddies. I’ve scuba dived in Mexico, Grenada, Honduras.”

She has a favorite saying. “The only time people should look down on another person is when they’re giving a hand to get up.”

David Prater of Sunrise lost his left leg 10 years ago in a car accident.

David Prater makes it back to shore after his first time on a surfboard, with the coaching of Joey Rafe, owner of Rafe & Co Swim and Surf Club in Lantana. 

“I still skateboard,” he said. “I still ride motorcycles.”

At the Bash he decided to ride a surfboard for the first time. With help from a lifeguard volunteer, he and his prosthetic leg made it onto the board, slipped off, remounted, and stayed on long enough to ride in to shore on his belly.

“It was awesome,” he said back on land. “I love Mother Ocean. I was always a wild and crazy guy, so I’m just going to live my life.”

Prater owns a small pool cleaning service back in Sunrise.

“It’s called One Leg Up Pool Service,” he grinned. “And the logo is a prosthetic leg.”

 Donors, sponsors, helpers

Organizers estimate the annual Bash costs between $35,000 and $40,000 to put on, raised entirely from private donations and sponsorships. The work is done by about 250 volunteers.

The Rotary Club of Downtown Boca Raton provides free hotdogs and hamburgers. The city’s Junior League is there to help. 

The 20 boats offering free rides were made available through the generosity of several independent boat owners who made their vessels available so guests could enjoy sometime on the Intracoastal Waterway. Members of the nonprofit Community Service League moved among the guests in Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and Batgirl costumes provided by the Wick Theatre. Mark Hansen of Coldwell Banker Realty scurried throughout the park, greeting guests and visitors.

’So many memories’

You had to wonder what Jay Van Vechten would think of this elaborate event, born of a slippery bathroom floor 24 years ago.

Van Vechten, a public relations executive, was in a San Diego hotel on business one night in 2001 when he slipped on the wet floor in the dark. Falling backward over the tub, he shattered five vertebrae. Then he fell forward and broke both knees. His splayed legs required two hip replacements.

The Boating & Beach Bash debuted in 2009, he and his wife, Lowell, founded the American Disabilities Foundation, which oversees it, in 2012, and except when COVID prohibited a full-scale event, it’s filled Spanish River Park each spring.

Since Jay’s death at 75 in 2020, Lowell Van Vechten has committed herself to perpetuating their annual day of joy.

At this year’s Bash, she patrolled the event from ocean to waterway in a golf cart, chatting, greeting, making sure all was running smoothly.

“After 16 years, I have so many memories,” she said. “So many magical moments. Every year when I’m onstage for the opening, I cry. Always when they start ‘The Star-Spangled Banner.’ The hardest thing for me to get through is remembering all the people on our founding committee who have passed, starting with my husband.”   

Van Vechten served on Boca Raton’s board for people with disabilities until it disbanded, and when his vision for the city’s annual picnic for those with disabilities grew bigger than the city could handle, he and Lowell took over.

Boat rides are a hit

Bailey Negron, 27, of Miami was making her second visit after several years away.

“It’s bigger now,” she observed.

Negron was in the backseat of a car that hit a wall on the Palmetto Parkway when she was 19. She can walk, but the lingering effects of the accident are visible.

“My legs hyperextend backward, as if my knees bend backward,” she explained. “I walk very well, but it took a lot of falls and practicing.”

She paused.

“I didn’t get on a boat my first time here,” she said. “Hopefully I’ll make my way to the boat.”

If she did, there was a wait. Of all the things to do that day, the free boat rides were clearly the most popular.

Boca Raton Fire Rescue deploys a water cannon to keep things cool at the Boating & Beach Bash.

Down at the dock, guests and caregivers in bright orange life jackets waited in two lines, one for the ambulatory, a second for those in wheelchairs.

Jeff and Randy Hoffman of Boca Raton waited to accompany their daughter, Fara, who is 35 and has cerebral palsy.

“We’ve been here 10 fantastic times,” Jeff Hoffman said as the line inched toward the dock. “We wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

Eventually, the Hoffmans were led to the Minnow, a 20-foot pontoon boat owned by Al Zucaro. They disappeared up the Intracoastal and returned about a half-hour later.

“It was amazing,” Jeff reported. “We can tell she loved the wind out there because she communicates through her body language.

“She smiles.” 

April 26: The annual fundraiser for Boca Helping Hands gives guests chances to roll the dice at gaming tables and Monopoly and to enjoy music, cocktails, dinner and more. Time is 6 to 10 p.m. Cost is $250. Visit bocahelpinghands.org/monopoly or call 561-417-0913.

L-R: Event co-chairs Alex and Jessica Price and Yvette and Chris Palermo. Photo provided