April 30 is the last day of business for the Seaside Deli & Market on State Road A1A in the County Pocket between Briny Breezes and Gulf Stream. There were still plenty of drinks in the refrigerated section in the afternoon, but the store's shelves were laid bare in preparation for the closing. The market, 4635 N. Ocean Blvd., had been open in its current form for just over three years.

Under prior ownership, which left in January 2023, the store had been a local favorite for 20 years, serving up fresh sandwiches with a loyal clientele. There was even an unsuccessful "Save the Deli" campaign. The market reopened in February 2023 under new ownership but without the fresh-made sandwiches. Photos/Tim Stepien

County staffing hours called into question after St. Andrews lifeguards rescue swimmers when park is unsupervised

Verda Morus removes warning flags at the end of his shift in mid-April at Gulfstream Park. Palm Beach County park policy requires lifeguards to leave after posted times even if visitors remain amid poor conditions. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

Related: Doctor’s death prompts Highland Beach to begin a surf warning campaign

By Brian Biggane

Gulfstream Park and the St. Andrews Club sit side-by-side between Briny Breezes and Gulf Stream, but their relationship is not exactly neighborly. 

Palm Beach County lifeguards patrol the park’s beach daily from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., but as spring moves toward summer another two to three hours of daylight remain when the beach sits unsupervised. As a result, St. Andrews’ guards on several occasions have become the difference between life and death.

“I just think they don’t really care about what’s going on out here,” St. Andrews General Manager Robert Grassi said of the county’s Parks and Recreation Department. St. Andrews head lifeguard Connie Case added that “100%” of her staff’s rescues have come at Gulfstream Park.

Grassi said on March 8 his guards left their posts to run the approximately 200 yards north along the beach to rescue two swimmers in the early evening. 

And on Nov. 10, 2024, 15-year-old Prestyn Smith died when he got caught in a rip current around 7 a.m. Guards were on site but had not yet reported to the tower. They saved his mother and brother, but his body was not discovered until hours later.

St. Andrews Club lifeguards have responded to save swimmers during the unsupervised hours at Gulfstream Park. Coastal Star graphic/Google Map

Since January, the issue has been the purview of John Meskiel, the county’s newly promoted chief of Ocean Rescue who has worked for the county for 38 years, many of them as a lifeguard. He oversees the county’s 14 public, guarded beaches from Jupiter to Boca Raton.

“It’s a dangerous beach, obviously, especially when there are no lifeguards there,” Meskiel said of Gulfstream.

Grassi emailed Meskiel with his concerns back in March and Meskiel largely agreed, saying, “He’s brought up things we’ve been saying for decades. As with the case with everything, it comes down to the dollar.”

One antidote, of course, would be to lengthen the lifeguards’ hours. Municipal guards at Boca Raton and Delray Beach stay until 6:30 p.m. during daylight saving time, though both start at 9 a.m.

Meskiel has considered proposing his guards work 12-hour days starting May 1, but recognizes that may not be workable.

“How do we work that out with the union?” he asked. “How does that work out with my staffing levels?”

Guards currently work four 10-hour shifts a week; adding two hours would work out to three 12-hour shifts, with Meskiel suggesting possibly another four hours of training.

Morus removes cones and signage at the beach at Gulfstream Park at the end of his shift, even as beachgoers remain. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

On a recent afternoon at Gulfstream, lifeguard Tyler McGrew shook his head at that idea. “I wouldn’t be a fan of that,” he said. “We’re under union contract, so that would have to be renegotiated. Unless there was a monetary incentive involved, I don’t believe the majority of the guards would go for it.”

The county continues to grow in population at a rapid pace, so more residents means more staffing is required. Meskiel said he will be adding 10 positions this spring and he hopes five more in the summer countywide. With veteran guards earning about $80,000 per year and getting another $10,000 or more in benefits, that amounts to more stress on the county’s $80 million-plus annual parks and recreation budget.

Another effort to improve safety at the beaches involves signage. Every beach park has a chalkboard near the guard tower advising visitors of tides, sea temperature, winds and the like. Guards invariably also post colored flags warning of rip currents and sea life such as jellyfish.

Meskiel has gone even further, having lifeguards post signs and red flags on PVC poles near the beach warning of dangers after guards leave for the day. “But I would say 80% of the time they’ve been vandalized by the next morning,” he said. “Most of those are hanging in a dorm room or man cave somewhere.”

Both Meskiel and Grassi expressed a desire to have the park locked and parking lots emptied when lifeguards leave. 

However, Gulfstream has several barbecue stations along with showers and bathrooms, so visitors often linger up to dark and even later, likely making that unworkable.

The bottom line, Meskiel said, is for visitors to read the chalkboard at the entrance, and even more important, a sign just below the guard station warning of the dangers of rip currents.

“It’s rip current awareness,” he said. “That sign actually shows you what a rip current is, how you can get stuck in it and how you can escape it. If you’re going to take the chance of swimming in an unguarded beach, then that’s the stuff you need to know.” 

Related: County staffing hours called into question after St. Andrews lifeguards rescue swimmers when park is unsupervised

By Rich Pollack

Following the apparent drowning of a resident who got caught in a strong rip current, Highland Beach town leaders are planning steps to ensure that residents and visitors alike are informed about current beach conditions. 

Town Manager Marshall Labadie said the town plans to place colored beach condition flags at three locations: the entrances on the north and south ends as well as in front of the fire station in the central part of town. 

In addition, he said the town ­— which has all private beaches and no public access — will be including daily announcements about beach conditions on its website and app. 

“We want to have a physical and digital presence,” he said. “We’re working out the details now.” 

The decision to implement a beach condition information plan came within days of the April 4 death of a 77-year-old swimmer, Dr. Samuel Lang, off the 4100 block of South Ocean Boulevard.

Highland Beach first responders said Lang was swimming in the ocean by himself when a bystander saw him at around 3:30 p.m. struggling in the very rough seas about 250 yards offshore. 

The bystander said he got on a paddleboard but was unable to locate the swimmer, according to a Highland Beach Fire Rescue report.  

A call to 911 then triggered an intensive search that included public safety personnel from Boca Raton and Delray Beach. As part of the search, Highland Beach Fire Rescue had personnel with binoculars on nearby residential balconies as well as on the dune line and at the shoreline. 

Highland Beach police and Delray Beach police assisted with the search, as did Boca Raton Fire Rescue, which had a fire boat on scene to help locate the missing swimmer. 

After several minutes, Lang was located in the water about 0.3 miles north of where he was first seen. Fire rescue personnel took him from the ocean and medical treatment was started before he was taken to Delray Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

All beaches in Highland Beach are private, with no lifeguards monitoring swimmers, and town fire rescue personnel have limited access to the beach. 

Labadie said beach condition information could be provided by the city of Boca Raton, while the placement of the flags daily could fall on members of the fire rescue staff or other town personnel. 

A second phase of the effort to educate residents about beach conditions could include flags at nine beach entry points or at several locations where there are bucket trees and trash cans. 

How those flags would be put up every day and who would be responsible for that effort is still being explored. 

Lang, according to an obituary in the Times-Journal of Fort Payne, Alabama, where he grew up, spent nearly 40 years in New York as an accomplished heart surgeon at several hospitals and served as chief of thoracic surgery at two of them. 

He was known, according to the obituary, for success with high-risk patients and was a support physician during 9/11 and the pandemic.

Several other incidents related to rough seas occurred in Palm Beach County during the early part of April, including the death of a 46-year-old visitor from Maine who was attempting to rescue his children from a rip current along the coast in northern Palm Beach County. The children were saved. 

Downtown campus details to depend on wider master plan

The new Boca Raton City Council (l-r): Council members Stacey Sipple and Yvette Drucker, Mayor Andy Thomson, Deputy Mayor Michelle Grau and Council member Jon Pearlman. Photo provided

Related stories: New council will replace Memorial Park plaque that Singer unveiled | Citizen panel for downtown campus thrown into doubt | Save Boca founder stumbles out of gate on council procedures

By Mary Hladky

Moving beyond their laserlike focus during the last two years on redevelopment of Boca Raton’s downtown campus, city officials now want to widen the aperture to create a master plan for the entire city.

At the same time, they still are working to decide what should be done with the 31.7-acre downtown campus since voters in March overwhelmingly rejected the city’s plan to revamp it in a partnership with developers.

At its meetings on April 27 and 28, the City Council now dominated by Save Boca members first tackled the community master plan.

They rejected a proposal by Deputy City Manager Andy Lukasik to work with the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council, one of 10 in the state that assist local governments.

Another option was to issue a request for proposals from companies on the creation of a master plan. But this process would take longer to get off the ground, since the city would have to advertise and give companies time to create proposals.

Council member Jon Pearlman suggested giving city staff time to bring additional options to the council rather than rushing into an immediate decision.

But with Deputy Mayor Michelle Grau and Council member Stacy Sipple saying they were willing to allow the city to issue a request for proposals, Treasure Coast was eliminated from consideration in favor of working with a private company.

That debate spilled over into discussion about how the downtown campus should be improved.

Grau, Sipple and Mayor Andy Thomson agreed that the city needed the community master plan before decisions can be made on the downtown campus, which includes Memorial Park.

But Council member Yvette Drucker won support for her argument that they could agree to make relatively small changes to the campus — what she called “low-hanging fruit” — without awaiting the master plan.

That could include some improvements to the tennis center and the former Children’s Museum near City Hall.

Drucker had been supportive of going with the regional planning council, saying that the City Council has spent a lot of time on the downtown campus and now needs to focus on the entire city.

The Treasure Coast council focuses on matters including urban design, city planning and community engagement.

Kim DeLaney, Treasure Coast’s director of strategic development and policy, said her organization would first hold listening sessions with residents, begin designing the project — again with public input — and then develop recommendations for a master plan that would be presented to the City Council.

Treasure Coast works with local governments, but not with developers, she said. The work would be done for the city at cost, which she estimated would be $250,000 to $300,000.

But Pearlman expressed concern that while Treasure Coast does not represent developers, it has created plans for other cities that include housing, retail and office.

“Residents don’t want any other P3s to come here ever again,” he said, referring to the public-private partnership the city had wanted to enter into with developers Terra and Frisbie Group. 

Boynton, Manalapan like drawbridge idea, but old doubts persist

Enlarging the inlet and installing a drawbridge would improve boat access to the ocean and possibly improve Intracoastal water quality. ISTOCK photo BELOW LEFT: In 2007, town representatives from Lantana, Manalapan, Ocean Ridge and Briny Breezes and environmental groups all expressed concerns over the potential of increased flooding if the inlet were widened. Staff map

By John Pacenti

A century ago, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers slashed the Everglades up and down the coast, taming the swamp with a network of canals so Florida could be habitable.

One of the tiniest cuts was the South Lake Worth Inlet, a 130-foot-wide incision between Ocean Ridge and Manalapan designed to flush pollution to the sea from urban runoff and from sugar cane and vegetable fields around Lake Okeechobee. 

Now, nearly 20 years after a similar proposal was declared unfeasible, the city of Boynton Beach is resurrecting the idea of widening the inlet — better known as the Boynton Inlet — and replacing its fixed-span bridge on State Road A1A with a drawbridge.

The benefits could be enormous: Sportfishing could thrive, property values would increase and the brown Intracoastal Waterway water could turn blue. 

However, the previous study commissioned by Boynton Beach found homes in Ocean Ridge, Briny Breezes, and on Hypoluxo Island ­— both the Lantana portion and Point Manalapan —  would face increased flooding during hurricanes and king tides. Nearby coral reefs would also be damaged and beach erosion exacerbated.

The idea was abandoned, but Manalapan Town Commissioner Orla Imbesi and her husband, Joe, live on Point Manalapan and are in favor of giving the proposal another look.

“We have brown water. Miami, Bal Harbour: The water is crystal blue-green on the Intracoastal as well as outside. This is on Palm Beach County because of all the sludge that has come out from the sugar fields,” Joe Imbesi said. “Consequently, outside of our house, for instance, there’s a foot and a half of sludge — sludge from the sugar cane fields.”

The inlet was a big deal — at least locally — when it opened on March 16, 1927.

Workers used searchlights to guide a clam-shell dredge that made the final cut through the sand, allowing the ocean to mingle with the lagoon for the first time at that location. Residents lined the shores of the new inlet to watch Lake Worth Lagoon further move from a freshwater lake to a brackish mix of Atlantic saltwater.

The inlet was a whopping 130 feet wide and about 5 feet deep. Swimmers could wade across it. 

It wasn’t meant to be navigable. Small boats — typically center consoles and skiffs under 25 feet — are the only ones that can physically fit under the fixed A1A bridge that now crosses the inlet. It has a vertical clearance of only 18 feet, so any vessel with a tuna tower or mast is effectively barred.

For Boynton Beach, widening the inlet to 200 feet was seen two decades ago as key to transforming its historic fishing area into a “Gateway to the Gulfstream.” An expanded, safer inlet was seen as a necessary infrastructure upgrade to support an upscale waterfront development that the city was courting during the mid-2000s real estate boom.

An intensive $160,000 study completed by the city in 2007, helped along by local coastal leaders serving as an advisory committee, put an end to that dream.

Boynton Beach’s discussion

Until now. 

If there is one thing you can count on in Palm Beach County coastal communities — everything comes back around again. 

“Advocating for that to be an unfixed bridge, I think, is a huge opportunity, not just for marine tourism, but also looking at property values,” Boynton Beach Vice Mayor Thomas Turkin said at a March 26 workshop.

Out-of-the-box ideas, whether grounded in reality or not, keep coming from Boynton Beach. The city has tried to barter with Palm Beach County, offering up its fire and water departments, in negotiations over the city’s desire to annex surrounding neighborhoods.

Boynton Beach is currently grappling with a $4.9 million budget shortfall, a fiscal gap that has already triggered executive layoffs and forced departments to freeze non-essential spending. The City Commission is looking for new revenue, and monetizing the inlet is an attractive option.

“How do we look at widening that because it’s supposed to be not navigable, but we use it, and what can we do to enhance it?” Commissioner Aimee Kelley asked at the March 26 meeting.

Turkin said it was a project for the future and would be multi-jurisdictional and involving multiple levels of government. He advocated for lobbying the Army Corps of Engineers and other bureaucratic agencies that oversee the inlet and its roadways.

Neither Turkin, Kelley, nor City Manager Dan Dugger responded to repeated requests for comment.

Recalling 2007 study

Ocean Ridge Mayor Geoff Pugh, who grew up swimming in the inlet, was on the committee of local coastal leaders that looked at the issue of widening the inlet in 2007.

Pugh was one of roughly a dozen representatives from Palm Beach, Boynton Beach, Manalapan, Ocean Ridge and other neighboring towns that studied various proposals.

Pugh said one option was dead-ending Manalapan and Ocean Ridge at the inlet, sending A1A detouring to the west. He noted that the advocates’ economic pitch at the time was that sportfishing would increase the property values substantially.

For boaters with larger crafts, widening the inlet and adding a drawbridge would be a godsend. 

Right now, they must either head to Riviera Beach or Boca Raton to reach the ocean from the Intracoastal Waterway. “It’s a pain in the ass, because you go through three different drawbridges and it’s all like no wake going north,” Pugh said. “It’s a hell of a drive.”

Pugh also pointed to related complications — including potential encroachment on the Ocean Inlet Park and longer-term sand-management issues. 

For Pugh, it came down to one question: Would the local drainage system — never mind the Intracoastal — handle the increased water volume without flooding the town?

“And the engineer could not give me that answer,” he said. 

There were also concerns about the reef system offshore. Nutrient-rich runoff from agricultural areas and septic tanks is the death knell for reefs, triggering bleaching events that kill corals.

“Widening the inlet will increase the amount of pollution entering the coastal zone, beaches and coral reefs,” Ed Tichenor of Palm Beach County Reef Rescue pointed out in a letter to The Coastal Star in July 2009. 

A 2007 study by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration found “high levels of fecal indicator bacteria exiting the inlet, but nutrient pollution capable of causing harmful algal blooms in the coral reef ecosystem were also detected,” he said.

At the time, State Administrative Law Judge Robert E. Meale issued a ruling, recommending that the Florida Department of Environmental Protection deny the town of Palm Beach a beach renourishment permit because it would damage the Florida reef tract.

Pugh said the advisory group vacillated between recommending dead-ending A1A or building a drawbridge when he offered another option: “Status quo. Leave it as it is.’’

Environmental risks

Finding the study that Boynton Beach commissioned in 2007 isn’t an easy task. There is an abstract available online, but it’s practically indiscernible for the layman. 

A public records request to the city for the study came back with an email telling The Coastal Star to ask Palm Beach County for it. The county had nothing to do with the study, which was spearheaded by Boynton Beach with $160,000 of state money and facilitated by the South Florida Water Management District.

Luckily, former Ocean Ridge Commissioner Kristine de Haseth — now heading the Florida Coalition for Preservation — had a copy. The study found that widening and deepening the inlet would improve water quality on the Intracoastal (or lagoon) side, and “there would be significant economic benefits.”

However, it found that “improvement to the lagoon may come at a greater cost to increases in nutrient loads and nearshore reefs.” Channel improvements would increase the potential for several million cubic yards of sand to be impacted, and the cost of the project would be enormous, with limited funding sources available.

Michael Jenkins is the coastal engineering team leader for Applied Technology & Management, Inc., which conducted the study. He told The Coastal Star in an April interview the increased flooding of properties along the Intracoastal is a real barrier to widening the inlet. Properties specifically at risk are those on Hypoloxo Island, including Point Manalapan, and the three islands in Ocean Ridge.

“More water is coming in and out. That means issues regarding flooding are going to increase in the area of the influence of the inlet,” Jenkins said.

In effect, king tides are going to get higher, as well as the flooding potential during hurricanes, he said.

Andy Studt is an environmental program supervisor for Palm Beach County’s Department of Environmental Resources Management. He specializes in coastal management. He said widening the inlet would increase beach erosion.

“It generates erosional impacts for Ocean Ridge, for the city of Boynton Beach’s Oceanfront Park,” he said. “Right now we have a very carefully balanced system.”

Exploratory waters

The resurfaced idea of widening the inlet got a bullish reaction at Manalapan’s April 14 Town Commission meeting. 

“It’s in the infant stage of discussion. We’re just revisiting the topic,” Town Manager Eric Marmer told the commission. 

“There’s a lot of positives that are pointed out in there, but there’s also some concerns, obviously, if you open that up, what other environmental impacts does that have?”

He said it remains to be seen if widening the inlet would solve the town’s concerns with the sand transfer plant that operates at the inlet. Manalapan is challenging Palm Beach County’s findings that the sand transfer plant doesn’t rob sand from Manalapan’s beachfront properties.

Vice Mayor Simone Bonutti suggested asking billionaire Larry Ellison for his thoughts. He owns Bird Island near the inlet as part of his $173 million estate in Manalapan. 

She also said the widening is feasible since the county owns the park on the inlet.

“I don’t think there’s any harm in looking at it,” Marmer said.

Marmer, in a separate interview, expressed another concern.

“I get a drowning call maybe once every three or four weeks,” he said. “Having gone out in that inlet myself, everybody knows this inlet is extremely dangerous.”

Joe Imbesi  has given a lot of thought to the widening of the inlet. He said the rock jetty that curves out from the north side of the inlet could be reconfigured to solve some of the environmental concerns. “So all this water that’s coming down will go south and then east,” he said.

Orla Imbesi said flood concerns about widening the inlet may have been overstated in the previous study. The couple says Manalapan is in a situation unlike other nearby coastal communities that have inlets flowing under A1A bridges — like Boca Raton, Jupiter and Lighthouse Point — a situation they say needs to be remedied. 

“Every city has a drawbridge, except the Boynton Inlet,” Joe Imbesi said. 

Related: Briny Breezes: Town to allow elevated new homes in compliance with FEMA regulations

I have been a property owner in Ocean Ridge now for 40 years and in Briny Breezes for more than 20 years. Change has been gradual in both communities over those decades, mainly because most of the homes had already been built by the time Mary Kate and I moved here. In addition to the replace-ment of existing homes with more modern and bigger ones, the biggest change I have seen in our coastal communities is the increase in seasonal flooding.

Decades ago, as a working photojournalist, it was a challenge for me to capture an interesting photo during king tides, because the impact was so minimal. Back then, talk of “global warming” was dismissed by many residents.  

Now I simply have to consult the tide tables to know the exact date and time that I can photograph neighborhood flooding. And “sea level rise” has become part of our everyday vocabulary and part of every community’s long-term planning. 

In just the past year, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has enacted new building regulations requiring a much higher base floor elevation for most new coastal homes. 

That’s why you are seeing piles of fill on traditional residential construction projects from Boca Raton to Lantana.  The fill is easy to place with a half-acre lot, much harder under a 400-square-foot mobile home.

Briny Breezes is taking a huge step forward in dealing with these new FEMA standards. As a co-op of owners of mobile homes, the town adds a corporate board to the oversight by federal and state regulations and by town ordinances. In March, that board approved the installation of new mobile homes — and replacement of existing ones — with elevated homes.  

Many of the mobileunits in Briny Breezes have been on their lots for 40 or 50 years and most of the 242 lots on the west side of State Road A1A, where the elevated homes will be permitted, have standing water in their yards and access roads twice a day during king tides.

By allowing homeowners to elevate newly installed modular homes up to 10 feet, Briny will add decades to the life of the community. It will ensure FEMA compliance and will lead to the modernization of the aging housing stock. 

Over time the town of Briny Breezes plans to improve the drainage system of the community and increase the height of the sea walls along the Intracoastal Waterway — and road heights as well. The elevated homes being approved today will help that process in the future.

— Jerry Lower

         Publisher

Retired Air Force Maj. Evelyn Henry has been around the world as a military nurse but lives in Delray Beach and volunteers with the Boynton Woman’s Club. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Jan Engoren

Boynton Woman’s Club member Evelyn Henry, a retired nurse and major in the U.S. Air Force, took off on March 11 from Lakeland as part of the first all‑female veterans Flight to Honor from Florida.

The one‑day visit to Washington, D.C., allowed the 121 veterans to reflect on their service, visit national memorials and get recognition many never received before, similar to trips the Honor Flight organization runs.

This inaugural trip, sponsored by the Greater Florida Woman’s Clubs and its President Sara Dessureau, aimed to celebrate female veterans and break through the isolation many of them experience. A member of the Boynton Woman’s Club for 18 years and a Delray Beach resident, Henry is chair of the club’s Forgotten Soldiers Outreach Committee.

Aside from the tours, the veterans each received a certificate from Florida Sen. Ashley Moody, a letter from U.S. Rep. Scott Franklin and either a teddy bear or a quilt handmade by members of the Treasure Coast Woman’s Club.

A reception complete with cake followed the return home. The women received cards and artwork from schoolchildren.

“It was a touching ending to a lovely and memorable trip,” Henry says. “We all feel so honored.”

Henry, 75, can add it to her list of memories from around the world. 

She earned both her undergraduate and graduate degrees in nursing from Hunter College in New York City. Before joining the Air Force, she had been working as a nurse at Kings County Hospital, where, at age 26, she was the youngest nursing supervisor.

After a breakup with her boyfriend, Henry decided she wanted to see the world and signed up with all branches of the military — but the Air Force called first, offering her a commission to Clark Air Base in the Philippines.

Her father had served in the Army Air Corps (a precursor to the Air Force) during WWII, where actor Jimmy Stewart was one of the squadron commanders. The unit flew missions over Germany and Poland.

Because Henry already had a master’s degree, she entered the service as a first lieutenant.

Henry says she felt like Goldie Hawn in Private Benjamin. Her character asks, “Where are the condos? Where are the yachts?”

Henry was surprised by the rustic conditions on the base.

“There were buffalo and chickens in the roads, poor shantytowns, and living conditions were anything but luxurious,” she says. “If you hit a chicken with a car you’d have to pay a fine and be put in international hold.”

But with colleagues, she traveled around Asia, taking a cargo plane to Korea or Japan for $10, including a boxed lunch. She visited Singapore, Thailand, and her favorite, Hong Kong, before it reverted to Chinese rule.

She worked in the surgical unit there before transferring to Bitburg, Germany, where she worked in a multiservice unit with critical care, psychiatric and pediatric care.

Her best assignment came when she was deployed to a comprehensive medical, surgical, cardiac and intensive care unit at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland.

In 1991, she was deployed to Bicester, England, during Operation Desert Storm to run a USAF Contingency Hospital.

After 9/11, she was working at Dover Air Force Base, mortuary affairs, in Delaware, in charge of medical readiness education. She helped care for casualties from the Pentagon attack and from the plane that hit the Pentagon — identifying people and X‑raying victims, something she describes as “a nightmare.”

From 1996 to 2000, while at Landstuhl Army Hospital in Ramstein, Germany, Henry became a whistleblower when she called environmental health officials in Europe to report asbestos in the hospital. Henry believes her actions led to her being denied a promotion to lieutenant colonel, but she stands by her decision.

“I wasn’t afraid,” she says. “I knew I did the right thing.”

On March 11, the chartered honor flight plane contained the 121 veterans with 24 guardians and some support staff and news media. They arrived in Baltimore and took buses to the Washington Monument, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Arlington National Cemetery and the Military Women’s Memorial.

Memorable moments included watching visitors to the Vietnam Memorial search for the names of departed relatives and friends, and seeing the changing of the guard at Arlington.

A celebratory crowd greeted them when they landed back in Lakeland — fire trucks sprayed water, a large American flag waved from a crane, crowds held flags and cheered, and photographers captured the moment. 

For a woman who has spent her life caring for others — including sick friends and her elderly mother — the recognition was something Henry will treasure. As a longtime member of the BWC, she will continue to serve, volunteer and give back to her community. 

While reading your editorial sadly remarking on the loss of mature trees in South Florida, I can’t help but think of my little miracle here in Royal Oak Hills in eastern Boca Raton. Although this old neighborhood still has many splendid Florida oaks, they are simply dying of old age.

Primarily, they are dying of fungus that slowly hollows out their insides and is easily spread when the trees have rotted and are cut down. 

The biggest problem, as I see it, is that people here rarely plant new ones. They do plant plenty of trees, but many are exotics that may or may not survive South Florida’s idiosyncrasies. 

So, 10, maybe 15 years ago, after I had to cut down (or nature would blow down) my magnificent but greatly weakened oak, I was surprised to see about a year later, two new shoots growing in the same spot where the old one had been.   

I picked the big brother and made it clear to my gardeners that if a blade ever touched it, I would be very unhappy with the offender.

That little shoot is now an absolutely gorgeous sturdy oak.  

Regular trimming keeps the ever-extending branches off my roof and power lines and cuts out dead, crisscrossed branches, all according to the Beautification Committee of Boca Raton’s guidelines.  

From my front porch, I watch the resident cardinal couple and mockingbird pair enjoy my tree’s airy foliage. Squirrels scurry up and down the trunk and below, my azalea bushes flourish more each spring as the great tree’s shade encourages flowers to bloom in profusion. 

Amazing how nature will replenish itself, if we just let it do its own thing.

— Betsy Ratner Hershman

Boca Raton

Wording seeks to avoid a state law to contrary

By John Pacenti

The Manalapan Town Commission gave preliminary approval to an ordinance aimed at cracking down on shark fishing practices.

“We’ve become a safe haven for shark fishing, and we don’t want to be that, because it’s dangerous for everybody,” Town Manager Eric Marmer said at the commission’s April 14 meeting.

Under the proposed ordinance, the town code would prohibit fishing activities at any beach that “may endanger the health and safety of swimmers or other beachgoers.”

The measure explicitly bans practices that attract sharks — such as chumming, blood baiting and other actions intended to lure sharks into near-shore water — and retains an existing ban on fishing from bridges. 

The ordinance will return to the commission for additional review and amendment before a vote on final approval.

Town officials said shark fishing has increased recently, fueled in part by social media, with anglers deploying large, baited lines hundreds of yards offshore. Police reported having to call Florida Fish and Wildlife to enforce licensing and safety rules during several nighttime encounters; citations were issued in at least one incident.

“We can all see how that is dangerous for swimmers, boaters and everybody else, absolutely, when you’re attracting the sharks into the area,” said Police Chief Jeff Rasor.

Town Attorney Keith Davis cautioned the commission that state law broadly preempts municipal regulation of saltwater fishing, limiting municipal authority to outright bans on fishing.

To navigate that constraint, the ordinance focuses on activities and locations that threaten public safety rather than declaring a general prohibition on shark fishing. Davis said the language is designed to withstand preemption challenges by tying restrictions to health, safety and welfare concerns.

Commissioners also discussed newer methods used to deploy bait, including drones and boats, asking Marmer to explore whether the ordinance can be expanded to address drone-delivered bait. But that would raise additional legal questions about airspace regulation and state authority, Davis said.

Marmer said the staff will research state preemption issues related to drone use and bring recommended language back to the commission.

Manalapan would join coastal municipalities Delray Beach, Boca Raton and Palm Beach, which have adopted targeted restrictions to limit shark-attracting activities on public beaches while trying to remain within state regulatory bounds. 

Critics complained that the plaque erected in March appears to say that some departing council members had created Memorial Park, rather than its 1947 founders. Photo provided

By Mary Hladky

In its first meetings since the pivotal March 10 election, the newly constituted Boca Raton City Council decided to nullify one of former Mayor Scott Singer’s last actions.

In a hurry-up maneuver on March 24 just one week before his last day as mayor, Singer took the lead in holding a ceremony to unveil a new plaque for Memorial Park in the city’s downtown campus, dedicating it to those who gave their lives for the nation, all veterans and service members.

He was joined by the four other council members and City Manager Mark Sohaney, a Navy veteran.

The city did not notify residents of the ceremony and it was not open to the public. Only veterans and veterans organizations were invited.

Singer told residents about the event at that night’s council meeting, saying the council had pledged to dedicate Memorial Park regardless of whether or not voters approved the city’s plan to redevelop the downtown campus. Voters overwhelmingly rejected that project.

The next day, he elaborated on Facebook.

“It was an honor to be joined by so many veterans as our city commemorated a special day with the dedication of Memorial Park,” he wrote. “The ceremony marks the beginning of a long-held vision — to create a meaningful place that honors our veterans, including those who served here in Boca Raton during World War II.”

Whatever Singer intended, the ceremony and new plaque sparked a backlash.

Critics said the plaque contained inaccuracies, was unveiled at an invitation-only ceremony and did not make clear that the original plaque, which disappeared many years ago, specifically honored WW II veterans.

They also said the new plaque erases from history that the first one was placed by Town Council members in 1947 and included their names. The new plaque includes the names of City Council members in place before the March 10 election.

“As a military veteran who stood alongside many of you in Save Boca for months last summer to protect Memorial Park from a massive private development and a City Council that showed no respect for it, I find it both absurd and unconscionable that this outgoing City Council, in 2026, would try to put their names on a sign taking credit for a World War II Memorial that was created by a completely different council in April, 1947,” Navy veteran Frank Paton III wrote on Facebook.

“Every single member of this group (Save Boca) needs to get together and make sure that our new city council takes down that horrible plaque and gets the names changed to the original city council members from 1947,” wrote Roxanna Trinka.

The current City Council, which includes three new members, and Sohaney rapidly changed course during the council’s April 13 and 14 meetings.

The March 24 plaque will be scrapped. A new one will contain language drafted after “significant input” from veterans, Sohaney said. It credits the 1947 Town Council. And a public ceremony will be held.

Although the council did not immediately set a date, Memorial Day has been suggested.

The changes, said Deputy Mayor Michelle Grau, are not about a plaque. Rather, it is about “historical integrity and respect for the past and our residents. I believe correcting this is an opportunity to restore public trust.”

“It does take a step toward helping heal the community,” said Mayor Andy Thomson.

The attention Memorial Park has received obscures the fact that many residents were unaware it exists.

It is home to recreation facilities they use, including tennis courts and ballfields. And yet few have known it by that name.

The exception is veterans, who are well aware and want to ensure that it is preserved.

“It is important that we retain the status of the park as being a living memorial,” Paton said. “The park was dedicated to the World War II veterans specifically.”

Paton credits Save Boca for stressing the need to save the park. “Save Boca and citizens who stepped up to the plate saved the park from being bulldozed (by developers),” he said.

His wife, Kimberly, the owner of Boca Print, and daughter Haylee joined the effort, printing signs, T-shirts and literature at cost for Save Boca.

Paton was among the veterans who were consulted by city officials and the developers Terra and Frisbie Group, which rebranded as One Boca and would have redeveloped the downtown campus if voters had approved the project.

While One Boca developed plans for Memorial Park, Paton wasn’t impressed.

“Nothing signifying a living memorial,” he said.

Another of the group of veterans brought in to advise was Andrew Reese, a retired U.S. Army sergeant who works with the veterans community.

From the start, he said he made clear he did not want to take a political position. “I just wanted to make sure anything that was done was in a dignified and respectful manner” and that veterans should have a voice, he said.

Current city residents have little idea of the importance of the Boca Raton Army Air Field during World War II, he said.

Possibly as many as 100,000 trained or studied there, including the men now known as the Tuskegee Airmen and the crew of the atomic bomb-dropping Enola Gay.

“Now it is kind of sad there is not more knowledge about this and recognition of how important that base was,” he said.

Reese didn’t pass judgment on One Boca’s plans for Memorial Park, but he said One Boca’s representatives were very receptive to veterans’ input.

“They very much seemed to do this in the appropriate way,” as did Singer, he said.

The Town Council in 1947 wanted to include a veterans building, Reese said, and he endorses that idea now as a home for organizations providing services to veterans.

His advice to the city: “If you are going to do something, it needs to be sincere.” 

Delray Beach fined the popular wellness and community event known as Coco Market $15,000 following a dog attack that left a teenager with severe facial injuries.

This follows the Feb. 20 action by City Manager Terrence Moore suspending the special events permit for organizers at Cocoyogi, Inc. for three months. A 16-year-old was bitten on the face by a dog at the event at the city’s Old School Square campus on Feb. 8.

The victim suffered a severe laceration to her upper lip and cheek that could result in permanent scarring.

The dog was on display by restaurateur Rodney Mayo’s H3 Dog Rescue. Coco Market did not have permission from the city to have an organization with animals at the event. Mayo has also been at the center of controversy with the city concerning parking issues at his Subculture coffee shop.

Representatives for Cocoyogi were told they may resume hosting events in June, but that further violations could result in a permanent ban. 

— John Pacenti

ABOVE: Many modular home parks, like Ocean Breeze in Jensen Beach, have been replacing ground-level homes (right) with elevated homes (left). BELOW: A Briny Breezes resident sloshes through knee-deep water during king tides, which repeatedly flood residences on the west side of State Road A1A. New regulations will allow homes to be elevated 10 feet. Photos by Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

Related: Publisher's Note: Elevated homes a big step forward in Briny Breezes

By Patrick Sherry

Flooding is the price for living along the Intracoastal Waterway that residents in Briny Breezes know all too well, but newly approved elevated home rules are now raising hopes for homeowners who want to protect their community.

The town’s corporate board in March approved allowing construction of elevated homes. 

The rule change means modular homes can be built up to 10 feet above the ground atop concrete pilings — with parking underneath. The approval comes after updated FEMA regulations that require new homes in high-risk flood zones to be elevated a certain number of feet above sea level.  

“Briny Breezes is a very unique community that just doesn’t exist in today’s world,” said Michael Gallacher, general manager of Briny Breezes Inc. “If you live here or spend time here, you understand that and want to preserve that for the future because no matter how much money you spend, you can’t duplicate what we have here.”

Over the past few decades, rising sea levels and king tides have threatened residents’ homes with severe flooding. 

In 2021, the town hired an engineering firm to create a resiliency guide to help the community plan for these problems. The report showed that tidal flooding and storm surges are expected to worsen over the next 50 years, with the west side of the town being more at risk. Along with suggestions of investing millions of dollars into infrastructure improvements, the guide recommended alternative building methods, such as elevating homes. 

Town officials spent nearly two years holding public meetings to get input on creating regulations for the elevated homes. At first, they said that some of the community’s reaction was negative because many residents thought they would have to raise their homes right away. 

“Nobody likes change, so that’s the biggest thing,” said John Corrigan, head of the town’s Architectural Review Committee. “The more people came to the meetings, the more people understood it.”

For now, the change applies only to 242 home sites on the west side of State Road A1A.  

These types of homes are already in use in places like Jensen Beach and the Florida Keys. But town officials made sure to listen to residents’ input to create regulations and a design that fit the character of the community.

“We made sure that everybody knew that they do not have to raise their home — no one’s being forced to raise their home,” said David White, a corporate shareholder and Briny Breezes alderman. “Briny Breezes is probably going to look a lot like it looks right now for the [next] 10, 20 years ahead.” 

Town officials don’t know the exact cost of a new home yet, but some estimate it could range from $450,000 to $500,000 to build the elevated foundation and cover the cost of the modular home itself. The price can vary because of soil testing to find bedrock and place the foundation. The total square footage of the home will also affect the total price.

Only a handful of elevated homes are expected to be built in the near future. Town officials said that some will be finished by the end of the year or early next year. Applications for them are already open. 

The town is also in the process of getting funding for a sea wall improvement project and a drainage system project to further help mitigate flooding. 

Officials agree that these plans are a necessary step to protect the future of the community for decades to come. 

“Briny Breezes … as a community believes that they want to have their children, their children’s children — their great-grandchildren — have the Briny Breezes experience,” White said. “This is entirely motivated by people who want to see Briny Breezes last forever.” 

By John Pacenti

Regulating sea walls can be dicey for municipalities. While they race to fortify against rising tides, such efforts often collide with the checkbooks of private property owners, turning climate resilience into a very expensive home improvement.

Manalapan Town Manager Eric Marmer recommended to commissioners at their April 14 meeting that the town broaden its coastal protection strategy beyond its fight against the county’s sand‑transfer operation — which takes sand from the town’s side of the Boynton Inlet and dumps it on Ocean Ridge’s side. He recommended including a coordinated sea wall, shoreline and inspection program aimed at improving public safety, environmental outcomes and long‑term resiliency.

“I think we would focus on new construction, like, if you’re building, you have to do this, but not force current homeowners to do it,” Marmer said.

It’s a smart strategy since Fort Lauderdale and Key Biscayne had near revolts when each tried to propose a sea wall height ordinance for existing homes. 

A sea wall replacement could cost $50,000 to $150,000, and residents in Fort Lauderdale accused the city of trying to force them out of their homes. In Key Biscayne, some residents argued that barrier islands are designed to allow water to pass through, and sea walls actually cause flooding by creating a bathtub effect.

Miami Beach, on the other hand, has taken an aggressive stance on failing sea walls, levying daily fines, and will install temporary flood barriers at the property owner’s expense.

Miami-Dade and Broward counties have passed sea wall ordinances, but Palm Beach County has not, Marmer noted.

“We’re going to start monitoring them, making sure they’re up to speed,” Marmer said of the town’s inspections of sea walls. 

Jacek Tomasik, the building code administrator for the town, said he is gathering information on how other municipalities regulate the construction of sea walls. Part of the strategy centers on modern “living” sea wall concepts and wave‑mitigation panels designed to reduce wave energy, improve near-shore water quality, and even support marine life. 

Marmer said the town has been researching vendors and innovative designs used in other South Florida venues and plans to evaluate whether the town should adopt standards or incentives to promote those materials. He suggested the possibility of offering fee relief for installations that incorporate eco‑benefits.

Joe Imbesi, spouse of Commissioner Orla Imbesi, said he is in favor of the town’s getting serious about sea walls because of flooding on Lands Ends Road on Point Manalapan and the rest of Hypoluxo Island.

“What I’m hoping they’re getting to is there should be a uniform sea wall on the entire beach, the part that’s facing the lake (the Intracoastal Waterway), because most times when there is a lot of rain, the whole road, you can’t even get down that road.” 

Two on council suggest it may be divisive, prefer trained planner

By Mary Hladky

Two weeks after the Boca Raton City Council created a task force to help decide how the 31.7-acre downtown campus should be improved, its existence is in jeopardy because two council members now doubt it is a good idea.

The task force was proposed by Mayor Andy Thomson to gather the ideas and preferences of residents for re-imagining the campus after city voters in March soundly rejected the city’s plans to partner with developers on the project.

Decisions, he said, should be “residents driven” so that they — not developers or city officials — would steer the outcome. The task force was approved by a 3-1 vote on April 14, with Council member Yvette Drucker absent.

But Deputy Mayor Michelle Grau questioned that decision at the council’s April 28 meeting. She had thought the task force would be helpful, but now was concerned that “this is not the right approach.”

The task force would be small and other city residents would not have a voice, she said. The better approach, she said, would be to have a professional urban planner lead the effort.

“I worry it may become more divisive, rather than productive,” Grau said of the task force.

Council member Jon Pearlman, who had voted against the task force on April 14, said he agreed with Grau.

“We don’t need an unelected blue-ribbon commission,” he said on April 14. “We should be answering to all the people who elected us.”

Deflecting to a task force would be abdicating the council’s responsibility to another group, Pearlman said.

Thomson disagreed at the time. “I don’t believe we are abdicating our responsibilities by getting advice,” he said, and any final decision would be made by the council.

On April 28, Thomson defended his idea again, saying task force meetings would be open to all residents to voice their opinions. “I think this is an opportunity to participate in a meaningful way,” he said.

The council will decide the issue soon, possibly at its next meeting, set for May 12.

Thomson had proposed that the task force have nine members appointed by the council. It would be in place for about six months before delivering a final report.

He also proposed that he chair the group since he has experience running meetings.

But Pearlman and Grau objected, and Thomson agreed to drop that idea and instead allow the task force members to select the chair.

Specifics were not finalized. Grau, for example, proposed hiring an urban planning firm — which has expertise council members lack— to lead the process, an idea Thomson said made sense.

A small number of residents addressed the issue on April 14, with only former mayoral candidate Mike Liebelson opposed to the task force. Two prominent Save Boca members said they liked the idea. 

The Ocean Ridge Town Commission had sympathy for Charlie Dahlem but no leeway.

Commissioners at their April 13 meeting rejected a plea to reduce a $76,000 fine for code violations incurred before Dahlem purchased the property at 113 Island Drive. They concluded the fine stemmed from long-standing compliance failures that are the responsibility of the property owner and contractor.

Dahlem told the commission that fencing and sea wall concerns raised by town officials were remedied, and he provided a sea wall engineer’s letter asserting the sea wall requires repairs but is not in emergency condition.

Commissioners noted fines began accruing well before Dahlem and his wife, Lisa, bought the lot and initiated their project. They inherited the mess when they purchased the property and kept as their builder the same contractor that compiled the fines, Bella Homes.

The commission has said Dahlem should seek redress from Bella. 

Several commissioners pressed the couple about why the town should assume responsibility for fines that appeared to arise from contractor performance and missed deadlines. 

Commissioner David Hutchins said the issue was not the town’s to resolve and opposed any relief. Mayor Geoff Pugh and others criticized the prior contractor’s conduct and cited the extended neighborhood disruption that prompted town enforcement action.

“We are making a significant investment in the community, and we think that everyone will be very pleased with it,” Dahlem said of the home being built. “We’re going to be good neighbors. We’re interested. We love this town.”

In October, in a tense discussion, Pugh chastised Stephen Petrucci of Bella Homes. “We have asked you over and over and over again for years to do something about the property. You didn’t listen to the town,” Pugh said.  

— John Pacenti

By Jane Musgrave

Hired in November to work the same magic in Boynton Beach as he did decades ago to revitalize Atlantic Avenue in Delray Beach, Community Redevelopment Agency Director Chris Brown resigned in April after an investigation found he verbally and physically accosted his staff.

Boynton Beach city commissioners, who also serve as the board of the CRA, made no comments about Brown’s abrupt departure or the incident that led to it. At a meeting on April 14, they simply accepted his resignation, terminated the $400,000-a-year contract with Brown’s company and turned his duties over to City Manager Dan Dugger indefinitely.

Brown’s departure comes as the CRA is juggling various multimillion-dollar projects, including the redevelopment of the recently purchased Inn at Boynton Beach site and others along Boynton Beach Boulevard, the expansion of Harvey E. Oyer Jr. Park along the Intracoastal Waterway, and rebuilding of the city’s perpetually sagging downtown. It has talked about floating a $30 million bond issue to buy more land.

Brown’s resignation came five days after top CRA staff complained that he repeatedly dropped the f-bomb and used other obscenities to express his frustrations with their work. 

Assistant CRA Director Tim Tack said Brown, 85, entered his office on April 9 and called him a “f***ing loser.” Tack had served as interim director from 2023 until Brown was hired.

“You need to man up and take f***ing control, you have been the g**damn executive director for two years,” Brown told Tack, according to an investigation by employment law attorney David Gobeo. Brown then poked Tack in the chest with both hands.

When Finance Director Vicki Hill entered Tack’s office to try to calm Brown, he told her, “this is a f***ing private conversation,” and pushed her from the office, Gobeo wrote.

In a four-page report he sent commissioners on April 14, Gobeo concluded that Brown’s conduct violated CRA policy and caused employees to fear for their safety. Discipline, including termination, was warranted, he wrote. There’s no indication in the report that Brown was interviewed.

On the same day, Brown submitted his resignation. Instead of addressing the allegations, he blasted the organization, saying its finances were in shambles, and called the work environment “hostile.”

He claimed the agency lacked important financial controls. He said he was repeatedly denied key reports, such as accounts payable, and was rebuffed when he tried to create “a clearer, more understandable budget.”

The agency, he claimed, has lost millions by keeping $30 million in a low interest-bearing checking account instead of investing it in a state fund where it would earn money.

He said his company, Redevelopment Management Associates, had built a good reputation for helping revitalize cities across the state since he formed it in 2009 after leaving his Delray Beach CRA post.

“We cannot, however, continue to operate effectively under circumstances marked by hostility, withheld information, and misrepresented facts,” he said. “For the protection of public resources and the long-term success of Boynton Beach’s redevelopment goals, it is best that we part ways.”

Neither Brown nor Dugger returned phone calls seeking comment. However, it appears the city took his claims seriously. Dugger dispatched Alan Lawson, the city’s chief financial officer, to review the CRA’s books.

During a preliminary analysis, Lawson said he found serious lapses in some of the CRA’s internal controls, particularly the use of a credit card that allows employees to make business-related purchases without going through the purchase order process.

The CRA doesn’t have policies that establish spending limits for the so-called p-cards or to prohibit the use of the cards for such items as gift cards or alcohol. It doesn’t have a system to track how many cards are circulating among staff, he told the CRA board at a meeting on April 21.

Lawson said he planned to spend two weeks auditing the books to “identify, document, and quantify any irregularities” and put controls in place to eliminate the chance for fraud in the future.

The task won’t be easy, he said. Normally, such audits take three months. He said he was planning to complete his work in 10 days. “I’m not going to be getting any sleep in the next two weeks,” he said. 

Commissioner Mack McCray balked at Lawson’s use of the word “fraud.” Lawson agreed the word could be misconstrued and agreed to substitute the word “risk.” 

He said a similar exercise was done to ensure city finances were in order. Commissioners agreed the process was routine.

From the start, the selection of Brown’s firm to run the CRA wasn’t fully embraced by commissioners. It was an unprecedented move for the city, which had always simply hired someone to run the agency.

At a November meeting on  Brown’s contract, Commissioner Aimee Kelley voiced concern about its $400,000 cost — far more than the city manager’s $273,000 annual paycheck.

Commissioners also balked at Brown’s request to be allowed to spend up to $75,000 without their OK. Instead, they said he could spend $10,000.

Dugger sought to allay their concerns. The city was getting the advantages of the firm’s extensive knowledge about redevelopment through its work for other cities, he said.

He likened it to hiring an outside law firm instead of hiring an in-house attorney.

“What we’re missing now is trust and the only way we gain trust is through time,” he said.

Ultimately, the decision to hire Brown was unanimous. To show his city spirit, Brown donned a baseball cap with Boynton’s logo on it.

“Welcome aboard,” Mayor Rebecca Shelton said. “We’re going to work you to death.” 

By Mary Hladky

Past Boca Raton City Council members have said it took them as long as a year to learn the arcana of how a city functions so they could do their jobs effectively.

Save Boca founder Jon Pearlman faced that learning curve during his first council meetings after winning election on March 10 with promises of being a change agent.

Cities must follow a charter, local ordinances and state laws that spell out how they conduct business. The process can be cumbersome, but it’s ingrained.

Pearlman’s questions and objections bogged down the April 13 and 14 meetings, which dragged on far longer than is typical. That prompted unsuccessful council candidate and Save Boca supporter Meredith Madsen to approach the podium with a plea.

“Can we not burn the town down?” she asked. “We all won. We stopped (developers) Terra/Frisbie. We need to have everything move forward now. … I am respectfully asking everyone to allow the normal business of the City Council to continue.”

Pearlman first encountered a roadblock at the April 13 workshop meeting when he made several motions and sought council votes.

Workshops are intended to give council members information about matters they will vote on at the next day’s council meeting — not to take action. Motions and votes are made at council meetings.

Mayor Andy Thomson explained the process.

“I appreciate what you are trying to accomplish,” Thomson said. “This tends not to be the time for us to be … putting forward motions. If we want to take action … it has to be at a regular meeting. … The community deserves due process on these things. …”

Pearlman graciously accepted the advice. “I want to abide by the protocols that serve the council,” he said. “However you see us doing that, I definitely will abide by that.”

At the next night’s council meeting, Pearlman removed two items from the consent agenda because he had objections.

In Boca Raton, the consent agenda typically contains noncontroversial matters concerning the basic running of city government that are voted on as a group for efficiency.

Council members can remove an item to discuss it further or to seek council disapproval, but that rarely happens. If there is a question or concern, it typically would be raised at the earlier workshop meeting.

One consent agenda item concerned a public right-of-way agreement for telecommunication cables. Pearlman thought the cables did not service Boca Raton residents. He dropped his objection when city officials explained the cables’ function and importance.

The second one involved hiring a firm to assess the condition of municipal buildings — including the Community Center, police headquarters, Downtown Library and Fire Station 7.

Pearlman thought the city was spending too much money for visual inspections and wanted physical inspections as well. The discussion ended when a city official explained that both were being done.

Thomson told Pearlman that all the details about consent agenda items can be seen in the links to the agendas that are posted online before meetings.

It also became apparent that while Save Boca-endorsed candidates won a City Council majority, Pearlman could not necessarily expect them to vote with him as a bloc.

A matter of particular importance to him was allowing Boca Raton residents a vote on a City Charter amendment and an ordinance which would not allow the City Council to sell or lease any city-owned land greater than one-half acre unless residents approved doing so in an election.

The two Save Boca measures were embraced by members for giving residents the power to decide if projects such as the downtown campus redevelopment should be approved or denied.

But Circuit Judge G. Joseph Curley ordered that the measures be thrown off a Jan. 13 special election ballot because one was unconstitutional and the other required a vote before Jan. 13.

That has left both hanging in limbo, and Pearlman wants voters to have their say as soon as possible. Supervisor of Elections Wendy Sartory Link has said the earliest possible election date is March 9, 2027, during the regular March municipal elections.

While the intent of the ordinance and charter change still remain the same, they have been revised so that an election would not need to be held for matters such as easements or leases of city-owned land to nonprofits and other civic organizations.

The need to hold elections would make simple measures complex and time-consuming and would be costly for the city.

But city officials think that the wording could be further improved, in part as protection against legal challenges. Pearlman pressed to have the revised measures approved as is.

Thomson said he understood that Pearlman thinks the ballot language should stand.

“But if we can improve on the language, let’s do that,” he said.

Pearlman pushed back forcefully, saying “we already are taking action to subvert the will of the people.”

“It is insane to me” that council members think residents didn’t understand what they were doing when they signed petitions seeking the ordinance and charter change, he said.

Thomson said he never suggested that residents did not understand. But he said that since there was no need to rush a vote, the council and city staff had time to craft more precise language.

Pearlman, though, did not convince Deputy Mayor Michelle Grau and Council member Stacy Sipple, the two other Save Boca-endorsed candidates.

No other council member seconded his motion to place on the next night’s agenda an item that would require the charter amendment to be on the ballot for an election to be held as soon as possible.

Yet the city intends to act. A public hearing on the ordinance, as well as a discussion on a related resolution, is set for May 12.

The charter amendment will be voted on by residents, probably on March 9, 2027.

By Sephora Charles

A recent survey shows most Lantana residents and visitors want little to no changes to the Lantana Beach Park, but that didn’t stop the Town Council from backing an estimated $13 million first phase of a total project that could end up topping $30 million. 

The town hired CPZ Architects to create a conceptual proposal for the remodeling because the beach is “dilapidated in many cases,” Town Manager Brian Raducci said during an April 10 visioning session.

A bifurcated first phase would include rebuilding the boardwalk, demolishing the existing Dune Deck Café and pavilion, and constructing new restrooms, a new restaurant, a new lookout tower and retail kiosks.

Phase 2 is proposed to include $1.6 million to add new amenities to the lower part of the park; Phase 3 would allocate $14.7 million to construct a two-story parking garage; and Phase 4 would have $2 million to build a new pier.

The council reached a consensus to proceed with the project, beginning with the first phase. As the project continues, it will decide whether or not to continue with the other phases.

That move came despite the results of a staff survey of 689 residents and visitors in March. When asked what they think of the beach’s current appearance, 43% of respondents said minimal improvements should be made to “enhance the safety and functionality of the existing amenities.” More than 21% of people think the current appearance is fine, leaving 35% wanting a comprehensive look at the entire site so crews can make the discussed improvements. 

Respondents also voted for the three amenities that are most important to them: showers and restrooms, the restaurant with a terrace overlooking the natural environment, and the picnic area. If residents had to eliminate proposed amenities due to costs and other factors, several voters chose to remove the second-floor event space, lookout tower, sand volleyball courts and casual food options.

In terms of usage, more than half of the respondents want the beach to remain as a quiet “best kept secret,” 24.4% want minimal improvements to increase usage and 18.3% would like to see major changes to increase the demand for services such as hotels and restaurants. 

Raducci presented the results at the visioning session, a workshop designed for town officials and council members to discuss town's future. 

Drainage project on Hypoluxo Island

Residents of Hypoluxo Island should expect detours and possible one-way traffic conditions over the next several months. 

The town of Lantana started a multi-month drainage improvement project in April on the island to help mitigate flooding in certain areas. The project is anticipated to be completed toward the end of the year. 

Construction workers have already started Phase 1 of the project near Beach Curve Road and Barefoot Lane. Phase 2 will be between 705 and 737 N. Atlantic Drive, with Phase 3 being from 925 N. Atlantic Drive to the cul-de-sac. Each phase is expected to last two months. 

Access to homes will be maintained, but detours and one-way traffic are likely. Normal road access will be restored at the end of each workday. The town’s contractor will also be using the south side of McKinley Park as the project staging area, which will limit usage of the park 

To stay updated on the status of the project, follow the Historic Hypoluxo Island and HIPOA Community Information Facebook pages. 

— Patrick Sherry

By Patrick Sherry

Big community events in Lantana could face new requirements from the town if they impact public safety or nearby streets.

The Lantana Town Council on April 13 gave an initial OK to a proposed ordinance that would create a new approval process for special events that “significantly impact public rights-of-way or town services.” 

Town staff proposed the ordinance to improve how the town handles special event requests. The ordinance, which still requires a second council vote to take effect, would create a two-tiered approval system to ensure events are managed in a way that protects public safety, maintains access to public property and prevents roadways from being blocked. 

“It really establishes a very consistent, streamlined approval process for small-scale events and large-scale events on a very consistent, very transparent basis,” Town Clerk Kathleen Dominguez said. 

Events with fewer than 60 attendees that involve town property or affect traffic would be considered Tier 1 and require town staff approval. Anything over that threshold would be Tier 2 and would need to be approved by the Town Council. Large-scale events, depending on their size, would require a site plan to be submitted, a mandatory $1 million liability insurance policy and a special fee payment. 

Originally, the ordinance applied to events on private residential properties if they were not contained on the site or affected traffic. The ordinance faced criticism from some who attended because of that.

“You don't get to make the decision on how many people they’re allowed to have – it’s a local government,” resident Alex Hankinson said.

Council members clarified that they won’t be putting limits on how many people can attend special events. Instead, their goal was to create a more effective process to give them approval. Yet, Council member Kem Mason was more concerned about the town being involved in approving events on residents’ properties. 

“It’s a little bit of government overreach… when it comes to private property,” Mason said. 

The rest of the council emphasized that the ordinance is to prioritize safety and improve enforcement if incidents occur. They subsequently approved it on its first reading 5-0. 

At a later meeting, on April 27, Town Manager Brian Raducci suggested removing residential private properties from the ordinance based on feedback. The council agreed to the change, but still would like to further discuss the ordinance at another workshop before holding a vote on final  approval. 

The days are numbered for this massive banyan tree at the Delray Beach municipal golf course, despite the city's desire to save it. The Lake Worth Drainage District Board rejected the city's request and said the city must remove the tree by June 1 because of the flooding danger it poses were it to fall into the adjacent canal during a hurricane. John Pacenti/The Coastal Star

By John Pacenti

It’s all over but the chain sawing. 

The Lake Worth Drainage District Board expressed bewilderment at a plan Delray Beach proffered to save a massive 50-foot banyan tree that only recently came to the city’s attention as being a single tree during the renovation of its municipal golf course. The district ordered that the tree, which poses a safety hazard to businesses and homes, be chopped down by June 1.

The drainage district board said at its April 15 meeting that the flood risk and slope instability on the tree’s neighboring canal outweighed the city’s mitigation plan.

Say what you want about the Delray Beach government, it stays on brand when championing lost causes. First, it was the valiant, albeit unsuccessful, fight to save its rainbow-colored LGBTQ+ intersection in the face of state demands that the colors be removed. And now, the city’s outsized effort to save the golf course tree, with an emergency plan the city outlined for the drainage district.

The plan stations a tree-cutting crew at the Delray Beach Golf Club during hurricanes of Category 3 or greater, ready to kick into action to fight winds, rain and raging currents.

It could be a sequel to The Perfect Storm.

City Manager Terrence Moore told the board Delray Beach had assembled technical studies to support keeping the tree, noting a geotechnical engineering report, a certified arborist risk assessment and a debris-removal plan had been completed.

Mayor Tom Carney implored the board to give the city a chance to save the 70-year-old tree. 

“The city has taken such efforts these last few months, to ensure that all the worries that everyone was going to have about this tree have been mitigated,” Carney said.

The city outlined active measures: structural pruning, trunk reduction on the canal side, root removal where roots extended into the canal bank, installation of a proposed root barrier, multiyear crown management, and pre-staged emergency equipment including a 60-ton crane and a grapple barge.

“This tree has developed into its own ecosystem,” Greg Snyder of the Delray Beach Preservation Trust said. “It provides support for wildlife.”

But district engineers and supervisors remained unconvinced. Tommy B. Strowd, executive director and district engineer, warned that the combination of shallow ficus roots, steep sandy banks and hurricane conditions creates an “inherently unstable” situation. 

He described how high winds, heavy rain, saturated ground and canal drawdown could reduce slope safety and allow a large tree to topple into the canal. Just recently to the north, a ficus tree on private property toppled over during rains into the E-4 canal.

If the banyan toppled and blocked the canal, it could cause significant flooding to nearby businesses and residents.

Drainage board member John I. Whitworth III noted past storms and slow recovery times, saying he could not rely on a contractor’s ability to remove a massive tree in severe conditions. “I could never vote for this,” he said.

Board member Carrie Parker Hill questioned the city’s plans. “You can’t leave people on site in the middle of a hurricane without a hurricane shelter.”

Moore countered that the clubhouse on the golf course will meet the requirements of a hurricane shelter.

But board member James M. Alderman said keeping contractors on call during a hurricane didn’t make sense, saying it would take a few days to remove the tree if it fell.

“They’re not gonna come out and get the tree out. They don’t work the way we’re trained to do. We work in the middle of the night,” he said. “A contractor is not going to come out there in 60-, 80-mph winds and things blocked up, the water’s backing up and flooding somebody. We all know that’s not going to happen.”

Faced with the technical findings and public safety concerns, the board voted to uphold its prior denial and require the tree’s removal from the drainage district right of way by June 1, ahead of hurricane season.

State Rep. Rob Long, D-Delray Beach, a former Delray Beach city commissioner, has said the tree should be removed and replanted elsewhere, but that would cost the taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars.

Moore said the city would prepare for removal. He also disclosed that the city spent about $9,500 on the geotechnical assessment. Of course, if the plan were approved, it would cost taxpayers much more.

“Which made it somewhat palatable, because it wasn’t terribly expensive to know about the consideration process, conduct the engineering assessment, and the geotechnical support together,” he said.

At the commission’s April 21 meeting, Price Patton — president of the Delray Beach Preservation Trust and part owner of The Coastal Star — asked the city to declare an emergency and relocate the tree. He said the tree fund — $67,000, according to Town Manager Moore — is paid by local developers and can be used.

“I know you are leery about taxpayer money,” he said. “Think of it another way: The tree has grown there for 80 years for free.”

Carney put a fork in that idea, saying the tree fund is for the whole city, not just one banyan that is not even guaranteed to live if it is moved. “As much as I would like to save that tree — I fought hard for it, I wrote letters and gave interviews — but at some point we lost. “

Commissioner Tom Markert added, “I think it’s going to cost way more than $150,000 to move the tree. and I don’t think it’s feasible.”