By Steve Plunkett
After five meetings as an alternate member of the Architectural Review and Planning Board, Katherine Orthwein now sits as a full voting member of the panel, following in the public service footsteps of her mother, longtime Town Commissioner Joan Orthwein.
The younger Orthwein, who goes by Katie, was barely a toddler on April 1, 1987, when Joan Orthwein joined the ARPB’s predecessor, the Planning and Zoning Board.
Coincidentally, one of the mother’s first votes was approving an addition to the home at 3150 Gulfstream Road, where her daughter now lives.
Joan Orthwein called her daughter a “talented” and “accomplished” young woman. Katie Orthwein, whose first full ARPB meeting was Jan. 23, demurred from giving details of her life for a newspaper article.
“My passion lies in helping Gulf Stream continue to thrive, and I believe the most meaningful impact comes from dedicated efforts rather than public recognition,” she said. “At this juncture, my focus remains on the work itself, and I find that true contribution is often best made without the glare of the spotlight.”
But Assistant Town Attorney Trey Nazzaro sang her praises as the Town Commission considered promoting her from being an alternate member Jan. 10.
“Honestly, when she’s not in attendance I wish that she was, because she is extremely thorough with all the reviews,” Nazzaro said. “She caught a minor accessory structure that was 2 feet into the setback. You know, when we’re looking at plans we’re looking at so many things on the plan and that was something that she caught that we had not caught at the time.
“So we were able to navigate, and she’s just very thoughtful,” Nazzaro concluded. “It’s clear that she puts a lot of time and thought into her review.”
“And she’s an MIT grad,” Mayor Scott Morgan noted, referring to her MBA from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
How long Katie Orthwein will be on the dais — and whether her children will follow her and their grandmother’s public service path — is impossible to predict.
Joan Orthwein moved on from being chairwoman of the renamed Architectural Review and Planning Board and first sat as a town commissioner on May 4, 1995. In 2020, the Florida League of Cities officially praised her for 25 years of “unselfish leadership” on the Town Commission, though it didn’t mention her previous, unelected time on the ARPB.
The league presented her with a plaque and a 25-year lapel pin.
“I don’t know what to say, but thank you,” she said at the time. “It’s an honor to be on the commission. … It’s an honor to be here.”
This year she will qualify for the league’s 30-year lapel pin.
Comments