By Joe Capozzi
Releasing balloons and sky lanterns into the sky can be a festive and visually stunning sight. In Briny Breezes, it may soon be outlawed.
Concerned about the environmental impacts after what goes up eventually comes down, the Town Council has asked the town attorney to draft language for a proposed ordinance that would prohibit the release of balloons and sky lanterns in town.
“We go out on our boat and walk on the beach all the time and we are constantly picking up balloons,’’ Alderwoman Christina Adams said when she proposed the ordinance at a March 24 council meeting.
“Not that they’re coming from Briny and these surrounding areas but they’re still littering our beach.
“One of our biggest sea turtle populations in the state nest right here. The sea turtles can get tangled in them. They think they’re jellyfish and (try to) eat them.’’
Adams said Boca Raton, Boynton Beach and Palm Beach Gardens are among municipalities that prohibit the release of balloons and lanterns. So do Palm Beach County parks, including Gulfstream Park nearby.
Council members agreed with her and suggested adding cigarette butts and fireworks to the ordinance.
Attorney Keith Davis said regulating fireworks might be difficult but he’d look into the request and present a proposal in a month or so.
Alderman Bill Birch asked how the town would enforce such an ordinance, especially since Briny Breezes hasn’t done any code enforcement other than parking violations.
Ocean Ridge Police Chief Richard Jones, whose officers patrol Briny, said he’d look into ways citations could be issued, along with a schedule of fines.
“I do like the enforceability of it,’’ Mayor Gene Adams said. “I think it’s the impression of control: If you write one or two tickets, the (word) will get out.”
Council jobs filled
At an organizational meeting on March 15, the council reappointed Sue Thaler as president, swore in Christina Adams for another term and re-elected Gene Adams as mayor.
Kathy Gross, who won another term because she was unopposed, was sworn in March 24 after she was unable to attend the March 15 meeting.
Although the council always appoints its president, it rarely elects a mayor. The vote on March 15 resulted from a campaign paperwork error that disqualified Adams from the regular March election.
Since no one else filed to run for the mayor’s post on March 8, the council was required to seek mayoral candidates and appoint a new mayor on March 15 in order to avoid paying for a special election. Gene Adams was the only person in town to request consideration for mayor.
Gross was reappointed as the Town Council’s deputy bookkeeper.
The council made the following appointments to the Planning and Zoning Board: Keith Black for District 1, Tom Goudreau for District 2, Jerry Lower for District 3, Brad Keller for District 4 and Kris Weir to an at-large seat. Bob Jurovaty was appointed as an alternate. A second alternate spot is still open. Interested candidates should contact the town clerk.
In other business:
• The council asked the police chief to look into how much it would cost to relocate two license plate recognition cameras from the State Road A1A intersection at Cordova Avenue two blocks south to the intersection at Briny Breezes Boulevard.
If the cameras are moved, Jones asked the council to also consider adding a third camera at the Briny Breezes Boulevard intersection to capture northbound, southbound and eastbound traffic.
A third camera would cost $2,500.
• The town will hold its first workshop for the 2022-23 budget on June 23 at 3 p.m., one hour before the start of the council’s regular monthly meeting.
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