Beach gunfire disturbance — Delray Beach police responded to reports of multiple rounds of gunfire shot in the air near the beach as June 21 turned into June 22 near South Ocean Boulevard and East Atlantic Avenue, said police spokesman Ted White.
A large group of young adults had gathered near the beach around midnight and dispersed when the shots went off, White said. No one was hurt, but the incident remains an active investigation, White said. Anyone with information about this crime is asked to call Detective Kyle Kinney at 561-243-7828.
Another would-be DDA board member in question — A whistleblower whose complaint resulted in a Downtown Development Authority board member’s ouster now faces the same question of ineligibility that she raised about the ousted board member she replaced.
And the twist is that the ousted board member is the one who raised the issue about the whistleblower’s eligibility.
Got that?
Businesswoman Mavis Benson was appointed to a seat on the DDA board June 18 after her complaint about how board member Rick Burgess was ineligible to serve resulted in his ouster in April. But before Benson was seated, City Attorney Lynn Gelin said Benson was ineligible based on Burgess’s report — for the same reason the City Commission kicked Burgess off the board that oversees marketing for Delray Beach’s downtown.
Neither Benson nor Burgess pays taxes on property in the downtown district as DDA board guidelines require, although Burgess has since moved his business.
To fill two other seats, the City Commission chose Harold Van Arnem, in the investment business, and Jim Knight, who runs the real estate brokerage business Knight Group. Two incumbents who wanted second, three-year terms, Mark Denkler and Christine Godbout, did not get nods.
Police chief’s employment extended — Chief Russ Mager is going to extend his 28 years with the Delray Beach Police Department past the 30-year mark, after he agreed to continue leading the force for two additional years after his planned retirement in December.
Mager, a Tallahassee native who grew up in South Florida, entered the Deferred Retirement Option Plan program in January 2020, so that his last day would have been Dec. 31, 2024. But City Manager Terrence Moore has announced Mager is staying on, considering the flux at the city’s Fire Rescue Department.
Fire Rescue Chief Keith Tomey was fired from his job in May and Kevin Green has taken the reins on an interim basis there.
“I’ve determined that the continuation of stable organizational leadership structure for the time being in the Delray Beach Police Department is in the best interest” of the city, Moore wrote in his June 14 newsletter.
Golf course updates carry $15 million price tag — Renovating the city-run Delray Beach Golf Club rose to the top of city priorities at the City Commission’s May goal-setting session, and Missy Barletto, public works director, gave a status update at the June 18 commission meeting.
Full-scale renovations are needed for irrigation, tees, fairways, and maintenance building facilities, she told commissioners. Consultants also recommended new maintenance equipment and increasing annual operational resources.
The city has re-engaged Sanford Golf Design to provide design, bidding and construction services, Barletto said. A 2020 contract with the consultant ended when the city considered pursuing a public-private partnership to run the club at the point that 60% of the contract had been completed.
Barletto showed the commission a list of golf course projects that total more than $15 million. A replacement of the water main, which would cost $1 million, might not need to be done, Barletto said.
— Anne Geggis
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