community garden - News - The Coastal Star2024-03-29T09:41:28Zhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/feed/tag/community+gardenBoca Raton: Late mayor’s name to grace city’s Community Gardenhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-late-mayor-s-name-to-grace-city-s-community-garden2023-06-28T14:29:28.000Z2023-06-28T14:29:28.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p><strong>By Steve Plunkett</strong></p>
<p>The Boca Raton Community Garden in Meadows Park will bear the name of one of its original guiding lights, the late Mayor Susan Whelchel.<br />Whelchel, who died in November, “was a wonderful steward for our great city,” said Jamie Sauer, past president of the Junior League of Boca Raton. “She loved and cared for <a href="{{#staticFileLink}}12127781454,RESIZE_180x180{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}12127781454,RESIZE_180x180{{/staticFileLink}}" width="100" alt="12127781454?profile=RESIZE_180x180" /></a>everyone and made a huge difference in so many ways for the city of Boca Raton.”<br />At the City Council’s June 13 meeting, Sauer told how in 2008 in her first year as mayor, Whelchel reached out to the Junior League, which she had joined in 1984, with an idea for a partnership. <br />“Not only had she researched a community garden, but she knew our organization was the one to make it happen,” Sauer said.<br />Not only would it be the first community garden in the city, but it would also help feed the community by donating 10% of everything it grew to Boca Helping Hands, Sauer said.<br />The city donated the land, first beside the Downtown Library and currently at Meadows Park, and helped pay for the startup costs and upkeep. The Junior League began the garden, built and leased plots, and grew “this incredible partnership,” Sauer said.<br />“It’s cultivated by the Junior League of Boca Raton and we, along with volunteers throughout the city, will continue to pour love into this garden like Susan did,” she said. The proposal to rename the facility the Susan Whelchel Community Garden touched everyone on the City Council dais.<br />Deputy Mayor Monica Mayotte recalled how Whelchel had appointed her to the city’s Green Living Advisory Board, which had two of the first plots in the garden.<br />“And we, the advisory board members, took turns watering it every day; we had our assigned day. So the community garden is near and dear to my heart, too,” Mayotte said.<br />Council member Fran Nachlas said: “It is the only place that I’ve ever been able to grow something that keeps living.”<br />Council member Yvette Drucker, who belongs to the Junior League, remembered working to find grant money to get the garden built next to the library downtown.<br />“So it’s something that she really pushed forward to bring to the city and to get it done. And I was on a volunteer side before I was elected,” she said.<br />Mayor Scott Singer called it “the perfect overlap” given the unity between Whelchel’s Junior League service and city service.<br />Whelchel was elected to the City Council in 1995 and later served as deputy mayor and vice chairwoman of the Community Redevelopment Agency. She was elected mayor in 2008, reelected in 2011 and was named the Junior League’s Woman Volunteer of the Year in 2016. She also served two years on the Palm Beach County School Board.<br />“Her dedication and unselfish service to the residents of Boca Raton are greatly appreciated and worthy of recognition,” said the resolution the City Council unanimously approved.<br />Later this summer or in the fall, the Junior League and the city will have a ribbon-cutting to officially honor the former mayor, Sauer said. </p></div>Delray Beach: The final harvesthttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/delray-beach-the-final-harvest2022-05-04T17:19:20.000Z2022-05-04T17:19:20.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><strong><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}10464218692,RESIZE_930x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}10464218692,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="710" alt="10464218692?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></a></strong><em>Volunteers gather one last time in April after cleaning up the garden land next to Cason United Methodist Church, which has agreed to sell the property. The fruit and vegetable garden had been there since 2008. <strong>Photos by Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star</strong></em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-size:12pt;">Garden volunteers lament closing but seek new digs</span></p>
<p><strong>By Janis Fontaine</strong></p>
<p>All that remains of the once flourishing community garden near the corner of Lake Ida Road and Swinton Avenue is black weed cloth and concrete blocks. The property is being sold and the garden had to go. <br />Cason United Methodist Church has been entertaining offers on the valuable Delray Beach acreage for 10 years. A soccer complex almost came to fruition. Other failed proposals included a water park and a homeless services facility. The current sale of the 4-acre tract won’t be final until the end of the year, but the scuttlebutt is that ten $1 million houses will be built there. <br />Gary Broidis of Atlantic Commercial Group is handling the sale, but remains mum about the buyer, the sale price and any development plans. <br />Garden manager Candy Evans called the closing of Cason Community Garden after 14 years “bittersweet.”</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}10464219683,RESIZE_930x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}10464219683,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="710" alt="10464219683?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></a><em>Candy Evans, Cason Community Garden founder, receives a farewell hug from a volunteer at the garden.</em></p>
<p>Evans was there with co-founder Lori Robbins when the first shovelful of dirt was turned over in 2008, and she gave the final orders as the organic garden closed April 9. A feeling of gratitude was evident as she exchanged hugs with volunteers she’s cultivated over the years. <br />The community garden at 342 N. Swinton Ave. began as a Hail Mary to help keep Cason United Methodist Church open. It turns 120 years old this year. But in 2008, the membership was dwindling and leaders were planning to close the church. <br />As members brainstormed ways to keep the church open, Evans and Robbins suggested using the vacant land just west of the church, unused for decades, as a public community garden. <br />“We never thought it would make any money,” Evans said. “We just wanted to do something positive for the community.”<br /> Evans and Robbins were guided by three Christian responsibilities: feeding the needy, educating the public and being stewards of the Earth. A garden, they thought, would do all three. <br />There was one snag: Neither knew much about vegetable gardening. <br />“But we had everlasting faith,” Evans said. <br /><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}10464223655,RESIZE_180x180{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}10464223655,RESIZE_180x180{{/staticFileLink}}" width="101" alt="10464223655?profile=RESIZE_180x180" /></a>One day, Michael Lorne of Lorne & Sons Funeral Home found himself carpooling to Miami with the Rev. Linda Mobley of Cason. When Mobley told Lorne, who has a degree in horticulture and is a master gardener, about the new garden, he couldn’t get involved fast enough. Through the years he offered guidance to citizens who bought plots. <br />The garden was started with donated compost and weed cloth, and Evans brought a hose from home that stretched from the church across the parking lot to the garden. <br />In telling the story to the Florida United Methodist Foundation, Evans said: “With every step in the building of the garden at Cason, doors opened, and volunteers and supplies were offered. With God’s hand, we were guided through.” <br />Like the church, Lorne & Sons has served the community for decades, since the 1950s. Michael Lorne hoped to take a different career path, in horticulture. But the family business needed him, and he took his place there in the 1970s. Gardening instead became an avocation, and he loved teaching Cason’s plot-owners the basics of Florida gardening without chemicals. <br />The first-year crops included strawberries, green beans, Swiss chard, heirloom tomatoes, melons, collard greens, beets, herbs and six kinds of peppers. Enthusiasm for the project grew each year and soon there was a waiting list for plots. <br />“A professor from the University of Florida came to visit and said it was one of the finest community gardens she’d ever seen,” Lorne said. “It’s a lot of work. You have to have eyes on your plants every day.” <br />Gardening without chemicals is especially hard because insects in Florida flourish like weeds. “It’s a real hands-on project and Candy Evans is the reason it was successful,” Lorne said.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}10464220697,RESIZE_930x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}10464220697,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="710" alt="10464220697?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></a><em>The garden had some floral touches but mostly grew organic produce. More than 25,000 pounds of its food went to Delray’s </em><em>Caring Kitchen to feed people in need. <strong>Photo provided</strong></em></p>
<p>As a result of the garden, things began to change around the church. It had more laughter, hugging and banter, people helping each other, everything members wanted the church to be. Cason UMC became known as “the church with the garden.” Sunday attendance more than doubled, from 75 in 2008 to 165 in 2012. <br /> The garden doubled in size too, from 2,500 to 5,000 square feet, with plots in two sizes. Some were rented by families and groups, others by individuals or couples. Evans, who had found support at the church as a new mom of triplets in the early ’90s, now had three teenage helpers and an ability to delegate. <br />“I have no problem telling people what to do,” Evans said. With her calm manner she doesn’t sound bossy. And she’s grateful for the help from people like Keith Humphries, whose red pickup was a familiar sight, always carting something somewhere. “Many hands make light work” is one of Evans’ favorite sayings. <br />The garden closing coincided with a day set aside locally for the annual Great American Cleanup, a months-long event sponsored by Keep America Beautiful Inc. The April 9 event sponsors were the county’s Solid Waste Authority and Keep Palm Beach County Beautiful. Evans and her volunteers left the garden area as neat as a pin so the church wouldn’t be fined by the city as it waits for the sale of the land.<br /> Humphries’ final job was to haul away the last few plants and the garden bench where people had so often rested weary legs and backs after work. His mornings will no longer include watering or weeding plants. <br />“I probably put in about 15 hours a week,” said Humphries, who lost his wife a year ago. The garden had been his respite. He’s putting his Lake Ida house on the market, and he hasn’t looked too far past that.<br />The community garden premise is simple: People pay a fee for a plot and grow whatever they like under the guidance of a volunteer master gardener and with the support of the garden community. Gardeners get to keep most of their organic produce, but are asked to give at least 10% to soup kitchens and other charities that feed homeless people.<br /> And that may be the biggest tangible loss. Evans estimates the garden gave away 25,000 pounds of organic produce to the Caring Kitchen in Delray Beach over the years. Now, the kitchen will have to buy vegetables to feed the hungry. In 2012 there were more than 20 local community gardens. Today there are a handful. <br />“It’s harder to find volunteers,” Evans said. <br />There’s also less interest among younger generations to work the land. <br />What will happen now? No one knows. At Cason, Robin Fogel is spearheading the search for a new spot for the garden. The gardeners would like 5,000 square feet, and it has to be full sun, fairly flat and cost nothing to take over. <br />“It would be a shame if the garden never found a new home,” Evans said. “Gardens are special because all at once you can connect with the earth, your spirituality and your community.” <br />Annual events, such as the popular pumpkin patch in the fall, are still planned on the remaining acreage, but smaller in scale. </p>
<p><em>For more information on how to help the garden find a new location, call the church at 561-276-5302.</em> </p></div>Gardens: ‘Ladies of Garden’ dig the dirt, and it shows in Boca and beyondhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/gardens-ladies-of-garden-dig-the-dirt-and-it-shows-in-boca-and-be2021-12-28T17:53:10.000Z2021-12-28T17:53:10.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><em><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}9962586078,RESIZE_930x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9962586078,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="710" alt="9962586078?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></a>Joan Witter, who coined the name ’Ladies of the Garden’ for her crew, describes what needs to be done during one of their weekly meet-ups at the club grounds. </em><strong>Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star</strong></p>
<p><em>This is the first in a series on four local garden clubs.</em></p>
<p><strong>By Jan Engoren</strong></p>
<p>With tips such as “keeping homegrown roses for future decorating” and topics such as “Everything We Need to Know About Crotons” and “Sustainable Gardening in Florida,” the Boca Raton Garden Club has inspired gardeners and would-be gardeners alike.<br /> Celebrating 68 years in 2022, the nonprofit has missions of stimulating knowledge of gardens among amateurs, encouraging civic beautification, maintaining Florida’s natural beauty and furthering club programs.<br /> Unlike many other garden clubs, the Boca Raton club has its own building and grounds. It owns the property at 4281 NW Third Ave., complete with native plants, orchids and flowering trees.<br /> The grounds are maintained by the club’s “dirt gardeners,” women who work in and maintain the gardens.<br /> Joan Witter is one of them, but she prefers the term “Ladies of the Garden.”<br />Witter joined the club three years ago when she retired from her horticulture and landscaping business.<br /> Originally from Iowa, Witter says, “Green is green wherever you go.” She meets with her crew on Mondays, when they maintain the grounds by propagating, weeding, trimming and relocating plants.<br />They have 50 native orchids growing in trees, bromeliads, the yesterday-today-and-tomorrow plant (Brunfelsia pauciflora), the Chinese hat plant (Holmskioldia sanguinea), Dombeya trees, thryallis evergreen shrubs, clerodendrum and hibiscus shrubs, among others.<br /> The club, which has 150 members, holds its meetings the first Tuesday of each month from October through May at 1 p.m. Meetings are open to the public and visitors are welcome at one or two meetings before joining. Annual dues are $50 in addition to $12 for administrative fees.<br /> Mary Kaub, a former teacher and second-term president of the club, joined nine years ago when she became an empty nester. “I’ve learned so much about native plants, the environment and landscaping,” she says. “There is a wealth of information among our members.”<br /> Kaub studied three years to become an accredited floral design judge and says she has taught all four grandchildren how to garden.<br /> “Once they put down the computer, come outside and see a cocoon with a butterfly, they’re hooked,” Kaub says.<br /> During the coronavirus pandemic, Kaub, Dellie Krebs and other members sewed nearly 2,500 face masks for members of the community and health care workers. <br /> The club participates in the Million Orchid Project created by the American Orchid Society and the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in Miami. The project was launched in 2013 to reintroduce native orchids in the environment. Orchids, once naturally abundant in Florida, were displaced by urbanization, and this is an effort to allow them to flourish naturally.<br /> Additionally, the club hosts a junior gardening program at Whispering Pines Elementary School and before the pandemic did garden therapy with Alzheimer’s patients at the FAU Memory and Wellness Center.<br /> Club members partner with the city to maintain Boca Raton’s Community Garden, work on conservation efforts, and provide scholarships to students in horticulture or other science fields.<br />The club’s ownership of the property dates to 1964, when after some fundraisers it put down $6,000 for three lots.<br />The land had a structure originally used by the Air Force during World War II as a boiler room and coal bin. The club had it rebuilt to include an office, kitchen, restrooms and a horticulture room. In four years, the women paid off the mortgage of $21,491.77.<br />In 1971, they added an auditorium, stage and sound system, which they use to this day. They raise funds year-round to support such efforts.<br />In addition to a bi-annual flower show, fundraisers include the Trash to Treasures, Vintage Jewelry and Plant Sale set for Feb. 18-19; creating custom ornaments; and Holiday House, a craft, baked goods and plant sale which ran in October and raised $18,000.<br /> “Come and join us,” Witter says. “Not only is gardening a wonderful way to learn in a hands-on way, but you will meet some wonderful people.”</p>
<p><br /><em>The club will hold its general meeting at 1 p.m. Jan. 4 in its clubhouse, 4281 NW Third Ave. The speaker will be floral designer Susie Slater, who will present “Horticulture in Design Arts,” an overview and demonstration. Free and open to the public. For more info call 561-395-9376 or visit bocaratongardenclub.org.</em></p></div>Boca Raton: Brightline station gets final OK from cityhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-brightline-station-gets-final-ok-from-city2021-09-29T14:25:02.000Z2021-09-29T14:25:02.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong>By Mary Hladky</strong></p>
<p>Now that the City Council has given its long-awaited approval, construction of Brightline’s Boca Raton station is imminent. Council members unanimously authorized construction of the station and adjacent parking garage on Aug. 24.<br /> “This has been the culmination of a lot of work,” Mayor Scott Singer said.<br /> “It has been a very collaborative process to come to where we are today,” said Deputy City Manager George Brown.<br /> At the time, Brightline officials anticipated that the work would begin in September, but had not set a date as of Sept. 21. They also expected the station would open in the second quarter of 2022.<br /> The $46 million project will be located on city-owned land along the FEC railway tracks immediately east of the Downtown Library. In 2019, the city agreed to lease 1.8 acres of its land there to Brightline for 29 years, but with renewals could total 89 years.<br /> Work has been completed on a surface parking lot near the station that will be available to library patrons while construction is underway.<br /> Brightline agreed to spend up to $300,000 to move the Junior League of Boca Raton’s Community Garden, which has been displaced by the station. The new garden at Meadows Park will open on Oct. 16 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.<br /> The 1.4-acre garden will have about 100 lots available for lease. Ten percent of all fruits and vegetables harvested will be donated to Boca Helping Hands.<br /> Brightline plans a 9,035-square-foot station and a 4.5-story garage with 455 parking spaces. Surface parking will provide another 109 spaces.<br /> Library patrons will be able to use the surface parking and 64 reserved garage spaces. The remainder will be available to Brightline passengers and the public.<br /> A $16.3 million U.S. Department of Transportation grant will help pay for the station and garage. Brightline will pay $20 million of the station cost and the city will spend $9.9 million on the garage.<br /> Brightline halted rail service between Miami and West Palm Beach in March 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. It will resume service in early November.</p></div>Boca Raton: Work starts on new garden, Brightline parking lothttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-work-starts-on-new-garden-brightline-parking-lot2021-06-02T13:56:06.000Z2021-06-02T13:56:06.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p style="text-align:center;"><strong><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}9025548297,RESIZE_930x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9025548297,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="710" alt="9025548297?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></a></strong><em>Celebrating the new garden are (l-r) Brightline President Patrick Goddard, City Council members Andy Thomson and Andrea O’Rourke, Mayor Scott Singer, council members Monica Mayotte and Yvette Drucker, Junior League President-elect Jamie Sauer, incoming Junior League Managing Director Samantha Eckhart, and Junior League President Cristy Stewart-Harfmann. <strong>Photo provided</strong></em></p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>By Mary Hladky</strong></p>
<p>Brightline broke ground on May 10 for a new community garden at Meadows Park and a temporary parking lot that Downtown Library patrons will use while a train station and parking garage are under construction.<br />The upscale train company has not announced when it will begin work on the station, which will be located immediately east of the library along the FEC railroad tracks, but it is expected to be completed in 2022.<br />The station displaces the Junior League of Boca Raton’s community garden. In its negotiations with the city, Brightline agreed to spend up to $300,000 to move the garden.<br />The groundbreaking was a low-key affair, limited to a small group of City Council, Brightline and Junior League officials because of the pandemic.<br />“The community garden is an important investment to creating more sustainable and resilient communities. This is the first phase of construction activity as we work to bring Brightline to Boca Raton,” Brightline President Patrick Goddard said in a statement.<br />The Junior League and gardeners approved the Meadows Park location. The 1.4-acre garden will be larger than the previous one and will contain about 100 plots.<br />“We’re excited to be partnering with the city and Brightline on this new location for the community garden. We believe it will be a real asset to the community,” said Junior League President Cristy Stewart-Harfmann.<br />Brightline halted rail service between Miami and West Palm Beach in March 2020 due to the pandemic. Brightline said in January that it is likely to resume service at the end of this year. </p></div>Boca Raton: Community Garden begins move to make way for train stationhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-community-garden-begins-move-to-make-way-for-train-sta2020-03-04T18:00:00.000Z2020-03-04T18:00:00.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960933867,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960933867,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" width="600" alt="7960933867?profile=original" /></a></p>
<p><strong>By Margie Plunkett</strong></p>
<p>The Junior League’s Community Garden, located along the Florida East Coast Railway tracks east of the Downtown Library, closed its eastern half in late February to make room for construction of the new Virgin Trains station.<br /> The garden, which has been at its current site by 400 NW Second Ave. for a decade, will fully close by mid-April and has been preparing for relocation to Meadows Park, where it hopes to open in the fall.<br /> “We’re using this opportunity to see what we would do differently in this garden if we could go back 10 years,” said Junior League President Cristy Stewart-Harfmann.<br /> The Junior League has a verbal agreement with a contract in the works for the new Meadows Park location, at 1300 NW Eighth St., and has been working with Virgin Trains, formerly Brightline, to design the new garden. Virgin Trains has pledged $300,000 to help move the garden. The new site is 2 acres, while the library site was just under that amount.<br /> Volunteers took to the east side of the garden in mid-February to get it ready for closing. The group donated recyclable items like soil, mulch, plastic plot beds and garden supplies to area nonprofits and schools so those organizations can start their own gardens.<br /> They also donated fruits and remaining vegetables to Boca Helping Hands. During growing season, each gardener donates 10% of the fruits and vegetables grown to Boca Helping Hands, while all the fruits in the Food Forest go to that charity. In the last decade, the garden has donated 10,000 pounds to the group, Stewart-Harfmann said.<br /> A Virgin Trains-supplied landscape architect is working with the Junior League to design the new garden, hoping to include features like a pergola, making sure there’s a great connection with next-door Boca Raton Middle School and enlarging a composting area. They’re also studying including more raised beds that would allow access to people in wheelchairs. <br /> “But the big project and biggest concern with the location is that there’s an irrigation ditch or canal there and there’s a number of iguanas,” Stewart-Harfmann said. Part of the challenge with the cost of the project are recommendations to keep iguanas out, possibly including special fencing around the garden and around trees to keep iguanas from climbing or digging in.<br /> “A couple iguanas getting into the garden could mean all the fruits and vegetables could disappear in an afternoon,” Stewart-Harfmann said.<br /> Simultaneous to the design work, the Junior League has been discussing relocating trees in the Food Forest, where fruits like papayas are harvested and pineapples have been planted. While trees in the forest will be transplanted, the plants in the garden plots won’t be. Those plants are replanted every year, and the growing season is almost over this year, Stewart-Harfmann said. <br /> Looking back on the first 10 years of the garden, Stewart-Harfmann said, “It really has been successful. It’s been amazing to see. We have a number of nonprofits that come out, individual gardeners, restaurants like Kapow that have leased plots with us. We’ve created an amazing culture of gardeners. They have potluck meals together. We have a variety of different events. It’s become an amazing community.”<br /> While Stewart-Harfmann doesn’t know yet whether all the nearly 100 plot leasers will come over to the new garden, or whether the annual lease prices will remain the same, she expects nothing will be lost of the garden’s purpose and community.<br /> “The Junior League is really excited about this opportunity to rebuild and start fresh in a new location.” she said. “We’re just so grateful to all those gardeners who’ve wanted to be a part of this for the last decade. And we look forward to being a real opportunity for more people to learn about the garden. We hope the community sees this as a real gift due to the partnership of the Junior League, city and Brightline.”</p></div>Boca Raton: Virgin Trains station hailed as victory for cityhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-virgin-trains-station-hailed-as-victory-for-city2019-12-31T23:30:00.000Z2019-12-31T23:30:00.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960914098,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960914098,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" width="600" alt="7960914098?profile=original" /></a><em>Patrick Goddard, president of Virgin Trains, speaks during a news conference after the City Council’s 5-0 vote to OK a station in Boca Raton. From left are Andrea O’Rourke, Mayor Scott Singer, Jeremy Rodgers and Monica Mayotte. <strong>Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star</strong></em></p>
<p><strong>By Mary Hladky</strong></p>
<p>Even before City Council members cast their votes, a euphoric Mayor Scott Singer hailed their approval of a deal that would allow construction of a Virgin Trains station and parking garage on city-owned land. <br /> “This will be a moment of triumph for Boca Raton,” he told residents at a jam-packed Dec. 10 council meeting.<br /> A unanimous council quickly made it official: The city will lease 1.8 acres east of the Downtown Library to Virgin Trains for the much-coveted station and garage, beating out other cities that badly wanted this prize. Even station critics expected no other outcome.<br /> Standing minutes later with Virgin Trains President Patrick Goddard, Singer declared, “Tonight was a great win for Boca Raton.”<br /> “I think it is phenomenal,” Goddard said. “Creating mobility is what we are all about.”<br /> But before shovels hit the ground, the city and for-profit rail company have more work to do.<br /> Virgin Trains will submit a site plan for the station and garage that the council must approve. The plan will provide project specifics, such as the final designs of both buildings, which could spur new objections from station opponents.<br /> Virgin Trains also will submit a study on how the station and garage will affect traffic on nearby streets. The traffic analysis will be used to determine if any road changes or improvements are needed. If so, decisions will have to be made on how to pay for them.<br /> The City Council must approve a temporary parking lot on city-owned land south of the Downtown Library that patrons can use while much of the existing library parking lot is blocked off during station and garage construction.<br /> One significant matter remains unresolved. Virgin Trains wanted the construction of an elevated pedestrian bridge that would let people walk safely across busy Dixie and Federal highways to Mizner Park.<br /> Deputy City Manager George Brown said at the Dec. 10 meeting that the bridge may not be feasible since it would need approvals from Florida East Coast Railway, the county, state and property owners.<br /> The bridge could cost between $7 million and $12 million. The potential price tag is high because the bridge likely would need to be enclosed and air-conditioned due to Florida’s climate. That has prompted concerns about vagrants camping out in the bridge.<br /> An alternative is an enhanced pedestrian walkway at ground level that is less costly and easier to achieve, Brown said.<br /> While Virgin Trains hasn’t crossed the finish line yet, the rail company is expected to move just as quickly to iron out final matters as it did to get the long-term lease. The city and company reached an agreement less than five months after Virgin Trains said it wanted to build a station in the city.<br /> Virgin Trains hopes to break ground in February or March, with the station completed and operating by the end of 2020.<br /> Residents filled every seat in the council chambers and spilled into an overflow room for the chance to speak for or against the project. More than 60 voiced their opinions during the nearly six-hour meeting.<br /> Key business groups, employers and many residents are thrilled to have a station, saying it will lure more companies to locate in the city, increase property values, draw visitors to cultural venues and provide an alternative to clogged Interstate 95 to reach West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale and Miami, where Virgin Trains already has stations.<br /> “It certainly is a game-changer for our city,” said Troy McLellan, CEO of the Boca Chamber. “The overwhelming support throughout the city is loud and clear.”<br /> Jorge Pesquera, CEO of Discover the Palm Beaches, said having a station in Boca Raton is like “winning the lottery.”<br /> But residents of the Library Commons neighborhood just north of the station site objected to a 4.5-story garage looming over their homes and fear Virgin Trains eventually will damage the character of the area by developing adjacent city-owned and privately owned land.<br /> Supporters of the heavily used Downtown Library also worry about the potential for multistory development and patrons losing easy access to the building.<br /> Others expressed doubts that Virgin Trains is financially viable and sharply questioned city officials about their rationale for leasing land to the rail company for the nominal amount of $1 a year and paying most of the cost of the garage.<br /> “It is basically a giveaway to a private company,” said Manju Pendakur, a retired Florida Atlantic University professor.<br /> Library Commons resident Charles Bennardini said Virgin Trains’ goal is to develop land near the station.<br /> “They are interested in using your tax dollars to further their revenue interests,” he said.<br /> But opponents failed to sway council members.<br /> “This is about an opportunity, a rare opportunity,” Singer said, later adding, “This is an investment worth making.”<br /> Council member Andrea O’Rourke said 98% of the emails she received about the station came from people supporting it.<br /> “To have the opportunity to have this train station is invaluable,” said council member Monica Mayotte. “The economic value this station will bring is evident.”<br /> <a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960914677,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960914677,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" width="450" alt="7960914677?profile=original" /></a>Virgin Trains will pay for the $25 million station and nearly $2 million for 64 garage spaces on the ground floor reserved for library patrons, who will park at no cost and will have their own garage entrance.<br /> The city will pay the lion’s share — nearly $12 million — of the remaining cost of building the 455-space garage, which Virgin Trains will operate and maintain. Virgin Trains will give 50% of the garage revenues to the city. Drivers who don’t use the train or library also will be able to park in the garage.<br /> The city’s share of garage cost will not result in a tax increase, Brown said. The money is coming from city reserves.<br /> The city considers the lease a land sale because of its length. The initial lease term is 29 years but with renewals could total 89 years.<br /> Virgin Trains initially asked the city to donate about 4 city-owned acres east and south of the Downtown Library. It wanted to develop about half of that.<br /> The company put development plans on ice after hearing strong objections from residents, but that does not mean they have been scrapped. Virgin Trains has a right of first refusal if the city decides to sell the property after Dec. 31, 2024. The city would not sell it before then.<br /> City code requires any sale or lease of city property to be done at fair market value. There is an exception, however, for the sale or lease of property that would be of “significant economic benefit” to the city.<br /> Virgin Trains provided an economic impact study that says the station will contribute $15.5 million annually in economic benefits, including $10.9 million in money spent by visitors using the train to come to Boca Raton.<br /> In a concession to Library Commons residents, Virgin Trains agreed in November to push the garage 25 feet south. Adding in a 20-foot easement, there will be a 45-foot buffer between the neighborhood and the garage. <br /> The rail company also will pay up to $300,000 to relocate the Junior League of Boca Raton’s Community Garden, which will be displaced by the station and garage. City officials have identified Meadows Park as a potential new location for it because it has ample parking, room for expansion and is pesticide-free.<br /> While that doesn’t satisfy some of the avid gardeners, most Junior League members and gardeners who spoke at the Dec. 10 meeting supported the Meadows Park location.<br /> Virgin Trains’ financial viability remains a concern for some residents. A consultant’s report to the city found that while ridership and revenues are increasing, both fall significantly below projections. <br /> But Jose Gonzalez, executive vice president of Florida East Coast Industries, told council members that the projections cited by Colliers International are outdated because they are based on Virgin Trains’ having service to Orlando. FECI is a subsidiary of the private equity firm that operates Virgin Trains.<br /> Although the Orlando station is built, the start of service was delayed by litigation and is now expected to begin in 2022, he said.<br /> Virgin Trains was on track to have 934,000 passengers in 2019, which Gonzalez said nearly meets the company’s targets.<br /> The company also has approvals to build stations at PortMiami and Aventura. Those and the Boca Raton station will increase ridership by 2 million passengers once they are operational, the company has said.<br /> To protect the city against the possibility that Virgin Trains could go out of business, its deal with the rail company says it may terminate the lease for the station and garage land if the company discontinues service or service diminishes substantially. <br /> In that worst-case scenario, the city would take over the parking garage and could repurpose the train station for other uses.<br /> Virgin Trains, the rebranded name of Brightline, has drawn scrutiny for the number of people who have died on its tracks.<br /> While all railroads in South Florida have struck people, Virgin Trains is responsible for the most deaths, according to an analysis by the Associated Press.<br /> None of the deaths was caused by crew error or faulty equipment, according to federal reports. The majority have been suicides, while others involved people who tried to beat the train or ignored gates and warnings.<br /> In early December, Goddard said the company would contribute $150,000 to support the 211 Palm Beach/Treasure Coast Helpline, a service for people with mental health issues. <br /> That would be added to $500,000 in state funding that State Rep. Mike Caruso, R-Delray Beach, is seeking in a bill intended to reduce the number of suicides by train.<br /> The Florida Department of Transportation also has announced it will spend $60 million to make safety improvements to more than 4,000 rail crossings over the next two years.</p></div>Boca Raton: Virgin moves full steam ahead to get Boca stationhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-virgin-moves-full-steam-ahead-to-get-boca-station2019-12-04T18:30:00.000Z2019-12-04T18:30:00.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960910868,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960910868,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960910868?profile=original" /></a><em>This south-facing image shows Dixie Highway on the left and a vegetative buffer between the proposed parking garage and the Library Commons neighborhood on the right. <strong>Rendering provided</strong></em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Related Story: Brightline tries to deal with nation’s worst <a href="https://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/along-the-coast-brightline-tries-to-deal-with-nation-s-worst-deat" target="_blank">death rate</a> on tracks</strong></p>
<p></p>
<p><strong>By Mary Hladky</strong></p>
<p>Negotiations between the city and Virgin Trains USA on a Boca Raton station are moving ahead at breakneck speed, with the City Council expected to vote Dec. 10 on a final deal.<br /> Under an aggressive schedule requested by Virgin Trains, the council would have voted on Nov. 26. But council members and Virgin Trains officials on Nov. 12 agreed to delay a final public hearing for two weeks to give city staff more time to finalize an agreement and to avoid casting a vote in Thanksgiving week when interested residents might be unable to attend.<br /> Even with the delay, the prospect that an agreement could be wrapped up less than five months after Virgin Trains notified the city it wanted to build a station in the downtown is stunning, considering the city approval process for other projects has sometimes dragged on for years.<br /> All signs point to City Council approval. The city’s Planning and Zoning Board on Nov. 21 unanimously voted in favor of recommending that the City Council approve leasing city-owned land to Virgin Trains for the station and a parking garage. A vote on the station and garage site plan will come later.<br /> “I see nothing but good coming out of this train station,” said board member Larry Cellon.<br /> Four days later at a council workshop meeting, Virgin Trains made two concessions intended to soften criticism from residents who live due north of the station and garage site and to make its proposed agreement more financially attractive to the council.<br /> “Thank you for listening to our residents and making the accommodations,” council member Monica Mayotte told Virgin Trains officials.<br /> Virgin Trains is in a hurry, putting pressure on City Council members who badly want a station. The for-profit rail company wants to start construction in March, with the station in operation by the end of 2020.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>City presses on two details</strong></span><br /> Council members have not objected to the main provisions of the most recent draft agreement submitted by Virgin Trains. Those include a long-term lease of 1.8 acres to the rail company for $1 a year and the city’s paying most of the $13.9 million cost of building a parking garage.<br /> Virgin Trains will pay for the $25 million station on the site east of the Downtown Library and has pushed off into the future its contentious plans to develop about 2 adjacent acres of city-owned land.<br /> Council members pressed for further negotiations on only two matters: They want a 50% share of the parking garage revenues and a minor revision to the garage location so there is a greater buffer between it and the Library Commons neighborhood north of the garage.<br /> Brian Kronberg, Virgin Trains’ vice president for development, agreed at the Nov. 25 workshop meeting to split the garage revenues, but did not specify the amount.<br /> While Library Commons residents and Friends of the Boca Raton Library don’t object to the station, they want the 4.5-story parking garage moved so it doesn’t loom over their neighborhood. <br /> City Council members signaled no interest in a big change to Virgin Trains’ proposed garage location. The majority suggested moving the garage 20 feet south, which would provide a bigger buffer space for Library Commons but still leave land available for potential future development.<br /> Virgin Trains on Nov. 25 agreed to push it 25 feet south. With that, and an existing 20-foot city easement that has a sidewalk and landscaping, there would be a 45-foot buffer between the garage and the neighborhood.<br /> The change will have minimal impact on the number of garage parking spaces. Dedicated free spaces will be set aside for library patrons and they will continue to have no-cost surface parking. The garage also will be available to Virgin Trains passengers and the public.<br /> The parking garage would cost nearly $14 million to build, according to Virgin Trains. The city would pay $12 million and Virgin Trains would pay $1.9 million to cover the cost of the dedicated library parking.<br /> The station is supported by many city residents, including those who commute to work, and key institutions such as Florida Atlantic University, Boca Chamber and the Boca Raton Resort & Club.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Critics claim ‘surrender’</strong></span><br /> Library Commons residents and Friends of the Boca Raton Library are the main opponents, objecting to a garage so near the library and neighborhood and what they believe is the eventual certainty of multistory residential and commercial development on their doorstep.<br /> At City Council meetings on Nov. 12 and 13, several residents contended that since Virgin Trains wants a station in Boca Raton, the city has leverage to get concessions but isn’t using it.<br /> Manjunath Pendakur, a retired FAU professor, questioned why the city is “giving land away” for $1 a year.<br /> “We shouldn’t be subsidizing this thing,” said another resident.<br /> Library Commons resident Adam Rosenzweig proposed an alternative parking garage location that would place it immediately west of the station, moving it away from his neighborhood while preserving much of the library’s parking lot and green space. His concept would eliminate any future development on the site.<br /> The city’s talks with Virgin Trains are not a negotiation, he said, but rather “a full-blown surrender.” <br /> “We thought we would hear a lot of tough questions from the dais. We didn’t hear any,” said Library Commons resident and attorney Bill Gelin, who said the station and garage are currently positioned in a way that allows maximum development on the city property.<br /> “You didn’t even ask them to come back with an alternate drawing (for the garage). … Why are you so married to their design?” he asked.<br /> Even though Virgin Trains has put development on hold, Library Commons residents and Friends of the Boca Raton Library see it as inevitable since the company has developed property near its stations in Miami and West Palm Beach.<br /> Their concerns were heightened when word spread recently that two privately owned parcels located south of the station site are in escrow. They believe Virgin Trains is acquiring the properties, but evidence presented to The Coastal Star does not show an obvious link to the rail company. <br /> Even so, private property owners have said Virgin Trains has approached them about selling their property, although none who spoke with the newspaper said they had sold as of mid-November.<br /> That raises the possibility that development could extend beyond the city-owned land that has been the subject of negotiations.<br /> Asked about the two parcels, Ben Porritt, Virgin Trains’ senior vice president for corporate affairs, said in an email, “I have nothing to offer you at this time on the properties.” </p>
<p><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Viability questioned</strong></span><br /> One issue the City Council has barely addressed is Virgin Trains’ economic viability. Some residents fear the company could go out of business, and a consultant’s report to the city wasn’t reassuring.<br /> Although ridership and revenue are increasing, both fall below projections, according to the report by Colliers International. A total of 2.1 million riders were projected in 2019, but Virgin Trains was on track to have only 934,000.<br /> Virgin Trains is adding stations at PortMiami, Aventura and probably Boca Raton, which the company says will increase ridership by 2 million passengers once the stations are in operation.<br /> In 2018, its first year of operations, Virgin Trains lost $117 million on $10 million in total revenue. The company is expected to earn $20.4 million in 2019, or only 26% of its revenue projection, the report says.<br /> Mayotte, who requested the financial data, asked if Virgin Trains has adequate funding to build and operate a Boca Raton station. <br /> A company official told her that Virgin Trains closed on $1.75 billion in private activity bonds in April. In a news release, the company said that with the closing, it has enough money to lay rail tracks from West Palm Beach to Orlando. The construction is expected to be completed in 2022.<br /> The draft agreement between the city and the rail company states that the city may terminate the lease for the station and parking garage land if Virgin Trains discontinues service or if service diminishes substantially.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Land request set aside</strong></span><br /> When Virgin Trains informed city officials in July that it wanted to build a station in the downtown, it asked for the donation of about 4 acres east and south of the library.<br /> Virgin Trains would develop those portions of the land not used for a station and garage. Company officials offered no concrete plans, but said it could include high-rise residential, retail, office and hotel.<br /> Since then, Virgin Trains has backed off the land donation request. In September, it asked for an option to buy a portion of the land at fair market value for a transit-oriented development.<br /> But that idea complicated efforts to reach a quick agreement with the city. So Virgin Trains said it would put aside development plans for now.<br /> Most recently, Virgin Trains is seeking a right of first refusal if the city decides to sell the property that the company eventually wants to develop after Dec. 31, 2024. The city would not sell it before then.<br /> While the rail company would lease the land it wants for the station and parking garage for $1 a year, the city considers it a land sale because of the length of the lease. The initial lease term is 29 years, but with renewals could total 89 years.<br /> City code requires any sale or lease of city property be done at fair market value. There is an exception, however, for the sale or lease of property that would be of “significant economic benefit” to the city.<br /> Virgin Trains has provided an economic impact study that says the station would contribute $15.5 million annually in economic benefits, including $10.9 million in money spent by visitors using Virgin Trains to come to Boca Raton.<br /> Virgin Trains has agreed to spend as much as $300,000 to relocate the Junior League of Boca Raton’s Community Garden, which will be displaced by the station.<br /> City officials think they have found the perfect spot for it in the southeast area of Meadows Park at 1300 NW Eighth St. While it is not in the downtown, council members were told that the Junior League likes the location because it has ample parking, room for expansion and is pesticide-free.<br /> Virgin Trains had asked the city to fund an elevated pedestrian bridge over Dixie Highway so that people can walk from the station across the busy roadway into the downtown. The company has since said it would help the city get grants to finance the bridge.</p></div>Secret Garden: Gardening skills, friendships bloom in JARC plothttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/secret-garden-gardening-skills-friendships-bloom-in-jarc-plot2018-02-28T15:39:48.000Z2018-02-28T15:39:48.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960770454,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960770454,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" width="600" alt="7960770454?profile=original" /></a><em><strong>ABOVE:</strong> Peter Lasman harvests a ripe eggplant. <strong>BELOW:</strong> Robin Silverman shows off chives and a strawberry she picked. <strong>2017 photos by Deborah S. Hartz-Seeley/The Coastal Star</strong></em></p>
<p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960770677,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960770677,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" width="600" alt="7960770677?profile=original" /></a></p>
<p><strong>By Deborah S. Hartz-Seeley</strong></p>
<p>Peter Lasman, 62, has watched the garden more than double in size since he started working here a decade ago. <br /> Robin Silverman, 67, has just harvested the first strawberry of the season, and she’s happy to show it to you. <br /> Rachael Arbelo, 24, has made friends working in the garden and loves it here. <br /> And Terry Davis, 63, brings pineapple tops from the group home where she lives to plant in the garden. “We work very, very hard,” she said.<br /> These are a few of the more than a dozen regulars who bring life to the Ability Garden associated with the Jewish Association for Residential Care in Boca Raton. This facility provides independent and assisted living as well as educational programs and services to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.<br /> The garden is the handiwork of Kimberli Swann, who started it in 2007.<br /> “No matter what your abilities, you are welcome here,” said Swann, the association’s community garden coordinator and supported living coach.<br /> When she began working at JARC, her job included spending time with resident clients doing meaningful activities. “But taking them bowling and to movies and restaurants wasn’t my thing,” she said. She also had clients in a day program that didn’t keep them busy. <br /> Building on her passion for plants, she decided to create a garden as a way to give all her clients something meaningful to do that would teach them new skills and get them outdoors. <br /> “There was real method to my madness of starting this project,” she said, smiling.<br /> Today the garden encompasses over 800 square feet and soon will almost double in size. “Every year it gets bigger and bigger as I develop new relationships, find new volunteers and get donations to buy fencing to enclose more land,” she said. <br /> She and her clients are proud of the newly installed winding brick pathway among the user-friendly raised beds. “Anyone who is not comfortable bending over can just reach in and garden,” she said, mentioning that the elevated boxes are also wheelchair accessible.<br /> The garden also has new in-ground beds created with the help of volunteers from the Pride Recovery Center in Delray Beach. They’ve been coming here every other week for two years. Ranging in age from 20 to 40, they do the heavy lifting.<br /> On the other weeks, older adults from the Polo Club in Boca Raton work one-on-one with clients, introducing newcomers to the planting of crops and working in the soil.<br /> These crops include eggplants, broccoli, kale, bananas, tomatoes, onions, scallions and even luffas. It amazes just about everyone who sees them that these sponge-like objects come from a vine, not the sea.<br /> When the garden has enough ripe vegetables, the harvest is given to those who work there and to an onsite café, where kale is a favorite to use in soups. <br /> Today, Swann plans to let staff and clients sample some fresh tomatoes and basil harvested from the garden with fresh mozzarella she got from a cheesemaker who lives near her home.<br /> She and a co-worker also have used the harvest to make eggplant Parmigiana. Banana bread is another culinary project the clients enjoy when a hand of bananas ripens. <br /> And if someone is having a bad day, he or she might visit the garden to harvest a pocket full of fragrant lavender leaves, which are touted to have a calming effect.<br /> Swann wants nothing more than to grow her garden so it can become a bigger focal point in her clients’ lives. She raises funds and works with local stores to get donations. This year she hopes to add a seating area and barbecue grill so the clients will have a place to gather for social and educational events.<br /> “We change it out here every year. You never know what you are going to find,” said Swann.</p>
<p><em>You can reach Deborah S. Hartz-Seeley at debhartz@att.net.</em></p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Gardening tip</strong></span><br /><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960770698,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960770698,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-left" width="105" alt="7960770698?profile=original" /></a>“If you are going to plant a garden, you need to have good soil. Soil is your foundation. Here in Florida, the soil tends to be rocky and sandy. So we prefer raised beds that you can fill with good soil, and they are so much more comfortable anyway.” <br /> — JARC community garden coordinator Kimberli Swann</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>If You Go</strong></span><br /><strong>Where:</strong> JARC Community Ability Garden, 21160 95th Ave. S., Boca Raton<br /><strong>What:</strong> A garden designed for and tended by the intellectually and developmentally disabled clients of the Jewish Association for Residential Care in Boca Raton. <br /><strong>When:</strong> The garden is open to JARC clients 9 a.m. to noon on Fridays from September through May and by appointment for all others.<br /><strong>What’s needed:</strong> Volunteers and donations, whether it’s money, seeds, tools, and so on.<br /><strong>For more information:</strong> Contact community garden coordinator Kimberli Swann at 558-2569 (office), 756-0144 (cell), or Garden@jarcfl.org</p></div>Coastal Star: Her idea for a community garden helped cultivate togethernesshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/coastal-star-her-idea-for-a-community-garden-helped-cultivate-tog2016-11-02T17:43:22.000Z2016-11-02T17:43:22.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960689281,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="500" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960689281,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960689281?profile=original" /></a><em>Then-Boca Raton Mayor Susan Whelchel prodded the city to donate land for a community garden in 2010.</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><em>Since then, the Junior League of Boca Raton has managed and supported the garden,</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><em>which has 97 plots that are leased to city residents.</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star</strong></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><strong>By Rich Pollack<br /><br /></strong> As Boca Raton’s mayor during the national economic meltdown, Susan Whelchel could see — and feel — the impact the crisis was having on her city. <br /> “You could just sense in the community that it was time to bring people together,” said Whelchel, who served as mayor from 2008 until 2014. <br /> With bringing people together in mind, she came up with the idea of creating a community garden in Boca Raton — one that would provide a living oasis downtown. <br /> She realized, however, that the city couldn’t do it alone. So she turned to an organization she knew could get the job done well — the Junior League of Boca Raton. <br /> After Whelchel and the league spent a couple of years planning and securing support from city leaders, the Boca Raton Community Garden became a reality in 2011. Today it continues to thrive as a partnership between the city and the Junior League. <br /> Whelchel, 72, a resident of the Royal Palm Yacht and Country Club, is one of 40 women who will be the focus of attention as nominees during the Junior League of Boca Raton’s 29th annual Woman Volunteer of the Year Luncheon on Nov. 18. (See names of all nominees in Philanthropy Notes, Page AT3.)<br /> Whelchel, a Junior League member, says she is humbled to be considered along with other community volunteers. <br /> “Every single one of the nominees is a star and a leader in their organization,” she said. <br /> Whelchel’s role in creating the community garden was a factor in her nomination, but the league is also recognizing her overall leadership in the community and in the community-service group itself. <br /> “Susan has been a mentor and an inspirational figure,” says Kirsten Stanley, president of the Junior League of Boca Raton. “She is an example of how you can translate volunteerism into community activism.”<br /> A league member for more than 35 years, Whelchel is always available to lend a hand to the organization, serving as a celebrity bartender at fundraising events and also as emcee for the annual Woman Volunteer of the Year luncheon for several years. <br /> She has been a speaker at several other events, sharing her experiences during her years in public service, which included serving as a City Council member, mayor and member of the county School Board. <br /> Now retired, along with her husband, John, they enjoy traveling (they have a second home in Colorado) and spending time with family, including 10 grandchildren.<br /> Her thoughts on politics?<br /> “The national political scene has been so disappointing and I, along with everyone I speak with, are hopeful that that type of politics does not filter down to the local or state levels. Politics should bring out the best in people, not the worst. People ask me what I miss about not being in politics any longer. I miss the people. I worked with many wonderful people and I don’t get to see them as much.”<br /> Whelchel’s league involvement dates back to a few years after she moved to Boca Raton in 1978. She was introduced to the organization when friends invited her to join what was known as the Junior Service League of Boca Raton. <br /> She credits the league with helping her to become more involved in the community.<br /> “I don’t think I would have ever run for office had I not had the opportunity to learn the leadership skills they were teaching,” she said. <br /> Whelchel serves or has served on the boards of organizations such as the Boca Raton Historical Society, Spirit of Giving Network, Boca Bowl and the Florida Atlantic Research and Development Authority.<br /> She still feels a sense of pride when she walks through the community garden, which has grown to 97 plots. Ten percent of the food grown is donated to Boca Helping Hands. <br /> “We accomplished something special,” she said. “We did something specifically for the welfare of the community.”</p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><strong><span style="font-family:georgia, palatino;" class="font-size-4">If You Go</span></strong><br /><strong>What:</strong> 29th annual Woman Volunteer of the Year Luncheon<br /><strong>Where:</strong> Boca Raton Resort and Club <br /><strong>When:</strong> 10:30 a.m. Nov. 18, reception and runway raffle; 11:30 a.m. luncheon<br /><strong>Tickets:</strong> $95 to $250 per person for luncheon; $100 for after-party <br /><strong>Info:</strong> Call the Junior League office at 620-2553 or visit <a href="http://www.jlbr.org">www.jlbr.org</a> and click on “events.”</p></div>