council - News - The Coastal Star2024-03-29T06:18:37Zhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/feed/tag/councilBoca Raton: Plan for new vision of Palmetto Park Road gets off to rocky starthttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-plan-for-new-vision-of-palmetto-park-road-gets-off-to-2024-02-28T16:39:31.000Z2024-02-28T16:39:31.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming<div><p><strong>By Steve Plunkett</strong></p>
<p>The first look at a city consultant’s ideas for reimagining part of Palmetto Park Road was not a good one.</p>
<p>First off, Boca Raton City Council members did not get backup documents for the Feb. 26 presentation by Alta Planning + Design — but enterprising residents called them with questions before the meeting after getting copies via a public records request.</p>
<p>“I just want to know why the public had access to this and we did not,” Deputy Mayor Monica Mayotte said.</p>
<p>Then, Alta engineer and principal Alia Awwad gave council members, sitting as the Community Redevelopment Agency, a “very quick, high-level overview” of the firm’s timeline, starting with data collected after it was given its first work order in late September and running through a planned summary report of its efforts to come this summer.</p>
<p>The firm, which has a $431,645 contract, has already spent time creating a branding identity and logo for its campaign.</p>
<p>“We just received the peak season traffic counts that were just done in January and that’s going to be really beneficial for us,” Awwad said. </p>
<p>In March and April “is when we’re going to really roll out the engagement process” with stakeholders and residents, she said, “and that will lead us to start to develop those mobility strategy and ideas — what’s feasible and what’s not.”</p>
<p>Council members were impatient for results and underwhelmed by the progress.</p>
<p>“I just feel like it should be moving faster,” Mayotte said.</p>
<p>Council member Yvette Drucker wondered whether the “Make Connections/East Palmetto Downtown” slogan should be changed to “Make Connections/Downtown Boca” instead. </p>
<p>“I don’t want a deliverable that is not effective after we spent all this time and money,” she said.</p>
<p>Council member Marc Wigder, who chairs the CRA, noted that the redevelopment agency was established 40 years ago.</p>
<p>“And so when we, all the public says we’re waiting, we’re not just waiting for the last two years. We’re waiting for the activation of Palmetto Park Road for 40 years and it has still yet to occur,” he said.</p>
<p>Alta is looking at the road from City Hall east to just before the Intracoastal Waterway bridge. It will host virtual meetings with various stakeholder groups in March and is preparing to put an informational website and a voluntary survey online, Awwad said. Two meetings open to the public are planned for April 10 and April 17.</p>
<p>Her firm’s goal, she said, is to “create a place that is beautiful, that people would love to visit and stay at, not just pass through. And that is essentially what Alta specializes in.<br /> “We don’t just build streets. We would never build highways and interchanges. We specialize in building communities.” </p></div>Boca Raton: Four seeking two seats on City Council — Seat Dhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-four-seeking-two-seats-on-city-council-seat-d2024-01-31T17:02:41.000Z2024-01-31T17:02:41.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming<div><p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-size:14pt;">Two seats are up for election on March 19. The winners will serve three-year terms. The seats are elected by voters citywide.</span></p>
<p> </p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-size:12pt;">Related: <a href="https://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-four-seeking-two-seats-on-city-council-seat-c" target="_blank">Seat C</a></span><span style="font-size:12pt;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}12369355291,RESIZE_584x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}12369355291,RESIZE_584x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="12369355291?profile=RESIZE_584x" width="410" /></a></span></p></div>Boca Raton: Four seeking two seats on City Council — Seat Chttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-four-seeking-two-seats-on-city-council-seat-c2024-01-31T16:59:57.000Z2024-01-31T16:59:57.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming<div><p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-size:14pt;">Two seats are up for election on March 19. The winners will serve three-year terms. The seats are elected by voters citywide.</span></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-size:12pt;">Related: <a href="https://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-four-seeking-two-seats-on-city-council-seat-d" target="_blank">Seat D</a></span><span style="font-size:12pt;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}12369353471,RESIZE_584x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}12369353471,RESIZE_584x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="12369353471?profile=RESIZE_584x" width="409" /></a></span></p></div>Boca Raton: Council cuts time for people to speak at meetingshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-council-cuts-time-for-people-to-speak-at-meetings2023-11-29T17:23:05.000Z2023-11-29T17:23:05.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p><strong>By Mary Hladky</strong></p>
<p><br />Residents wishing to address the City Council will have to speak quickly.</p>
<p>Council members approved an ordinance on Nov. 14 that reduces the time allotted to people who want to weigh in on city matters from 5 minutes to 3.</p>
<p>The intent is to shorten the length of meetings when many residents show up to speak on a hot button issue.</p>
<p>Deputy Mayor Monica Mayotte cast the only dissenting vote. </p>
<p>“Leave it at 5 minutes,” she said. “I think this doesn’t look good on us to do this. I feel this is shutting out the public.”</p>
<p>The change garnered little resistance from residents, however. Only two spoke against it.</p>
<p>Amy Price, a city resident and city employee, described the change as “offensive.”</p>
<p>“What message are you sending to the residents of Boca Raton?” she asked. “How do you think this comes across? … Reducing public comment is another way of suppressing the will of the people.”</p>
<p>But the council majority defended the time reduction.</p>
<p>Mayor Scott Singer noted that city staff had surveyed 49 cities in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties and the Palm Beach County Commission. Most had 3-minute speaking limits. Miami allows 2 minutes.</p>
<p>The new rule is not absolute, he said. The ordinance allows council members to revert to 5 minutes if they feel the extra time is warranted. Other council members also cited that flexibility. </p>
<p>Speaking in person is only one of many ways residents can and do communicate with the council, they said. Residents call, email and text.</p>
<p>“We are available all the time,” said council member Yvette Drucker.</p></div>Boca Raton: Council chooses Ahnell’s top assistant as successorhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-council-chooses-ahnell-s-top-assistant-as-successor2023-05-31T15:45:10.000Z2023-05-31T15:45:10.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p><strong>By Mary Hladky</strong></p>
<p>After abruptly abandoning plans to hire an executive recruitment firm to help find City Manager Leif Ahnell’s successor, City Council members have chosen Ahnell’s top lieutenant to take the reins.</p>
<p>The council unexpectedly anointed Deputy City Manager George Brown on May 9, saying his invaluable experience and historical knowledge of the city would allow him to slide seamlessly into his new role.</p>
<p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}11196825455,RESIZE_400x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}11196825455,RESIZE_400x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="205" alt="11196825455?profile=RESIZE_400x" /></a>But before that, council member Fran Nachlas asked the crucial question: Did he want the job?</p>
<p>“Yes, it is something I would like to do,” Brown told her.</p>
<p>He will take over when Ahnell, who has served as city manager for 24 years, retires on March 31, 2024.</p>
<p>Council members have known for years that they would need to replace Ahnell, who has long been held in high regard for how he runs the city, and have fretted about how to handle the transition. Ahnell entered the city’s Deferred Retirement Option Plan in 2017 and is required to retire next year.</p>
<p>Brown joined the city’s building inspection division in 1977 and rose through the ranks to become assistant city manager. He left for a five-year stint in real estate management and for a brief period later to work with a nonprofit, but was recruited to return to the city both times. He was elevated to deputy city manager in 2004.</p>
<p>Brown has handled many of the city’s most complex matters, including the sale of the city’s western golf course in 2021 and the lease of city land in Mizner Park last year that cleared the way for construction of the proposed $115.4 million Center for Arts & Innovation.</p>
<p>Deputy Mayor Monica Mayotte first floated the idea of elevating Brown in February.</p>
<p>“I think George is our heir apparent,” she said at the time. But there was almost no discussion of the idea and only Nachlas voiced support.<br />Council member Marc Wigder, who was sworn into office on March 31, raised the matter anew the evening before the council was to hold its annual three-day strategic planning meeting when the topic of succession planning was likely to be discussed.</p>
<p>“We have a clear transition path,” he said. “With Mr. Ahnell’s retirement looming, Mr. Brown is clearly ready to be our city manager.”</p>
<p>Other council members quickly agreed. “The continuity will serve us well,” said Mayor Scott Singer.</p>
<p>Speaking after the meeting, Wigder said he thought it best to identify Ahnell’s replacement before strategic planning so that more time would be available to discuss other matters.</p>
<p>“The continuing of stable city management is perhaps the most critical thing we can do,” he said.</p>
<p>Wigder and some of the other council members thought that they might not have enough time to select another high-quality replacement before Ahnell must leave.</p>
<p>City officials had chosen a recruitment firm and were in the process of negotiating a contract with it. Once onboard, the firm would conduct a nationwide search and identify the best candidates, with the council making the final selection — a process that could be lengthy.</p>
<p>One question, though, is how long Brown will serve in the top spot. He also is at retirement age and had been expected to leave last year.</p>
<p>Wigder said that hasn’t been specified, but he anticipates Brown would serve as a transition city manager.</p>
<p>“There was a general understanding that everyone knew this would not be a 20-year appointment,” he said.</p>
<p>Mayotte was pleased that Wigder broached Brown’s appointment again.</p>
<p>Citing Brown’s “wealth of knowledge,” she said, “I thought he should be afforded the opportunity to be our city manager for as long as he wants to be with the city.”</p>
<p>She too foresees Brown as a transition manager who will run the city capably while giving the council more time to select a person to succeed him.</p>
<p>City Attorney Diana Grub Frieser proposed at the May 23 council meeting that the city’s human resources department gather information on what other similar-sized cities are paying their city managers whose qualifications match Brown’s. Frieser will negotiate an employment agreement with Brown, which would need council approval.</p>
<p>She indicated the talks with Brown would be straightforward and simple.</p>
<p>Wigder objected to human resources’ involvement, saying that since the department reports to Ahnell, a conflict of interest exists. Instead, he said that either Singer or an outside attorney should handle the negotiations. </p>
<p>His proposal, however, drew no support from other council members. </p></div>Boca Raton: Proposal to change development procedures shot downhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-proposal-to-change-development-procedures-shot-down2023-02-01T16:08:08.000Z2023-02-01T16:08:08.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p><strong>By Mary Hladky</strong></p>
<p>The City Council has shot down an ordinance proposed by Deputy Mayor Andrea O’Rourke that was aimed at preventing controversies like the one that enveloped a planned automated parking garage in the downtown.<br />The ordinance would have established procedures for processing proposed amendments to the city’s zoning code, comprehensive plan and the ordinance governing downtown development.<br />Its intent was to get City Council input on such amendments early in the development approval process, rather than waiting until the council was about to vote on them.<br />The change was touted as a way to improve efficiency and save both the city and developers time and money. If a council majority opposed an amendment, developers would not spend time pursuing one and city staff would not have to vet it.<br />The current process is “backwards,” O’Rourke said at a Jan. 9 meeting. The ordinance is “an additional streamlining effort to get things in the proper order. I think it is a very positive improvement.”<br />But other council members did not buy in. The main objection was that three of the five council members could kill a good idea at the outset before it had been vetted. “I do think it will stifle innovation and being visionary,” said council member Yvette Drucker.<br />Council member Monica Mayotte said that rather than streamlining the city’s process, it would delay final decisions.<br />O’Rourke withdrew the proposed ordinance at the next night’s council meeting, citing the lack of support.<br />The poster child for the problem that O’Rourke was seeking to prevent arose from Compson Associates’ proposal to build The Aletto at Sanborn Square in the downtown. Originally proposed as a high-rise apartment and office project, it now features only office space.<br />Aletto included what would have been the first fully automated parking garage in the downtown.<br />Developers already could build automated parking garages after getting city approval. But Mayotte sponsored an amendment to an existing ordinance that would have created a presumption that developers have a right to do so, making it easier for them to get approval.<br />The amendment drew concerns that the council was bending to a developer’s will, and discussion of it spanned four city meetings. Council members eventually conceded they had not handled the matter well.<br />Adding fuel to the fire was that the amendment was written by the project’s architect, although he had been asked by city staff to do so.<br />Because Mayotte had sponsored the amendment, city staff did not vet it. Mayotte said at the time that she had expected staff members to do so and was dumbfounded that they hadn’t. She wants staff to be required to do so in the future.<br />The parking garage since has ceased to be an issue. The Aletto developer and architect now plan to build a conventional garage.<br />While O’Rourke’s effort failed, city staff has moved forward with its own efforts to streamline the city’s notoriously complicated and cumbersome development approval process.<br />The council on Jan. 10 approved a 74-page ordinance that Development Services Director Brandon Schaad described as “our most significant streamlining legislation to date” and “the most significant progress in the ongoing land development code rewrite to date.”<br />In the last three years, the council has approved at least 15 ordinances intended to make the process simpler, clearer and more efficient.<br />Among many other things, the new ordinance allows the city manager, rather than the council, to approve minor site plan amendments for new buildings or additions up to 50,000 square feet.<br />In other business:<br /> • The council by a 3-2 vote approved a resolution requesting that Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Wendy Link conduct the March 14 city election.<br />Since there are no contested City Council races, the only matter on the ballot will be a city charter change proposed by Mayor Scott Singer that would increase the terms of office for mayor and council members to four years from three years.<br />O’Rourke has repeatedly objected to holding the one-issue election, saying “it is not money well spent.” New council member Fran Nachlas, who also voted no, has opposed the change that would benefit her with a longer term.<br />The cost of the election is not yet known, but the city has budgeted $225,000 to hold it.<br /> • The council unanimously approved an ordinance that revises the city’s building recertification program so that it is consistent with a state recertification law passed after the city adopted its own law. The revisions are minor.<br />The city required buildings to be inspected to determine if they are safe two months after a Surfside condominium collapsed in 2021, claiming 98 lives.<br />The city has identified 191 buildings that meet the criteria for inspection. The first inspection reports were due to the city on Feb. 1. </p></div>Boca Raton: Wigder wins council seat unopposed as rival withdrawshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-wigder-wins-council-seat-unopposed-as-rival-withdraws2023-01-04T16:12:55.000Z2023-01-04T16:12:55.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Related: </strong><a href="https://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-voters-to-decide-on-adding-fourth-year-to-council-term">Voters to decide on adding fourth year to council terms</a></p>
<p> <strong>By Mary Hladky</strong></p>
<p>City Council candidate Christen Ritchey has withdrawn from the race, allowing Marc Wigder to win election to Seat B without opposition.<br /> As a result, all three contests that would have appeared on the March 14 municipal election ballot are already decided. Mayor Scott Singer won a final term and Fran Nachlas filled the seat vacated by Andy Thomson when no candidates filed to run against them.<br /> But the election will be held, with only one item on the ballot. It is a city charter change proposed by Singer that would increase the terms of office for mayor and council members to four years from three years.<br /> <a href="{{#staticFileLink}}10925317063,RESIZE_180x180{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}10925317063,RESIZE_180x180{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="10925317063?profile=RESIZE_180x180" width="100" /></a>In brief email responses to questions about whether the election would still take place, Singer said that ballots already are in the process of being printed.<br /> Asked if he is concerned that voter turnout could be light with no council races at stake, Singer said it might be high.<br /> “As always, I encourage people to vote,” he said.<br /> The 2021 election with two council races on the ballot cost the city just under $259,000. A city spokeswoman said the city does not yet have cost estimates for the March election.<br /> Ritchey said she withdrew from the race on Dec. 20 to focus on her two children, ages 7 and 9, and her law firm, which recently completed a three-way merger with the New York firm Schwartz, Sladkus, Reich, Greenberg and Atlas, and a local attorney’s practice. <br /> “It was a difficult decision,” she said. “I have really enjoyed the experience. It is not the right time for me.”<br /> Ritchey said she will continue to be involved in the community and plans to be a candidate in the future.<br /> In the meantime, Ritchey said that she supports Wigder and told him she would assist him in any way she could.<br /> “Marc Wigder is just going to be great for Boca, so I know I am leaving this campaign and the city of Boca in good hands,” she said.<br /> Wigder said Ritchey told him of her decision to step aside. “I would be pleased if we could work together on issues that are important,” he said. “I am very appreciative she wants to continue to be involved.”<br /> <a href="{{#staticFileLink}}10925317671,RESIZE_180x180{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}10925317671,RESIZE_180x180{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="10925317671?profile=RESIZE_180x180" width="103" /></a>Wigder will take over the seat now held by term-limited Deputy Mayor Andrea O’Rourke. He is a real estate attorney with his own practice in Boca Raton and is a founder of Greenhouse Offices, an office building, and homebuilder GreenSmith Builders.<br /> The top issue he has campaigned on is managing the city’s growth. City leaders need to “start thinking long term” and make sure growth is managed carefully and pragmatically, he said.<br /> “The question is not how we build Boca, but how we re-envision Boca,” he said.<br /> A related issue is traffic congestion. He wants emphasis on sustainable development projects that allow people to live near where they work to lessen the dependency on vehicles.<br /> Other matters that top his list are maintaining the high level of city services and public safety and keeping the tax rate low.<br /> He also noted a new state law, passed after the 2021 collapse of a Surfside condominium, that requires condos to maintain adequate financial reserves to make repairs.<br /> The law will increase costs for many condo owners and is a significant issue at homeowners association meetings he has attended, he said.<br /> Wigder said city officials must consider “how we can help them navigate this process.”<br /> Both Wigder and Ritchey said they oppose extending City Council terms to four years. Ritchey said she “would rather see the city spend its resources in other ways” than on this election.<br /> Wigder said a three-year term is adequate, but he does see some merit to a longer term.<br /> “Personally I was not in favor of it, but I do see a logic on both sides,” he said.</p></div>Boca Raton: Sanborn Square yoga safely returns after devotees bend council’s earhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-sanborn-square-yoga-safely-returns-after-devotees-bend2022-11-30T16:21:26.000Z2022-11-30T16:21:26.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p style="text-align:center;"><strong><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}10895655700,RESIZE_930x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}10895655700,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="10895655700?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="710" /></a></strong><em>Glickman stands on a barrier Nov. 26 once classes had resumed after she and others pleaded with the City Council. ‘The people’s voices were heard,’ Glickman says. <strong>Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star</strong></em></p>
<p><strong>By Mary Hladky</strong></p>
<p>Leslie Glickman’s free, and beloved, Saturday yoga classes in Sanborn Square have helped define the downtown’s ambiance for 12 years.<br /> That is, until October, when city officials told Glickman that safety measures are needed to protect yoga practitioners who enjoy the green oasis in the rapidly growing downtown.<br /> They asked Glickman to pay for installing temporary barricades along Federal Highway to prevent drivers from crashing into the square or to relocate her classes.<br /> When Glickman could not find a city staffer able to answer her questions about the barricade requirement, she and yoga devotees turned to the City Council for help, prompting city staff to find a temporary solution that allowed classes to resume last month. <br /> “There is so much joy and love in that park every week,” Asya Scher said at the council’s Nov. 8 meeting. “We are asking the city to find a place for it. It is what makes the city special.”<br /> Kim Smith said the classes refresh her physical and mental health. “I can feel my stress go down,” she said. “It is a community support system.”<br /> Glickman asked for better communication from city officials who had not advised her about possible solutions or alternative locations.<br /> “I am asking for communication,” she said. “I am asking for respect.”<br /> She can’t pay for barricades, Glickman said after the meeting, noting that the classes are free and she already is bearing the cost of equipment, Wi-Fi, and preparing the park for the classes. <br /> “I can’t afford to take it out of my pocket to put up barricades,” she said. “This is my community service every week.”<br /> Yoga in the Park draws as many as 300 yoga practitioners each week, and many more who join in online from about 30 countries and 40 states. <br /> They include snowbirds who leave Boca in the hottest months, former students at her Yoga Journey studio who no longer live in the city, and those who have attended retreats she has held abroad.<br /> “There are eyeballs on this from all over the world,” Glickman said.<br /> Council members pressed city staff to find a solution.<br /> “This is not a fine moment for us,” said Mayor Scott Singer.<br /> Council member Yvette Drucker apologized for “letting our community down.”<br /> City staff moved quickly, erecting the city’s own barricades along Federal Highway at Sanborn Square. Glickman’s classes then resumed on Nov. 19.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}10895672081,RESIZE_930x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}10895672081,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="710" alt="10895672081?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></a><em>Leslie Glickman’s classes among the royal palms of Sanborn Square were suspended after the city of Boca Raton asked Glickman to pay for traffic barriers on Federal Highway. Last month the city agreed to put up barriers while it searches for a permanent solution. <strong>Photo provided by Melissa Green</strong></em></p>
<p>“We had the biggest crowd ever on Saturday,” she said. “People couldn’t have been happier. They were whistling and cheering. People were so happy to have the program back.<br /> “This was really a beautiful day for Boca. This is the way government is supposed to work. The people’s voices were heard.”<br /> Although Glickman learned only recently that organizations using Sanborn Square are responsible for installing barricades, the city had adopted that policy in January 2021. <br /> But that was communicated to Glickman only after tourism marketing group Discover the Palm Beaches wanted to hold an event in conjunction with Yoga in the Park, and sought a city permit that triggered the barricade requirement.<br /> The policy is intended to make Sanborn Square safer. Since the square sits alongside busy Federal Highway, a driver — by accident or intentionally — could jump the curb and injure park users.<br /> “We see these things happening across the country and around the world,” said Assistant City Manager Chrissy Gibson. “That is one of the reasons we want to protect that space.”<br /> While the city’s intention was to treat Yoga in the Park the same as other organizations that must install barricades, Gibson said the city’s communication was not clear.<br /> “There could have been better communication,” she said. “We are in tune with what (Glickman) is trying to do. We are very happy that yoga is back. It is a wonderful program.<br /> “We put in a temporary safety solution we think works until there is a permanent solution.”<br /> In the meantime, the city’s barricades will remain in place and no organizations will have to bear the cost of installing them, she said.<br /> The permanent solution may have to await a planned renovation of Sanborn Square. The nearly $4 million project is included in the city’s budgets for fiscal years 2024-2026. The renovation would include installation of safety bollards that can stop vehicles.<br /> Until then, the city will look for more immediate options, Gibson said.<br /> City Council members have said they would support that, provided the cost is not too high.<br /> Deputy Mayor Andrea O’Rourke is not satisfied with the temporary barricades, saying at a Nov. 21 meeting that they are unsightly.<br /> “It is not the look we want to present,” she said. Council member Monica Mayotte agreed. <br /> City Manager Leif Ahnell said installing more attractive bollards now would cost about $750,000, an amount that council members did not want to spend.<br /> “I hope we can find something that is more cost effective,” Singer said.</p></div>Boca Raton: Council for now takes hands-off stance on Ocean Breeze planshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-council-for-now-takes-hands-off-stance-on-ocean-breeze2022-11-30T16:05:42.000Z2022-11-30T16:05:42.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p><strong><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}10895636094,RESIZE_584x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}10895636094,RESIZE_584x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="443" alt="10895636094?profile=RESIZE_584x" /></a></strong></p>
<p><strong>By Mary Hladky</strong></p>
<p>The City Council won’t stand in the way of the Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District’s efforts to develop the former Ocean Breeze golf course property.<br />Council members informally agreed on Nov. 7 that they like the district’s conceptual plans for the 212-acre site. Although they’d like to see a firmer proposal, they don’t want to hold up the district’s work to create one.<br />“I encourage moving forward and being supportive in a collaborative way,” said Deputy Mayor Andrea O’Rourke.<br />“Please, go forward,” said Mayor Scott Singer.<br />District Chair Erin Wright was gratified by the support. “I am so glad you guys have given us the go-ahead,” she said.<br />The cordial interaction between the two government bodies stood in contrast to disagreements that marred previous efforts to work together on projects.<br />This time around, the district wanted to give city leaders an early look at its plans so council members and city staff could voice any concerns now to head off time-consuming and costly project delays later on.<br />The site was slated to become the Boca National golf course two years ago. But that plan was scuttled when The Boca Raton donated the Boca Golf and Tennis Country Club to the city, eliminating the need for another golf course. The district has been considering what to do with Ocean Breeze ever since.<br />District officials have held public workshops, surveyed community residents and hired engineering and landscape architect Miller Legg to create the conceptual master plan.<br />That plan is ambitious. The site has been divided into four quadrants with different features and facilities. Multi-use trails, which Wright said are a “top priority,” run throughout the property.<br />One quadrant is devoted to golf, including an executive 9-hole course, short-game and putting areas, driving range and clubhouse. <br />The layout is intended to complement the city’s championship course at the Boca Raton Golf and Racquet Club — the new name for the former country club — which is perceived as too difficult for many players.<br />A second quadrant has a dog park, community garden and butterfly/botanical garden and playground. The third features a racquet center, indoor and outdoor pickleball and tennis courts and playground. A fitness area, splash pad, boardwalk, swimming pools and field house are in the fourth.<br />The district wants a public-private partnership to operate the golf and racquet facilities, and partnerships for the aquatics center and field house.<br />The price tag would be about $27 million. But Wright said the actual number is about $20 million since the higher figure includes a $5 million contingency fund and $2 million already in hand to cover design costs. <br />The site would be developed in two phases, with most of the facilities completed by 2025 and the rest by 2028.<br />“I really, really like what we have come up with,” Wright said, while emphasizing that the plans are not final.<br />They do not address concerns from people living near the site about increased traffic and security, but Wright said both will be dealt with.<br />Although council members are not stopping the district from moving ahead, it isn’t clear whether that hands-off approach will last.<br />Deputy City Manager George Brown voiced an apparent concern at an Oct. 25 council meeting when he said the district has not identified what kind of public-private partnerships it will be seeking.<br />Council members Monica Mayotte and Yvette Drucker questioned whether too much emphasis had been placed on golf and related amenities, but did not ask for any changes.<br />They and O’Rourke wanted Brown or City Manager Leif Ahnell to specify any issues they had with the plans.<br />But Ahnell said city staffers could not do that because the plans are not firm yet and any alterations could affect their analysis. That analysis, he said, would come after the district submits a detailed site plan.<br />Singer urged staff to voice any concerns or objections as soon as possible so that the district can address them early on.<br />After the meeting, Wright said she was hopeful that would happen. </p></div>Boca Raton: Mayor, newcomer face no opposition; two in race for open seathttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-mayor-newcomer-face-no-opposition-two-in-race-for-open2022-11-30T15:54:12.000Z2022-11-30T15:54:12.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p style="text-align:left;">Scott Singer won a final three-year term as mayor when no candidates filed to run against him by the city’s Nov. 9 candidate qualifying deadline.<br />“I’m truly grateful for the support of so many and excited to continue the hard work to keep Boca Raton moving forward,” Singer said to voters in an email and on social media after the deadline passed.<br />Also winning office with no opposition was Fran Nachlas, a retired surgical nurse who will fill the council seat held by Andy Thomson, who resigned as of Nov. 7 to pursue an ultimately unsuccessful candidacy for the Florida House District 91 seat.<br />Council members praised Thomson during his final city meeting, crediting his ability to find solutions and his commonsense approach.<br />“It has been an honor and pleasure to be on the dais with you,” said council member Monica Mayotte. “I really appreciated your thoughts and perspective.”<br />With those two elections concluded, voters going to the polls for the nonpartisan March 14 municipal election will cast ballots only to replace Deputy Mayor Andrea O’Rourke, who is term limited.</p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}10895621692,RESIZE_400x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}10895621692,RESIZE_400x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="217" alt="10895621692?profile=RESIZE_400x" /></a><br />The candidates for Seat B are Marc Wigder, founder of Greenhouse Property Co. and co-founder of GreenSmith Builders, and Christen Ritchey, a partner at the Schwartz Sladkus Reich Greenberg Atlas law firm where she specializes in family law matters.</p>
<p style="text-align:right;"><br /><em>— Mary Hladky</em></p></div>Boca Raton: City manager gets rare, public rebuke over police reportshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-city-manager-gets-rare-public-rebuke-over-police-repor2022-03-30T14:06:18.000Z2022-03-30T14:06:18.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p><strong>By Mary Hladky</strong></p>
<p>A dispute between the Boca Raton City Council and City Manager Leif Ahnell spilled into public view last month — an incident that was notable because such disagreements are exceedingly rare.<br /><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}10248943487,RESIZE_180x180{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}10248943487,RESIZE_180x180{{/staticFileLink}}" width="105" alt="10248943487?profile=RESIZE_180x180" /></a>It was fueled by Ahnell’s decision to stop sending daily police department reports to council members. They wanted Ahnell to resume the practice; he resisted.<br />City residents usually never know when the council has a beef with the city manager. The matter is broached in one-on-one meetings between a council member and Ahnell and is worked out behind the scenes.<br />But Yvette Drucker, the council’s newest member, breached that unofficial protocol at a March 8 council meeting when she told Ahnell she wanted to continue receiving the reports. She also had made the request in an earlier meeting with him.<br />Drucker, who was appointed to the council in October 2020 and elected to office the following March, told <em>The Coastal Star</em> that she was “triggered” to speak out at the meeting after two residents of the Dixie Manor public housing complex told the council that they were concerned about safety. Their concerns were sparked by media reports that a Dixie Manor resident had been arrested and charged on Feb. 17 in the March 2021 rape of a 13-year-old girl who was staying in a vacant apartment in the complex. Residents said they were not told about the crime or arrest.<br />“When it comes to safety and certain things that are happening in our community, I really would like to see that report back in my inbox,” Drucker told Ahnell. “I feel really strongly about it.”<br />Mayor Scott Singer and council member Monica Mayotte agreed. <br />“I would like to see that come back in my inbox,” Mayotte said. “We should be in the know.”<br />Ahnell said he had been providing the “internal operational reports” as a courtesy. “A lot of work goes into preparing that and editing those,” he said. “So I have discontinued those.”<br />Asked by Singer what he meant, Ahnell said, “I don’t believe I am obligated to provide those to the council on a daily basis.”<br />“We are requesting that you do so,” Singer said.<br />“That is a lot of work,” Ahnell said. “With everything else the council requests, I can’t guarantee we are going to continue to provide those.”<br />“I would encourage you to consider what you might do to facilitate the goal,” Singer said. “We will leave it for your consideration.”<br />The matter was resolved days later — in private. Drucker said that Ahnell had called and told her that council members not only will get the reports, but they will contain more data, such as on the number of speeding violations.<br />Very pleased with this outcome, Drucker said she considered the dispute to be a “one-off.”<br />“I don’t think he knew how important it was to us,” she said.<br />Ahnell, who has served as city manager since 1999 and is expected to retire in 2024, has been held in high regard by council members for years. He consistently receives superlative performance reviews.<br />“I am moving on,” Drucker said. “No apologies are necessary.” </p></div>Boca Raton: Council not ready to discuss Mizner Park arts center planshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-council-not-ready-to-discuss-mizner-park-arts-center-p2021-03-03T16:51:20.000Z2021-03-03T16:51:20.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p style="text-align:left;"><strong>Correction: A March article about a proposed cultural arts complex at Mizner Park incorrectly stated that the Boca Raton Arts District Exploratory Corp. wanted more than five years to raise money for the project. BRADEC most recently proposed raising all funds in five years with no time extensions, and will raise specified amounts at the second and third years.</strong></p>
<p><strong>By Mary Hladky</strong></p>
<p>Nearly five months after the Boca Raton City Council unanimously agreed to negotiate a deal to build a performing arts complex at Mizner Park, talks have hit a roadblock.<br /> The sticking point is that council members have not reached decisions on key matters that would be part of any final agreement.<br /> Council members were expected to give clear directions at a Feb. 8 workshop meeting. That would have helped city staff and the Boca Raton Arts District Exploratory Corp. hammer out a final deal.<br /> Instead, council members stalled. Each offered thoughts on some matters, but no consensus was reached.<br /> “We are not here to negotiate all the deal points now,” said Mayor Scott Singer. He later added, “I am not ready to just say, yeah, that is great.”<br /> City Manager Leif Ahnell added to the uncertainty when he said, “We are not prepared to draft lease terms yet.” Before that can happen, Ahnell said the city must hire an expert who would advise city staff and the council.<br /> Asked by council member Monica Mayotte whether city staffers had identified the expert they will hire, Ahnell said they had not.<br /> “Why wouldn’t we have experts ready to go?” council member Yvette Drucker asked.<br /> Ahnell said staffers have been working on other projects that they had not anticipated, such as setting up a COVID-19 vaccination center, when the city unexpectedly received 200 doses to administer in January.<br /> There also was no clarity on why the matter was on the agenda.<br /> Ahnell said BRADEC asked him to put it there. But Deputy Mayor Andrea O’Rourke disagreed, saying that she and Mayotte wanted it on the agenda.<br /> In the midst of the discussion, BRADEC President Andrea Virgin said that her understanding was that council members were expected to reach a consensus on major terms of the deal to help speed negotiations.<br /> “I am sorry if there was any misunderstanding,” said City Attorney Diana Grub Frieser.<br /> “I think there was an expectation that we have not met,” O’Rourke said, acknowledging that the council had not issued direction.<br /> Contacted after the meeting, Virgin said, “We absolutely support the city in seeking any expert counsel on the matter.<br /> “We just ask, in consideration of the fact we are a nonprofit that has expenses every month that are funded by resident donors, that the City Council urge staff to keep the process moving in an efficient manner.”<br /> All five council members supported retaining an expert to protect the city’s interests, but Mayotte and O’Rourke said they wanted this to be done quickly.<br /> “Maybe we should have had that before today,” said council member Andy Thomson.<br /> Thomson brought up the matter again at a Feb. 22 meeting, saying that BRADEC wanted to know the scope of the expert’s work, how soon the expert would be hired, and how the project could move forward in the meantime.<br /> Council members rehashed everything discussed two weeks earlier, but once again issued no direction to staff on terms of a final agreement with BRADEC. <br /> They also did not reach a decision on reducing the scope of the expert’s review to speed up getting that person’s report.<br /> But Mayotte and O’Rourke again pressed Ahnell to move quickly. “I don’t want this process of hiring a consultant to unnecessarily delay the project,” Mayotte said.<br /> O’Rourke echoed Thomson’s comment at the previous meeting that she did not understand why the hiring of an expert wasn’t done months ago.<br /> Under questioning by Mayotte, Ahnell said it should take no longer than four weeks to get the expert on board. <br /> Regarding limiting the scope of the expert’s review, Ahnell said, “It doesn’t make sense to limit what the consultant looks at.” He said he would tell council members how long the review would take “as soon as possible.”<br /> The council informally heard from one expert in October. It did not go well.<br /> Singer had asked an economist he met while in college to offer his thoughts on the project.<br /> Andrew Zimbalist, an economics professor at Smith College, delivered sharp criticisms, saying that BRADEC’s statements that the project does not pose a financial risk or cost to the city and will generate a big economic benefit “are not accurate.”<br /> Brett Egan, president of the DeVos Institute of Arts Management and a BRADEC project consultant, responded forcefully, saying Zimbalist had made “many, many misleading and blatantly inaccurate statements.”<br /> Singer said he had not known what Zimbalist would say and it was not his intent to torpedo the project. He apologized to Virgin, Egan and Zimbalist.<br /> BRADEC’s proposal to build The Boca Raton Center for Arts and Innovation — which would cost $121 million, including an endowment fund and reserves — calls for completely renovating the existing 3,500-seat Mizner Park amphitheater, and building indoor and outdoor performing arts spaces, a rooftop terrace and more parking.<br /> The project, supported in concept by the City Council, would be financed by donations from cultural arts supporters and corporations that have long wanted such a facility in the city.<br /> BRADEC wants a ground lease on 3.6 city-owned acres in Mizner Park where the project would be built. The terms of that lease are the subject of the negotiations, and six key terms of the lease are what Deputy City Manager George Brown and BRADEC expected the council to weigh in on.<br /> They include:<br /> • BRADEC wants a 99-year lease. City staff wants a shorter term of between 30 and 50 years.<br /> • BRADEC leaders most recently proposed raising all funds in five years with no time extensions, and will raise specified amounts at the second and third years.<br /> • The amount of money that would have to be on hand to fund the endowment, working capital, and maintenance when shovels hit the ground and when the complex opens.</p>
<p><em>The print version of this article incorrectly stated that BRADEC wanted more than five years to raise money for the project.</em></p></div>Boca Raton: Apparent end to dispute clears way for ideas on old golf propertyhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-apparent-end-to-dispute-clears-way-for-ideas-on-old-go2021-03-03T16:50:11.000Z2021-03-03T16:50:11.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p><strong>By Mary Hladky</strong></p>
<p>The Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District is soliciting ideas for what to do with the former Ocean Breeze golf course property.<br />The 212-acre site was slated to become the Boca National golf course. But that plan was scuttled when the Boca Raton Resort & Club donated the Boca Golf and Tennis County Club to the city, eliminating the need for another golf course.<br />District commissioners unanimously voted Feb. 1 to issue a request for information intended to garner ideas on the best uses for Ocean Breeze. Responses are due by April 9.<br />Commissioners want Ocean Breeze to be a recreational facility. The only commercial development that would be allowed would be ancillary to recreation, such as a snack bar.<br />But the RFI wording does not rule out some type of golf activity, although much more limited in scope than the Boca National grand plans.<br />Proposals would serve as a starting point for discussions between the district and the City Council on how to best make use of the land. The results of a needs assessment survey also would be considered.<br />“The concept is to gather ideas,” Commissioner Craig Ehrnst said. <br />Even before the vote, residents were weighing in at district meetings. Ideas included a 9-hole executive golf course, croquet courts, and, of course, pickleball courts.<br />“We are getting a lot of response,” Executive Director Briann Harms said at the Feb. 16 district meeting.<br />In a related matter, commissioners voted unanimously March 1 to contract with CSR Athletic Construction to clean up the Ocean Breeze property. CSR’s bid of $520,000 was the lowest of four submitted.<br />The company will demolish buildings and parking lots and plant sod on cleared land. Trees will be trimmed or removed if they are unhealthy, and underbrush, vines and invasive plants removed.<br />While the district is moving forward on Ocean Breeze planning, what appeared to be shaping up as a major battle between the city and the district has been averted. They have reached an accord on amending an interlocal agreement on how the two bodies will work together on Ocean Breeze.<br />The agreement initially was written when the city and district intended to build Boca National. The aim, district officials said, was to eliminate wording that Ocean Breeze would be transformed into a major golf course.<br />City staff took exception to some of the district’s proposed wording, and amended the district’s revisions. Staffers said they could not accept certain changes that disadvantaged the city. That angered district commissioners, who said the city changes prevented them from making plans for Ocean Breeze and hiring a consultant to create a master plan. <br />“The agreement we got back was even more encumbering than before,” Ehrnst said at the Feb. 1 meeting.<br />“I am so disheartened by this whole thing,” said Commissioner Erin Wright.<br />The commission unanimously passed a motion rejecting the city’s changes.<br />Harms attended the council’s Feb. 8 workshop to tell members about the RFI and to request a joint meeting of the two bodies.<br /> All five council members supported a joint meeting, which has not been held in the past year because of the pandemic. It will be in April.<br />“I think it is imperative” to have one, said council member Monica Mayotte. She wanted the dispute over the interlocal agreement “ironed out.”<br />Deputy City Manager Mike Woika said he would meet with Harms that week to clarify the issues, and later said he thought an agreement could be worked out in a matter of weeks.<br />Two weeks later, a deal had been reached. Harms will bring it to commissioners on March 15 for their approval.<br />“It is certainly a step in the right direction for the relationship between our two bodies,” Commissioner Robert Rollins said at the March 1 meeting.<br />The revision is “a far cry from earlier drafts that were less honorable,” said Sam Goren, the district’s attorney. Ú</p></div>Boca Raton: Judges quash council decision against beachfront duplexhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-judges-quash-council-decision-against-beachfront-dup-12020-10-28T15:00:12.000Z2020-10-28T15:00:12.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming<div><p style="text-align:center;"><em><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}8087229052,RESIZE_584x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}8087229052,RESIZE_584x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="412" alt="8087229052?profile=RESIZE_584x" /></a></em></p>
<p><strong>By Steve Plunkett</strong><br /> <br />Boca Raton’s City Council must reconsider its 5-0 decision not to grant permission to build a duplex on the beach, Palm Beach County circuit judges say.<br />Council members Andrea O’Rourke and Monica Mayotte prejudged the application by 2600 N. Ocean LLC proposing a four-story, 14,270-square-foot residence east of A1A between Spanish River Park and Ocean Strand, the judges decided.<br />At a Feb. 26, 2019, City Council meeting, attorney Robert Sweetapple, representing the landowner, showed a campaign video of then-council member and now Mayor Scott Singer standing on a dune and declaring he could not support plans for a house on the beach. Sweetapple also had copies of emails that O’Rourke and Mayotte had sent constituents saying they would vote against variances for construction seaward of the Coastal Construction Control Line.<br /> In a ruling issued Sept. 16, Circuit Judges Jaimie Goodman, Janis Keyser and G. Joseph Curley said Singer’s statements constituted a “general political stance made in a campaign video” and were permissible. But O’Rourke’s and Mayotte’s emails to residents — saying they had “no intention of granting [the application]” and “[would] do all I can to prevent this from happening” — showed they were not impartial, the judges said.<br /> “This was more than mere political bias or an adverse political philosophy — it was express prejudgment of Petitioner’s application,” the judges wrote. <br /> Their ruling said 2600 N. Ocean LLC “is entitled to a new hearing without the participation” of Mayotte and O’Rourke, who has since become deputy mayor. That would leave Singer and council members Jeremy Rodgers and Andy Thomson to rehear the application.<br /> But Rodgers, a Navy Reserve officer, has been deployed on active duty to the Mideast and has not attended a council meeting since late June.<br /> Sweetapple promised even more litigation over the parcel, which was recently appraised at $7.2 million.<br /> “Boca Raton has engaged in a decades-long program to deny any development of this private, taxpaying, oceanfront property. To date it has failed to acquire the property as part of its spectacular oceanfront park system,” he said. “The continued denial of any reasonable development of this parcel constitutes a taking. The ongoing illegal actions of the city will continue to be addressed in the courts.”<br /> Each side of the proposed duplex would have had a rooftop with a pool, spa, fire pit and outdoor kitchen. Sweetapple said the building would have special glass facing the ocean that would transmit only 10% of interior light, below the city’s request for 15%, and have only 8% reflectivity. Lighting is a concern for nesting and hatchling sea turtles.<br /> Council members caused an uproar when they gave a zoning variance in late 2015 for a four-story beachfront home two parcels south, at 2500 N. Ocean Blvd. The state Department of Environmental Protection issued a notice to proceed with that project, which still needs review by the city’s Environmental Advisory Board and another council vote. Ú</p></div>Boca Raton: Plan for performing arts center at Mizner Park gains tractionhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-plan-for-performing-arts-center-at-mizner-park-gains-t2020-10-28T14:49:40.000Z2020-10-28T14:49:40.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming<div><p><strong>By Mary Hladky</strong></p>
<p>A cultural arts group’s ambitious proposal to build a performing arts center at Mizner Park moved closer to becoming reality on Oct. 13 when the City Council unanimously agreed to enter into negotiations to reach a deal.<br />The Boca Raton Arts District Exploratory Corp. hopes to completely renovate the existing 3,500-seat amphitheater and add a new theater building, additional indoor and outdoor performing arts spaces, a rooftop terrace and more parking.<br />As now envisioned, the Boca Raton Center for Arts and Innovation would cost $121 million, including $20 million for an endowment fund and reserves. It would be financed by donations from cultural arts supporters and corporations that have long wanted such a facility in the city.<br />If the city and the exploratory group agree, fundraising would start next year and the project would open in late 2026 or early 2027.<br />“On behalf of our organization, the donors who’ve funded this vision, and the countless stakeholders who’ve participated in its shaping, we are very grateful for the council’s support in moving this partnership forward and look forward to working with (city) staff to work out the details,” Andrea Virgin, the group’s president, said in a statement.<br />City Council members have conceptually supported the creation of a performing arts center, which was first proposed two years ago, and they did so again at the meeting.<br />“We all just want to make sure it succeeds in a way that works for everyone,” said Mayor Scott Singer. “To have this in our city would be a huge coup.”<br />“It is difficult to believe Boca does not have a concert hall or performing arts center,” said Deputy Mayor Andrea O’Rourke. “I think we should take advantage of this opportunity.”<br />But hurdles must be cleared to reach a final agreement.<br />The arts district group wants a 99-year ground lease on 3.6 city-owned acres in Mizner Park adjacent to the amphitheater, for which it would pay a nominal $1 per year, and is asking the city to continue paying $1.2 million a year for existing public programming at the amphitheater. The arts district group would assume the cost of maintaining the building.<br />The city has entered into such lease deals before. The Boca Raton Museum of Art, located on city land west of the amphitheater, has a 99-year ground lease and Brightline has a 29-year ground lease on city land east of the Downtown Library where its train station will be built.<br />Council members offered no objections to the ground lease, but its length will be negotiated. Singer said a 49-year lease is more “palatable.”<br />The two sides also will have to work out amphitheater operations. Council members want the city to continue operating the amphitheater, where it stages about 70 concerts and other events a year. Representatives of the exploratory group said they could agree to the city’s continuing to hold events, but they want to be in operational control and to hold their own events when the city isn’t using the building.<br />Although the meeting ended amicably, Singer nearly upended it when he said he had asked an economist he met in college to offer his thoughts on the proposed project.<br />Andrew Zimbalist, an economics professor at Smith College, delivered sharp criticisms, saying the exploratory group’s statements that the project does not pose a financial risk or cost to the city and will generate a big economic benefit “are not accurate.”<br />The group’s analysis used a faulty method that is not “scientifically reliable or valid,” he said.<br />“The method relies upon a variety of unrealistic assumptions and was designed back in the 1930s to aid in Soviet economic planning,” he said. “We all know how that turned out.”<br />Clearly stunned by Zimbalist’s comments, Brett Egan, president of the DeVos Institute of Arts Management and a project consultant, responded forcefully. He said Zimbalist made “many, many misleading and blatantly inaccurate statements” and asked for a transcript of the comments so he could respond point by point.<br />The economic analysis methodology has been used by many other businesses and cultural organizations, including the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, the Cultural Council for Palm Beach County, the Center for the Art of Performance at UCLA, Brightline and many others, he said.<br />If the group does not raise enough money to fully fund the project, no construction will begin and the group will pay for any cost overruns, not the city, Egan said.<br />O’Rourke reacted quickly, saying Zimbalist’s comments were “a little bit of blindside and I think it is really unfair to the people who have worked so hard to make this presentation.”<br />Singer said he had not known what Zimbalist would say. “I didn’t ask Dr. Zimbalist to come today to torpedo anything,” he said. <br />Singer followed up at the City Council meeting the next night, offering a “mea culpa.” He said he had apologized to Virgin, Egan and Zimbalist.<br />“I didn’t mean to create confusion, dissension, heartache,” he said. “I try to bring people together.”<br />A member of one of the cultural groups that banded together to propose a cultural arts complex, but who has since withdrawn her support, also has raised concerns about the project.<br />Wendy Larsen, co-founder of the Festival of the Arts Boca, said, “It is a very ill-conceived project” that would be unaffordable for not-for-profit organizations such as hers to use.<br />“It is too expensive to build and too expensive to operate,” said Larsen, who started the Center for the Arts at Mizner Park along with her law partner, the late Charles Siemon. The two also raised money to build the amphitheater.<br />Other members of the consortium, however, remain strong project backers, including Dan Guin, executive director of Boca Ballet Theatre; Carole Boucard, president of the board of the Symphonia chamber orchestra; and Irving Lippman, executive director of the Boca Raton Museum of Art.<br />“It is certainly time for Boca Raton to have a performing arts center that can accommodate local arts groups with the kinds of programming Andrea has in mind,” Lippman said of Virgin. “I think you will find people eager to rally around the cause.”<br />Noting the wealth concentrated in the city, Boucard said she expects it will be possible to raise enough money to build the complex.<br />“I don’t see why we can’t raise that money, between corporations and businesses and private individuals,” she said. Ú</p></div>Boca Raton: Candidate for election appointed to temporary spot on councilhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-candidate-for-election-appointed-to-temporary-spot-on-2020-10-28T14:17:08.000Z2020-10-28T14:17:08.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming<div><p><strong>By Mary Hladky</strong></p>
<p>Longtime volunteer Yvette Drucker will replace Jeremy Rodgers on the City Council until his military deployment or his term of office ends.<br /> <a href="{{#staticFileLink}}8086937085,RESIZE_180x180{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}8086937085,RESIZE_180x180{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="8086937085?profile=RESIZE_180x180" width="94" /></a>City Council members voted 3-1 to appoint Drucker on Oct. 27, a decision likely to stir controversy because she has announced her candidacy for Rodgers’ council seat in the March 9 election.<br /> Drucker’s appointment likely will be perceived by some as council members’ using their positions to boost her candidacy.<br /> Council member Andy Thomson made that point as he nominated Rodgers’ wife, Mandy, to temporarily serve.<br /> Rodgers, he said, had recommended that his wife fill his seat, saying she was “best qualified,” had no intention to run for office and would vote as he would on matters coming before the council.<br /> In making an appointment, council members should not “put our finger on the scale,” he said.<br /> Council member Monica Mayotte countered that Drucker would be most accountable to residents because she is running for the position.<br /> Mayor Scott Singer, Deputy Mayor Andrea O’Rourke and Mayotte nominated Drucker.<br /> She was among 32 applicants for the job, an astonishingly high number for a five-month political gig.<br /> Drucker will begin serving at the next City Council meeting on Nov. 10, although she likely will be sworn into office before then so city staff can bring her up to speed on matters coming before the council.<br /> Jeremy Rodgers, a Navy reservist, was called to active duty and deployed in August to Qatar in support of NATO operations in Afghanistan. <br /> He was elected to a three-year council term in 2015 and won re-election in 2018. His term ends on March 31, and because of term limits he cannot run again.<br /> In an Oct. 14 letter, Rodgers asked other council members to fill his position because he could not attend meetings remotely, as he had hoped to do.<br /> Drucker is seeking office for the first time. <br /> She is chair of the Boca Raton Education Task Force and previously served as vice-chair of the Boca Raton Historic Preservation Board. She has been active with the Boca Raton Historical Society and the Junior League of Boca Raton.<br /> Drucker had raised nearly $16,000 from 40 donors as of Sept. 30. She contributed $5,000 to her campaign.<br /> Two other candidates are vying to replace Rodgers.<br /> Former Deputy Mayor Constance Scott is seeking a comeback. Now director of local relations at Florida Atlantic University, Scott served two terms from 2009 to 2015 and was deputy mayor during her final year in office.<br /> She had raised just over $10,000 as of Sept. 30 from 50 donors, who include well-known names such as architects Derek Vander Ploeg and Juan Caycedo and political consultant Rick Asnani.<br /> Perennial candidate Bernard Korn also has announced his candidacy. Korn, a real estate broker, has twice lost elections to Singer. Questions about where Korn lived cropped up in both the 2018 and 2020 city elections. If he does not live in the city, he is not eligible to run.<br /> As he did last year, Korn lists his address as a post office box in the city’s downtown post office. County property records show he owns a home outside the city limits.<br /> He was the only contributor to his campaign as of Sept. 30, giving $10,100.<br /> Mayotte is seeking a second three-year term on the council. As of Oct. 27, she faced no opposition. She has loaned her campaign $50,000.<br /> Candidates will be required to provide proof of residency for the first time. That recent City Council decision was made in the wake of uncertainty over Korn’s actual address.<br /> Candidates must prove they have lived in the city for at least 30 days. If voters approve a charter amendment that will be on the March ballot, the residency requirement will be increased to one year.<br /> Candidates will qualify for office during the first seven regular business days in December.</p></div>Boca Raton: Council to seek proof that candidates for office live in cityhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-council-to-seek-proof-that-candidates-for-office-live-2020-09-02T13:37:37.000Z2020-09-02T13:37:37.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p><strong>By Mary Hladky</strong></p>
<p>The City Council wants to tighten rules so that candidates for mayor and the council must present proof that they have lived in the city for at least one year at the time of qualifying to run for office.<br />At present, a candidate is required to live in Boca Raton for only 30 days before qualifying and must simply sign an affidavit stating that without offering proof.<br />The council members also want to eliminate a qualifying fee. Instead, they would require candidates to submit petitions signed by at least 200 residents, which would indicate they have at least some supporters.<br />In addition, the council is changing the qualifying dates. Instead of qualifying during the first seven regular business days in January, candidates would qualify during the first seven regular business days in December so that the county supervisor of elections has adequate time to get candidate names on the March ballot.<br />The impetus for the proof of residency was the candidacies of Bernard Korn, a real estate broker who twice has lost elections to Mayor Scott Singer.<br />Questions about where Korn lived cropped up in both the 2018 and 2020 city elections. If he did not live in the city, he was not eligible to run.<br />In 2018, he gave an address at 720 Marble Way on the barrier island, a home owned by real estate broker Richard Vecchio. He also gave the supervisor of elections a mailing address of 19078 Skybridge Circle, a house far west of the city.<br />This year, he listed his address as a P.O. box at the city’s downtown post office.<br />Under changes the city wants to enact, candidates could prove where they live by submitting a voter’s registration card, driver’s license, recorded deed, property tax receipt, homestead exemption documentation, lease agreement or utility bill.<br />The City Council is expected to approve an ordinance in September that will set the one-year residency and proof of residency requirements and eliminate the qualifying fee. A person who had a homestead exemption for a home outside the city within one year of the start of qualifying would not meet the residency qualification.<br />The ordinance includes two proposed City Charter amendments specifying those changes that people would vote on in the March 9 city election. The changes would only be made if voters approve the charter amendments.<br />The new qualifying dates are being set in a second ordinance that the council also is expected to approve in September. No charter amendment is needed to change the dates.<br />Council member Jeremy Rodgers’ seat will be open in the March election; he is term-limited out of office. Fellow member Monica Mayotte’s seat will also be on the ballot; she will be ending her first term on the council. Ú</p></div>Boca Raton: Council reshuffles after Rodgers leaves for Navy stinthttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-council-reshuffles-after-rodgers-leaves-for-navy-stint2020-09-02T13:00:00.000Z2020-09-02T13:00:00.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p><strong>By Mary Hladky</strong></p>
<p>City Council members appointed Andrea O’Rourke to be deputy mayor, replacing U.S. Navy reservist Jeremy Rodgers, who has been called to active duty for an overseas deployment.<br /> “It would be my greatest pleasure to serve as deputy mayor,” O’Rourke said before the unanimous council vote.<br /> Monica Mayotte has assumed O’Rourke’s previous role as Community Redevelopment Agency chair and Andy Thomson became CRA vice chair.<br /> Council members made the appointments on July 28, a month after Rodgers announced he would deploy in August to Qatar in support of NATO operations in Afghanistan.<br /> At the time, Rodgers said he wanted to complete his term of office, which ends on March 31, 2021, by attending meetings remotely. But he stepped down as deputy mayor, saying the position should be held by a council member physically in the city.<br /> If he found he could not attend meetings, council members would appoint someone to temporarily fill his seat until his term ends.<br /> Since then, Rodgers has not attended council and CRA meetings. He has not posted any updates on his status on social media.<br /> He remained a council member at the end of August and a city spokeswoman did not have an update on his status.<br /> O’Rourke was elected to the council in 2017 and was automatically re-elected in March when she faced no opposition. Mayotte was elected in 2018.</p></div>Boca Raton: Mayotte criticizes Rodgers’ coronavirus activismhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-mayotte-criticizes-rodgers-coronavirus-activism2020-07-01T16:30:00.000Z2020-07-01T16:30:00.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p><strong>By Mary Hladky</strong></p>
<p>City Council members often disagree on issues, but the debate is usually confined to what policy is in the best interests of Boca Raton and its residents.<br /> So council member Monica Mayotte’s June 9 rebuke of Deputy Mayor Jeremy Rodgers’ advocacy for lifting COVID-19 restrictions in Palm Beach County was a notable departure from the long-standing practice of not criticizing colleagues.<br /> At issue was Rodgers’ activism on social media and in communications with county commissioners in which he pushed for reopening businesses and recreation areas.<br /> Other council members have been more restrained, with Mayotte and Andrea O’Rourke cautioning that reopening should be done carefully to avoid a spike in COVID-19 cases and a rise in hospitalizations.<br /> Rodgers’ actions caused confusion and led others to think he is speaking for the entire council, Mayotte said at a council meeting held before the number of coronavirus cases in the county sharply increased.<br /> “There has been much confusion created by your actions as deputy mayor recently,” she said. “Certainly you have a right to your opinion. But there is no question your personal advocacy has conflicted with the perceived position of this council.<br /> “I, for one, simply have not agreed with your aggressive lobbying to the county and timeline for opening. … People assume you are speaking for the entire council regardless of the number of times you state that your words are your words alone.<br /> “My issue is not personal, Mr. Rodgers,” she concluded. “I consider you my friend.”<br /> Rodgers thanked Mayotte for “voicing your concerns.” <br /> He said he had stressed at a County Commission meeting that “I am speaking on my own behalf,” later adding, “I never said this is what the city of Boca feels.”<br /> “Clearly we disagree on this matter,” he said, adding that he would not back off. “I will continue speaking out on my own behalf and for those who ask me to speak out for them.”<br /> O’Rourke supported Mayotte, noting that Rodgers’ deputy mayor Facebook page shows a photograph of the entire council.<br /> Even if he is speaking for himself, “it does look like a representation of the group,” she said.<br /> “People do get confused. I have had many questions about it.”<br /> Contacted after the council meeting, Rodgers didn’t have much to add to what he said to council members.<br /> “She certainly is entitled to her own opinion,” he said of Mayotte.<br /> Rodgers first raised eyebrows when he led a car caravan from Boca Raton to Delray Beach on April 19 as part of a push by a Hollywood couple to reopen the county. More than 100 people from various cities participated. <br /> Many of the vehicles sported Trump signs and paraphernalia. The South Florida Sun Sentinel reported that those in attendance included supporters of Q-Anon, a far-right conspiracy theory of a secret plot by the “deep state” against President Donald Trump and his supporters.<br /> Rodgers said at the time that he was acting as a private citizen.<br /> In a June letter to county commissioners, Rodgers asked them to hold a special meeting to urge Gov. Ron DeSantis to allow Palm Beach County to ease restrictions under the governor’s Phase 2 reopening plan. He also asked them to allow the resumption of youth activities and the reopening of playgrounds.<br /> He signed the letter as Boca Raton’s deputy mayor.<br /> Many commenters on Rodgers’ Facebook page have thanked him for sharing information on COVID-19 statistics and for his advocacy.<br /> “Thank you for this info devoid of fear mongering and histrionics,” one person said.<br /> But Rodgers also has faced pushback from people worried that reopening would lead to a rise in coronavirus cases.<br /> “Cases out of control according to county health director! And yet all you wanna do is open open open …” said another commenter.</p></div>Boca Raton: Navy calls up deputy mayor for overseas missionhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-navy-calls-up-deputy-mayor-for-overseas-mission2020-07-01T15:32:34.000Z2020-07-01T15:32:34.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong>By Mary Hladky</strong></p>
<p>Deputy Mayor Jeremy Rodgers, a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy Reserve, will deploy in August to Qatar in support of NATO operations in Afghanistan.<br />Rodgers, who announced his deployment at the June 23 City Council meeting, said he wants to complete his term of office by attending city meetings remotely.<br /><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960956870,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960956870,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-left" alt="7960956870?profile=original" /></a>If that cannot be accomplished, Rodgers, 41, said he would submit a leave of absence and council members would appoint someone to temporarily fill his seat until his term ends on March 31, 2021.<br />But he will step down as deputy mayor, saying that position should be held by a council member physically present in the city. He asked that his colleagues make the selection at the next council meeting on July 28.<br />The job of a reservist is to be ready for active deployment, he said.<br />“Recently, I received that call,” Rodgers said. “It is my turn to serve and I am needed. The military selected me for deployment and I stand ready.”<br />Rodgers was elected to a three-year council term in 2015 and won re-election in 2018.<br />In an interview, Rodgers said he had planned to mobilize after his term ended but was selected earlier than he expected.<br />Rodgers, a cryptological officer, will manage an intelligence team for missions in Afghanistan. His position may entail travel to that country, he said.<br />Rodgers, the father of four children, has worked at IBM for almost 20 years and now leads a technical sales engineering team for IBM’s security product.<br />He comes from a military family. <br />Rodgers’ father was an Army master sergeant, and his two grandfathers served in the Navy. While he has not served in the active-duty military, he joined the Navy Reserve in 2011.<br />Council members wished Rodgers well.<br />“I just request that you please stay safe,” said Monica Mayotte.<br />“We will miss you, Deputy Mayor Rodgers,” said Andy Thomson. “Godspeed, sailor.”</p></div>Briny Breezes: Town asks state to slow boaters near marinahttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/briny-breezes-town-asks-state-to-slow-boaters-near-marina2020-05-20T17:22:08.000Z2020-05-20T17:22:08.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong>By Dan Moffett</strong></p>
<p>Briny Breezes is hoping there’s strength in numbers of neighbors when it comes to slowing down boaters in the Intracoastal Waterway.</p>
<p><br /> The Town Council voted unanimously on April 23 to adopt a resolution that calls on the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to create an “idle speed, no-wake” zone adjacent to the Briny marina.</p>
<p><br /> The resolution is modeled after one passed by Delray Beach in February. And council members are hoping to persuade Boynton Beach, Ocean Ridge and Gulf Stream to adopt similar measures.</p>
<p><br /> Mayor Gene Adams said a low-speed zone has become increasingly necessary because of rising water levels, flooding and the damage inconsiderate boaters leave behind them.</p>
<p><br /> “It really tears up our sea wall as well as our marina area,” Adams said. “So, otherwise Briny is going to have to spend more money to repair things than we would normally.”</p>
<p><br /> The proposed zone would extend about a half-mile south from Woolbright Road, past the marina to Briny’s southern border. <br /> Getting FWC officials to make the change won’t be easy, said Town Attorney Keith Davis, who drafted the resolution.</p>
<p><br /> “It’s not going to be a walk in the park,” he said. “It’s a process. There’s always push-back from the recreational boating community.”</p>
<p><br /> Davis said that years ago, he persuaded the FWC to create a low-speed zone for a municipality in northern Palm Beach County. It took about a year of persistence. Davis said it might be easier to get the FWC to approve a slow-speed zone, rather than a full no-wake zone. “That’s less of an ask,” he said.</p>
<p><br /> But the strongest parts of Briny’s case to the state are the marina and the need to ensure safe operations for the boat traffic it draws.<br /> “The one thing we have in our advantage is that we have adjacent marina facilities,” Davis said. “That may be a plus.”</p>
<p><br /> Adams agreed: “The marina is our best bet as a leveraging tool.”</p>
<p><br /> Several previous petition drives calling for a no-wake zone in Briny fizzled without gaining any real traction. State officials are generally reluctant to change the status quo without compelling evidence or significant public pressure.</p>
<p><br /> The Delray Beach City Commission’s resolution asked the FWC to create a no-wake zone between Atlantic Avenue and George Bush Boulevard. The measure said Intracoastal property owners were suffering “degradation of their sea walls and landscaping” because of boaters’ excessive speed. State officials have not yet formally considered the city’s request.</p>
<p><br /> Briny Breezes Council President Sue Thaler told Town Manager William Thrasher to reach out to neighboring communities and enlist their backing for the town’s resolution and lower speeds.</p>
<p><br /> “The more support, the better,” Thaler said. “Hopefully, this will go somewhere.”</p></div>Lantana: Library on track for renovation, modernizationhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/lantana-library-on-track-for-renovation-modernization2020-05-20T16:41:37.000Z2020-05-20T16:41:37.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong>By Mary Thurwachter</strong><br /> <br />Plans to make better use of space and add a meeting room and outdoor reading garden to the town library won the approval of the Lantana Town Council on May 11.</p>
<p><br /> The proposal, promoted by the Library Foundation and its chairman, Robert Barfknecht, boasts ADA-compliant restrooms, a centralized circulation desk, special spaces for children and teens and a community center for adult activities.</p>
<p><br /> The lead architect for the project, Sam Ferreri of PGAL of Boca Raton, said the 4,000-square-foot library is headquartered in a former bank building with bookshelves breaking up the space. The bank’s old covered drive-thru isn’t being used, he said, but is a perfect location for a meeting room addition and is in close proximity to restrooms. So the meeting room can be used even when the library isn’t open, it will have a separate entrance.</p>
<p><br /> Four parking spaces will be added to the current 14 in the north parking lot, and 25 more spaces are available on the Third Street lot. A few on-street parking spaces are available on Third Street and Ocean Avenue. The library’s main entrance will be from the north parking lot.</p>
<p><br /> “The challenge with libraries is to have flexible space,” said Ferreri, who has designed libraries both large and small. “You’re very lucky to have a building, the bank building, with good bones. It’s very open and very flexible. I think there’s a lot of opportunity here and I’m very excited to be part of this.”</p>
<p><br /> Barfknecht said that among all the architects with whom the foundation worked, six plans were considered. “The one you’re seeing tonight is the one that’s got us all very excited,” he said. “It solves so many problems and it gives us an additional 33% more space for library users. It’s also very children-centric.”</p>
<p><br /> Cost of the project is $748,636, but the town has already put aside $400,000 for the library from Palm Beach County’s 1-cent sales tax distribution. The Library Foundation paid for the design fees and studies and will donate $50,000 for an outdoor reading garden on the south side of the meeting room.</p>
<p><br /> Council members agreed to take the balance needed to complete the project — about $300,000 — from undesignated reserves.<br /> While the renovation plans were well-received and eventually approved, the council delayed a decision until it had a chance to hear from local developer Michael Mauro, who pitched some alternative plans for the library at the same May 11 meeting.</p>
<p><br /> Mauro, who wants to build a 10- to 12-story hotel (the town’s height limit is five stories) on and around the former bowling alley property next to library, is interested in purchasing the current library or exchanging it for another parcel to construct a new building, or building a new library near Town Hall. He said appraisals for the current library ranged from $730,000 to $750,000.</p>
<p><br /> Mayor Dave Stewart wondered if Mauro could totally finance the construction of a new library on Greynolds Circle, near Town Hall. Mauro said he would have to consult with his partners about that.</p>
<p><br /> Vice Mayor Lynn Moorhouse said he favored the Library Foundation’s proposal. He said it could be complete in about a year, while building an entirely new library would take much longer.</p>
<p><br />The foundation’s plan also drew overwhelming support from residents, many of whom either spoke during the meeting or sent letters.</p>
<p><br /> The library has been at 205 W. Ocean Ave. since the early 1990s after the Carteret Savings & Loan failed. Before that, the library, initially run by the Lantana Women’s Club, was housed in the former bridge-tender’s house on Ocean Avenue since 1947.</p>
<p><br /> Next year Lantana will celebrate its 100th birthday and Barfknecht said it would be a perfect time to mark the occasion with a renovated modern library.</p>
<p><br /> <strong>In other business during April and May, the town:</strong><br /> • Agreed to put on a Fourth of July fireworks show on the Intracoastal Waterway off the shores of Bicentennial Park. However, because of the pandemic, no events are planned in the park on that day. <br /> • Set 5:30 p.m. June 8 as the date for the first budget workshop at Town Hall. <br /> • Awarded a $114,762 contract to CH Global Construction to build new public restrooms at Bicentennial Park.<br /> • Approved a $57,350 contract with Baxter Restoration of Boca Raton for the biomediation and rehabilitation of the marine safety building at the beach. Ú</p></div>Lantana: Political novices unseat incumbents in Lantanahttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/lantana-political-novices-unseat-incumbents-in-lantana2020-04-01T19:13:03.000Z2020-04-01T19:13:03.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960948487,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960948487,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960948487?profile=original" /></a><em>New Commissioner Karen Lythgoe brought her granddaughter Sadie Smith to the ceremony. <strong>Photos by Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star</strong></em></p>
<p><strong>By Mary Thurwachter</strong></p>
<p></p>
<p>A couple of political newcomers looking to turn the tide in Lantana will have a chance to do so after handily beating two Town Council incumbents in the March 17 election.</p>
<p><br /> Karen Lythgoe, the top vote-getter with 690 votes, defeated incumbent Phil Aridas, who received 487 votes for the Group 4 seat he has held since 2011.</p>
<p><br /> The other newcomer, Mark Zeitler, outpolled incumbent Edward Shropshire, who has just completed his first three-year term. Zeitler received 637 votes to Shropshire’s 567 for the Group 3 seat. Three years ago, Shropshire defeated five-term incumbent Tom Deringer by a two-vote margin.</p>
<p><br /> “It’s apparent that the residents of Lantana looked at the issues and looked at the candidates and felt maybe it was time for a change,” said Mayor Dave Stewart. “I will reach out and work with those who have been newly elected and, hopefully, as a council we can do the things that the residents feel are important.”</p>
<p><br /> Lythgoe, 60, said her sizable win took her by surprise.</p>
<p><br /> “Everybody told me ‘you’re never going win the first time out, we wish you well, don’t take it personally, we’re not going to give you money because we don’t know that you can be elected,’” she said. “When I began to see the initial returns, I was shocked. And as it kept going I was like, wow, I’m by myself, I’m self-quarantining and I’ve got nobody to tell.”</p>
<p><br /> Before long, she was flooded with calls and congratulatory text messages.</p>
<p><br /> Having garnered the most votes of any of the four candidates also amazed her.</p>
<p><br /> “I sent out no fliers, no door hangers and my signs were tiny,” Lythgoe said.</p>
<p></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960948673,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960948673,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960948673?profile=original" /></a><em>Mark Zeitler is sworn into office.</em></p>
<p><br /> Zeitler, 63, an air-conditioning contractor, spent election night watching TV and pacing outside his home.</p>
<p><br /> “It kept saying 80%, I was waiting on the whole thing to come about,” he said. He awakened early the next morning to see congratulatory texts from friends and fans. By 5:30 a.m., he was out collecting campaign signs before going to work.</p>
<p><br /> “I didn’t know how it was going to go and he did have a pretty good team and I thought because of that it would make things a little harder,” Zeitler said of Shropshire.</p>
<p><br /> Both Lythgoe and Zeitler say their first order of business will be to listen and learn what they need to know about serving on the Town Council.</p>
<p><br /> “I need to understand how the sausage is made, I have questions, I have things I’m wondering about,” said Lythgoe, an IT specialist who works in risk solutions for LexisNexis. One of the things she plans to investigate is how well the town is covered as far as computer vulnerabilities. “We need to protect our data.”</p>
<p><br /> Zeitler said he needs to begin finding out “what’s what and what needs to be taken care of and what things are put on the table. I want to take a look at code enforcement, the aggressiveness of it.”</p>
<p><br /> One of the reasons he ran, Zeitler said, was that he felt the town and Shropshire had become too gung ho about code enforcement. The two men live across the street from each other in the Lantana Heights neighborhood.</p>
<p><br /> At the swearing-in ceremony on March 23, Lythgoe brought along Sadie Smith, her granddaughter. Sadie celebrated her seventh birthday the day after the election and was so happy and excited for her Nana. “One of the reasons I ran was to show her you can do anything you want to do,” Lythgoe said.</p>
<p><br /> Another birthday was not as joyful.</p>
<p><br /> Aridas, a county park ranger, turned 66 on election day but didn’t quite get the present he hoped for — another three-year term. He took the news well and appreciated all the kind words he received from residents who called him to say they were sorry he lost.</p>
<p><br /> “I had nine years in there, and it was a great experience,” Aridas said. “I thought the voter turnout was kind of lousy, but you just never know about an election. I hope everything goes very well. There’s some very important things coming up in the town and I hope they’re handled right.”</p>
<p><br /> Shropshire, who did not return calls as of press time, encountered a rocky road in his quest for second term.</p>
<p><br /> In January, he was told by town staff that he had not qualified for the election, that his name would not appear on the ballot and that Zeitler won by default. Shropshire, 67, had not turned in the petitions from registered voters necessary to qualify, although the County Supervisor of Elections Office certified he had them and he was cleared by the former town clerk as having checked all the necessary boxes to qualify.</p>
<p><br /> After Shropshire challenged the decision in court, a circuit judge ruled that he could remain on the ballot.</p></div>Lantana: Library to be renovated — or perhaps rebuilt in new locationhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/lantana-library-to-be-renovated-or-perhaps-rebuilt-in-new-locatio2020-04-01T19:09:43.000Z2020-04-01T19:09:43.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong>By Mary Thurwachter</strong><br /> <br />One way or another, substantial changes are coming for the Lantana Public Library. The town has earmarked $400,000 for upgrades to the building, and architectural plans for those renovations are to be viewed by the Town Council on April 13.</p>
<p><br /> But at the March 9 town meeting, a few other proposals were pitched by a developer hoping to build a hotel on or beside the town-owned library at 205 W. Ocean Ave.</p>
<p><br /> Tony Mauro and his son Michael Mauro, who own the land behind the library (where the old bowling alley once stood) as well as the post office building next to the library, said they wanted to include the town in the vision for their development.</p>
<p><br /> “Michael and I feel we have enough land with the bowling alley property to do something nice, but in all the design we’ve been playing with for over a year, it’s become pretty clear to us that to do something that will withstand the test of time, and make everyone very proud, it would be nice to be able to bring the library into the project,” Tony Mauro said.</p>
<p><br /> “Our No. 1 choice would be to design and develop a hotel,” he said. “The design would be very different if it were just on our portion of land right now, and if the library were included it would change the design totally.”</p>
<p><br /> One of the options the Mauros proposed was for them to purchase the library for a sum to be determined by multiple appraisers. Another option would involve exchanging the library for another parcel in the town and funding the construction of a new building.<br /> A third proposal would be to build a new library at 500 Greynolds Circle to create a more centralized town municipal center, which would allow all of the funds to be utilized for the structure itself.</p>
<p><br /> Council members quickly declined to consider a fourth option, which would be to provide a dedicated and permanent location for the library within a new overall project designed by the developers.</p>
<p><br /> “Our library needs to be not in control of anyone else’s facility,” Mayor Dave Stewart said.</p>
<p><br /> But some of the other proposals would be worth looking at, council members agreed. The Mauros will return with more fleshed-out ideas at the May 11 meeting.</p>
<p><br /> In the meantime, the town will have an opportunity to see plans two Miami architects have put together for the Library Foundation.</p>
<p><br /> Robert Barfknecht, president of the Lantana Library Foundation, asked the council to delay any decision on the Mauro proposals until he had a chance to show them the architectural plans the foundation had sponsored.</p>
<p><br /> “We’re delighted to know that the town has budgeted a significant amount of money to upgrade the library to conform to ADA laws, etc., and we have offered to support architectural drawings and a new concept for this upgrade,” Barfknecht said. “We have dedicated $10,000 of our funds from the foundation to create architectural drawings and plans which will include cost estimates for upgrading the library. We’ll be ready to present these to the council in April and I think you’ll be delighted to see what’s coming along.</p>
<p><br /> “The architects we have working on this are coming up with some very interesting ideas to make it a beautiful building which will include community spaces,” Barfknecht said. “I think you’ll be very pleased and proud that the building can be something really special. It already is special, but it can be much more special.”</p>
<p><br /> “The way I see this, these are just ideas,” Stewart said. “We are getting ready to spend considerable money on the library and before we spend considerable money on the library, I think the question is would the council like to see a new building somewhere else, or would they like to see it as part of whatever project is going to be on the property? And there are all kinds of stipulations.”</p>
<p><br /> For one thing, if the town would choose to sell the library, that would need to be voted on by residents, according to the town charter.<br /> Lantana’s Public Library was founded in 1947 in the former bridge-tender’s house on Ocean Avenue. The town bought the current library building, which is 50 years old, in the early 1990s after the Carteret Savings & Loan failed. It is operated by one full-time employee and a small army of volunteers.</p></div>Briny Breezes: Incumbents overwhelmingly retain their council seatshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/briny-breezes-incumbents-overwhelmingly-retain-their-council-seat2020-04-01T19:05:20.000Z2020-04-01T19:05:20.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong>By Dan Moffett</strong></p>
<p>Three incumbents easily won reelection in the March 17 municipal election to keep their at-large seats on the Briny Breezes Town Council.</p>
<p><br /> Christina Adams led all candidates with 103 votes, or 31.2% of the ballots cast. Bill Birch got 102 votes (30.9%) and Kathy Gross received 101 votes (30.6%).</p>
<p><br /> Political newcomer Charles Swift had 15 votes and Lynne Weiner nine.</p>
<p><br />A month before the election, Weiner withdrew from the race, though her name remained on the ballot.</p>
<p><br /> Council members serve two-year terms. Adams has served four years on the council.</p>
<p><br />Birch and Gross are beginning their second terms. All three cited improving relations between homeowners and building officials — in particular, simplifying and improving the town’s permitting procedures — as a priority for the council.</p>
<p><br /> About 31% of Briny’s 330 registered voters turned out, compared with Palm Beach County’s overall turnout of 26.6%. <br /><br /></p></div>Italian Night Dinner Dance— St. Lucy Catholic Church, Highland Beach — Jan. 25https://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/italian-night-dinner-dance-st-lucy-catholic-church-highland-bea-12020-03-03T21:28:49.000Z2020-03-03T21:28:49.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960927291,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960927291,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-full" alt="7960927291?profile=original" /></a><em>Conte, vocalists Carlos Manuel Santana and Josephine Dolce and keyboard player Dino DeMarco. <strong>Photo provided</strong></em></p>
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<p>Knights of Columbus St. Padre Pio Council No. 17215’s community event featured a six-course meal of traditional foods catered by Doris Italian Market & Bakery as well as dance hits by a musical trio. A sold-out crowd of 350 helped raise $14,430. ‘We were very happy with the outcome, the great company, good wine and sold-out crowd,’ organizer Dominick Conte said.</p></div>Boca Raton: Speakers mostly support marijuana dispensarieshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-speakers-mostly-support-marijuana-dispensaries2020-01-29T15:48:17.000Z2020-01-29T15:48:17.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p class="p1"><span class="s1"><b>By Mary Hladky</b></span></p>
<p class="p2">After more than two years of debate, the City Council is poised to decide whether to allow medical marijuana dispensaries to open in Boca Raton.</p>
<p class="p2">A majority of those speaking on Jan. 28 at the first public hearing on a proposed ordinance, including two representatives of medical marijuana dispensary companies, urged the council to allow them.</p>
<p class="p2">Eric Sevell noted that 76 percent of Boca Raton residents voted in favor of a state constitutional amendment in 2016 that legalized medical use of marijuana.</p>
<p class="p2">“I think you have arrived at a proper ordinance,” he said.</p>
<p class="p2">Another speaker said he has worked for a medical marijuana doctor and has seen how much it helps patients.</p>
<p class="p2">“To see them alive and well today, that convinced me to be able to continue to work,” he said.</p>
<p class="p2">Lauren Niehaus, a government relations specialist for Harvest Health and Recreation, which has six dispensaries in Florida, said the dispensaries want to be part of the fabric of the city.</p>
<p class="p2">“The goal is not to be the best dispensaries … but to be one of the best business partners,” she said.</p>
<p class="p2">But she and other company representatives urged council members to reduce the proposed size of dispensaries from 5,000 square feet to about 2,000, which is more in line with the size of existing dispensaries.</p>
<p class="p2">Two people spoke against the ordinance. Glenn Gromann, who has served on city boards, said they would bring crime to the city.</p>
<p class="p2">Marc Wigder, an attorney, urged council members not to allow too many.</p>
<p class="p2">“You can’t let it go everywhere,” he said.</p>
<p class="p2">Council members and city staff have long been leery of allowing dispensaries. The council approved a moratorium on them in 2014 and banned them in 2017.</p>
<p class="p2">But public opinion has gone the other way. In 2016, Florida voters overwhelmingly approved the constitutional amendment and the Legislature passed implementing legislation the next year.</p>
<p class="p2">Since then, the medical marijuana industry has taken off in Florida. Nearly 220 dispensaries are now on operating across the state with more than 30 located in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, according to the state’s Office of Medical Marijuana Use.</p>
<p class="p2">As of January, 304,445 patients have qualified to obtain medical marijuana and about 2,600 physicians have qualified to approve patients for its use.</p>
<p class="p2">Medical marijuana is used to help people with health conditions such as cancer, Crohn’s disease, multiple sclerosis and post-traumatic stress disorder.</p>
<p class="p2">But city staff has consistently opposed allowing the dispensaries to operate in the city. Their chief concern is that the state regulates medical marijuana and the dispensaries and gives cities almost no leeway to manage them or restrict how many can open once they decide to allow them.</p>
<p class="p2">Staff also noted in their report to the City Council that Boca Raton residents have access to dispensaries, just not within the city limits. Six dispensaries are operating in Deerfield Beach, one is in Boynton Beach and two are in unincorporated areas west and north of the city.</p>
<p class="p2">Under state law, dispensaries can be located anywhere zoning laws allow pharmacies but are not allowed within 500 feet of a school.</p>
<p class="p2">Pharmacies can’t sell medical marijuana because it is still classified as a controlled substance by the federal government.</p>
<p class="p2">City Council members will vote at the final public hearing in mid-February.</p>
<p class="p2">Mayor Scott Singer suggested that the city place a cap on how many can open in the city.</p>
<p class="p2">“The concern has been to balance the access to this form of medicine and the state’s limitation on home rule ability to zone in the normal way,” he said. </p></div>South Palm Beach: Proposal on March ballot seeks 4-year terms for council, mayorhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/south-palm-beach-proposal-on-march-ballot-seeks-4-year-terms-for-2019-12-04T16:39:51.000Z2019-12-04T16:39:51.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong>By Dan Moffett</strong></p>
<p>South Palm Beach voters will have several important charter amendments to consider when they go to the polls for the March 17 municipal election, and the results of the voting could change the town’s governance for years to come.<br /> Probably the most consequential amendment proposal is a referendum that would increase the term of Town Council members and the mayor from two years to four. It would also extend the terms of council members elected in March 2019 to March 2022.<br /> The change to longer terms has the approval of at least four current council members who believe the town should reduce the expense of frequent elections, improve efficiency by allowing officials to gain experience and decrease the time spent on campaigning. <br /> “It will save us some money,” said Mayor Bonnie Fischer, “and it should help with stability.”<br />Fischer was elected to council in 2011. She is halfway through her fifth 2-year term.<br /> The extended term referendum was one of a bundle of ballot measures the council approved at its Nov. 12 meeting.<br /> Another proposed amendment calls for removing charter restrictions on the council’s power to increase or decrease council members’ pay. In 2017, the council narrowly passed an ordinance that raised the mayor’s monthly salary from $250 to $500 and boosted council members’ pay from $250 to $300. The proposed amendment would make it easier for the council to change compensation.<br /> “We’re not extending our terms or giving ourselves raises,” said Councilman Bill LeRoy. “We’re asking you to allow us to do that.”<br /> Also approved for the March election is a proposal that would make it easier for citizens to put initiatives on the ballot by reducing the number of petition signatures needed to qualify, from 15% of registered voters to 10%. <br /> Council members also approved a proposed amendment that would give the mayor’s position the power to declare emergencies — a measure they hope would help expedite storm evacuations.<br /> Two other charter issues on the ballot are essentially housekeeping measures that clean up outdated language.<br /> Two seats on the council are scheduled to be contested in the March election, those held by Vice Mayor Robert Gottlieb and Councilwoman Stella Gaddy Jordan. The qualifying period for candidates began at noon Dec. 3 and runs until noon Dec. 17.<br /><strong>In other business</strong>:<br /> • Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Maj. Chris Keane told the council his deputies “were completely over the moon” because of the warm reception they’ve received from residents.<br /> Keane said he expects the seven former South Palm Beach police officers to complete their sheriff’s training regimen in November and be ready to return to duty in the town by December.<br /> In June, the council voted to approve a 10-year contract with PBSO for its law enforcement services.<br /> Sheriff Ric Bradshaw has scheduled a meet-and-greet barbecue luncheon for the town from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Dec. 12 at The Barclay condominiums, 3546 S. Ocean Blvd. <br />Deputies will be on hand to show off new equipment and answer questions.<br /> • Town Manager Robert Kellogg said officials are making progress on getting the last of the 16 easements needed from condo and property owners to begin a three-week, $700,000 dune restoration project with the town of Palm Beach early next year — perhaps before the end of April. <br />Kellogg and Fischer said the management of the sand distribution, start date and timetable will be up to Palm Beach, which holds the permits and funding for the project.<br /> “We’re going along for the ride,” said Kellogg.<br /> “They’re basically doing us a favor,” said Fischer.</p></div>Boca Raton: Council member withdraws resolutions targeting gunshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-council-member-withdraws-resolutions-targeting-guns2019-10-02T16:07:06.000Z2019-10-02T16:07:06.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p class="p1"><span class="s1"><b>By Mary Hladky</b></span></p>
<p class="p3">City Council member Monica Mayotte has backed off an effort to pass two resolutions supporting gun control measures after her council colleagues voiced concerns about wading into partisan political waters. The resolutions would have expressed City Council support for background checks on all gun sales and so-called red flag laws.</p>
<p class="p3">Mayotte drew support at a Sept. 23 council workshop from Andrea O’Rourke and Andy Thomson on the substance of the resolutions, but they were reluctant to vote for them.</p>
<p class="p3">Mayor Scott Singer said he is “not a fan” of resolutions that are not related to Boca Raton issues.</p>
<p class="p3">“Even well-intentioned resolutions can cause issues,” he said, adding that he did not know if city residents would support Mayotte’s resolutions.</p>
<p class="p3">Thomson said he had a concern about the city’s taking a position on gun measures. Deputy Mayor Jeremy Rodgers said the council should not take a position on matters over which it has no power.</p>
<p class="p3">O’Rourke said it is a “slippery slope” when the council strays from city issues and noted the council is nonpartisan.</p>
<p class="p3">“Thank you for your honesty,” Mayotte responded. She said she would remove the resolutions from the Sept. 24 council meeting agenda.</p>
<p class="p3">“I understand the rationale behind it,” she said after the workshop about the other council members’ concerns. She said she did not feel that her colleagues were silencing her voice.</p>
<p class="p3">“I am not discouraged,” she said.</p>
<p class="p3">Florida prohibits cities from enacting their own firearms regulations. Under state law, local officials can be removed from office, fined or sued if they move ahead with their own regulations.</p>
<p class="p3">Leon County Circuit Judge Charles Dodson in Tallahassee ruled in July that those penalties were unconstitutional, but his ruling has been appealed.</p>
<p class="p3">Red flag laws empower police to take weapons out of the hands of those who are likely to use them to harm themselves or others.</p>
<p class="p3">Florida passed a red flag law after a gunman killed 17 students and staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland in 2018. <span class="s2">Ú</span></p></div>Religion: Learning about phone scams, cyber crime — St. Lucy Church, Highland Beach — Sept. 17https://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/religion-learning-about-phone-scams-cyber-crime-st-lucy-church-hi2019-10-01T20:00:00.000Z2019-10-01T20:00:00.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960892867,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960892867,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960892867?profile=original" /></a><em>Peggy Brown, Barbara Sheridan, Anne Mongon, Michele DeGennaro and Highland Beach Police Chief Craig Hartmann. <strong>Photo provided</strong></em></p>
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<p style="text-align:center;"><em>Speaking during an event held by the St. Lucy Council of Catholic Women, members of the Delray Beach Police Department’s detective division addressed an audience of 90 women about the increase in crime via computers and from telephone solicitors. Police said a current scam involves calls requesting prepaid credit cards to pay off false IRS bills or false hospital costs for grandchildren. They advised the women to hang up and report the calls to police and not to provide any personal information.</em></p></div>