News

By Rich Pollack
    
    Highland Beach’s 18-year-old firetruck has been out of service since the end of October because of needed repairs and should be replaced as soon as possible, town commissioners were told during a workshop meeting last month.
    While Delray Beach Fire-Rescue, which has a contract to operate Highland Beach’s Fire Department, is providing a backup ladder truck at no cost, fire officials say the town’s truck is long overdue for retirement.
    “This truck is worn out,” said Delray Beach Fire-Rescue Assistant Chief Kevin Green, adding that most departments take similar ladder trucks out of daily service after about 10 years. “It’s at the point where it needs to be replaced.”
    Replacing the truck, which could cost as much as $847,000, is likely to be a main topic of discussion in coming months as the Town Commission considers its five-year capital improvement plan.
    During the recent discussions, Delray Beach Fire-Rescue Chief Danielle Connor told town commissioners that the truck, built in 1995, has undergone a series of repairs and maintenance, ranging from brake replacement to extensive electrical and drive-shaft work.
    “I cannot emphasize enough that time is of the essence,” Connor said.
    Commissioners, during the workshop meeting, also heard that progress is being made on a proposed $3.5 million sale to a private developer of two parcels of town-owed land in northern Boca Raton once used as well fields for the town.
The parcels, including an 8.5-acre tract and a 2.16-acre L-shaped tract with frontage on Federal Highway, became available after the town built a reverse osmosis plant behind Town Hall in 2004.
    Town Manager Kathleen Weiser said she is waiting to hear back from the city of Boca Raton, which has first right of refusal on the purchase of the larger of the two parcels, before the proposed sale can be brought to the commission for approval.
    The town, Weiser said, is also exploring whether it is legally obligated to use money from the land sale strictly to pay off a portion of the millions of dollars borrowed for construction of the new plant. Town officials, at the time of construction, planned to use land-sale proceeds toward reducing the debt, she said.
    In other news, commissioners learned that work was expected to begin this week on repairs to the town’s 2.7-mile stretch of sidewalk along State Road A1A.
    Responding to residents’ complaints, commissioners in February voted unanimously to approve a contract that would enable Kilbourne & Sons to remove roots that have created about a dozen uneven spots along the path, and repair those spots using lime rock and asphalt.
    The town initially explored the possibility of putting a one-inch asphalt overlay along the full length of the walk path, which runs on the west side of State Road A1A for the length of the town. That option was ruled out when estimated costs approached $300,000.
    The approved repairs, town officials say, are a temporary fix until a proposed large-scale streetscape project is undertaken, including an overhaul of the walk path and landscaping efforts. Those plans are still in the early discussion stages, and could be years away. Any streetscape improvements would need to be approved and funded.