News

By Mary Thurwachter

    At the recommendation of Town Attorney R. Max Lohman, the Lantana Town Council voted Feb. 22 to dissolve the Lantana Nature Preserve Commission.
    Lohman said the commission (members are appointed by the town) and the Friends of the Lantana Nature Preserve Committee (a nonprofit organization) frequently duplicate efforts and that only one of the groups was necessary. There are some common members to both groups and only one is covered by Sunshine Laws regarding open meetings.
    Lohman said the town was trying to protect itself and members of the two groups from getting into trouble with the Sunshine Law.
“I’ve had some calls on this and some members didn’t understand the nature of the Sunshine Law,” said Vice Mayor Malcom Balfour, a former chairman of the Lantana Nature Preserve Commission whose wife, Ilona, serves on both committees. He said the matter was due more discussion. But Lohman said everyone would have a chance to voice opinions on the matter on March 14, when the ordinance will have a second reading and public hearing.
    The Nature Preserve, a coastal hammock between The Carlisle senior living facility on East Ocean Avenue and the Intracoastal Waterway, was created by a 1997 ordinance. The Carlisle pays the town $40,000 a year to maintain the park. No money comes from the town’s general fund to pay for its maintenance.