By Mary Thurwachter
Lantana’s snazzy renovated library will soon have a sensory garden.
To that end, the Town Council at its Sept. 11 meeting voted to submit a $52,623 Community Block Grant application to Palm Beach County to help fund the project.
Library director Kristine Kreidler said the current outdoor space of the garden will be replaced with an area designed to accommodate and engage individuals with physical disabilities and sensory processing disorders.
“This project,” Kreidler said, “will focus on adding elements that engage the five senses, making the space more inviting for those individuals who utilize mobility devices.”
The plan includes an ADA-accessible winding path, accessible raised planters, a shade structure, outdoor musical instruments, and an educational activity station for youth.
The library, at 205 W. Ocean Ave., held a grand reopening in March after a $1,505,000 redo that took more than a year to complete.
Appointments made to Planning Commission
The council reappointed Lyn Tate of Hypoluxo Island to the Planning Commission and appointed Veronica Cobb to three-year terms.
Since the other incumbent, Erica Wald, also of Hypoluxo Island, did not reapply, her seat was up for grabs with several residents seeking to fill it.
Candidates included Cobb, Stephanie Forman, Chad Lamar, Annemarie Joyce, Ryan Joyce, Nina Pozzi, Ed Shropshire (a former council member and an alternate on the Planning Commission), and Jorge Velazquez (also an alternate on the commission).
Council member Kem Mason made a motion to elevate Shropshire to fill Wald’s position, but his motion died for lack of a second.
Instead, the council chose Cobb to fill the vacancy. Vice Mayor Lynn Moorhouse made the motion, which passed by a 3-2 vote with Mason and Vice Mayor Pro Tem Mark Zeitler dissenting.
Mason said it was customary to bring up an alternate to fill openings on the commission. Mayor Karen Lythgoe disclosed that Cobb, general manager of The Carlisle Palm Beach and a former member of the Planning Commission in Bradenton, is a friend who is very qualified for the position.
In other action, the council:
• Approved a piggyback agreement with ParkMobile for the implementation of a parking fee collection system. As of Oct. 1, parking fees at the beach and elsewhere in town have gone from $1.50 to $2 an hour. ParkMobile’s clients include Boynton Beach, Palm Beach, West Palm Beach, Lake Worth Beach, Delray Beach, Boca Raton and Deerfield Beach.
• Presented the family of the late Rob Caldwell a plaque for his years of service to the community as part of the town’s Marine Safety Division. Caldwell died July 13 at the age of 67. A career lifeguard and surfer, Caldwell worked for the Lantana Fire Department from 1976 to 2009 and was captain of the beach patrol. Over the years, he saved more than 100 people.
• Held a special tribute to commemorate those who lost their lives during the 9/11 attacks in 2001.
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