Town officials make pitch to legislators — Lantana Town Council members and Town Manager Brian Raducci made a short visit to Tallahassee on Jan. 13-14 for Palm Beach County Day at the state capitol.
Raducci said the outing provided local leaders a chance to observe the legislative process in person, meet with lobbyists, and network with other municipalities and organizations that attended the event.
Lantana lawmakers met with Sen. Mack Bernard and Rep. Peggy Gossett-Seidman and discussed gaining their support to fund the town’s 2026-27 requests for $4.57 million worth of state appropriation, which include:
• Rehabilitation for four lift stations;
• Improvements for the water treatment plant instrumentation and controls;
• Improvements to the North Fourth Street gravity sewer and drainage;
• ADA walkway improvements at Maddock Park;
• Renovation of the Police Department’s emergency operation center.
Raducci says that while these requests have been submitted, grants to fund them are not guaranteed.
Bonefish Cove habitat restoration update — Work continues at Bonefish Cove, a project that’s creating a chain of two mangrove islands and oyster reefs in the central Lake Worth Lagoon.
Palm Beach County’s Department of Environmental Resources Management has given the latest update on the habitat restoration project. The location is just north of Hypoluxo Island.
ERM reports that no additional work has been completed in the north island since December.
The contractor still needs to complete the finishing touches on the final portion of the rock wave break structure around the island and is assessing the success of the red mangroves planted a month ago, according to the report.
For the south island, the contractor continues delivering, stockpiling and grading sand to form the oyster reefs and a submerged sea grass shelf. Seven of the 10 oyster reefs are complete in the north portion of this section.
In coming weeks, the contractor will continue building additional oyster reefs and shaping the intertidal island.
Barge traffic during weekdays has been reauthorized, with barges permitted to travel from Peanut Island to Bonefish Cove from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays, in addition to weekends and holidays.
Working hours at the Bonefish Cove project site are from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily.
For more information, go online to discover.pbc.gov/erm/Pages/Lake-Worth-Lagoon.aspx
Tree City designation — For the 35th consecutive year, Lantana has been recognized as a Tree City USA community by the Arbor Day Foundation.
The recognition honors the town’s long-standing commitment to urban forestry, environmental stewardship and community pride.
An Arbor Day celebration, which will include a tree planting, will be held in April. The time, date and location have yet to be announced.
— Mary Thurwachter
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