News

By Mary Thurwachter

    Lantana has promoted its community planner, Nicole Dritz, to town clerk.
    Dritz, 30, has a bachelor’s degree in urban planning from Florida Atlantic University and has worked for the town for two years.
She has worked on site plan reviews, the community rating system, comprehensive planning, special community events and traffic calming projects.
    “I am a Midwest girl at heart, born and raised in the small town of Ashland, Ohio,” she said. She moved to South Florida in 2004 after meeting her now husband in Fort Lauderdale.
    “As town clerk, I am excited to have my hands in more than just planning. I enjoy seeing more of the inner workings of the town as a whole, as well as working with all the departments, the town manager and the wonderful directors,” she said. “Lantana is headed in a great direction and I am extremely excited to be part of it all.”
    Dritz replaces Crystal Gibson, who had been clerk for seven years and took a position as operations manager for the community services division of the city of Palm Beach Gardens.
    In other Lantana news, the Town Council voted to:
    • Amend the Aura Seaside site plan on the former Cenacle property on Dixie Highway to include four additional residential units. The added units will not change the project’s footprint.
    • Leave in place the installed speed cushions that had been positioned on a six-month trial basis as a traffic calming measure on Hypoluxo Island. The speed humps are on South Atlantic Drive and Southeast Atlantic between Barefoot Lane and Lagoon Lane.
    • Approve a contract with M&M Asphalt Maintenance Inc. not to exceed $44,915 for repaving the west side of Sportsman’s Park parking lot.
    • Raise council member and mayor salaries by 50 percent. Council members currently receive monthly compensation of $400 and the mayor receives $600. The council also voted to double the stipends. Council members currently receive monthly stipends of $100 and the mayor receives $150. The stipend increase will be effective immediately but salaries won’t become effective until March 2017.  Ú