Grant covers most of land purchase cost — At its Nov. 4 meeting, the Ocean Ridge Town Commission approved the use of a $1,054,000 grant to pay itself back most of the money it spent to purchase the Priest property for conservation and preservation.
The 10-acre property, on the Intracoastal Waterway, is a mangrove swamp with related marine habitat and sits just northwest of Town Hall.
Ocean Ridge applied for a grant earlier this year with the Florida Conservation Trust, which will pay for 70% of the $1.5 million spent.
The town purchased the property to preserve the area and prevent development since building on a muck base poses future drainage problems for residents, according to an April 2022 public notice by the town.
Palm Beach County, which owns the mangrove swamp adjacent to the Priest property, previously had the property rezoned from residential single-family to preservation/conservation.
Coz files for election unopposed, wins fourth term — For election-fatigued people in Ocean Ridge, good news. There will be no Town Commission election next year.
Vice Mayor Steve Coz filed for reelection in November, but no one else came forward to challenge him for the seat — meaning he wins a fourth term automatically. It also means the taxpayers get to save money as the town avoids the expense of an election.
While the town limits commissioners to three consecutive three-year terms of office, the clock didn’t start ticking until 2019, after Coz had already completed his first term. Under the term limit rules, he will not be able to run again in 2028.
Coz, 67, came to office in 2016, beating then-Vice Mayor Lynn Allison.
“There was like this big push to have the commission become a giant HOA that could instruct residents on what they could do with their properties,” he said. “I was dead set against that and I think that really resonates with the majority of Ocean Ridge residents.”
—John Pacenti
Light poles changing colors (on town’s side of bridge) — The teal light poles on Ocean Avenue connecting Ocean Ridge to downtown Boynton Beach are changing — but just on the town’s side of the Intracoastal Waterway bridge.
Ocean Ridge is planning to give up ownership of its poles to Florida Power & Light. FPL offers only black and dark forest green colors, so the town is going with the black ones, Town Manager Lynne Ladner said.
But Boynton Beach commissioners on Dec. 3, responding to a city survey showing 84% resident support for teal, like that color’s character and will keep it on their bridge lampposts going west to Federal Highway. “I just think that black is a little too stark and dark for our bridge,” Vice Mayor Aimee Kelley said.
— Larry Barszewski
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