News

By Dan Moffett

    Town Attorney Ken Spillias retired in March after 17 years on the job in Ocean Ridge and 41 years practicing law.
    “I’ve seen good government and I’ve seen very bad government,” Spillias told the commission. “I want you to know that from my perspective, working here has been an absolute pleasure.”
    Spillias’ last couple of years were stormy ones for the town, with the forced resignation of Police Chief Chris Yannuzzi, a failed recall attempt, personnel changes and no shortage of political infighting.
    “This is a small town and there are a lot of systemic changes that need to be made,” he said. “Small towns tend to resist that. They have their way of doing things and it works. And it has worked here, and it has worked very, very well.”
    Spillias suggested that recent disputes should be kept in perspective.
    “You are lucky people,” he said. “You live in a really nice town, and for the most part, people are nice to each other. You have your dust-ups and you have your battles. But I’m going to tell you something — compared to other cities, and you read about them right here in Palm Beach County — you have a great group of people, both citizens and commissioners and staff, who are all working, sometimes at odds with each other but with the right attitude, to make this stay a wonderful place to live.”
    Mayor Geoff Pugh said Spillias had been “almost like a mentor” to him. Pugh said he’d miss the sound from the end of the dais of Spillias’ clearing his throat when commissioners considered actions that might have legal risks.
    Spillias’ successor, Glen Torcivia, gave him Greek candy and vintage Pittsburgh Pirates baseball cards as parting gifts.
In other action:
    • Town Manager Jamie Titcomb told the commission that public records requests “are up exponentially” and his staff is overwhelmed. Titcomb won the commission’s approval for the extraordinary step of closing Town Hall for a day (on March 25) to allow staff to catch up with requests and purge unneeded documents.
    Titcomb said the town should make the transition to electronic record-keeping and a more modern archival system. Commissioners agreed and told Titcomb to investigate alternatives.
    • The commission gave unanimous approval to Police Chief Hal Hutchins’ plans for overhauling his department’s administrative structure and for updating its radio system.
    Under the restructuring, the department would add an administrative lieutenant position, at a cost of about $7,400 in salary and benefits. Hutchins also said he would promote two officers to fill vacant sergeant and investigator positions.
    The first phase of a two-part upgrade for the town’s 10-year-old radio system will cost about $84,000, with an additional $62,000 expected in next year’s budget to complete the overhaul. The new radios enable the town’s police to communicate more efficiently with neighboring agencies.