WESTERN ACADEMY GETS OK TO EXPAND SEE STORY, PAGE 4
SCOUTS COLLECTING FOR FOSTER KIDS SEE STORY, PAGE 7
THE
TOWN-CRIER WELLINGTON • ROYAL PALM BEACH • LOXAHATCHEE • THE ACREAGE
Your Community Newspaper
INSIDE
Charter School Plans To Open In August At Vacated WCS Site
Volume 35, Number 15 April 11 - April 17, 2014
Serving Palms West Since 1980
FLAVORS OF WELLINGTON RETURNS
A performance arts charter school is slated to open this August in Wellington on the former Wellington Christian School campus. The Eagle Arts Academy Charter School of the Arts will purchase the property after Wellington Christian closes its doors in May. Page 3
Wellington Council OKs More Money For SR 7 Lobbying Efforts
Members of the Wellington Village Council voted unanimously Tuesday to kick in an additional $5,000 to support lobbying efforts for the State Road 7 extension. Page 7
The Wellington Chamber of Commerce hosted its 11th annual Flavors of Wellington tasting event at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center on Friday, April 4. The Best Display and Best Dessert awards went to Oh La La Catering, while Best Plate went to Universal Living Sprouts and Best Entree went to the Wanderers Club. Shown here are Kathleen Lamour, Daphne Urso, Hector Portillo and Christina Gonzalez from the Wanderers Club. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 3 PHOTO BY LAUREN MIRÓ/TOWN-CRIER
Garden Club Hosts ‘Secret Gardens Of Wellington’ Walk
The Wellington Garden Club held its seventh biennial “Secret Gardens of Wellington” walk on Saturday, April 5. Guests were able to visit and explore several stunning gardens throughout the day. Page 9
RPB Relay Raises Money To Fight Cancer
The American Cancer Society’s Royal Palm Beach Relay for Life was held April 5 and 6 at Royal Palm Beach High School. Page 20
OPINION
Take Time Out This Month To Celebrate The Environment
We in the western communities are blessed to have an abundance of green space and natural beauty. Living in such natural wonder, it’s easy to take what we have for granted. But this month, the world will come together to celebrate Earth Day, putting the focus on what we as a community can do to make our world a little bit better, and everyone should get involved. Page 4 2014
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Council Sidesteps Gerwig To Name Greene Vice Mayor
By Lauren Miró Town-Crier Staff Report Wellington Councilwoman Anne Gerwig was passed over this week for the title of vice mayor when members of the Wellington Village Council voted 3-2 to depart from custom, giving Councilman John Greene the ceremonial title instead. Gerwig and Councilman Howard Coates dissented on the motion after Greene’s nomination by Councilman Matt Willhite. “This takes what should be a very non-controversial appointment to a ceremonial title and, in my opinion, attempts to inject politics, acrimony and further division,” Coates said. Traditionally, the title of vice
mayor has gone to Wellington’s longest-serving council member who has not recently held the position. Gerwig was re-elected last month, making her next in line had the council followed precedent. Greene was first elected in 2012 and has served the least amount of time of any council member. Willhite chose to nominate Greene at the beginning of Tuesday’s meeting, and Mayor Bob Margolis seconded the motion. “Although it is ceremonial, it is a position that is held with high regard and that will serve in the absence of the mayor,” Willhite said. He said it was not the first time the most senior-ranking council member had been passed over,
Village Council, which still could choose to approve it. Wellington Project Manager Mike O’Dell told committee members Wednesday night that the ordinance would provide standards to protect the safety and welfare of those using the airparks in the village. Currently, only two properties in Wellington have airstrips: the Aero Club and the family-owned Loxahatchee Airport at the village’s western edge. Because the Loxahatchee Airport is technically within the village’s Equestrian Preserve Area, the committee had to hear the ordinance. The ordinance would limit commercial activities, set a weight limit, require that all park operations are subject to visual flight rules and prohibit “the prolonged running of aircraft engines” between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m., according to a Wellington staff report. But opponents of the ordinance said that the Federal Aviation Administration already regulates all the provisions in the ordinance — some of which actually conflict with FAA rules. John Herring, president of the
By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report The Indian Trail Improvement District Board of Supervisors approved a motion Wednesday opposing Minto West’s plan to build up to 6,500 homes and 1.4 million square feet of non-residential space on the 3,900-acre former Callery-Judge Grove property. Minto Communities Florida recently purchased the property for $51 million. The land, off Seminole Pratt Whitney Road, has current approvals for up to 2,996 homes and up to 235,000 square feet of non-residential uses. ITID President Carol Jacobs said the firm the district had hired to do an analysis of Minto West’s impact was not prepared to make a presentation at Wednesday’s meeting. “We’re going to have a full discussion at May’s meeting,” Jacobs said. Supervisor Gary Dunkley said he thought the board should take a stand now, although it has no
jurisdiction over the property other than possible impacts on the district’s drainage and road systems. “I’m not against development,” Dunkley said. “I’m not against Minto, but I think I am against the current application that Minto has put in. That would impact us as a community in terms of traffic.” Jacobs reiterated that ITID had hired a group to research the Minto West project. She pointed out that attorney Marty Perry, who is part of ITID’s consulting group on the Minto West issue, was not at the meeting. She took issue with the fact that Dunkley seemed to have more information regarding the group’s research. “All the board members needed to have individual meetings with the group, so we cannot really vote on this tonight,” Jacobs said. “It’s not fair, even though you’re probably going to get the vote. We’re probably going to be all the same, but we still need to respect that we See MINTO WEST, page 4
GRAND CHAMPIONS HOSTS GPL TOURNEY
pointing to a time when thenCouncilman Mark Miles was not appointed vice mayor. “It’s not as though this is the first time this has happened,” Willhite said. “It’s not an effort to inject any politics. It’s a council option.” Gerwig pointed out that she was re-elected with more than 63 percent of the vote. “If you think I’m somehow not the people’s choice, that would be an interesting argument to make,” she said. “This is a highly ceremonial position, and it would be proper to appoint me as the vice mayor.” Coates agreed. “I think it sets a bad precedent,” he said. “It’s not an affront to [Greene] at all. I just See VICE MAYOR, page 18
Second Board Questions Need For Wellington Aviation Rules
By Lauren Miró Town-Crier Staff Report A proposal to regulate civil aviation in Wellington had members of the village’s Equestrian Preserve Committee confused Wednesday as to why it is needed. Committee members voted 6-0 to recommend denial of the Civil Aviation Ordinance, to the delight of about 50 residents of Wellington’s Aero Club who came out to fight the proposal. “I think this ordinance sets a very bad precedent,” Committee Chair Cynthia Gardner said. “I think it is indeed a solution in search of a problem.” The ordinance was originally introduced in 2012 after the Aero Club community — a neighborhood of about 250 homes with an airstrip in the center — voted to pave its grass runway. The committee tabled the ordinance, and it was largely forgotten until recently. Last month, Wellington’s Public Safety Committee also recommended denial of the ordinance. It must go before the Planning, Zoning & Adjustment Board before being heard by the Wellington
ITID Takes Stand Opposing Minto West Application
Aero Club Property Owners Association, said the ordinance is redundant, considering FAA regulations and the community’s own bylaws, which restrict the types of airplanes allowed to use the airstrip, among other provisions. “There isn’t anything in this ordinance that hasn’t been addressed, with exception to limiting our rights,” he said. “We’ve asked, ‘Why are we doing this?’ and can’t get a straight answer.” He said he has discussed the matter with four of the five members of the council, who couldn’t give him a response. “They’ve all said they don’t know why we’re doing this,” Herring said. “Four of the five, so far, have told me they are against it. So, I don’t know why this keeps coming up. Staff says it’s because the council is pushing them, but the council says they don’t know what is going on.” Further, Herring said his community has not received a single complaint about noise or other issues since the runway was paved. “The paving has made it quieter and safer,” he said. Some of the regulations, such as See AVIATION, page 18
The fifth annual International Gay Polo Tournament was held Saturday, April 5 at the Grand Champions Polo Club in Wellington. RBC Wealth Management won the Senator Cup with a 5-3 victory over Phelps Media Group, while Cedar Crest Stables won the Founders Cup with a 3-2 victory over Gordon W. Ross Team Re/Max. Shown here is the RBC Wealth Management team during the awards ceremony. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 5 PHOTO BY JULIE UNGER/TOWN-CRIER
Lox Council Begins Town Management RFP Discussions
By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report The Loxahatchee Groves Town Council began discussions last week on putting out a request for proposals (RFP) for a new town management firm, leaving open the idea of keeping its existing firm. The contract for the town’s current firm, Underwood Management Services Group, was for three years with a renewal option. The initial term expires Sept. 30. At the April 1 council meeting, Councilman Jim Rockett said there were portions of the current con-
tract that he would like to change. For example, he said he would like to remove hurricane management from the contract and assign that to another company, and would like to emphasize communication regarding the town’s web site and/ or a newsletter. “I don’t know how to make that a more pronounced responsibility, but I would like to somehow figure that out,” Rockett said, adding that he would like to include a provision for a management evaluation. “We have a long list of things that are supposed to be done. We have See MANAGER, page 7
RPB Employs New Technique To Plan Road Projects
By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report Royal Palm Beach staff gave an update on road resurfacing plans at the April 3 meeting of the Royal Palm Beach Village Council. Village Manager Ray Liggins said a survey was done of all the roads in the village last year. “We evaluated all of our roadways, and we’re still working with that and formulating what we need to put in the budget,” he said. Village Engineer Chris Marsh explained that Royal Palm Beach has a total lane network of 148.7 miles. “Essentially, we take the center-lane length of the roadway and multiply it times the total number of lanes,” Marsh said. “Of
those miles, collector roadways make up 22.4 miles, and local roads make up 126.3 miles.” Marsh said a contractor made a complete video record of all the roads last year. “They took a van and drove around,” he said. “They videoed every square foot of our roadway network and identified every single crack. Then they sat down and essentially graded the segments of roadway using a rating system developed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.” The system looks at the stresses on the roads and rates them from 0 to 100 for particular segments. “If you look at a snapshot of our current roadway system, 95 per-
cent of our [roads] were rated fair to excellent, with 5 percent rated serious to poor,” Marsh said. “Village staff took those ratings and recommendations from that report, and we prioritized how the roads were going to be resurfaced.” The project also evaluated how much traffic is going to be on the road segment. “If the segment was going to be used by more residents, then we saw that as higher priority to get that area resurfaced,” Marsh said. Another consideration was grouping the road segments so they could be resurfaced efficiently. “It’s very expensive to mobilize the paving equipment,” he said, explaining that it is more
cost-efficient to do an entire subdivision than just portions. The current paving schedule will begin with Saratoga Blvd. from Lexington Drive to Derby Lane. “We’re going to combine that project with an underground project to minimize the impacts on residents,” Marsh said. “We’re looking for that to be advertised sometime in September of this year, with construction being completed in March of next year.” The next series of roads will be Saratoga Blvd. from Habitat Court to Lexington Drive, followed by Wildcat Way from Bell Circle to Okeechobee Blvd., and then Royal Palm Beach Blvd. from Southern
Blvd. to Okeechobee Blvd., then Sweet Bay Lane from Park Road South to Sparrow Drive. Marsh said he had not yet completed cost estimates for the capital improvements list to evaluate what the five-year plan would look like for doing those roadways. “We looked at the stats from the Bureau of Labor Statistics of consumer price indices for asphalt,” he said. “From 1982 to 2004, the average increase for asphalt was about 1.8 percent; and from 2005 to 2013, we’ve seen that average annual increase at a level of 10 percent, so costs have skyrocketed, due to the costs of petroleum.” Other factors that affect the See ROADS, page 18