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April 29 - May 5, 2016
The Town-Crier
www.gotowncrier.com
NEWS
PERFECT SMILE DENTISTRY IN WELLINGTON HOSTS A ‘PARTY FOR THE PETS’
Perfect Smile Dentistry in Wellington hosted a free special event called “Let’s Party For The Pets” on Tuesday, April 19 to help raise funds for the animals at Pet Haven Rescue in Loxahatchee Groves. Bonefish Grill donated the food for the festivities. Shaina Goot of Shay Chic Couture had jewelry on display to provide additional support for Pet Haven rescue. PHOTOS BY JASON STROMBERG/TOWN-CRIER
Dr. Kshitij Kapoor, Dr. Rasmi Akel, Dean Piper, Kathy Prestano, Gustavo Carrillo and Lisa Field.
Carole Chapuis, Dr. Michael Harris, and Jessica Nicodemo.
Jennifer Nicodemo, Jim Verrochi, Jessica Nicodemo and Carole Chapuis.
Dr. Rasmi Akel, Kathy Prestano, Iveta Akel and Lina Jankus with Jankus’ 4-year-old twins Ariana and Karina.
Rodusky
New On The RPB Council
continued from page 1 May 3 at 7 p.m. at the Royal Palm Beach Cultural Center. “That is the second part, taking the strategic plan to the residents and letting everyone have a say in what happens,” she said. “That’s exciting to me. I like to see the village grow in thoughtful ways.” Rodusky said she is also excited about big projects that the village is working on, including the construction of an amphitheater at Royal Palm Beach Commons Park and plans for a facility serving seniors. As chief grants writer for the Cultural Council of Palm Beach
Parc
Connection In Limbo
continued from page 1 conditions that have already been complied with, and adding two that relate to the traffic analysis and state proportionate-share requirements, as well as a requirement for reimbursement to Palomino Park for bringing utilities to the site. Councilman Michael Drahos asked what the timeline was for connecting the project to the office buildings at Palomino Park, so that Wellington Parc residents and visitors could get access to the traffic light there, and attorney Ellie Halperin, representing Wellington Parc, said that there is no timeline or obligation. “At the current time, it’s going to stay barricaded,” Halperin said. Vice Mayor John McGovern asked about the added conditions, and Basehart said that proportional share requires the applicant to pay $146,000 for utility lines. “My understanding is that it is reimbursement to the developers
County, she is also interested in the expansion of cultural events and activities in the village. “Another piece of my interest is adding arts and culture to our strategic plan,” she said. “We have a lot of leisure activities, which makes the village rich. We have a lot of recreational activities, which also gets the people engaged. The trend is for the population to be more active and interactive in doing things, not just going to a museum and looking at art, or not just passively sitting on a lawn and listening to music. The trend is more personal involvement in all kinds of art, whether it be painting and sipping wine, and sculpting or crafting classes.” Rodusky said there are many artists in the village who could play a big role in the development of “maker spaces” where people
get involved in creating art themselves. “It doesn’t mean that everyone has to be a professional artist, but everyone wants to have their hand in actively doing things, whether it’s painting or basket weaving or sculpting or playing music — that’s the growing trend across the country,” she said. “I think there’s a real need to bring some of that to Royal Palm Beach.” She explained that she has a personal interest in art and considered an art major at Kent State University in Ohio before she focused on sociology for her bachelor’s degree and eventually a master’s degree in public administration. “I have a sister who is an artist,” Rodusky said. “I don’t have an education in art, but I have a passion and interest for art.”
Rodusky grew up in Akron, Ohio, and when she was finishing her master’s degree, she worked for the recreation department in University Heights, Ohio. “I started as an intern and was hired, and started working in the recreation department, so I really had my first experience in municipal government as a young college graduate,” she said. After working there for a few years, she married, and her husband took a job in Pennsylvania. They eventually moved to Florida, where her husband, a biologist, took a job with the South Florida Water Management District. “He has worked at the water management district for 22 years,” Rodusky said. Her first jobs in Florida revolved around nonprofits. “Finding a municipal gov-
of Palomino Park, because when they developed, they brought utilities to the site, extending them to service this site as well,” Basehart said. “There is a reimbursement policy that the village has of requiring when a developer extends lines that will also enable another property or properties to be serviced, that there is a pro rata share reimbursement when those properties develop.” Mayor Anne Gerwig said the reimbursement has nothing to do with the barricaded connection, which also requires construction of a roundabout to complete the connection. Village Attorney Laurie Cohen said that when Palomino Park was approved, there was a condition that they provide cross access. “Unfortunately, when Wellington Parc was approved, there was no corresponding condition placed in their development order,” Cohen said. “Therefore, it is not a condition that they have to meet. The parties were unable to agree to the terms of a cross-access easement, and there was some mediation that occurred.”
As of now, all sides do not agree. “Wellington accepted the form of the easement that Palomino Park had proposed. It was not anything that Wellington Parc agreed to, so we’re in this situation where even though it has been constructed, and it looks like it could be used, there is no requirement that it be opened up for use,” Cohen added. “It is our hope that the owners will come to some mutual agreement.” In June 2015, the council rejected a settlement with the Palomino Executive Park Property Owners’ Association. The settlement, proposed by village staff, would have had Wellington pay to resolve Palomino Park’s dispute with the neighboring Wellington Parc development for cross access to join the two properties. The council at the time said it did not favor using public money to resolve disputes between private parties. Gerwig said the intention of the council asking for the cross access is to keep traffic off of SR 7. “When this was put in place, it didn’t do exactly what we wanted it to do,” she said. “We charged our village engineer with trying to
go through and mediate that, and I believe that the amount that they were asking the village to participate in, which would have allowed that cross access to happen, was about $85,000, and a demand to allow the cross access through a process such as eminent domain would cost us more than that.” Cohen added that the charter prohibits the village from taking on expenses that are developer expenses. “I think that, eventually, the users of the property will come to the realization that the cross access is of benefit to them,” she said. “Hopefully, at that time, the parties will be able to agree to some sort of reimbursement for the construction of the roundabout and the maintenance obligations.” Gerwig said that the unbuilt office space is probably key to the situation. “That will probably happen when the commercial property is sold and developed,” Gerwig said. “This is the first step toward that,” said McGovern, who made a motion to approve the time extension, which carried 5-0.
Perfect Smile’s Dr. Rasmi Akel, Wellington Mayor Anne Gerwig and Carole Chapuis of Pet Haven Rescue.
Lisa Field and Kathie Cosentino.
Jack McColpin and Shaina Goot.
ernment job was very hard, so I worked for a few nonprofits, and I gained a really good development background,” Rodusky said. “I started in special events, and I moved on to grant writing and annual gifts, and I was hired by Intracoastal Health Systems doing annual gifts.” Intracoastal Health Systems became the Intracoastal Health Foundation after Good Samaritan and St. Mary’s medical centers were sold, and she started the grant-making program, where she worked for nine years before joining the cultural council. Rodusky noted that Royal Palm Beach has developed a successful grant-writing program. “They are very experienced in doing that, and that was the case when I was on the Recreation Advisory Board, and that was
many years ago,” she said. “It has paid off well, and they now have a system that is fully operational.” With her two children now in middle school and high school, Rodusky said she is ready to do her part for the village. “I’ve tried to stay up on the information that’s going on and the trends in local government,” she said. “We have things in the strategic plan that we want to get done, but I don’t see any outstanding problems. Our village manager and his team, based on last year’s goals and this year’s accomplishments, it’s pretty impressive how much they get done in the short period of time of a year.” Rodusky added that she hopes her 11 months finishing Pinto’s term will turn into a longer tenure on the council.
Horseman’s Association Shows Named SEMF Sanctioned Events
The Palm Beach County Horseman’s Association will launch its 2016 season with all shows as sanctioned events for the Southeast Medal Finals, enabling participants for the first time to qualify for the finals competition that takes place Sept. 16-18. Created in 1968, the Palm Beach County Horseman’s Association is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting and rewarding quality horsemanship, sportsmanship and fair competition. It holds eight two-day shows with classes in hunters and equitation at the Jim Brandon Equestrian Center. The first show takes place April 29-30. “We created the Southeast Medal Finals as a horse show accessible to all riders,” said SEMF creator James Lala of Wellington. “Some of these riders might never have participated in a horse show beyond the local level, so we’re pleased to offer members of the Palm Beach County Horseman’s Association a chance to participate in a real finals event.”
Each month, the Palm Beach Horseman’s Association two-day show attracts between 80 and 100 participants in classes from lead-line up through open hunters, Association President Tanja Koschnick said. “Our schooling shows are the stepping stone to that next level of going to the rated shows,” Koschnick said. “This affiliation would give participants a prestigious finals to work toward without having to travel too far.” For more information about the Palm Beach County Horseman’s Association and its show schedule, visit www.pbcha.org or call Koschnick at (561) 308-2510. The Southeast Medal Finals offers a special end-of-season culmination and finals show that is attainable for everyone. The SEMF offers finals competitions in hunters, jumpers and equitation. Sanctioned events offer riders a more direct path to the finals. Learn more at www.southeast medalfinals.com.