Town-Crier Newspaper August 23, 2013

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BENEFIT FOR COPELAND DAVIS SEPT. 14 SEE STORY, PAGE 7

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TOWN - CR IER WELLINGTON • ROYAL PALM BEACH • LOXAHATCHEE • THE ACREAGE

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INSIDE Despite Some Doubts, Equestrian Committee OKs Vet Office Change

Volume 34, Number 34 August 23 - August 29, 2013

STUDENTS HEAD BACK TO SCHOOL

Members of the Wellington Equestrian Preserve Committee recommended approval last Wednesday of an ordinance that could make veterinary offices a permitted use in certain parts of the Wellington Equestrian Preserve Area. Page 3

Royal Palm Making Plans To Respond To FEMA Flood Maps

The Royal Palm Beach Village Council is making headway in its plans to respond to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s new flood maps, which place most of the western communities in a flood zone. Page 7

Palm Beach County students headed back to school from summer vacation on Monday, Aug. 19, and the Town-Crier visited several area schools opening day. (Above) Carrington Brown, Pauline Henry and Dana Creel outside Western Pines Middle School in The Acreage. (Inset) Kelsey and Breezy Sterner get ready to start the new year at Binks Forest Elementary School in Wellington. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 5

Bull McCabe’s Irish Pub Ready To Open

The Bull McCabe’s Irish Pub & Tap Room held a pre-opening party for family and friends on Saturday, Aug. 17 in the original Wellington Mall. Guests enjoyed food samples and live music. The restaurant will officially open to the public on Monday, Aug. 26. Page 10

Costco Donates To Lox Groves Elementary

Costco Wholesale in Royal Palm Beach presented Loxahatchee Groves Elementary School with 400 backpacks on Friday, Aug. 16 at the school. Page 10

OPINION ‘Cancer Cluster’ Return Likely To Divide Acreage

Four years ago, the spotlight was turned on The Acreage through a high-profile investigation into a “cancer cluster.” Much testing was done and no explanation was found. Once again, concerns have been raised, this time by a law firm representing a handful of clients. Though it is important to seek the truth in these allegations, the community must not allow itself to be divided once again. Page 4 DEPARTMENT INDEX NEWS ............................. 3 - 10 OPINION .................................4 CRIME NEWS .........................6 PEOPLE ............................... 13 NEWS BRIEFS..................... 14 COLUMNS .................... 21 - 22 BUSINESS .................... 23 - 25 ENTERTAINMENT ................ 26 CALENDAR ................... 30 - 31 SPORTS ........................ 33 - 35 CLASSIFIEDS ................ 32 - 37 Visit Us On The Web At WWW.GOTOWNCRIER.COM

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RPB Council Seeks Better Control Of Aquatic Weeds By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report The Royal Palm Beach Village Council last week demanded that its aquatic weed contractor do a better job maintaining village canals. At the council’s meeting Thursday, Aug. 15, Councilman Jeff Hmara said the canal conditions are not as bad as last summer, but that the contractor still has a long way to go. “Last year’s deplorable canal conditions by comparison to conditions this year, are still not acceptable,” Hmara said. Many village canals are congested with weeds and floating plant material that do not seem to go away despite efforts by the contractor. Bob Carter of Pepper Tree Crescent, who had complained about the situation at a previous council meeting, said the vegetation in the

M-1 Canal behind his home floats back and forth, getting stuck against the floodgate that opens to the C-51 Canal. “If we have a hurricane, that lock might not work properly,” Carter said. “A year went by, and we have just as much stuff there today as we did then. The contractor didn’t do his job.” Leslie Horowitz of Rivera Avenue, who said she was speaking for a half-dozen of her La Mancha neighbors, complained that the level of the canal behind their houses was way too high. “If we get a hurricane, we’re going to be flooded,” Horowitz said, adding that growth on the edge of the canal is 6 feet high in places and that there have been issues with water rats on her property. Mayor Matty Mattioli said the issue will be addressed by the See AQUATIC WEEDS, page 4

CAFCI TALENT SHOW

PHOTOS BY LAUREN MIRÓ AND STEPHANIE JOYCE/TOWN-CRIER

ITID Board Narrows List Of District Manager Candidates By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report The Indian Trail Improvement District narrowed its list of district manager candidates to eight Wednesday and set interviews for Sept. 3 and 4 at 4 p.m. The list of finalists was drawn up by taking those applicants who had at least two favorable votes from board members. The list includes Peggy Bertsche, Donald Cooper, William Gotthelf, Robert Halfel, David Harvell, Marjorie Perez, Jamie Titcomb and Special District Services. Supervisor Gary Dunkley said he would like to make the position an employee of the district rather than a contracted position. “I would like to make a motion to make the manager an employee, so we have more control, more flexibility,” Dunkley said. “Like I stated previously, we have had very little luck with contract managers, and I would

like to make it where this employee of the district has a six-month probation.” Human relations attorney Lara Donlon noted that although the district has had managers in the past with contracts, they were still ITID employees. “There is no requirement that you have a contract with a district manager, but they’re still an employee either way,” Donlon said. Dunkley said he does not want the district to sign a contact with the new employee. “I do not want any contracts,” he said. “They are our employees, and we do not have to buy out any contract. We have guidelines, we have policies that the board sets for them to follow, and we do not have to be encumbered by buying them out.” Donlon pointed out that one of the candidates on the list is a corporation, which would likely require a contract.

ITID Vice President Carol Jacobs suggested that the contract could be written differently than it was with former District Administrator Tanya Quickel, who had a separation clause if the board chose to dismiss her without cause. “We could put language in it that would protect the district,” she said. Dunkley agreed. “It was on the side of the employee, and I don’t want that done again,” he said. Jacobs said that the salary of the manager should be less than what previous administrators had made. “Before we even notify the candidates, we need to discuss salary, because some might not even want to come in,” Jacobs said. “We need to discuss what salary we’re going to pay.” Supervisor Michelle Damone said she would rather have Donlon discuss salary with the candiSee ITID MANAGER, page 16

Wellington Asks Residents To Take ‘Budget Challenge’ By Lauren Miró Town-Crier Staff Report Wellington residents are encouraged to take the village’s budget challenge and have their voices heard on how tax dollars should be spent. The budget challenge kicked off this week and is available online at www.whatsupwellington.org. “We’re hoping to engage as many residents as possible through outlets like social media and our web site,” Wellington Chief Financial Officer Tanya Quickel told the Town-Crier Wednesday.

The budget challenge is a survey that asks residents to rate how they believe Wellington should spend its money, with answers ranging from supporting, remaining neutral and not supporting, as well as an “other” slot with the ability to write in answers. There are also yes or no questions, with options for “neutral” and “other.” Responders remain anonymous, Quickel said. There are about a dozen questions, with room for general comments. The topics vary from raising Acme Improvement District assessments to improve drainage, to

satisfaction with the parks and recreation amenities and with law enforcement. Residents are also asked to rate how safe they feel in the community, and to rank their priorities for spending village funds. Quickel said the information will help Wellington officials finalize the budget. “The answers will be accumulated and presented to council members and staff, who will use it to gauge the community’s feelings,” she said. Last month, council members set See BUDGET, page 16

Caribbean Americans for Community Involvement (CAFCI) presented its 2013 Youth Talent Showcase Stars of Tomorrow on Saturday, Aug. 17 at the Royal Palm Beach Cultural Center. Shown here, Majesty Smith sings. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 17 PHOTO BY DENISE FLEISCHMAN/TOWN-CRIER

Groves Council: Legalize Back Access To Plaza By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report Although the access road from Tangerine Blvd. to Loxahatchee Groves Plaza is not legal, it appears to be commonly used by local customers. To fix the glitch, the Loxahatchee Groves Town Council directed town management Tuesday to negotiate with the plaza’s owner to make the entry legitimate from the plaza to Tangerine Drive and West D Road. The shopping center is located on Southern Blvd., just west of D Road, and is also the location of the town’s offices. Tenants there were cited earlier this year for several code infractions, but in March, the council directed Town Manager Mark Kutney to ease up on code enforcement efforts related to the shopping plaza. “After that direction, the owner came to meet with me, and I advised him that the town council

has asked me to stand down, and we weren’t making any requirements of him,” Kutney said, adding that plaza owner Kan Yee said he wanted to proceed with the requirements. Kutney said Yee had asked him what he needed to do to mitigate code issues, and Kutney said he told him the town’s primary concern from a liability standpoint was with the conditions placed on the plaza when it was approved by Palm Beach County in 1983, including that no access would be permitted onto Tangerine Road or West D Road. “As the owner, he faces liabilities if something happens,” Kutney said. “The town could face liabilities in terms of not enforcing the conditions. I dropped it at that point. Anything Mr. Yee wants to do at this point, he’s doing without any consultation or requests from me.” Kutney said he had received a See PLAZAACCESS, page 4

Municipal Managers Highlight ‘State Of Cities’ Lunch

Royal Palm Beach Village Manager Ray Liggins speaks as Wellington Assistant Village Manager John Bonde looks on at Tuesday’s Central Palm Beach County Chamber of Commerce luncheon. PHOTO BY RON BUKLEY/TOWN-CRIER

By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report Representatives of Wellington, Royal Palm Beach, Loxahatchee Groves and the Indian Trail Improvement District were among nine managers and administrators speaking at the Central Palm Beach County Chamber of Commerce’s State of the Cities luncheon Tuesday at the Palm Beach County Convention Center. Wellington Assistant Village Manager John Bonde noted that Wellington was the first masterplanned community in the county, and he believes it turned out well. “It has changed, and we think that it’s changing for the better,” he said. “It’s bigger than it used to be,” Bonde said. “We’re now at about 57,000 people. I remem-

ber when it was 1,500 people.” He said the cornerstones for the future of Wellington are to protect its investments, respect the environment, promote sustainable economic development and provide responsive customer service to residents and those who do business with Wellington. Bonde said Wellington has narrowed its service model to “core” services that must be provided that are either statutorily mandated or necessary, such as police protection, and “more” services such as recreation. “We’re not the typical government,” he said. “Sometimes you can use better tools to do the job. In the case of some governments, a bigger approach is not necessarily the best approach. I think you can get a lot more done with less.”

Wellington, like every entity in the county, suffered through a prolonged economic downturn, and as a result, the village changed its model of government to reduce the budget, including reducing the number of employees through attrition. “One of the things we have to realize, and I think that our council has been very good about, is understanding that it’s not just a vision of what you want, but what are people willing to pay for,” Bonde said. He said Wellington has great neighborhoods, great schools and great parks. “We work with the chamber, actually two chambers, and we look to the business community to kind of give us guidance on what See CHAMBER, page 7


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