Town-Crier Newspaper August 27, 2021

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RPB MOVES BACK ELECTION QUALIFYING SEE STORY, PAGE 3

WELLINGTON BOARD SNUBS SR 7 SIGNS SEE STORY, PAGE 7

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TOWN-CRIER WELLINGTON • ROYAL PALM BEACH • LOXAHATCHEE • THE ACREAGE

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Candidates Planning To Challenge Andrews For School Board Seat

Volume 42, Number 19 August 27 - September 9, 2021

Serving Palms West Since 1980

SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL IN RPB

What a difference three years make. Three-term Palm Beach County School Board Member Marcia Andrews secured a new term representing District 6 in 2018 without opposition. As the 2022 cycle begins to take shape, it appears that Andrews will have several challengers to contend with. With a year to go before the primary election, three candidates have filed paperwork to challenge Andrews — Amanda Silvestri, Jennifer Showalter and Stuart Mears. Page 3

Commissioners Declare State Of Emergency On Latest Virus Surge

The Palm Beach County Commission declared a state of emergency Tuesday, Aug. 17 due to a spike in COVID-19 cases in the county, as well as across the state and nation. Florida Department of HealthPalm Beach County Director Dr. Alina Alonso said the COVID-19 numbers are increasing quite drastically, rising quickly since June 28. Page 4

The Palm Beach Shakespeare Festival and the Village of Royal Palm Beach presented Shakespeare by the Palms from Thursday, Aug. 19 through Sunday, Aug. 22 at the Commons Park amphitheater. Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, a romantic comedy, had original music added by the Lubben Brothers. The play will continue Thursday, Aug. 26 through Sunday, Aug. 29 at 7 p.m. Shown above are co-producer Elizabeth Dashiell with entertainers Jack Stamates, Sean Edelson and Madison Fernandez. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 18 PHOTO BY DENISE FLEISCHMAN/TOWN-CRIER

Wellington Presents ‘Total Home Review Expo’ At Community Center

The Village of Wellington hosted its first Total Home Review Expo on Saturday, Aug. 21 at the Wellington Community Center. During the event, attendees had the opportunity to visit a variety of booths with topics such as Wellington’s approved exterior paint colors, requirements for hedges and fencing, defensive measures for your home, how to complete a permit with the building department and more. Page 8

Palm Beach Central, Sem Ridge Gridders Ready For Fall Season

Palm Beach Central High School head football coach Scottie Littles, who is entering his third year in charge of the Bronco football team, is optimistic and confident about the season ahead. This year, the Palm Beach Central football team is getting ready to make a push for the postseason. Page 21 DEPARTMENT INDEX NEWS...............................3 - 18 NEWS BRIEFS......................... 7 SPORTS......................... 21 - 23 SCHOOLS.............................. 24 PEOPLE................................. 25 BUSINESS............................. 27 COLUMNS............................. 28 CLASSIFIEDS................ 29 - 30 Visit Us On The Web At WWW.GOTOWNCRIER.COM

Palm Beach County School Board Enlists Legal Help To Defend Position On Masks

By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report The Palm Beach County School Board held a special meeting Wednesday, Aug. 25 and approved seeking legal assistance against challenges to its decision to make wearing masks in school mandatory to protect against COVID-19. Last week, the board changed its mask policy to eliminate a parental opt-out, which goes against an executive order from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis that aims to ensure that parents have the option to choose whether their children wear masks or not. As its first order of business, the board heard two hours of live public input and an hour and 15

minutes of recorded messages, the majority of which opposed masking, and many of whom accused the school board of violating the law by defying DeSantis’ executive orders. But the board stuck to its decision to require masks for students and staff and passed motions to defend its decision legally if necessary. “I would recommend the board discuss and take legal action, if any, on a challenge to the recent executive order and/or emergency rules of the State Board of Education and/or Department of Health related to COVID-19,” Board Chair Frank Barbieri Jr. said. School District General Counsel

Shawntoyia Bernard said the action taken so far by the board to require masks has been within the authority of the board to ensure the health, safety and welfare of students. “There are at least at the moment 10 school boards that have exercised this same constitutional authority, and the number of those school boards are climbing,” Bernard said. “Today, I’m asking that the board vote to give me the authority to engage outside counsel to provide the board advice and discuss strategies on all issues, including but not limited to constitutional, statutory and regulatory issues regarding the school board’s See MASKS, page 4

Lox Groves Hiring Code And Permitting Staff To Replace County Process

By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report After years of having its permitting process done through Palm Beach County and hiring numerous different code enforcement officials with arguable results, the Town of Loxahatchee Groves has hired a contractor to transition the town to oversee its own permitting and code enforcement. On Tuesday, Aug. 17, representatives of SAFEbuilt, the town’s new permitting and code enforcement contractor hired in July, reported on its progress transitioning into the town and introduced key local staff members. The council hired SAFEbuilt in July to provide code enforcement, provided previously by another contractor, and permitting, which has been provided through the county.

SAFEbuilt is headquartered in Colorado with offices in 10 states. The Florida office is in Fort Lauderdale. The company (www.safebuilt.com) provides full-service building department services, including plan review, inspections, code compliance, building officials and permit technicians. “We’re here tonight to give you an update on our building and our code operations,” said SAFEbuilt Account Manager Robin Verse, who explained that the initial contract was an interim one to cover the transition process. Despite staffing issues due to illness within the company, Verse said a member of her staff will be in the town three days a week, eight hours a day to help do all the administrative functions under the transition plan. “He will be responsible for

coming in and reviewing the fee schedules, developing the building department forms, policies and procedures, communications that would go out to the community and any software tools that we implement,” Verse said. She said the next step would be to set up a meeting with county staff to begin the permitting transition process in a few weeks. Town Manager Jamie Titcomb introduced SAFEbuilt’s John Herring, who has 12 years of experience in code enforcement and enforcing regulatory rules for construction. “He will be the town’s onsite code enforcement officer under the interim contract in place,” Titcomb said. Herring said he has been working in the town and has learned a See PERMITS, page 14

Royal Palm Council Approves $12.9 Million Contract For New Village Hall By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report The Royal Palm Beach Village Council awarded a bid of $12,894,392 for the construction of a new village hall to Verdex Construction on Thursday, Aug. 19. Verdex was the lowest bidder on the project. The council also authorized the transfer of $3.5 million from its undesignated fund to the village hall construction project to cover the difference between its budgeted $9.9 million and the actual cost of $12.9 million. “Unfortunately, because of material labor costs, it came in greater than we had anticipated,” Village Engineer Chris Marsh said. Marsh pointed out that the planned village hall would have multiple features, including stormhardened emergency capabilities. According to a recent study by an independent consultant, the new building could be built before the old village hall is demolished, with minimal displacement of workers in the old building. “Creating a new building with a multistory design would create a smaller footprint that would be better for the environment,” he said. “We have a large enough campus that we can build a new building and then demolish the existing building.” Marsh added that the new building would create more space with a centralized lobby that would serve the public better and allow staff to interact more efficiently. “This new building allows us to create the perfect space for what the staff will need 50 to 60 years from now,” he said. “The older building, when it was built 45 years ago, didn’t have the same energy code or structural design to withstand hurricane-force winds that we’re seeing nowadays. That’s another huge advantage. The energy efficiency that you will gain

will be tremendous with this new space.” Marsh added that the cost per square foot would be cheaper by constructing an entirely new building. The council chambers would be moved to the new building, with the capability of expanding the meeting room to the lobby to allow space for meetings with large attendance, and double as the incident command center during emergencies. “There’s a lot of dual uses in this new building that we’re creating,” he said. A plaza with a fountain would be created nearby for parking and holding outdoor events, such as the green market. The existing village meeting hall would be repurposed as a scenic facility for public use. “By renovating the building that we’re in tonight, by opening up the wall behind you, we’re able to make this a really nice gathering space,” Marsh said. The floor space on the 16.58acre campus would be increased from 14,756 square feet to 28,380 square feet. In December 2020, a contractor was hired to do a detailed estimate for the project, and based on that estimate, staff felt a budget of $9.9 million would be adequate, but due to current material and labor costs, the lowest bidder came in at $12,894,392. Final completion of the project is projected for December 2023. Village Manager Ray Liggins said money to offset the $3.5 million may be available through the American Rescue Plan Act. “We do not have those dollars yet, but we should be getting an agreement from the state any day,” Liggins said, adding that some municipalities have received their money. He explained that during the See VILLAGE HALL, page 14

‘SHREK THE MUSICAL’ IN WELLINGTON

Theatre Arts Productions (TAP) presented Shrek The Musical between Aug. 13 and Aug. 15 at the Wellington High School theater. The actors on stage ranged in age from 6 to 68. TAP’s next performance will be The Addams Family in October. Shown above are Cameron Pomeroy, Jessie Hoffman, Grace Cavin and Jasmine Wright. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 5 PHOTO BY ERIN DAVISSON/TOWN-CRIER

SWA Raises Equine Waste Tipping Fee To $25 Per Ton

By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report On Wednesday, Aug. 25, the Palm Beach County Commission, meeting as the Solid Waste Authority Governing Board, approved increasing the tipping fee for equine waste from $15 to $25 a ton, and deferred a request to delay the lease payment by equine waste recycling company HiPoint Agro Bedding Florida for property that it leases from the county on Benoist Farms Road. SWA staff said the equine waste tipping fee of $15 a ton is among the lowest that the SWA charges, compared to garbage and trash at $42 per ton, construction and land

clearing waste at $60 per ton, and vegetation at $35 per ton. “Therefore, our staff recommends a tipping fee of $25 a ton,” SWA Chief Engineer Ramana Kari said. “If the board wishes, you can also adopt a tiered tipping fee for the months of October to May. You can set it at higher than $25, with a base of $25.” Commissioner Robert Weinroth, who serves as chair of the SWA Governing Board, asked why other tipping fees were higher, and SWA Executive Director Dan Pellowitz said tipping fees other than garbage and trash tries to establish a market rate that is consistent with the SWA’s objectives.

“The main reason the construction rate is higher is because we have private sector recyclers who we are trying to encourage to take this material and recycle it and put it back into commerce, because we don’t want it in the landfill. We prefer it be recycled,” Pellowitz said. He further explained that if the SWA did not establish a special rate for animal waste, it would fall into a special waste rate of at $65 per ton. “We put that rate in there in order to provide an initial help to the community, the industry, to provide a legal outlet,” he said. Pellowitz added that the equine waste rate is provided only be-

cause the SWA’s facility was designed to provide for growth and currently has the capability to provide the processing. Commissioner Melissa McKinlay said the reason the fees were lowered was to encourage a legal place for equine waste to be disposed. “We had significant illegal dumping,” McKinlay said. “It’s hard to trace the source of illegal dumping, and difficult to prosecute if you can’t figure exactly where it came from.” Commissioner Mack Bernard made a motion to increase the tipping fee for equine waste to $25 per ton, which carried 6-1 with McKinlay opposed.

In other business, SWA staff reported that HiPoint has asked that due to delays on construction at the 5.3-acre site at 500 Benoist Farms Road, they be granted a year’s deferral on their lease. Commissioner Gregg Weiss asked if the county had given any similar deferments, and none had been allowed previously. Weiss said he felt the county should at least levy a finance charge if the lease payment is deferred. Commissioner Dave Kerner asked why the request was being made. “Is the party here to make comments?” he asked, but no represenSee SWA, page 14


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