UNUSUAL SCHOOL YEAR GETS STARTED SEE STORY, PAGE 3
PRIMARY SETS THE STAGE FOR THE FALL SEE STORY, PAGE 4
THE
TOWN-CRIER WELLINGTON • ROYAL PALM BEACH • LOXAHATCHEE • THE ACREAGE
Your Community Newspaper
INSIDE Royal Palm Council Approves Change To Cypress Key Site Plan
Volume 41, Number 21 August 28 - September 10, 2020
Serving Palms West Since 1980
LUNCH FOR HOSPITAL WORKERS
The Royal Palm Beach Village Council approved a site plan modification on Thursday, Aug. 20 for a 1.56-acre parcel at the 35.23-acre Cypress Key mixed use development from day care to medical professional office space, over the objections of some nearby homeowners. Page 3
Local Entrepreneurs Featured In Discovery Channel TV Series
In the South Florida heat, many busy executives often resort to sneaking off and changing shirts after their morning dress shirt wilts in the sweltering sun of the day. Wellington resident Matteo Ferrer noticed the problem as well, and you may notice him from the TV show “I Quit,” now airing Tuesdays on the Discovery Channel. Page 4
Westlake Budget Includes Funds For Possible ITID Litigation
The Westlake City Council reviewed its proposed budget for fiscal year 2020-21 on Tuesday, Aug. 18 with about $100,000 added in for extra attorney fees to cover the expense of a possible lawsuit with the Indian Trail Improvement District over access to 140th Street North. Page 7
Lox Groves Council Reviews Smaller Budget
The Loxahatchee Groves Town Council held a budget workshop Tuesday, Aug. 18 to review a “back to basics” maintenance plan for fiscal year 2020-21. Page 7
Semper Fi Service Dogs Veterans Program Holds Training Session
Fifteen dogs and handlers from Semper Fi Service Dogs-No Vet Left Behind participated in service dog training at Horses & Hounds Farm on Saturday, Aug. 15. Handlers helped dogs gain confidence with new experiences, like seeing a horse close up or how to behave in a crowd of people. Handlers and dogs did obedience training exercises and jumps on an obstacle course. Page 15 DEPARTMENT INDEX NEWS...............................3 - 22 NEWS BRIEFS......................... 7 PEOPLE.............................. 8 - 9 COLUMNS............................. 16 BUSINESS............................. 19 CLASSIFIEDS.................23 - 24 Visit Us On The Web At WWW.GOTOWNCRIER.COM
The Wellington Community Foundation worked with the Village of Wellington and Agliolio Italian Bistro on Thursday, Aug. 20 to provide a much-needed and much-appreciated meal for the more than 600 employees at Wellington Regional Medical Center. Shown above, Wellington Councilman Michael Napoleone helps unload the food. STORY & MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 5
Royal Palm Beach Plans To Change Park Hours
By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report The Royal Palm Beach Village Council gave preliminary approval on Thursday, Aug 20 to change park operating hours to more specific hours, rather than “sunrise to sunset,” which is the only existing definition of most park operating hours. The change is being made to be more consistent with parks in other municipalities and Palm Beach County, as well as help law enforcement. Village Manager Ray Liggins explained that “sunrise to sunset” is difficult to enforce since the sun
rises and sets at a different time each day. “The desire for law enforcement at the parks is to have a specific time,” Liggins said. “The time that we picked in this ordinance was 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.” The 8 a.m. opening was selected to correspond with the opening of bathrooms at the parks, he said, explaining that Parks & Recreation Department staff starts work at 7 a.m. “The problem with this is that many walkers begin their walks at sunrise, which is before eight o’clock,” Liggins said. “I would not have a problem if we change
this to 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., or even 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. We’ll just have to note that bathrooms will not be open until 8 a.m., and that would take care of the problem of people walking at Commons Park or the neighborhood parks before eight o’clock.” Liggins added that Palm Beach County is currently under a COVID-19 order that has parks closed from sunset to sunrise. “That’s a temporary order,” he said. “This would be in place after that order is rescinded.” Councilwoman Jan Rodusky asked if there could be a problem See PARK HOURS, page 22
COVID-19 Impact Requires Wellington To Plug Budget Hole
By M. Dennis Taylor Town-Crier Staff Report COVID-19 costs are adding up at the Village of Wellington, and revenues are suffering to the point that the current budget for fiscal year 2019-20, with little more than 30 days left in it, had to be amended to reflect a $2.4 million shortfall. “We cannot by law have a budget that is not balanced,” Mayor Anne Gerwig explained. “This is money we do not have and will not be spent. It is going to be a tough year, and we don’t have another place to get the money.” The missing revenue comes from projections that were made before COVID-19 and largely represent lost state revenue sharing for sales and gas taxes, as well as reduced parks and recreation fees and franchise fees. “This is just another painful reminder that unforeseeable events [like the pandemic] occur,” Councilman Michael Drahos said. “We need to take a very careful look at using reserves next year.” Village Manager Paul Schofield explained that his staff is comfortable with the proposed budget for fiscal year 2020-21, which begins Oct. 1 and is fairly stable based on property values.
“We adjusted the budget [revenues] down $5 to $6 million,” he said, but added a warning for those expecting a quick recovery. “We will not be out of this for the next two years or longer.” Looking forward, Gerwig asked village staff to be proactive when it comes to finances. “If there is a problem, we want to know about it,” she said. Schofield said he expects all future budgets to take the issue into account. “It looks very much like a recessionary period,” he said. “We just don’t have the new construction [going on]. Our budgets for the next five years reflect this.” In other business: • Gerwig recused herself on an insurance matter, since she is a trustee of the insurance company, the Florida Municipal Insurance Trust, operated by the Florida League of Cities. Wellington’s FMIT expenses rose from $1,016,000 by $96,000 to $1,112,000. “This is not all premium, and it is nothing unexpected. We added new facilities and insured properties such as the boardwalk and associated waterfront properties, and the water plant,” said Schofield, See COUNCIL, page 20
BACK-TO-SCHOOL DRIVE-THRU EVENT
Indian Trail Plans To Close Off 140th Avenue Crossover
By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report The Indian Trail Improvement District has announced plans to install a gate at the crossover from 140th Avenue North to 40th Street North into the Town of Loxahatchee Groves, shutting down a little-known access point widely used by local residents. A letter from ITID Executive Director Burgess Hanson to Loxahatchee Groves Town Manager Jamie Titcomb gave notice to the town that ITID plans to install lockable steel gates at the intersection of 40th Street North and 140th Avenue North, as well
as 43rd Road North and 140th Avenue North. “The actual location of the gates will be determined by survey to ensure that each are within the legislative boundaries and easements of the district,” Hanson wrote. “At the 40th Street North and 140th Avenue North gate, we will provide pass-through access for the use of pedestrians, bicyclists (not motorized ATVS, UTVs, golf carts, etc.) and equestrians. This will not be done at the 43rd Road North gate.” Hanson wrote that ITID plans to advertise the closures through signage and different media plat-
forms. “Part of this public relations campaign will include the placement of a message board along 140th Avenue North and one at 40th Street North to notify drivers of the impending closures,” he explained. The district will send notifications to two property owners who have unauthorized driveway connections directly to 140th Avenue North but will not send notices to homeowners in Loxahatchee Groves who may be impacted by the closures. ITID will also notify Palm Beach County, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office and See CROSSOVER, page 20
Alonso: County Is Turning The Corner On Virus Positivity Rate
By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report The local COVID-19 positivity rate is slowly going down, showing Palm Beach County’s success at bringing the pandemic under control, Florida Department of Health-Palm Beach County Director Dr. Alina Alonso said this week. At the Tuesday, Aug. 25 meeting of the Palm Beach County Commission, Alonso said that Palm Beach County has had 40,746 total cases of COVID-19, with 176 new
cases and five new hospitalizations over the past week. “Our deaths are up to 1,061, that’s two new deaths that will be put into the date that they actually died,” Alonso said. By comparison to two other counties that have high rates of COVID-19, Miami-Dade had 152,000 cases and Broward had 69,000. “We have a new chart that shows the rate,” Alonso said. The new chart shows the number of deaths per 100,000 popula-
tion, she said, explaining that this rate reveals a more accurate way to show the contagion. “The state is at 2.9 percent, and we are at 3 percent,” she said, adding that Martin County to the north is at 2.6 percent. “That gives us a more accurate picture of our positivity and how we’re doing in terms of COVID-19 in relationship with our population.” In this new metric, Broward County is at 3.6 percent and Glades County west of Lake See ALONSO, page 20
The Village of Wellington hosted its Back-to-School Drive-Thru event on Saturday, Aug. 15 at Village Park. Students registered for the event received one of 650 backpacks with back-toschool supplies made possible through community partnerships. Shown above, Malakhi Rowell receives a backpack from Dr. Colette Brown Graham. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 10 PHOTO BY DENISE FLEISCHMAN/TOWN-CRIER
ITID Seeks Public Comment On Four Grant Requests
By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report The Indian Trail Improvement District is seeking public comment on four projects that the district hopes to secure millions of dollars in grant money to complete. If approved, the grants from the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) do not require matching funds. The DEO receives funding provided by the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) to address unmet infrastructure needs related to the protection of critical facilities. The projects, which have been on ITID’s agenda for years, include the completion of the J.W. Corbett Wildlife Management Area berm, for which ITID is
requesting $6,840,000; improvement of the culvert system at a cost of $2,100,000; restoration of the M-O Canal outfall for $800,000; and the R-3 Road Plan to improve drainage, roadways and other infrastructure at a cost of $11,261,825. “All of these are grants that are available through DEO funding through HUD,” ITID President Betty Argue said. “We’ve identified four different projects to apply for to get funding. These are projects that we have in the works that we need to do.” The Corbett project was started after Tropical Storm Isaac in 2012 dumped 18 inches of rain on the area causing the Corbett berm to breach. The state agreed to fund $8 See GRANTS, page 20
Frankel Honors Wellington Educator Mary Baldwin
By M. Dennis Taylor Town-Crier Staff Report U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel (DDistrict 21) recently honored two local heroes with Congressional Awards that come with a mention in the historical Congressional Record. Mary Baldwin and Melissa Davison each received the honor during a Zoom broadcast on Friday, Aug. 14. “I know you don’t like attention, but these actions can’t go unnoticed,” said Frankel, introducing the two women, who were joined virtually by a wide array of friends, family and co-workers who were
“present” for the broadcast, each at their own location. Baldwin, an assistant principal at Wellington Landings Middle School, was nominated for the award by Sandra Villegas. She said that Baldwin has a “superpower” of kindness and compassion and had helped her oldest child become an A student despite previous difficulties with school. Baldwin is a veteran educator who has been teaching since the 1980s, with experience as the school’s Exceptional Student Education (ESE) administrator. “I would be remiss if I did not
mention that hundreds of others are also doing the work I am doing,” she said. “Every child needs an advocate… It has been a privilege to get to know thousands of students over the years.” Baldwin also noted the difficulties with continuing her mission of supporting students during the current pandemic. “Now we are in the virtual world, and we try to keep things as normal as possible, doing whatever we can do to bring school to the students,” she said. In accepting the award, Baldwin related stories of students she had
worked with, including the story of a challenging student who she got to know and helped set on a path to success. “We all want to succeed. We just need the right people in our corner,” said Baldwin, who explained that the system needs to identify students having difficulties so no student is lost and that teaching is part tutoring and part cheerleading that goes way beyond a 9 to 5 schedule. “Teenage time is anytime.” Wellington Landings Principal Blake Bennett said that she first See BALDWIN, page 20
Wellington Landings Middle School Assistant Principal Mary Baldwin