WESTLAKE MANAGER SEARCH UPDATE SEE STORY, PAGE 3
ARDEN RESIDENTS EYE HOA TAKEOVER SEE STORY, PAGE 4
WELLINGTON • ROYAL PALM BEACH • LOXAHATCHEE • THE ACREAGE • WESTLAKE Your Community Newspaper
INSIDE
Zoning Board OKs Land Use Changes For Controversial Parcel
Wellington’s Planning, Zoning & Adjustment Board this month supported land use change and rezoning ordinances for a controversial property in southern Wellington that nearby residents continue to have issues with. On Wednesday, Dec. 17, representatives of the applicant requested that the board approve changes to the property at 14833 50th Street South. Page 3
Wellington Boat Parade Lights Up The Lake With Holiday Cheer
On Saturday, Dec. 13, the Village of Wellington hosted its annual Holiday Boat Parade at the Town Center Promenade. Families enjoyed food trucks, Christmas carolers and watching dozens of festively decorated boats sail along Lake Wellington. Page 7
FPL Gives Back By Decorating Veteran’s Home For The Holidays
U.S. Air Force veteran Ruth Muniz and her son Mathias King were surprised when they arrived back to their home in Arden on Thursday, Dec. 11 to find their house decorated for the holidays by “elves” from Florida Power & Light. Page 14
Chris Fratalia Steps Aside As Wellington Wolves President
For the last 18 years, longtime Wellington resident Chris Fratalia has been serving as the volunteer president of the Wellington Wolves travel basketball program. During that time, he has been the heart and soul of the organization. As the old saying goes, all good things must come to an end. This past fall, Fratalia stepped aside as president. Page 17 DEPARTMENT INDEX NEWS...............................3 - 15 NEWS BRIEFS......................... 7 SPORTS..........................17 - 20 PEOPLE................................. 21 SCHOOLS.............................. 22 BUSINESS............................. 23 COLUMNS............................. 24 CLASSIFIEDS................ 25 - 26 Visit Us On The Web At WWW.GOTOWNCRIER.COM
Volume 46, Number 26 December 26, 2025 - January 8, 2026
Serving Palms West Since 1980
HOLIDAY PARADE CELEBRATES THE SPIRIT OF THE SEASON
The 41st annual Wellington Holiday Parade took place on Sunday, Dec. 14, following the traditional parade route along Forest Hill Blvd. This year’s parade theme was “Celebrating the Season through the Years.” Shown above, the Binks Forest Elementary School float, featuring the Grinch and Whoville, was honored as Best in Show. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 15 PHOTO BY DENISE FLEISCHMAN/TOWN-CRIER
Interim President: AAL Has No Plans To Change Mission
By Louis Hillary Park Town-Crier Staff Report The Acreage Athletic League has been around for more than three decades and will continue its youth sports mission with or without the support of the Indian Trail Improvement District, AAL Interim President Tim Opfer told the Town-Crier. “Whether we do it at Acreage parks, we’re going to do it anyway,” Opfer said recently. “We’ll find a place to play… [but] I hope it doesn’t come to that.” The ITID Board of Supervisors oversees the local park system in the Acreage/Loxahatchee area, including Acreage Community Park North and South. “I think [Opfer] has good intentions,” ITID Supervisor Richard Vassalotti said. “I hope there’s a change in direction, but there are a lot of people who are very, very unhappy.” For a number of years, the AAL held a service provider agreement with ITID, giving it near exclusive use of the parks. However, after months of controversy, the supervisors voted in February to extend to the AAL a one-year “nonprofit athletic user agreement,” giving its
teams first priority for field space while making room for other organizations, such as the Breakthru Athletic League. “I’m glad we’re at a place where, for the most part, everyone is fairly comfortable,” ITID President Elizabeth Accomando said at the time. “Residents and parents will no longer be coming to us. This separates us from that.” Behind the scenes, though, tension simmered between coaches, parents, players and the executive board, which often was accused of incompetence and a lack of transparency. Now, at least one sport — Acreage Adult Softball — served notice to the supervisors at a Dec. 10 meeting that it intends to break away from the AAL. Acreage Adult Softball President Elizabeth McGoldrick told the supervisors that there is a “lack of structure on the executive board” and that the AAL “provides no support” to her 18-and-older co-ed league, despite keeping control over the league’s bank account. Her softball league has “a great board, and we have it down to a science,” McGoldrick said later.
“We kept reaching out to the [AAL] board, and we kept getting crickets.” The softball league’s decision to separate from the AAL is not a surprise, Opfer said. “They’ve been wanting to do it for a long time,” he said. The time is now, McGoldrick said. “We’re in the process of making the change,” she said. That includes starting a spring schedule that will begin play in late January or early February to go along with the league’s usual fall schedule. The AAL began in 1993 with a group of parents wanting to bring organized sports into the unincorporated, semi-rural enclave. With the guidance of the Acreage Landowners’Association, the first AAL Executive Board of Directors was formed to oversee activities for some 200 young players, and the league incorporated in 1995. Today, the AAL web site says that there are 2,000 registered players participating in tackle football, co-ed flag football, Acreage Elite flag and girls flag, baseball, basketball soccer and softball. However, instability and inSee AAL, page 3
Groves Remains Deadlocked With Sheriff’s Office Over Contract
By Patrick Sherry Town-Crier Staff Report Members of the Loxahatchee Groves Town Council suggested this month that the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office (PBSO) is using the safety of children as leverage amid an ongoing contract dispute with the town. The council discussed the current state of their contract negotiations with the PBSO at a special meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 16. Earlier this month, they decided not to pay the agency for their services after failing to reach a new, lower-price agreement. Throughout previous meetings, council members emphasized that the town could not afford to continue paying the PBSO at its current price of about $680,000 yearly. PBSO officials offered a one percent reduction to the overall contract, but that was not enough for the council. Since then, the agency has given few answers to what the lack of payment now means for Loxahatchee Groves. According to Town Attorney Jeff Kurtz, deputies will continue to provide basic law enforcement services to the area. However, the PBSO will halt processing speeding violations for the town’s school zone program, will no longer have a deputy on site for council meetings, and will eventually stop supplying crossing guards near schools in the town. Kurtz explained that PBSO officials said they understand that the council supports the agency, but they want them to find a way to pay for the contract. “They have not decided exactly how they’re going to move forward in the absence of funding, and they are encouraging us to find a source,” Kurtz said. One of the potential ways that the council can fund its monthly
payments to the PBSO is through the recently launched School Zone Speed Enforcement Program, which was implemented to reduce speeding and improve safety. The program uses cameras to record drivers speeding near schools. Deputies then review and verify drivers’ information, so a $100 fine can be issued. In its first months, this has already proven to be a lucrative revenue source for the town, with the program already generating thousands of dollars. Council members were not happy about how this would impact the program, especially with safety in school zones. “They’re trying to use the kids as a leverage point,” Councilman Todd McLendon said. “We’re trying to protect those kids, and they’re saying we’re going to use them as a bargaining chip, and that’s wrong.” Vice Mayor Marge Herzog pointed out how the PBSO’s decision will affect more than just the town, because many children from unincorporated areas attend Loxahatchee Groves Elementary School. “They’re punishing more than just us by their action, and also the crossing guards,” Herzog said. “The PBSO is not playing fair.” Other members of the council questioned why the town is being charged such a high price for PBSO services when other municipalities are paying less. They brought up how they believe that the town’s needs for law enforcement have not changed much since it incorporated. Councilwoman Lisa El-Ramey was disconcerted about the PBSO’s suggestion of using money from the School Zone Speed Enforcement Program to pay for the contract and reiterated that there See LOX PBSO, page 12
RPB’S UGLY SWEATER HOLIDAY CONTEST
RPB Ordinance Aims To Crack Down On Nuisance Animals
By Patrick Sherry Town-Crier Staff Report The Royal Palm Beach Village Council is hoping a new ordinance will help crack down on residents feeding animals that cause nuisances. The council unanimously passed the first reading of an ordinance Thursday, Dec. 18 that targets problematic animal nuisances that affect other residents. While it does not restrict animal feeding entirely, it will make it easier for village officials to cite and fine people who repeatedly feed animals in a way that impacts the nearby area.
Community Development Director Robert Hill explained that, as advised by the council, village staff provided education to residents in areas where these issues are most significant. The village also wanted to codify some of the guidelines that have been created. “We’re bringing forward to you tonight a revision to our ordinance to try to protect [properties] and the quality of life of all of our residents,” Hill said. “We listened to the residents, we heard your direction, came through the manager, and we’ve got a collaborative team that put together what we think is a
fair and strong ordinance that will help people with some guidelines to coexist.” The ordinance includes any wild or domestic animal feeding that can cause a habitual nuisance, safety hazards or unsanitary conditions. Violators would receive a civil citation and a potential fine of up to $500. “When people do and have brought these forward in the past, it has really affected their quality of life and given them concerns for their well-being,” Hill said. The ordinance is designed to keep residents from feeding and See RPB COUNCIL, page 4
The Royal Palm Beach Senior Activity Group held a holiday luncheon on Friday, Dec. 12 at the Royal Palm Beach Recreation Center. The event included food, music and the return of the ever-popular “ugly sweater contest.” Shown above are Kathy and Mike Compagnone. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 5 PHOTO BY DENISE FLEISCHMAN/TOWN-CRIER
No COP Out: Volunteer Goes It Alone In PBSO Program
By Louis Hillary Park Town-Crier Staff Report Capt. Carroll Burgess often hears only the rumble of pavement or the thump of gravel under his green-and-white Citizen Observer Patrol (COP) car. He rides alone with just his Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office radio for company. Burgess is the lone COP volunteer working, watching, patrolling, calling in tips to the PBSO for the 140 square miles of the Acreage/ Loxahatchee area and beyond. Yet it’s a volunteer job that doesn’t allow for loneliness or boredom, Burgess said recently. “I’m constantly looking,” he
explained. “I’m focused on what’s going on around me.” Still, riding the streets and backroads alone in such a vast area is not how Burgess wants it, or how it used to be before pandemic, when there were 3,000 COP volunteers on patrol around the county. There were six in the Loxahatchee area when he came onboard in 2022. He’s now a captain with no one to command despite a population of some 50,000 in the semi-rural enclaves north of Southern Blvd. “A lot of people didn’t want to be involved because of the pandemic… and a lot did not come back afterward,” said PBSO Cpl.
Gregory Newborn, who oversees the program that began in 1980. “At the same time, we had a lot of people aging out.” Today, the Village of Royal Palm Beach — population of 42,000 — has no COP presence. Meanwhile, the 6.5-square-mile City of Westlake has 16 volunteers among its 8,000 citizens since the unit’s formation in 2021. “Currently, we have 1,314 members in the program, and we’re working hard to rebuild that number through ongoing recruitment,” Newborn said. Burgess is doing what he can to help, attending local events, such See LONELY COP, page 4
COP Capt. Carroll Burgess in front of his vehicle.