MOM’S CLUB CELEBRATES TOY DRIVE SEE STORY, PAGE 3
GROVES TOWN CENTER CHANGES GET OK SEE STORY, PAGE 4
THE
TOWN-CRIER WELLINGTON • ROYAL PALM BEACH • LOXAHATCHEE • THE ACREAGE
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Charter School Plan Approved By Royal Palm Beach Council
Volume 40, Number 49 December 27, 2019 - January 2, 2020
Serving Palms West Since 1980
WELLINGTON HOMETOWN TOY DRIVE
At the Royal Palm Beach Village Council’s final meeting of the year, council members received a new presentation on the Tuttle Royale project, including both master plan and preliminary plat approvals, as well as approvals for a new charter school in the area. Page 3
Village Hosts Grand Menorah Lighting At Wellington Amphitheater
Wellington hosted a Grand Menorah Lighting to welcome the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah on Sunday, Dec. 22 at the Wellington Amphitheater. There was a kids’ arts and crafts area, a living dreidel and a dancing menorah to provide fun and photos. A brief ceremony with Rabbi Matan Peled from Temple B’nai Jacob was followed by the lighting of the first candle at sundown. Page 10
Royal Palm Seniors Enjoy A Holiday Party
The Royal Palm Beach Senior Activities Group held a holiday party on Friday, Dec. 20 at the Royal Palm Beach Recreation Center. Entertainer Ed Slater sang oldies and holiday songs while guests enjoyed a gift exchange. Baptist Health of South Florida was on hand to offer screenings for glucose, cholesterol and more. Page 15
Local Footballers Shine At Palm Beach County All-Star Game
On Saturday, Dec. 14, the National Team defeated the American Team 33-5 in the annual Palm Beach County All-Star Football Game held at Jupiter High School, where senior football players could showcase their talent prior to signing day and boost their stock for recruiting. Page 21 DEPARTMENT INDEX NEWS...............................3 - 18 NEWS BRIEFS......................... 7 PEOPLE................................... 8 SCHOOLS................................ 9 COLUMNS............................. 16 BUSINESS............................. 17 CALENDAR............................ 18 SPORTS......................... 19 - 20 CLASSIFIEDS................ 21 - 22 Visit Us On The Web At WWW.GOTOWNCRIER.COM
The Village of Wellington’s Hometown Holiday Toy Drive came to a conclusion on Thursday, Dec. 19 with a special event at St. Peter’s United Methodist Church. Representatives of 180 pre-selected families were invited to choose holiday gifts for children, assisted by Wellington Village Council members and others. There were also volunteer gift wrappers on hand to help. Shown above are Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Andrew Porath, Ada Sterrano, volunteer Anisha Henry and PBSO Deputy Scott Poritz. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 5 PHOTO BY DENISE FLEISCHMAN/TOWN-CRIER
2020 Season Opens Dec. 29 At International Polo Club
By M. Dennis Taylor Town-Crier Staff Report Often called “the sport of kings,” the exhilarating winter polo season officially returns to the grounds of the International Polo Club Palm Beach on Sunday, Dec. 29. The exciting season opens with the Herbie Pennell Cup final, with high-goal competitions running through Sunday, April 19. The competition calendar continues with the Iglehart Cup from Jan. 1-5, followed by the Joe Barry Memorial Cup taking place Jan. 5-12. The 18-goal series that opens the season wraps up with the Ylvisaker Cup, running from Jan. 11 through Feb. 2. Next up is the lucrative Gauntlet of Polo series, played at the 22-goal level, with a chance for one team to win $1 million by collecting the purse of all three tournaments, plus a bonus. First up is the C.V. Whitney Cup from Feb. 1-23, followed by the prestigious USPA Gold Cup from Feb. 22 through March 22, and concluding with the historic U.S. Open Polo Championship,
Dutta Corp wins the coin toss in last year’s season opening Herbie Pennell Cup final at the International Polo Club Palm Beach. PHOTO BY CALLIE SHARKEY/TOWN-CRIER
running March 21 through April 19. The equestrian venue spans more than 250 acres with seven state-of-the-art polo fields, the newly constructed polo arena, a spectator-friendly stadium and 7,000 square feet of indoor event space.
Each week, spectators can attend matches held across the property with casual tailgating. On Sundays, the feature game on the U.S. Polo Assn. Field 1 at 3 p.m. features even more hospitality options, such as stadium seats, premium box seating, tailgates See POLO SEASON, page 4
RPB Council Scraps Sandpiper Purchase After Outcry From Area Residents
By Callie Sharkey Town-Crier Staff Report The Royal Palm Beach Council faced a packed meeting hall on Thursday, Dec. 19, with most of the attendees on hand to oppose the village purchasing a vacant home at 180 Sandpiper Avenue as part of a plan to enhance access to Royal Palm Beach Commons Park. The item was originally listed as number 13 on the agenda, but given the crowd, Mayor Fred Pinto opted to move it up to the start of the meeting. The request was for authorization to purchase 180 Sandpiper Avenue at a cost of $320,000, which was above the appraised value of $253,000. The appraisal came in lower than other surrounding property sales due to the home’s poor condition. However, village staff proposed to tear down the structure. The purchase was to be the first step in a long-range project to enhance pedestrian and bicycle access into nearby Commons Park. Having control of the property would connect the nearby FPL easement, through a canal, to an area that already has a walking path into the park. After nearly an hour of fielding public and staff comments, the council unanimously rejected the proposed purchase. Village Manager Ray Liggins presented a detailed list of items related to the purchase of the property, including the connection to the village’s mission and longterm strategic plans. “The property at 180 Sandpiper was identified and presented as the highest priority for improving pedestrian, bicycle and boat access...
Our mission states we will provide services and facilities to create an active and connected hometown family community,” Liggins said. “Our comprehensive plan states we will develop a safe bicycle and pedestrian transportation system accessible to all major public and private facilities.” Liggins explained that the purchase of the property would provide a half-acre piece of land owned by the public that would allow boat access to the area. The next phase would be to apply for council approval and grant funding to build a bike path and bridge to Commons Park, making access to the park significantly shorter for thousands of residents. The intent of the project, according to Liggins, was to create a more connected community. Future approval of other phases of the project would provide area residents better access to the shops on Southern Blvd., and also include the purchase of property in the Counterpoint Estates area for an eventual bridge. Counterpoint residents would receive a fourmile reduction in their route to Commons Park and an off-street route to Seminole Palms Park. Despite the list of other benefits Liggins presented, such as reducing parking issues in the area, the community showed up in strong opposition to the purchase and plans for a bridge. The first to speak out in opposition was Mike Gershberg, who lives not far from the property. “For the past three years, I’ve been the captain of the neighborhood watch throughout the whole Willows,” Gershberg said. “As See SANDPIPER, page 18
CHRISTMAS WITH THE CHIMPS
Roundtable Discussion Focuses On Railroad Crossing Safety After Deadly Corbett Tragedy
By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report State Rep. Matt Willhite (D-District 86) and State Rep. Rick Roth (R-District 85) held a roundtable discussion on Wednesday, Dec. 18 with railroad and transportation officials at Palm Beach County’s Vista Center in the aftermath of an accident at an ungated railroad crossing at the J.W. Corbett Wildlife Management Area last month that killed a woman and her two grandchildren. Valery Jo Rintamaki, 58 of West Palm Beach, was traveling on the Beeline Highway to a Cub Scout event in November with her grandchildren, 8-year-old Skyler Prestano and 10-year-old Tristan
Prestano of Wellington, when her SUV was hit by an Amtrak passenger train. Roth, whose district includes the ungated crossing where the accident occurred, thanked Willhite for organizing the meeting. “I believe this is the right way to deal with this problem,” he said. “It’s sad when you realize that traffic lights get put in and overpasses get built because somebody had an accident and died. A lot of times, that’s what causes us to make changes.” The meeting included representatives of the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority, which operates Tri-Rail, including Executive Director Steve Abrams;
State Rep. MaryLynn Magar (R-District 82); Robert Gatchell, chief safety and security officer with Brightline; Ben Porritt, senior vice president with Brightline and Virgin Trains; Peggy Smith, regional manager of community affairs and safety with CSX Transportation; Florida Department of Transportation District 4 Secretary Gerry O’Reilly; Rickey Fitzgerald, freight and multimodal operations manager for FDOT; FDOT Deputy Legislative Affairs Director John Kotyk; FDOT Traffic Engineering & Operations Director Trey Tillander; Palm Beach County Engineer David Ricks; Palm Beach County Transportation Planning See RAIL SAFETY, page 4
The Lion Country Safari chimpanzees got a special visit from Santa on Thursday, Dec. 19. This is the one time of the year guests are allowed out of their cars to have an up-close look at chimps receiving and enjoying their presents on Chimp Island. Santa, shown above, brought 18 chimps their favorite treats of toys, food, drinks, blankets and jackets. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 13 PHOTO BY DENISE FLEISCHMAN/TOWN-CRIER
Lox Council Denies Request For B Road Commercial
By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report The Loxahatchee Groves Town Council on Tuesday, Dec. 17 rejected a request for a comprehensive plan amendment that would have allowed the owner of an approximately 15-acre parcel on B Road to operate a feed store. The amendment would have changed the land use and comp plan from low density residential to multiple land use for the purpose of incorporating low intensity commercial uses on the property, located on the east side of B Road about 0.2 miles north of Southern Blvd. Attorney Al Malefatto, representing property owner Seth Brier, said the council had already
approved multiple land use, commercial and institutional land uses on three sides of Brier’s property. “To the immediate south, you have approved commercial, the Aldi, Wawa and office space, and to the immediate east, you’ve also approved development,” Malefatto said, pointing out that also adjacent to the Brier property is the Palm Beach State College campus, and farther south is the Loxahatchee Groves Commons retail plaza. He noted that the town’s Land Planning Agency recommended approval of 30,000 square feet of commercial use on the southwest corner of the Brier property earlier this month. “While we believe this was a
positive development, we’re going to ask you to approve a little bit more tonight, because they approved much less than what we originally asked for, which was 79,000 square feet covering the entire property,” Malefatto said. “Our request is actually going to be for 39,000 square feet, just a little bit more — 9,000 square feet utilizing buildings that are already on Mr. Brier’s property, the existing feed store that was shut down that is 4,400 square feet and an existing home, which he would convert to some additional commercial.” Malefatto asserted that the value of Brier’s property had been devalued as a result of the council’s action, approving commercial and institutional uses around him.
“You can fix that by approving what we’re presenting tonight,” he said. Land planner Josh Nichols, representing the property owner, said they had accepted staff’s recommendation to reduce the floor area ratio (FAR) to 0.067, or 43,000 square feet, which was comparable to surrounding land uses. “The LPA went a step further and said, ‘We want to limit you to the southwest quadrant because that’s where the commercial core is.’ What we’re proposing today is to take that 30,000 square feet of what the LPA was looking at, so we have the 30,000, and then the 9,000 is for the existing feed store, which is 4,400 square feet, plus two dwellings,” Nichols said,
explaining that there is an existing principal dwelling on the south property, as well as an accessory dwelling. He pointed out that the property owner’s request kept commercial uses on the southwest quadrant, as asked for by the LPA. “Basically, the ask would be for 30,000 square feet of new development within that quadrant,” Nichols said. “The other uses there are all to remain, so it can still exist as an equestrian facility. We have the commercial stables and barns, the equestrian riding rings, wholesale and retail nurseries, so that will remain.” He explained that the multiple land use would consist of the See B ROAD, page 7