ALA HOSTING HOLIDAY LIGHT CONTEST SEE STORY, PAGE 3
VILLAGE HONORS THE LATE KEN ADAMS SEE PHOTOS, PAGE 8
THE
TOWN-CRIER WELLINGTON • ROYAL PALM BEACH • LOXAHATCHEE • THE ACREAGE
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Royal Palm Plans A Socially Distanced Holiday Tree Lighting
Volume 41, Number 28 December 4 - December 17, 2020
Serving Palms West Since 1980
SANTA VISITS THE FAIRGROUNDS
Royal Palm Beach Parks & Recreation Director Lou Recchio reported on the limited programs available to the public and precautions being taken due to COVID-19 at the Tuesday, Nov. 24 meeting of the Royal Palm Beach Recreation Advisory Board. Programming will include a socially distanced holiday tree lighting celebration on Friday, Dec. 11. Page 3
Colorectal Specialist: Don’t Delay Screenings Due To The Pandemic
Colorectal specialist and surgeon Dr. Tara Domash Martinez is now treating patients at Palms West Hospital. After practicing on New York’s Long Island for eight years, Martinez recently relocated to be closer to her family in Wellington. Page 7
Annual Thanksgiving Sale Brings Equestrian Community To Tackeria
The Tackeria, Wellington’s iconic equestrian emporium, held its 27th annual Thanksgiving Sale on Friday, Nov. 27 and Saturday, Nov. 28 with savings throughout the store. The sale regularly brings in horse lovers from all over, looking for unique equestrian items. Page 18
Seminole Ridge Basketball Girls Kick Off Season With A Win
This year’s season is off to a strong start for the girls varsity basketball team at Seminole Ridge High School. The Hawks opened up the season with a big win at home, defeating West Boca Raton High School 69-27 on Tuesday, Dec. 1. Page 21 DEPARTMENT INDEX NEWS...............................3 - 18 NEWS BRIEFS......................... 7 SPORTS................................. 21 PEOPLE..........................24 - 25 BUSINESS............................. 27 COLUMNS............................. 28 CLASSIFIEDS................ 29 - 30 Visit Us On The Web At WWW.GOTOWNCRIER.COM
The 46th annual Harvest Festival was held on Saturday, Nov. 21 and Sunday, Nov. 22 at the South Florida Fairgrounds. The event included a craft show, car show, pony rides, petting zoo, climbing wall, bungee jump, food, music and more. Santa was there to hear Christmas wishes and pose for photos. Shown above, Santa and Mrs. Claus visit with Elianna Restivo. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 23 PHOTO BY DENISE FLEISCHMAN/TOWN-CRIER
Westlake Council OKs Site Plan For New Publix Plaza
By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report The Westlake City Council on Monday, Nov. 30 approved a master site plan for a Publix grocery store and other retail services at the northwest corner of Seminole Pratt Whitney Road and Persimmon Blvd. West. Publix at Westlake Plaza will be composed of five parcels on about 20 acres that will be constructed in phases, beginning with the 48,367-square-foot grocery store with a drive-through pharmacy and a 1,400 square-foot-liquor store, along with 9,600 square feet of inline retail, office and medical uses. City Planner Nilsa Zacarias said that future phases of the shopping plaza, which will come
back before the council, would include a 4,000-square-foot fast food restaurant with a drivethrough, a 5,500-square-foot bank, a 5,750-square-foot sit-down restaurant and 65,363 square feet of yet-to-be-determined retail space. The west side of the Publix will have a six-foot buffer wall separating it from open space to the west, with landscape buffers to the north, south and west. Several access points will be to Persimmon Blvd. and Seminole Pratt Whitney Road. Interior streets and sidewalks will be concrete, Zacarias said, pointing out that other Publix plazas were constructed with pavers or tile. She said she had requested that similar materials be used for the Westlake grocery store, but See WESTLAKE, page 4
BRING IT FOR BINA
Committee Reviews Comp Plan With An Eye On Impact For The Equestrian Industry
By M. Dennis Taylor Town-Crier Staff Report On Wednesday, Dec. 2, Wellington’s Equestrian Preserve Committee extensively discussed the elements of the village’s comprehensive plan that relate to the Equestrian Preserve Area (EPA). Assistant Planning, Zoning & Building Director Michael O’Dell provided a recap of the plan that was covered at the previous meeting, detailed the changes that had been made at the suggestion of the committee and collected additional input from the discussion. “The comprehensive plan is the 30,000-foot view,” O’Dell explained. “It says what we’re going to do over the next 10 to 20 years.” He said that it is meant to be aspirational, rather that detailing specifically how things will be done. “We don’t want to get into the
weeds discussing details,” O’Dell suggested. But committee members had other plans, focusing on a number of “what if” hypothetical questions and topics beyond the scope of the agenda as laid out by O’Dell. O’Dell’s goal for the evening was to talk about and get approval of a portion of the comp plan. He explained that the goals of the elements under consideration are to preserve the equestrian lifestyle, maintain a multi-modal transportation network in the EPA and to support Wellington‘s equestrian competition industry. To do this, the plan includes a macro-view of the emergency evacuation plan, an objective of maintaining the overall density of the EPA, continuing to investigate alternatives for horse waste disposal, providing regular review of the equestrian trail circulation plan,
planning to widen Lake Worth Road and South Shore Blvd., and adopting regulations that provide for the operation of golf carts. Another objective is to assist in development of educational programs supporting the equestrian industry for area schools, such as one that may someday be built on property owned by the school district in the EPA. The third element is water quality and quantity education, with the objective of educating homeowners and builders on subjects like water quality through Wellington public service announcements, the village’s web site and through the distribution of existing documents, as well as encouraging best management practices on equestrian properties to stop water leeching from the land. The next item was the objective See COMP PLAN, page 4
Jess Santamaria Provides Families With Holiday Cheer To Honor Friend Ken Adams
By M. Dennis Taylor Town-Crier Staff Report Former Palm Beach County Commissioner Jess Santamaria has donated 60 tickets to Winterfest 2020 for families of critically and chronically ill children in the name of his longtime friend Ken Adams, a Wellington pioneer who died last month. “We’d like to generate some awareness of this wonderful gesture by Jess Santamaria to help families through Little Smiles, the Kids Cancer Foundation and the Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital,” said Michela Green, executive director of the Wellington Chamber of Commerce, which is producing a drive-in version of Winterfest this year on Saturday, Dec. 5. A limited number of tickets to
the event are available at $20 per car. But the cost will not be a barrier for the 60 families chosen for the tickets donated by Santamaria. Green noted Santamaria’s many years of charitable and philanthropic work in the community. “He has an extensive history of charitable work on his own, and it was so nice to make the donation in Ken Adams’ name,” she said. “These children and their families will enjoy a fun evening of music and holiday cheer at Winterfest 2020.” This year’s Winterfest will feature live music from Vanilla Ice, Alex Shaw and School of Rock, and tunes by DJ Johnny Quest, to help welcome in the holiday season. Each ticket gets a family carload into the event. Tickets are expected
to sell out, and the location is not being publicized to make sure that people do not need to be turned away. Santamaria donated the tickets quietly, but Green and the chamber felt he should be acknowledged for the selfless donation. “Oh, it is the least I could do,” Santamaria said. “It is miniscule for all that Ken Adams did for the community. We were friends for 40 years. This is nothing. He gave a lot to this community.” With his name on Ken Adams Way and the Wellington Founder’s Plaque, Adams, who passed away Nov. 11, was a former chairman of the Palm Beach County Commission, chairman of the South Florida Water Management District and an untiring leader in See DONATION, page 14
The Wellington Runners Club recently held a virtual run and inspirational parade in support of Sabrina Emery Barres, a local woman battling a rare form of cancer. “Bring it for Bina” concluded on Sunday, Nov. 22 with the parade from the Wellington Marketplace to Sabrina’s nearby home. Shown above, Sabrina Barres was thankful for the support. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 5 PHOTO BY DENISE FLEISCHMAN/TOWN-CRIER
Lox Groves Council Allows Temporary Agreement With ITID On Road Closure
By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report The Loxahatchee Groves Town Council supported a temporary agreement on Tuesday, Dec. 1 for residents of 43rd Road North to have temporary access to 140th Avenue North, a road controlled by the Indian Trail Improvement District, until a more lasting arrangement can be worked out. A recent road closure left the nine residents of 43rd Road North in Little Turtle Creek without access directly to Loxahatchee Groves, since ITID recently put up a gate at the cut-through from 140th Avenue North, and the western portion of the road is gated by the property owner. Town Manager Jamie Titcomb
said his staff has been working with ITID on a solution to the issue to avoid creating another cutthrough in the process. The issue has been compounded by ITID’s recent notice of its intention to gate 43rd Road as well. An earlier attempt by staff to reach an interlocal agreement with ITID was rejected by the council. “As you know, the cut-through has been permanently gated off. It had several misstarts with vandalism and aggression on that infrastructure, but it’s pretty much holding in place now,” Titcomb said. He added that traffic in the northern part of town has decreased more than 90 percent. “The protocol for emergency See LOX ROAD, page 14
County Commissioners Support Equine Waste Plant
By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report The Palm Beach County Commission voted 5-2 during a zoning hearing on Monday, Nov. 23 to approve an equine waste management facility in an industrial area on land owned by the Solid Waste Authority. The 5.25-acre site south of Belvedere Road between Benoist Farms Road and Pike Road is in an industrial area, where the plant would separate manure from equine bedding to create fresh bedding. The one-story, 48,000-squarefoot building would have 15 parking spaces and three loading
spaces. No outdoor storage of equestrian waste, including overnight parking of loading trucks and trailers, would be allowed. Access will be from Pike Road to the east. Existing access to the site from Benoist Farms Road to the west will be limited to emergency access only, said Ryan Vandenburg with the Palm Beach County Zoning Division. The county received 133 letters and e-mails in response to courtesy notices from residents and others in the notification area objecting to the location of the site, including Breakers West, which complained about possible increased traffic and odors, proximity to residential
communities, schools and daycare facilities, and environmental concerns. The City of West Palm Beach passed a resolution objecting to the location. “The bridge to Benoist Road cannot be used for service,” Vandenburg said. “It’s going to be gated and locked. The subject site is a leased parcel for the SWA lands, so the traffic is going to be through the SWA lands there and over to Pike Road.” The Palm Beach County Zoning Commission recommended approval in a 7-0 vote, and county staff recommended approval subject to a list of conditions. Vandenburg pointed out that
equine waste treatment facilities are permitted in a limited number of areas in the county, and not permitted in the Everglades Agricultural Area. “This is the largest area in Palm Beach County where this use could be put in,” he said. Commissioner Greg Weiss said the facility is experimental and asked for an explanation of conditions that would protect neighbors. Vandenberg said there were a number of concerns from a nursery owner to the west, and the property owner and applicant worked out a number of conditions, including a generator, a holding capacity of three days, and that water for
processing be held in special tanks resistant to leakage. “I think we’ve provided sufficient conditions of approval to protect the area residents should anything happen for this facility itself,” Vandenburg said, adding that one of the conditions requires a first-year report by a third party on the operation of the plant. Senior Site Planner Bill Cross added that code enforcement would have authority to address any issues that might be reported. Commissioner Robert Weinroth asked about increased truck traffic, and representative Kevin McGinley, agent for applicant Horizon See MANURE, page 14