WELLINGTON JINGLE BELL RUN DEC. 18 SEE STORY, PAGE 3
27 CHARITIES PICKED FOR 2017 GCC SEE STORY, PAGE 7
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TOWN-CRIER WELLINGTON • ROYAL PALM BEACH • LOXAHATCHEE • THE ACREAGE
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Public Or Private: Lawyers To Meet On Status Of 8th Place North
Volume 37, Number 47 December 9 - December 15, 2016
Serving Palms West Since 1980
VANILLA ICE AT WINTERFEST
The Loxahatchee Groves Town Council authorized its attorney and manager Tuesday to do whatever they must to resolve a dispute over the use of 8th Place North, a road with three property owners. One of them has erected a gate to claim the road as private. Page 3
Santa Visits All Paws As A Benefit For Amber’s Animal Outreach
All Paws Animal Clinic in Royal Palm Beach paired up with Amber’s Animal Outreach on Saturday, Dec. 3 to host Holiday Pet Photos with Santa. For a $10 donation, pet owners and their furry friends received a framed photo with Santa Claus. The donations benefited local nonprofit Amber’s Animal Outreach. Page 10
Surprise Birthday Party Honors 100-Year-Old Bess Tucker In RPB
A surprise birthday party for centenarian Bess Tucker was held on Thursday, Dec. 1 at the Strathmore Gate West Clubhouse. Tucker turns 100 years old on Thursday, Dec. 15. Friends gathered for light bites and cake. Tucker is active in social events and exercise classes at Strathmore Gate West. Page 16
OPINION The Holiday Season Is Joyous, But It Can Mask Hidden Dangers
’Tis the season for joy, cheer, laughter, friends and family. However, there is a dark side to the holiday season that is relatively easy to safeguard against. In a time where fire safety has been in the headlines — from a party turned to tragedy in Oakland, Calif, to deadly wildfires in Tennessee that authorities believe were started either intentionally or accidentally by humans — make sure that fire safety is a priority in your home. Did you know that the holiday season is the deadliest time of year for house fires? Page 4 DEPARTMENT INDEX NEWS...............................3 - 10 OPINION.................................. 4 NEWS BRIEFS......................... 6 PEOPLE................................. 11 SCHOOLS...................... 12 - 13 COLUMNS.......................14, 21 BUSINESS..................... 22 - 23 SPORTS..........................27 - 29 CALENDAR............................ 30 CLASSIFIEDS.................31 - 34 Visit Us On The Web At WWW.GOTOWNCRIER.COM
Wellington Winterfest returned to the Wellington Amphitheater on Saturday, Dec. 3 for an evening of holiday-themed entertainment featuring special guest Vanilla Ice and master of ceremonies Wes Kain. The Wellington Chamber of Commerce hosted the event in conjunction with the Village of Wellington. Shown above, Vanilla Ice is joined by his young fans on stage. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 17 PHOTO BY DENISE FLEISCHMAN/TOWN-CRIER
Lox Council Supports Change To Limit Commercial Projects
By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report The Loxahatchee Groves Town Council approved the preliminary readings of two ordinances on Tuesday intended to control commercial development on Okeechobee Blvd. and drinking in public places. The ordinances are the product of the town’s Unified Land Development Committee, which has been trying to correct problems with the Unified Land Development Code. Planning consultant Jim Fleischmann said that the current ULDC requires that commercial development have frontage on an arterial or collector road. “That means you have to have frontage on Okeechobee [Blvd.] or Southern [Blvd.],” Fleischmann said. “Based on council direction, we struck the word ‘collector,’ so
now in order to gain commercial zoning, you have to have frontage on Southern Blvd. only.” Town staff recommended approval, as did the Loxahatchee Groves Planning & Zoning Board. Mayor Dave Browning said the ordinance will further protect Okeechobee Blvd. to keep it the way it is. “We went through several different iterations, and this is a simple way of accomplishing it,” Fleischmann said, adding that several other comp plan amendments related to Okeechobee Blvd. are planned. “This is the fastest, quickest way to see that commercial only goes on Southern.” Vice Mayor Tom Goltzené noted that the council had suggested a comp plan amendment that would stipulate that Okeechobee Blvd. would remain a two-lane road. “Nothing has been done on
that,” he said. “What has happened when six months ago we said we were going to do that?” Goltzené said that if the county wants to widen Okeechobee Blvd., it has to make sure it’s in conformance with the town’s comprehensive plan. “Right now, it says roll,” he said. “The same time we’re saying we want it to be a 30-mile-an-hour road, do we want it to be a 30-milean-hour six-lane road? We want it to be a 30-mile-an-hour parkway with some roundabouts. We discussed that already. We voted on it. Where is it getting? Nowhere.” Councilman Todd McLendon asked Browning how his recent meeting on Okeechobee Blvd. went with Palm Beach County Engineer George Webb. “They still claim that it’s basically their road,” Browning said. See LOX COUNCIL, page 15
Church Seeks RPB Land For Memory Care Facility
By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report The Royal Palm Beach Village Council last week authorized negotiations with Connect Church, formerly the First Baptist Church of Royal Palm Beach, on Okeechobee Blvd. to sell two tracts of land that total about 12 acres for $2.2 million. The church plans to use the sites for parking and a memory care facility. At the Thursday, Dec. 1 council meeting, Village Manager Ray Liggins said that the church has asked to purchase the two parcels, about 6.5 acres of an 8.4-acre parcel east of the church, and a second village-owned parcel of about 5.45 acres at the southwest corner the Porto Sol development. Liggins said the sale of the property requires council approval, and by a super-majority if the sale is for less than the appraised value.
In 2015, the village contracted with Anderson & Carr and Integra Realty Resources of Miami to appraise the two parcels. “Adjusting the appraisals for the amount of property being sold, the two appraisals totaled $2.46 million and $3.6 million,” Liggins said. “The average of the appraisals is $3 million. Connect Church is offering $2.2 million for the two parcels with the following understanding: a $50,000 nonrefundable deposit after a 60-day due diligence period, sale to be within 10 days after the site plan approval, or by Sept. 30, 2017, whichever comes first.” The site is to be limited to parking only on a site currently zoned for townhomes, and a memory care facility on the Porto Sol civic site. Staff recommended approval of the sale. “With the use of the property, I See LAND SALE, page 4
RPB CELEBRATES THE HOLIDAY SEASON
Royal Palm Beach Winter Fest was held Saturday, Dec. 3 at Royal Palm Beach Commons Park. Featuring many holidaythemed activities, the event culminated when the Royal Palm Beach Village Council joined Mr. and Mrs. Claus to light the 28-foot Christmas tree. Shown above is Taylor Martinez with her grandfather, Anthony Fawley. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 5 PHOTO BY SHAYNA TANEN/TOWN-CRIER
Committee Seeks To Balance District Official: We Traffic Flow With Speed Control Have School Sites But No Funding By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report The Wellington Equestrian Preserve Committee talked about improving traffic flow but controlling speed in a workshop session Wednesday. Committee members also discussed improvements that would encourage equestrian event spectators to use Lake Worth Road, rather than go through Wellington and other parts of the equestrian area. The first topic was a proposal to change the adopted level of service for roads in order to induce developers to contribute to road improvements. Village traffic consultant Andrea Troutman said an acceptable level of service on roads for most jurisdictions is D when traffic speeds start to decrease, and the adopted level of service for the equestrian overlay is E. Troutman said that all the roads except Pierson Road and South Shore Blvd., and a portion of Greenbriar Blvd., operate at a level of service C currently.
“Once you adopt a level of service C, the volume of traffic on the road is reduced, so some of the counts are over that volume,” she said. “Today we are meeting the adopted levels of service E on all of the roads, with only one roadway at level of service E, which is South Shore from Lake Worth to Pierson.” Troutman said that adopting a lower level of service means potential developers might be required to pay proportionate share to widen a roadway or improve intersections, where under the current adopted level of service they would not. “That may be something that you want,” she said. Committee Chair Jane Cleveland asked why the village would want to change the level of service, and Wellington Projects Manager Mike O’Dell said the intent would be to improve traffic flow in the Equestrian Overlay Zoning District (EOZD). “We would be impacting development, burdening development
with additional roadway improvements,” O’Dell said. Troutman explained that under the adopted level of service E, no improvements are currently indicated, but adopting a level of service C might require developers to participate in improvements, rather than put the burden on the village and its residents. O’Dell pointed out that the village charter requires development to pay for itself. “We’re meeting the levels of service, but the community has talked about [improving] traffic flow,” he said. “That was one of the discussions that came out of meetings we’ve had with the community.” O’Dell said that there has also been discussion of improving Lake Worth Road and South Shore Blvd. to aid in moving traffic in and out of the equestrian area, as well as improving certain intersections. Committee Member Dr. Sergio Guerreiro said that he was more See TRAFFIC, page 15
By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report Kristin Garrison, director of planning for the Palm Beach County School District, answered questions from Wellington Education Committee members Tuesday about new boundaries resulting from future development in the western communities. The planned developments will have minimal impact on Wellington schools initially, but new schools will be necessary as the new developments are completed, Garrison said. Acting Chair John Webber said that the committee had requested that a school district official explain how Wellington schools would be affected. “A lot of parents have expressed some concerns [about] the number of communities coming in,” Webber said. “These are not small communities, and they are being marketed to families, so we’re
trying to find out what the boundary effects would be. Such as, which schools would be affected and what kind of ripple effect that would have.” Webber said committee members also wanted to learn about the opportunities they would have to give input into the process. Garrison said there is a lot of residential growth anticipated in the western communities, more than 15,000 units and growing. “That’s going to be happening over a very long planning horizon,” she said. “The very first units that we’re expecting based on the information we’re receiving will be in 2017 and continuing all the way to 2041.” Garrison said developers can give the school district detailed information on initial construction, but that subsequent building relies heavily on the market. “We really don’t have definite See SCHOOLS, page 15
Xcelerate Wellington 2.0 Now Accepting Applications
By Julie Unger Town-Crier Staff Report Are you an entrepreneur? Would $10,000 take your business to the next level? If so, apply now to take part in Xcelerate Wellington 2.0. The Young Professionals of Wellington’s Xcelerate Wellington program is accepting applications until Dec. 22 for its Shark Tankstyle business competition offering up to $10,000 in cash and prizes. “If $10,000 is significant enough to take your business to the next level, apply now,” YPOW Vice President Monica Van Tassel said. “If having exposure to a broader community of entrepreneurs in Wellington is important to you, apply now.” Exposing a fledgling company
to the right people, she explained, is about numbers: The more practice you get, the better you get at sharing what your company is and what you’re trying to do. Xcelerate Wellington is an avenue for practice, experience, connections and more as companies compete for the $10,000 grant. Committee Chair Van Tassel is spearheading the program along with committee members Ryan Mishkin, John Bowers, Dan Abbate, Noam Weiss and Gabie Ervesun. They are looking forward to learning about the companies that have applied and will be applying before the deadline. “Last year, it was a private event,” Van Tassel said. “This year, we decided to make it a commu-
nity event and open it up.” During the live, two-hour public event, Van Tassel explained, the companies picked as finalists will present their businesses to a panel of four judges. There will be a new award, and a discussion focusing on the lessons that can be learned through failure. “What we really learned last year was that Wellington indeed embodied the spirit of entrepreneurism, as we suspected, and I feel like there is the appetite within the community to have that conversation brought into it. That’s what we’re looking to do,” she said. Each applicant is being asked to submit a pitch video, which is new for Xcelerate Wellington 2.0. Ad-
ditionally, a “Home Grown: Local Choice Reward” will be granted to an eligible company. That award is specifically to recognize a Wellington-based company. “It’s important again to bring the conversation of entrepreneurism into Wellington,” Van Tassel said, noting that there is a growing entrepreneurship movement in the area. To participate, businesses must register and complete the application process. Companies outside of Wellington are welcome to participate, but they are asked to think creatively about their economic impact on Wellington. Finalists will be announced in early January, and shortly afterward, there will be a live event
in front of the judges, who will determine the winner. Last year’s judges — Mark Bellissimo, Jeff Brown, Martin Hill and Robbin Lee — are returning to lend their expertise to this next set of entrepreneurs. Bellissimo is the managing partner and largest shareholder of Wellington Equestrian Partners LLC, which recently has grown to include the Wanderers Club and the International Polo Club Palm Beach, in addition to the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center, the Winter Equestrian Festival and the Global Dressage Festival. Brown, entrepreneur in residence at Florida International UniSee XCELERATE, page 15