NEW IPC OWNERS AIM TO GROW SPORT SEE STORY, PAGE 3
ART FEST TO HOST DOZENS OF ARTISTS SEE STORY, PAGE 7
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PBSC Provost Seeks Partnerships For College’s New Campus
Volume 38, Number 2 January 13 - January 19, 2017
Serving Palms West Since 1980
BOYS & GIRLS CLUB DINNER DANCE
Dr. Maria Vallejo, Palm Beach State College’s vice president for growth and expansion and provost of the Belle Glade and Loxahatchee Groves campuses, talked to the Royal Palm Beach Education Advisory Board on Monday about the need for partnerships with the community. Vallejo is especially interested in finding businesses and other entities that can offer internships for students at the new Loxahatchee Groves campus, which is set to open on Feb. 27. Page 3
RPB American Legion Plans Installation Of Officers On Feb. 2
American Legion Post 367 of Royal Palm Beach met Thursday, Jan. 5 at the Royal Palm Beach Cultural Center to make plans for the upcoming year. Page 5
Royal Palm Seniors Enjoy ‘Flashback To The Fifties’ Luncheon
The Royal Palm Beach Young at Heart Club held a “Flashback to the Fifties” luncheon on Friday, Jan. 6 at the Royal Palm Beach Cultural Center. Ronnie Davis sang oldies by Elvis, Roy Orbison and more. The Wild West Diner catered lunch. Page 16
OPINION Recalling The Lasting Legacy Of The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
This Sunday, Jan. 15, would have been the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s 88th birthday. We are sure the slain civil rights leader, who was assassinated in 1968, would opine about national and world affairs with a grace and elegance rarely heard in today’s world of fivesecond soundbites. This Monday, on the holiday set aside to honor his life’s work, we should reflect on what Dr. King’s compelling message meant — and still means — to this nation. Page 4 DEPARTMENT INDEX NEWS................................. 3 - 9 OPINION.................................. 4 NEWS BRIEFS......................... 6 PEOPLE................................. 11 SCHOOLS.............................. 13 COLUMNS.......................14, 21 BUSINESS..................... 22 - 23 SPORTS..........................25 - 27 CALENDAR............................ 28 CLASSIFIEDS................ 29 - 33 Visit Us On The Web At WWW.GOTOWNCRIER.COM
The 29th annual Wellington Dinner Dance to benefit the Neil S. Hirsch Family Boys & Girls Club was held Friday, Jan. 6 at the International Polo Club Palm Beach. This year’s theme was “Passport to Paradise.” There was a live auction and a silent auction, and the band Hyryze entertained guests and provided dance music into the night. Shown here are event chairs Nicolette Goldfarb, Marley Goodman-Overman, Dr. Colette Brown Graham, Georgina Bloomberg and Dr. Daxa Patel. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 17 PHOTO BY DENISE FLEISCHMAN/TOWN-CRIER
Winding Trails Expected Back Before Council In February
By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report Final consideration of the controversial Winding Trails development in Wellington on the former Wanderers Club executive golf course will probably return to the Wellington Village Council at its second meeting in February, according to Village Manager Paul Schofield. At the council’s meeting Tuesday, Vice Mayor John McGovern asked about the status of the application, which received preliminary approval at the council’s Dec. 13 meeting in a 4-1 vote with Mayor Anne Gerwig opposed. At the time, Gerwig said she personally favored the project but was concerned that Lakefield South residents had divided positions about the development, which would surround Lakefield
South, although it would be separated by lakes and landscaping. The Winding Trails project has been proposed by W&W Equestrian Club LLC, owned by Jim Ward and Patricia Holloway of Ward Real Estate Services, which purchased the long-unused golf course land in late 2015. They have proposed nine equestrian-oriented residential lots of 2.3 to 4.45 acres each on the former golf course located near Aero Club Drive and Greenbriar Blvd., with a horse crossing connecting to the showgrounds at Ousley Farms Road and Greenbriar Blvd. In addition to the comp plan amendment, the council also approved the preliminary reading of ordinances extending the Equestrian Overlay Zoning District (EOZD) to Winding Trails and rezoning the property from com-
mercial recreation to agricultural residential. Its inclusion in the equestrian district would impose more restrictions than other areas of the EOZD, with a 100-foot minimum lot depth and 250-foot minimum width; a maximum of two stories; a prohibition on clustered development, temporary stabling and covered arenas; and four stalls per acre but no more than 12 per lot. Setbacks for the buildings and manure bins are also more restrictive in order to protect Lakefield South. At Tuesday’s meeting, Schofield said that village staff had not heard back from the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity. “We don’t expect to hear back from them much before [Jan. 20],” he said. “My best guess is that the first time that we’re going to have See COUNCIL, page 7
Goltzené Will Seek Re-Election To Loxahatchee Groves Council
By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report Loxahatchee Groves Vice Mayor Tom Goltzené will run for another term on the Loxahatchee Groves Town Council in the Tuesday, March 14 election. Goltzené’s Seat 5 is the only council opening in the upcoming election cycle. He has served two three-year terms. Councilmen Ron Jarriel and Ryan Liang are up for re-election in 2018, and Mayor Dave Browning and Councilman Todd McLendon are up in 2019. The weeklong filing period will run from noon Tuesday, Jan. 31 through noon Tuesday, Feb. 7. “I think we have some unfinished business still to accomplish,” Goltzené told the Town-Crier on Wednesday. “The type of infrastructure and how we deal with that, the physical infrastructure being roads and such as that.”
He said the “non-physical infrastructure,” the arrangement of town management, employees and the size of government, also needs to be addressed. “Is it just an ever-growing thing or do we actually try to get to ‘government lite’ at some point and put the brakes on it?” he asked. Goltzené said residents also have opinions on the level of physical infrastructure they want, which historically has been minimal. “Sidewalks and streetlights and city water, I don’t know that most of the residents of Loxahatchee Groves want to see that right now,” he said. “Those are the kinds of issues we’re talking about. They’re really sort of existential issues right now, but I think they are important, and you have to give some attention to, and sort of put squabbling behind us. That’s what
I’m looking forward to if I am so lucky as to be re-elected.” His other concerns include getting the town’s codes to be something that reflects the community’s desires. “Right now there’s a range of things that exist that are remnants of the good old days — a time of the county letting people get away with whatever. If you want to do something, go to Loxahatchee to do it,” Goltzené said. “We have issues with that that we have to deal with, and we have to do it without causing too much internal strife and too much pain to anybody. Some things just don’t have a place in the community anymore. Substandard migrant housing would be an example I would refer to.” They are all issues that the town has to deal with as it goes into its See GOLTZENÉ, page 15
Binks Vet Clinic Gets Break On Cost Of Road Project
By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report The Wellington Village Council gave a preliminary conditional use approval for a veterinary clinic at the Binks Commercial Center after working out a condition that would place less burden on the clinic for an additional entrance required onto Binks Forest Drive. Councilman Michael Napoleone recused himself from the discussion due to his law firm’s involvement with the project. The council had postponed approval at its Nov. 8 meeting to get more information on an entrance at Binks Forest Drive, which would have required the 3,600-squarefoot clinic to pay the full cost of the connection, although the traffic impact of the clinic is relatively minimal. The existing entrance to the commercial center is to the north on Bent Creek Road, just east of Binks Forest Drive. “The conditional use in and of itself was fine,” Village Manager Paul Schofield said. “The issue became the connection to Binks Forest. The council had asked that staff go back and look at alternatives to see if there wasn’t a more appropriate ingress/egress alternative that did not involve the construction of a turn lane. The total cost of a turn lane is about $90,000.” The village’s engineering department did an analysis and found that expanding the turning radius from its typical 25 feet to 50 feet would provide for sufficient vehicle speed not to warrant a turn lane, Schofield said. “This is a right in, right out, there is no median, so the intersection becomes a safe traffic movement, and it allows a connection to be made, which we believe needs to be made,” he said. “We believe the applicant is in agreement with the condition as proposed, so staff stands prepared to recommend approval, as we did at the last meeting.” Each of the 15 commercial lots in the development is eligible for a 3,600-square-foot building, including four lots owned by the Home Away From Home day-
care center and preschool at the northwest corner of the property. The daycare center has developed three of its four lots. One other office building and a dental office also occupy the site, with several lots vacant. “We believe that the solution is appropriate and there is a significant cost saving,” Schofield said, adding that the turn lane would be required if the daycare center should decide to complete its expansion, which would cost about $50,000 and would be the responsibility of the daycare center. Vice Mayor John McGovern pointed out that the cost already is the responsibility of the daycare center, which was before the council more than a year ago to apply for a significant expansion. “A part of that was a condition that they build the access and the turn lane,” McGovern said. “For whatever reason, that simply hasn’t happened.” Growth Management Director Bob Basehart said conditional uses must be done within three years or it comes back to the council for reconsideration. McGovern said he thought it had been unfair to shift the burden of the turn lane and access point from the daycare center, which is the reason for most of the increased traffic, to a smaller proprietor making a new application. Basehart agreed, but pointed out that traffic performance standards are not intended to be fair, but to make improvements to the roadway system where they are necessary to serve the benefit of the general public. “That streetway connection is necessary today, whether or not the veterinary clinic moves forward, or whether or not the daycare center [expansion] moves forward,” he said. Basehart noted that any project without a conditional use requirement can build as of right and would not require putting in the turn lane on Binks Forest Drive. Mayor Anne Gerwig agreed that it is a difficult issue. “I think we had extensive disSee VET CLINIC, page 15
QUAYE AT WELLINGTON GRAND OPENING
The Quaye at Wellington held a grand opening celebration Friday, Jan. 6. Guests, residents and visitors from the community admired the clubhouse, pool and lake, while touring display units in the community of luxury rental apartments and townhomes. Shown here are builder Rick Lococo, interior designer Carol Funk and developer Charles Funk. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 5 PHOTO BY JULIE UNGER/TOWN-CRIER
Dr. King Celebration In Royal Palm Marking 15th Year
By Julie Unger Town-Crier Staff Report Caribbean-Americans for Community Involvement (CAFCI) and the Village of Royal Palm Beach will present the 15th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration on Monday, Jan. 16 at the Royal Palm Beach Cultural Center. According to CAFCI Cultural Director Elet Cyris, this year’s theme is, “Love is the most durable power in the world.” With the violence and upheaval in today’s society, the organizing committee thought the theme would spread a nice message. “Also, it’s Martin Luther King’s quote,” said Cyris, who is joined on the committee by Marjorie Aiken, Hope Francis, Margaret
Granada, Shirley Morrison, Paul Baker, Henworth Ferguson, Ernie Garvey, Winsom Martin and Geneive White. The celebration, which is open and free to the public, will feature many talented performers of all ages. “We have a very nice program,” Cyris said. Jade Master will be singing the national anthem, the Rev. Anna Higginbotham will provide the invocation and Aubin Robinson will deliver the keynote address. The master of ceremonies is Dr. Cedric Lynch, and the Royal Palm Beach Village Council will be in attendance. Performances will include Jade and Demi Master and Rachel Robinson of Dance Arts Con-
servatory’s Broadway Stars, as well as the Onyx Dance Studio and accomplished pianist Pierre Harris. There will be a duet by Laura Whitten and Ralph Pitman; Tehya Morris will recite a poem; and the Blues Brothers, Jordaine Randon, Rochelle Wright, Dance Arts Conservatory’s Broadway Stars and violinist Kate Deviney will entertain. Royal Palm Beach Community & Cultural Events Superintendent Carlos Morales is looking forward to the celebration. “We’re one of the only Dr. Martin Luther King celebration events this side of town, in the western communities. I don’t think there are too many people who do these types of events. It’s an honor that
we do it,” Morales said. “The attendance is outstanding. We have a packed house every time we do these events.” When CAFCI first started with the observance 15 years ago, Cyris said, organizers didn’t have any idea how large it would become. “We started out very small, and then it has been expanded. For 15 years, to still have the village that we can get together for this celebration, I think it’s an achievement, and I do hope we continue with it,” she said. “When we started out, I never gave it a thought that we would be here for 15 years. We have worked on this, and we still enjoy doing it. We’re the same committee, and it’s still CAFCI, in conjunction with the
Village of Royal Palm Beach. It’s a community event. It has remained in the community, and as a very positive event.” The message and legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., she said, is important, and she hopes this event will help positively influence the community, especially the younger generation. A continental breakfast will be available from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m., sponsored by CAFCI members, prior to the celebration, which will take place from 10 a.m. to noon. The Royal Palm Beach Cultural Center is located at 151 Civic Center Way. Sponsorships are still available. To learn more, call (561) 790-5149 or visit www. cafcipbc.org.