WCF TEAMS UP WITH SOUTHERN LAWN SEE STORY, PAGE 3
2021 SOUTH FLORIDA FAIR GOES ‘MINI’ SEE STORY, PAGE 7
THE
TOWN-CRIER WELLINGTON • ROYAL PALM BEACH • LOXAHATCHEE • THE ACREAGE
Your Community Newspaper
INSIDE
Volume 42, Number 1 January 1 - January 14, 2021
Serving Palms West Since 1980
WELLINGTON SENIORS ENJOY HOLIDAY
Student’s Passion: ‘No Soldier Should Ever Be Forgotten’
If you’re attending events staged by Wellington’s American Legion Post 390, don’t be surprised if one of the key people involved is a lot younger than you might expect. Odds are, it’s Sons of the American Legion Post 390 Squadron Commander Joshua Katz. Page 3 The Wellington Seniors Club held a drive-up box lunch event on Thursday, Dec. 17 at Wellington’s Village Park. As the seniors checked in at the gate, they received cookies and a coffee mug. The box lunch was from TooJay’s, and the goody bag sponsors were Healthy Partners, Wellington Regional Medical Center and Harbor Chase. Shown above, Kyle Ostroff, Rich Febles, Jenifer Brito, PBSO Sgt. Matthew DeJoy, Mayor Anne Gerwig, Santa, Joe Piconcelli and Michelle Garvey prepare to hand out lunches. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 22 PHOTO BY DENISE FLEISCHMAN/TOWN-CRIER
Loxahatchee Groves Hosts Successful Holiday Basket Drive
On Friday, Dec. 18, the Town of Loxahatchee Groves held its first Holiday Gratitude Basket deliveries to town residents to show their appreciation and support for the local community during the holiday season. Page 5
Lox Groves Making The Most Of Pandemic Era As 2021 Begins
In the midst of a pandemic crisis, the Town of Loxahatchee Groves has retooled the way it does business to create a new socially distanced process that may be the way governments do work in 2021. Page 7
New Wellington Manager Looking Ahead To A Year Of ‘Connections’ In 2021
By M. Dennis Taylor Town-Crier Staff Report The Village of Wellington begins the new year with a new manager and keen eye on a future beyond the current pandemic. “For now, the challenges presented by COVID-19 in 2020 will remain in 2021, but we are looking beyond the pandemic and starting initiatives that will shape Wellington’s future deep into the decade,” new Village Manager Jim Barnes told the Town-Crier this week. This includes a wide array of capital projects either nearing completion, underway or in the planning phases. “Capital projects scheduled to be completed in 2021 include the athletic complex at Wellington High School, the water plant expansion and the water reclamation facility expansion,” Barnes said. “Projects proposed to be undertaken include pathway expansions and improvements on Big Blue
Trace, additional improvements at the Town Center, and a whole host of maintenance projects that continue our investment in our infrastructure assets for roadways, surface water management and utilities.” Barnes noted that the Wellington Village Council reaffirmed and updated existing goals through its workshops with staff last year. The council and staff will continue that practice in 2021, albeit socially distanced and modified due to COVID-19, with a visioning workshop proposed for the spring. “This effort allows for mindful consideration in the planning, navigating and establishment of long-term future direction organized around four overarching themes: infrastructure, land use, the economy and quality of life,” he said. “This annual effort is a significant undertaking, and our council, staff and the community will all be a part of the process. The
village remains fiscally strong and well-positioned for the future. Our council and employees take great pride in serving our community and connecting with our residents, businesses and organizations to provide best-in-class services and a safe environment for all in which to live and work.” Even as the virus keep people apart, Barnes sees “connections” as the theme for 2021. “As we see the completion of roadway and pathway projects connecting neighborhoods throughout the village, I am reminded of the many ways we, as public servants, serve as connections to the community — connecting people with services, places and often with other people,” he explained. “From the customer service representatives who answer phone calls at each of our village facilities to the awardwinning public works and utilities See BARNES, page 18
ITID To Start Implementing New Plan For Roads In 2021
Palm Beach Central Boys Basketball Squad A Work In Progress
In basketball, what’s most important is how a team finishes the season. That’s important to keep in mind when looking at the Palm Beach Central High School varsity boys basketball program. So far this year, the Broncos have split their first four games — winning two and losing two. Page 21 DEPARTMENT INDEX NEWS...............................3 - 18 NEWS BRIEFS......................... 7 PEOPLE.............................. 8 - 9 COLUMNS............................. 16 BUSINESS............................. 19 SPORTS................................. 21 CLASSIFIEDS.................23 - 24 Visit Us On The Web At WWW.GOTOWNCRIER.COM
By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report The Indian Trail Improvement District will see the first phase of implementation for its new mobility plan in 2021 after the ITID Board of Supervisors approved it in December. The plan will begin with the installation of speed tables at many locations that do not have traffic calming, followed by the replacement of existing speed bumps with more vehicle-friendly but equally effective Seminole speed tables. “We’re looking to implement it in fiscal year 2021, which will be calendar year 2021 now, and into fiscal year 2022, so the project would be done in calendar year 2022,” ITID Executive Director Burgess Hanson told the TownCrier. In addition to speed tables, the project will also identify roads that
need resurfacing that were part of the R-2 Road Plan, as well as paving 140th Avenue North from Orange Blvd. south to where it dead-ends near Acreage Community Park’s southern expansion. The district is also looking at resurfacing Tangerine Blvd. from Avocado Blvd. to 140th Avenue North, as well as some other roads, Hanson said. Also on the 2021 agenda, ITID is looking at a plan to place millings on dirt roads, which was presented to the board in December as a cost-saving measure in materials and maintenance. “Depending on what the board decides, that could take seven years or 15 years, with our current staffing and our annual budgetary levels for milling and road rock,” Hanson said. “The goal here is to have no unimproved, dirt roads.” However, if 51 percent of residents on dirt roads do not want
their roads improved, they will be able to opt out, he noted. ITID staff is also looking at updating its parks by gauging what the community and board want. This includes an updated park plan that looks at all the different ITID parks throughout The Acreage, with the exception of Acreage Community Park, which already has a master plan in place. “We want to put in some better fields at those parks so that neighborhood kids or even the parks and recreation department staff can go out and have pickup flag football or soccer — things that are not organized like what the Acreage Athletic League provides,” Hanson said. ITID also plans to continue extensive work on swales, as it has over the past year to improve drainage. “When we go in to do road See ITID 2021, page 18
New Village Hall, Commons Park Shelters In Sight For RPB In 2021
By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report Construction of a new village hall and a design for a new recreation center will be the main projects planned by the Village of Royal Palm Beach in 2021. “Village hall is our big project for next year, to get that under construction, and to get the recreation center under design,” Village Manager Ray Liggins told the Town-Crier. Plans for the new village hall were unveiled in early 2020. At 24,000 square feet, the project is in its final design phase and will be out to bid and under construction by the end of the year. “That’s our main goal that we’re focusing on,” Liggins said. “We’re very proud of it. It’s going to be a very useful building. The interest-
ing thing about the building is it’s not necessarily getting larger. The actual offices are getting smaller.” It’s the modern design and hurricane-safe architecture that will make all the difference. The current building was built in the 1970s and retrofitted several times since. While the overall building is larger than the current village hall, total office space will drop from about 6,000 to about 5,500 square feet, but plans call for additional office space in the future, as well as conference rooms and storage areas. “There is also a significant amount of public space,” Liggins said. “There is a large entranceway, which is going to be two stories tall. You’ll have all the deSee RPB 2021, page 7
HOLIDAY HELP FOR CHANDLER FAMILY
Lights 4 Hope, the nonprofit organization that produces the holiday light show at Okeeheelee Park, recently helped out Wellington’s Chandler family. Nearly two years ago, Katie Chandler and her daughter Valerie were in a car accident, leaving Valerie paralyzed. On Sunday, Dec. 20, Lights 4 Hope held its big holiday drop-off of items for Valerie and her family. Shown above, the event also happened to be the day before Valerie’s birthday, and in addition to the drop-off, there was a large birthday caravan offering gifts. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 10 PHOTO BY ERIN DAVISSON/TOWN-CRIER
Four File For Two Available Seats On Lox Groves Council
By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report Two seats are open on the Loxahatchee Groves Town Council during the upcoming municipal election on Tuesday, March 9, and two challengers have filed to run against two incumbents. Seat 1 incumbent Councilwoman Phillis Maniglia is being challenged by former Councilman Dave DeMarois, while Seat 3 incumbent Mayor Lisa El-Ramey will face community activist Marianne Miles. Miles could be seen at most meetings before pandemic restrictions on attendance and is probably best known for her advocation of road improvements, especially on B Road, where she lives. Miles said she considers herself running on issues rather than
against El-Ramey. “I look at it as running to try and do what I feel would be good for all of Loxahatchee Groves’ residents,” she said. “It’s not so much as how I feel, but how they feel, because I’ve listened to them on Facebook, and I’ve listened to them at the meetings.” Miles feels that the council is listening to only a select few individuals. “They’re not hearing what all of the residents want because they’re not asking them,” she said. “I’ve asked several times for the council to ask them, and they don’t do it.” Miles would like the council to obtain enough money for all the roads in town to be done, whether it is paving or dirt. “Our public works department See LOX VOTE, page 7
Changes To SR 7 Extension Address WPB Concerns
By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report At a meeting of the Palm Beach County Transportation Planning Agency on Thursday, Dec. 17, Florida Department of Transportation representative Scott Peterson reviewed changes to the State Road 7 extension project that his agency feels may resolve challenges that have been raised by the City of West Palm Beach. “In 2018, this project was let to construction,” Peterson said. “Due to some concerns, legal challenges raised by the city, the department has spent the last yearplus refining the design, trying to alleviate those concerns. I’m
back before you to discuss what those changes are and how they have affected both the design and the cost.” He said the alignment and location has not changed, but the footprint and environmental impact have been reduced to eliminate outfall to the Ibis Golf & Country Club lake system west of the projected easement, which was one concern that was raised. Retaining walls and swales have also been minimized. The extension remains four lanes, but a swale on the east side was removed, as well as one of the two sidewalks that were on each side of the road, replaced by
a shared use path on the east side. The median width was reduced, effectively reducing the overall width of the easement from 94.5 feet to 84.5 feet. “In the previous incarnation, there was a sidewalk on each side, so it’s less of a footprint to have a shared use path than two sidewalks,” Peterson said. A wet conveyance channel was added to replace a dry swale that would have discharged to Ibis, he explained. “One of the ways that we were able to eliminate the outfall to Ibis was to detain the water onsite before it ultimately drains to the north,” Peterson said. “One
thing, which was not known in 2018 but had to be addressed was that FEMA has updated its flood map, and we had to address those changes.” The estimated construction cost has increased from $20.4 million to $23.2 million for the segment from Okeechobee Blvd. to the roundabout at 60th Street North, and from $50.3 million to $56.7 million from the roundabout to Northlake Blvd. “Some of that was due to the FEMA maps changing and having to provide flood plain compensation,” Peterson said. “Some of that is due to unit prices increasing as the years go by. Some of it is due
to the fact that we had to add walls to reduce the footprint.” He said that FDOT submitted an updated footprint to the South Florida Water Management District in September and will submit the plan to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers next month. “We are on track to complete the plans in May, with a letting in September 2021,” Peterson said. The report was accepted without comment from agency members or the public. Royal Palm Beach Mayor Fred Pinto currently serves as chair of the TPA’s governing board. He said that he hopes the proposed See SR 7, page 18