LOX GROVES HOSTS PARADE AND PICNIC SEE STORY AND PHOTOS, PAGE 3
NEW BOOK OFFERS KEYS TO SUCCESS SEE STORY, PAGE 7
THE
TOWN-CRIER WELLINGTON • ROYAL PALM BEACH • LOXAHATCHEE • THE ACREAGE
Your Community Newspaper
NOTE TO OUR READERS
Volume 40, Number 28 July 12 - July 18, 2019
Serving Palms West Since 1980
INDEPENDENCE DAY CELEBRATIONS
The Town-Crier will be taking our annual mid-summer hiatus the final week in July and the first week in August. After the issue of Friday, July 19, the Town-Crier will not publish on Friday, July 26 or Friday, Aug. 2. We will resume our normal weekly publishing schedule on Friday, Aug. 9.
INSIDE Student Seeks Toy Donations For Palms West Children’s Hospital Local high school student Hannah Goin is asking for the community’s help in supporting a toy drive for children at Palms West Hospital. The toy drive is underway, and people have until July 25 to participate. Page 4
Westlake Grants A Six-Month Extension For FPU Gas Pipeline
Wellington and Royal Palm Beach celebrated the Fourth of July holiday with festivities at Village Park in Wellington and Commons Park in Royal Palm Beach on Thursday, July 4. (Above) Face-paint artist Maureen Dibble puts the finishing touches on Bailee Keene at the Wellington celebration. (Left inset) Lisa Goss and Michael Cummings celebrate in Royal Palm Beach. MORE ROYAL PALM PHOTOS, PAGE 9 MORE WELLINGTON PHOTOS, PAGE 11
The Westlake City Council on Monday, July 8 granted Florida Public Utilities a six-month time extension to run a gas pipe on an easement shared with Florida Power & Light along the M-2 Canal connecting to Westlake, and eventually the Arden community to the west. Page 4
PHOTOS BY DENISE FLEISCHMAN AND CALLIE SHARKEY/TOWN-CRIER
Wellington Council Approves TRIM Rate Of 2.48 Mills
Nursing Home Hosts An Independence Day Party
Royal Palm Beach Health and Rehabilitation held an Independence Day celebration on Saturday, July 6 with music, dancing and raffles. Hot dogs, burgers and chicken were grilled and served with fruit, chips and beverages. Page 13
Quarterback Peyton Mainolfi Has High Expectations For RPBHS
If anyone is ready for high school football this fall, it is Royal Palm Beach High School quarterback Peyton Mainolfi. The 6-foot-4, 220-pound junior was thrown into the starring role under center for the Wildcats his freshman year and has watched his first two seasons unfold without a victory. Page 17 DEPARTMENT INDEX NEWS...............................3 - 16 NEWS BRIEFS......................... 7 PEOPLE................................... 8 COLUMNS............................. 14 BUSINESS............................. 15 CALENDAR............................ 16 SPORTS..........................17 - 18 CLASSIFIEDS................ 19 - 20 Visit Us On The Web At WWW.GOTOWNCRIER.COM
By Gina M. Capone Town-Crier Staff Report The Wellington Village Council voted Tuesday, July 9 to set its TRIM (Truth in Millage) rate at 2.48 mills, which would keep the village’s property tax rate unchanged from last year’s adopted budget. Director of Administrative & Financial Services Tanya Quickel presented the preliminary TRIM rate adoption and recommended keeping the rate the same at 2.48 mills. “We are proposing no change to the ad valorem millage rate from this year,” she told the council. The rate is based on an estimated total taxable value of $8.69 billion, up 4.4 percent from last
year. This means that at the same rate, Wellington will be taking in some additional revenues. The rollback rate is 2.40 mills — that is the rate Wellington would need to set to keep property tax revenues unchanged. “The rollback rate is the rate necessary to generate the same amount of revenue as the property valuation included in the prior year, plus revenue on new construction,” Quickel explained. Due to increasing costs, such as budgetary items tied to the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures the rate of inflation, village staff did not recommend using the rollback rate. According to the preliminary budget overview for fiscal year
2019-20, Florida per capita income growth is a key metric to determine the allowable millage rate increases under TRIM rules. Rates are projected to stabilize or decline in the future, with growth rates between 2.4 to 3.1 percent per year. The council also set its drainage and solid waste assessments for next year. “We recommend no change in the Acme Improvement District non-ad-valorem assessments, but that it remains at $230 per unit,” Quickel said. “The solid waste assessments will also see no change.” Solid waste assessments will stay at $135 per curbside unit and See WELL TRIM, page 4
Wellington Unveils $106 Million Draft Budget Proposal
By Gina M. Capone Town-Crier Staff Report The Wellington Village Council took a preliminary look at the village’s proposed $106.2 million budget for fiscal year 2019-20 on Tuesday, July 9. The proposed budget is up $9.3 million from the current year’s approved budget of $96.8 million. The increase is due largely to planned utility capital improvements funded by the budget and the associated debt service of $1.7 million. Increases can also be found in operating costs for facility and park maintenance, building permitting and roadway maintenance. Tuesday’s meeting included a preliminary look at the budget, which will be discussed and amended over the next two months and will include formal public hearings in September. The council did approve the village’s TRIM (Truth in Millage) tax rate of 2.48 mills, which is the same as last year’s adopted tax rate. The council can decide to lower that rate over the next two months but cannot raise it. According to the preliminary budget overview, the annual budget is the result of the development, implementation and evaluation of a plan for Wellington’s village services and capital assets. The budget serves as a management tool by measuring actual performance against budget standards, focusing attention on future operations and plans, and improving communications of village goals, objectives and plans. The budget identifies shortterm and long-term activities and drives the assignment of resources to municipal activities and the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP), explained Director of Administrative & Financial Services Tanya Quickel, who presented the preliminary budget to the council on Tuesday. “We are here to present the preliminary proposed budget and the TRIM overview,” Quickel
said. “Wellington’s budget process starts with the five fundamentals. These are neighborhood renaissance, economic development, protecting our investment, responsive government and respecting the environment.” All projects in the budget are aligned with these five fundamental goals, she said. The “neighborhood renaissance” objective is to create and encourage renewal, prosperity and stabilization of property values, while keeping residents engaged. The “economic development” objective promotes business education and enhances the standard of living. “Protecting our investment” focuses on maintaining and improving longterm resources, while enhancing safety and addressing emergency needs. “Responsive government,” meanwhile, ensures that local government is responsive to the public and pursues policies that are accountable to its stakeholders. Lastly, “respecting the environment” develops processes aimed to provide affordable, clean, energysaving alternatives for today’s residences and businesses. It continues to look for ways to minimize the environmental impact of operations and seeks to continually improve environmental management efforts, with the goal of reducing Wellington’s ecological footprint. The budget process begins with the village fundamentals and council priorities, according to Quickel’s report. The levels of service and budget initiatives are identified that provide the basis for departmental business plans. “Then we consider the goals like alternative transportation, business focus, financial planning and stability, inclusionary government, infrastructure and facility maintenance, planning for sustainability, quality of life, and staff retention and training,” Quickel explained. She noted that the budget does include an increase in spending. “The total proposed budget is See WELL BUDGET, page 7
FISHING ON THE FOURTH
Lox Council Sets Maximum Tax Rate And Assessments
By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report The Loxahatchee Groves Town Council on Tuesday, July 9 approved budget resolutions holding the property tax rate unchanged at 3.0 mills and assessments at $200 per unit. The council also set the preliminary assessment rate for curbside garbage, recycling and yard trash pickup at $450 per unit for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, although it has a request for proposals out to be opened and reviewed at the end of this month for a new solid waste contractor. Assistant Town Manager Francine Ramaglia said staff recommended that the town remain at last year’s rates. “When we set the preliminary TRIM [Truth in Millage] rates, we’re setting them at the highest rate that they go,” she said. “We
can lower them as we get through more refinement in the budget process.” The county’s certified taxable value of town property increased 7.78 percent. “That put us ahead of the average in Palm Beach County,” Ramaglia said. “That’s good news. Our taxable value right now is $337 million, and if we stay at the same millage rate as we’re suggesting to set for TRIM, that would increase our revenues by $50,000 in the upcoming fiscal year.” The rollback tax rate that would keep revenues the same would be 2.82 mills. Ramaglia pointed out that previous councils had kept the millage rate steady despite some tight years during the recession. “The trend in the last couple of years has been to start increasing that rate, but even at 3.0 mills, it’s
among the lowest in the county,” Ramaglia said. Florida statutes govern the assessment rates for roads and drainage, which the town took over when the Loxahatchee Groves Water Control District became a dependent district to the town. “We’re also recommending to stay at last year’s rate of $200 per unit, and there are about 7,800 units,” Ramaglia said. “If there are any significant changes, we’ll let you know, but at that $200 rate, our revenues would stay at about $1.5 million.” Staff recommended staying at the $450 annual rate for solid waste pickup. “There are several reasons, aside from the RFP being out on the street,” Ramaglia said, explaining that the RFP is asking for creative solutions to lower that rate. “Quite See LOX BUDGET, page 4
The annual Ed Singleton Memorial Family Fishing Tournament, hosted by the Royal Palm Bassmasters and the Village of Royal Palm Beach, was held Thursday, July 4 at Royal Palm Beach Commons Park. Shown above are Andre Manning Sr., Andre Manning Jr. with his catch and sister Vanessa Manning. STORY & MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 5 PHOTO BY GINA M. CAPONE/TOWN-CRIER
RPB Summer Camp Hosts 22 Ecuadoran Students
By M. Dennis Taylor Town-Crier Staff Report The Royal Palm Beach Parks & Recreation Department’s summer camp is in high gear, and this two-week session features a contingent of 22 students visiting from Ecuador who have joined the ranks of some 400 campers who will participate over the eight-week summer program. “They flew in from Ecuador to El Salvador to West Palm Beach on Sunday night, and this is their first week,” Camp Director Shawn Och said. Och explained that next week, the visiting campers finish up their time in Royal Palm Beach, and their visit culminates with a trip to Orlando for a weekend at the Walt
Disney World theme parks. “They come here to experience summer camp in America,” he explained. That experience is a busy one in Royal Palm Beach, with campers dividing into 10 groups and each group taking a field trip every day. “The camp has been conducted 30-plus years,” Assistant Director of Parks & Recreation Mike Mikolaichik said. “We have approximately 400 camp participants throughout the summer. The camp has been extremely successful and has grown in participation over the past several years.” Mikolaichik said that the goal of the camp is to provide a safe place for local youth during the summer. “Our summer camp provides local children the opportunity to
participate in a safe, engaging and fun environment while developing their social and physical skills,” Mikolaichik said. “Some of the daily activities include bowling, swimming, art classes, participation in a variety of sports and performing in a talent show. Campers also enjoy field trips to Calypso Bay, Dubois Park, the pool, the movies, Urban Air, local parks and more.” The Ecuadoran connection began close to a decade ago when exploratory discussions began and about 20 students started coming the next year, although they skipped some years when the program had less than 20 youth interested. They are all from a See CAMPERS, page 16
Campers From Ecuador — The 22 campers from Quito, Ecuador are currently attending camp in Royal Palm Beach as part of a two-week stay. The annual program has been going on for nearly 10 years.