REWARD FOR RPB HOME INVASION INFO SEE STORY, PAGE 3
NEW ICE CREAM STORE OPENS IN RPB SEE STORY, PAGE 7
THE
TOWN-CRIER WELLINGTON • ROYAL PALM BEACH • LOXAHATCHEE • THE ACREAGE
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INSIDE
Lox Groves Council May Give Magistrate Leeway In Settling Fines
Volume 38, Number 29 July 21 - July 27, 2017
Serving Palms West Since 1980
ROCK-PAINTING FUN AT PALMS WEST
In the future, reducing fines or removing liens applied for code violations in Loxahatchee Groves might be resolved by the town’s special magistrate rather than the Loxahatchee Groves Town Council. Page 7
Inspector General Funding Argument Still Dragging On
By Paul L. Gaba Town-Crier Staff Report The endless debate over funding Palm Beach County’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) continues to be a back-and-forth match with no end in sight, despite recent legal rulings. The topic was among those discussed at a joint meeting of the Palm Beach County Commission and Palm Beach County League of Cities on Wednesday, July 19, with the municipalities pushing back against requests for funding assistance from county representatives.
The forum, held at the Wellington Community Center, was only for discussion and informational purposes. No proposals were formally offered, and no votes or actions were taken. The morning focused on presenting information about six areas of mutual interest to county officials and municipal leaders: tourism; mobility and impact fees; affordable and attainable housing; homelessness and the opioid epidemic; workforce training; and OIG financing. The OIG was created in 2010 See OIG FUNDING, page 4
A NOTE TO OUR READERS
Wellington Chamber Networking Event At Romeo’s Italian Cuisine
The Wellington Chamber of Commerce held a membership mixer at Romeo’s Italian Cuisine on Thursday, July 13. Members were served different crafted pizzas and accompaniments. Page 5
Royal Palm Beach Campers Show Off Skills At Talent Show
The Village of Royal Palm Beach’s summer camp held its annual talent show and dance show at the Royal Palm Beach Cultural Center on July 19. The campers showcased performances that ranged from singing and dancing to martial arts. At the event, the camp also hosted a group of campers from Ecuador, who they have invited to join them at the camp for several years. Page 7
OPINION Working Together To Fix Healthcare Woes Is The Way Forward
Since the day the Affordable Care Act, also known as “Obamacare,” became law, the Republican Party has been vowing to repeal it. That effort, always an unlikely, uphill battle, has run aground over the past few weeks. Why? The answer is simple. While many people do not like the healthcare law, they like many of the things that it accomplished. Obamacare is a mixed bag, there is good and bad. It is high time that both parties in Congress work together to fix the problems. Page 4 DEPARTMENT INDEX NEWS................................. 3 - 9 OPINION.................................. 4 NEWS BRIEFS......................... 6 COLUMNS...................... 11, 19 PEOPLE................................. 12 SCHOOLS.............................. 13 BUSINESS..................... 20 - 21 SPORTS......................... 23 - 25 CALENDAR............................ 26 CLASSIFIEDS.................27 - 30 Visit Us On The Web At WWW.GOTOWNCRIER.COM
The Children’s Hospital at Palms West joined in the trending rock-painting craze, hosting an activity for youngsters on Wednesday, July 12. Staff, volunteers and families sat around tables in the play area to paint rocks, listen to music and have fun. Rocks will be hidden around the hospital campus for everyone to find. Shown here, Jimmy Velasquez and Rodemildo Lopez decorate rocks. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 9 PHOTO BY JACK LOWENSTEIN/TOWN-CRIER
Lox Council OKs Tax Rate Hike To Cover More PBSO Services
By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report The Loxahatchee Groves Town Council on Tuesday approved a Truth in Millage (TRIM) rate of 2.6 mills, almost twice the town’s current tax rate, primarily due to increasing costs for law enforcement. The Palm Beach County Sheriff Office’s cost for services will go from about $294,000 to $610,000 annually, which would put fulltime deputies in the town 24 hours a day, resulting in the tax rate jumping from the current rate of 1.4718 mills to about 2.6 mills. The council also approved a solid waste assessment unchanged, but with a payback to residential but not commercial consumers in
an attempt to put a bigger burden where council members felt the primary responsibility lay, on growing commercial interests in the town. Town Manager Bill Underwood pointed out that the town has managed to keep tax levels down despite the 2008 recession when property values and corresponding tax revenue plummeted. He pointed out that even though the taxable values have gone up, they are still lower than they were before 2008 by about 20 percent. “The adopted millage rates look really bad,” he said. “I would love to tell you there’s a different story, but there’s not. We’ve gone up to 2.6 mills in this budget. That accommodates the sheriff’s budget,
which we added to the existing millage rate.” Underwood also noted that the solid waste assessment started out high early in the town’s incorporation but dropped in 2013 and has remained steady at $256.27 the past three years for residential properties. Underwood also noted that when the economy struck bottom from 2008 to 2010, the rollback rate would have been above 2 mills, which would have generated the same amount as previous years, but the council chose not to go with the rollback rate but remain below it. “You’ve stayed below the rollback rate basically except for this See LOX BUDGET, page 14
Wellington Architectural Board Approves Plans For New Hotel
By Paul L. Gaba Town-Crier Staff Report One month after requesting some aesthetic adjustments to a proposed hotel near the Mall at Wellington Green, Wellington’s Architectural Review Board gave its blessing to a planned Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott. The unanimous approval came Wednesday, July 19, after Wellington Senior Planner Damian Newell presented a brief overview of the changes. Among the central issues that needed to be addressed out of the June ARB meeting: adjusting the color scheme of the front-facing façade, a landscaped “living wall” on the west end of the north façade and reducing the size of lettering along the front of the hotel. The previous color scheme relied on the use of a dark blue color, which was deemed “too busy” at the board’s June meeting. The proposed colors have been adjusted to more earthy tones with a blue accent, which is more consistent with area businesses. The brand standard for the “F” in “Fairfield” is 36 inches in
height. In June, the ARB was informed that the signage exceeded the maximum allowable square footage by 100 square feet, and exceeded the height by 18 inches. Under the approved changes, the “F” has been reduced to 24 inches, and the signage now meets Wellington’s standard size allowance. “The smaller sign looks good,” Board Member Roger Grave de Peralta said. His view was endorsed by fellow Board Member Tom Wenham. “This looks much, much better, and is better for the community,” Wenham said. The Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott will be a five-story, 107room hotel located west of the Mall at Wellington Green. Located behind the Fresh Market store, it will be accessible from both the mall and from Forest Hill Blvd. The Fairfield Inn & Suites was one of several projects given design approval by the ARB. The board also approved design standards to for a new veterinary clinic in the Binks Commercial Center and a new restaurant at the Mall at Wellington Green.
The veterinary clinic is to be located on Professional Way at the southeast corner of Binks Forest Drive and Bent Creek Road. The one-story, 3,600-square-foot clinic will be built on a parcel of nearly three-quarters of an acre. The facility’s only major deviation request from Wellington standards is to have two signs on the front of the building — the name of the business and a veterinary symbol. Normally, only one sign is allowed on the front, and one on the side of the building. However, there are two proposed entrances on the front, and each entrance would have one of the proposed signs overhead. Grave de Peralta said he liked the way the proposed signage looked, and the rest of the board agreed. The new restaurant approved by the ARB is Beauty and the Beeeef Burger Bar, which will move into the location that formerly housed TooJay’s inside the Mall at Wellington Green. The proposed changes to the location include adding a See ARB MEETING, page 14
As we prepare for the busy fall and winter season, the TownCrier will be taking our mid-summer hiatus the final week in July and the first week in August. After this issue, the Town-Crier will not publish on Friday, July 28 or Friday, Aug. 4. We will resume our normal weekly publishing schedule on Friday, Aug. 11. Our office will continue operating during this time period, and news updates will be available online. This brief hiatus will not affect the schedule of our sister publication, Wellington The Magazine.
DOG SHOW RETURNS TO THE FAIRGROUNDS
The Jupiter Tequesta Dog Club Inc. and Boca Raton Dog Club Inc. hosted four days of AKC All Breed Dog Shows from Thursday, July 13 through Sunday, July 16 at the South Florida Fairgrounds Expo Center. Approximately 760 dogs in 121 breeds or varieties were judged. Shown above, owner Caroline Coile gets a hug from Ponzi, a Saluki. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 8 PHOTO BY DENISE FLEISCHMAN/TOWN-CRIER
Law Change Means Earlier Election Qualifying Dates
By Jack Lowenstein Town-Crier Staff Report Due to a recent change in Florida law, municipalities across Palm Beach County will need to change their election qualifying dates, moving them back at least a month. The change will create longer local election cycles, since candidates will need to qualify for March election ballots in the beginning of January. Previously, candidates could qualify until early February in Wellington and Royal Palm Beach, and late January in Loxahatchee Groves. According to Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Susan Bucher, Section 101.62 of the Florida Statutes, amended in 2016, obligates her to send out vote-bymail ballots to absent uniformed
service voters and overseas voters no later than 45 days before elections, including municipal elections. At Bucher’s request, municipalities in the western communities are beginning to update their charters and ordinances to adjust the qualifying dates. The Royal Palm Beach Village Council had two agenda items scheduled for its Thursday, July 20 meeting to make changes to the village charter and village code. The qualifying period currently opens the last Tuesday in January and continues for two weeks. As proposed by staff, qualifying for the village’s annual election will now occur during the first seven business days in January between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. See ELECTIONS, page 4
Lawyer Turned Pastor Forms New Church In Wellington
Pastor Frank Toral’s Promise Life Chapel will meet at the Wellington Community Center.
PHOTO BY JULIE UNGER/TOWN-CRIER
By Julie Unger Town-Crier Staff Report There’s a new nondenominational Christian church in the community called Promise Life Chapel. Its first service will be Sunday, Sept. 17 at the Wellington Community Center. But, before then, Promise Life Chapel is partnering with Wellington’s Parks & Recreation Department for a Back to School Bash on Friday, July 28 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Wellington Amphitheater, with bounce houses, prize giveaways, a live DJ, face painting, food trucks and more, along with a school uniform giveaway to the first 200 children. Rock Dog will be playing at 8:30 p.m. The church will also be partnering with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Palm Beach County
and WAY FM 88.1 for the event, which is open to everyone in the western communities and beyond. Promise Life Chapel is led by Pastor Frank Toral. Residents of Boynton Beach, Toral and his wife, Olivia, have strong ties to the Wellington area. His son plays soccer in Wellington, and his daughter swims at the King’s Academy, where both are attending elementary school. A University of Florida graduate, Toral also has a law degree from the Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad College of Law. This life experience makes his ministry unique, which he points out to congregants. “I am not a lifetime pastor. This call to ministry came at 49 years old, and I would want them to
know that through the law firm, I understand the struggle to have to build something, I understand what failure means, I understand what it is to stay up at night because you don’t know if you have enough cash to pay your employees, I understand what it means for a single mom to have healthcare, I understand what it means for people to have life-threatening injuries,” Toral said. “It’s about people, and I would want people to know that my heart is for people, irrespective of who they are, where they’ve come from or what they’ve been through. I want them to know that Pastor Frank will love them unconditionally, for who they are.” Toral is looking to grow his See PROMISE LIFE, page 14