RODEO RETURNS TO THE FAIRGROUNDS SEE PHOTOS, PAGE 3
YOU FARM HOSTS SUMMER BARN SALE SEE PHOTOS, PAGE 7
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Property Appraiser: County’s Property Values Up 6.21 Percent
Volume 40, Number 27 July 5 - July 11, 2019
Serving Palms West Since 1980
RPB MARKS 60TH ANNIVERSARY
Property values increased 6.21 percent in Palm Beach County from 2018 to 2019, according to a report released July 1 by Palm Beach County Property Appraiser Dorothy Jacks. The increase was slightly above the property appraiser’s initial estimation of 5.73 percent released in May. Page 3
Palm Beach Classics Donates Mini Cars To Kids Cancer Foundation
Young patients receiving support from the Kids Cancer Foundation were given the chance to try out some sweet new pint-sized rides, courtesy of Palm Beach Classics, last week. During the monthly Kids Night Out program on Friday, June 28, two shiny new mini-me cars were presented to the Kids Cancer Foundation. The cars will be donated to Palms West Hospital. Page 11
Royal Palm Seniors Celebrate Holiday With A Patriotic Party
The Royal Palm Beach Seniors Activities Group held a Patriotic Party on Friday, June 28 at the Royal Palm Beach Recreation Center. After lunch, the seniors sang patriotic songs led by Ed Slater. Then it was time for dancing to the oldies. Page 13
The Village of Royal Palm Beach held a special reception and ceremony to mark the community’s 60th anniversary on Sunday, June 30 at the Royal Palm Beach Cultural Center. Six village residents were honored for their community service through the years. Shown above are (front row) honorees Diane DiSanto, Phyllis Katz, Jess Santamaria, Dan Splain, Jackie Larson and Rob Hill; and (back row) Village Manager Ray Liggins, County Commissioner Melissa McKinlay, Mayor Fred Pinto, Councilman Jeff Hmara, Vice Mayor Jan Rodusky and Councilman Richard Valuntas. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 2 PHOTO BY DENISE FLEISCHMAN/TOWN-CRIER
PBC Drowning Prevention Coalition Visits Wellington Public Safety Committee
By Gina M. Capone Town-Crier Staff Report Anna Stewart, manager of the Drowning Prevention Coalition of Palm Beach County, visited Wellington’s Public Safety Committee on Wednesday, June 26 to explain how her agency works to fight a major health and safety hazard that claims too many lives each year. The Drowning Prevention Coalition is a county government agency funded by the Palm Beach County Board of County Commissioners and the Children’s Services Council of Palm Beach County. “We are an organization of two people that services all of the 1.5 million people in Palm Beach County,” Stewart explained. “We are housed and managed by Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue.”
In her job, Stewart helps lead programs aimed at making water safety a priority. “Our job is to go out and educate the public on the importance of water safety and drowning prevention,” she said. “This is a public safety issue. Drowning can happen to everybody, regardless of age, race, gender or socio-economic background. It just so happens that seniors have the highest drowning rate based on population in Palm Beach County, followed by children ages one through four.” According to Stewart, seniors are the most likely drowning victims in Palm Beach County because they can often find themselves alone in or near a body of water, either outside such as a lake or pool, or indoors such as
the bathtub or shower. If they end up having some kind of medical emergency, there is no one there to help them. It only takes two inches of water to drown because it only takes covering your mouth and nose with the water. “We educate the public by doing free land-based water safety presentations,” Stewart said. “We speak to audiences of all ages. My coordinator does all of the children’s programming. I do all of the adult programming. We attend health and safety fairs almost every weekend, handing out drowning prevention information.” Aside from seniors, Stewart urged water safety programs for all young children. “Right now, we have a reducedSee DROWNING, page 4
Sparks Fly As ITID Board Sets Budget Workshop For July 17
Wellington Wahoos Compete In Jupiter Summer Short Course
The Wellington Wahoo swim club competed in the Jupiter Dragons Summer Short Course Invitational on Saturday, June 29 at the North County Aquatic Complex. The meet serves as a way for swimmers to work on cutting their time during summer training sessions. Page 17 DEPARTMENT INDEX NEWS...............................3 - 18 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 Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report The Indian Trail Improvement District Board of Supervisors last month postponed a detailed discussion of its budget for fiscal year 2019-20 to July to give district staff time to change some questionable items that were presented to the board at its June 19 meeting. At the board’s previous meeting, it transferred $1.3 million to the Acreage Community Park account to cover extra costs for completing the park’s long-delayed southern expansion. “I understand that we had to take another stab at this and come up with some dollars based on the amendments that we made last month,” ITID President Betty Argue said. “What I was shocked to see when I looked at this budget was that there were many items that were board directives throughout the year that have been removed to make up these dollars. Shockingly, what was not removed was something that was not di-
rected by the board to be included in the budget, and that was the 50 percent proposed dependent coverage, but items such as $750,000 for the road repaving plan was.” Argue also pointed out that without authorization from the board, $75,000 for equestrian parking at the park expansion had been removed, and funding for a project at Sycamore Park had been reduced from $140,000 to $61,000. “There’s many things in here that if we’re looking for dollars, it begs the question of why didn’t we take this out instead of these other directives,” Argue said. “We’ve created the position with respect to a focus on special projects, and we need to make sure the funds are there to do those special projects.” Argue pointed out that road repaving and drainage are high priorities of the board, but the amount was reduced for culvert replacement and repair. “I understand it seems like we have a lot of money there, but the
board directive was that we have a set amount of dollars every year that was appropriated for these purposes and that it go into that pot, because one year you may not spend all of that money, but the next year you’re going to need all of that money. Then we’re going to need to raise taxes to accommodate it,” Argue said. She suggested that staff take another look at the proposed budget and include new ITID Executive Director Burgess Hanson in the discussion, including one-on-one meetings with supervisors before a workshop on Wednesday, July 17 at 5:30 p.m., prior to the board’s next regular meeting. “It is a concern to me when we spend a lot of time throughout the year talking about what our priorities are, and then when it comes time to start talking about the budget, suddenly all of those priorities are removed and something that was not a priority [is included],” Argue said. “I did not See ITID BUDGET, page 4
Royal Palm Beach Council Reviews $45.1 Million Budget Proposal
By Gina M. Capone Town-Crier Staff Report The Royal Palm Beach Village Council hosted a budget workshop on Tuesday, July 2, reviewing a $45.1 million spending proposal put together by staff for the fiscal year starting Oct. 1, 2019. The fiscal year 2019-20 spending plan is up slightly from the $44.6 million approved in the current budget for fiscal year 2018-19. However, it calls for keeping the village’s property tax rate unchanged at 1.92 mils per $1,000 of taxable property value. While the budget will not be finalized until September, the Truth in Millage (TRIM) rate will be set at the council’s next meeting on Thursday, July 18. After that, the council can lower the tax rate, but cannot raise it. Royal Palm Beach Finance Director Stanley Hochman led the council through an overview of the budget report. He noted that aggregate property values in the village have increased to $2.975 billion, which is an increase of 4.4 percent, or $125 million, over the current year. This means that more money will be coming into village coffers, much of it due to new residential and commercial development, without raising the tax rate. In fact, Hochman pointed out, the village has not raised its tax rate in more than 20 years. “The budget for 2019-20 is $45.1 million,” Hochman told the council. “The general fund represents 56 percent, capital projects 21 percent, reserves 20 percent and stormwater 3 percent.” The general fund, which is used for day-to-day operations to maintain the village, will include $25,413,753 in spending next year, which is an increase of 3.45 percent overall, or $846,366, from the current year. Expenditures are up in personnel, contractual services, charges and services, commodities and
operating expenditures, but department capital outlay, grants and aids are down. The number of full-time equivalent employees is up two staff members for a total of 154 village positions. That change in staffing is due largely to growth in the Parks & Recreation Department, with general fund expenditures up $412,306 to $5.61 million next year. In Parks & Recreation, two parttime facility attendants will go to full-time employment, which will be added to the budget. The reason is that senior programs have been expanded and are now permanently at the Royal Palm Beach Recreation Center, and other facilities are being rented out more by vendors or organizations, such as church groups. There are not any major maintenance changes to the parks. Mayor Fred Pinto asked about funding for the senior citizen rideshare transportation program, which is included in the budget. The village is working with Lyft, Uber and other service providers on the new program. The current objective is to see how a gift card might encourage seniors to use various ride opportunities. Seniors have tended to have issues with some of the transportation apps, and the village is trying to rectify the issue by educating seniors on how to use them and offering them gift cards. Councilwoman Selena Samios had questions regarding maintenance of softball fields, while Councilman Jeff Hmara asked about the expenses regarding upkeep of the parks. According to Village Manager Ray Liggins, Veterans Park is the most expensive park per acre to maintain, largely due to the fountains. Before Veterans Day, the council agreed to refurbish the site for $18,000. The village will spend $18.4 million on various capital projects See RPB BUDGET, page 4
RPB ROTARY CLUB INSTALLATION GALA
The Rotary Club of Royal Palm Beach kicked off its 30th anniversary year with the installation of new officers on Friday, June 28 at Palms West Hospital. Shown above, incoming President Daniel Morales receives the gavel from outgoing President Jeff Hmara. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 5 PHOTO BY DENISE FLEISCHMAN/TOWN-CRIER
Two-Year Overhaul Nearly Complete At Cypress Trails
By M. Dennis Taylor Town-Crier Staff Report When students return to Cypress Trails Elementary School in Royal Palm Beach for the 201920 school year next month, they will walk into an almost totally refreshed facility. Just a few finishing touches will be done at night during their school year. “This is the second summer in a row that they have worked on the school, and it is in the final stages of phase four of the renovation,” Cypress Trails Principal Bruce Saulter said. “We’re celebrating 30 years since the school opened in 1990, and many of the things have not been redone since the school opened.” The $8.1 million project is a to-
tal overhaul of the 95,000-squarefoot school that sits on 20 acres in the southern portion of the community near the Royal Palm Beach Recreation Center. “It is a complete refresh of the facility,” Saulter said. The funding comes from the 2016 one-cent sales surtax referendum, which is being used to refurbish schools throughout the county. School District Media Relations Specialist Julie Houston Trieste reported to the Town-Crier on aspects of the budget and some of the related costs. She said that work on the school has included the building envelope with the goal of preventing water intrusion and waterproof applications to roof, windows
and exterior doors, gutters and downspouts, and exterior finishes like the stucco; perimeter fencing; compliance with signage, CSIR and ADA regulations; replacement of custodial equipment; fire/life/ safety electrical switchgear and alarm upgrades; and an emergency generator. Additionally, students will notice new interior repairs like fresh paint and improvements like vinyl floorings, acoustical ceiling tiles, new classroom and media center furniture, new and improved intercom and sound systems, with $350,000 invested in new technology throughout the school and media center. Students will not only see the See CYPRESS, page 16
Old HVAC System — The 30-year-old air conditioning system (above) was replaced with new air handlers, chiller, controls and fans. PHOTO COURTESY CYPRESS TRAILS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL