EQUESTRIAN BOARD SETS PRIORITIES SEE STORY, PAGE 3
VAN DELL JEWELERS OPENS NEW STORE SEE STORY, PAGE 7
THE
TOWN-CRIER WELLINGTON • ROYAL PALM BEACH • LOXAHATCHEE • THE ACREAGE
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INSIDE
Wellington Seniors Enjoy ‘Coffee With The Village Manager’
Volume 37, Number 28 July 8 - July 14, 2016
Serving Palms West Since 1980
FESTIVITIES MARK FOURTH OF JULY
Wellington Village Manager Paul Schofield hosted “Coffee with the Village Manager” on Thursday, June 30 in the center court at the original Wellington Mall. A host of residents, mostly senior citizens, brought questions for Schofield on how the village can better serve the community. Page 3
Palm Beach County To Set TRIM Tax Rate For Budget July 12
The Palm Beach County Commission will set its Truth in Millage (TRIM) rate for its 2016-17 budget of over $1.2 billion on Tuesday, July 12. The proposed operating countywide property tax rate is set to remain the same at 4.7815 mills. Page 4 Wellington and Royal Palm Beach held well-attended Independence Day celebrations on Monday, July 4. (Above) Royal Palm Beach held its Star Spangled Spectacular celebration at Royal Palm Beach Commons Park. Shown here are Enaam, Emmanuel, Merna and Ameer Sisa waving flags. (Left) Wellington held its festivities at Village Park. Shown here are Edie Tetrault, Danielle and Olivia De Camps, and Amanda Lasseter. MORE PHOTOS PAGES 9 & 15
Firecracker Golf Tourney At RPB’s Madison Green
The 2016 Royal Palm Beach Firecracker Golf Tournament was held on Monday, July 4 at the Madison Green Country Club. After the event, a buffet lunch was served during the awards ceremony. Page 5
Wellington Budget Focuses On Roads And Canal Projects
By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report Wellington officials have proposed a fiscal year 2016-17 budget of $89.6 million, up $4.2 million from the current year’s $85.5 million, enabled largely by a 7.8 percent increase in property values, as well as increased revenue sharing. “I think it’s a really good budget,” Director of Administrative & Financial Services Tanya Quickel said. “It’s very stable, and there’s lots of great projects in it. There is a big focus on our infrastructure, the roads, maintenance of everything and public safety.” The Wellington Village Council is scheduled to set the preliminary property tax rate, currently proposed at 2.44 mills, 0.01 mills lower than the current year’s 2.45 mills, on Tuesday, July 12. The revenue increase will go primarily to maintenance for roadways, governmental facilities and the surface water management system, increased public safety
with two additional deputies, water and wastewater facility replacement and improvements, and additional staffing for the new Wellington Community Center to be completed next month. “We are increasing the budget overall,” Quickel said. “The biggest areas of increase include the higher investment in our infrastructure. We’re adding two additional deputies, and we also have a 2 percent increase in the PBSO budget. That brings the PBSO almost to a $9 million contract with Wellington.” Aside from the new community center, the budget also provides for in-house programming at the Wellington Tennis Center. “We have a lot of emphasis on the new community center and bringing tennis in-house, which we budgeted for last year, but it did not come in-house. It will be in-house starting Oct. 1,” she said. The grand opening for the new See BUDGET, page 4
FISHING TOURNAMENT
PHOTOS BY DENISE FLEISCHMAN AND JULIE UNGER/TOWN-CRIER
Four Candidates Fight For Party Nods In District 86
Scout Car Wash Raises Money For Victims Of Domestic Abuse
Boy Scout Troop 125 held a car wash to benefit Aid to Victims of Domestic Abuse (AVDA) on Saturday, July 2 at St. Peter’s United Methodist Church in Wellington. Money raised will be used to purchase items to assemble personal care packages for victims. Page 7
OPINION The Incorporation Of Westlake Mocks The Spirit Of The Law
The decision by Minto to push through the highly controversial incorporation of the company’s Westlake development on the former Callery-Judge Grove land has Palm Beach County officials furious and local leaders angry at the legal loophole that let the incorporation happen. At issue is a debate about the letter of the law versus the spirit of the law. Page 4 DEPARTMENT INDEX NEWS................................. 3 - 9 OPINION.................................. 4 NEWS BRIEFS......................... 6 PEOPLE................................. 10 SCHOOLS.............................. 11 COLUMNS...................... 12, 19 BUSINESS..................... 20 - 21 SPORTS..........................25 - 27 CALENDAR............................ 28 CLASSIFIEDS................ 30 - 33 Visit Us On The Web At WWW.GOTOWNCRIER.COM
By Julie Unger Town-Crier Staff Report At the primary election on Tuesday, Aug. 30, area residents will see several familiar names running for state representative in District 86. Former Wellington councilman Matt Willhite and businesswoman Tinu Peña are running for the Democratic nomination, while educator Stuart Mears and businesswoman Laurel Bennett are seeking the Republican nomination. The District 86 seat is currently held by Democrat Mark Pafford, who is leaving due to term limits. Encompassing all of Wellington, Royal Palm Beach, Loxahatchee Groves and several communities to the east, District 86 trends Democratic.
Matt Willhite — Willhite is in his 21st year working with Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue. He served for eight years on the Wellington Village Council, leaving earlier this year due to term limits. He is married with two young sons. “I am the only person in this race who was able to get on the ballot by petition. I collected 1,030 signatures,” he said. “The other three had to pay a filing fee. I have a great campaign team, and we’ve been working hard on this race.” Willhite has an extensive list of endorsements from a wide array of union groups, public safety groups, professional organizations and local leaders. Among them are U.S. Reps. Ted Deutch, Patrick Murphy and Lois Frankel; State
Attorney Dave Aronberg; State Sen. Joseph Abruzzo; Sheriff Ric Bradshaw; and Clerk & Comptroller Sharon Bock. In addition to working in firerescue for 21 years, Willhite served in the U.S. Marine Corps for eight years. He is running to continue his life of public service. “I’m trying to teach my kids that giving back to your community and public service is the key to a better tomorrow, and so I want to continue to represent the people in Wellington that I have in the last eight years, and represent the people in Tallahassee,” Willhite said. “If we don’t care about giving back to our community, our country, who is going to? It takes people to step up and be in the See DISTRICT 86, page 14
Local Governments Wary Of Algae, But Impact Is Limited
By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report Palm Beach County Commissioner Melissa McKinlay has requested an emergency meeting of local, state and federal agencies to address the recent appearance of algae blooms in Palm Beach County. Algae blooms that manifested in Martin County are now being reported in Palm Beach County, and McKinlay has asked the 16-county Coalition for the Responsible Management of Lake Okeechobee to convene a meeting on algae blooms in local waters.
Lead agencies include the South Florida Water Management District, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission and representatives of the agriculture industry. While regional, state and federal agencies are attempting to find a solution to the algae blooms, municipal leaders in the western communities report no problems other than the usual summer outcropping of aquatic plants in the canals. As of now, findings of blue-
green algae in the C-51 Canal, which passes through the area, have not affected local communities because there is not much back-pumping during the summer rainy season. “We have the common, typical amount for this time of the year, but there’s nothing out of the ordinary,” Don Rinzel, acting manager of the Indian Trail Improvement District, told the Town-Crier on Wednesday. Rinzel added that he had also received a call that morning from the Palm Beach County DepartSee ALGAE, page 7
The 26th annual Western Communities Red, White & Blue Fourth of July Family Fishing Tournament took place at Royal Palm Beach Commons Park on Monday, July 4, hosted by the Royal Palm Bassmasters. Shown here are Dara and Trent O’Connor. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 15 PHOTO BY JASON STROMBERG/TOWN-CRIER
McKinlay Critical Of How Westlake Was Incorporated
By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report As the newly created City of Westlake moves forward with development on the 3,800-acre former Callery-Judge Grove property, Palm Beach County officials and nearby residents are questioning the legitimacy of the incorporation process, which involved only five voters. It also involved the rewriting of state laws to allow the process to happen. “We have seen a very bad exam-
ple of what can happen with something like that in our statutes,” County Commissioner Melissa McKinlay told the Town-Crier on Wednesday. “The problem is more along the lines of, are the people who voted to incorporate truly residents of Westlake, formerly the Seminole Improvement District? Was that whole process legitimate? That is what the governor needs to investigate.” Immediately after the vote for incorporation, McKinlay sent a See WESTLAKE, page 14
A NOTE TO OUR READERS
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 first week in August. After the issue of Friday, July 22, the Town-Crier will not publish on Friday, July 29 or Friday, Aug. 5. We will resume our normal weekly publishing schedule on Friday, Aug. 12. 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 the Town-Crier’s sister publication, Wellington The Magazine.
Grand Opening Planned For New Community Center
The new Wellington Community Center building is nearing completion.
PHOTO BY JULIE UNGER/TOWN-CRIER
By Julie Unger Town-Crier Staff Report After a year of construction, the new Wellington Community Center is set to open Saturday, Aug. 6 with a grand opening ribbon-cutting ceremony around 9 a.m. and tours until just after noon. Parks & Recreation Director Bruce DeLaney is looking forward to the community center’s opening. The Aug. 6 date, he stressed, is not set in stone, but it is the expected date, barring any unforeseen delays. Progress on the highly anticipated new building has been swift. In February, there was a toppingout ceremony. A call for instructors for programs went out that month, too. In April, rental rates
were approved by the Wellington Village Council. In July, at the village’s Fourth of July event, an announcement was made that the grand opening would take place on Aug. 6, and there was a booth where residents could receive information about programs. The facility is making tremendous progress, DeLaney said. “It’s really beginning to take shape. It’s going to be a beautiful facility,” he said. “I think people will be very, very pleased with the final product.” As of Wednesday, almost everything from the outside is complete. Most of the landscaping is done. A few things are being finished with the parking lot, but the striping is See BUILDING, page 4