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RPB Council Discusses County’s Workforce Housing Shortage
Volume 38, Number 23 June 9 - June 15, 2017
Serving Palms West Since 1980
ART SOCIETY INSTALLATION DINNER
It is probably easier to find a job in Palm Beach County than it is to find affordable housing. At the Royal Palm Beach Village Council meeting on Thursday, June 1, Councilman Jeff Hmara reported on the Palm Beach County Housing Summit held the previous day. Page 3
Wellington Aquatics Complex Presents Water Safety Event
The Village of Wellington, Palms West Hospital and Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue teamed up to host SPLASH (Safety and Prevention Leaves All Swimmers Happy) on Saturday, June 3 at Wellington Aquatics Complex. There were water safety and near drowning demonstrations, and vendors were on hand to give out water safety and sun exposure information. Page 9
Wellington Collegiate Academy Hosts Graduation Ceremony
The Wellington Collegiate Academy held its end-of-the-year graduation ceremony on Thursday, June 1 at the original Wellington Mall. Awards and praise were given out to students, teachers, volunteers and parents for their help throughout the school year. The academy’s four graduating eighth-graders received diplomas. Page 11
OPINION
Withdrawing From The Paris Agreement Is A Step Backward
President Donald Trump announced his decision last week to drop out of the Paris Agreement, the historic pact that commits 196 nations to work together in an attempt to limit climate change. Because of this decision, the United States will be watching history from the sidelines, no longer capable of being either a partner or an active participant as the rest of the world moves forward. In short, the U.S. has gone rogue. Page 4
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The Wellington Art Society held its annual dinner and installation of officers on Friday, June 2 at the Mayacoo Lakes Golf & Country Club. Outgoing board members received recognition and gifts for their hard work at special events and art shows, and new board members were sworn in. Shown above, incoming President Toni Willey takes the gavel from outgoing President Sandy Axelrod. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 17 PHOTO BY DENISE FLEISCHMAN/TOWN-CRIER
RPB Council Gives Manager High Marks In Annual Review
By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report Royal Palm Beach Village Manager Ray Liggins received a perfect score from the Royal Palm Beach Village Council during his annual review on Thursday, June 1. Council members gave him high marks, largely attributable to leadership and performance abilities reported by officials from outside the village. Council members also approved the maximum allowable 5 percent one-year-only merit pay award for Liggins after his favorable report. Each council member had a oneon-one conversation with Liggins prior to the review. “I think that our village manager is doing an outstanding job,” Councilwoman Jan Rodusky said. “When we look at the evaluation standards across employee relations and its long-range planning, financial management, communications and completion of capital projects, he’s firing on all cylinders. If we look at any one of those individually, I’m really proud that he’s our village manager.”
Councilman Jeff Hmara agreed that Liggins’ work is excellent. “I’ve had the benefit of five years of working with Ray, so one of the things that I did was I took a look at his performance during this particular period, but I also compared it with where we’ve been. The purpose of that was to try to identify trends, and the really good news is not only do I think his performance during the past year has been excellent, but I think the trends are all in the right direction.” Hmara added that Liggins is a great leader by example, in that the village staff sees the amount of effort he puts into his work. “I’ve been very impressed with the amount of effort Ray is willing to put in to make things happen, and I think that’s a great example for the staff, and I’m sure they pick up on that,” he said. “I would say that he has done an excellent job, and we’re very fortunate to have him.” Hmara said organizations like the Palm Beach County League of Cities and the Palm Beach Metropolitan Planning OrganizaSee LIGGINS, page 4
Equestrian Committee Works RPB ROTARY CLUB GALA Toward Enacting Action Plan
By Julie Unger Town-Crier Staff Report Wellington’s Equestrian Preserve Committee met Wednesday, June 7 and focused on the review and recommendations for the village’s Equestrian Plan of Action. The committee has been working on the action plan for the past year. “In June of 2016, we gave you this plan of action,” Wellington Projects Manager Mike O’Dell said. “We asked you to go through it. In July, we talked about some of the milestones that were there, and you all talked about some of the issues associated with the milestones.” The committee members also reordered some of the points of priority, including that they wanted to move forward with an economic study focusing on the economic impact of the horse industry on Wellington.
Historically, the economic impact of the horse industry has been analyzed from a Palm Beach County point of view. A Wellington-centric housing and economic study contract is expected to be approved within the next few days, with a target date of February 2018. The study, Committee Chair Jane Cleveland explained, will focus on business generated, with an intent to pinpoint the impact on real estate values. As the equestrian community has expanded, O’Dell explained, home values have increased in relation to how close they are to show grounds. O’Dell focused the committee on the goals in the draft of the plan of action. “It says that the goal of the plan is to support the expansion of the equestrian competitions within the EPA [Equestrian
Preserve Area], while seeking additional lands for public use as an equestrian park,” he said. However, there are difficulties with the second part of the statement, since 93 percent to 95 percent of the EPA is in private ownership. There really isn’t space for public lands, unless the Village of Wellington were to purchase land. Currently, canal rights of way are the only public lands that Wellington has in that area. Wellington is predominantly a bedroom community, O’Dell said, and the equestrian industry has become a part of the fabric of Wellington. It is interconnected; the industry is in need of housing and open space. The lifestyle of the community has also been a part of the conversation. “The word lifestyle is not there, See ACTION PLAN, page 15
Groves Council, LGWCD Hold Follow-Up Meeting On Roads
By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report The Loxahatchee Groves Town Council and the Loxahatchee Groves Water Control District Board of Supervisors met jointly for a second time Tuesday on the topic of transferring control of remaining district roads to the town. The meeting sought to move a process forward that has been going on for more than a decade but has been hampered by political conflict. Most recently, the district agreed to turn over two roads, Collecting Canal Road and South D Road, to the town. LGWCD Administrator Steve Yohe said his board approved turning over the two roads to the town and is in the process of getting legal descriptions to include with the quit claim deed, which is
on the board’s June 12 agenda for approval. Supervisor Don Widing said the district and town are both at a critical time regarding preparation of budgets, and that it is important to resolve the road status for inclusion. Widing added that a transitional plan is needed to continue the process. “That’s why we’re here, to come up with some idea of our expectations,” Widing said. “I would like to think that, in addition to our essential obligations for services, that we can develop some type of a plan. I’m not talking about a long, drawn-out plan.” Councilman Ron Jarriel said his main concern is that residents get the same or better service during the transition process. “If they get better service than what they get from the district right
now, it’s definitely going to cost a lot more money,” Jarriel said. “This meeting is kind of early, because at the end of this month, the district will have some new members on board. I don’t know if they’re going to want to stay in the grading business or not, but that will be a choice that they will make.” Jarriel said he looks at the monthly reports from the district, and Collecting Canal Road and D Road are graded anywhere from a half-dozen to a dozen times or more a month and can be watered the same number of times. “Right now, we do not do that in the town,” he said. “We have a contract with Bergeron [and] they do a very fine job, but that routine is once a month. The question is with this rain that we’ve had in See LOX ROADS, page 7
The Royal Palm Beach Rotary Club held its 27th anniversary awards dinner along with its induction of officers for 2017-18 on Friday, June 2 at the Wycliffe Golf & Country Club. Steve Logan, immediate past president, finished his term, while Evelyn Flores began her term as the club’s president. Shown above are Councilman Jeff Hmara, Evelyn Flores, Bruce Elkind, Eric Gordon and Steve Logan with some of the club’s achievement certificates. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 5 PHOTO BY JACK LOWENSTEIN/TOWN-CRIER
Rugby Club Poised To Become Official Wellington Provider
By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report Rugby is the fastest-growing team sport in America, and the Wellington Wizards Rugby Club has caught the wave, helping grow in the sport in South Florida. Ron Vargo, first vice president of the Wellington Wizards, gave a presentation to Wellington’s Park & Recreation Advisory Board on Monday in hopes of becoming one of the village’s official registered sports providers. Parks & Recreation Director Bruce DeLaney said the Wizards have discussed becoming an official provider for the village for some time, and representatives were there to give an update on the status of the club and its relationship with the village. “At our next meeting in September, we will look for a recom-
mendation from this board as to whether or not we would like to approve the Wizards rugby organization as a sports provider,” Delaney said, explaining that the application would then go to the Wellington Village Council for approval. “They would then become our eighth sports provider.” Vargo, who coaches the high school division of the Wizards, thanked Wellington officials for giving the Wizards provisional status over the past year. “It allowed us to give almost 100 kids a permanent place,” he said. “For the first few years, we had been bouncing from place to place.” The club organized in 2014, and its first season was 2015. “We’ve had some good success, but unfortunately, with the number See RUGBY, page 4
Owner Richard Wood Celebrates 30 Years At Woody’s
By Julie Unger Town-Crier Staff Report June 1 marked 30 years that Richard Wood has owned Woody’s of Wellington, his iconic cobbler shop in the original Wellington Mall. “I came here in May of 1987,” Wood recalled. “It was an existing shoe repair shop that was open four years before that, when the mall was originally built. He wanted out; I wanted in. I worked a month, and June 1, I bought the store.” When Wood arrived, the shop was strictly shoe repair. Laces, polishes and other small essentials were sold there as well. “I said this will not work, because 40 percent of the front of the store was empty,” he said. “So, I started putting in stock.”
Wood’s background began as a sandal maker in Fort Lauderdale. He was previously by the ocean, and now, he’s by the horses. Consequently, his expertise shifted from sandals to riding boots. By 1974, Wood was fixing black boots, but never to the same volume as he has in Wellington, the winter equestrian capital of the world. “I pride myself on what I do,” he said. “I’m 70 years old, and I’m still working. I still like what I do. I like my customers.” Wood is known for his sense of humor, and also telling it like it is, such as his blunt assessment of the modern shoe industry. Rubber soles, injection molded, are not quality shoes, he stresses. Though it might bring some sticker
shock, the going rate for a good pair of shoes is $240 — but they will last decades. “I’m 70; my daughter’s 35. I bought a pair of [high-quality] shoes before she was born, and I’ve still got them. They still make them today, only today, they’re $700 a pair, instead of the $150 I paid then,” Wood explained. “Quality is quality. You can’t duplicate it.” Looking for a high-quality belt? Woody’s is a great place to find one. Wood met a man a number of years ago who produces leather belts for some of the most high-end brands in the world: Tiffany, Hermès, Neiman Marcus, Cartier and more. That man supplies Woody’s See WOODY’S, page 15
Richard Wood has owned Woody’s of Wellington since 1987.
PHOTO BY JULIE UNGER/TOWN-CRIER