Town-Crier Newspaper March 1, 2019

Page 1

BUCK OFF CHALLENGE ON MARCH 15 SEE STORY, PAGE 3

SOUTHERN PALMS CAR WASH OPEN SEE STORY, PAGE 7

THE

TOWN-CRIER WELLINGTON • ROYAL PALM BEACH • LOXAHATCHEE • THE ACREAGE

Your Community Newspaper

INSIDE

ITID Board Gets Update On Projects, Including School Stacking Issues

Volume 40, Number 9 March 1 - March 7, 2019

Serving Palms West Since 1980

SHINKEVICH FAMILY FUNDRAISER

Indian Trail Improvement District Manager Rob Robinson went over a number of key issues last week during his report to the ITID Board of Supervisors, including keeping up with culvert replacements, completing the agreement with GL Homes for the 640-acre water storage area and lane improvements at local schools. Page 3

Call Of The Quarter Ceremony Focuses On PBCFR Lt. Scott Stanton

Wellington Regional Medical Center’s Call of the Quarter Ceremony took place Thursday, Feb. 21 in the hospital’s community room. The honored patient was Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue Lt. Scott Stanton, who had a heart attack while on duty. The special recognition ceremony honored EMS, firerescue and WRMC physicians and staff for their outstanding commitment to providing exceptional patient care in saving Stanton’s life. Page 5

Ceremony Opens New Royal Palm Beach Youth Baseball Season

The Royal Palm Beach Youth Baseball Association held a baseball and softball season opening ceremony on Friday, Feb. 22 at the Bob Marcello Baseball Complex at Willows Park in Royal Palm Beach. Page 17

Wolverines Advance With A 70-60 Victory Over Lake Worth

The Wellington High School basketball team is one step closer to capturing their thirdstraight regional title after defeating Lake Worth High School 70-60 on Thursday, Feb. 21 in a Class 9A regional quarterfinal match held in Wellington. Linton Brown led the way for the Wolverines (22-6) with 30 points on the night. Page 23 DEPARTMENT INDEX NEWS...............................3 - 20 LETTERS.................................. 4 NEWS BRIEFS......................... 7 SCHOOLS........................... 8 - 9 PEOPLE................................. 10 COLUMNS............................. 18 CALENDAR............................ 20 BUSINESS............................. 21 CLASSIFIEDS................. 22, 25 SPORTS..........................23 - 24 Visit Us On The Web At WWW.GOTOWNCRIER.COM

Tree’s Wings & Ribs in Royal Palm Beach hosted a fundraiser for Kelley Shinkevich and the Shinkevich family on Tuesday, Feb. 19. Friends and family gathered to raise money for Shinkevich, who is fighting a battle with cancer and recently lost her beloved husband Mike to cancer as well. Shown above are Elaine Tomchin, Kelley Shinkevich and Jackie Pertusiello. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 12 PHOTO BY DENISE FLEISCHMAN/TOWN-CRIER

Wellington Council Broadcasts Will Soon Be Closed Captioned

By M. Dennis Taylor Town-Crier Staff Report A three-hour Wellington Village Council meeting Tuesday, Feb. 26 with two sign language interpreters tag-teaming the intricate information being discussed made only brief mention of the consent agenda item authorizing a $70,250 contract to Link Electronics to provide closed captioning services for all future broadcasted village meetings. The sign language interpreters and future closed captioning are designed to bring the village into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The bulk of the meeting was devoted to a staff report providing an update on the Town Center concept and seeking direction on the next action to take. In recent months, several public meetings have been held to gather input from residents on what they would like to do with the village’s property along Lake Wellington, if anything. Results from the

meetings were not tabulated or presented in a statistical format, as they were primarily comments from respondents. Casual surveys were also taken at recent events. These were presented in colorful tables. Mayor Anne Gerwig, who has opposed changes that could eliminate the village-owned Lake Wellington Professional Centre, pointed out that the data could not reliably be projected out to the population. “This is just a survey at a spot, and none of this is statistically correct,” she said. Nevertheless, Vice Mayor Michael Drahos had Assistant Village Manager Jim Barnes calculating percentages in his head on the fly as he was asked about each category and the number of people who wanted to do nothing with the property. Just three percent wanted no change to the waterfront, five percent wanted no change to the green space and 27 percent didn’t want a parking structure. While Drahos

didn’t get a chance to articulate his conclusion, the point seemed to be that only a small percentage of residents wanted no changes to the Town Center area. Barnes pointed out that people overwhelmingly wanted more green space, but few approved of a parking structure that would free up parking spaces to create the green space. The area has long had significant parking issues during major events. In the public comment portion of the discussion, seven residents registered their concerns. Mark Davidson, a 30-year resident, asked where the demand was coming from for the project. “Is this board driving the train?” he asked, complaining that the public input sessions were organized to elicit comments on what people liked and to sell the concepts. “Do not move forward without a referendum.” Richard Cobb also believed the “want” was coming from the See TOWN CENTER, page 4

Divided RPB Council OKs Change To Meeting Schedule

By Callie Sharkey Town-Crier Staff Report The Royal Palm Beach Village Council last week presented mixed feelings about shaving its annual meeting schedule down from two meetings a month to one, with the option to add a second meeting when necessary. The change passed at the Thursday, Feb. 21 meeting on a split 3-2 vote, with councilmen Jeff Hmara and Richard Valuntas dissenting. Mayor Fred Pinto introduced the concept at the Feb. 7 meeting and noted that the council’s workload has dropped significantly in recent years. “From 1959 to 1993, the council only met once a month, and that was adequate,” Pinto said. “In 1993, the market was booming, and development was booming, which necessitated for the village to move to having a meeting two times a month. Now we find ourselves in 2019, maybe 97 to 98 percent built out, and the volume of activity and applications for developmental review is just not there anymore.” Village Manager Ray Liggins proposed a schedule for council meetings throughout the remainder of 2019 and explained his reasoning behind it. “The council is required to meet no less than once a month on the first or third Thursday of the month. What I propose for you here is basically that same program,” Liggins said. “We typically have the first meeting in July as a budget workshop, if there’s business that needs to be accomplished, we will combine that meeting as needed. I’m not showing a first meeting in March, but we do have things that would require a first meeting in March.” Hmara was not satisfied and voiced concerns over the proposed changes both personally, and after speaking with residents.

“Each one of the meetings we currently have is an opportunity for the public to approach us. We just recently had an experience where an item was brought to us by a large number of residents. My concern is fewer meetings means fewer opportunities for that kind of engagement with the public,” Hmara said. “That’s not just my concern. If we were to use the first meeting for something like a workshop, and within that setting provide an opportunity for public engagement, it might be a reasonable way to address the concern about fewer opportunities to engage the council.” After reviewing the proposed new schedule, Vice Mayor Selena Samios disagreed, feeling that it is better to have the schedule available in advance instead of canceling meetings as needed. “I understand the different perspectives, but it’s adding two extra months that we only have one meeting. I’d prefer to have this set so the residents can see,” Smith said. “I’ve been contacted multiple times by residents. There is no way people don’t have the opportunity to reach us. Starting in July, we have two meetings every month. It’s not that much we are eliminating if we go off the [proposed] schedule.” Pinto provided reassurance that the ability for the public to reach the council and express concerns or present items would not change. “I think our policy has clearly been that whenever we meet, we give the public a chance to address us. A lot of cities don’t do this. We would certainly continue to do that,” he said. In other business: • Palm Beach County FireRescue District Chief William Rowley presented his agency’s annual report to the Village of Royal Palm Beach. He summarized the See RPB COUNCIL, page 4

QUARTER AUCTION SUPPORTS RELAY

Plante And Shorr Face-Off For Seat 4 On Lox Council

By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report Karen Plante and Robert Shorr are running for Seat 4 on the Loxahatchee Groves Town Council in the election on Tuesday, March 12. The seat has been held by Mayor Dave Browning since the town’s incorporation, but Browning has decided to step down after four terms. Also on the ballot will be Seat 2, held by incumbent Vice Mayor Todd McLendon, who is challenged by former Loxahatchee Groves Water Control District Supervisor Laura Danowski, and Seat 3, held by incumbent Councilwoman Anita Kane, who is challenged by Lisa El-Ramey. The ballot will also have two referendum questions, one asking voters if they want to allow the town to take out a long-term bond to help residents get their roads

paved, and the other asking voters if they want to remove language from the charter that requires the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office to be in charge of police protection. Karen Plante — Plante moved to Loxahatchee Groves about 16 years ago from Broward County with her husband, Dan, and her son. She worked as a veterinary technician for 17 years before getting her teaching degree from Florida Atlantic University. After teaching for a while, she left to have her son, who is home schooled and is now dual-enrolled in high school and college at age 16. “I went to FAU as an older student,” Plante said. “I put myself through college. I bought my own house when I was about 22 years old, and after a few years, I decided that I like animals a lot. I do a lot

of things with animal and wildlife care places. I’ve donated time doing things with animals, working in a pet clinic, but I also love kids, so I put myself back into college and became a teacher.” Plante said she considers home schooling her son as a full-time job. She volunteers at the South Florida Fair and in the guardian ad litem program to help children who are in the court system. Plante said she is running because she loves Loxahatchee Groves and wants to preserve it. “I would love to protect its unique nature, its rural lifestyle,” Plante said. “I would love it to be the same for future generations. I would love for my son to stay here and enjoy the trees, the wooded areas, the parks, the ability to feel separate but be near a city. At night, it’s very dark. You can See LOX SEAT 4, page 20

K.B. Quarters for Kindness organized a quarter auction fundraiser for the Relay for Life of Western Palm Beach County on Thursday, Feb. 21 at Wellington Trace Tavern. A variety of vendors, such as Tupperware, Mary Kaye, Kissed by a Pixie, Paparazzi Jewelry and more, donated a portion of their bids to Relay for Life. Shown above are Harrison Harwood, Pat Rizzo and Helen Marie Harwood. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 12 PHOTO BY DENISE FLEISCHMAN/TOWN-CRIER

ITID Board’s Legislative Focus On The Corbett Levee

By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report The Indian Trail Improvement District Board of Supervisors held a legislative workshop on Wednesday, Feb. 27 in preparation for Palm Beach County Days in Tallahassee, which are set for March 5-6. Lobbyist David Ramba and Nazbi Chowdhury, aide to State Sen. Bobby Powell (D-District 30), gave presentations at the workshop. At the head of ITID’s legislative priorities are the completion of the Corbett levee at a cost of $5.7 million, construction of the M-O Canal gate and continuation of the Moss property stormwater project, each at a cost of $400,000. ITID President Betty Argue

explained that the levee separating the J.W. Corbett Wildlife Management Area from The Acreage is most important because after Tropical Storm Isaac dumped an estimated 18 inches of rain in the area, the Corbett levee breached. The state agreed to fund $8 million, of which the South Florida Water Management District received $4 million to complete the levee and $500,000 the following year, which is being held in escrow. The cost has now risen to $5.7 million to complete the project. Chowdhury said that Powell has agreed to sponsor all three of the district’s funding requests. “Mr. Powell has met with Mr. Ramba, and he can definitely provide you with more understanding

of how we’re going to be working these appropriations requests this year, and who exactly we’ll be meeting with to be able to push these requests forward,” he said. Chowdhury wanted the board to be aware that Powell has also agreed to sponsor the county’s Loxahatchee River Preservation Initiative, which could indirectly affect ITID. Ramba, who has represented ITID in Tallahassee for almost 20 years, said the capital is abuzz having a new governor, Ron DeSantis, who has an approval rating of 64 percent statewide, which is higher than former Gov. Rick Scott ever achieved during his eight-year tenure. “He’s taking things in a different direction in Tallahassee,” Ramba

said, on such topics as medical marijuana, which was approved by 74 percent of voters in a statewide referendum, and enforcing the constitutional amendment approving $250 million for the Everglades and overall water quality. “He’s really moving the state in a more moderate direction based on what the people want, versus in years past it seemed like we were trying to circumvent the process,” Ramba said. “He’s really taken an initiative. People are far more pleased with his first month and a half in office than they’d ever imagined, on both sides of the aisle.” Ramba said DeSantis ran his campaign on clean water and improving the environment. “Scott ran on three things: jobs,

jobs and jobs,” Ramba said. “Some of these other issues weren’t neglected, but they weren’t the priorities of the executive branch.” Ramba said the state has a $91 billion budget, but he expects it will actually be $87 billion or $88 billion because the legislature wants to keep $4 billion or so in reserves. “They did that last year, and that money was pretty much depleted because of the last hurricane we had,” Ramba said. “They used that for assistance and storm cleanup. So, I think they’re going to start doing that as a trend, keeping that money in reserves.” Ramba said that as of Wednesday, Mexico Beach, which was hit the hardest by Hurricane Michael, See ITID GOALS, page 4


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