CARL HESTER MASTER CLASS AT AGDF SEE STORY, PAGE 3
VISIT THE MIXED BAG IN WELLINGTON SEE STORY, PAGE 7
THE
TOWN-CRIER WELLINGTON • ROYAL PALM BEACH • LOXAHATCHEE • THE ACREAGE
Your Community Newspaper
REMINDER
Volume 39, Number 10 March 9 - March 15, 2018
Serving Palms West Since 1980
LUCKY CHARMS LUNCHEON IN RPB
Municipal Elections Tuesday, March 13
Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 13 for municipal elections in Wellington, Royal Palm Beach and Loxahatchee Groves. In Wellington, incumbent Tanya Siskind faces challenger Frank Ferrano in the race for Seat 2, while incumbent John McGovern faces challenger Bart Novack in the race for Seat 3. In Royal Palm Beach, incumbent Fred Pinto faces challenger Martha Webster in the race for mayor, while incumbent Selena Smith faces challenger Sam Roman in the Group 3 race. Finally, in Loxahatchee Groves, there is a three-way race for Seat 1 with incumbent Ron Jarriel facing challengers Phillis Maniglia and Neil O’Neal. Be sure to get to the polls and vote — our democracy depends upon it!
INSIDE
Art Show Benefits Rare Species Conservatory Foundation
A pop-up art show to benefit the Rare Species Conservatory Foundation was held Monday, March 5 at the Polo Bar & Grill in Wellington. The artists donated a percentage of their sales to help the foundation. Page 19
Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Foundation Scholarship Luncheon
The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Foundation sponsored “A Day of Mallets and Chukkers” on Sunday, March 4 at the International Polo Club Palm Beach in Wellington. After a buffet lunch, 10 students each received a $2,500 scholarship. Page 25
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The Royal Palm Beach Young at Heart Club held its “Lucky Charms” luncheon on Friday, March 2 at the Royal Palm Beach Recreation Center. Members enjoyed corn beef and cabbage for lunch in honor of St. Patrick’s Day. After their meal, hypnotist Richard Barker provided entertainment. Shown above are Nancy Wall, Dolores Colasanti and Young at Heart Secretary Barbara Stafirn. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 5 PHOTO BY DANI SALGUEIRO/TOWN-CRIER
ALA Learns About 60th Street Widening And 7-Eleven Store
By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report Indian Trail Improvement District President Betty Argue advised members of the Acreage Landowners’ Association on Tuesday of several issues affecting the community, including the possible widening of 60th Street North, and a proposal that could allow a 7-Eleven store at Orange Blvd. and Seminole Pratt Whitney Road. The 7-Eleven proposal requires a land use change for major intersections deemed to be failing. It is scheduled to go before the Palm Beach County Planning Commission on Friday, March 9. County staff has recommended denial. Argue gave the presentation on 60th Street North to the ALA in lieu of county staff, who had been invited. She advised the residents attending that a public hearing is scheduled for Monday, March 12 at the Acreage branch library. “There may be a lot more people in the community who are interested, but they don’t think there
will be more than 150 people at the meeting,” she said. Argue explained that the county is proposing to widen the right of way from 80 to 100 feet, which will require taking of some residents’ property for the easement. “The important thing on 60th Street is there is some stuff that’s happening,” she said. “It will be going to the Board of County Commissioners for initiation in May. Right now, there will be a workshop with the board that’s tentatively set, but we haven’t confirmed it yet.” That meeting is expected to be early April. “Then, on April 10, they have a tentative date to hold a public meeting where, basically, they’re going to tell you what they’re doing,” Argue said. She said the public meeting will be the county’s introduction of its plans before they are presented to the Board of County Commissioners in May. “It starts the process,” Argue
said. “At that point, that’s when the board says, ‘Start working on this.’ They still haven’t approved it. They’ve just approved them to move forward on the details.” The current county plan is to work on three lanes, using eminent domain to obtain portions of the additional 20 feet they will need. “My concern is that every time I drive that section, in particular, the more west you get, the frontage on those lots is not very deep,” Argue said. “If you take an additional 20 feet… next thing you know, you’ve got a potential highway right up to your house.” Other concerns include the reduction in lot size for those affected properties and its effect on taxation by the county and the district, and the effect on residents’ use of their property. “I really think this is happening,” Argue said. “Whether we like it or not, we’re not going to be able to stop them. What we can influence is how they deal with the See ALA MEETING, page 20
McKinlay Leads Student School Safety Roundtable
By Dani Salgueiro Town-Crier Staff Report Palm Beach County Mayor Melissa McKinlay, joined by West Palm Beach City Commissioner Cory Neering, hosted a two-hour student roundtable on school safety on Wednesday, Feb. 28 at the Palm Beach County Main Library. The event was held in light of the uproar of student activism that resulted from the deadly school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Wednesday, Feb. 14. About 40 students and parents from different parts of the county attended the event with many school-safety-related questions and concerns to share with the elected officials in attendance. McKinlay encouraged the questions and concerns, explaining that she wanted to hear from students to find out what they feel is missing from their schools and what they feel could be done better in order
to make them feel safe and secure in their school buildings. McKinlay opened the dialogue by first explaining that, in terms of gun control and regulation, local governments in Florida are preempted by the Florida Legislature from taking unilateral action. While all regulations on the issue must come out of Tallahassee, local governments serve as an important portal between local residents and legislative officials. McKinlay also explained the importance of hearing from students and their parents, as local government and the Palm Beach County School District do, ultimately, have a large role in the implementation of safety procedures and protocol in all county schools. “We are here to listen,” McKinlay said. “We can certainly use our voices as local elected leaders to talk to our fellow elected leaders in Tallahassee and Washington.” The feedback from students
and parents centered on a few key topics: upgrading entrances to schools, classrooms and bathrooms; improving school guidance and mental health resources for students; encouraging schoolwide conversations on safety and mental health; and ensuring the presence of at least one police officer at every school in the county. Andrea Migo, a concerned parent from Wellington, brought up the issue of how easily accessible some students are while they are in school. “I have a daughter in kindergarten in Equestrian Trails and a big concern [of mine] is that a lot of elementary schools have their playgrounds in the front of the school, which is very accessible to anyone,” Migo said. “Equestrian Trails is one of those schools, so I reached out to the school board to see if these playgrounds can be relocated.” McKinlay, whose children went See SAFETY, page 20
CarMax Proposed For Vacant Land On Southern Blvd.
By Dani Salgueiro Town-Crier Staff Report A long-vacant commercially zoned lot in a prime location on Southern Blvd. could soon become a CarMax used car dealership, if developers get the approvals necessary from the Village of Royal Palm Beach. The 13.5-acre parcel is located at the northeast corner of Southern Blvd. and 105th Avenue North, directly east of the existing Al Packer Ford West car dealership. The proposal was submitted to village planners by Kimley-Horn & Associates on behalf of CenterPoint Integrated Solutions in December and updated last month. According to Village Manager Ray Liggins, the developers have been working with village planning staff to make the project fit the requirements of Royal Palm Beach’s code.
“This is a fairly large company that builds CarMax locations,” Liggins said. “They initially started out with their blueprints of the dealership, and then our staff provided them with comments about it.” Liggins explained that the initial proposal included more and bigger signs than what is allowed by the code, as well as some landscaping issues. “In the beginning, this company thought about the variance route, but after dealing with the plans for a while, I think they have come up with something that is pretty close to meeting our code,” he said. Compliance with the village’s code is the simplest way to get the proposal approved, Liggins said. Generally, village staff supports projects that are in line with Royal Palm Beach codes and regulations. “If things meet our code, and See CARMAX, page 20
LET’S MOVE KICKOFF
The Village of Wellington kicked off its month-long Let’s Move Campaign on Saturday, March 3 at the Mall at Wellington Green. The event was organized by Wellington’s Community Services Department with support from community partners, such as Ultima Fitness and the Palm Healthcare Foundation. Shown above are Marge Sullivan, Paulette Edwards, Councilman Michael Drahos, Mayor Anne Gerwig and Maria Conde at the kickoff event. SEE STORY, PAGE 7 PHOTO BY ERIN DAVISSON/TOWN-CRIER
Saratoga Blvd. Misses Threshold For Traffic Calming
By Jack Lowenstein Town-Crier Staff Report The Village of Royal Palm Beach released its traffic calming request final report for Saratoga Blvd. West last week. The roadway did not meet the village minimum requirements for traffic calming devices on the portion of the road that was reviewed. The village’s engineering department continues to consider traffic calming on residential streets for those who have petitioned for the village-wide traffic calming initiative. “We received a petition for traffic calming on June 10, 2017 via e-mail,” Village Engineer Chris Marsh said. “At that time, we did the preliminary assessment to see if the driveways had direct access, if it was between 1,000 and 3,000 trips, the speed limit was 30 miles per hour or less and if the segment was 800 feet in length. It did meet those initial criteria that was established by our policy.” Once a neighborhood street
reaches the completion of that phase, the village provides the resident who asked for the preliminary study a map and a petition. The resident must obtain 33 percent, signed support by neighbors on the petitioned roadway. “[They] took the petition and did get the 33 percent support in order for us to move to the next step, which would be to hire a traffic consultant, which we did,” Marsh said. The engineering firm involved with the traffic calming study continues to be Simmons & White, based in West Palm Beach. They conduct a study and submit a final detailed report to the engineering department. “That report was completed Feb. 14,” Marsh said. “Essentially, the speeds on the roadway did not meet the criteria to implement traffic calming.” There was only one segment in the final report that showed speeds on Saratoga Blvd. that met the See SARATOGA, page 7
Official: PBC School Safety Program Best In State
Major B.K. Davis, head of the Palm Beach County School Security Department.
By M. Dennis Taylor Town-Crier Staff Report The Royal Palm Beach Education Advisory Board met Monday, March 5 at the Royal Palm Beach Village Meeting Hall and featured a comprehensive question-andanswer program on school safety, along with a special presentation highlighting programs at Crestwood Middle School. The bulk of the meeting was devoted to school safety after the recent shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Broward County. School Board Member Marcia Andrews and Major B.K. Davis, head of the Palm Beach County School Security Systems Department, were on hand to explain
the current situation and answer questions. Davis said that the district’s safety program, which is designed to protect 197,000 students and 23,000 employees, is “the most robust in Florida” and that the newly adopted one cent sales surtax will provide funding geared for further security improvements. “Since 1981, the School Police have been a separate division,” Davis said. “From the chief on down, the department is the same as a city of a quarter million people.” Annually, the department’s nationally recognized training division engages in 25,760 hours of security training, he said. The department offers a Critical Incident Training for School
Administrators course that will be accepted nationally as a best practices program and is open to any certified instructor or administrator. “It sets a new standard,” Davis said. “Our primary goal is to make sure that each and every one gets home to dinner each night, before anything else.” School security is a balance between safety and convenience, he explained. “We could make schools 100 percent secure, but it would take two hours to enter in the morning,” Davis said. “We need to strike a balance.” He explained that a single point of entry, where everyone is funSee ED BOARD, page 20