Town-Crier Newspaper May 17, 2019

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PALM BEACH CENTRAL GRAD PREVIEW SEE STORY, PAGE 3

ARE YOU READY FOR STORM SEASON? SEE STORY, PAGE 4

THE

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

Your Community Newspaper

INSIDE

Volume 40, Number 20 May 17 - May 23, 2019

Serving Palms West Since 1980

FAMILY FUN DAY IN WELLINGTON

ALA Plans Workshop On Land Regulations, Neighborhood Plan

Members of the Acreage Landowners’ Association met Tuesday, May 14 and expressed a desire to understand the county’s Uniform Land Development Code better, as well as the Acreage Neighborhood Plan accepted by the county in 1995 and amended in 2008. Page 3

Cultural Diversity Day Returns To Royal Palm Beach Commons Park

CAFCI and the Village of Royal Palm Beach presented Cultural Diversity Day on Saturday, May 11 at Royal Palm Beach Commons Park. A wide variety of performers sang and danced depicting cultures from around the world. There were also vendors and displays, while food trucks offered a choice of dining pleasures. Page 5

Small Claims Clinic At Library Caters To Do-It-Yourselfers

Palm Beach County attorney Lloyd Comiter presented a small claims lawsuit and mediation clinic at the Wellington library on Wednesday, May 8 on behalf of the Palm Beach County Bar Association. The purpose of the presentation was to give an overview of how to navigate small claims court without having to hire an attorney. Page 7

Wolverines Seek To Continue Success During Spring Football

The Wellington High School football team earned enough points last season to make a run into the post-season, and the squad looks to continue with the same momentum through spring football. Page 19 DEPARTMENT INDEX NEWS...............................3 - 18 NEWS BRIEFS......................... 7 PEOPLE................................... 8 SCHOOLS................................ 9 COLUMNS............................. 16 BUSINESS............................. 17 CALENDAR............................ 18 SPORTS......................... 19 - 20 CLASSIFIEDS................ 21 - 22 Visit Us On The Web At WWW.GOTOWNCRIER.COM

Families came out to the Lakeside Family Fun Day on Saturday, May 11 on Lake Wellington behind the Wellington Community Center to celebrate togetherness. All Kids Entertainment provided a mermaid and pirate for the event, and nothing was as enchanting as watching 50 children following the pirate around during the treasure hunt. Shown above, Lielle Spivak gets a picture with Coral the Mermaid. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 14 PHOTO BY GINA M. CAPONE/TOWN-CRIER

Lox Groves Council Begins Search For New Law Firm

By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report The Loxahatchee Groves Town Council last week accepted the resignation of longtime Town Attorney Michael Cirullo of the Fort Lauderdale law firm Goren, Cherof, Doody & Ezrol. The council set a workshop for Tuesday, May 28 to interview new candidates for the position. “The time was right both professionally and personally for me, as well for the town to, in my opinion, have the ability to draw on more than one lawyer in a geographical area, and I think the timing is good,” Cirullo said at a meeting on Wednesday, May 8, which had been extended from Tuesday, May 7. Cirullo noted that his contract calls for a 30-day notice. “At the request of the council, that can be extended if you are in the process of making a selection

or going through the selection process,” he said. “I would turn to the manager for any recommendation for the process, but I think the sooner you can have someone in who can carry you through the fiscal year and beyond, I think it would be better for the town.” Town Manager Jamie Titcomb said that Cirullo has offered to continue to work cooperatively with the town if it seeks an interim or new attorney to converse with, troubleshoot or bring institutional knowledge to particularly troublesome issues. “I also agree with the attorney that it is in the town’s best interest with the changing of the guard, with all the things that we’re dealing with, with the contracts, with everything that we’re reviewing, that getting a new set of legal eyes up and running quickly is advantageous,” Titcomb said. He recommended that since the

town is with the budget restraints of the current year, which runs through Sept. 30, that the council look at the option of hiring an interim attorney. “When I say ‘interim attorney,’ I’m referring to an attorney or law firm that specializes in municipal, contract, labor, special districts and all the disciplines that we deal with,” Titcomb said. “I have talked to you individually in our meetings about it being my opinion that there are several very good municipal attorney and local government attorney firms in the county. There’s a whole host of them. Most of them are all members of the local League of Cities. Most of them carry or represent multiple cities, so the advantage of going with a firm might be that we get a number of disciplines under one roof.” Titcomb recommended getting See LAW FIRM, page 18

Disagreement Over Roads In Rustic Ranches Likely Headed To Court

By Gina M. Capone Town-Crier Staff Report A battle years in the making between the Village of Wellington and the Pine Tree Water Control District over maintenance responsibilities of six roads in the rural Rustic Ranches neighborhood appears no closer to a settlement after discussions at the Wellington Village Council meeting on Tuesday, May 14. In fact, the issue is likely headed to the courts. The issue has been front-andcenter in the minds of Rustic Ranches residents since September 2018, when the village discontinued road maintenance after failing to reach an agreement with Pine Tree, a special district with limited government responsibilities in the area. Who is at fault, however, is a matter of heated debate.

The Village of Wellington believes that the roads should be maintained by Pine Tree, but Pine Tree and many of the property owners in the area believe that the roads are owned by the Village of Wellington and should be maintained by the village. An isolated neighborhood on the west side of Flying Cow Road in western Wellington, Rustic Ranches was annexed into the village in 2004. Village Attorney Laurie Cohen explained the village’s point of view in an interview before Tuesday’s meeting. “Pine Tree is an independent special district. It has its own power; it has its own duties as a governmental entity. In its enabling legislation, the state legislature gave it the authority to maintain See RUSTIC ROADS, page 4

B&G CLUB GYM NAMED FOR MAJOR DONOR

The Neil S. Hirsch Family Boys & Girls Club held a pep rally on Tuesday, May 14 to celebrate the new name of the club’s gymnasium. It was named in honor of Olexa Celine, owner of Sebilion Farm Polo Team, and her late mother Vira Hladun Goldman, a philanthropist and a basketball enthusiast. Celine was on hand to present a $500,000 check to the club. Shown above, Boys & Girls Clubs of Palm Beach County CEO Jaene Miranda, Olexa Celine and Neil Hirsch toast the newly named gymnasium. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 13 PHOTO BY DENISE FLEISCHMAN/TOWN-CRIER

RPB Commemorating 60 Years ITID Eyes Regional With Celebration And Magazine Planning Council For Consulting Work

By M. Dennis Taylor Town-Crier Staff Report The Village of Royal Palm Beach will celebrate its 60th anniversary this year, and the Town-Crier is publishing a special souvenir magazine in June to commemorate the milestone. The magazine is just one part of the anniversary celebration, which also includes a special event on Sunday, June 30 saluting six honorees and an observance at the village’s annual Fourth of July Celebration. “We have teamed up with the Town-Crier newspaper to produce this special souvenir magazine,” Royal Palm Beach Mayor Fred Pinto explained in a letter to local businesses. “This publication will be filled with interesting and enjoyable stories about our founding fathers; the way our village grew; our schools; our recreation department; our facilities, parks and playgrounds; and,

of course, our 60th anniversary celebration.” The Town-Crier has been publishing historical publications for milestone village anniversaries going back 30 years. “This has become a tradition, as we have been doing an issue every 10 years to commemorate another decade anniversary,” Town-Crier Publisher Barry Manning said. “This edition will feature six honorees who have served the village over many years, along with historical information and information about Royal Palm Beach today.” Parks & Recreation Director Lou Recchio is excited about the upcoming anniversary. “Royal Palm Beach will hold a special celebration on the actual anniversary date of Sunday, June 30 from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Royal Palm Beach Cultural Center,” Recchio said. “Each of the council members and the village manager

named someone who has made a significant contribution to the village during its 60-year history to make it a better family community.” The selected honorees are Jess Santamaria, Jackie Larson, Dan Splain, Phyllis Katz, Rob Hill and Diane DiSanto. Each will be featured in the souvenir magazine and recognized at the celebration. “They will each be recognized on the stage at the cultural center and given an opportunity to speak,” said Recchio, who added that the ceremony will include light fare, hors d’oeuvres and beverages. The anniversary will also be observed at the annual Fourth of July celebration and fireworks display at Royal Palm Beach Commons Park. “In addition to our regular festivities, we hope to have the honorees on stage to be recognized See ANNIVERSARY, page 4

By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report The Indian Trail Improvement District Board of Supervisors agreed Wednesday, May 15 to get the approximate cost of drafting a master plan for the district from the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council. ITID President Betty Argue said the board had invited Treasure Coast to make a presentation to explain what that agency can do for the district as far as developing a vision. Based in Stuart, the agency has worked with municipalities, districts and other communities. Kim DeLaney with TCRPC said the 10 regional councils are designated by state statute. Treasure Coast’s region is Palm Beach, Martin, St. Lucie and Indian River counties, representing about 1.9

million people. It is overseen by a 28-member board. “We provide planning service with technical support, we help with hurricane evacuation, economic development, transportation planning, grant writing — whatever assistance local governments or agencies need,” she explained. DeLaney said TCRPC specializes in urban design, community master plans and transportation planning. “Community master planning can be small-scale or large-scale,” she said. “We do different kinds of regional plans, like, for example, Intracoastal Waterway planning in Palm Beach County and also the greenway trails master plan. That’s one where we worked with Indian Trail to make sure that we See ITID, page 4

Artist Kole Trent To Paint Mural At Wellington Green

By Callie Sharkey Town-Crier Staff Report Only a few months after completing a successful mural project at Wellington Landings Middle School, Cocoa Beach artist Kole Trent is back in Wellington to create one of the largest pieces of artwork in his career. From Monday, May 20 through Friday, May 31, Trent will transform a 20-foot-by-60-foot wall space at the Mall at Wellington Green. The entire community is invited to visit and observe this unique project come to life, with the artist on site Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Not only is it free to the public to visit and enjoy the artistic process up close and personal, but

the Trent Art Gallery is adding to the fun. “We plan to give away prizes during the artwork’s creation. People can visit our Facebook page for more details as the project progresses,” said Kyle Trent, operations manager for the Trent Art Gallery and the artist’s brother. “Eventually, there will be an information map and tour guide for all of Kole’s projects during this mural tour.” While Trent’s mural tour has already been to the area, there are big plans for other sites around South Florida. “A big part of the summer tour is an upcoming project that includes eight to 10 large murals in downtown Cocoa Beach,” Kyle Trent See MURAL, page 7

Artist Kole Trent in front of his huge future mural space in the Mall at Wellington Green.


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