Town-Crier Newspaper November 13, 2015

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RPB REZONES ACME RANCHES PARCELS SEE STORY, PAGE 3

SADDLE TRAIL PAVING PROJECT GETS OK SEE STORY, PAGE 4

THE

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

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Wellington Chamber Welcomes Equestrians

Volume 36, Number 44 November 13 - November 19, 2015

Serving Palms West Since 1980

WELLINGTON HONORS ITS VETERANS

Wellington’s seasonal equestrians are headed back to the community, and the Wellington Chamber of Commerce put out the welcome mat at its luncheon Wednesday, Nov. 11. Chamber members and guests were treated to early-access information on what this year’s equestrian season will bring. Page 3

Acreage/Loxahatchee Relay For Life Kickoff

The Acreage/Loxahatchee Relay for Life held its “Painting Our World Purple” kickoff party on Monday, Nov. 9 at the Indian Trail Improvement District office. Attendees received information for fundraising and everything they needed to know to form teams for the 2016 relay, which will be held April 9 at Acreage Community Park. Page 5

RPB Formally Puts Residential Zoning On Treatment Plant Land

The Royal Palm Beach Village Council last week approved an application by Lennar Homes to rezone the village’s 154-acre former wastewater treatment plant site to single-family residential use. Page 7

St. Michael Church Hosts Retirement Party For Rev. Marjorie Weiss

Rev. Marjorie Weiss, pastor at St. Michael Evangelical Lutheran Church in Wellington, is retiring after 35 years in the ministry. The church hosted a retirement party for her on Saturday, Nov. 7. Page 17

OPINION Reach Out To Help Those In Need This Thanksgiving Season

The fourth Thursday in November is a day when people gather in good fellowship to enjoy each other’s company. Thanksgiving celebrates the touchstones of traditional life: family, hearth and faith. But the key part of Thanksgiving is in its name: “giving.” We encourage you to reach out to help those less fortunate. Page 4 DEPARTMENT INDEX NEWS................................. 3 - 9 OPINION.................................. 4 CRIME NEWS.......................... 6 NEWS BRIEFS......................... 8 PEOPLE................................. 13 SCHOOLS.......................14 - 15 COLUMNS...................... 16, 25 BUSINESS......................26 - 27 SPORTS..........................31 - 33 CALENDAR............................ 34 CLASSIFIEDS................ 35 - 38 Visit Us On The Web At WWW.GOTOWNCRIER.COM

The Village of Wellington and American Legion Chris Reyka Memorial Wellington Post 390 held a Veterans Day Parade & Ceremony on Wednesday, Nov. 11. The parade headed down Forest Hill Blvd. from the Wellington Municipal Complex to the Wellington Veterans Memorial, where a ceremony recognized local veterans before wreaths were laid. Shown here are James Napuli, Ernie Zimmerman and Pastor Jay Carrero with the POW/MIA wreath. SEE PHOTOS, PAGE 7 PHOTO BY JULIE UNGER/TOWN-CRIER

Wellington Council Inks New Five-Year Pact With Manager

By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report Wellington Village Manager Paul Schofield received a five-year renewal of his contract on Tuesday. The new agreement comes with a small raise, but also includes a salary cap and overall reductions in benefits and perks. The agreement was reached in negotiations between Schofield and Councilman Matt Willhite, who had once tried to get Schofield replaced. Schofield’s base salary will go from $220,000 to $222,500, and the contract will run through Feb. 12, 2021. In reviewing the contract, Schofield told council members that he had included changes from the discussion at the agenda review meeting the day before that included a salary cap that went with a raise to partially make up for it, as well as an agreement that if he decides to move from his current

home in Royal Palm Beach, it will be to Wellington. Willhite said that he changed the contract from a 90-day, to a 180day notice if he should choose to leave, so it would give the council more time to replace him. Schofield’s severance pay was reduced from 52 weeks to 20 weeks. Willhite said the salary as negotiated on Monday will be reduced with overall benefits from about $229,000 to $225,000 annually. He added that Schofield is the only employee who is provided a new vehicle on a regular basis with a tag and insurance. “At the useful life of the current use of his current vehicle, which has about two years of life on it, the vehicle will be gone into the fleet,” Willhite said. “We will stop paying insurance, tag and replacement cost for the vehicle, and he will get the standard vehicle allowance for senior staff members. That, in my opinion, is a longer-term savings.”

Wellington’s current senior staff vehicle allowance is about $600 a month. Willlhite also pointed out that the contract stipulates an annual performance review in August, where a time certain was not previously delineated. He also confirmed that if Schofield should change his residency for any reason, he will move to Wellington. “It doesn’t delineate to rent or own, but it says he’ll live here, so I think that’s a benefit back to the village, because he’s not just closer to us to work and we can find him, but because he becomes a beneficial paying member of our community,” Willhite said. Willhite estimated that the total savings in the contract over the five-year term is about $79,000. “I don’t really know the savings for the vehicle and different things,” he said. “I think those are See SCHOFIELD, page 19

GL Homes Submits Revised Plan To Palm Beach County

By Julie Unger Town-Crier Staff Report The Palm Beach County Planning Division held an informational meeting Tuesday, Nov. 10 at Seminole Ridge High School regarding GL Homes’ proposed development of Indian Trail Grove west of The Acreage. GL Homes’ latest plan for the 4,900-acre site calls for 3,543 single-family homes and 400 townhouse units, along with 350,000 square feet of nonresidential uses. Approximately 50 people attended the presentation, led by county planner Bryan Davis. The focus was on the land use amendments necessary and transportation issues caused by the proposal. “The idea is to convey information about the process,” Davis said. “We understand a lot of you are coming at this and you have not necessarily looked at the minutiae of how these processes work.” In Florida, he said, local govern-

ments must have a comprehensive plan that details the goals and objectives of a community. They include land use, transportation, housing, infrastructure and conservation, and are then adopted by an ordinance. Within land use, he said, parcels are designated for “future land use.” Different future land use designations include rural residential, low residential, medium residential, commercial, industrial, institutional, conservation and more. They define what a parcel should be used for. Zoning specifies, refines and further defines the future land use designations through an amendment process, Davis explained. Amendments must go through a process of public notice, which includes three public hearings. From there, the amendment is either sent to Tallahassee for a state-level or regional review See GL HOMES, page 19

FALL CARNIVAL AT BINKS FOREST

The Binks Forest Elementary School PTA presented its 2015 Binks Forest Fall Carnival on Saturday, Nov. 7 at the school campus in Wellington. The annual fall carnival is one of the biggest fundraisers for the school. It featured bounce houses, games, entertainment, a petting zoo, a vendor/sponsor area, gift baskets for auction and plenty of food for sale. Shown here are Cassie White, Dara Grant and Erica Sewell. SEE PHOTOS, PAGE 21 PHOTO BY SERGIO AGUILAR/TOWN-CRIER

Two Challengers File To Take Indian Trail To Open On Lox Groves Incumbents Downers Dog Park With Party Nov. 21

By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report Filing closed Tuesday for the Loxahatchee Groves Town Council election in March, and both incumbents on the ballot will face challengers. Incumbent Jim Rockett filed to seek a third term in Seat 2. He is challenged by Todd McLendon, who unsuccessfully ran against him three years ago. Mayor Dave Browning, who has held Seat 4 since the town incorporated, is being challenged by Thais Gonzalez. Gonzalez told the Town-Crier that she is running because she wants to preserve the rural character of the town. “I feel that I can be an asset to this community, which I love,” she said. “I moved to this community five years ago, and I thought it was a wonderful place to raise my two children. I am an equestrian

person. I think it’s lovely for the horses as well.” Although Gonzalez has long been an outspoken critic of development plans, including the college campus and commercial development at B Road and Southern Blvd., this is her first run for public office. She supported McLendon in his unsuccessful council campaign three years ago and said she shares many of his ideas, but that she’s running independently and not part of a slate. “I support Todd,” Gonzalez said. “I know where he’s coming from. I know he wants the best for this community, but we’re not running together.” Owner of the 10-acre Deal is a Deal horse farm, Gonzalez is a trainer and breeder specializing in polo ponies. She would like to see the completion of a comprehensive trail system in the town for all resi-

dents, horse people or not, to enjoy. “For years and years, they have been talking about it, and nothing has been done,” she said, explaining that the few existing horse trails are not connected or developed to a safe standard. Her main goal, if elected, would be to preserve the rural nature of the community, Gonzalez said. Originally from Chile, where she attended high school and college, Gonzalez traveled to the United States and lived in California for 11 years, then Illinois for a year. “Then I started to get more involved with the sport of polo, and I moved to South Carolina, where I met my husband, Carlos,” she said. They traveled to South Florida for polo events and eventually decided to settle in Loxahatchee Groves. Browning served on the LoxaSee LOX VOTE, page 19

By Julie Unger Town-Crier Staff Report Thanks to the Indian Trail Improvement District and a local animal rescue group, four-legged friends will soon have a new stomping ground where they can frolic, run, explore and play. Downers Dog Park, located at 16700 E. Downers Drive, will open Saturday, Nov. 21 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 10 a.m. ITID Parks Director Tim Wojnar explained that the district noticed that the park’s usage had declined in recent years. “Listening to the community, there were residents who were asking about the possibility of a dog park,” Wojnar said. “After further review of our neighborhood park system, we decided

that Downers Park would be the best fit for this.” ITID Supervisor Michelle Damone was excited about the idea of a dog park in the community. “I have observed that other communities have dog parks — some of them have multiple dog parks,” she said. “Even the rest areas on the turnpike have dog parks. Campgrounds have dog parks, hotels and even some malls. So, I thought our community deserved its own dog park.” Damone put the idea out on various social media pages and received a great deal of feedback. Royal Palm Beach recently opened a new dog park, and the dog parks in Wellington and at Okeeheelee Park have long been utilized by Acreage residents, she See DOG PARK, page 4

Wellington Green Market Opens Nov. 14 With Changes

By Julie Unger Town-Crier Staff Report With the weather finally cooling off and the holiday season about to begin, the Wellington Green Market is returning under new management. Starting Saturday, Nov. 14 at 9 a.m., the Wellington Green Market will be open Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at its original location, next to the Wellington Amphitheater. The season will continue until April 30, but will be closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas weekends. Wellington officials were not happy with declining attendance last year and put the green market out to bid. There were several interested parties, and Wellington chose POTTC Events to run it.

“We look forward to what they’re doing,” Wellington Parks & Recreation Director Bruce DeLaney said. “We think that there might just be somewhat of a different perspective. Although the previous green market had been in existence for four years and had some highs and some lows, I guess the feeling was that perhaps a new administration may give it an opportunity to become a little bit better attended.” POTTC Events is not new to the green market game, said owner Kathy Gilbert. “Being as we already produce and manage the Royal Palm Beach Green Market & Bazaar, and we live here locally within the community, we’re excited that there’s another market right here within

the western communities,” she said. Operating a Saturday green market, in addition to the Sunday green market in Royal Palm Beach, will help better serve and promote both events, Gilbert said. For Wellington’s first week, visitors will have the opportunity to listen to live music by Davee Bryan and enjoy face painting and balloons while they shop for fresh produce, baked goods, local crafts and products, and more. There will be everything from fruits, vegetables, produce, organic produce, plants and fresh seafood, to artists, crafters and more. “You’ll see a little bit of everything out there,” Gilbert said. Many of the vendors from the

past will be returning, and new vendors will join in. She expects somewhere between 30 and 40 vendors for the opening weekend. “We’re offering a nice selection of different vendors for patrons to shop at,” Gilbert said. After shopping, the Wellington Amphitheater, just steps away, offers the perfect place for a sit-down picnic lunch, or just to relax and enjoy the weather. “I know a lot of people have been waiting for this to open, vendors and patrons, so just bringing it all together and having that opening day where people can come out and shop, spend some time with family and friends, and go out and support your local community, we’re really excited about that,” Gilbert said. “We’re

kicking this off and bringing a little new life in.” The family-friendly, free event has free parking, and dogs are welcome. The Wellington Green Market is situated near Scott’s Place playground, as well as restrooms and shaded areas. The market is produced and hosted by POTTC Events, and is sponsored in part by the Village of Wellington, Kool 105.5, Pirate Radio of the Treasure Coast and The Palm Beach Post. “We’re very excited to get it up and running again,” DeLaney said. “We’re looking forward to seeing how this progresses, and we’re in for a great season.” For more information, visit www.greenmarketatwellington. com or call (561) 792-9260.


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