Town-Crier Newspaper November 4, 2022

Page 1

HOMES PROPOSED AT GOLF COURSE SEE STORY, PAGE 3

RPB ZONERS OK RULES FOR MIXED-USE SEE STORY, PAGE 4

THE

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

Your Community Newspaper

INSIDE

Wellington Zoners Reject Request To Allow Home On Small Little Ranches Parcel

Volume 43, Number 22 November 4 - November 17, 2022

Serving Palms West Since 1980

WELLINGTON CARES LUNCHEON

Wellington’s Planning, Zoning & Adjustment Board on Wednesday, Oct. 19 rejected a request from a property owner seeking to build a home on a small parcel currently designated as open space in the Palm Beach Little Ranches equestrian community. At issue was a request by property owner Neil Winer to amend the Wellington PUD Master Plan to add one unit in Little Ranches at 977 Cindy Drive. Page 3

Longtime Lox Groves Leader Marge Herzog Celebrates 80 Years

Councilwoman Marge Herzog’s 80th birthday was celebrated before the Loxahatchee Groves Landowners’ Association meeting on Thursday, Oct. 27 at Palms West Presbyterian Church. Guests took turns talking about Herzog’s accomplishments for the community over the years. Page 8

Spookyville Brings A Kid-Friendly Halloween To Yesteryear Village

Thousands of children in costumes came to the South Florida Fairgrounds to trick-ortreat in a safe and kid-friendly environment at the annual Spookyville event at Yesteryear Village. With local vendors, historic exhibits, rides, food and live entertainment, there was fun for the entire family at this popular annual event. Page 18

PBCHS Broncos Defeat WHS Wolverines To Keep Wellington Cup

Palm Beach Central High School quarterback Ahmad Haston completed 11 of 22 passes for 229 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Broncos to a 41-14 victory against the Wellington High School Wolverines on Friday, Oct. 28 at Palm Beach Central. Page 23 DEPARTMENT INDEX NEWS...............................3 - 18 NEWS BRIEFS......................... 7 SPORTS......................... 21 - 25 SCHOOLS.............................. 26 PEOPLE................................. 28 BUSINESS............................. 31 COLUMNS............................. 33 CLASSIFIEDS................. 32, 34 Visit Us On The Web At WWW.GOTOWNCRIER.COM

The local nonprofit Wellington Cares held its sixth annual luncheon on Friday, Oct 28 at the Wanderers Club. Radio personality Scott Greenberg served as emcee, while author and master certified coach Minx Boren was the keynote speaker. Shown above, Selena Samios and Diane Gutman receive gifts from Wellington Cares President Cheryl Anders. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 5 PHOTO BY DENISE FLEISCHMAN/TOWN-CRIER

Tuttle Requests Streamlined Approvals From RPB Officials

By Callie Sharkey Town-Crier Staff Report The Royal Palm Beach Village Council heard a request from developer Brian Tuttle on Thursday, Oct. 20 that the village create an expedited approval process for the Main Street portion of his Tuttle Royale project. Speaking during time for public comment on non-agenda items, Tuttle brought with him a team of highly experienced experts in fields ranging from design to finance, all involved in the Main Street project on the south side of Southern Blvd.

CEO Adam David Lynd and Anthony Tiritilli of the Lynd Company, Kevin O’Grady of Concord Summit Capital, commercial real estate expert Ryan Hallihan and Warren Dauber with the brokerage firm Newmark all spoke of the exceptional opportunity of Tuttle’s project. Hallihan, who was instrumental in leading CityPlace upon its initial development, explained the best time to open a new mixedused project is in September or October. He stressed the painstaking details addressed in the project, such

prove recreational enjoyment by residents. It identifies necessary improvements and also aids in stormwater management. A key project associated with the Blueways plan is to connect the two major lakes by building a bridge on Big Blue Trace over the C-15 Canal. This would allow pontoon boats and paddle vessels to traverse between the two lakes. Currently, there is a culvert that allows water to flow between the lakes, but vessels cannot move between them. There is also a plan to install several box culverts to allow more residents access to the lakes through kayaks and canoes. “It is a matter of bringing some attention to the fact that we are trying to expand this recreational use,” O’Dell said, adding that once the Blueways plan is approved, the village can seek out grant dollars from the state and other funding sources to help with the proposed projects. PZA Board Chair Jeffrey Robbert asked about a timeline for the projects associated with the Blueways plan. O’Dell said the work is at least several years out, depending upon capital improvement dollars. The bridge on Big Blue Trace will likely be done as part of other improvements planned for the roadway. A number of residents who live on the two lakes attended the meet-

By Joshua Manning Town-Crier Staff Report While Palm Beach County voters will decide the fate of a $200 million bond issue designed to bring about more affordable housing on Tuesday, Nov. 8, Royal Palm Beach Mayor Fred Pinto believes that the county should take a different direction on the issue — get into the affordable housing market, directly building and maintaining rental communities. “We are making the same mistake that we have been doing for the past 10 to 15 years,” Pinto said at the Thursday, Oct. 20 meeting of the Royal Palm Beach Village Council. “It has not yielded the results that we want. We need to be thinking of a new, different approach.” At the meeting, Skip Miller, vice

chair of the Housing Leadership Council, made a presentation on the county’s bond issue proposal. “We are asking voters to support a bond issue that will increase the supply of workforce housing in Palm Beach County,” Miller said, explaining that the county is at least 20,000 units short of its housing needs for essential workers. Miller said that the bond issue will be used to encourage developers to build low-income housing units by offering low-interest loans to those who will build homes and apartments for essential workers in Palm Beach County. The money will be paired with other federal and state programs to extend its reach. The program’s goal is to use this mechanism to bring down rents in See PINTO, page 4

HALLOWEEN FUN AT PET SUPPLIES PLUS

as lighting and parking, and how they did not want to make mistakes other projects had. “Time kills deals, and time can kill projects,” he said. “We need to expedite this process, so we are not looking at trying to open a project in the summer.” Dauber noted that the team has letters of intent from national businesses and said if hard construction doesn’t begin in four or five months, they would start to lose tenants. The target to open is fall 2024, he said. Tuttle then requested a special See RPB COUNCIL, page 7

Blueways Plan Encourages Rec Use Of Wellington’s Waterways

By Joshua Manning Town-Crier Staff Report The Village of Wellington is working on a plan that would open up its waterways to more residents for recreational activities. This so-called Blueways Master Plan was presented to the Planning, Zoning & Adjustment Board on Wednesday, Oct. 19 and the Parks & Recreation Advisory Board on Tuesday, Oct. 25. Both boards gave it their stamp of approval. At the PZA Board meeting, Assistant Planning, Zoning & Building Director Michael O’Dell explained that Blueways is the first step in a process designed to make improvements to the village’s overall recreational uses. He introduced planner Christian Santa, who explained the concept. Initially, Blueways is focused on the lake system in central Wellington — Lake Greenview Shores and Lake Wellington, along with the seven canals that flow in and out of them and seven public parks associated with them. This includes the village’s boat ramp and docks. Together, this represents 160 acres of recreational water area. Currently, 982 residences have direct access to the lakes, which are used for electric motor boating, paddle vessels and catch-andrelease sport fishing. The goal of the Blueways plan is to create a connection between all the lakes and canals to im-

RPB Mayor: County Should Build Affordable Housing Units

ing. All public comments were in favor of the plan. Jeff Master, a resident of Meadowbreeze Drive, is excited that more people will have access to Lake Wellington. “We think this will be great,” he said. “It is such a joy, and I would hate to deny people who are that close to also have that enjoyment.” Jack Brownson lives on Lake Wellington and organizes the annual holiday boat parade there. “We have a fantastic boater community on our lake,” he said. “While this would be great for our lake, it is even better for the people on Lake Greenview. They can come over and be part of all the festivities that happen at the Wellington Community Center.” PZA Board Member Tracy Ciucci was impressed by the spirit of inclusivity expressed by the residents. “This is allowing access between like-minded communities for enjoyment between both of these lakes,” she said. “To hear the Lake Wellington people say that they would love to include the Lake Greenview Shores people in what they do really embodies the spirit of Wellington.” A motion to approve the Blueways plan passed unanimously. In other business, the PZA Board also approved a zoning text amendment regarding cell towers. Senior Planner Damian Newell See PZA BOARD, page 4

Pet Supplies Plus in Royal Palm Beach hosted a Halloween party on Saturday, Oct. 29 with pet costume contests, free gifts, toys and treats for pets and humans alike. Shown above, Josephine Gentilin visits with the kittens. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 16 PHOTO BY DENISE FLEISCHMAN/TOWN-CRIER

Lox Council Takes Aggressive Stance Regarding Border With Royal Palm

By Joshua Manning Town-Crier Staff Report The Loxahatchee Groves Town Council asked its manager and attorney Tuesday, Nov. 1 to get more aggressive regarding the town’s southeastern border with the Village of Royal Palm Beach, perhaps even exploring the idea of getting property owners there to de-annex from the village and annex into the town. The focus is the area near Folsom Road, Crestwood Blvd. and Southern Blvd., where the Loxahatchee Groves Water Control District provided drainage services before it became dependent and had its borders merged with that of the town. The council heard an update from Town Engineer Randy Wertepny of Keshavarz & Associates regarding negotiations on an interlocal agreement with the

Village of Royal Palm Beach over the handful of commercial parcels that get their drainage from the town but are located in the village. At issue are the LGWCD assessments for drainage. Palm Beach County has agreed through an interlocal agreement to allow the town to continue LGWCD assessments in unincorporated areas. Royal Palm Beach does not have that type of agreement with the town. Instead, the village would prefer to separate that area from the town’s drainage system. That would require the town to move its drainage infrastructure from the corner of Southern and Crestwood. Several meetings have taken place between town and village staff members over the past year to discuss this issue. A few ideas have been suggested. The village has agreed to pay See LOX COUNCIL, page 4

Golden Grove Elementary School Celebrating 25 Years

By Louis Hillary Park Town-Crier Staff Report The teachers and administrators at Golden Grove Elementary School have been working to build a strong bridge between school and home, Principal Linda Edgecomb said. It’s a bridge that spans decades, administrations and demographic changes, as well as 9/11 and COVID-19. Now 25 years later, it will be celebrated Wednesday, Nov. 16 with music and more. “This really is a special place,” said Edgecomb, who has been principal at Golden Grove since 2018. “The parents respect us because we respect them. A lot of it has to do with the way we carry ourselves.”

“There’s a great tradition of excellence here,” agreed Tanya Wesley, who was among a group of teachers who came over from Acreage Pines Elementary School in 1997. Wesley, who teaches second grade English, and second grade math/science/social studies teacher Marlyne Youmans have been at Golden Grove ever since. Golden Grove quickly became so well regarded that few of the teachers ended up leaving, Youmans said. “The only way people left was if they were retiring,” she explained. Located on 140th Avenue North near Western Pines Middle School, Golden Grove now has 56 teachers

and some 80 staff members overseeing 765 students in kindergarten through fifth grade. The loyalty and dedication to the school is unchanged. “There are no vacancies,” Edgecomb said. The same is true for slots in the school’s well-regarded technology choice program. Though technically available via lottery to students throughout the district, seats rarely are available. On Nov. 16, however, there will be seats for Palm Beach County School District officials and former Golden Grove principals and teachers for a silver anniversary celebration that will include a performance by the school chorus and a film made in-house captur-

ing the school’s history. An all-classes photo will be taken outside, and a gumbo limbo tree will be planted to mark the anniversary. Classroom doors will be decorated with 1990s memorabilia, and students and teachers will dress in clothes from the era. A time capsule buried in 1997 is now displayed in the school lobby and will be opened during Spirit Week Nov. 14-18. What will the students find inside? No one really remembers. But today’s students may be shocked not to see iPhones or references to social media. A guy named Bill Clinton may be referred to as Mr. President. Something See GOLDEN GROVE, page 4

Principal Linda Edgecomb with a photo of founding Principal Barbara Altman.


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.
Town-Crier Newspaper November 4, 2022 by Wellington The Magazine LLC - Issuu