COUNTY TO BAN DROP-OFF DONATION BINS SEE STORY, PAGE 3
SECOND QUESTION FOR ITID CANDIDATES SEE STORY, PAGE 7
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Your Community Newspaper
INSIDE Wellington Council Refuses To Reimburse Tennis Bidder A1A
Volume 33, Number 39 September 28 - October 4, 2012
THE INAUGURAL KIDS TRIATHLON
Members of the Wellington Village Council rejected a request Wednesday by A1A Tennis to recoup the cost of preparing a bid to run the Wellington Tennis Center. Council members voted 4-1 to deny the request to cover the $8,292.50 in costs. Page 3
Tax Rate Unchanged As County Finalizes $3.4 Billion Budget
The Palm Beach County Commission gave final approval Monday to a $3.4 billion spending plan for fiscal year 2012-13 starting Oct. 1. The commissioners set the county’s general fund tax rate at 4.7815 mills, the same rate as last year. Page 4
Chick-Fil-A Celebrates Grand Opening Of New RPB Restaurant
Chick-Fil-A celebrated the grand opening of its first freestanding restaurant in the western communities with a VIP Party on Tuesday, Sept. 18 and grand opening on Thursday, Sept. 20. Page 9
New Wellington Club Apartments Host Grand Opening
The Wellington Club Apartments held a grand opening celebration Saturday, Sept. 22 at its location at 9855 Herons Nest Court, off State Road 7 south of Lake Worth Road. The public was given the opportunity to get a tour while enjoying barbecue food and music. Page 12
OPINION Join In The Day Of Play
Nickelodeon will celebrate its Worldwide Day of Play on Saturday, Oct. 6, foregoing programming for a few hours and replacing it with a message to promote outdoor recreation. Wellington has joined in, partnering with the U.S. Tennis Association to bring the USTA Free Tennis Play Days to the Wellington Tennis Center. That’s only one way to celebrate. We suggest making the whole day an outdoor affair. Page 4 DEPARTMENT INDEX NEWS ............................. 3 - 14 OPINION .................................4 CRIME NEWS .........................6 NEWS BRIEFS........................ 8 SCHOOLS ............................ 16 PEOPLE ................................ 17 COLUMNS .................... 25 - 26 BUSINESS .................... 27 - 29 ENTERTAINMENT .................31 SPORTS ........................ 35 - 37 CALENDAR ...................38 - 39 CLASSIFIEDS ................ 40 - 44 Visit Us On The Web At WWW.GOTOWNCRIER.COM
Wellington hosted its inaugural Kids Triathlon on Saturday, Sept. 23 at the Wellington Aquatics Complex. Despite the rain, children swam, biked and ran the course to try to put in their best time. Shown here Lucky Gilman and Jared Singer are congratulated by their families. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 5 PHOTO BY LAUREN MIRÓ/TOWN-CRIER
Opening Of Royal Palm’s New Commons Park Delayed Again By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report The long-awaited opening of Royal Palm Beach Commons Park has been delayed yet again. In the spring, village leaders were hoping for a Fourth of July grand opening, but that was scrubbed due to construction delays blamed on poor weather, as well as changes deemed necessary to open the park safely. Officials set a goal of October for a Fall Festival grand opening, but further weather delays have pushed completion back yet again. “Fallfest is being held at Veterans Park, so that’s not going to happen,” Parks & Recreation Director Lou Recchio told the TownCrier on Wednesday. “We’re looking at a Dec. 1 soft opening of the facility. There won’t be a ribbon cutting or anything like that.” A big celebration will likely wait until early next year, he said. “The grand opening, as far as the ribbon cutting and everything like that, won’t be done until
March,” Recchio said, explaining that it will not be associated with any specific holiday. “We are planning a three-day event on a Friday night, Saturday and Sunday, but it won’t be until March. With the weather the way it is, and the rains, it has just pushed us back.” Recchio said the sheer size of the project has contributed to the difficulties in setting a date for the opening. “Instead of forcing an event and trying to get in there, we just want to make sure that it’s completed,” he said. “We want to open it right. We want to do it the right way.” Recchio said he will be better prepared in mid-October to talk about a grand opening. The builder, West Construction, has said it will reach substantial completion by Oct. 31, but a punch list will probably remain of things to be completed, he said. “Once we get in there, there’s going to be small things, nothing major,” Recchio said. “There may
be cleaning, paint touch-up, a cracked sidewalk. These are all things we’ll go through and make sure they’re taken care of.” When completed, the park will be the largest in Royal Palm Beach, which bought the shuttered Tradition Golf Club in 2005 for $4.5 million. The total cost of the park is about $22 million. The park will include a 13,000square-foot maintenance facility, driving range, sporting center, main plaza and great lawn. It includes four man-made lakes, the largest of which is about 20 acres. About a third of the park will be lakes, which will be stocked for catch-and-release fishing. Around the perimeter will be a paved path wide enough to accommodate bicyclists, joggers and walkers. The great lawn will include multiple picnic pavilions, volleyball courts, restrooms and a banquet garden for outdoor formal events. The area around the great lawn will include a playground, docks, sand See COMMONS PARK, page 4
Wellington Council Favors Morale-Boosting Policies By Lauren Miró Town-Crier Staff Report Members of the Wellington Village Council were largely on board this week with village policies to boost employee morale, despite criticism that they might not serve a public purpose. At a workshop Monday, council members reviewed points made in an audit of village purchasing cards by the Palm Beach County Office of the Inspector General. Council members were tasked with discussing whether several unofficial village policies should be continued. Councilman John Greene was absent. “Many of the recommended changes have been made,” Village Manager Paul Schofield said.
“Now it comes down to matters of public policy.” In April, Inspector General Sheryl Steckler released an audit that looked at 763 charges to Wellington purchasing cards (called pcards) during the first 10 months of 2011. Of the $174,970 spent, the Stecker’s staff raised concerns with $28,597 that had been used for purchases that they did not believe were for a public purpose. Examples of those included meals at restaurants or meals purchased for meetings or staff training; items for an employee birthday lunch, an employee retirement party and a holiday party; snacks and coffee for village staff; and flowers or food sent to employ-
ees’ families who had lost a loved one. “Right now, these practices have been suspended with the exception of water,” Village Attorney Jeff Kurtz said. “In the end, the audit found that those things were done legally. But this has come out of a concern that in [the inspector general’s] mind, some of the expenditures did not have a true public purpose.” Kurtz said that among the concerns were six transactions where Wellington sent food or flowers to an employee’s family for sympathy due to a death. “The question is what role, if any, does the council want to support with respect to if an employSee POLICIES, page 18
Serving Palms West Since 1980
Wellington Drops Tax Rate Slightly By Lauren Miró Town-Crier Staff Report For the first time in five years, Wellington residents will see a slight decrease in the village’s tax rate following a unanimous vote Wednesday by the Wellington Village Council. Council members unanimously approved a tax rate of 2.47 mills, down from the preliminary rate of 2.5 mills approved earlier this month. “If we look at what happened to the property values in Wellington, they were decimated,” Vice Mayor Howard Coates said. “For us to come in and raise the taxes when we’ve finally seen an increase in the market, that’s an increase on our residents.” A rate of 2.47 mills means a property tax of $2.47 for every $1,000 of taxable value. At that rate, the owner of a home assessed at $150,000 after exemptions would pay $370.50 in village property taxes next year. The difference between the rates of 2.5 mills and 2.47 mills is about $6 per resident, Village Manager Paul Schofield said. “We can
live at 2.47 [mills],” he said. “I am prepared to do that.” Next year’s proposed budget of $74.46 million also marks the first increase in five years, up $524,000 from last year. Initially the budget was expected to fall, but it grew due to increased transfer funds. Coates asked whether anything had changed since the council meeting two weeks ago that would necessitate the higher tax rate. Director of Finance Mireya McIlveen said that her staff had begun to look at anticipated expenses in the wake of Tropical Storm Isaac, as well as infrastructure improvements. “We’re proposing taking the $330,000 that we’d gain from adopting a tax rate of 2.5 mills and asking it be reserved for road and infrastructure improvements,” she said. But Coates pushed her to answer whether the rate of 2.5 mills was necessary. “You just did what I said you’d do,” he said. “You went back to find ways to spend the money we’re approving. What I want to See TAX RATE, page 18
FRIENDSHIP BALL
Caribbean-Americans for Community Involvement (CAFCI) held its 23rd annual Friendship Ball on Saturday, Sept. 22 at the Royal Palm Beach Cultural Center. The theme this year was “Achieving Goals, Breaking Barriers and Embracing Progress.” Pictured above, Barry Martin, Mavis Grant, Sophia Nelson and Don Smith make a toast. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 20 PHOTO BY DENISE FLEISCHMAN/TOWN-CRIER
LGWCD Board: Less Lucrative Contract For Clete Saunier By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report In a workshop session Monday, the Loxahatchee Groves Water Control District Board of Supervisors set parameters of a new contract for longtime District Administrator Clete Saunier that would mean significantly less in salary and benefits. Although most supervisors ranked Saunier, who has led the district for 15 years, as achieving above expectations, with only one rating him as just “satisfactory,” they agreed that the cost of his contract, written in a tumultuous era when the board sought stability, had grown to the point that it far exceeded comparable contracts for similar responsibilities. Supervisor John Ryan said he has worked with Saunier for years and has a high regard for his abilities. Ryan explained that the workshop’s focus was Saunier’s 2003 contract, which has been renewed several times. That contract con-
tains automatic renewal previsions and termination provisions that make it impractical to open up and adjust. “I believe the original contract has outlived its original purposes,” Ryan said. “I think we need to work through the effect of the annual contract increases that really has increased salary and allowed some benefits to get out of an affordable range.” Saunier’s 2003 contract was for $80,000 a year, with an automatic 3 percent annual increase each October, plus benefits. Nine years later, that has translated to a base salary of approximately $122,800, which rises as high as $176,000 once benefits are included, according to various district sources. Ryan was also concerned that sick and annual leave benefits had become an additional cash-out option for Saunier, which was not the original intent. Ryan said he believes Saunier should have benSee SAUNIER, page 18
Chamber: Strict Enforcement Harms Many Businesses By Lauren Miró Town-Crier Staff Report Several Wellington businesses could be harmed by a recent village decision to strictly enforce hours of operation in some areas, Wellington Chamber of Commerce President Alec Domb told members of the Wellington Village Council on Wednesday. Domb said he was prompted to speak out on the issue after at least 13 businesses located within 300 feet of homes received applications Wednesday that could allow them to extend their hours, if approved. “Unfortunately, the problem with that is the application fee is $3,000,” he said. “In addition to
that, the application requires every applicant to fill out the history of all development orders on the property.” Because council members recently gave special scrutiny to a development order application regarding the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center due to an incomplete site history, Domb argued that business owners could face the same scrutiny. “That’s going to cost them thousands of dollars to hire consultants and attorneys,” he said. These businesses, Domb said, have been operating under their current hours of operation for many years, but not necessarily within the 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. time
frame required by the village. “It will take thousands of dollars and between four and six months for someone like Ultima Fitness to be able to open at 5 a.m. instead of 6 a.m. so people can come and work out before they go off to work,” he said. “I ask that you take a look at the process.” Earlier this month, the issue of enforcing hours of operation for some businesses and not others came to a head when council members chose to apply additional conditions to the Grille Fashion Cuisine, which had been seeking, among other things, extended hours of operation. Representatives for the Grille argued that other businesses —
namely, the Players Club — are open substantially later and given a competitive advantage. During council comments Wednesday, Councilman John Greene said he thought Wellington was only going to survey local businesses about their location and hours of operation. “But I’ve talked to some people today, and it seems like they have to be in compliance or else,” he said. Village Manager Paul Schofield said that Wellington had sent courtesy notices to any business that had received a notice of violation. “It basically said: ‘Here are the regulations that exist and the hours. It appears that you are in
conflict with those hours,’” Schofield said. “They could then come in compliance with those hours, or they could apply for the extension. If they choose to apply, we would suspend enforcement through that process.” He noted that the council had directed staff to enforce the measures during its discussion of the Grille. “We were told to enforce the ordinance the way it was written,” Schofield said. “None of the businesses received notices to appear. It’s basically notices that they are not in compliance.” Greene asked whether village staff had selected certain busiSee HOURS, page 18