NEW LOX GROVES MANAGERS VISIT LGLA SEE STORY, PAGE 3
FOREVER YOUNG LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE INSIDE THIS WEEK’S ISSUE
THE
TOWN - CR IER WELLINGTON • ROYAL PALM BEACH • LOXAHATCHEE • THE ACREAGE Volume 32, Number 39 September 30 - October 6, 2011
Your Community Newspaper
INSIDE Full-Service College Campus Promised At Lox Groves Site
WHS STUDENTS DONATE TO SCRIPPS
Palm Beach State College President Dr. Dennis Gallon updated residents about plans for the new campus in Lo xahatchee Groves at County Commissioner Jess Santamaria’s monthly public forum meeting Sept. 21 at the original Wellington Mall. Page 3
Grand Opening Of New TD Bank Branch In RPB
TD Bank held a grand opening celebration Saturday, Sept. 24 at its new branch location on Okeechobee Blvd. in front of Super Target in Royal Palm Beach. Page 8
Palms West Community Foundation Annual Golf Tournament At Mayacoo
Wellington High School’s thinkPINKkids chapter presented a $15,000 check to the Scripps Research Institute on Wednesday, Sept. 21 in the WHS auditorium. The students raised the money to aid in cancer research. Shown above, thinkPINKkids members present a check to Scripps Research Institute Chairman Dr. John Cleveland. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 5 PHOTO BY JESSICA GREGOIRE/TOWN-CRIER
BDB Honors Bellissimo With Economic Development Award By Lauren Miró Town-Crier Staff Report For his strides in making Wellington the premier equestrian destination in the world, coupled with his dedication to giving back to the community, the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County this month honored Mark Bellissimo with its Economic Development Leadership Award. Bellissimo, managing partner of Wellington Equestrian Partners (WEP), which owns and oper-
The Palms West Community Foundation Classic Golf Tournament 2011 was held Friday, Sept. 23 at Mayacoo Lakes Country Club. Awards were presented at a barbecue lunch, along with a live auction and raffles. Page 9
Seniors Attend Health Fair At Royal Palm Beach Cultural Center
About 200 local seniors, residents of assisted-living facilities, caregivers and other interested people attended a “Senior Day” staged by REAL — Residential Experts of Assisted Living — Sept. 23 at the Royal Palm Beach Cultural Center. Page 11
OPINION Negotiation Requires Two Sides To Work
County Commissioners were skeptical that much would be accomplished at Tuesday’s joint meeting on road projects with representatives of West Palm Beach, Royal Palm Beach and the Indian Trail Improvement District. The assumption was that the two sides would continue to disagree. But what actually happened was an even greater blow to negotiation: nobody from West Palm Beach showed up. Page 4 DEPARTMENT INDEX NEWS ............................. 2 - 11 OPINION ................................ 4 CRIME NEWS ........................ 6 NEWS BRIEFS .....................10 SCHOOLS .....................12 - 13 PEOPLE........................ 14 - 16 COLUMNS .................... 21 - 23 BUSINESS ...................25 - 27 ENTERTAINMENT ................28 SPORTS .......................33 - 35 CALENDAR...................36 - 37 CLASSIFIEDS ...............38 - 42 Visit Us On The Web At WWW.GOTOWNCRIER.COM
Mark Bellissimo attended the Sept. 17 gala with his daughter Paige and wife Katherine. PHOTO COURTESY BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT BOARD
ates the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center, accepted the award during the BDB’s annual gala held Saturday, Sept. 17 at the Breakers Palm Beach. “While it was a great personal honor and very appreciated, in many ways it is really a validation of a great team effort,” Bellissimo told the Town-Crier Wednesday. He thanked his wife, Katherine, for sticking by him and his vision while providing valuable insight, and gave much of the credit to the collection of prominent equestrian families that make up WEP. The Palm Beach International Equestrian Center has grown into a year-round equestrian destination. WEP invested more than $200 million to buy property and secure licenses, and made more than $25 million in capital improvements during the past four years. The group will spend an additional $5 million on capital improvements this year alone. “It was a very gutsy move, in arguably the worst economic climate in our nation’s history,” Bellissimo said. “While most people were retreating from investment, we were advancing aggressively. That is no easy task.” Despite the tough economy, WEP’s business grew more than 73 percent since 2008. The Winter Equestrian Festival is the largest and longest-running horse show in the world, attracting more than 2,800 riders and 5,000 horses from all over the world. With more than $6 million in prize money, it is the largest amount offered in any equestrian sporting event worldwide. The annual economic impact of just the touristrelated expenditures during the Winter Equestrian Festival is more than $120 million, with another $100 million in equestrian-related expenditures. “Our vision is to transform Wellington into the premier equestrian lifestyle destination in the world,” Bellissimo said. “The vision is centered around the love of the horse and making the sport more accessible to anyone with an interest, regardless of financial resources.” But Bellissimo’s vision couldn’t have been put into place without the staff at Equestrian Sport Productions, who run the PBIEC, and Wellington officials See BELLISSIMO, page 4
Wellington Approves LED Signs For Use At The Amphitheater By Lauren Miró Town-Crier Staff Report Two LED screens will soon keep residents up to date on events at the Wellington Amphitheater after the Wellington Village Council approved the $32,000 contract 4-1 at a meeting Monday. Hoping to draw larger crowds to the amphitheater’s weekly events, council members requested in May that staff members investigate using electronic signs in lieu of the A-frame, banner and marquee signs used now along Forest Hill Blvd. In June, council members reviewed a “demo” sign, and after approval, a bid request was put out for the project. According to a staff report, five companies bid, but only two met the requirements.
Signs By Tomorrow was the cheaper option by about $8,000. Wellington Chief Information Officer Tom Amburgey told council members that the signs would not be similar to those in Royal Palm Beach, but closer to the ones used for the SunPass signs on Florida’s Turnpike and on billboards along Interstate 95. “They’re better quality,” he said. “I think the closest in clarity is what you’ll see on the turnpike for their new SunPass signs.” Vice Mayor Matt Willhite was the lone dissenter. He said he felt that Wellington shouldn’t use electronic signs when local businesses couldn’t. Electronic signs are not allowed under Wellington’s sign code. “I think it’s very hypocritical for
government to do something that you don’t allow someone else to have,” he said. “I don’t think it’s appropriate for us to have it.” But Mayor Darell Bowen felt that the signs were more attractive than the current A-frame signs. “I’ve been a supporter from the beginning,” he said. “I think it’s a better way to disseminate information in a more economical way.” The LED signs would mean savings for Wellington both in the cost of printing and in man-hours. Amburgey said that the new signs would remove the need to print new signs and install them each week. “Between designing, printing and installation, we spend between two and four hours a week See LED SIGNS, page 7
Serving Palms West Since 1980
WPB A No-Show As County, ITID & RPB Discuss Road Plans By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report West Palm Beach was a noshow Tuesday at a joint meeting called by Palm Beach County intended to iron out differences on three road projects favored by the county, Royal Palm Beach and the Indian Trail Improvement District, but opposed by West Palm Beach. The roads under discussion were the State Road 7 extension from 60th Street to Northlake Blvd., the Roebuck Road extension from Jog Road to State Road 7 and the Jog Road extension to Florida’s Turnpike. “We have had communication with the City of West Palm Beach, and they declined to attend,” Commission Chair Karen Marcus said. “I think we’re going to continue this solution-oriented meeting to try to acknowledge the system that we have out there and find out how we can achieve solutions to make it happen on everybody’s behalf.” Those attending included mem-
bers of the Palm Beach County Commission; Royal Palm Beach Vice Mayor Richard Valuntas, Councilman Fred Pinto, Councilwoman Martha Webster and Village Manager Ray Liggins; and Indian Trail Improvement District President Michelle Damone and Administrator Tanya Quickel. Also participating was Florida Department of Transportation Engineer Beatriz Caicedo-Maddison. County Engineer George Webb reviewed the projects, pointing out that they all run near to, but do not encroach upon, the West Palm Beach Water Catchment Area, contrary to claims in some fliers being circulated. “There is a distance of seven miles between east-west roadways in this part of the county, and that is the longest stretch of the county with that lack of connectivity,” Webb said. “People said you should run 45th Street west and tie in. That was talked about 30 See ROADS, page 16
FRIENDSHIP BALL
Caribbean-Americans for Community Involvement held its 22nd annual Friendship Ball on Saturday, Sept. 24 at the Royal Palm Beach Cultural Center. Pictured here, CAFCI Fir st Vice President Nadine White-Boyd receives a proclamation from County Commissioner Jess Santamaria recognizing CAFCI Day. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 5 PHOTO BY JESSICA GREGOIRE/TOWN-CRIER
Wellington Finalizes $73.9 Million Budget By Lauren Miró Town-Crier Staff Report The Wellington Village Council gave final approval Monday to a $73.9 million budget while maintaining last year’s tax rate. During its final budget hearing, the council voted unanimously to approve a tax rate of 2.5 mills. A rate of 2.5 mills would mean that a Wellington resident whose property is assessed at $175,000 after exemptions would pay $437.50 in village property taxes next year. In total, property taxes will net Wellington approximately $12.8 million. Councilman Howard Coates changed his dissenting vote from the first reading of the budget, where he pressed for a tax rate of 2.4 mills. “I do think there are ways we could cut [without sacrificing services],” he said, “but I’m going to support this motion. I think staff has done a good job. I think you
could do better, but I think you’ve done well enough.” The Wellington budget for the fiscal year, starting Oct. 1, is proposed to be $73.9 million, down about 2.4 percent — or $1.8 million — from the previous year’s spending plan. The budget uses $558,000 in rate stabilization reserves to offset lost tax revenue and includes $620,000 of unspent money brought forward from last year, including $400,000 from the Safe Neighborhoods Initiative, as well as a reallocation of about $5 million in capital project funds. New projects include a $1.4 million paving and improvement plan for 50th Street South and $1.8 million in improvements to 120th Avenue South. Additionally, the budget maintains reserve funds at 29 percent, with a $3 million hurricane reserve fund. Coates said he again wanted to See WELLINGTON, page 16
Divided County Commission Sets Tax Rate Up Slightly By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report A sharply divided Palm Beach County Commission approved a $3.4 billion spending plan Tuesday with a slightly increased property tax rate. In a 4-3 vote, the commissioners set the tax rate at 4.7815 mills — up from 4.75 mills last year. At the start of the meeting, county staff members presented a budget based on 4.79 mills, which would have generated tax revenue of $596.4 million. That’s about $7 million less than what was taken in through property taxes last year.
County staff suggested taking about two-thirds of the shortfall — $5.3 million — from the road program. “In addition, we propose to take $2 million from general fund capital, which consists of $1.6 million that was going to hurricane mitigation for this building,” County Administrator Bob Weisman said. “We have decided not to do the project.” Weisman reminded commissioners that it had received a letter from Sheriff Ric Bradshaw that offered $1 million in excess fees from the current year if it
was used to reduce the county tax rate. During public comment, many residents asked to keep the rate unchanged at 4.75 mills, although that would mean a further reduction in tax revenue for the county and additional cuts to services due to continuing property value decreases. Some speakers urged commissioners to look more closely at Bradshaw’s budget, which accounts for more than half of county spending, but others said they want to retain a strong PBSO. Loxahatchee Groves resident
Dennis Lipp urged the commissioners to keep the tax rate unchanged. He noted that due to the depreciation of home values, some homeowners’ taxes are actually going down, but not everyone’s, pointing out that his taxes would be going up. “I would ask you to send a message to the voters of Palm Beach County and keep it at 4.75,” Lipp said. “We don’t have a taxing problem in Washington, D.C.; we have a spending problem.” Realtor Christina Pearce said she thought that the commission was going in the right direction,
but not enough. “Hard times are still here in Palm Beach County,” she said. “We definitely need to not raise the millage, but if we could lower it, that would be a special gift. The economy is still slow and unemployment is still high, and I want to make sure all the fluff has been eliminated from the budget.” Pearce asked whether excess overtime and other programs she said the private sector considers excessive had been removed. She also questioned civilians with the PBSO being allowed to drive their See COUNTY, page 16