Town-Crier Newspaper September 4, 2015

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LOX GROVES LOWERS SOLID WASTE FEE SEE STORY, PAGE 3

WELLINGTON THANKS GARDEN CLUB SEE STORY, PAGE 7

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INSIDE Wellington Council Tries To Prioritize Capital Projects

Volume 36, Number 34 September 4 - September 10, 2015

Serving Palms West Since 1980

CAFCI’S YOUTH TALENT SHOWCASE

The Wellington Village Council held a capital improvements workshop on Tuesday to prioritize the spending of about $3 million that has not been designated for specific projects. Village Manager Paul Schofield passed out a sheet listing 21 projects. Page 3

Wellington Zoners Approve Medical Use At Village Green Center

The Wellington Planning, Zoning & Adjustment Board approved a conditional use for no more than 15,000 square feet of medical offices in the 15.9acre Village Green Center on Wednesday. The commercial development, located on the west side of State Road 7 north of Stribling Way, has approval for 56,213 square feet of retail, professional office, restaurant and bank uses. Page 4

Wellington Salutes Victorious Teams

The Village of Wellington held a special parade and ceremony to honor the Wellington Little League Intermediate All Stars baseball team and the Wellington Wild ’01 softball team for their national titles on Saturday, Aug. 29. Page 9

Picnic Honors Retiring County Administrator

On Saturday, Aug. 29, more than 100 Palm Beach County employees and their families gathered at the Jim Brandon Equestrian Center for a grand send-off honoring retiring County Administrator Bob Weisman, a Wellington resident. Weisman stepped down Monday after nearly 25 years on the job. Page 19

OPINION

Labor Day Message Still Relevant Despite Decline In Unions

In the 129 years since President Grover Cleveland gave his stamp of approval to Labor Day, much has changed — including the rise, apex and gradual decline of organized labor. Labor Day was initially a way to pay tribute to the American worker, who toiled long hours for minimal pay in often dangerous conditions. Today, with union power on the decline, that message doesn’t resonate as much, but the need to celebrate the American worker remains. Page 4 DEPARTMENT INDEX NEWS...............................3 - 13 OPINION.................................. 4 CRIME NEWS.......................... 6 NEWS BRIEFS......................... 8 PEOPLE................................. 14 SCHOOLS.............................. 15 COLUMNS...................... 16, 23 BUSINESS......................24 - 25 SPORTS..........................29 - 31 CALENDAR............................ 32 CLASSIFIEDS................ 33 - 36 Visit Us On The Web At WWW.GOTOWNCRIER.COM

The Caribbean-Americans for Community Involvement (CAFCI) presented its Stars of Tomorrow 2015 Youth Talent Showcase on Sunday, Aug. 30 at the Royal Palm Beach Cultural Center. Kids showed their artistic talents in dance, song and musical instruments. Shown here, the Power of Prayer Youth of Victory group gets ready to perform. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 5 PHOTO BY DENISE FLEISCHMAN/TOWN-CRIER

Lox Groves Council Keeps Underwood Management

By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report In a 4-1 vote, the Loxahatchee Groves Town Council on Tuesday invoked its option to extend its current contract with Underwood Management Services Group after its choice for a new management firm backed out. Two weeks ago, the council chose Severn Trent, a large, multinational firm with a local office in Coral Springs, to replace Underwood. The firm removed itself from the running last week, citing possible conflicts of interest and a lack of support from residents. Severn Trent was one of only two respondents to a recent request for proposals. The other applicant, Royal Ascot Estates resident Larry Tibbs, was deemed unqualified for the job because he is not a certified manager, as required by the town’s charter. Underwood chose not to participate in the RFP process.

Councilman Tom Goltzené made a motion to reject the bids and act on the council’s option to renew its contract with Underwood. Councilman Jim Rockett was the sole opponent to retaining Underwood. It was his opinion that all options had not been explored to find a new management team, pointing out that the council had not inquired with the International City/County Management Association for possible candidates. “We have the option to go to ICMA and ask if they have an opinion to offer,” Rockett said. “I would have asked for that information if we had not gotten a commitment from Severn Trent.” Vice Mayor Ron Jarriel said he was disappointed that Severn Trent had backed out. “They backpedaled,” he said. “I think they acted unprofessionally.” During public comment, Loxahatchee Groves Landowners’ As-

sociation Vice President Virginia Standish read a letter from LGLA President Marge Herzog that she had been asked to write by the LGLA, explaining that they had a long discussion at their Aug. 27 meeting and decided to ask the council to extend Underwood’s contract for at least another year. “That would give the council more time to respond to an RFP,” Standish said, reading from the letter. LGLA members also expressed concern that the town’s position was made more precarious because its legal firm, Goren, Cherof, Doody & Ezrol, had recently announced its resignation. Loxahatchee Groves Water Control District Supervisor John Ryan, who had favored the town hiring Severn Trent, gave the council papers to receive and file, highlighting portions of the management contract, along with the See UNDERWOOD, page 18

RPB’s Crestwood Has Big Plans For STEM Program

By Julie Unger Town-Crier Staff Report When the new school year began, a new class of sixth-graders came pouring into Royal Palm Beach’s Crestwood Middle School — and 48 of those 250 incoming sixth-graders were part of new, rig-

orous STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) academy. “We’re very excited. This is the inaugural year of our STEM pre-engineering academy,” Principal Dr. Stephanie Nance told the Town-Crier. “With our first year, we wanted to tailor our

STEM students Nissi Vasquez, Charles Henderson, Satchel Smith and Sabrina Crandall work on paper roller coasters.

PHOTO BY JULIE UNGER/TOWN-CRIER

focus. Obviously, as the program continues to grow, we’re going to look at different options based on the needs, input and feedback of our student academy participants.” In the future, Nance explained, she and her faculty want to broaden the program. For now, it will keep a more narrow focus. The STEM students all have the same science, English, math and social studies teachers, in addition to Allison Hill, their STEM instructor. “Because of the nature of their schedule, and the fact that they’re part of the STEM academy, they travel together as a cohort to their classes,” Nance said, adding that the 48 students are broken into two groups. More students are interested, and there’s already a waiting list, so Nance expects it to grow once more slots are made available. When choosing the inaugural class, Crestwood officials looked See STEM, page 7

Wellington Council Tweaks Charter Amendments

By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report The Wellington Village Council conducted its final charter amendment workshop on Tuesday, further tweaking changes proposed by its Charter Review Task Force. The task force met for about a year and came up with wording for six proposed amendments. Council members removed two of them during Tuesday’s workshop in order to simplify the amendment process. Proposed amendments dropped Tuesday include an idea to scrap language in the charter allowing for a referendum if the tax rate exceeds 5 mills, and a housekeeping item designed to remove an outdated section of the charter detailing the process of the village’s incorporation. Village Attorney Laurie Cohen said that village staff had taken comments from a recent joint meeting of the council and the task force, and created red-line versions of the proposed ballot questions for the council to discuss. Cohen suggested that they go through them one by one and consider possible revisions. “You may have additions; you may instruct us to remove certain questions,” she said. “What we need is direction so that we can bring it forward at a council meeting for you to vote on.” Mayor Bob Margolis asked whether that meeting would be the final one before a public hearing. “That is the plan, because now you’re dealing with a pretty short time frame,” Cohen said. “If you want to hold a public hearing, we need to get that scheduled during September.” Cohen said interest had been expressed in holding a town hall-type of meeting, and pointed out that the task force had hosted one that was attended by about 40 people. Fifteen to 20 spoke out, and staff summarized their comments. “When we had the joint meet-

ing, you had directed us to schedule not only a workshop for you to discuss, but then to have another public hearing or public meeting to gather input,” she said. The first reading of the amendments is scheduled for the second meeting in October, with the final reading and approval at the first meeting in November. That will place the questions on the March 15, 2016 ballot. Vice Mayor John Greene favored a special meeting this month to invite public comment. The first question, regarding council compensation, would change the requirement for modifying council pay from a 4-1 supermajority vote to a simple majority. Any changes in compensation would not take effect until after the next election. Cohen pointed out that some members of the task force thought that there should be a regularly scheduled review of council compensation to remove the politicization of the issue. Councilman Matt Willhite said that council members are not in it for the money, currently set at $800 a month, including compensation for expenses, and slightly more for the mayor. Greene agreed, adding that there is a lot of anger and cynicism by voters who see elected officials as being able to vote raises for themselves. “I don’t do this for the money,” he said. “We all do it because we know it’s important work. I get personal satisfaction, and we’re making a difference in the community.” Margolis pointed out that Wellington’s council compensation is generally far less than that in other municipalities. Cohen said that there has been little discussion about the next proposed amendment, regarding filling vacancies for council members. The question asks whether See CHARTER, page 18

ARTIST RECEPTION AT WHOLE FOODS

The Wellington Art Society held an artist reception for Oscar Rojas on Friday, Aug. 28 at Whole Foods Market in Wellington. Friends gathered to view Rojas’ work hanging in the local Whole Foods Market store. Shown here is Rojas with his painting, Jupiter Lighthouse. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 9 PHOTO BY DENISE FLEISCHMAN/TOWN-CRIER

Quinton Aaron Teams Up With Horses Healing Hearts

By Julie Unger Town-Crier Staff Report Nationally known actor Quinton Aaron is bringing his anti-bullying message to Palm Beach County, visiting Wellington recently as part of a new partnership between his Quinton Aaron Foundation and Horses Healing Hearts (HHH), an equine-assisted therapy program for children coping with parents suffering from alcoholism and addiction. Aaron is best known for his portrayal of future professional football player Michael Oher in the 2009 movie The Blind Side. Horses Healing Hearts Executive Director Liz Olszewski said that Aaron’s anti-bullying message resonates with her program’s goals.

“The umbrella mission is to give kids coping skills,” she said. Olszewski explained how she was telling a friend how The Blind Side is her favorite movie, and that friend mentioned knowing Aaron. “We started talking, and I just decided to call him and say, ‘Can we collaborate on some level?’” she recalled. The two organizations strive to provide children with coping skills, how to deal with problems and how to react when things aren’t going well at home. Aaron and his organization agreed to work with HHH and are collaborating to decrease bullying, increase awareness and help children in need. The foundation, Olszewski explained, works with each school

district, since bullying rules tend to vary, and works within the given parameters to help decrease bullying and destructive behavior. There are many variables within bullying rules, most notably, the definition of school property and determining the boundaries for when the school gets involved. The HHH kids — the organization is helping 52 children right now — are all extremely excited to meet Aaron. “Our kids can really relate to him,” she said, noting that while Aaron himself was not a child of addiction, the character he played was. “That part of the movie they really identify with.” One of the coping mechanisms the children use, she explained, is See BULLYING, page 18

(L-R) Horses Healing Hearts Sponsorship Coordinator Susan Shelly, actor Quinton Aaron, Horses Healing Hearts Executive Director Liz Olszewski, Wellington Mayor Bob Margolis, and David Tyler and Maria Perez of the Quinton Aaron Foundation during their visit to Wellington last month.


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