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July 1 - July 7, 2011
The Town-Crier
WWW. GOTOWNCRIER. COM
NEWS LGWCD
Annual Meeting
continued from page 1 LGWCD Administrator Clete Saunier said he anticipates no increase in the budget except for costs associated with the referendum. The district reported revenues over expenditures of $28,721. The total revenue in 2010 was $1,263,268, an increase of $22,580 over 2009, Saunier said. Most of that money, 84 percent, came from special assessments. The amount assessed was $137.95 per acre, which has not increased since 2007. “Next year we don’t anticipate an increase, either,” Saunier said. Expenditures for fiscal 2010 were $1,234,547, up $13,263 from 2009. Saunier said the increase was offset by a decrease in capital outlays. The fund balance as of Sept. 30 was $182,054, or about 14 percent of the district’s budgeted 2010 expenditures. In the legal report, LGWCD
Attorney Mary Viator said legal staff had met with representatives of other governmental entities, including the Town of Loxahatchee Groves, to resolve issues regarding operation of the district. The firm prepared legal opinions, resolutions, agreements and easements, and prepared and reviewed contracts and correspondence required to operate the district, she said. “Going back over the years, we realized how much activity had occurred this particular year,” Viator said. Viator said her firm spent considerable time on the referendum. “There was coordination related to the petition referendum process to implement popular elections,” she said. “That included the preparation of public notices, the ballot, referendum certification, qualified electorate determination, the tabulation of votes… and the procedures in general.” Other legal projects included: • Coordinating the enforcement of uniform standards regarding D Road Canal maintenance and removal of unpermitted culverts. • Coordinating the district’s
Lynnette Ballard swears in returning LGWCD Supervisor Don Widing and new Supervisor Frank Schiola.
Goldenrod
Closed At The Canal
continued from page 1 Goldenrod residents from easy access to Azure Park. Due to problems with negotiations, however, the park land may have to be acquired through eminent domain, Stillings said. In March, Wellington conducted several public meetings on the issue and sent out surveys asking for feedback on the project; 174 residents responded, with many in favor of closing the road and building the park. “There was a predominance of support for the road closure,” Stillings said. “For the park, we saw about a 10 percent shift in support, but the majority were still in favor.” Additionally, Wellington did both traffic and speed analyses at four locations on the road. “We determined that the daily traffic ranged from about 1,500 vehicles a day to a little more than 2,000,” he said. Pedestrian counts were also taken in the morning and afternoon at the canal crossing and determined that about 40 children and 10 adults cross each day. Stillings said that Wellington consulted with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue and the School District of Palm Beach County, none of which expressed a problem with the road closure. The school district told Wellington that about 50 students who attend Wellington Elementary School live in the neighborhood, Stillings said. The closure would
Campus
Decision In August
continued from page 1 decides to approve a site, he would like to commit $500,000 to start the planning process. “I want to spend a year looking at it and planning,” he said. Gallon said he and Becker have had long conversations about financing plans. “What we have presented is what Dick and I have discussed and turned upside down on several occasions,” Gallon said. “We have employees who make sure we are good custodians of the people’s money. I think we are in a good financial position.” Gallon said university presidents are raising their voices to the governor to do something to improve education. “I think this is just the beginning of the pressure that is going to be turned up on policy makers,” he said. Trustee David Talley, who had been critical of moving forward now with a fifth campus, said he was a lot more comfortable after Becker explained where the money would come from.
budgeting process, including certification of the district’s non-ad valorem assessment roll. • Coordinating with the district manager on financing of reconstruction and maintenance of roads. • Coordinating road dedications to the district by drafting legislation that enabled it to go through with paving projects that property owners had approved. • Researching title issues for a planned culvert crossing at 148th Terrace. • Coordinating with the district and town regarding maintenance of non-district roads. • Researching illegal placement of political signs and the district’s authority to remove them from district property. In the engineer’s report, Saunier said the district is responsible for drainage, flood control and protection, water management and reclamation of land, as well as road maintenance and improvements. It remains a separate entity from the Town of Loxahatchee Groves. The district has continued to
network with federal, state and local agencies, including Palm Beach County’s engineering department, Palm Beach County Water Utilities, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Town of Loxahatchee Groves, Saunier said. Over the years, those agencies have contributed millions of dollars to offset significant increases in the district’s maintenance assessment. “Special projects that otherwise would have been impossible to achieve have been funded with this revenue,” Saunier said. “However, recent setbacks to national and state economies have resulted in fewer opportunities for outside revenue enhancement.” Saunier said the district is strengthening its relationship with the town through the Intergovernmental Coordination Committee. “The IGC has provided an effective forum for resolving common dif ficulties, identifying shared service responsibilities and cooperative project funding opportunities,” Saunier said.
LGWCD off icials thank retiring Supervisor Darlene Crawford.
mean that they would have to walk an extra half-mile each morning and afternoon. One of the concerns in the community has been crime. Stillings said that there were 47 incidents in 2011, which he called “comparable with some of the other transitional neighborhoods.” Several council members asked whether the closure would help combat crime, and PBSO Capt. Jay Hart said it would. “Any time you have a road closure and only give one access point, it will reduce crime,” he said. “It’s one less avenue for them to get away.” Mayor Darell Bowen, who once lived on Azure, said that the road has been a problem for a long time. “It has a considerable amount of traffic,” he said. “It wasn’t designed to be an arterial street.” Hart said that the closure would probably reduce traffic. “If you reduce traffic on the roadway, you reduce accidents,” he said. Councilman Howard Coates asked if a footbridge or other pedestrian access would be appropriate. Hart said it would still allow access to the community. “If you allow a footbridge,” he said, “a criminal can still choose to go into Sugar Pond.” Several council members expressed concern over crime issues in Azure Park and wondered if the road closure and opening of a new park would help alleviate those issues. Hart said that parks often attract crime, however, one way to combat that is sufficient lighting. “Any time you have a place where people hang out, you have
the potential for crime,” he said. “Criminals are like cockroaches. You put light on them, and they scatter.” During public comments, the majority of the 16 residents who spoke were in favor of the closure. Azure Avenue resident Martin Davidson said that the road has been a problem for more than 20 years. “The issue is simple,” he said. “The road has become a pass-through. It was not designed as an artery, and the traffic pattern is more than what it was designed to handle. It’s an issue of safety. If it has a residual effect on crime, that’s great. But that’s not what I’m here for.” Resident Kim Dube, who has lived on Azure Avenue for more than seven years, said she is concerned about the safety of children who play near the street. “I feel like I live in a Mayberry neighborhood with a speedway through it,” she said. Other residents were concerned about crime. Jason Crawford, who lives on Cosmos Court, said that his home was robbed two years ago. “Neighbors did see the person leaving my home,” he said. “They also saw the same person entering a home on Goldenrod holding my pillowcase.” Eighteen-year resident Edward Aiello said that most of the problem is crime committed on foot. He recalled observing someone going through mailboxes on his street late at night. “I was on my bike,” he said. “I followed him all the way to Goldenrod.” But other residents worried that cutting off the road would segregate the community. Dr. Naomi
Katzowitz said she would rather see the money spent to put in more lights for safety and speed-alleviating measures. “I think it sends a bad message to residents if we say, ‘You stay on your side, we’ll stay on our side,’” she said. Wellington Landlord Association Co-Chairman Rett Waldman asked the council to give his organization time to work the problems out before closing the road. In the three months since the association was formed, Waldman said that they have had 19 evictions and created a bad tenant list, encouraging all landlords in Wellington not to rent to those on the list. “We want to assure residents that the landlords know this is a problem,” he said. “We’re concerned about the ability to put quality tenants in, and closing the road could cause an issue. We just ask that you work with the landlords and the police before you do something rash.” Though council members expressed concern about segregating the neighborhoods, they were in favor of closing the road compared with other measures. “We’ve had an overwhelming amount of residents in favor of the project,” Vice Mayor Matt Willhite said. “To me, it’s a mandate to do this. If that many people are asking for this, then they’re not just asking us. They’re telling us.” He said he would support taking the road out completely. “Taking the bridge out is a one-time cost,” Willhite said. “We can’t fix the problem by having a deputy on every street corner because we can’t afford it.” Mayor Pro Tem Dr. Carmine
Trustee Ken Kirby said completion of the criminal justice building and other projects currently underway should be paramount priorities, although he consented ultimately to go forward with discussions with owners of potential campus sites. “If this were normal times, we could do this,” Kirby said. “This isn’t normal times, and I think we have to get out of the mindset that we are going to go back to normal times. Whatever normal was isn’t here anymore.” Kirby said as stewards of the college, the board had the responsibility not to put the institution at risk. “I think to move into the next stage right now is just not indicated,” he said. Board Chairman William Berger said the objective was not to start building a new campus, but he agreed they should seriously consider acquiring the property. Trustee Wendy Link said she felt that if the college acquired property, it should begin building as soon as possible. Link also pointed out that three years ago, the board was ready to sign an agreement with Wellington for the K-Park property, which she said is no longer
considered a major contender for the campus. “To sit on property in this kind of economy doesn’t make sense,” she said. “If we’re willing to build, I’m with you 110 percent.” Becker said about $11.4 million would available to begin construction of an approximately 54,000square-foot building right away to start off, if a site is acquired. Gallon added that not having possession of a piece of property would weaken their negotiating position to acquire PECO funding for the 2012 legislative session. “It puts us in a position to be able to be in control of our destiny,” he said. Trustee Carolyn Williams agreed that having the property would put them in a better negotiating position. “At the center of this are the students and the economy,” she said. “You talk about jobs; you talk about retraining people. The colleges have had some significant economic impact on the local economy over the years.” Callery-Judge Grove General Manager Nat Roberts said he thought the board was going through a good process and that
the least expensive process for the college would be to go with Callery-Judge, since it is offering 75 acres free of charge. “We have tried for many years, since 2005, to help the college do what it wanted to do to get this campus built,” Roberts said. “We have over the last two years made sure that we communicated to Tallahassee leadership that land is available and that you would have the land if you needed to build. We have tried to and will continue to try to help the college accomplish its goals.” While the Callery-Judge land is free, college officials expect that site work and road work for the site could cost more than in other locations. Joe Lelonek with Land Design South, representing the Simon property owners, said the board should consider how many of the properties can offer 75 acres in a good location. “I think you’re at a great time now to be looking at or negotiating or striking a deal on property for your fifth campus,” Lelonek said. “The development industry right now is probably the best time you’re going to get.” Lelonek said the Simon prop-
The town has transferred gas tax revenue to the district the past three years, which has offset some road maintenance costs, letting the district keep the road maintenance assessment steady. “The cooperative relationship between the district and town has provided a direct financial benefit to the residents and landowners of the Loxahatchee Groves community,” Saunier said. Regarding canal maintenance and improvements, Saunier said the drought has been a concern. “Drought conditions have intensified over the past year, with the lowest volume of rainfall recorded in the last 80 years,” Saunier said. As a result, the South Florida Water Management District issued an emergency order requiring all permit holders to reduce water use to 85 percent of their historic averages. While the LGWCD has a variance valid through July 15, the SFWMD noted that the district must make appropriate changes to its system to comply with future water shortage restrictions. Sau-
nier noted that future SFWMD restrictions could threaten the district’s ability to fight fires. The district pumped 567.22 million gallons of water from the C-51 Canal in 2010 to replenish water levels, Saunier said. The district’s water use permit from the SFWMD allows a maximum of 1.332 billion gallons to the district. The district also received and managed more than 52.1 inches of rain in 2010, which equates to 11.3 billion gallons of water, a net decrease of rainfall of 39 percent compared with 2009, Saunier said. Saunier said there is also concern over the Environmental Protection Agency’s water quality rulemaking for numeric nutrient criteria, and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s reclassification of surface waters, which he said could be expensive for water control districts. “The district has joined with the Florida Association of Special Districts in monitoring and confronting this draconian action by the EPA as it progresses,” Saunier said.
Loxahatchee Groves Water Control District heavy equipment operator Jim DeLong received a five-year award at the LGWCD annual meeting Monday. He is shown here (center) with District Administrator Clete Saunier and LGWCD Chairman Dave DeMarois. PHOTOS BY R ON BUKLEY/TOWN-CRIER
(Above) Officials worry that Azure Park has become a gathering place for criminal activity and hope to stem the problem with the road closure. (Below) The empty lot on Goldenrod Road between Hyacinth Place and Exotica Lane will become a new park for neighborhood children. PHOTOS BY LAUREN MIRÓ/T OWN-CRIER
Priore was concerned about voting to take the empty lot by eminent domain, but Village Attorney Jeff Kurtz said that Wellington would try to negotiate with the
property owner and then return to the council to begin the process of eminent domain if needed. The measure passed unanimously.
erty has no restrictions and no liens. “Other than some trees, it is pretty clear,” he said, pointing out that Southern Blvd. is the major east-west corridor for the area. The Simons are asking $4.75 million for 75 acres of the 97-acre site. Berger asked for a poll of the
board to see if it wants to move forward with negotiations and consider a motion at the August meeting. “That doesn’t mean we are going to do it,” he said. By consensus, all board members said they favored moving forward.
Blotter continued from page 6 the intersection of Southern and Forest Hill boulevards when he observed a vehicle, which sounded like it was dragging something, pass the site without changing lanes as required by law. The deputy followed the vehicle onto Forest Hill Blvd. and initiated a traffic stop. According to the report, the driver of the vehicle, 46-yearold Louann Feinberg, immediately exited the vehicle and appeared to be walking away. The deputy made contact with Feinberg who, according to the report, smelled of alcohol. After roadside tasks, Feinberg was arrested. When the deputy returned to the vehicle, he discovered her three children inside. Feinberg was taken to the county jail where she was charged with driving under the influence
and three counts of child neglect. JUNE 28 — A resident of the Trails community called the PBSO substation in Royal Palm Beach on Tuesday to report a case of fraud. According to a PBSO report, the victim received a call from his bank that there was suspicious activity on his account. Between 7 p.m. last Wednesday and 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, an unknown person used the victim’s credit card number to make several purchases. The perpetrator(s) used the card at a Walgreens in Springhill, Fla. to make two purchases for $67.84 and $53.41, and at an Exxon gas station in Hudson, Fla. for $44.93. According to the report, the victim said his card was in his possession and does not know how the account number was compromised. There were no suspects at the time of the report.