Town-Crier Newspaper April 15, 2011

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NEW SUPERINTENDENT VISITS CHAMBER SEE STORY, PAGE 3

LOX TOWN WANTS OKEE TRAFFIC LIGHT SEE STORY, PAGE 7

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TOWN - CR IER WELLINGTON • ROYAL PALM BEACH • LOXAHATCHEE • THE ACREAGE

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INSIDE RPB Approves Rules To Track Vacant Property

Volume 32, Number 15 April 15 - April 21, 2011

BARRETT-JACKSON ZOOMS INTO TOWN

The Royal Palm Beach Village Council approved an ordinance Thursday, April 7 that will provide for the tracking and maintenance of abandoned and vacant property. Page 3

Bellissimo Makes Big Donation To PBCHS

The Palm Beach Central High School band is getting brandnew uniforms thanks to a generous donation from Equestrian Sport Productions. CEO Mar k Bellissimo, along with President Michael Stone and Wellington Mayor Darell Bowen, presented a check for $14,000 to the band Tuesday, April 12. Page 5

Wellington Grant Program Will Help Make Homes Safer

Residents in Wellington’s transitional neighborhoods can get a little help from the village to offset the cost of making their homes safer, thanks to the Defensive Measures Grant, a new program passed Tuesday by the Wellington Village Council. Page 7

Open House For The New Angel’s Recovery Facility In Wellington

Angel’s Recovery held an open house Friday, April 8 to introduce its unique five-star substance abuse treatment facility in Wellington. Located on 2.5 acres, the 4,000-squarefoot home has a pool, horses and dogs to help create a home atmosphere. Page 15

OPINION A Season Of Renewal, Redemption & Rebirth

This upcoming week marks the Jewish holiday of Passover and the Christian observance of Easter. Though dif ferent in practice and custom, both share the central themes of redemption, rebirth and renewal, as well as hope for the future. It’s only appropriate that in the middle of the two celebrations is Ear th Day, which will be observed Friday, April 22. Page 4 DEPARTMENT INDEX NEWS ............................. 3 - 15 OPINION ................................ 4 CRIME NEWS ........................ 6 NEWS BRIEFS .......................8 POLO & EQUESTRIAN .........17 SCHOOLS .....................18 - 19 PEOPLE........................ 20 - 21 COLUMNS .................... 29 - 30 SUMMER CAMPS ........ 31 - 35 BUSINESS ...................37 - 39 SPORTS .......................43 - 46 CALENDAR...................48 - 49 CLASSIFIEDS ...............50 - 55 Visit Us On The Web At WWW.GOTOWNCRIER.COM

The ninth annual Palm Beach Barrett-Jackson Auto Auction roared into town April 7-9 at the South Florida Fairgrounds. During the three-day celebration, hundreds of cars were sold. Shown here are Kirk Alexander, Dr. Veronica Pedro and Evan Ale xander with Dr. Jim, Zoe and Amy Jo Osborne of the Austin Hatcher Pediatric Cancer Foundation, which got $175,000 from the sale of a 2012 Chevy. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 24 PHOTO BY DENISE FLEISCHMAN/T OWN-CRIER

RPB Task Force Completes Work For April 21 Council Presentation By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report At its final meeting Tuesday, the Royal Palm Beach Wastewater Treatment Plant Task Force assigned percentages for residential, recreational, commercial and industrial land uses on the 150-acre site. The task force settled on 55 percent single-family residential, which would allow 207 homes at 2.5 units per acre, 25 percent recreational, 10 percent industrial and 10 percent commercial, with the industrial and commercial uses being low-intensity uses such as RV and boat storage and education centers, and 30 percent of the recreational use set aside for natural areas. The task force’s recommendation will go to the Royal Palm Beach Village Council on April 21. Task Force Member Joseph Boyle asked how it will be presented to the council, saying that he felt that one of the members should do it. Fellow Task Force Member Michael Axelberd agreed. “Since we are the ones

chartered, it should be presented by one of us,” Axelberd said. Boyle also raised the issue of format, explaining that he thought the task force should give a detailed explanation of how it arrived at the recommendation, rather than the few paragraphs that ultimately will be sent to the Florida Department of Community Affairs for review. RPB Senior Planner Bradford O’Brien said the recommendation did not need to be detailed. “What you’re recommending is a land use,” O’Brien said. Boyle said he thought the report should give detail of the several months of meetings the task force had held and should be about 20 pages long, rather than a few paragraphs. “That’s the only way we can give a fair accounting of the thinking of 12 people,” Boyle said. Councilwoman Martha Webster said that the comprehensive plan recommendation will be simple, but Boyle insisted that they should prepare a detailed report. “It is not a chart and not a number,” Boyle said. “It should be reality.”

Webster said the accounting of how the task force reached its recommendation is all detailed in the minutes and in recordings of the meetings. “All this is is a recommendation to the council,” she said. “That recommendation will probably be less than four pages.” Boyle persisted. “We have 12 citizens who are speaking to the council based on our deliberation,” he said. “We don’t want you to rubber-stamp it.” Task Force Member Jeff Sabo pointed out that the recommendation will be made to the council in a public forum where task force members will be able to make comments. Axelberd, who is one of two representatives of Madison Green, which is south and west of the site, said he thought there should be more residential and was unhappy with the industrial and commercial designations. He characterized Crestwood Blvd. as a winding and dangerous road that is inappropriate for industrial and commercial uses. He added that he felt that the $125,000 per home See TASK FORCE, page 22

Serving Palms West Since 1980

Wellington To Stay The Course With Patriot Memorial Despite Expense By Lauren Miró Town-Crier Staff Report The Wellington Village Council was divided Tuesday over a decision to forge ahead with construction on the Wellington Patriot Memorial, which is estimated to cost six times more than originally expected. In a 3-2 decision, members of the council voted to proceed as planned on the $485,000 memorial. Mayor Darell Bowen and Councilwoman Anne Gerwig dissented. The issue of whether to scale back or scrap the memorial was brought up at Monday’s agenda review meeting. Last month, Bowen, who was concerned about the amount of public money going into the project, initiated a discussion on the cost. When the memorial was approved in January 2010, it was expected to cost between $70,000 and $80,000, much of which was to be raised through private financing. Village Manager Paul Schofield said that the current contract to build the memorial has costs “not to exceed” $485,000, with about $112,000 raised through the Wellington Community Foundation. But the difference will be paid by Wellington, coming from money left over from capital projects. The memorial will be located between Scott’s Place playground and the new Wellington Municipal Complex and will feature a fountain, eternal flame, pergolas, a glass-etched wall and a 36-foot piece of steel from the World Trade Center. It is set to be unveiled during a countywide ceremony on the 10year anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, this Sept. 11. On Monday, Wellington staff presented three options: the coun-

cil could go ahead with the memorial as planned, scrap it completely or cut back on some of the features and add them later as donations come in. The scaled back suggestion cut the price to $306,000 by removing several key features, including the pergolas, glass wall and fountain. But during the public meeting, four out of the six speakers asked that the memorial be kept the way it is. “Don’t do to it what previous councils did to the Wellington Veterans’ Memorial,” Ernie Zimmerman said, noting that the site is inaccessible to disabled or older veterans and used only twice a year. “Dogs in Wellington have a better place than veterans do. For you not to build it the way it is, shame shame shame. We will be the laughingstock of the country.” Former councilman Bob Margolis recalled how Wellington came together after 9/11 and said that although he understood the concern of costs, public safety workers in the village deserve to be recognized, he said. “This is not about one councilman’s dream,” he said. “It’s about what we are as a community. The people who make me sleep better at night deserve this.” Other residents worried that the cost would come back to the taxpayers. “I have no problem building it with private funds like it was initially intended,” resident Mike Poza said. “But it seems now we have a bait and switch. Taxpayers don’t want to see the village come back and say ‘we don’t have enough money’ and raise our taxes.” Mayor Pro Tem Dr. Carmine Priore clarified that the source of See MEMORIAL, page 7

TASTY NIGHT AT FLAVORS

Election Request Could Trigger A Water District-Town Merger By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report The Loxahatchee Groves Water Control District delayed a decision Monday on a petition to change its election procedures in order to give legal staff more time to review the petition. But the anticipated high cost of going through a complicated election process led supervisors to discuss the idea of merging with the Town of Loxahatchee Groves and becoming a dependent district. LGWCD Administrator Clete Saunier said the district received a petition on March 2 seeking to have one or more of the district’s supervisors chosen by direct election, rather than the proxy vote by acreage system currently used. An estimated 20 percent of Loxahatchee Groves’ qualified electors signed the petition circulated by residents Marge Herzog and Don Williams, asking for a

referendum of qualified voters to change the voting procedure used from one-acre, one-vote to a oneperson, one-vote system giving equal say to all resident property owners who are registered voters. LGWCD Attorney Mary Viator said she still has some issues with the petition and needs to request a voter list and establish a precinct for all the voters in the district. “There is already a list by the Town of Loxahatchee Groves but not a list of district landowners,” Viator said. In order to set up a voting precinct, the district will need to obtain “shape files” from the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections office, but its computers have been down, Viator said. Next, they need to meet with the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser for a list of property owners and merge both those files for a list of qualified voters. “We are in the process

of clarifying all those numbers,” she said. LGWCD Chairman David DeMarois asked how much the district has invested in the process so far and how much it would cost to go through the process. Viator said less than $10,000 had been spent. Saunier estimated the cost of a referendum at $5,000 and a total of $25,000 for geographic information systems mapping and other costs, which does not include the cost of a popular election if the referendum should pass. Viator said that if the referendum fails, petitioners cannot ask for another referendum for two years. Supervisor John Ryan said he felt it’s an expensive process but one the petitioners are entitled to. Viator explained that people who would vote in the referendum must sign an affidavit that they are See LGWCD, page 22

Flavors of Wellington, the Wellington Chamber of Commerce’s signature event, returned for its eighth y ear on Friday, April 8. Held at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center, guests were able to sample the best in food and drink from more than 23 local restaurants, enjoy live music and watch equestrian events in the arena. The award for Best Taste went to the Wanderers Club at Wellington, Best Plate Presentation went to Sushi Moto, Best Display went to Cupcake Cottage and Best Dessert went to Cofftea Café. Shown above are the Wanderers Club’s Daphne Urso and Executive Chef Tam Ha with their award. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 13 PHOTO B Y LAUREN MIRÓ/T OWN-CRIER

Wellington Invites Utility Customers To Try Online Service By Lauren Miró Town-Crier Staff Report Wellington residents and business owners who sign up to pay their utility bills online will receive a one-time, $35 credit with the village if they register over the next month. Last week, Wellington announced that it would provide the credit to residents who sign up by Friday, May 20 for the bill notification and automatic payment programs available at www. wellingtonfl.gov. Residents must use the service for 90 days, and then will receive coupons by e-mail with unique serial numbers, which can be ap-

plied to utility bills or any of Wellington’s recreational programs. By signing up for electronic bills, residents will receive an email with their statement rather than a paper bill via traditional mail. And automatic payments allow the village to charge residents for the bill two days before it’s due. In the tiered program, residents would receive a $10 credit for signing up only for the electronic billing, and an additional $25 for signing up for automatic payments. By providing an incentive to use its e-services, Wellington hopes to save money while lessening its

carbon footprint and cutting down on long lines at the Wellington Municipal Complex. “When we opened the building, we had a lot of people come in with simple transactions,” Deputy Village Manager John Bonde said. “Lines sometimes were long, and people would become frustrated. We would sometimes get complaints from residents who had to wait 15 minutes in line.” As part convenience for customers, and part of the village’s green initiative, Wellington hopes to encourage people to pay their bills from their own home. “I wonder sometimes why, when we’re trying to save money,

people don’t want to be familiar with our online transactions,” Bonde said. “It saves them money. And with a discount for jumping on board, they get a direct benefit in a reduction on their payment. And it saves them the time and effort it takes to come in, and what they spend in gas. It’s more efficient.” Additionally, it’s more efficient for Wellington. “You don’t have to deal with the paperwork,” Bonde said. “When you do a simple transaction, the staff member has to take the time to wait on a resident, take their money, make change, print a receipt, enter the payment in the

computer system, cash the drawer out at the end of the night and turn it in to an accountant. When you add that up, it becomes a lot of money to process.” But using e-services would cut out the middleman. “Online, many of those steps are done automatically,” Bonde said. “In a day when we’re trying to cut back everywhere, it makes sense to use these services.” But, he said, Wellington understands that not all residents have access to computers or feel comfortable using the Internet for transactions. “It’s going to be a slow proSee BILL PAY, page 22


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