18 News
The COASTAL STAR
June 2019
Delray Beach
Improvements to George Bush Boulevard, set to begin in spring 2021, will run from Northeast Second Avenue to State Road A1A. Map provided by FDOT
FDOT reveals $3.7 million upgrade for George Bush Boulevard,
By Jane Smith Some barrier island residents said they’ve been waiting 15 years to see sidewalks along George Bush Boulevard in Delray Beach. Their wait is scheduled to end in spring 2021. That’s when the Florida Department of Transportation will use $3.7 million in federal gas tax funds to make a 1.2-mile section into a complete street — sidewalks, bike lanes, travel
lanes and pedestrian lighting. The work will be done between Northeast Second Avenue and State Road A1A. “The new sidewalk and curb will prevent people from driving over our lawn,” said Cheryl Dern, who lives in a townhouse at the southwest intersection of A1A and George Bush. No matter what traffic barrier that she, her husband, George, and their fellow Cambria Crest homeowner/residents put in the ground, people still drive
over part of the lawn when turning right from George Bush Boulevard to go south on A1A. FDOT unveiled the plans at a May 15 workshop at the Delray Beach Public Library. Most attendees seemed to favor the road redo, which is scheduled to be finished in the fall of 2022. “The George Bush bike lanes will connect those on Northeast Second, Northeast Fifth and Northeast Sixth avenues, giving bike riders a northern route to
the beach,” said Jason Bregman, who heads the master plan committee for the nonprofit Human Powered Delray. The George Bush bike route has been in the planning stages since 2014, Bregman said. Bike riders will have their own lanes until Andrews Avenue just east of the Intracoastal Waterway. East of that road, George Bush Boulevard is too narrow. Bike riders will have to share the road with vehicles in that
approximately one-eighth of a mile stretch to the beach. The project calls for reducing the width of the automobile travel lanes from 12 feet to 10 feet, giving bike riders at least 2 feet and as much as 7 feet in their designated lanes. It also calls for widening sidewalks on the south side and building new sidewalks on the north side of the roadway, installing pedestrian lighting to make sidewalks safer, and milling and resurfacing the road.
City seeks dismissal of Lauzier’s whistleblower lawsuit official City employee travel — Must be reimbursed” Feb. 25 on the itinerary does not constitute the written complaint required by the Whistleblower Act, the city’s motion to dismiss says. Further, the itinerary is not a protected disclosure under the Whistleblower Act, according to the motion. Delray Beach is asking the judge to dismiss that count with prejudice, meaning Lauzier cannot refile it. Mayor Shelly Petrolia had charged two Tallahassee plane tickets on a city purchasing credit card, which she is allowed to do provided she reimburses the city. Petrolia and her son were going to the state capital for the first week of the legislative session in March, she said. The mayor was going to lobby state representatives and senators during Palm Beach County Days. Her son, Anthony, was going to be a Senate page for one week. Even so, it was Commissioner Ryan Boylston who wanted to call the special meeting on March 1. He had met with
By Jane Smith
Delray Beach is asking a judge to dismiss the lawsuit that fired City Manager Mark Lauzier filed in Palm Beach Circuit Court claiming the city violated the state’s Whistleblower Act. Lauzier sued Delray Beach on April 29, claiming his March 1 firing was in retaliation for not allowing the mayor to fly her 15-yearold son to Tallahassee at taxpayer expense. The Whistleblower Act protects workers from Lauzier retaliation after they report unethical or illegal acts by their employers. But the city’s outside counsel filed a reply on May 21 that states otherwise. In the motion to dismiss Count I, the Whistleblower complaint, Brett Schneider wrote that Lauzier wrongly relied on an Expedia travel itinerary for his reason in filing the suit. Lauzier’s writing “Denied” and “Not
Property values continue to rise
Preliminary estimates from the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser predict increases in existing property values and anticipate the addition of new construction for its 2019 tax roll estimate. Boca Raton Boynton Beach Briny Breezes Delray Beach Gulf Stream Highland Beach Lantana Manalapan Ocean Ridge South Palm Beach Palm Beach County
2018 value
2019 estimate
$23.8 billion $5.8 billion $49.5 million $10.4 billion $1.1 billion $2.5 billion $1.0 billion $1.4 billion $996 million $342 million $187.3 billion
$24.9 billion $6.2 billion $53.7 million $11.0 billion $1.2 billion $2.6 billion $1.1 billion $1.4 billion $1.0 billion $360 million $198.0 billion
SOURCE: Palm Beach County Property Appraiser
% change 4.50 7.04 8.56 6.06 5.30 4.97 8.62 1.86 5.90 5.18 5.73
the city’s internal auditor, Julia Davidyan, in late February to listen to her concerns about the city manager. Shortly after Lauzier was hired, he rewrote the city’s personnel manual so that it favored his staff choices, the auditor said. He did not update the city charter or alert the mayor, as was required. He also hired inexperienced staff at high salaries and promoted his assistant to assistant city manager when she did not have the required experience, Davidyan found. Boylston met with Lauzier on Feb. 26 but wasn’t satisfied with Lauzier’s answers and wanted to call the commission together to discuss the auditor’s concerns. City policy, though, allows only the city manager and mayor to call a meeting. Boylston then reached the city attorney, who called the mayor to let her know that a colleague wanted to hold a special meeting. The city attorney explained why, and the mayor agreed to call the meeting.
Six weeks before Lauzier was fired, he received a 4 percent raise, the lawsuit says in an effort to bolster his claim that he was wrongfully fired. But his lawsuit didn’t say the pay vote was 3-2. The mayor and Commissioner Shirley Johnson voted against giving Lauzier a raise. At an annual salary of $244,000, Lauzier was the highest-paid Delray Beach employee. As the city manager, he had the power to hire and promote, his lawsuit says. He is seeking severance to cover five months of pay and benefits, seven months of paid leave and a year of health insurance benefits. On May 21, Schneider filed a separate document with the court, responding to Lauzier’s claim of breach of contract. That document denies the city breached Lauzier’s contract and denies he is owed damages. The employment agreement that Lauzier signed allowed the city to fire him for cause, which Davidyan detailed at the March 1 meeting. Ú
Property owner wants lawsuit reopened By Jane Smith Delray Beach bakery owner Billy Himmelrich is asking a Palm Beach County Circuit Court judge to reopen his lawsuit against the city. Himmelrich and business partner David Hosokawa want the judge to reconsider their claim under the Bert Harris Act, which protects property rights. The partners say when the city created a three-story height cap for downtown properties in early 2015, Delray Beach limited what they could build on their
four parcels, according to their May 6 rehearing motion. They own two parking lots and two buildings just east of the Old School Square grounds. They were not notified in writing, as the Bert Harris Act requires. Himmelrich, though, did attend the zoning hearings. The city’s outside counsel filed a response on May 17. They are seeking $6.9 million in damages. “The court was correct in its ruling that the passing of an ordinance in itself does not create a private property cause of action,” according to the
response. Himmelrich and his business partner must first create a formal plan that is denied by the city, then they’ll have a cause of action to pursue, the response states. As of press time, a date was not set to rehear the partners’ motion of the judge’s April 26 ruling that dismissed their case. To cover their bases, Himmelrich and Hosokawa appealed that ruling on May 24 to the 4th District Court of Appeal. The appeal will be on hold until the judge rules on the rehearing motion, according to the partners’ appeal motion. The partners had sued Delray Beach in May 2018 in an effort to build four stories on the four parcels. Their tenants are the Tramonti and Cabana El Rey restaurants. Both eateries have long-term leases that expire in 2024, Himmelrich has said. Ú