April 2016
Boca Raton
Serving Highland Beach and Coastal Boca Raton
Along the Coast
Along the Coast
Property values soar in Boca, Highland
Deputy mayor seeks ouster of beach-park top official By Steve Plunkett Following what he called an “extraordinary” visit to the Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District, the city’s deputy mayor wants district commissioners to replace their interim executive director with someone full time. “Understandably, the incumbent has other issues he must balance with the demands of the district,” Deputy Mayor Robert Weinroth said in an email to the district’s chairman. Arthur Koski, the interim director, is also the district’s longtime attorney. “With regard to a full-time director, I am serving at the pleasure of the district and at the request of the district. I am prepared to step aside at any time the commissioners so desire,” he said. Weinroth’s demand for a new executive comes after a “dustup” over Red Reef Park’s master plan brought communications between the city and the district to a near standstill. During an unscheduled appearance at the district’s March 14 meeting, Weinroth said he was alarmed by an email from Assistant City Manager Mike Woika to Koski. “The first sentence just really made me concerned that we’re really not making progress in our attempt to have better communication,” Weinroth said. Woika’s email acknowledged that he received two emails from Koski regarding capital projects on city property, Weinroth said. Woika’s email continued: “I’m shocked and disappointed that you suggest that the district attempts to communicate with the city and the city ignores the communication, when in fact just the opposite is true.” Koski said the acrimony began after he and the district’s See PARKS on page 14
By Sallie James
Marc Bonutti cheers for a Marlins run the day Gulf Stream School students went to Roger Dean Stadium to watch a baseball game. Photos by Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star
An educational
HOME RUN
Gulf Stream School students get a lesson in geometry and statistics from a day at the ballpark By Ron Hayes Take them out to the ballgame. Take them out with the crowd. Buy them some peanuts and Cracker Jacks, and they’ll learn about statistics, a little geometry, and why Babe Ruth is still considered the greatest baseball player of all time. At the Gulf Stream School, baseball isn’t just America’s national pastime; it’s how some teachers make numbers fun, history exciting and an annual trip to a spring training game a visual aid. “No one is ever sick on this day,” Dave Winans boasted, seated in the stands at Roger Dean Stadium one sunny March afternoon as the Miami Marlins and St.
Students examine baseball cards and statistics during the game at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter. Louis Cardinals played their first official training game of the season. Filling the rows before him, Winans’ entire fifthgrade English class cheered, pondered autographed baseballs and feasted on
the kind of treats that make nutritionists shudder. Some were passionate about the game. Some were passionate about the hot dogs. None had been See BASEBALL on page 28
Inside Summer Camp Guide
Camp listings from A-Z. Special Section inside
Volume 9 Issue 4
Glades Road improvements? Traffic engineer suggests ramps to move traffic onto I-95. Page 5
World traveler Delray Beach resident Jim Donley traveled the globe on Air Force Two. Page 11
Property values in Boca Raton have jumped to an estimated market value of $26 billion for 2015, ranking first out of 38 municipalities countywide, according to Palm Beach County Chief Deputy Property Appraiser Dorothy Jacks. That’s an increase from $23.5 billion for 2014. Jacks made the remarks during a March 22 presentation to the City Council. “It’s got the highest market value of any city in the county, with the second-highest parcel count to West Palm Beach,” Jacks said, referring to Boca Raton’s 42,460 individually owned properties. The city’s taxable value for 2015 is $19.5 billion. Market value, or what buyers will pay, is often higher than taxable value. And there’s more good news: Residential values are expected to continue rising in 2016, increasing an estimated 6 to 8 percent, she said. Predictions for commercial values will come later in the year. Nearby Highland Beach’s 2015 market value totaled a tidy $2.6 billion, with a taxable value of $2 billion for its 4,207 properties. Overall values there are expected to rise an estimated 9 to 12 percent in 2016. At the end of 2014, market value for Highland Beach was about $2.3 billion, according to the property appraiser’s office. So why the uptick in Boca Raton? “Thoughtful planning” is creating “interesting opportunities” for growth, Jacks said. “What we have noticed about See PROPERTY on page 16
Mission to Haiti
Briny couple makes it a mission to help communities in Haiti. Page H1