October 2016
Serving Hypoluxo Island, South Palm Beach, Manalapan, Ocean Ridge, Briny Breezes, Gulf Stream and Coastal Delray Beach
Volume 9 Issue 10
On the Ballot
Along the Coast
Plans mixed for sales tax money
Shine on,
Harvest Moon
Towns could improve drainage, roads, parks
Each month, a group gathers at the Colony Hotel’s Cabana Club to watch the full moon rise
By Stacey Singer, Dan Moffett and Jane Smith
By Ron Hayes Any other summer night, you might get 40 people at the Colony Hotel’s Cabana Club, sipping wine, nibbling cheese and gazing out beyond the Delray dunes to savor a gorgeous sunset sky. “But we’re expecting about 90 tonight,” says Jayce Swentzel, checking in a steady stream of members and guests. He’s 24, an FAU student from Lexington, Ky., by day, club attendant by night. “During the season, it’ll be 120. We have a specific crowd of members we almost never see except for nights like this.” On this night — Friday, Sept. 16 — the Colony Cabana Club will welcome a very special guest, a beloved entertainer who’s dazzled men, woman and children longer than anyone can remember. Showtime is 7:32 p.m. “These full moon parties used to be the only thing I did here,” says Anita Holland, a 10-year member from Boca Raton. “But then I thought I can’t really ask my husband to pay the membership when I only come once a month.” See MOONRISE on page 18
Jackie, Tommy and Eva Tyghem, 5, watch Biscuit, a yellow Labrador retriever, fetch her ball under the light of the full moon in the ocean near the Colony Cabana Club in Delray Beach. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star
When Palm Beach County voters go to the polls Nov. 8, they will be asked to consider something beyond the hard-fought presidential election. They also will be asked to consider something much closer to home: whether to increase the sales tax rate here from six cents to seven cents per dollar for the next 10 years. Adding a temporary, localeffort penny to the sales tax would generate an estimated $2.7 billion in new revenues over the decade. That money would be targeted locally to improving school buildings; infrastructure such as roads, bridges and drainage, and amenities such as parks and fire stations, according to Todd Bonlarron, assistant county administrator. Palm Beach County is one of the few areas in the state not currently taking advantage of the local option penny tax, according to the Florida Department of Revenue. County commissioners and School Board members say it’s needed now to recover from many years of delayed maintenance brought on by the state’s budget cuts and property value shrinkage during See TAX on page 22
Along the Coast
Briny Breezes hires Boynton Beach police, drops Ocean Ridge Ocean Ridge struggles with budget; Briny to hire administrator Page 8
By Dan Moffett Briny Breezes council members say choosing the right police department to serve their town didn’t come down to questions about performance. The deciding factor was cost. “It was a tough decision. Either Boynton Beach or Ocean Ridge would do a good job for us,” said Council President
Sue Thaler. “It was dollars and cents that made the difference between them.” With a 3-2 vote on Sept. 8, the council approved a threeyear contract with Boynton Beach, ending a long-running
Inside Coastal Stars
‘Angel Moms’ have multiple roles helping foster kids. Page 2
The cost of addiction
Saving overdose victims taxes Delray coffers. Page 20
relationship with the Ocean Ridge Police Department. “We tried to make an apple-to-apple comparison between them,” Alderman Bobby Jurovaty said. “And the one apple that stood out was price. It’s sad really. There was nothing wrong with what Ocean Ridge did.” Jurovaty joined Thaler and Alderman Allen “Chick”
Season preview Your comprehensive cultural calendar. Page AT1
Behringer in voting for the switch to Boynton; James McCormick and Christina Adams voted to stay with Ocean Ridge. Boynton Beach offered Briny Breezes a three-year contract that was roughly 10.6 percent lower in cost than Ocean Ridge’s: $618,792 compared with $691,965. Ocean Ridge also offered a five-year plan that
came in higher than Boynton’s at $665,352 for the first three years. Thaler said that, other than price, the contracts are “virtually identical” in services. Boynton officially takes over on Oct. 1. The contract with Boynton Beach returns Chris Yannuzzi as primary law enforcement See BRINY on page 13
The frost isn’t on the pumpkin...
But there are plenty of products that offer a taste of fall. Page H1
House of the Month
Delray beauty offers views. Page H15