CHECK OUT FAU’S Simulation Center [4]
PEEK INSIDE Rappy’s Deli [17]
LEARN ABOUT
NOVEMBER 2016
About Boca’s YEA! program [30]
Lake Wyman makeover back in Boca’s plans By: Marisa Gottesman Associate Editor Plans to rehab Boca Raton’s Lake Wyman are back on track. Boca Council Members agreed to move forward with a new plan to add a double boat ramp, a kayak launch site, 38 parking spaces and possibly a bridge to 2.4 acres of land. The project would restore a canoe trail system that has been closed for more than decade, renovate boardwalks and upgrade the area of Lake Wyman and James A.
Rutherford parks. “We would like to get this moving,” City Manager Leif Ahnell told council members. That’s because city staff estimate the project wouldn’t be completed until December 2019. The project will require extensive permitting from other government entities like the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers. But it is likely some
of the entities will help fund the cost of the project, according to the city’s coastal program manager Jennifer Bistyga. The Florida Inland Navigation District will likely contribute anywhere from half to 75 percent of the costs associated with the project. Palm Beach County officials indicated they would help fund costs associated with enhancements, but not the funding of
boat docks. To receive funding from FIND, the city would have to permit the district access to Spanish River Park for dredging on the west side of the park. The boat ramps would also have to be open to the public, not just Boca residents if state money is used to fund the project. The new proposal differs from a 2011 plan, which called for day docks and sub[CONT. PG 2]
Boca budget OK’d; Last-minute cash added for Mizner putting green, SRHS band trip By: Dale King Contributing Writer Boca Raton’s general fund budget for fiscal year 20162017 went into effect Oct. 1. The $161 million spending package adopted unanimously by the mayor and City Council following a public hearing Sept. 26 lists $7.6 million in additional expenses compared to the 2015-
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2016 spending plan, but the tax rate drops by an almost infinitesimal amount – from $3.6799 per $1,000 valuation to $3.6789 per $1,000. City Manager Leif Ahnell said homeowners’ tax bills may rise a bit or drop some, depending on how much the value of their home has increased in the past year.
He said that overall, municipal property values have gone up 7.46 percent in the past 12 months. Council members completed the adoption of the new budget during a 90-minute meeting that included a public hearing. Mayor Susan Haynie offered a couple of adjustments to the budget at the 11th [CONT. PG 2]