TRUNK-OR-TREAT AT BOYS & GIRLS CLUB WELLINGTON CHAMBER POLO LUNCHEON SEE PHOTOS, PAGE 8 SEE PHOTOS, PAGE 13 THE
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Royal Palm Zoners OK Improvements, Variance For Primrose School
Volume 44, Number 22 November 3 - November 16, 2023
Serving Palms West Since 1980
FALL FESTIVAL FUN IN WELLINGTON
The Royal Palm Beach Planning & Zoning Commission heard a presentation Tuesday, Oct. 24 on upgrades planned for the Primrose School, a private preschool that opened earlier this year at 400 Royal Commerce Road. The Primrose School took over the location that was previously the Ideal School, opening last spring. Page 3
Leonard Running To Keep Westlake Seat; Valle Ron Undecided
Westlake Councilwoman Charlotte Price Leonard and Councilwoman Pilar Elena Valle Ron were appointed to fill vacant seats, but they may be going in different directions when it comes to seeking full terms in the March municipal election. Leonard said this week that she definitely will stand for election to a full, four-year term, while Valle Ron said she is still undecided, weighing the race. Page 3
Wellington’s annual Fall Festival was held Saturday, Oct. 21 at Village Park on Pierson Road. The event included lots of fun activities for young and old alike. There were live performances on the sound stage, as well as costume contests in several age groups. Those who like more of a scare could enjoy the Haunted Hallways. Other attractions included bounce houses, hayrides, laser tag, a petting zoo, a pie-eating contest, trick-or-treating in the vendor area and more. Shown above, Kylie and Liam Torres pose in the pumpkin patch. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 18 PHOTO BY DENISE FLEISCHMAN/TOWN-CRIER
GL Land Swap Dies; 640-Acre Indian Trail Reservoir Lives On
WHS Students Provide Halloween Fun At Trunk-Or-Treat
A trunk-or-treat event brought crowds of children to Wellington High School on Sunday, Oct. 29. Attendees enjoyed decorated displays run by students and school organizations, along with other fun activities. The event was organized by the DECA and Key Club groups at the school, and it was sponsored by the Christopher Aguirre Memorial Foundation. Page 16
Polo Park Baseball Team Captures Palm Beach County Title
Polo Park Middle School’s Jace Humphrey pitched four innings, gave up one earned run, drove in two runs and scored another to lead the Polo Park Middle School Stallions to a 4-3 victory against the Don Estridge Middle School Dragons to win the Palm Beach County middle school boys baseball championship. The game took place on the afternoon of Tuesday, Oct. 31 on Polo Park’s campus in Wellington. It was the second such title for Polo Park in the last three years. Page 21 DEPARTMENT INDEX NEWS...............................3 - 18 NEWS BRIEFS......................... 7 SPORTS..........................21 - 24 PEOPLE................................. 25 SCHOOLS.............................. 26 BUSINESS............................. 27 COLUMNS............................. 28 CLASSIFIEDS................ 29 - 30 Visit Us On The Web At WWW.GOTOWNCRIER.COM
By Louis Hillary Park Town-Crier Staff Report By an unexpected 4-3 vote, the Palm Beach County Commission rejected a proposed GL Homes land rights swap on Tuesday, Oct. 24 that would have cut by approximately one-third the developer’s plans for construction west of The Acreage. The plan passed the county board 5-2 during a preliminary hearing in May. GL had been lobbying for the swap for several years, which would have given up some of the homes slated for GL’s Indian Trails Grove land, and instead built more homes on land off State Road 7 west of Delray Beach. Proponents of the plan within the Indian Trail Improvement District said the reduction would eliminate between 13,000 to 16,000 daily trips on the area’s overstressed roads once the Indian Trails Grove project is built out. More than 20 roads in the area already are considered substandard, even for current traffic loads. “I’m disappointed,” ITID Supervisor Elizabeth Accomando
said. “Reducing the number of homes and the amount of commercial space was really important.” “I was surprised,” ITID Vice President Betty Argue said. “But there were not a lot of details about the project when it was [preliminarily approved], and I don’t think they were there when it came back.” The plan included 1,600 acres dedicated to the county for preservation and agricultural use, and a water retention project that GL claimed would have positive benefits from the Lake Worth Lagoon to the Loxahatchee River. “I think there were concerns about whether the benefits were actually there,” Argue said of GL’s proposed water projects. Indeed, Palm Beach County Mayor Gregg Weiss, who chairs the local Water Resources Task Force, listed uncertainty about the water project as one of his reasons for changing his vote. Commissioner Sara Baxter, whose district includes ITID, said that she was comfortable with allowing GL to move forward and create the water impoundment area.
“GL is not in the business of doing water projects,” Baxter said later. “But they certainly are capable of bringing in experts to design such a project.” In the aftermath, ITID Executive Director Burgess Hanson said that the county vote returns everything to status quo, with GL holding 640 acres in escrow for ITID that are slated for construction of a reservoir/impoundment area for use in everything from flood control to fighting wildfires. GL currently is leasing the land for farming. Before GL will release the land to ITID, the district must have the permits and financing in place to build the levees and other structures needed for what essentially would be a shallow lake. Cost estimates range from $20 to $24 million for the basic project. Hanson has said state and federal money and grants would be sought, perhaps coupled with a bond issue. He said preliminary studies are already underway for the project. “This is important to the disSee LAND SWAP, page 4
Judge Gives Partial Victory To ITID In Roads Lawsuit
By Louis Hillary Park Town-Crier Staff Report The City of Westlake is booming but a suit filed by its largest property owner and developer against a neighboring government appears to be a bust. Circuit Judge Richard L. Oftedal issued a partial judgment Oct. 16 ruling that Minto Communities USA and the Seminole Improvement District (SID) have no inherent right to access Indian Trail Improvement District roads, and if they wish to do so, they must seek a permit from ITID and pay “a reasonable fee.” ITID Attorney J. Michael Burman said that fee could be as much as $20 million and called the decision a “home run” for the district. Kenneth Cassel, who manages both Westlake and SID, said, “From my perspective, I was surprised by the ruling.” ITID Executive Director Burgess Hanson declined to comment on the ruling, while ITID Vice President Betty Argue said, “I’m very happy with the judge’s ruling,” but declined further comment. John Carter, the Minto senior vice president in charge of the Westlake project, said Wednesday, “Minto remains confident in the merits of our case and will continue to pursue all options available.” Palm Beach County Commissioner Sara Baxter, whose district includes both communities, said she does not see the ruling as a big win for ITID.
“The district already has spent something like $1.8 million on this lawsuit,” she said. “I think it’s a waste of taxpayer money, and in the end, it’s not going to go ITID’s way.” Baxter said she believes a majority of the ITID board wants to settle the suit and move on; and that a better solution would be to work with Minto to identify other options. ITID has made efforts to settle the suit, Burman said, but MintoSID have displayed a “no-compromise” attitude and offered no alternatives. He added that his firm — Reid Burman Lebedeker Xenick Pepin of West Palm Beach — has, indeed, been paid a lot of money for handling a very complex lawsuit, but that ITID has been billed at a discounted rate as a government entity. Baxter said getting 60th Street North paved and connected from 140th Avenue North to Seminole Pratt Whitney Road just north of Westlake is among the top priorities she’ll be pushing at a Nov. 28 Palm Beach County Commission workshop on roads. “60th Street has to go through,” she said. The City of Westlake, which is not a party to the lawsuit, was incorporated in 2016 and since has become one of the fastest-growing municipalities in Florida. Minto and SID sued in 2020 for the right to connect to 140th Avenue North via what is presently a dirt lane across a narrow canal south of See LAWSUIT, page 3
KIDS CANCER FOUNDATION 5K
Rules Governing RVs In Lox Groves Remain Unchanged
By Joshua Manning Town-Crier Staff Report Rules regarding recreational vehicles in the Town of Loxahatchee Groves will remain unchanged, at least for now, after an updated ordinance did not get the necessary support at a Monday, Oct. 23 special meeting of the Loxahatchee Groves Town Council. As a land use change, the ordinance needed a four-vote supermajority for final approval. The 3-2 vote in favor of approval was not enough for the new proposed rules to take effect. Councilwomen Phillis Maniglia and Marge Herzog were the dissenting votes. The decision, after months of community workshops and coun-
cil discussion on the issue, comes as the new equestrian season is about to begin. Many of the RVs on Loxahatchee Groves properties are used by seasonal equestrians and equestrian staff. The town passed its first RV ordinance in 2020, but several problems have come up, mostly regarding compliance and enforcement. The general opinion is that some changes are necessary. However, there is disagreement about what those changes should be. Town Manager Francine Ramaglia explained that very few people registered, and enforcement has been difficult. “Code enforcement was used to remove the most egregious offend-
ers,” she said. “We had properties that had many more than four; some up to 15. We do recognize it is a problem. This ordinance is not intended to allow those types of problems. It was intended to try to address some of the existing situations that we have.” The changes would have streamlined the registration process and lowered the fee, in an attempt to gain more compliance. It also allowed one RV on properties over five acres to be used year-round as a guest cottage on properties that do not have a permanent guest cottage. This was added at the request of residents during workshop sessions. Currently, RVs can only be See RV RULES, page 4
The Kids Cancer Foundation hosted its annual 5K run at Royal Palm Beach Commons Park on Saturday, Oct. 28. The run, held in memory of Sebastian Sarmiento, is now in its 15th year and brought in more than 400 runners and 20 sponsors. Also held along with the run was a fall festival with games and activities, such as painting pumpkins. Shown above are Rebecca Kestner and Rachel Paine. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 5 PHOTO BY FRANK KOESTER/TOWN-CRIER
Public Transportation Service Is Changing In RPB
By Callie Sharkey Town-Crier Staff Report The Royal Palm Beach Village Council meeting on Thursday, Oct. 19 was highlighted by a presentation from Clinton Forbes, the executive director of Palm Beach County’s public transportation service, Palm Tran. Forbes shared new plans for Palm Tran’s development throughout the county, with a focus on Royal Palm Beach. “We are delighted to present to you some of our new strategies that we’re implementing around the county, and Royal Palm Beach will be one of the first municipalities that will benefit from this,” Forbes
said. “We provide access to opportunities for everyone.” He went on to explain that the pillars that shape Palm Tran’s service are safety, efficiency and great customer service. “What we are talking about this evening is that second pillar, how are we maximizing the tax dollars,” Forbes said. Palm Tran offers three modes of transit: a fixed-route bus service with approximately 10 million rides around the county each year; paratransit vehicles that provide about one million rides; and mobility-on-demand, which serves roughly 120,000 rides. The fixed route that serves Palm Beach
State College in Loxahatchee Groves, Palms West Hospital and the Mall at Wellington Green is Route 52. “Our proposal is to eliminate Route 52,” he said. “Route 52 is our lowest-performing route based on the number of customers riding.” The route carries an average of between 12 and 15 riders per hour. “So, as I say in this business, we are carrying air conditioning on this route,” Forbes said, explaining that Palm Tran would eliminate the route and replace it with a transport company network (TCN) voucher pilot program. “What will happen here is this community will essen-
tially emerge with a better option of mobility than it currently has.” The cost to run Route 52 is about $1 million annually, and the new proposal would cost $150,000 to $200,000 per year. Palm Tran is also looking to eliminate Route 21 in Riviera Beach to save a combined $2.4 million. Another local route will remain with some changes. “Route 40 is a lifeline route that traverses from the western communities [from the Glades] to State Road 80, the mall and east on Southern. We don’t get any rides between [State Road 7] and downtown West Palm Beach. We will bypass Southern and go north to
Okeechobee and go downtown,” Forbes said. The second part of the presentation introduced a voucher program that will be piloted in Royal Palm Beach before being implemented in about 10 other areas around the county. They will not remove the existing bus stops but will geocode them for use in the TCN portion of the program. These changes are scheduled to begin in January 2024 pending board approval later this month. Riders will be able to use the Palm Tran app to call a taxi or rideshare service such as Uber or Lyft to their door instead of walking or See RPB COUNCIL, page 4