ROYAL PALM APPROVES LAKE ANNEXATION SEE STORY, PAGE 7
FARAWAY POLO CLAIMS JOE BARRY TITLE SEE STORY, PAGE 17
THE
TOWN - CR IER WELLINGTON • ROYAL PALM BEACH • LOXAHATCHEE • THE ACREAGE
Your Community Newspaper
INSIDE
Volume 32, Number 4 January 28 - February 3, 2011
LAST WEEKEND FOR FUN AT THE FAIR
Wellington Seniors Club Enjoys Equestrian Outing
Wellington Seniors Club members were treated to a luncheon at the Winter Equestrian Festival on Sunday, Jan. 23 at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center on Pierson Road. The event gave club members the oppor tunity to see and learn about equestrian sports. Page 2
Wellington Lacrosse Supports The Troops
The Wellington High School boys lacrosse teams will be suppor ting Unit ed State s troops overseas this season through the America Supporting Americans organization. Both varsity and junior varsity teams are fostering the 49th Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit in Afghanistan and have dedicated their season to these soldiers. Page 5
‘Play For Pink’ Supports Breast Cancer Research
About 200 ladies took to the links Tuesday, Jan. 25 for the Play for Pink fundraiser at the Wycliffe Golf & Country Club. The golf tournament, now in its 16th year, raised more than $30,000. Page 24
OPINION Put Implementation Of ‘Fair Districts’ On The Fast Track
Only days into his term, Gov. Rick Scott withdrew a federal request to implement the recently approved state amendments on redistricting as part of a freeze Scott placed on new state rules pending review. If this turns out to be another behind-the-scenes tactic to prevent redistricting reform, Gov. Scott will have done a dramatic disservice to Florida’s electorate. Page 4
Page 42 DEPARTMENT INDEX NEWS ............................. 2 - 14 OPINION ................................ 4 CRIME NEWS ........................ 6 NEWS BRIEFS ....................... 8 POLO & EQUESTRIAN .........17 SCHOOLS .....................18 - 19 PEOPLE........................ 20 - 21 COLUMNS .................... 29 - 30 BUSINESS ................... 37 - 39 SPORTS ....................... 43 - 46 CALENDAR...................48 - 49 CLASSIFIEDS ...............50 - 55 Visit Us On The Web At WWW.GOTOWNCRIER.COM
The South Florida Fair will conclude its 17-day run Sunday, Jan. 30. The theme of this year’s fair is “Really Cool Stuff,” featuring rides, competitions, food and entertainment. For more info., visit www.southfloridafair.com. Shown here are Jordan and Hailey Cutherell with aunt Kimmie and uncle Victor Cutherell. MORE FAIR PHOTOS, PAGES 5, 10 & 14 PHOTO BY DENISE FLEISCHMAN/TOWN-CRIER
Watch Town-Crier Videos From The South Florida Fair At www.gotowncrier.com!
Dennis Lipp Seeking Re-Election To Loxahatchee Groves Council By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report One seat is up this year on the Loxahatchee Groves Town Council and prospective candidates have until Tuesday, Feb. 1 to file for election. As of Wednesday, Seat 5 incumbent Dennis Lipp is the only candidate in the running. Lipp was elected to the inaugural town council four years ago, earning a one-year term. He captured a complete three-year term when no one filed to challenge him in 2008. Lipp currently serves in the appointed position of vice mayor. Filing opened Tuesday, Jan. 25 and will close at noon Tuesday, Feb. 1. The election will be held
Tuesday, March 8. Lipp was a leader in the town’s incorporation effort and said he is still concerned about things that must happen, including implementing the town’s comprehensive plan, which a challenge by Callery-Judge Grove has tied up for more than a year. If re-elected, Lipp said enacting the plan will remain his highest priority. “Hopefully, that is going to be done this year, maybe by this summer,” he said. Lipp also wants to get input from the more than 60 property owners along Okeechobee Blvd. on how they want to see the road designed. The major artery was to remain largely residential, but some property owners there have
shown an interest in commercial development. “I think we will get the input process done before the end of summer,” Lipp said. “When we did our first visioning, everybody’s focus was on putting commercial on Southern.” Recently, however, some property owners along Okeechobee Blvd. have indicated they want commercial uses there, too, he said. “We need to get the folks together and have a meeting,” Lipp said. He has suggested to Town Manager Frank Spence that the town engage an outside firm to moderate a meeting so that no one with See LIPP, page 22
County Planners Ask For More Time To Make New Projections By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report Palm Beach County commissioners are asking the Florida Department of Community Affairs for more time to update their “Evaluation and Appraisal Report” on the county’s comprehensive plan to reflect recent upheavals in the economy and demographics. The western communities in particular may need special attention to see that needs are met, according to staff members who presented a status update on the report at a meeting Tuesday. The increasing cost of gasoline, unemployment, residential vacancies and a decline in population have dramatically changed the needs of the county, said staff members, who have been gathering public input. They also got comments from other agencies, including the Florida Department of Transportation,
which provided information on energy, and the South Florida Water Management District, which contributed data on county water issues. Senior Planner Maria Bello said that because of the timing, county staff has not been able to address the issues to the extent they would like. Meetings were also held on population. Annual population growth in the county was 20,000 to 25,000 annually in the 1990s and early 2000s, peaking at 30,000 in 2004. In 2009, the population actually fell by 8,000, Bello said. The population in 1990 was just under 1 million and is now 1.55 million. The latest projections foresee slightly lower growth. “Historically, growth was based largely on migration to the county,” Bello said. “It peaked in 2004 and dropped dramatically when the housing bubble burst.” She said the current residential vacancy is 88,700 units, which,
based on an average housing occupancy of 2.4 is more than sufficient for the 128,000 additional residents anticipated by 2020, Bello said. The vacancy rate is typically about 5 percent but is now 13.6 percent. Some areas have higher than 20 percent vacancy rates. Senior Planner Patricia Behn said county staff had been directed to look particularly at the Glades area, which has been most severely affected by unemployment. Behn said the county has limited options there since its comp plan applies only to unincorporated areas, and the cities of Pahokee, South Bay and Belle Glade are the areas most profoundly affected. The entire Glades area has a population of 34,000, with 28,000 living in the cities. The unincorporated area is about 19,000 acres, with a population of 6,000. In the See GROWTH, page 22
Serving Palms West Since 1980
Officials Irked Over Treeless Forest Hill, Slow Pace Of Work By Lauren Miró Town-Crier Staff Report Wellington Village Council members, worried about the barren appearance of Forest Hill Blvd., heard an update on the road’s ongoing improvements Tuesday from village staff members. Renovation of Wellington’s main road began last April and was set to be finished this month. However, delays due to irrigation, paving and additional landscape lighting pushed the project back. Now, Phase 1 of the project is scheduled to be completed April 4, with Phase 2 to end Aug. 15, Utilities Director Bill Riebe said. The almost $8 million project, financed primarily by Florida Department of Transportation grants, includes new street lights between State Road 7 and Lyons Road, and an entirely new streetscape from State Road 7 to Wellington Trace. Delays in the project and removal of all the trees along the roadway raised concern among both council members and residents. Riebe noted that the second phase of the project will address landscaping concerns. Councilman Howard Coates, who pushed for the update, asked to see plans for Phase 2 to be sure it was in line with what he hoped to see. “Right now, it’s nothing like I envisioned,” he said. “The concern I have is that this area of Forest Hill has been completely transformed. I think we lost a bit of atmosphere along the road that we’ll never get back.”
Coates said he had assumed that the village would maintain its tree canopy and was concerned that the council was responsible for having the trees destroyed. “I’d like to know if there’s some way for us to get it back,” he said. “Not tomorrow or next week, but will we get back some degree of a canopy?” Vice Mayor Matt Willhite said that he didn’t think the council had ever been presented a Phase 2 plan but agreed that he’d like to see some of the empty space filled in. But Mayor Pro Tem Dr. Carmine Priore noted that the trees often caused problems during hurricanes. “When those big trees were laying across Forest Hill, we made a commitment that we weren’t going to put the same kind of trees back there,” he said. “And the trees that were on the sides where the [power] lines were, were so terribly brutalized to allow for the lines that they looked like shapes I hadn’t seen. There was no essence of a canopy.” Priore said he worried that the council would decide to plant more trees that would be a hazard to power lines. “I don’t want us to make a mistake and go in and plant trees that in a few years, we will have to face the consequences of them coming down,” he said. “They were beautiful, but a tremendous hazard. When they come down, they take down wires and everything else.” Village Manager Paul Schofield said that some of the empty space See FOREST HILL, page 22
Watchdog’s Power Has Some In Royal Palm Beach Worried By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report Members of the Royal Palm Beach Village Council expressed concern at their meeting Thursday, Jan. 20 about what’s to come from the newly created Palm Beach County Inspector General’s Office and how it would affect the way the village does business. Councilman David Swift said that he and Vice Mayor Martha Webster attended the Western Communities Council meeting where they heard a presentation by Inspector General Sheryl Steckler on how her department is going to interface with municipalities regarding contracts and other issues. Voters in all county municipalities cast ballots Nov. 2 in favor of a charter amendment to create the Commission on Ethics, Code of Ethics and the Office of Inspector General, which will oversee municipalities as well as Palm Beach County government. The county previously had adopted ordinances creating the offices. “I have lots of concerns because there doesn’t seem to be any end to it, if you will, trying to ferret out exactly what are they going to be covering,” Swift said. “One of the things that I’m most concerned about is that they’re expanding
their staff to 33 people. The question is, what do we get out of it?” Swift wondered aloud about how the ordinances would be implemented countywide, especially in communities not known to have ongoing issues with ethics violations and/or corruption. “How will they treat, for example, an employee who makes a simple mistake?” Swift asked. “Are they going to prosecute, or what? It’s not clear. There’s a lot of issues that have to be resolved.” Councilman Fred Pinto suggested having a workshop once the implementation process is complete. “We probably should have a workshop to go over it A to Z and figure out what it means for us,” Pinto said. “As a municipality, we’re in fairly good shape because we’ve got some very solid procedures for how we go about selecting vendors and the bidding process, where other institutions don’t have that much infrastructure in place in that regard. In terms of our own municipality, I don’t think we should have any issues.” Pinto thinks the focus will be more on how municipalities without as rigorous an approval process adjust their policies. Village Attorney Brad Biggs See INSPECTOR, page 22
Wellington Breaks Ground On 9/11 Patriot Memorial
Christian and Bill Dick with Patriot Flag Project Coordinator Mitch Mendler, Deputy Dwayne Brown and Brus Messinger. PHOTO BY LAUREN MIRÓ/T OWN-CRIER
By Lauren Miró Town-Crier Staff Report Wellington broke ground Saturday, Jan. 22 on its Patriot Memorial with speeches and a ceremony. “We all remember where we were on Sept. 11, 2001,” Mayor Darell Bowen said. “And by building this Patriot Memorial and making it an integral part of our Town Center, we’re going to ensure that people never forget what happened, or those lives that were needlessly taken.” Last year, the Wellington Village Council approved the memorial, which will sit at the entrance to the new Town Center between Scott’s Place playground and the Wellington municipal complex. It will feature an eternal flame, a flagpole, benches and a fountain. Central to the memorial will be
a 36-foot-by-8-foot steel beam pulled from the wreckage of the 9/11 attacks at the World Trade Center in New York City. The artifact arrived last month amid great fanfare and is currently on display at the South Florida Fair. Construction is set to begin Feb. 1. On Sept. 11 of this year, the village will commemorate the 10-year anniversary of the attacks by unveiling the $225,000 memorial. Vice Mayor Matt Willhite, who conceived of the project, recalled the day that a resident called the village to complain that it hadn’t lowered the flags on Sept. 11, now known as Patriots Day. But Willhite wanted to do more to commemorate the day, so he presented the idea of a Patriot Memorial to the council. “We brought up the idea of building a memorial in the village
so that people never forget,” he said. “There’s just been an overwhelming amount of support from this community.” Mayor Pro Tem Dr. Carmine Priore noted that, in turn, the Patriot Memorial will serve as a way for the village to recognize heroes of the past and those yet to come. “As time passes, there will be more patriots who will step up,” he said. “This memorial will recognize those people not only in our community but also in our surrounding area. We will recognize those people who take that extra step and do what’s right for their fellow man.” But the memorial will also reach beyond the village, Councilman Howard Coates said. It will serve as a symbol of solidarity with all of America. “Of all the things that See MEMORIAL, page 7