When Rick Burgess went on trial last week for his seat on the Delray Beach Downtown Development Authority board, he put the agency on trial, too.

Burgess lost his case. The case against the DDA, however, apparently remains open after his departure.

As his defense, Burgess argued that the attempt to remove him amounted to retaliation for policy shifts and greater accountability sought by him and three other board members whom the previous commission appointed last June. The March election changed the commission’s political alignment.

The ethics complaint that led to Burgess’ removal came from Mavis Benson, who had chaired the DDA and is aligned politically with the faction that installed the new commission majority. Benson appeared last week to speak on behalf of Burgess’ removal. The ethics commission issued Burgess a letter of reprimand for knowingly lying on his board application.

Commissioner Rob Long, who voted to confirm Burgess’ appointment, made the case against removal. Under the state law that created the DDA, Long said, the commission could remove a board member only for “willful neglect of duty” or incompetence. The reprimand, he said, fell short of both.

But Angela Burns, the other holdover who voted to confirm Burgess, said the letter amounted to “cause” for removal. She cited the commission’s comment that because Burgess lied about his business address, keeping him would taint the DDA’s credibility. The vote to remove was 4-1.

During the hearing, though, debates about the DDA that might have been confined to board meetings became public. Are the agency’s priorities the correct ones? Should the agency, which runs on a tax levied on property owners, challenge commission policies? Has the DDA, which for decades existed solely to market downtown Delray Beach, overextended itself by taking on operation of Old School Square?

Those who believe that the DDA operates too independently under Executive Director Laura Simon likely took notice when the agency’s marketing director, Suzanne Boyd, spoke against Burgess.

Citing the “three-year anniversary” of her mother’s death, Boyd said her mother “had trouble speaking up” but that she herself would be different. She said, in essence, that Burgess’ questioning had made the DDA a terrible place to work. “Do the right thing,” Boyd told the commission.

Aaron Hallyburton, owner of Caffe Luna Rosa, offered a different take. He is one of those board members appointed last year. He and the others, Hallyburton said, “have been asking questions,” implying that the staff doesn’t take that well.

Though the DDA boundaries include Atlantic Avenue from Interstate 95 to A1A, Hallyburton said the agency paid little attention to West Atlantic Avenue until the new board took over. He also said the DDA had not responded well enough to the problem of homeless people.

Old School Square, Hallyburton said, has become “a distraction.” He added, “Our mission is lost.”

Brian Rosen chairs the DDA board. He also is one of those 2023 appointees. After the hearing, I emailed some questions about the DDA and its future.

Rosen declined to take a position on Burgess’ removal. He wants the DDA to focus on “making the area safer and cleaner for everyone, including our visitors.” He acknowledged that the new board made West Atlantic Avenue and the Clean and Safe program higher priorities than Old School Square.

As for the commission, Rosen said its and the DDA’s and interests “are very much aligned.” The two should be “working together on the parking management plan… Everyone’s goals are better served when there is positive communication and (sic) relationship.”

As for Boyd’s appearance, Rosen said, “As a general rule, I prefer that when discussing any topic in this type of format it is important to stay focused on the issues related to the topic at hand, and then any personality differences are less apparent.”

Given recent events, I asked Rosen, has the DDA become a political issue? “Having been in Delray Beach for the last two decades,” he said, “I have seen that anything and everything can become a political issue.”

This debate comes at an important time. Rosen acknowledged that the DDA will “move forward” with renewal of the five-year DDA contract to run Old School Square. For the year ending Sept. 30, that contract is $1.2 million. As the DDA’s role expands to include Crest Theater—when it reopens for performances—that amount will rise.

To remind, that was money that didn’t come out of the city’s operating budget when Old School Square Center for the Arts ran the cultural complex. Juli Casale, who returned to the commission last month, voted in August 2021 to end the lease. After the city found no one else to take over, the DDA came in.

Burgess’ attorney said his client would sue over his removal. As he ended his remarks at the hearing, Hallyburton said the DDA should “have a sitdown with the commission.” He added, “Can we just get along and work this out?”

Small town…

A telling moment came at the end of the Burgess hearing.

In announcing that he would vote to remove, Mayor Tom Carney praised the auto body shop owner for his community involvement, calling him “a great guy.” He and Burgess, Carney said, have “always gotten along famously.”

Carney went on, “I’ve eaten at his house.” The mayor, a self-proclaimed “foodie,” praised Burgess’ wife’s cooking.

For all its national and sometimes international recognition, Delray Beach remains a small town in spirit with politics that resemble high-school rivalries. One wonders if the city ever will shake that.

And more Delray politics

I had written that one of several individuals and entities opposing Ryan Boylston in the Delray Beach mayor’s race was Progressives for a Better South Florida. Its registered agent and treasurer is Chris Davey, a former chairman of the planning and zoning board who is allied with former Mayor Shelly Petrolia. She worked to defeat Boylston.

Because Davey formed the committee on Feb. 7, he didn’t have to submit fundraising documents until April 10, well after the March 9 election. Those documents still came late, resulting in a letter from the state saying that fines could follow.

According to the filing, Davey contributed roughly $10,000 to his own committee. Another $500 came from Allen Zeller, another Petrolia ally who served on the planning and zoning board and whom the prior commission did not reappoint.

A much more sizeable and curious contribution is $55,297 from a non-profit called the Economic Improvement Fund. It is registered under the address of a two-person Tallahassee law firm. Documents list as directors and officers three other people at that address. None is a member of the Florida Bar.

Richard Coates, the firm’s managing partner, is a registered lobbyist whose clients include mostly local governments. He is the Economic Improvement Fund’s registered agent. On Monday, I left voicemails for Coates and Davey. I wanted to ask where the Economic Improvement Fund’s money comes from and why it donated to Davey’s committee. I did not hear back by deadline for this post.

What’s next for Dixie Manor?

Many people likely will speak about Martin Manor at Wednesday’s Boca Raton City Council meeting.

It’s the project proposed to replace Dixie Manor, the federally subsidized housing complex in Pearl City. Though the project is a venture between the city’s housing authority and Atlantic Pacific Communities and is not getting city money, the council must approve the plan.

When the project came before the planning and zoning board 19 days ago and got unanimous recommendation for approval, residents didn’t attend because the authority had scheduled a meeting on the same date. Complaints about where residents will live during construction may come up, but those aren’t part of the council’s decision.

Instead, discussion may center on deviations that would allow Martin Manor to have fewer standard and electric vehicle parking spaces. This plan calls for replacing the existing 95 units. Because the buildings will be three stories rather than one, however, the roughly 10-acre site could hold another 95 units if there is money for expansion.

The council’s three meetings, usually held on Monday and Tuesday, were moved to Wednesday because of Passover.

Boca to hear proposal for new luxury condo development

The proposal for a luxury condo in downtown Boca Raton probably will generate no controversy at the council meeting.

Called The Concierge, it would replace the senior living center that the council approved in 2018 on the same site—22 S.E. Sixth Street. That project had 88 units. The Concierge would have only 42. By adhering to downtown architectural guidelines, it could be as tall as 116 feet.

Local voices in Congress                                            

After a year in which Congress—especially the House—did next to nothing, last week saw some of the most important and closely-watched votes of any session.

After six months of delay, the House voted to approve aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. In addition, the House passed legislation that would require the social media website TikTok to be sold to American interests or shut down in this country.

Democrats Lois Frankel and Jared Moskowitz represent Delray Beach and Boca Raton, respectively. Both voted for all the legislation. Notably, Moskowitz then warned Republicans against removing House Speaker Mike Johnson based on disagreements over the bills.