Driving from his Lake Ida home to his office on Southeast Fifth Avenue, Roy Simon could appreciate how far Delray Beach has come since his ancestors came to town in 1911—two years before a bridge linked the barrier island to the mainland.
Few people have contributed to that progress more than Simon, who died last week. Though he was 93, his passing was unexpected. Simon had been to his regular Rotary Club meeting the week before, and people told me that he had been as engaged as ever.
Where to begin, when listing his contributions? Simon started the Downtown Development Agency, where his daughter, Laura Simon, is executive director. He helped found the city’s historical society. He served on the boards of the Chamber of Commerce, the Lions Club and Rotary, and the city’s Planning and Zoning Board, Code Enforcement Board, and Zoning Board of Adjustment.
Simon was involved in the creation of Old School Square, the cultural complex that includes buildings where he had been a student. He started the Gladiola Fest, which became Delray Affair. He served on the Atlantic Avenue Task Force.
An architect for 65 years, Simon designed the city’s library and community centers, Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church and other buildings. He served on the vestry of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. He won numerous professional awards; the Rotary Club honored him with its Service Above Self Award.
“Roy Simon was Delray’s Everyman,” said former City Commissioner Jim Chard. “He helped found or lead many of the city’s most notable institutions.”
Chard noted that Simon had appeared before the commission on behalf of a client “even after his wife’s passing. A man of amazing commitment to the city of his birth.”
A viewing will take place Saturday at Lorne and Sons Funeral Home. The funeral will take place Sunday at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, with burial in the city cemetery.
The city commission held a minute of silence Monday for Simon. He will receive many posthumous compliments this week and for years to come. Here’s one from Carey Glickstein, who was mayor from 2013 to 2018, that’s hard to beat: Calling Mr. Simon “one of the last surviving patriarchs of our town,” Glickstein said, “He was as honorable a man as I have known.”
Delray Beach hires firm for golf course
Delray Beach has taken the first step toward the long-delayed renovation of the city’s golf course.
During Monday’s meeting, the city commission approved a contract with Sanford Design to complete design and construction estimates. Following the commission’s directive, the company will work toward a plan that preserves the work of course architects Donald Ross and Dick Wilson—each designed nine holes—and creates new practice facilities, a new maintenance facility and improvements to the parking lot.
The work does not include plans for the clubhouse. That is “to be determined,” City Manager Terrence Moore said. The company will determine a cost for renovating the course. One estimate is $15 million, but it’s several years old and commissioners have questioned its accuracy.
According to the staff memo, this project dates back about five years. As it began to ramp up in 2021, the commission at the time delayed it for “other considerations.” In 2022, the commission unanimously voted to seek bids for a public-private partnership to develop a portion of the property in return for renovating the course. Although some of the proposals were very exciting, opposition from regular golfers and preservationists caused the commission to back off.
Delray Beach will pay Sanford Design roughly $2 million in two phases. The money is in the current year’s budget, and Moore hopes that renovation could begin in 2025 or 2026. For that to happen, the commission would have to decide how to pay for it.
Finding a UF president gets political
Last month’s surprise resignation of University of Florida President Ben Sasse again highlights the issue of how leaders of public universities get chosen under Gov. Ron DeSantis.
To recap: Sasse, a former Republican U.S. senator from Nebraska, emerged in 2022 as the only choice of UF’s search committee. A recent state law prohibits disclosure of applicants’ names unless they become finalists. There is no rule that committees must pick more than one finalist.
Depending on which news source you pick, Sasse left after just 17 months because: 1) He needs to care for his wife, who has serious health issues; 2) He fell out of favor with UF’s board chair and several big donors; 3) He spent lavishly on salaries for former Senate staff members and people with GOP connections; 4) All of the above.
Whatever the real story, the state’s flagship university must pick a new leader amid worries who the new insider trading system might anoint with no notice. The feeling is the same around Florida Atlantic University as the second search begins.
Ten years ago, UF’s search produced two worthy finalists: the provosts of Cornell and New York University. Under Kent Fuchs, Florida rose to the top of public university rankings. A similar search, free of politics, produced Florida State University President Richard McCullough, who had been vice provost at Harvard. He also has raised FSU’s standing dramatically.
In contrast, DeSantis tried to have FAU hire State Rep. Randy Fine, whose only apparent “qualification” was helping DeSantis enact Republican “culture war” laws. DeSantis engineering the hiring at New College in Sarasota of former House Speaker Richard Corcoran, another political ally. New College just tossed library books that no longer align with the campus’ right-wing ideology into a dumpster.
UF sought little campus input before hiring Sasse. FAU’s search committee plans on-campus “listening sessions.” If they really do listen, committee members will hear that they want politics out of the search.
New project coming to “blighted” area of Delray
It was a seemingly straightforward development application. These days in Delray Beach, however, there seemingly is no such thing.
The new commission majority has blocked even small projects, having campaigned on what Mayor Tom Carney and Commissioners Juli Casale and Thomas Markert consider overdevelopment. Commissioners Angela Burns and Rob Long have tended to vote in favor of the projects.
The one before the commission Monday was Tropics of Delray. The developer plans 34 condos on two parcels, 2400 and 2410 N. Federal Highway. The homes, with three to five bedrooms, would displace a Badcock furniture store and a diner. The developer bought the three acres in 2022 for $9.5 million.
As the staff memo notes, the city declared this portion of Federal Highway to be “blighted” roughly two decades ago and approved zoning changes to improve it. Removing a 71-year-old and a 54-year-old building would seem to advance that goal. The planning and zoning board recommended approval, 6-1.
This time, the council went along. Carney, who lives just east of the site, welcomed the investment. As to Casale’s comment that the city needs more commercial development, Carney said, “The retail doesn’t want to go there.” Perhaps proximity made Carney see this project differently. The vote to approve was unanimous.
