Roughly six weeks before Boca Raton’s downtown developer will submit its interim master plan, the city council wants to hear more from the public about the plan.
On Monday, the city will host a discussion at The Studio at Mizner Park. A similar event took place in February, after the council picked Terra/Frisbie for the $1 billion-plus redevelopment of the 30 acres around City Hall.
At first, the city had limited participation to 100 people. According to Deputy City Manager Andy Lukasik, who gave an update during Tuesday’s council meeting, almost that many people already had signed up through the city’s website.
Mayor Scott Singer then suggested a different formal that could allow nearly 300 people to attend. Lukasik indicated that was possible, saying that the city could “pivot.” Singer proposed that Terra/Frisbie representatives make a 30-minute presentation, with questions from the public to follow. The city has extended the sign-in period.
Councilwoman Yvette Drucker wanted to be even “bolder.” She proposed a second event at the Mizner Park Amphitheater, which can hold as many as 5,000 people.
Terra/Frisbie principal Rob Frisbie told me Wednesday that the company “is willing to accommodate whatever the council wants to do.” His plan for Monday’s event sounds like what Singler envisioned. Terra/Frisbie representatives will present “the latest iteration” of their plan. Afterward, breakout sessions will allow participants to ask specific questions.
Most concerns continue to be over displacement of recreation facilities—softball fields, basketball courts, the tennis center and the skate park. The city has responded by committing to pay for a softball complex at Sugar Sand Park and to replace the 10 clay courts at the tennis center, though the location has not been determined. A new skate park could go at North Park, which the Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District owns. Financing is uncertain at this point.
Terra/Frisbie also is responding. Frisbie said the latest plan will include more public racket facilities and basketball courts. “We want to create a world-class recreation experience.”
Meanwhile, Frisbie and City Manager George Brown said Terra/Frisbie is moving ahead with its due diligence of the site. Frisbie believes that the June 9 deadline for the interim master plan is achievable. “We’re chugging along.”
To sign up for the forum, click here.
Boca council members frustrated by delays in adding speed cameras to school zones
Council members are unhappy with what they consider slow progress on the plan for speed cameras in school zones.
During Tuesday’s meeting, the council approved a contract with RedSpeed for a pilot program at six schools— Addison Mizner, Blue Lake Elementary, Boca High, Calusa Elementary, J.C. Mitchell Elementary and Omni Middle/Spanish River High. Based on the results, the program could expand to the other 11 possible locations.
Staff chose RedSpeed without putting the contract out for bid. Representatives of two competitors asked that the city delay the vote and require bidding, but council members decided that the staff’s review was sufficient. They did suggest that staff should seek bids if the program expands.
Despite that affirmation, council members had complaints. Drucker criticized the staff for not adequately consulting with the county, since cameras will go on county roads. After hearing that RedSpeed got a program in Aventura running in two weeks, Councilmember Marc Wigder griped that Boca Raton’s could have been in place “five months ago.”
According to the staff memo, the city will not incur any expenses from the pilot program. RedSpeed will install all the equipment. Initially, police officers will review the citations. Later, Brown said, the city may train civilians for that work, “freeing officers to get back on the street.”
Of the $100 fine, $21 will go to RedSpeed and $39 will go to the city for what the memo calls “public safety initiatives.” The other $40 breaks down this way: $5 to the city to recruit crossing guards, $12 to the school district, $20 to the state and $3 to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Drivers will get citations only if they go 10 miles over the posted limit.
“This is not a revenue issue,” Singer said. “This is a safety issue.”
Officials say the program should be fully in place for the new school year.
Delray follows suit
Delray Beach also will install speed cameras. City Manager Terrence Moore expects that the ordinance to implement the program will be on the city commission’s May 20 agenda.
Boca to discuss settlement with former Housing Authority member
On the agenda for today’s meeting of the Florida Commission on Ethics is approval of a settlement with Angela McDonald, a member of the Boca Raton Housing Authority.
A former authority board member accused McDonald of violations related to her seeking expenses for a trip to New Orleans. The commission first found that McDonald had committed two violations. Just after that finding, however, an appellate court ruling nullified one of them.
McDonald thus will acknowledge one violation for failing to disclose a donation toward the trip. She will receive a public reprimand and pay a $500 fine. According to the agreement, McDonald “gives her assurance that this proceeding has affected the manner in which she will conduct herself as a public official in a positive way.”
Boca finds probably cause for hearing on alleged bullying by Florida rep
Another case on the Florida Commission on Ethics’ agenda is noteworthy. It concerns Randy Fine, the former state representative and senator from Brevard County who this month won a seat in Congress.
The commission has found probable cause to hold a hearing on three allegations against Fine that amount to political bullying that went too far. One is that Fine made “disparaging and false comments” on social media about a local city council member. Another is that he threatened to withhold state money based on not being invited to a fundraiser.
Fine escaped a hearing on three other violations only because the Legislature last year passed a law requiring that ethics complaints be based only on someone’s “personal knowledge.” Ethics watchdogs criticized the bill as an invitation to greater public corruption.
The item is noteworthy for Boca Raton because DeSantis wanted Fine to be president of Florida Atlantic University. The two have since had a nasty political breakup.
An update on closing of Boca railway crossing
I wrote Tuesday that Boca Raton will close the Florida East Coast Railway crossing at 28th Street and open one at Jeffrey Street, to create an east-west artery across the northern part of the city. According to a city spokeswoman, the project will cost $21 million and should start early next year. Construction will take between 12 months and 18 months.
Boca and Delray awarded Blue Flag designation for beaches
It’s a big beach week in Delray Beach and Boca Raton.
For the third straight year, Delray’s public beach won a Blue Flag designation from the Foundation for Environmental Education. The city will hold a ceremony at 10 a.m. on May 1, when the new, annual designation takes effect. The designated section runs from Laing Street south to Casuarina Road.
Meanwhile, Boca Raton received its first Blue Flag designation, for Spanish River Park from Tower 18 south. According to a news release, the city will install information boards at the park’s central pavilion about the conservation work—such as education programs at Gumbo Limbo Nature Center—that led to the award. The Blue Flag then will go up.
Correction
I wrote Tuesday about coming changes to the Boca Raton City Council. When noting that Councilmember Andy Thomson is running for mayor next year, I said that he would have to resign during the qualifying period in November.
According to a city spokeswoman, though, Thomson “will have to provide a resignation letter no later than the 10th day before the qualifying period, but the effective date does not have to be that same day, it can be anytime between the submission of the letter and the day he (or his successor) would be sworn in, which is March 31, 2026.”
