Referring to Delray Beach’s drawn-out struggle to reopen the Crest Theater, Mayor Tom Carney said at last Thursday’s special meeting, “I just want to put this behind us.”

Good luck with that.

Having scared away the Boca Raton Museum of Art (which had all the credentials to hold art classes in the renovated space) and letting politics foreclose a reunion with Old School Square Center for the Arts (which ran the Crest for decades), the city commission had no options after bumbling through the issue at last week’s regular meeting.

Carney had asked City Manager Terrence Moore to come back with ideas at the June 18 meeting. A day later, though, Carney asked for the special meeting after contacting Downtown Development Authority Executive Director Laura Simon. The DDA already is running the Cornell Museum.

Yet Carney has said repeatedly that he wants to “transition” away from the DDA’s involvement in Old School Square, with control passing to some still unnamed entity. One reason is that the DDA is charging the city for its work, and DDA Board Chair Brian Rosen said Thursday that the agency would charge for taking over part of the Crest.

“If you give us the keys,” Rosen told the commission, “you need to give us gas money.”

Simon appeared at Thursday’s meeting before the full DDA board had been able to discuss Carney’s request for yet another lifeline. That meeting happened Monday.

The commission that in 2021 evicted Old School Square Center for the Arts had to ask the DDA for that first lifeline—the Cornell—because the commission had no backup plan and could find no credible replacement. Before that, the DDA’s only job had been marketing downtown Delray Beach.

Simon noted Thursday that Old School Square ranks only behind the beach as a marketing draw. Yet nearly three years after that eviction—a petition opposing it got roughly 10,000 signatures—Delray Beach still doesn’t have a plan to fully reopen the cultural complex.

One of many low points during Thursday’s meeting came when Carney messed up his own motion. What he proposed gave the DDA control of the entire Crest. Commissioner Juli Casale, one of those who voted to evict Old School Square Center for the Arts, was fine with that. Carney wasn’t. His second motion involved just the Crest classrooms.

Commissioner Thomas Markert said contracting with the DDA “buys us time.” Commissioner Angela Burns said it better: “Our backs are against the wall.”

Burns suggested asking the City Creative Collaborative, the non-profit that already includes Arts Garage and its board members. Former City Commissioner Jim Chard spoke in support, noting that Arts Garage is “filled almost every night.”

Carney ignored him and moved on.

Another low point came when DDA board member Vera Woodson, during a rant about the commission in general, referred to Old School Square Center for the Arts as “bad people.” Even Carney pushed back on that.

“I’m exhausted from these conversations,” Casale complained. Yet Casale—with former Mayor Shelly Petrolia and former Commissioner Shirley Johnson—forced those conservations by evicting Old School Square Center for the Arts and then refusing to reconsider, despite pleas from almost every former mayor to not act rashly.

The one ex-mayor who didn’t join that group was Carney. He ran this year with Petrolia’s support as part of a slate that included Casale and Markert

As Carney kept calling for a quick timetable, City Attorney Lynn Gelin said, “We have no idea what the [DDA] board is going to say. We have no idea how much this is going to cost.”

Rather than try to open the classrooms this summer, Gelin said, the city should shoot for Oct. 1, when the new budget year starts. Moore agreed. Everyone is supposed to come back at the July 16 meeting, supposedly with details after DDA officials meet with Moore and Gelin.

Rosen said of the DDA board meeting, “Many options were discussed. Clear direction should be provided at the next meeting once more information is available, and board and staff has had time to review.” A DDA representative, though, reiterated that the agency will want additional money to operate the new classrooms.

This story is about Delay Beach politics as much as it is about Old School Square. I emailed Carney to ask about all this. He did not respond.

Reopening ceremony for Gumbo Limbo observation tower

Eight years after Boca Raton tore down the observation tower at Gumbo Limbo Nature Center, a ceremony to reopen the new structure will take place at 5 p.m. today.

It will be named Jacob’s Outlook, after Jacob Kosowky. He grew up in Boca Raton and died in a 2018 traffic accident. Mr. Kosowky’s family donated and raised roughly $560,000 toward the $2.5 million project. The balance came from the Greater Boca Raton Beach and Parks District.

Like its predecessor, the new tower will be about 40 feet tall, offering views of the Atlantic Ocean and Intracoastal Waterway. Unlike the old structure, this one will comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act; according to the city, a 700-foot switchback ramp will offer access to everyone.

Boca to debut downtown shuttle service

Speaking of ceremonies in Boca Raton, the city on Monday will start its subsidized downtown shuttle service, BocaConnect, with a ribbon cutting at 10 a.m. The event will take place at the south end of Mizner Park.

After several years of false starts, the city council in April approved a contract with Circuit Transit. The company operates similar services in South Florida cities. The cost for one year will be roughly $400,000, with four one-year renewals. All rides must begin or end downtown and range from free (in the red zone) to a $5 roundtrip fair.

According to a spokeswoman, the city will use many metrics to evaluate the service, which is designed to encourage more activity into and out of and around downtown. Those metrics include: daily and monthly ridership and ridership by time of day; time and distance of each ride; passengers per mile; miles and hours driven; cancellation and no-show rates; and pickup and dropoff locations. Data will come from Circuit Transit and the staff will verify the numbers.

No movement on Boca Bash littering case

It’s been more than a month since a video caught two teenagers illegally dumping Boca Bash trash from the stern of a boat into the Atlantic Ocean. According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, which investigated and made the arrests, the Palm Beach County State Attorney’s Office had 30 days to decide how to handle the cases.

We know that the accused are a 15-year-old boy and a 16-year-old boy. We know that the family of one boy issued an apology after the teens turned themselves in, saying that they were cooperating with the FWC investigation.

And since then? Nothing.

I asked the state attorney’s spokesman for an update. He declined, citing juvenile privacy laws. As I read the law, though, prosecutors can’t name the juveniles, but they can say what action the office has taken, or not taken.

The spokesman said, “I’ve been instructed by the juvenile unit chief that I am unable to provide an update as to case status.” The video of the trash dumping went viral. The state attorney’s office has gone dark.

Judge blocks law that would require more transparency from city officials

A federal judge has blocked the new state law that requires much more detailed financial disclosure information from city council members and commissioners.

Melissa Damian ruled that the law violated the First Amendment by requiring “content-based speech.” Delray Beach was one of the plaintiffs challenging the law. Elected officials at some small, oceanfront Palm Beach County towns resigned rather than comply.