Old School Square new again?
The Delray Beach City Commission and the Community Redevelopment Agency still are trying to get together on Old School Square.
Last week, the CRA board chose an architect—Delray-based Currie Sowards Aguila—for a redesign of the grounds at what the city now calls Delray Beach Center for the Arts at Old School Square. There remains, however, disagreement between the CRA and the commission over the scope and price of that work. Since the city—not the CRA—owns the property and thus must approve or reject any plan, that difference matters.
Last spring, a CRA consultant held two charrettes. From those public meetings, the consultant produced pictures comparing a revamped Old School Square to plazas in large American and foreign cities. In June, the commission expressed strong displeasure at the look of the proposed makeover and its cost—$200,000 for design and $1 million for construction. Yet with last week’s action, is the CRA moving ahead anyway?
Yes, CRA Director Jeff Costello told me Wednesday, but the agency is “starting from scratch.” What happened last spring doesn’t matter. There will be new charrettes. The agency is seeking more “engagement.”
On Monday, City Commissioner Shelly Petrolia met with Costello. In an interview afterward, Petrolia said, “I got a feeling that he gets a different impression of the commission’s position.” Her recollection from the June budget meeting at which the issue came up is that “it was the consensus of the commission that the $1.2 million for Old School Square would better utilized elsewhere.”
Given that the CRA is starting over, Petrolia wondered “why the dollars didn’t shrink. Why are they talking about $1 million for sidewalks?” Petrolia said other areas of the city have unfinished sidewalks. She also wonders whether the public considers the Old School Square work to be as much of a priority as the CRA does.
Costello pointed out that while the CRA has chosen an architect, the agency still must work out the contract and the board must ratify it. Costello said the $200,000 figure is based on completion of an approved design. If the commission doesn’t want to proceed, Costello said, spending wouldn’t reach $200,000. Presumably, construction then wouldn’t reach $1 million.
Architect Robert Currie told me that he hopes to “broaden the scope” of the charrettes and “get more consensus.” The CRA, Currie said, has asked for a “master plan” for the Center for the Arts, “even if they can’t do everything all at once.” Costello confirmed that.
Regarding the reaction to what the last charrettes produced, Currie said, “People get a little upset about ideas. They’re just ideas. It doesn’t mean you’re going to do them.”
The topic came up during Tuesday night’s commission meeting. Petrolia said she and her colleagues want City Manager Don Cooper to ask Costello if the CRA can “hold off” on a decision until after the commission’s goal-setting session next Thursday “so that we may have an open and full discussion on the subject.” Costello said the CRA probably can do so, since the board won’t take up Currie’s contract until the Nov. 5 meeting.
Whatever the disagreements, there is full agreement on what Currie called the importance of Old School Square to Delray Beach’s redevelopment. The decision 25 years ago to make it a cultural hub catalyzed the changes on Atlantic Avenue. And since the commission has final say, it is essential that the commission and CRA get in sync before the agency wastes money on something the commission won’t accept.
El Rio Park
At Monday’s Boca Raton City Council workshop meeting, a city consultant will present “options” if the council decides to proceed with Phase 2 of the Hillsboro El Rio Park project.
The city originally planned for a park on both sides of Southwest 18th Street just east of Dixie Highway. In 2002, a soccer field and baseball field opened on the north side. The southern portion fell victim in part to the recession and in part to lack of demand that the city finish it.
After hearing from some residents, however, the city last spring allocated $50,000 for a study. Mayor Susan Haynie said then that the city needed an update on costs, given how much time had passed. Complicating matters is that the land is the site of the old city landfill. Glass and other objects regularly percolate above the surface of the soccer field, requiring maintenance that closes the field.
The presentation Monday will come from architect Ann Fils, who works in the Boca office of PGAL, a national firm. Fils also worked on the company’s design for Boca’s impressive downtown library.
College rankings
I have written about how Florida Atlantic University receives more or less public money based on state-imposed metrics: graduation rate, salaries of recent graduates, etc. Such performance rankings also are coming from outside of Florida—and they’re coming fast.
In April, the Metropolitan Policy Program of the Brookings Institution released a “value-added” system to rank two- and four-year college based on how well they prepare students for “high-paying careers.” Brookings emphasized that the system sought to be dramatically different from the U.S. News and World Report rankings that focus on selectivity of admissions.
By that standard, the best colleges are the ones that accept the lowest percentage of applicants. Like the Florida Legislature and the Board of Governors, which oversees the State University System, Brookings focuses on what colleges do for students after they get in. Example: One category looks at how long it takes graduates to repay their student loans.
Then there’s the new college scorecard from the Obama administration. It makes available to prospective parents and students reams of previously undisclosed information about all colleges, public and private.
With a few taps on a keyboard, you can learn that the average FAU graduate has about $17,000 in student loans and an average monthly payment of $192. You can learn that those with an FAU degree make about $41,000 after graduating, slightly above the national average. You can learn that the most popular majors are Business, Management and Marketing – 23 percent of all undergrads. You can find that the average freshman scored between 20 and 24 on the ACT.
You also can learn that those majors are even more popular at Lynn University – 48 percent. You can learn that Lynn graduates average about $35,000 in their first job and have slightly higher loan payments. You can learn that Lynn continues to attract lots of foreign students. They make up almost one-fourth of the student body. At FAU, it’s only about two percent.
And you can see by the numbers the different roles of the two universities. At FAU, 37 percent of students are part-timers. Only 6 percent go to Lynn part-time.
With the cost of even public universities rising, parents are looking beyond swanky dorms. They want a return on their investment. Their children should be grateful. Four-year college graduates earn what the Obama administration estimates to be $1 million more over their lifetimes than high school graduates.
Chief Goldman weighs in on pot issue
I wrote Tuesday about the proposed ordinance that would make misdemeanor marijuana possession a civil violation in some cases. I had not heard from Delray Beach Police Chief Jeffrey Goldman for his opinion.
Goldman gave it to me on Wednesday, and it matches that of Boca Raton Police Chief Dan Alexander. Goldman doesn’t like the idea, because officers “already have so many other factors to consider with marijuana cases.” He means that officers must decide whether to issue a notice to appear in court or to make an arrest.
“I get it,” Goldman said, of the argument that a record for such a minor offense can harm someone disproportionately. But he cited the county’s drug court and other diversion programs for such offenders.
Goldman and Alexander may be channeling Sheriff Ric Bradshaw. The county commission delayed Tuesday’s scheduled vote on the ordinance until December, supposedly because of concerns from the sheriff’s office.
As noted Tuesday, any serious discussion about marijuana decriminalization has to come at the state level. Those who disagree with Alexander and Goldman on the ordinance probably would agree on that.
