On Monday, Palm Beach County eased restrictions on parks, public and private golf courses, marinas, boat ramps, community pools and natural areas.
Effective Wednesday, those facilities can reopen, under federal social distancing guidelines. Examples: Tennis and pickleball courts will be for singles play only. Parks can open for passive use. No more than three players can use basketball courts. Playgrounds stay closed. This action also does not cover beaches and does not apply to non-essential businesses. Read the full guidelines here.
This was the expected first phase of reopening the county. One of the issues Boca Raton City Council members will debate at their meeting tonight is who will enforce compliance.
I’ll have more on Thursday.
Delray Beach gets back to work
The Delray Beach City Commission officially gets back to work next Tuesday.
Commissioners have not held a regular meeting since March 3. They only met briefly to declare a COVID-19 state of emergency on March 13 and to certify the election results on March 31. The Boca Raton City Council resumed meetings on April 13.
City Manager George Gretsas told me last week that the city will “glide into” the new format, focusing at first on contracts and other “pro forma” business. Some commissioners may attend in person with others joining remotely. To maintain social distancing in the cramped commission chambers, Gretsas, City Attorney Lynn Gelin and other administrators may participate from other offices within City Hall.
The agenda isn’t ready, but commissioners surely will discuss what Gretsas called “the first waves” of possible reopenings since Delray Beach issued its stay-at-home order on March –. “We’re trying to get a pulse,” Gretsas said, “of how people are acclimating” to the restrictions, which on Monday the county began to ease.
From what Gretsas has heard, Delray Beach residents hadn’t been pushing as hard as Boca Raton residents to open parks, boat ramps and marinas, golf courses and the beach. Like County Mayor Dave Kerner, Gretsas believes that reopening the beach will be “the last call” when it comes to recreation. Then would come decisions on reopening non-essential businesses and allowing bars to reopen and restaurants to offer limited table service. Those restrictions are under a state order.
To communicate with residents, Gretsas formed five committees – clergy, businesses, non-profits, youth and seniors. City Commissioner Ryan Boylston said Gretsas would add one on education, which Boylston said is separate from other issues affecting children.
Places of worship have cooperated from the start with restrictions on public gatherings. That response, Gretsas said, typifies what has been happening citywide. “We see compliance.” As a result, the virus numbers are “looking very controlled.” Delray Medical Center administrators have told Gretsas that they have “no capacity issues.”
According to the latest numbers, Delray Beach has recorded 327 confirmed cases. Boca Raton has had 411. That count relies on ZIP codes, which means that cases in West Delray and West Boca may be counted among the city’s total.
Not surprisingly, the greatest urgency and come from business owners and leaders of non-profits. Layoffs have ravaged both sectors. “They’re fighting for life,” Gretsas said. The Delray Beach Chamber of Commerce is helping owners apply for Paycheck Protection Program loans.
Meanwhile, city business is resuming. The Planning and Zoning Department has been operating but the city has held no hearings on development applications. “We’re doing that again,” Gretsas said. Fortunately, the two firefighters who contracted the virus have recovered. A code enforcement officer also tested positive, but he’s “doing pretty well.”
Gretsas has been in “daily contact” with commissioners. Next week, they will resume contact with each other.
Gretsas’ connection
Sadly, the pandemic got personal for Gretsas. His brother-in-law, who lived in the New York City area, died recently at age 60 of complications from the virus.
Delray Beach commissioners
Outside of official meetings, Delray Beach commissioners have been busy in other ways.
Boylston said last week that people who need food or meals now can get them somewhere in the city seven days a week. That’s on top of the meals that the Palm Beach County School District is handing out to families of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunches at Village Academy.
Boylston has been working with Feeding South Florida, which distributes at Catherine Strong Park. The city has been helping the overall effort by sending a truck twice a week to Homestead, in southern Miami-Dade County, to pick up produce.
The ongoing efforts underscore a point I should have included last week in writing about the Palm Beach County Food Bank. Demand has more than doubled from the normal 100,000 pounds each week. Executive Director Karen Erren pointed out that the normal demand is fairly high in a county with so much wealth.
Under that wealth is the reality that many people in the county live paycheck to paycheck when the economy is healthy. And now we have an economic crisis.
Boca locks down new police chief
Boca Raton has a permanent police chief.
Way back in December, which seems a lifetime ago, Dan Alexander resigned to take a job with the Palm Beach County School District Police Department. City Manager Leif Ahnell named Assistant Chief Michele Miuccio to take over on an interim basis.
Last week, Ahnell announced that he had promoted Miuccio. She is a 30-year veteran of the 216-officer department, having started on road patrol. In a news release, Ahnell said Miuccio had “provided consistency in the department’s mission and service.” The promotion became effective on Monday.
Golf course on the docket
On tonight’s Boca Raton City Council regular meeting agenda is the proposed 10th amendment of the deal to sell the main municipal golf course.
GL Homes has a contract to buy the roughly 200 acres for $65 million. Earlier amendments have extended the company’s inspection period because of issues related to a cell phone tower on the property. This amendment would extend it again, from May 31 to Nov. 30.
In addition, the amendment would push the closing at least to April 30, 2021 and add provisions under which the sale might not close for a year after that. The county has approved GL Homes’ plan to build roughly 550 homes. Virus-related uncertainty about the real estate market could make GL want to hold off longer.
Discussions between the city and the Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District over a new course have stalled. District officials have argued that the city should help to pay for the new course with money from the sale of the old course. City officials respond regularly that the city doesn’t have the money yet. And won’t for a while.
Wick fighting to survive
Arts groups are among those non-profits “fighting for life.” A sense of that fight came last week in an email from Marilyn Wick, owner of the Wick Theater in Boca Raton.
Before virus-related restrictions forced the theater to close six weeks ago, Wick said, “We were on track to have the most successful season in our history.” That revenue loss and the continued uncertainly have been “devastating.” In addition, “A significant number of our faithful subscribers have chosen not to renew their subscriptions due to the COVID-19, which represents a shattering financial loss to the theatre.”
Like other business owners, Wick has applied for loans under the federal stimulus program. Wick has an added challenge in that she is “housing” cast members – “A Chorus Line” was the last show – who live in New York and “are justifiably afraid of returning to their homes.”
Wick still wants to restart with that production, but she already has pushed the date to July 2 and isn’t certain if that will stick. Yet she’s already thinking about the theater’s new normal. She would limit seating to 182, which would allow patrons to practice social distancing. There also would be added cleaning.
At its heart, the email is an appeal for money. “Most importantly, don’t give up on us! The sun is going to come out and we will re-open this theatre, but we need you more than ever to make that happen… Don’t leave us now when we need you the most!”
Those who want to donate or buy subscriptions can visit the theater’s website: thewick.org
And Arts Garage
Another of those at-risk arts groups is Arts Garage in Delray Beach. CEO Marjorie Waldo recently added a hometown spin to the online performances she has arranged and calls From Our HeARTS to Your Home.
Waldo asked city commissioners Ryan Boylston, Juli Casale and Adam Frankel, as well as Fire Chief Keith Tomey, to read children’s books. Boylston chose “That’s My Cake,” which he and his wife personalized for their two daughters. Casale read “The Magic Rabbit,” while Frankel picked the Dr. Seuss classic “Green Eggs and Ham.”
For Tomey, the natural choice would have seemed to be “Fireman Sam.” But Tomey preferred a family favorite called “Five Little Monkeys,” which does include lessons about personal safety.
