The lawyer who wanted to keep the Save Boca petition off the March 10 ballot has withdrawn his lawsuit.
According to court records, Ned Kimmelman voluntarily dismissed the litigation last Wednesday, nine days after he had filed it. He did so without prejudice, meaning that he could refile it. Kimmelman offered no explanation beyond, “No comment.”
Kimmelman had named Save Boca, the City of Boca Raton and Supervisor of Elections Wendy Sartory Link as defendants. He had challenged the wording of the proposed charter amendment as deceptive. It would require a referendum on any lease or sale of city land more than one-half acre.
Summons had been issued for Link and Save Boca founder Jonathan Pearlman. Records show that the court found several problems with the filing as it related to requests for summonses. No hearings had been set. No responses had been filed.
A fundraising record for Boca Raton mayor races
Fundraising for the Boca Raton mayor’s race has neared $700,000 through Sept. 30.
That’s according to the latest reports from city council members Fran Nachlas and Andy Thomson, who are the only two announced candidates. In part because the candidates are both well-known and credible, this already is the most expensive race in Boca Raton’s history. It remains on track to top $1 million—a seemingly absurd figure in a weak-mayor system.
During the previous three months, Nachlas raised $44,000 in direct money and $33,000 through her committee—Fran For Boca. Thomson received $48,000 in direct contributions and got another $110,000 through his committee—Running With Andy Thomson. Nachlas’ total includes a $100,000 personal loan. Their combined total is roughly $686,000. Two more reports will come on Dec. 31 and March 30.
Among Nachlas’ individual contributors are land-use lawyer Ele Zachariades, who often appears before the council and gave $1,000, the legal limit for individuals and corporate entities. Nachlas got $500 from former Boca Raton Regional Hospital CEO Jerry Fedele and $100 from former Boca Raton Museum of Art Director Irvin Lippman.
Thomson’s list includes several $1,000 donations from residents of Royal Palm Yacht and Country Club in the southeast corner of the city. Sentiment there runs strongly against the proposed Terra/Frisbie downtown redevelopment project. Thomson has been the only council member to oppose it.
Thomson also received $1,000 from Jay Whelchel. The son of former Mayor Susan Whelchel wants the council to approve his plan for 42 townhouses on land near Addison Mizner School. Another $2,000 came from Government Law Group, another land-use law firm. Former Mayor Bill Smith gave $1,000.
Nachlas’ committee donors include Phil Bottfeld, a principal of Wexford Real Estate Investors. Wexford wants to build a 12-story luxury downtown condo. Bottfeld gave $5,000. Committee donations are unlimited. Another $5,000 came from Nachlas’ husband, otolaryngologist Dr. Nathan Nachlas. Still another $5,000 came from Robert Colton, who founded concierge medical service MDVIP.
That committee also got a second $10,000 donation from People’s Trust Insurance Company, based in Deerfield Beach. The company is not a vendor with Boca Raton. Nachlas explained the donations by saying that she has “a relationship” with someone at People’s Trust.
Of that $110,000 to Thomson’s committee, $70,000 came from another committee—Citizens For Law Order and Ethics—that his consultant runs. All donations to that committee in the reporting period came from the Seminole Tribe of Florida.
Like People’s Trust, the tribe—which runs the largest gambling operation in Florida—has no dealings within Boca Raton. “I have never solicited them,” Thomson said. That’s what happens when local candidates rely heavily on committees involved with statewide races. Money gets fungible.
Thomson’s committee also got $10,000 from Sentosa Partners, a real estate/hospitality firm based in Boca Center, and $5,000 from NADG Florida. The company is proposing a residential project north of Boca Center. NADG developed the home rental project on the former Boca Del Mar golf course.
Camino Square project clashes with Save Boca
Last week’s discussion of the Camino Square project in Boca Raton wasn’t supposed to be about Save Boca.
Until it was.
On the agenda for the city council, acting as the community redevelopment agency, was the proposal to add 394 apartments to the 346 on the east side that went up in Phase 1. But Phase 2—on the north side of the nine-acre site near Camino Real and Southwest Third Avenue—was supposed to be all retail. At one point, the developer had talked about a specialty grocery store.
Now, however, landowner Kimco Realty was saying that the project would have only about 8,000 square feet of retail, much of that for dining. Anything more, Kimco said, was not viable. A drugstore, two grocery stores and some smaller stores are not far away.
City planners had recommended approval. So had the Planning and Zoning Board. Then came the speakers with Save Boca T-shirts to argue against approval.
The former shopping plaza, once anchored by a Winn-Dixie, was “fine as it was,” one speaker said. Another referred to it as “a popular center.” In fact, after the Winn-Dixie closed in 2010, so many tenants fled that the site became blighted.
As Thomson noted, the community redevelopment agency’s mission is to eradicate blight. Phase 1 did that. Zachariades said the occupancy rate is “between 95 and 98 percent.” The owner of apartments to the west, which had become sober homes, sold the buildings. The new owner renovated them. The developer spent $3 million on road improvements to ease traffic problems.
Yet the current reality is that four of the five council members will be on a ballot soon. Nachlas and Thomson are running for mayor. Councilman Marc Wigder is running for reelection. Coucilwoman Yvette Drucker is running for Palm Beach County clerk and comptroller; she dropped her run for Florida Senate last month.
Faced with that opposition, council members seemed in a bind. Rejecting the project without a good reason could be risky legally. Approving it could be politically risky.
So, they hemmed and hawed. Nachlas asked rhetorically, “Does [the project] satisfy the vision of downtown? Right now, it doesn’t.” She and Drucker asked for more retail. In a follow-up conversation, Nachlas acknowledged, “I don’t know what that looks like.”
Zachariades noted that Kimco is the nation’s largest commercial real estate firm. If more retail seemed viable, the company would have proposed it. She also recalled, correctly, that the main objection to Phase 1 concerned traffic. Since retail generates more traffic than residential, calling for more retail seemed contradictory and confusing. In response to speakers who criticized the eight-story apartments, Zachariades noted, correctly, that downtown rules allow 10-story buildings.
Though the developer reluctantly accepted a postponement, council members couldn’t decide what would happen next. First, they suggested that the developer and city staff meet within 14 days to discuss a new version with more retail. Development Services Director Brandon Schaad said, “I don’t understand what you’re asking.” Schaad later said, “I need clarity on the status” of the development proposal. Would it be withdrawn?
Eventually, the council said the proposal would come back at the Nov. 17 meeting. Not much else was clear, except that for now every development project in Boca Raton runs through the Terra/Frisbie project.
Delray Beach Police leadership reorganization
Delray Beach Police Chief Darrel Hunter has announced a reorganization of the department’s “executive leadership.”
Under the changes, which took effect Oct. 1, one of three assistant chiefs becomes deputy chief, in charge of “daily operations, strategic project execution and cross-divisional communication.” Three captains’ positions become majors, to “provide oversight” and “mentor frontline supervisors.” Majors are not subject to collective bargaining. The number of lieutenants drops from nine to eight.
In an email, Hunter said, “With minimal internal moves, no service disruption, and no significant cost increase, we are creating a leadership structure that is responsive and fully aligned with our mission. It enables every member of the department from executive leadership to the front lines to contribute meaningfully toward a shared goal of making Delray Beach the safest city in America.”
To that end, Delray Beach is expanding its CCTV surveillance to the barrier island, with plans to do the same on West Atlantic Avenue. A $500,000 state grant is helping. According to a police department email, enhanced technology will be in place when Pompey Park is renovated and the new police station opens.
New pickleball court to open at Patch Reef Park
At 5 p.m., Wednesday, the Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District will open its 18-court, covered pickleball court at Patch Reef Park. A clinic will follow the ceremony.
