CITIES SEEK TO JOIN COUNTY ETHICS RULES SEE STORY, PAGE 3
COUNTY ZONERS FAVOR BIZ PARK ON SR 7 SEE STORY, PAGE 7
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TOWN-CRIER WELLINGTON • ROYAL PALM BEACH • LOXAHATCHEE • THE ACREAGE
Your Community Newspaper
INSIDE P.W. Chamber Plans Business Forum In Wellington Aug. 17
Volume 31, Number 33 August 13 - August 19, 2010
BJ’S OFFERS A ‘TASTE OF THE TOWN’
The Palms West Chamber of Commerce will hold a public forum on “Running a Business in a Down Economy” on Tuesday, Aug. 17 at 7 p.m. at the Wellington Community Center (12165 W. Forest Hill Blvd.). Page 3
Election 2010: State Senate District 27, Democratic Primary
The Town-Crier chats with Democratic candidates Kevin Rader and Peter Burkert, who are seeking to replace State Sen. Dave Aronberg, who is vacating the seat in order to run for attorney general. Page 5
BJ’s Wholesale Club in Royal Palm Beach hosted its “Taste of the Town” on Saturday, Aug. 7. Shoppers sampled dishes from area restaurants and participated in activities such as face painting and raffles. Shown here, Mario Bros. Gourmet Pasta’s Bruce and Erin Fernandez serve Linda Skinner and her sister Chris Verner. SEE MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 12 PHOTO BY DENISE FLEISCHMAN/TOWN-CRIER
Pizzazz Hosts ‘Pizzazz Gives Back Day’ To Benefit Little Smiles
Pizzazz Hair Design hosted its annual fundraiser Pizzazz Gives Back on Sunday, Aug. 8. This year’s event benefited the charity Little Smiles. Page 8
Temple Beth Zion In Royal Palm Beach Kicks Off Weekly Bingo Night
Temple Beth Zion in Royal Palm Beach hosted the first of its weekly Bingo nights on Monday, Aug. 9. The games begin Mondays at 7 p.m. with an early-bird game at 6:30 p.m. They are run by a professional Bingo operator and offer a variety of cash prizes. Page 9
Opinion Town-Crier Primary Election Endorsements
In our second set of endorsements before the Aug. 24 primary election, the Town-Crier offers recommendations for the U.S. House districts 16 and 22, Democratic primaries; Palm Beach County School Board Seat 6; County Commission District 6, Democratic primary; and Circuit Court Group 33. Page 4
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COUNTY COMMISSION DIST. 6 DEM PRIMARY
Jess Santamaria Keeps Focus On Fighting Corruption, Waste By Carol Porter Town-Crier Staff Report After four years on the Palm Beach County Commission, District 6 incumbent Jess Santamaria faces Glades activist Michael E. Jackson in the Democratic primary Aug. 24. The winner of the primary will face Republican candidate John Carroll and independent candidate Andy Schaller in November. For Santamaria, public service is a way of life. He said his strength of character and willingness to help others stems from the fact that his father died when he was just three years old, and his mother raised six children by herself. Santamaria’s father was a judge, and the young Santamaria was told how fair and ethical his fa-
ther was, so he wanted to be the same way. “The strength I have comes from a very tough early life,” Santamaria said. “There was the war in the Philippines, and the fact that my father died when I was three.” A self-made man, Santamaria rose from humble beginnings to become a successful businessman and real estate developer in his adopted hometown of Royal Palm Beach. “After the war, the only thing we had was the shirts on our backs. That’s what has created the person in front of you today,” he said. “I am someone who knows what it is to have nothing. The person in front of you is a mixed up kid… I have the Spanish heritage of my parents, and I have the
Philippine environment, but I am totally American in mind. My mind is no different than yours. I have 10 years of corporate world experience at IBM and Exxon, and some 30 years in development.” Santamaria said he was “called” to public service because he got angry when he saw what the county commission was doing at the expense of good people and residents. It also saddened him that people were calling his home “Corruption County.” Fighting that corruption has been Santamaria’s central focus while in office. He noted that he had no intention of serving more than four years, but toward the end of his first term, Santamaria realized that all his work had not been See SANTAMARIA, page 20
Glades Activist Michael Jackson Seeks County Commission Seat By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report Democrat Michael E. Jackson, a lifelong resident of the Glades communities, is running in the Aug. 24 primary against incumbent District 6 County Commissioner Jess Santamaria. The winner of the primary will face Republican candidate John Carroll and independent candidate Andy Schaller in November. Jackson has more than 20 years of government, business and community-building experience, focused in his home communities. “The only times I’ve been away is a couple of times for college,” said Jackson, who has a bachelor’s degree in political science and master’s degree in public administration from Florida A&M University. After returning home, Jackson became a teacher for seven years
at Lakeshore Middle School and Pahokee Middle Senior High School. Jackson was elected to the South Bay City Commission in 1992 and served four years. Toward the end of his second term, Mayor Clarence Anthony suggested he apply for the open job of city administrator, a post he held for five years. In 2001, Jackson became regional director for the Broward County service center for the South Florida Water Management District, leaving in 2004 to set up his own governmental affairs consulting service. He ran unsuccessfully for county commission in 2006, coming in second in a fourway Democratic primary to Santamaria. After Santamaria was elected, he offered Jackson a position as Glades liaison to the county com-
mission. “Basically, it allowed me to be directly responsible for enacting, promoting and carrying out $440 million worth of projects over the last three years,” Jackson explained. The projects included completion of a regional water facility serving the Glades area, which required him to get those communities to embrace the concept. “Literally, they were giving up their utility, which heretofore was probably their biggest revenue generator,” Jackson said. In looking back over his career, Jackson said helping his community ranks as his top accomplishment. “I started out with the idea of giving back to the community that afforded me the opportunity to grow and nurture myself,” he said. Jackson believes he is the best See JACKSON, page 20
Serving Palms West Since 1980
Wellington Adjusts Speed Limits On Village Roadways By Lauren Miró Town-Crier Staff Report People traveling on Wellington roads should be prepared to check their speed now that the Wellington Village Council voted Tuesday to lower the speed limit on several roadways throughout the village. Council members, concerned with safety and roads being used as a cut-through for drivers, ordered a speed study be done on 22 roads. Pinder Troutman Consulting Inc., the village’s traffic consultant, suggested several modifications, which were amended by village staff to include similar roads that were not addressed. The council voted to alter the speed limit on seven roads, raising or lowering each of them to 40 mph. The speed limits on Forest Hill Blvd. and Big Blue Trace between South Shore and Southern boulevards were lowered from 45 mph to 40 mph. Stribling Way from Lyons Road to Forest Hill Blvd. was set at 40 mph, a change from 35 mph east of State Road 7 and 45 mph west of SR 7. Greenview Shores Blvd., which formerly had a 35 mph limit south of Wellington Trace and a 45 mph limit north to Binks Forest Drive, was changed to 40 mph for its entire length. Aero Club Drive between Greenbriar Blvd. and Binks Forest Drive was changed from 45 mph to 40. Wellington Trace west of Forest Hill Blvd. and east of Paddock Drive was lowered to 40 mph, but raised from 35 mph to 40 between Greenbriar Blvd. and Paddock Drive. Additionally, all neighborhood roads were set to 25 mph unless otherwise posted. Mayor Darell Bowen said he wanted to see exact recommendations for the speed limits on each road. “Just to change these for the sake of having them all the same is not a good idea,” he said. “To
say that we’re reducing these just for safety’s sake alone is not necessarily a good idea.” Keith Jackson of the Ingenuity Group, who was standing in for consultant Andrea Troutman, said the goal is not necessarily to create a standardized speed limit throughout the village. He noted that several collector roads would mostly remain 45 mph. “I don’t think that you should look at it as standardizing something,” he said. “I think you should look at it as a common speed limit. There are areas that are 45, there are areas that are 40.” But Bowen said he felt that the roads leading in and out of the village, such as Binks Forest Drive and Forest Hill and South Shore boulevards, were different from roads within the village and should retain a higher speed limit. “They’re getting people out of here in the morning and getting them home in the afternoon,” he said. “I question lowering the speed limits on those streets.” Bowen worried that the lower speed limit would put off residents who use some of the roads as a pass-through to get home. Mayor Pro Tem Dr. Carmine Priore said he supported the lower speed limits because Wellington’s roads are used to bypass more heavily traveled roads. “It’s not just our residents who are using it as a bypass,” he said. “It’s those people who come and use our roadways as through ways, and the only way to discourage them, as they do in Royal Palm Beach, is to lower the speeds.” Priore compared it to when the village voted to lower the speed limits in equestrian zones because of the horses. “Now it’s children and cars,” he said. “Our roadways are used by children to get back and forth to school, even though they’re on bike paths. But some of the bike paths are near the roadway.” Bowen said he would like to see See SPEEDS, page 20
CAR & BIKE SHOW
X102.3’s second annual Custom Car and Bike Show was held Saturday, Aug. 7 at the Americraft Expo Center at the South Florida Fairgrounds. Big rims, butterfly doors, lights, candy paint and earth-shaking sound systems made up the event, which also featured performances by hip-hop acts, martial arts demonstrations, vendors handing out freebies and more. Shown above, representatives from presenting sponsor Taco Bell hand out coupons. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 20 PHOTO BY DENISE FLEISCHMAN/TOWN-CRIER
Bidder’s Protest Delays Vote On New Tennis Contract By Lauren Miró Town-Crier Staff Report An appeal from a prospective tennis center provider has halted negotiations between the Village of Wellington and current provider Tommy Cheatham Inc. Although the Wellington Village Council was set to approve a new contract with Cheatham at Tuesday’s meeting, an appeal by A1A Tennis LLC delayed the decision. The decision has been tentatively placed on the agenda for the Aug. 31 council meeting. But if the village chooses to accept the appeal, the bidding process will have to start over, Director of Operations Jim Barnes said. In May, the council voted to seek proposals for the programming and maintenance of the Wellington Tennis Center that would cut village costs.
Since 1999, the facility had been operated by tennis professional Tommy Cheatham and his company, Cheatham Inc. The village was spending about $180,000 a year in personnel, maintenance and utility costs. The bidding opened on July 14 and the village received proposals from three companies: Cheatham Inc., A1A Tennis LLC and Perry Sinett Inc. On July 21, each bidder gave an oral presentation, and on July 28 a selection committee reviewed the proposals and scored each one, Barnes said. The committee, which was made up of Grounds and Facilities Manager Bruce Wagner, Parks & Recreation Interim Director Bruce Delaney and Director of Financial Management & Budget Mireya McIlveen scored Cheatham the highest overall in five
categories. A1A Tennis LLC scored 25 points lower. Cheatham proposed a $145,000 annual contract with a $16,000 estimated utility cost, but noted that the village would not have to pay a $34,435 salary, bringing the estimate to $126,565. The proposal would save the village $56,012 off its current costs. The proposal also states that Cheatham would pay a portion of the tennis center’s gross revenue to the village on a tiered basis annually. The company agreed to pay 2 percent of all annual gross revenue up to $300,000, 3 percent for all annual gross revenue between $300,000 and $400,000 and 4 percent on annual gross revenue over $400,000. So for annual gross revenue of $500,000, Cheatham proposed to pay the village $13,000.
However, during the oral presentations, which were open to the public, Cheatham requested $110,000 in additional funds for its maintenance program, Barnes said. “There was a component for programming and one for maintenance,” Barnes said. “Both Sinett and A1A Tennis basically said ‘here’s the total proposal and we’re going to do all the maintenance at no additional cost.’ And Mr. Cheatham’s proposal indicated that there was going to be an additional cost.” A1A proposed to provide both the maintenance and management of the facility, which “would eliminate Wellington’s cost for maintaining the tennis courts and any other subsidies or funding from Wellington in support of the program,” according to the proposal.
Wellington would be responsible for repairing fences and light fixtures, maintaining the irrigation system and paying for all electrical, water, sewer, trash collection, telephone, Internet and cable costs. Additionally, A1A proposed to pay the village 10 percent of its monthly gross revenue for the first year, 15 percent in the second year and 20 percent for the remaining years. In its appeal of the selection committee’s decision, dated Thursday, July 29, A1A cited Cheatham’s revised cost proposal to request $110,000 for maintenance as going against the village’s goal to reduce or eliminate costs to the taxpayers. According to the proposal, A1A also said that it planned to grow See TENNIS, page 7