CEREMONY HONORS GUERRY STRIBLING SEE PHOTOS, PAGE 2
NEW POLO SEASON GETS UNDERWAY SEE STORY, PAGE 9
T H E W E L L I N GTO N
TOWN-CRIER
Wellington’s Hometown Newspaper
INSIDE News
Volume 30, Number 2 January 9 - January 15, 2009
LITTLE SMILES GIFT GATHERING
Bus Will Transport Protesters To SWA Meeting On Jan. 14
With the Solid Waste Authority poised to select a site on State Road 80 as a future landfill for Palm Beach County, a bus will take protesters from Wellington to the SWA headquarters to oppose the selection, a Wellington community activist said this week. Page 2
Opinion Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Holds Special Meaning This Year
A gift-gathering party and fundraising event was held Wednesday night at the Wanderers Club at Wellington to benefit Little Smiles, a local charity that brings joy into the life of ill children. The gift gathering was also geared toward promoting the bigger Stars Ball gala to be held for Little Smiles on Feb. 7 at Binks Forest Golf Club. (Above) John Ruffa with his son Carson. (Left) Mason Phelps Jr. and Kathy Foster take part in a fashion show. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 5
This year’s holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. falls on Monday, Jan. 19 — the day before Barack Obama is scheduled to be inaugurated as the first African-American president of the United States. A celebration will be held in Royal Palm Beach in honor of the late civil rights leader. Page 4
Features
PHOTO BY CAROL PORTER/TOWN-CRIER
Wellington PZA Board Supports Stables At Paddock, Pinewood ER Doctors Urgent Care Walk-In Medical Center Opens On SR 7
Physicians from throughout South Florida joined Palms West Chamber of Commerce members on Tuesday to celebrate the grand opening of ER Doctors Urgent Care WalkIn Medical Center in the Palomino Park Professional Center in Wellington. Page 19
Sports
Wellington Wave Soccer Tournament Held At Village Park
More than 30 travel soccer teams from across the state took to the fields Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 3 and 4 at Wellington Village Park on Pierson Road to participate in the Second Annual Wellington Wave Shoot-Out Tournament. Page 25
Business
90-Day Challenge Returns To Ultima Fitness In Wellington
The Ultima Fitness/Xtreme Tae Kwon Do 90-Day Fitness Challenge is back for the seventh year with a new, more user-friendly and fun format, according to the fitness club’s co-owner Jill Merrell and event organizer Judy Duany. Page 29 THIS WEEK’S INDEX NEWS .......................... 2 - 12 OPINION ............................. 4 CRIME NEWS ..................... 6 SCHOOLS .......................... 13 PEOPLE ..................... 14 - 15 FEATURES ......................... 19 COLUMNS ......................... 22 SPORTS .................... 25 - 27 CALENDAR ........................ 28 BUSINESS ................ 29 - 31 CLASSIFIEDS ............ 32 - 35 Visit Us On The Web At WWW.GOTOWNCRIER.COM
By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report About 473 homeowners in the Paddock Park and Pinewood neighborhoods might have the opportunity to build stables in their back yards under an ordinance approved Thursday by the Wellington Planning, Zoning & Adjustment Board. The board’s recommendation will accompany the ordinance when it is reviewed by the Wellington Village Council, probably later this month. Horse stables are currently allowed only in the Equestrian Preserve Area (EPA) in western and southern Wellington, where large lots and equestrian-centered homes and businesses predominate. The board in December had considered a version that would have given stable rights to only 37 lots along the north end of Paddock Park that abutted a horse trail. The areas now covered by the proposed ordinance are much wider and divided into four areas: • Area 1: Paddock Park 1 north of Paddock Drive, south of the FPL transmission line,
east of Ousley Farms Road and west of the C-3 Canal. • Area 2: Pinewood Park and Pinewood of Wellington north of the FPL transmission line, south of the C-51 Canal, east of Ousley Farms Road and west of Big Blue Trace. • Area 3: Pinewood of Wellington north of the FPL transmission line, south of the C-51 Canal, east of Big Blue Trace and west of Forest Hill Blvd. • Area 4: Pinewood East of Wellington north of the FPL transmission line, south of the C-51 Canal, east of Forest Hill Blvd. and west of Palm Beach Little Ranches. Qualifying lots would have to be greater than one acre and meet certain criteria for setback, including the ability to accommodate a horse trailer. The oneacre lots must abut at least oneacre lots or public or private rights of way such as roads, canals, public parks, open space or transmission lines. The ordinance would limit the number of stables on a qualifying lot to two and covering no more than 1,250 square feet per acre. Groom’s quarters would not be permitted in order to deter commercial activities.
PZA Board Alternate Alan Johnson said he was surprised that the number of allowable lots had increased that much. “I was confused when I got the packet,” he said. “This came to us as a limited expansion. Now it’s being opened up to 473 plots of land.” PZA Board Chair Steve Delai said he was concerned about the board making evenhanded decisions. “I have always been keen on asking how many other properties could be affected by a decision,” he said. Staff recommended the exclusion of Area 4 because the Pinewood East neighborhood exhibits a different character than the others and riders would have to cross busy roads to access other equestrian areas, but Board Member Eugene DiFonte recommended keeping it in. During the public hearing, Scott Modist of Paddock Park said he was opposed to the proposal because most of the houses in his neighborhood were built too far back to accommodate a paddock behind them. “I don’t think there’s enough room,” Modist said. “My lot is an acre and a third. I spend a lot See PZA BOARD, page 16
Serving Palms West Since 1980
Council Members Raise Concerns About PBCC Plan By Don Brown Town-Crier Staff Report Three members of the Wellington Village Council have raised concerns about a proposed lease of the village’s “KPark” property to Palm Beach County Community College for a new campus. Memos submitted in recent weeks to village staff by Vice Mayor Dr. Carmine Priore, Councilwoman Lizbeth Benacquisto and Councilman Matt Willhite cite unanswered questions and other uncertainties about the controversial proposal, in which the college would basically get tax-free use of the land on State Road 7 at no cost. While Willhite has questioned the proposal since it was first put forward last April, both Priore and Benacquisto have been receptive until recently. But now Priore is calling for new appraisals of the land because its current value is unknown, and for an arrangement that is “a joint venture and not a giveaway.” In his memo, Priore proposed an alternative plan by dividing up the 67-acre property into two parcels — 45 acres in the western part of the site reserved for the college campus and athletic fields accessible to village residents, and 22 acres along State Road 7 that would generate revenue with development. “If we can negotiate a contract that would provide what we want and continue to control a valuable portion of the site for sale or future sale, and get a community college, what is the down side?” he asked. Priore specifically suggested that the 22 acres “can be sold as a business or office park, a medical arts district, but most importantly, an employment center, thus generating a sales price, impact fees and perpetual taxes to the village as well as ongoing quality employment opportunities,” he wrote in his memo dated Jan. 6. “The college would have available the western rectangle of 45 acres with access from Pierson Road. The return to the village would be the ball fields that are wanted, plus a college campus.” The reference to ball fields recalls the original purchase of K-Park for development as a recreation facility. Plans for that fell to budget cuts after village staff reported that Wellington would not be able to afford the
upkeep on more athletic fields. Priore wrote that his proposal might offer a way to have those facilities paid for. “There is a dollar value to capital improvements and ongoing operation and maintenance,” he wrote. “I can support this proposal if, after we have the appraisals and calculations for the dollar value of the ball fields and associated structures, the numbers reflect that an interlocal agreement is a smart one for the village.” In his memo also dated Jan. 6, Willhite provided a list of 24 comments and questions he said have not been satisfactorily answered, beginning with the lack of an impact analysis of how the college will benefit the village and ending by questioning why the village has moved with such speed to close the deal. In between, Willhite asks whether PBCC has enough money in reserve to pay for the campus, whether the campus would meet traffic concurrency, how many jobs it would generate in the village, how the village could pay down a bond on the K-Park property that by 2013 will amount to some $2 million, and why the council hadn’t ever considered putting the property up for sale in a competitive bid process should it be deemed surplus. He also supported a public referendum before a deal is signed with PBCC. While Willhite originally favored retaining the land for eventual development as a park, he told the Town-Crier Wednesday that he now favors holding onto the property until property values increase and that it would be foolish to give it away to the first who asked. “I think it’s a disservice to consider only one entity for the property,” he said. Willhite said he senses “at lease some movement that other council members are moving in our direction.” “I doubt that,” Mayor Darrell Bowen told the Town-Crier Wednesday. “I’ve already suggested to Matt that if he has questions, he should pick up the phone and ask someone, like I do. The people of this community want this college. Whatever we do, we have to take the risk. It’s worth it.” Bowen also issued a warning to his fellow council members. “If they don’t support having a college campus in our commuSee PBCC, page 2
2009 Winter Equestrian Festival Begins 12-Week Run By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report The 2009 Winter Equestrian Festival opened this week in Wellington, and organizers said they are taking more steps to make the event a destination for both riders and spectators from all over the world. On Thursday, the second day of the 12-week festival, the organizers held a press conference at the newly improved Palm Beach International Equestrian Center in Wellington. Ken Braddick of Equestrian Sport Productions, which took ownership of the shows in 2007, thanked WEF founder Gene Mische for establishing the long-running event in Wellington. “We all owe a huge thanks to Gene Mische for his vision 30 years ago in creating what is today the Winter Equestrian Festival, the premier winter circuit anywhere in the world, bar none,” Braddick said. “Gene is a great mentor.” It is that vision that has led to a renaissance in equestrian sport — one that has catapulted riders from North America to the forefront of world horsemanship. Canadian Eric Lamaze, the 2008 individual Olympic gold medallist and currently the No. 1 ranked jumper in the world, said it’s an honor to be a North American rider in the top spot. “The spot has mostly been
occupied by Europeans,” he said. “Most of the top ten has been occupied by Europeans. Now there’s North Americans in the top ten, and it’s great. To have that title, you have to have great horses and compete hard.” Although most of the worldclass competitions are in Europe, Lamaze said he felt it’s possible to remain number one while competing at WEF, as it has gained more internationally ranked competitions. “You have to do quite well for sure, but it’s a good possibility,” Lamaze said. “It depends on what horse you use throughout the circuit, but I’m really trying to use the circuit to give some of my younger horses some mileage, so, hopefully, they’re good enough, they get adapted, and we have a good circuit.” Laura Kraut, a fellow Wellington resident, winner of numerous Nations Cups and World Cups and a member of the 2008 U.S. Olympic gold medal team, said she is fortunate to be rotating three veteran grand prix horses this season. “I plan to stagger them, and I’ve got some nice young ones that I’ll bring along, jump in and see how they go,” she said. Equestrian Sport Productions CEO Mark Bellissimo said he has been working to create an environment where worldranked riders won’t be put at a disadvantage by participating in WEF competitions.
2009 WEF — Equestrian Sport Productions CEO Mark Bellissimo previews this year’s Winter Equestrian Festival as rider Geoff Teall, WEF founder Gene Mische and sponsor Dennis Shaughnessy of FTI Consulting look on. PHOTO BY RON BUKLEY/TOWN-CRIER
“We’ve had conversations with a number of riders to try to extend the number of worldranking classes,” Bellissimo said. “We can’t do it this year, but I anticipate that next year, this will actually be a great opportunity to aggressively ride for the world rankings. That’s a big goal for us over the next year.” This year, WEF will feature a World Dressage Masters event Jan. 28 - Feb. 1 worth €140,000, the first in a series of four with others to follow in Europe,
Braddick said. Equestrian Sport Productions is part owner of the World Dressage Masters event series, he said. “Mark [Bellissimo] went to Cannes in June last year and negotiated an agreement with World Dressage Masters, where ESP becomes a part owner of the circuit,” Braddick explained. “We have a considerable interest in trying to ensure its success. It will be, we believe, a very special event.” Competitors in the World
Dressage Masters include Anky van Grunsven, the most successful musical freestyle competitor in the history of dressage, World Cup finalist Edward Gal and U.S. Olympian Steffan Peters, Braddick said. Another highlight competition of this year’s WEF will be the $400,000 FTI Grand Prix during Week 11, March 18-22, Braddick said. This year’s WEF title sponsor, for the first time, is FTI ConSee WEF, page 16