BENACQUISTO CAMPAIGN KICKOFF SEE PHOTOS, PAGE 10
SPUR OF THE MOMENT DRILL TEAM SEE COLUMN, PAGE 18
T H E W E L L I N GTO N
TOWN-CRIER
Wellington’s Hometown Newspaper
INSIDE Opinion
Volume 30, Number 25 June 19 - June 25, 2009
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ROYAL PALM! Planned RPB Golf
Course Delayed
Make This Father’s Day About Quality Time With Dad
Nowadays, spending quality time on Father’s Day is a challenge, what with all the high-tech gadgets distracting us. And while it is easy enough to just buy dad a card and a call it day, there are more thoughtful ways to express your appreciation and spend time together. On Father’s Day, the most important thing to remember is that you let dad know how much he is appreciated. Page 4
News Lynn Takes Job In Broward County
Wellington’s former village manager Charlie Lynn has landed a new job as administrator of the Town of Southwest Ranches in Broward County. Page 2
The Village of Royal Palm Beach marked its 50th anniversary with two days of celebrations last weekend, starting with the unveiling of a sculpture Friday evening to a fireworks display Saturday night. Shown here, Dolly Hughes and Eva Hernandez sell 50th anniversary merchandise at Veterans Park on Saturday. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 7 PHOTO BY DENISE FLEISCHMAN/TOWN-CRIER
Richter: Wellington Crime Perception Is Not Reality Wellington Rotary Installs Officers, Presents Awards
The Wellington Rotary Club held its annual installation gala last Friday at the Binks Forest Golf Club. Frank Young was installed as the new club president, and outgoing president Don Gross was honored. Page 3
Features
PBSO Hosts ‘Beat The Heat’ At The Raceway
South Florida residents were invited to Beat the Heat with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office on Saturday, June 13 at the Palm Beach International Raceway. The event is part of a series of races that will take place in an attempt to bring young people to the track to educate them on the dangers of street racing. Page 18
Online Poll Are you optimistic about President Obama’s plan for national healthcare? A. Yes, every American should have health insurance! B. Yes, but I am worried it won’t go far enough. C. No, there is no way it will come to pass. D. No, it is not necessary and will cost too much! Cast your vote by visiting www.goTownCrier.com and scrolling down to the poll question at the bottom left of the page. THIS WEEK’S INDEX NEWS ...................... 2 - 10 OPINION ......................... 4 CRIME NEWS ................. 6 CALENDAR ................... 11 PEOPLE ................. 12 - 13 SCHOOLS ...................... 14 BUSINESS ................... 15 SPORTS ........................ 17 COLUMNS .................... 19 Visit Us On The Web At WWW.GOTOWNCRIER.COM
Serving Palms West Since 1980
By Carol Porter Town-Crier Staff Report Wellington’s village manager and top cop offered members of the Wellington Chamber of Commerce some insight into the village’s Safe Neighborhoods Initiative and local criminal activity at the chamber’s monthly business luncheon Wednesday. In March, the Wellington Village Council approved the half-million-dollar launch of a major program intended to stem the spread of crime and blight in declining neighborhoods. The Safe Neighborhoods Initiative involves increased law enforcement and code enforcement efforts as well as infrastructure improvements and community advocates working in those neighborhoods, beginning with the White Pine Drive/ 12th Fairway area near Birkdale Drive and Wellington Trace. During Wednesday’s luncheon, which took place at Kontiki Wine & Raw Bar, Village Manager Paul Schofield told chamber members that while Wellington has a very low crime rate, it is not without problems, some of them stemming from aging neighborhoods and the economic slump. The Safe Neighborhoods Initiative is designed to “identify the social and economic problems that are leading to neighborhood decline,” he said. Schofield said that through the program, the village
hopes to engage residents in confronting those problems and encourage their sense of ownership. “It is really designed is to create a community effort to return a safe, family environment into those neighborhoods where it has been lacking,” he said. Capt. Greg Richter, commander of the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office District 8 covering Wellington, told chamber members that the perception of crime in Wellington contrasts with reality. He noted that mistaken perceptions often overshadow reality, and crime in Wellington is a good example due to some recent high-profile incidents. “That is very important to us,” Richter said. “If you have a perception of a problem, that is as significant as the reality of the problem.” One of Wellington’s distinctions is the rate of crimes solved, the highest in the county. “We have a 33 percent solvability rate, which means one in three crimes reported to us, we do make an arrest,” Richter said. “That is very significant considering only one percent of crime occurring in Wellington is crime of a violent nature.” Richter also stressed the PBSO’s policy of good relations with village residents and its philosophy of community policing, in which residents work hand in hand with deputies. “We also have a very good
By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report The Royal Palm Beach Village Council decided Thursday that it would be better to delay the planned golf course at Commons Park due to the current economic climate. The first phase of development has begun at Commons Park on Royal Palm Beach Blvd., site of the old Tradition Golf Course. The first phase involves sculpting the 160-acre park’s basic landscape, including that of the golf course. But on Thursday, a golf course consultant told the council that golf courses are feeling the negative effects of the slow economy. National Golf Foundation representative Ed Getherall did a previous feasibility study for the village four years ago to explore what type of golf course might work on the site. “What we found then was an oversupplied golf market with courses operating at ground levels under capacity,” he said. The council had settled on a nine-hole, par-34 course, shorter than full size but longer than an executive course, Getherall recalled. At the time, the $3 million course was projected to generate a negative annual cash flow of
about $70,000 not including debt service. Getherall said there are many positive indicators for a golf course in the area, including higher-than-average incomes, population growth and a significant population of young adults and seniors. However, he said, a bad economy and low rounds played at nearby courses make the construction of a new course a questionable proposition. “Unemployment is rising and people’s discretionary income and discretionary time is falling,” Getherall said. “In general, it has affected the golf industry very negatively, as it has all industries.” Participation in golf has remained flat from four years ago, Getherall said. About 90 percent of the National Golf Foundation’s work is annual operation reviews for municipal golf courses, which are reporting fewer rounds and lower income, he said. “It has definitely taken a turn for the worse,” Getherall said. “Municipal golf courses are still highest in terms of activity levels, but they generally have lower fees and the highest cost in terms of labor.” Getherall said he sees eight See COMMONS, page 18
COPELAND DAVIS BENEFIT CONCERT
Capt. Greg Richter relationship with this community,” Richter said. “We have a community policing philosophy. The deputies are assigned to a particular sector. They know the people who live there. They know who the criminal element is in that neighborhood.” Richter also contrasted the law enforcement situation in Wellington with that of the similar municipalities of Jupiter, Palm Beach Gardens and Boca Raton. Members of the business community want the biggest bang for the buck, he noted, and the cost of having the PBSO look out for Wellington compares quite favorably to other communities, some of which have their own law enforcement agencies. “What’s important to you is this is done properly at a See RICHTER, page 2
The benefit concert “An Evening with Copeland Davis and Friends” was held Sunday, June 14 at the Royal Palm Beach Cultural Center. The event, a fundraiser for My Brother’s/Sister’s Keeper Charitable Trust, featured a piano performance by Davis, live and silent auctions, and guest performances. Shown here, Davis signs a CD for fan Dolly Filley. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 5 PHOTO BY DENISE FLEISCHMAN/TOWN-CRIER
Johnson: ‘Corruption County’ Image Hurts All By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report Assistant State Attorney Alan Johnson discussed the findings of the Palm Beach County grand jury report on corruption in local government Wednesday at County Commissioner Jess Santamaria’s monthly community forum at the original Wellington Mall. Johnson, a Wellington resident, leads the newly created Public Integrity Unit of the State Attorney’s Office in Palm Beach County. The unit was formed to investigate government corruption and led the grand jury investigation. The report, published May 21, concluded that an independent county governmental “watchdog” is needed to sniff out waste, fraud and abuse in Palm Beach County. It urges the formation of an investigative agency similar to the Miami-Dade County Office of Inspector General (OIG).
Three county commissioners and two West Palm Beach city commissioners have been convicted on corruption-related charges and sentenced to prison terms in recent years. The grand jury report said Palm Beach County’s reputation had “deteriorated to the point that Palm Beach County is derisively referred to as ‘Corruption County.’” Johnson said the image of corruption itself can pose problems for public officials. “There is a problem in Palm Beach County with regard to, if not the reality of corruption, the public perception which follows along, and that’s very detrimental to people being involved in government,” he said. The erosion of public trust in government has undermined the legal, political and economic pillars of the community, the report found. “Does that mean your government is corrupt? Absolute-
ly not,” Johnson said. “Does that mean that 99.999 percent of public servants are as honest as can be and public-service-minded? That is true.” The grand jury spent three months examining matters such as county bond underwriting, land transactions, discretionary funds, ethics laws and criminal statutes, Johnson said. Their findings were the result of reviewing thousands of documents for possible corruption. “Believe me, they complained about volumes and volumes of documents that we pored through,” Johnson said. The grand jury report was not an indictment, but a presentation of facts, Johnson said. “It was not a criticism of anybody,” he said. “It was a thoughtful look at where we are in the county and where we can be to make things better.” The Miami-Dade OIG was created as the result of that county’s corruption battles in
the 1990s. Johnson said such an independent set of eyes in Palm Beach County would have the power to conduct forensic investigations of the misuse or waste of public funds. The Miami-Dade OIG started as a $200,000-a-year operation sharing office space. In the first year it uncovered a vendor fraud that returned more than $12 million to the county, Johnson said. The program is now a $5 million annual operation, but only seven percent of its funding, $350,000, comes from county general revenue. The majority is revenue generated by departments such as transit, utilities, the airport authority and the school district. “They have memos of understanding that they get money in from these revenueproducing departments,” Johnson explained. The Palm Beach County grand jury found some errors
in bond underwriting but no corruption, Johnson said. It also found no criminal misuse of county commissioners’ discretionary accounts, although criticism has been leveled at them. “Remember [former county commissioner Tony] Masilotti with the big check?” Johnson asked. “That was from discretionary funds. There was criticism that it was being used for political help.” The grand jury also found no indication of anything illegal involving the county’s land transactions, but called for more transparency in those dealings to maintain public faith. A review of several land deals found that the county’s procedures lack transparency and accountability, and that the county frequently buys at prices far above a property’s assessed value without presenting much justification. “If we’re going to pay peoSee CORRUPT, page 4