LOX GROVES BUDGET WOES CONTINUE SEE STORY, PAGE 4
GERWIG FENTANYL AWARENESS EVENT SEE STORY, PAGE 7
WELLINGTON • ROYAL PALM BEACH • LOXAHATCHEE • THE ACREAGE • WESTLAKE Your Community Newspaper
INSIDE
Volume 46, Number 18 September 5 - September 18, 2025
Serving Palms West Since 1980
ONAM CELEBRATION HELD IN RPB
Wellington’s New Aquatics Center Nearing Completion
On Friday, Aug. 29, members of the Wellington Village Council and other village leaders toured the new Wellington Aquatics Center under construction at Village Park for the official “topping out” ceremony. The milestone marks major progress on what will soon become a state-of-the-art facility serving the Wellington community. Page 3
The Kerala Association of Palm Beach celebrated the Onam Festival on Saturday, Aug. 30 at the Royal Palm Beach Cultural Center. Onam is a celebration to welcome King Mahabali to the south Indian state of Kerala for his annual visit, ensuring his subjects happiness and prosperity. Royal Palm Beach Mayor Jeff Hmara participated as an honored guest. Hmara is shown here taking part in the candle lighting ceremony as Kerala Association President Mathew Thomas looks on. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 15
Royal Palm Beach Hosts PBC League of Cities At The Cultural Center
The Palm Beach County League of Cities held a general membership meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 27 at the Royal Palm Beach Cultural Center. The event included a retirement party for longtime League of Cities Executive Director Richard Radcliffe. The Village of Royal Palm Beach presented Radcliffe with a special proclamation and gift. Page 5
Wellington Celebrates Senior Citizens Day
The Village of Wellington celebrated National Senior Citizens Day on Thursday, Aug. 21 with a party for local seniors at the Wellington Community Center. The afternoon was filled with food, music and plenty of fun, all in honor of the contributions that seniors have made to the community. Page 11
Classmates Divided On The Football Gridiron
Two Berean Christian School student-athletes are having unique senior football season experiences. Steven Sistrunk and Roshiloh Richards are academic classmates by day and rival football opponents by night. While both have played varsity football for Berean for the last three years, they were left without a team to play on when Berean announced that it was suspending its football program. Page 17 DEPARTMENT INDEX NEWS...............................3 - 15 NEWS BRIEFS......................... 7 SPORTS..........................17 - 20 PEOPLE................................. 21 SCHOOLS.............................. 22 BUSINESS............................. 23 COLUMNS............................. 24 CLASSIFIEDS................ 25 - 26 Visit Us On The Web At WWW.GOTOWNCRIER.COM
PHOTO BY DENISE FLEISCHMAN/TOWN-CRIER
RPB Council Nixes Idea To Hike Speed Limits On Some Roads By Denis Eirikis Town-Crier Staff Report At a meeting Thursday, Aug. 21, the Royal Palm Beach Village Council heard a report on a consultant’s findings regarding speeding on Crestwood and Royal Palm Beach boulevards. Village Engineer Chris Marsh explained how the topic of speeding came up during the annual Citizen Summit strategic planning session last spring. In response to citizen complaints about speeding, the village hired traffic engineers Erdman Anthony to conduct a speeding analysis on Crestwood and Royal Palm Beach boulevards. Marsh said that the consultants found a disconnect regarding the posted speed limit. “The data analysis revealed that, despite a posted speed limit of 35 or 40 mph, a vast majority of vehicles were moving at speeds of 38 to 48 mph,” he said. “Average
speeds ranged from 39 to 46 mph, while 85th percentile speed ranged from 43 to 50 mph.” This last number, the 85th percentile, is important to traffic engineers because it reflects the speed that “reasonable drivers” will not exceed in usual conditions. Christopher Bauso, an engineer with Erdman Anthony, after analyzing seven years of crash data, reported, “the vast majority of crashes that occur within the study area are not caused by drivers going over the posted speed limit.” For Royal Palm Beach Blvd., roughly 12 percent of crashes over the past seven years involved vehicles traveling faster than the posted speed limit, while for Crestwood Blvd., the crash rate caused by speeding was about 7.3 percent where the speed limit was 35 mph, while only 2.5 percent on the 40-mph southern section.
Using speeds on I-95 as an analogy, Bauso explained that the real danger isn’t speed, so much as the differences in driver speed. “When grandma is doing 40, reasonable drivers are doing 70 and speeders are doing 90... these differences in speed create hazardous situations,” he said. To prove his point, he showed that the section of Crestwood with a 40-mph speed limit is safer than the section with a 35-mph speed limit. He provided data showing that speeding on the 35-mph portion of Crestwood caused about 300 percent more crashes than experienced on the 40-mph section. Marsh and Village Manager Ray Liggins, also an engineer, confirmed that, while not intuitive, over the last 20 years or so, traffic engineers have realized that, in cases like Crestwood Blvd. North, data shows that raising speed See RPB COUNCIL, page 4
Commissioners Deny West End Crossing Project, At Least For Now
By Louis Hillary Park Town-Crier Staff Report The Palm Beach County Commission voted 4-3 on Thursday, Aug. 28 to deny the West End Crossing proposal for a retail plaza with a 12-pump gas station at Northlake Blvd. and Seminole Pratt Whitney Road, siding with residents who said the project clashes with the rural character of The Acreage and county planning policies. But the board stopped short of shutting the door entirely, leaving the property owner free to return with a revised application. The decision followed months of opposition led by the Acreage Landowners’ Association (ALA). The group organized petitions and community meetings to demonstrate broad opposition. “We’re somewhat happy about the vote,” ALA President Bob Morgan said this week. “But they didn’t fully shut down the project. They didn’t tell [the property owners] they had to wait two years to come back… To me, that shows plenty of favoritism.” Palm Beach County Vice Mayor Sara Baxter, who represents the area, cast one of the “no” votes. Before the hearing, she indicated that she would not support the project if her constituents opposed it. They did, and loudly. “I’m sure I upset some developers by not going along with what they wanted,” Baxter said this week. “[But] I want my residents
to know I’m here to represent their interests.” Baxter said she asked residents who lived within four miles of the intersection to voice their opinion. Approximately 100 did so, and they were “overwhelmingly opposed.” The rejected proposal called for a 12-pump gas station, a 4,800-square-foot convenience store, and more than 10,000 square feet of retail and medical office space. Residents raised concerns about groundwater contamination, increased traffic, crime and the project’s proximity to a daycare facility located about 700 feet from the site — shorter than the Environmental Protection Agency’s recommendation of a 1,000-foot buffer. The proposal conflicted with multiple guiding documents, according to the ALA, including the county’s comprehensive plan, the Acreage Neighborhood Plan and the Western Northlake Corridor Study. West End Crossing had already been rejected 8-4 in January by the Palm Beach County Zoning Commission. For now, residents opposed to the plan say the latest decision helps protect The Acreage from unwanted commercialization. Land planner Donaldson Hearing, who represented the would-be developers at several meetings, said that the ALA is a “good group of people. We’re going to huddle See WEST END, page 12
END OF SUMMER PARTY
PBSO’s Annual Report: Crime Down Last Year In Wellington
By Patrick Sherry Town-Crier Staff Report Officials from the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office (PBSO) presented the agency’s annual report at the Wellington Village Council meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 26. The report, which included details for calendar year 2024 and plans going forward in 2025 and beyond, covered PBSO District 8, which serves the Village of Wellington. Key findings included reduced crime rates across the board throughout the village last year. Council members praised the PBSO and local deputies for their continued efforts to keep Wellington safe. “You guys are definitely the best of the best, so thank you,” Councilwoman Amanda Silvestri said. “This was a great report.” Lt. Matthew LaVigna represented the PBSO in place of Capt.
Nichole Addazio, commander of District 8, who was recovering from surgery. He explained to the council that there were more than 91,000 total calls for service in 2024 — a three percent increase from last year, and continuing a steady upward trend since 2021. However, he emphasized that the majority of these calls were self-initiated, which deputies conduct on their own, rather than getting prompted by residents. “The increase you are seeing is due to the deputies being more proactive, not necessarily the calls for service coming into the sheriff’s office,” LaVigna said. “I also want to point out there has been significant growth within the village as far as size and population over this time period as well.” Despite the increase in calls for service, the agency has experienced a 25 percent drop in the crime index since 2023. The reduc-
tion comes from a decline in crime in areas including burglaries, thefts, vandalism and more. Overall, the report showed that the village has some of the lowest crime totals across the categories in 15 years. Robbery incidents and mail theft cases experienced some of the greatest decreases in 2024. Robberies dropped by 50 percent, while mail thefts fell by 74 percent, with only nine cases being reported this past year, compared to 34 cases in 2023. One notable aspect in the decline in mail thefts was detectives being able to identify how these crimes were being committed, which led to the removal of certain mailboxes and major operations being conducted. In fact, these cases in Wellington were used by other nearby districts as predicate crimes to target a crime ring. However, stolen vehicles and See PBSO REPORT, page 4
Royal Palm Beach seniors celebrated at an End of Summer Party on Friday, Aug. 22 at the Royal Palm Beach Recreation Center. The tropical-themed party was festooned with flamingos and brightly colored flowers, and featuring a menu of jerk chicken and other Caribbean treats. Visiting parrots Dallas and Santini were a big hit. Everyone wanted to have a parrot perch on their arm for a photo. Shown here is Ronni Kaplan with Dallas. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 14 PHOTO BY DENISE FLEISCHMAN/TOWN-CRIER
Westlake Clerk Ready To Step In As Acting Manager
By Louis Hillary Park Town-Crier Staff Report It’s not quite official yet, but the Westlake City Council agreed through consensus Tuesday, Sept. 2 to name current City Clerk Zoie Burgess as acting city manager. Burgess is an employee of Inframark Inc., a governmental staffing agency contracted with the city to provide management services. She has been at Westlake since 2019 and would take over on Saturday, Sept. 27, after the resignation of longtime City Manager Kenneth Cassel takes effect Friday, Sept. 26. The council will hold a special meeting on Thursday, Sept. 11 at 5:30 p.m. to take a formal vote. “I’m very excited,” Burgess said Wednesday. “I believe in continu-
ity, and I believe this is the best way for the city to continue the momentum it has built up.” For several years, Westlake has been the fastest growing municipality in Palm Beach County and one fastest growing in the state. It has been recognized in national publications as one of the top planned communities in the United States. “I have total confidence that with Zoie as acting city manager, and with the rest of the team that is servicing Westlake, the city will not miss a beat,” Cassel told council members. Cassel has guided the young municipality since its incorporation in 2016 under a contract with Inframark. For nearly a decade, he has balanced dual roles, managing
both the City of Westlake and the Seminole Improvement District (SID), which provides most of the community’s infrastructure. That arrangement, once seen as efficient, is now viewed by many in Westlake as a conflict that has outlived its usefulness. Council members appeared to be in clear consensus at a Thursday, Aug. 28 special meeting and the Tuesday, Sept. 2 regular monthly session that they want to separate the two managerial roles, and that they want to hire a city manager who is not an Inframark employee. However, it is expected that most of the city’s governmental infrastructure will remain in the hands of the contractor for the time being.
“We agree it may be time to carve out the city manager,” said Chris Tarase, Inframark’s president for community management, during the special meeting. “We’re willing partners to update the agreement — it’s almost 10 years old — and provide more transparency.” Burgess said that the job would only be temporary. “I’m ready for the challenge but only on a temporary basis,” she said. Councilman Gary Werner expressed concerns at the special meeting about moving too quickly to name Burgess as the acting city manager. “I felt it was important to go through a process… appear to be objective to the community,” he
Zoie Burgess said Tuesday. “[But] I think Zoie has very good credentials and background. I’m totally in support of her.” Prior to Westlake, Burgess was assistant manager for the Town of See WESTLAKE, page 12