Stet NewsWelcome to the holiday-shortened week. We’ll get right to it. The state’s Dickinson fiasco casts light on a towering need, Palm Beach County hits a $1 million home run, Juno scratches Christmas trees for townhomes and new maps track rising flood risk.
🌅 Bright side for Dickinson tower
The outrage over the state’s aborted plan to build three golf courses in Jonathan Dickinson State Park in Martin County may have an upside.
Friends of the park are mobilizing to turn the park’s newfound star power into a fundraising magnet to rebuild the park’s aging and shuttered Hobe Mountain observation tower.
Why it’s important: Built in 1966, the tower sits atop Hobe Mountain, an ancient sand dune 86 feet above sea level, and offers breathtaking views of the 10,500-acre park, the Indian River Lagoon and the Atlantic Ocean, as ByJoeCapozzi reported last week.
What they’re saying: “I have to tell you, as mad as I am, I was like ‘Thank you, Gov. DeSantis.’ Thanks to him for spotlighting this,” said Wendy Morse, president of Friends of Jonathan Dickinson State Park, a nonprofit dedicated to raising money for park projects.
The tower closed in April. An engineering report found it to be unsafe and put the replacement cost at $175,000.
As the tower gained prominence in news reports about the golf course proposal, donations went from nearly nothing to more than $9,500.
“We see this as a unique opportunity with enough community support, to create something even better — a state-of-the-art observation tower that surpasses the original in both function and form,” Morse said.
Read the full story at ByJoeCapozzi.com.
⚾️ County scores ballpark money
For years, Palm Beach County has been in a dispute with the Houston Astros and Washington Nationals over rent payments during the pandemic-born stop in play at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches.
In a settlement approved last month, the county got its money.
And the teams got clarity on the contract’s terms.
As Joe Capozzi reports, the teams agreed to pay the remaining $1.15 million due on the rent they owed the county for the 2020 season, when COVID stopped play in March.
The county agreed to extend the 30-year contract by seven months to October 2048, in effect giving the teams an extra summer for player development at the $150 million stadium, now called CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches.
Why it’s important: The rent money from the teams combines with county bed tax dollars to pay off the bonds that built the park southwest of Military Trail and 45th Street. On average, the teams pay $2.4 million a year.
Of note: During COVID, the stadium became a COVID testing site and even hosted a visit from Gov. Ron DeSantis.
For the rest of the story click here.
🎁 Pulte puts a bow on Christmas tree lot
Don’t repeat past mistakes, residents told Juno Beach Town Council members last week as they considered Pulte Home’s plans for 40 townhome units at the so-called Christmas tree lot at Donald Ross Road and U.S. 1.
This isn’t a mistake, a majority of the council decided, voting 4-1 to grant initial approvals for a right-of-way abandonment and zoning and land use changes.
The site would be more intensely developed if we were to reject this plan, council members, led by Mayor Peggy Wheeler, said.
What they’re saying: “If they looked at the facts, they would know that the Pulte project is not negative for our town. It’s actually positive for our town,” Wheeler said. She warned that property owner John Bills has other potential buyers who would pursue more intense development if Pulte is turned away.
Countered Council Member DD Halpern, the lone vote against, “We have an obligation to protect our town. It’s not too late for us to come together. We can’t let the developers instill fear in us and make the decisions for us.”
Of note: Town Manager David Dyess announced his resignation for personal reasons at Wednesday’s meeting, citing the death of his brother. Dyess left the Stuart city manager job to take the Juno job in April 2023.
Wheeler made it a point to squelch rumors that his departure is driven by corruption. “There is no corruption here,” she said.
— Joel Engelhardt
🍊 The juice
⛳️ Two golf legends who live in north county, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods, were connected to the aborted golf course plan at Jonathan Dickinson State Park in Martin County, with each designing an 18-hole course, an attorney representing Nicklaus said. (NBC News)
🚊 Tri-Rail has snagged $200 million from the Florida Department of Transportation to create a Northeast Corridor in Miami-Dade County. The rail line ultimately could connect into Broward County. (South Florida Business Journal $$$)
💰 Some enlightening statistics in this roundup of the Manhattanization of West Palm Beach. (New York Post)
🐝 BumbleFest returns to West Palm this weekend with punk, indie rock. (WLRN)
🍽️ Dining out this month? Before you go, check the Flavor South Florida site for restaurant deals. (Flavor South Florida)
📍 561 insider: More homes fall into flood zone
Palm Beach County estimates that more than 16,000 properties, mostly east of Interstate 95, will be designated at a higher risk for flooding under new maps recently released for final approval by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
The new maps will force some property owners to buy flood insurance, the county warns.
What they’re saying: “Call your insurance agent or call FEMA Insurance Exchange at 1-877-336-2627 to find an agent to protect your property,” the county wrote on a recently updated website, here.
Yes, but: The county consists of 652,934 parcels.
Public outreach: The county, the League of Cities, FEMA and the insurance industry are offering “public outreach open house events” three times in September:
- Boynton Beach Police Department, 2100 High Ridge Road, 5 to 8 pm, Sept. 11.
- Howard Park Community Center, 1302 Parker Ave., West Palm Beach, 10 am to 1 pm Sept. 14.
- Jupiter Community Center, 200 Military Trail, 5 to 8 pm Sept. 26.
Residents can find their properties on the new maps here.
The 16,000 parcels have an increase in Base Flood Elevation of one foot or more, the county warns, which could force homeowners to buy flood insurance. A 25 percent discount is available for property owners in unincorporated Palm Beach County.
Why it’s important: FEMA set a Dec. 20 deadline for the new maps to become effective.
From the village of North Palm Beach comes this warning:
“About 1,400 village properties are proposed to be re-designated from lower risk flood zones to a high risk ‘Special Flood Hazard Area.’ This is called an ‘AE Flood Zone.’
“Property owners with mortgages for buildings that will be in these new AE Zones will be required by their lender to purchase flood insurance, even on pre-existing mortgages.
“The flood insurance rates in AE Zones are higher than the lower risk zones, and owners of buildings that are proposed to be added to the AE Zone should expect to see flood insurance rate increases.”
— Joel Engelhardt
