Stet NewsGood morning, Stetters! We have so much to tell you. The Health Care District has settled on a location for its $145 million mental health crisis center, demonstrations in Palm Beach Gardens and West Palm Beach, decision day for the county administrator job, the first batch of opioid settlement dollars, saving battlefield relics and more progress for young readers.
💰 $145 million crisis care center
The cost of vacant commercial land in Palm Beach County forced the Palm Beach County Health Care District to agree last week to pay 32 percent above appraised value for nearly 10 acres north of Southern Boulevard and west of Florida’s Turnpike.
- The $16.7 million cost does not include $2.5 million in site improvements, including construction of a $1.3 million entry bridge.
Why it’s important: The site at 100 N. Benoist Farms Road is where the district wants to erect a 60,000-square-foot crisis stabilization center, a first stop for people in need of immediate care for mental health or substance abuse.
The project’s price tag is $145 million. Here’s a breakdown:
- $66 million for construction.
- $19 million for land.
- $18 million for consultants, including design and construction management.
- $15 million for furnishings and fixtures.
- $27 million for contingencies.
What the crisis center would do: It would accept walk-in patients and those in mental health crisis or police custody. It would offer 23-hour observation, addiction treatment and short-term crisis stabilization to help patients avoid jail time or involuntary hospital admissions.
What they’re saying: “If our mission is to fill the gaps in Palm Beach County and be that health care safety gap,” district CEO Darcy Davis said, “how can we ignore the biggest need in Palm Beach County, which is mental health?”
Zoom in: The property off Southern Boulevard beat out a 6.3-acre site owned by the district at the Healey Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Riviera Beach. District officials said they had no other realistic options and the private seller wouldn’t sell for less.
- All of the money except $10 million pledged by Palm Beach County would come from the Health Care District’s reserves, which approach $200 million.
- The district, established in 1988, levies a countywide property tax and pays for Trauma Hawk response helicopters, school nurses, a hospital in Belle Glade and a network of clinics countywide.
What’s next: Construction would begin in 2027, with completion scheduled for summer 2029.
Read more: Stet News has more details about the site, which used to house dog kennels, at StetNews.org here.
— Joel Engelhardt
🪧 A day of protest
Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets Saturday across Palm Beach County, joining “No Kings” protests in all 50 states protesting President Donald Trump and his policies.
In West Palm Beach, a spirited crowd of at least 3,000 marched a mile from Phipps Park on Dixie Highway to within 100 yards of Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s winter White House on Palm Beach.
In Palm Beach Gardens, about 2,000 protesters organized by Speaking Up for America/Indivisible lined PGA Boulevard next to the Gardens Mall.
Why it matters: As Trump celebrated his birthday and the 250th anniversary of the Army in Washington, D.C., marchers approached the president’s home with chants of “No Trump, No KKK, No Fascist USA.”
- A cordon of police in riot gear blocked protesters from getting near Mar-a-Lago.
Afterward, protesters gathered at the Meyer Amphitheatre in downtown West Palm Beach to hear from about a dozen speakers, including former Trump confederate Lev Parnas.
What they’re saying: “Don’t be afraid. Don’t let them scare you. Don’t let them intimidate you. Because they want fear. They want silence. They want us to give up,” Parnas said. “But we’re not going anywhere.”
In Palm Beach Gardens, Kim Byrne of Loxahatchee came out in a wheelchair a week after spinal surgery. She held a “Dump Trump!” sign.
“Hate,” she said, “won’t make America great.”
Toni Mauro, a Palm Beach Gardens resident who worked as a general manager at car dealerships, expressed concerns over threats to democracy.
“It’s sad we have to be here,” she said. “But we have to be here.”
Read more of Stet’s coverage here and here.
— Joe Capozzi and Joel Engelhardt
Check out the videos:
Confrontation outside Mar-a-Lago.
Marching from Phipps Park in West Palm Beach.
PGA Boulevard in Palm Beach Gardens.
❓Decision day for county administrator
Finalists to run Palm Beach County’s $9 billion government underwent hour-long interviews Monday with all of the seven county commissioners, and answered questions posed by residents at a public forum.
Commissioners are expected to make a selection today to replace Verdenia Baker, who retired May 31. The decision will come after commissioners publicly interview the candidates, starting at 9:30 am in commission chambers.
Why it matters: County government is one of the area’s largest employers, with 7,000 workers. It collects and spends $1.5 billion in property taxes as part of a $9 billion budget.
Catch up quick: All but one of the interviews Monday were private. Commissioner Gregg Weiss live streamed his interviews with the four finalists: County Clerk and Comptroller Joe Abruzzo, Deputy County Administrator Patrick Rutter, Assistant County Administrator Isami Ayala-Collazo and Keith Clinkscales, the county’s director of strategic planning and performance management.
At the forum Monday night about 100 people showed up at the Palm Beach County Convention Center to watch former Channel 5 anchor Michael Williams pose questions to the four finalists drawn from queries submitted by the public.
- The questions ranged from what they would do about the affordable housing crisis, how they would keep the water supply safe, steps they would take to reduce fraud and waste and whether they would help bring back SunFest.
What they said: Most of them repeated the same talking points they used when interviewed by Weiss earlier in the day. Calling the housing crisis “complicated,” Rutter said there “is not one solution,” while Abruzzo proposed creating high-density zones to increase the housing supply.
- Several union leaders said they came to support Abruzzo, the apparent frontrunner. He blew a kiss to Pat Emmert, president of the local AFL-CIO, and called union workers his “brothers and sisters.”
Zoom in: In his interview with Weiss, Abruzzo promised to reach out to top managers of the county’s 39 municipalities to keep them abreast of county plans, to hold forums with residents to find out what they want and to empower county staff to “think outside the box.”
He touted the technological advances he’s made at the clerk’s office, saying he wanted to use artificial intelligence to increase county efficiency.
- Ayala-Collazo also talked about the need to update technology that bogs down decision-making.
- Clinkscales said communication improvements are needed — both within county departments and with residents. Community forums could increase trust between the county and the public, he said.
- Rutter emphasized his lifelong residence in the county and his long tenure on the staff. “I feel like I’ve been part of — directly or indirectly — every issue in the county,” he said.
Read more: Check back later today at StetNews.org to find out who the county commission selects to be the next administrator.
— Jane Musgrave
💵 Opioid settlement money begins to flow
Palm Beach County unveiled its first recommendations on how to spend $9 million a year from legal settlements with pharmaceutical companies as reimbursement for the opioid epidemic.
Why it matters: Eight groups would get $2.6 million to help people with substance abuse disorder return to substance-free lives. In all the county will receive $122 million plus interest over 15 years.
Zoom in: A countywide advisory committee reviewed the recommendations Thursday, with some members balking over the difficulty for smaller groups to apply. County officials said they’re learning as they go and they would work with smaller groups to try to make applying easier.
- Grants were decided based on points awarded by a review committee. The recommendations go to the Palm Beach County Commission on Aug. 19.
Here’s the breakdown of the initial grants:
- Hanley Center Foundation, two grants, $1 million.
- Rebel Recovery Florida, $457,850.
- The Lord’s Place, $350,000.
- Genesis Community Health, $340,000.
- Ferd and Gladys Alpert Jewish Family and Children’s Services of PBC, $150,000.
- FAU Foundation, $150,000.
- NAMI Palm Beach County, $100,000.
- PBC Substance Abuse Coalition, $80,000.
Of note: Another $1.6 million remains to be distributed this year. Applications will be sought later this year.
But there’s more: The county set aside $5.4 million of its annual contributions to nonprofits, known as Financially Assisted Agencies, to help recovering addicts find a safe place to live, overcome seemingly innocuous obstacles and get jobs.
- Grants to nine agencies will be considered by the County Commission on July 8.
That’s not all: The state-backed Southeast Florida Behavioral Health Network unveiled a $5 million, four-year program to assure that recovering addicts and mental health patients get personal help to make sure they are able to, for example, buy and take their meds, get to a doctor and find peer support.
- It is called CONNeCT for Coordinated Network for Navigating Care and Treatment.
Read more about who is getting the opioid settlement money and how an advisory board reacted to the grant recommendations here.
— Joel Engelhardt
Editor’s note: Joel Engelhardt serves on the board of directors of NAMI Palm Beach County, one of the grant recipients.
🛟 Saving battlefield history in Jupiter
The Loxahatchee Battlefield Preservationists are most visible to the public at their weekly tours and annual reenactments of two battles fought in present-day Jupiter during the second Seminole War in 1838.
Behind the scenes, volunteers with the Jupiter nonprofit are leading the charge on a modern-day mission: preparing for a museum and education center at Loxahatchee River Battlefield Park.
Why it’s important: The center will tell 5,000 years of history at a 760-acre hammock that is now Riverbend Park and Loxahatchee River Battlefield Park west of Florida’s Turnpike along Indiantown Road.
What’s happening: As Palm Beach County prepares to seek bids next year for a design, Loxahatchee Battlefield Preservationists have launched a campaign to raise $20,000 to preserve hundreds of artifacts that will be showcased in the museum.
The group wants to catalog and secure musket balls, grapeshot, Native American pottery shards, uniform buttons, nails, Congreve rockets, tools and more that are stored in the homes of a dozen or so local history buffs, many of whom are LBP members.
What they’re saying: “We have a lot of people with things in their closets. We would like to have something more concrete than that since these are going to end up in our museum,” said LBP board member Dick Kazmar.
What’s next: Late next year, the parks department will receive $6.3 million from the 1-penny sales tax, approved by voters in 2016. It will pay for museum designs, permitting and items such as water, sewer and electricity.
- County officials anticipate an additional $8 million or more will be needed for construction — money LPB hopes to raise.
- “Once design is complete, we will have a better idea of the total cost,” said Jennifer Cirillo, the county’s parks director.
How you can help: Donate at a GoFundMe page set up by Loxahatchee Battlefield Preservationists.
Keep reading to find out why the project will be the park’s crowning jewel.
— Joe Capozzi
🍊 The Juice
🏛️ Florida legislators passed a $115 billion spending plan Monday night for the fiscal year that starts July 1. (Florida Phoenix)
- The budget agreement reached Friday eliminates the state’s 2% tax on rent paid by businesses.
- It also adds a sales tax exemption for back-to-school items during August, a permanent exemption for disaster preparedness and exemptions for sunscreen, life jackets and helmets.
🚲 New concrete bicycle buffers on Lake Worth Road are confusing some drivers and not necessarily protecting cyclists, who tend to use the wide sidewalks next to the roadway, Palm Springs officials say. (The Palm Beach Post $$$)
💰 David Gitlin of Palm Beach Gardens-based Carrier Global Corp. is the highest paid CEO of a publicly traded company based in South Florida. Gitlin’s total compensation in 2024 was $65.7 million, according to research by C-Suite Comp. Juno Beach-based NextEra Energy’s John Ketchum came in at No. 5 with total compensation last year of $21.6 million. (WLRN)
🐢 Gumbo Limbo Nature Center’s turtle hospital is shutting down because of challenges raising money, the leaders of the nonprofit that runs the 40-year-old Boca Raton operation said. (The Coastal Star)
✍🏼 As expected, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill into law Friday that includes a provision to rename Southern Boulevard between Kirk Road and South Ocean Boulevard in Palm Beach for President Donald Trump. (Florida Politics)
Palm Beach billionaire Leonard Lauder, 92, heir to the Estée Lauder cosmetic fortune, died Saturday in New York. (Palm Beach Daily News, The New York Times gift link)
561NSIDER 📚 Feeding hungry minds: Early reading success in Jupiter
After Stet published its Feeding Hungry Minds series this year on organizations making progress with childhood literacy, we asked for your thoughts. One reader told us she had started volunteering after reading the stories and another thanked us for sharing some encouraging news. We also learned about this project in north county.
The Palm Beach North Chamber of Commerce, responding to statistics that showed nearly half of all third graders weren’t reading at grade level, launched the Palm Beach North Education Foundation in 2023 to address literacy in Palm Beach County.
Foundation Executive Director Janiece Davis leads the reading charge.
Background: In 2024, the Education Foundation spent $25,000 to equip Lake Park Elementary with literacy kits, and a grant from The Andrea C. Cameron Foundationprovided literacy kits to all first graders at Jupiter Elementary.
Why it’s important: The kits contain materials that make literacy learning fun and engaging using the Wilson Language Method, which has the support of the Palm Beach County School District.
What’s happening: Students are showing improvements. “Our current first graders have shown a 5% increase in (English language) proficiency from (when they were in kindergarten) to January 2025,” Davis said. She anticipates the students’ year-end testing figures will show more improvement.
Lake Park and Jupiter Elementary were chosen based on their reading assessments, Davis said.
What they’re saying: “They’re both dual language schools. Jupiter is English-Spanish and Lake Park is Haitian Creole-English,” Davis said. “It’s really important that we encourage learning in a student’s native language as well as English. Initially, their scores appear to be a little behind, but then they make amazing leaps in achievements. They’re skyrocketing and they’re learning in two languages.”
What’s next: Leaders want to build on its early success by adding at least one more school, Davis said. “The need is so great, but the schools simply can’t take on the cost of these materials.”
Keep reading to find out what else the North County Chamber is doing to support education.
— Janis Fontaine
Editor’s note: The Palm Beach North Chamber includes 11 cities from Mangonia Park to Tequesta. Its chairperson, Tim Burke, serves on the Stet News Advisory Council.
