Ag Reserve meeting turns heated over an Islamic center and school
Plus a senior meal program with a waitlist and a Wednesday board hearing on downtown parking.
The center and school near Lyons Road received administrative approval three years ago. Many attendees were upset to be learning about the project only now, WPBF reported. Palm Beach County Commissioner Maria Sachs led the meeting, which was called to discuss the agricultural reserve. The room was packed, and law enforcement kept more people from entering. Protesters gathered outside. Inside, most speakers opposed the center. One attendee asked whether the approval can be rescinded and what that process would look like. At times, Sachs threatened to end the meeting over the crowd's behavior. One woman told the crowd she is Muslim and challenged its reaction. "If the new school and worship center was a synagogue, how would you feel," she said, and the audience booed. After the meeting, WPBF said it observed men wearing swastikas arrive in the parking lot, yelling antisemitic slurs and carrying signs.
A Delray senior meal program is full and has a waitlist
CROS Ministries' Caring Kitchen is at its maximum of 120 homebound clients, program director Shona Castillo said, and it has a waitlist. The nonprofit hopes to grow to about 150 clients. It already delivers about 2,000 meals a month in Delray Beach and parts of Boca Raton. Meals go out on Mondays and Wednesdays, and the program is seeking volunteers to prep, pack and deliver them. Volunteer John Gavin said his route has 34 clients, and the food arrives before noon. Caring Kitchen has served Delray since 1993.
Memorial Gardens review will report back in December
Dozens of residents confronted Stephen Kuehne, the consultant Delray Beach hired to review Delray Beach Memorial Gardens. Their complaints included allegedly resold burial plots. Kuehne, of Kuehne Cemetery Consulting, will assess the cemetery's records, maintenance, finances, staffing and capacity. The city manager said the review will take several months. A community update is set for December. For anyone with family at Memorial Gardens, December is the next date on the calendar.
Two anti-drug programs get grants from Caron settlement money
On Sept. 22, the City Commission approved anti-drug grants for two groups. They are Living Skills in the Schools, based in Delray Beach, and Junior Achievement of Broward County. Each gets $50,000 a year for three years, or $150,000 apiece. The grants are reimbursable, and the money comes from the city's Caron Foundation settlement funds. Delray holds $947,566 in those funds. The city is initially considering allocations for half of it, $473,783.
Delray's new city tax rate is in effect
City commissioners adopted a total city property tax rate of 6.3790 mills on Sept. 22. It applies to the fiscal year that began Oct. 1. The rate breaks down to 6.3501 mills for operations and 0.0289 mills for debt. One mill equals $1 for every $1,000 of taxable value. At $300,000 of taxable value, the city portion comes to $1,913.70. That figure is only the city's share of a property tax bill. To estimate your own city share, multiply each $1,000 of taxable value by $6.379.
Preservation board takes up downtown parking rule and Old School Square changes
The Historic Preservation Board meets Wednesday, Oct. 7, at 5:01 p.m. in the City Commission Chambers at 100 N.W. 1st Avenue. You can also watch on the city's YouTube channel. The board will make a recommendation on Ordinance No. 43-26, which is still a proposal. It would extend the West Atlantic off-street parking exemption for certain existing commercial buildings through Dec. 31, 2031. It would also move the exemption area's eastern boundary from NE 4th Avenue to NE 3rd Avenue. In a separate item, the board will consider a Level 1 site-plan modification and certificate of appropriateness for Old School Square, 51 N. Swinton Avenue. That request covers the arcade, lighting and landscaping.